The Romance Readers' Guide to Life by Sharon Pywell was included on the May 2017 Librarians' Choice Top 10 list https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56d74c4004426214f2d28631/t/58ffb0a91e5b6c5447bdbc87/1493152210616/Top10+May17+A4+Flyer.pdf

Unfortunately this was not the book for me. By the time I was 10% of the way through the promises of a mystery and adventure didn’t seem anywhere in sight and the plot wasn’t holding my attention. I’m sure, given the time, this book would be a rewarding read but right now it’s not the read for me.

I was expecting a romance novel, but I got so much more than that. It starts off as a story of growing up in post WW2 America, and develops into a thriller/murder mystery/love story with a paranormal element. It’s told mainly from second sister Neave’s point of view, but we also get eldest sister Lilly’s viewpoint as well as a line or two from their dog, Mr Boppit (stick with me, it really does work). On top of that, we also get the romance novel “The Pirate Lover” interspersed throughout the main novel. So you get two novels in one, and both are equally entertaining.

I loved the writing in this novel. It flowed so well and I love the characters’ “voices”. The story was plausible and engaging and the characters were well drawn and developed. The embedded romance novel feels like a nice bonus at the beginning, but it becomes apparent as the book progresses, that a parallel is being drawn between the world of “romance fiction” and “real life”. I’m not sure what the point of this, except perhaps to say that anyone’s romantic dreams can come true. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I loved the characters in this novel. The three sisters are vastly different, but they’re smart, intelligent, fiercely loyal to each other and love their own deeply. Nobody is silly or giddy and each is thoroughly 3-dimensional, which is refreshing. They don’t always make the best choices, but their reasons are valid.

I loved this novel and recommend it for people who love intelligent, down to earth novel, with a nice splash of believable romance. I look forward to reading the author’s other work.

What an extraordinary book! I've never read anything like The Romance Reader's Guide To Life. This wonderful story is set in post World War Two Massachusetts. It grabbed my interest in the opening pages when heroine Neave's dead sister Lily introduced herself as something of an observer of the action to come. With parallels unfolding between Neave's life and the story taking place in her favourite romance novel, The Pirate Lover, I found myself well and truly hooked. Perfectly paced, beautifully written and thoroughly entertaining, this is a story I will enjoy rereading.

My Thoughts

‘They think that women who read romances are idiots. I assure you, they are not.” “No?”
“No. They are people who trust that love exists and that it is more powerful than bad logic or bad writing.’

This book turned out to be very different from what I was expecting. It is a romance and it is historical fiction, but it’s a lot more complicated than that! The concept is quite clever, but I have to admit to being confused and not engaged by unlikeable characters. It’s not a straightforward story with two narrators and inserted throughout, a historical romance. Confused? I was. Throw into that mix some ‘left of centre’ aspects such as a talking cross-dressing dog and this was not really the book for me.
The book alternates between the sisters - Lilly from "where she is now" with Mr. Boppit (above mentioned dog) and Neave, to portray what their lives had been like. Although presented from a unique perspective, it’s surrealism stretches credibility. The pirate romance, that is interspersed with the main story, is most definitely a separate story until the parallels come together towards the end.
This book was meant as a commentary on romance, with regards to those who read it compared to real life. It is most definitely original and well written. So if you are up for a dark read, that incorporates a little of everything from historical fiction to paranormal, then this quirky little ready is for you.

‘She’s not ugly but she’s bookish, which is not a real enchanting characteristic in the world I lived in.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release

Sorry - won't be reviewing this one. Just not for me.

There is a certain inherent distrust between the writers (and readers) of romance fiction and the devotees of literary fiction. Sharon Pywell, in a closing statement to this book, states that she never read a romance until after reaching adulthood, when she picked one up off a lending library shelf out of sheer boredom and a lack of something else to read.

The problem with coming to romantic fiction as an adult, as an author who already writes literary fiction, is the instinct to over-analyse things. Romances are about escapism, and here is where I think this author has fundamentally missed the point.

In writing a literary fiction novel about a fan of romance novels, including snippets of a supposed 'real' romance novel, the author has managed to create a book that is the absolute opposite of escapist. Full of drudgery, cruelty, sadism and murder, reading it felt like trudging through quicksand.

Literary fiction fans are snobs; they wouldn't begin to comprehend why a supposedly 'intelligent woman' would read or write romance. Believe me, as a romance author I've encountered more than my fair share of this kind of snobbery in writers' forums. There's a certain attitude that I must be only in it for the money (that would be funny if I was making enough to live on, really).

