The Romance Reader’s Guide to Life by Sharon Pywell (A Review by Jennifer Holmes)

Rating: 3/5

I found The Romance Reader’s Guide to Life to be a very unique and fantasy filled novel. I’d have to say the back of the book really doesn’t give a proper description of the story and it’s characters.

The main character is a little girl named Neave, who is living in a time of war and has taken up a job reading books to the very old and wealthy Mrs. Daniels. Her beautiful home, endless treats, and impressive book collection are something that Neave comes to look forward to on a regular basis. 

On one of her visits, she steals a book named The Pirate Lover that she knows she’s too young to read, and that her parents surely wouldn’t approve of. The story follows Neave and her family as she grows older, starts her own business, and deals with many family/life issues.

The book took an interesting turn for me when I realized that the author used the main character Neave, and paralleled her life and experiences to the main character in The Pirate Lover, Electra Gates. The resemblances to their lives and experiences was subtle at first so I didn’t notice. Once I figured it out, it began to feel like it was a novel inside another novel. 

I enjoyed the book, but I found myself drawn more to the chapters about Neave, and less interested in the chapters about Electra.  I think there was enough plot and a very good story line that the author didn’t need to make The Pirate Lover such a big part of the story.  I think anyone who enjoys reading fantasy fiction would enjoy this book.

By Jennifer Holmes