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The Romance Reader's Guide to Life
The Romance Reader's Guide to Life: A Novel | Sharon Pywell
15 posts | 10 read | 27 to read
"Smart, funny, and compulsively readable." --Kirkus (starred review) As a young girl, Neave was often stuck in a world that didnt know what to do with her. As her mother not unkindly told her, she was never going to grow up to be a great beauty. Her glamorous sister, Lilly, moved easily through the world, a parade of handsome men in pursuit. Her brother didnt want a girl joining his group of friends. And their small town of Lynn, Massachusetts, didnt have a place for a girl whose feelings often put her at war with the world -- often this meant her mother, her brother, and the town librarian who wanted to keep her away from the Dangerous Books she really wanted to read. But through an unexpected friendship, Neave finds herself with a forbidden copy of The Pirate Lover, a steamy romance, and Neave discovers a world of passion, love, and betrayal. And it is to this world that as a grown up she retreats to again and again when real life becomes too much. Neave finds herself rereading The Pirate Lover more than she ever would have expected because as she gets older, life does not follow the romances she gobbled up as a child. When Neave and Lilly are about to realize their professional dream, Lilly suddenly disappears. Neave must put her beloved books down and take center stage, something she has been running from her entire life. And she must figure out what happened to Lilly and if shes next. Who Neave turns to help her makes Sharon Pywell's The Romance Reader's Guide to Life one of the most original, entertaining, exciting, and chilling novels you will read this year.
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blurb
aliasNayNay
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It feels like a cozy-up-in-your-pjs-day with a good book and hot beverage. Romance Reader‘s Guide to Life seems like the perfect book to curl up with.

review
ScientistSam
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Mehso-so

I was taken in by the title. This is not a romance in ever so many ways, most of all because of the tragic story of Lilly, caught in a cycle of domestic violence (more details under the spoiler). It's an odd book, choppy with its inserts of a romance Neave grows up reading, and switching POVs.

ScientistSam Lilly is killed by her psychopathic ex-husband, and all the signs of the cycle of violence are well drawn out by the author. But Lilly not having a HEA or HFN makes this not a romance. 6y
theresidentromantic Your description is literally the opposite of what I hoped I'd be reading from that title! Good on you for reading it through. I would've returned it. 6y
Kimberlone I tried reading this but only made it a few chapters in. The title is DEFINITELY misleading. 6y
See All 6 Comments
ScientistSam @theresidentromantic not sure why I didn't, actually. I enjoyed the story of the sisters making a huge success of their own business, and it was well-written (when not hopping around POVs), but not what I was hoping for... 6y
Kimberlone @ScientistSam after reading your spoiler, I‘m very glad I didn‘t push through to finish 6y
52 likes6 comments
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Raemorales
Pickpick

I enjoyed it, the foreshadowing with the pirate lover inserts and I also loved being able to identify in the beginning with the young girl who just so wanted to leave the children‘s section at the library.

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Raemorales

“Each seemed to me to be engaged in the same struggle- the challenge of abandoning control; the challenge of opening themselves with complete trust to the other. My brother had turned the same pages that I had, but read and entirely different story.” Page 128

Raemorales Makes me stop to think about my intake of story line and meaning and try to come at a story in a different way. If all stories or anything in my life is always colored by my experiences and perspective then am I truly ever getting the whole idea or story. 6y
2 likes1 comment
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MadCatRamble
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Mehso-so

This book wasn't the best, but I don't even care. It was charming and weirdly compelling and reading it made me happy, so I'm choosing to ignore the things that didn't quite work (interleaving stories and POV's being the biggest). It was made to be enjoyed and I enjoyed it.

Edit 8/16/17: while I enjoyed it at the time, the more I sit with it, the less I like it. Just changed my rating to So-So. It just kind of soured.

annahenke I'm reading this now and not sure what I think of it. 7y
MadCatRamble @annahenke It's funny, I enjoyed it at the time, but the more I think about it the less I like it. I just changed my rating to So-So 😕 7y
6 likes1 stack add2 comments
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mcipher
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Not enough reading time today - lots of cleaning, visiting with a friend, swimming, late dinner out. I got peanut butter pie to go and I'm going to enjoy it with this pie-filled book. ❤️

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mcipher
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I started this last night (while eating ice cream, so super "romance novel" appropriate!) and am enjoying it so far, except the excerpts from The Pirate Lover, which I'm feeling iffy about. They're not written in the style I'd expect from that type of book. But I'm keeping an open mind and delving further tonight!

48 likes2 stack adds
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Verity
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Some of my upcoming reads for #riotgrams #summerreading - a bit belated I know. Not summer themed, but what I'm going to be reading in the nice weather!

batsy *squints at Riviera Set* That looks good! And Negroland! And I'm looking forward to the Plum Sykes, hope it's delicious fizzy fun 🍹 7y
17 likes1 comment
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annahenke
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Starting up a new #bookaboutbooks 😊 #romantsy #lovelife

Zelma That sounds really good! 7y
CrowCAH The cover had me, but not the writeup. 7y
mcipher I got this at the library but haven't started it yet - and it's due in two days! I need to pay my fines so they'll let me renew. 😇 7y
Kimberlone I just got this on Overdrive. Only a couple chapters in, but excited to see how it goes! 7y
109 likes3 stack adds4 comments
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wallacereads
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Pickpick

Just finished this one while waiting for our flight back home. This was not what I was expecting and I loved it. #mayreads #homebound

8 likes1 stack add
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BeveragesAndBooks
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Bailedbailed

100 pages in and I didn't care. A book about romance readers that still manages to judge romance readers - at least so far. Anyone else loves this, tell me what I'm missing!

KarynGood I'm reading this one too. (edited) 7y
9 likes1 comment
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BookishMarginalia
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Books our friend Maritere is buying @TheBookmarkPR on our recommendation! She wanted entertaining reads. 🤓

AnnieReads I've never heard of The Romance Reader's Guide to Life. Sounds intriguing. 7y
rustoryhuf Mr Penumbra!! (edited) 7y
DVGessner I love Mr Penumbra! 7y
175 likes5 stack adds3 comments
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mdemanatee
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I love this cover. Idk if the book is gonna fit my experience with romance the way I thought it would, but should still be an adventure.

16 likes1 stack add
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BookishMarginalia
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Tonight's #bookhaul! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

ramyasbookshelf Woohoo! Interesting pile! 7y
BekahB Nice haul! No One is Coming to Save Us is on my TBR. 7y
155 likes1 stack add3 comments