The truth is that a romance author writes, and a romance author reads, because we love the escapism of it all, the freedom to flee from a world that is far too often full of drudgery into one full of love and happy endings all around. Worst of all, even the romance novel within the novel, The Pirate's Lover, was terrible, and certainly not something that would have seen the light of day in the publishing climate of the 1930s when it was supposedly written. It reminded me vaguely of the rape-tastic Kathleen Woodiwiss books of the early 1970s. They were dreadful then and holding a similar book up as some sort of guide for anyone to live by in any era is absolutely ghastly.

There is no shame in enjoying romance novels, but by including such a rubbish one in a literary fiction book as an integral part of the plot the author only contributes further to the (extremely misogynistic) sneering stereotypes that literary fiction authors and readers already ascribe to those who enjoy romance.

I can only suggest that the author subscribe to the Smart Bitches Trashy Books blog and start reading GOOD romance novels. Maybe then she could try writing one herself and find out what they are REALLY about. Actual plot, decent pacing, characters that draw the readers in and a happy ending for EVERYONE we've come to care about.

Any one of those things in this book might have made it a half-decent read; as it was it took me two days to wade through it when my average read time for a book of this length is about 90 minutes. Not only that but it's left me in a bad temper because of the further wedge it drives in between the literary fiction and the romance fiction community, when I started it hoping that it would do exactly the opposite - that's why I selected it to read in the first place. One star.

This was a very inventive take on a murder, seen from the view of the victim and her family concurrently. This did not take away from the tension and interest.

The subplot about sisters building a business and using their distinct skills to make it a huge success is engaging. The malevolent love interest in the story is convincingly psychopathic and frightening.

The Pirate Lover book within a book is also great fun and just as enjoyable. The combination of the two stories makes for a can't put it down read and adventure. The women in both stories are resourceful women taking charge of their lives, even making mistakes, but doing what they want and need to do.

The story is well written and while people who like their stories to keep firmly tethered to reality may struggle, if you can cope with some fun well written romance come terror, then I highly recommend this book.

Thanks to Net Galley for the chance to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review..

What a surprising read and certainly different to what I was excepting to read. This is a complex read of essentially two different stories. The main story is told from two different view points, and novel within the novel is a rollicking romance. It can be a tad confusing when you start out but stick with it as the end result is more than worth it. Just a small tip read the note from the author at the end it explains her reasoning in setting the story out the way she did. Do not be surprised if you find it difficult to connect with the characters in this novel at first. But full credit to the author by the end of the novel I realised I loved Neaves and most of the other characters and I am not even sure when it happened. As I stated this is a surprising novel that you would be doing yourself a favour by picking up.

I had previously never heard of Sharon Pywell, and I admit to requesting this book from Net-Galley because of its pretty cover and interesting title.

I assumed, a romance. I assumed, a main character who liked to read romances and getting into some entanglements when she applied that genre’s rules to real life. I assumed, chick lit, I guess. My assumptions were, for the most, incorrect (although some of them were right in a roundabout way). But I do understand the marketing people’s dilemma in summarising the book and even placing it into one specific genre.

If I had one complaint about the book, it would be its beginning. It didn’t burst out of the blocks and win me over immediately. Instead, I plodded through the first couple of chapters, trying to get a grasp on what I had discovered was not a traditional romance. It was almost like some strange mixture of The Book Thief and The Lovely Bones. In fact, as it starts off when all the main characters are children (the time setting is around America’s entry into WW2) I wondered if I’d accidentally stumbled into reading a young adult novel.

A few chapters in and I was switching my thoughts to a Judith Krantz type saga. The lead female characters were shown to be strong, independent and intelligent and we were given some wonderful details of them building their own successful post-war business empire.

Then, things changed again, and I was suddenly reading a thriller. And, one thing was for sure, I was hooked.

The book is written mostly from Neave and her sister’s, Lilly, first person point of view. There is also a ‘bodice ripping romance’ book being told concurrently. Sometimes I enjoyed this parallel pirate book more than at other times. Thinking about it now that I’ve finished The Romance Reader’s Guide to Life, I’m not sure it was a necessary addition to the plot. I didn’t hate it though.

What I did hate is the depressing truth about domestic violence. I loved how the book showed the inability to protect, and the uncaring attitude towards, the victims of this crime by the authorities of the time. I’d like to hope we have come a long way… But unfortunately I know this isn’t always the case.

Women's’ rights overall are a huge theme of the book. Gender inequality is particularly highlighted in the workplace and the home. Again, I’d like to think we’ve come a long way...

There is one supernatural element, but thankfully it never got into the ridiculous territory of the aforementioned Lovely Bones. Again, thinking about it later, I'm not sure it was a necessary addition, but I didn't mind it at the time.

I’m also happy to report there is in fact romance in a Romance Reader’s Guide to Life. Quite a nice one too.

4 1/2 out of 5 for this unexpected gem.

It took me a while to get into this book. I was expecting something completely different but once I started it I found it to be something more original and not just your typical romance / fantasy book. The dog through me.

This book was different, funny and surprising. It took me a while to get to it as from the title I was expecting something completely different and I'm not generally a romance reader but once I started it I found it to be something more original and not just your typical romance book.

You might be forgiven for expecting this book to be a simple and straightforward romance story. There is a romance within the pages, in fact there are two romance stories, but that is not all there is. This is a complex story that touches on romance, abuse, the roll of women in the man's World of the 1950's.
I found myself turning pages, wanting to know what would happen to Neave, what had happened to Lilly and of course how the Pirate romance, that was also woven through the story, would turn out.
I was a little less convinced by the supernatural element and the families deceased dog. It didn't really work for me, but it didn't detract from the story.
I really enjoyed this book and wanted to know how it would all end.

This book turned out to be very different from my expectations. Yes it certainly is a romance and it is historical fiction but it is also a lot more than that! There is a book within a book, an interesting but dysfunctional family, some astonishingly poor marriage choices, violence and murder and a certain amount of interference from the 'other side.' I thoroughly enjoyed it!
The author writes well and her characterization is good. The most prominent character is Neave who along with her sister Lilly manages, in the aftermath of World War 2, to start up a successful business along the lines of Nutrimetics or Avon. Lilly is the one who chooses the wrong men and eventually sets the main plot in action.
I guess the book is a commentary on Romance, the people who read it and how it compares with real life. It is also great fun, very engaging and a really good read.

Thank you Sharon Pywell and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.
This book confused me for the first 100 pages and continued to niggle at me to the very end. Written in two voices and to have a romance novel inserted throughout the story, it took me a while to understand where I was being led. Then after the last page I read the reasoning from Sharon on why she wrote this story in the way she did. Romanceland vs the real world of love and evil. It then all made sense to me. I wish that her letter to the reader was at the very beginning and I may have enjoyed it more.
All up it was an enjoyable story but I struggled for most of it with WHY?

A very pleasing read, the story follows two sisters, Lilly and Neave, and their two siblings, as they grow up in mid 20th century USA. When the war brings returning servicemen home and work for women dries up, the two start their own make up business. Lilly marries, and then re marries, this time in an abusive relationship that results in her disappearance and death. Neave is now the target of that man. Meanwhile, Lilly has been recruited in the afterlife by Neave's former dog, and together they do what they can to help Neave. As a girl, Neave read and re-read a racy novel, The Pirate Lover, and pieces of that work are laced throughout this. Different roles and expectations of women are presented throughout, in both the main action and The Pirate Lover, which could make the book a good one for discussion groups. The main story has plenty of thrills and romance too, which made it a difficult to categorise read, but very enjoyable.

The Romance Reader’s Guide to Life

I am enjoying the afterglow of The Romance Reader’s Guide to Life! What an unexpectedly clever reading delight.
Although the introductory “few words” from recently deceased, reckless Lilly (whose current location is vaguely identified as ”Where I Am Now”) uneasily reminded me of Lovely Bones, I was quickly captivated by younger sister Neave’s authentic voice as she recalls her childhood and interprets the Terhune family dynamics.
Lilly has warned us that once “bookish” Neave is “inside a book she goes wherever it says to go”, indeed once she gains access to the enthralling pleasure of adult romance fiction her influenced view of the grown-up world is revealed as changed and cautious. The romantic fiction conventions - love, passion, betrayal, sex, and male/female power struggles are ingredients of two stories which are then interwoven against very different settings. Unlikely as it may seem, themes in Neave’s favourite romantic novel The Pirate Lover (a clichéd, historical bodice-ripper featuring a despicable nobleman, a “hot” buccaneer, and a threatened but resourceful maiden) collide with real life and may be seen to parallel the sisters’ lives and loves while they build on their strengths to forge successful careers in the post-World War Two small town America. From reading and rereading the tattered paperback Neave immerses herself in the characters’ shoes and absorbs life lessons.
Unexpected twists ensure that this is no straightforward fairy tale for grownups. When worldly Lilly suddenly disappears, although the reader has known the older sister’s eventual fate from the opening page, tension and suspense build as Neave, stalked by danger, tries to solve the mystery. At this point the focus on quirky, surreal elements in the plot intrudes somewhat just as Neave’s real and imagined worlds became one; however overall the reader is left satisfied with traditional outcomes as good defeats evil in both story-lines. Neave’s final narrative-heading smugly(?) echoing Jane Eyre - “Reader, I married him” is a neat reminder of what was still society’s expectation for fulfillment at the time in which the “modern” romance strand is set.
The author has described this book as a “romance about romances” and she has played with the timeless, stereotyped conventions of the genre to produce a well-paced, entertaining read that gives more than a vicarious experience of triumphing over the obstacles thrown in the path of true love.