Growing up in the shadow of the Second World War, twin sisters Lilly and Neave could not be more different: Lilly is a beauty who runs through men like water, but Neave is a bookworm who would rather read about life than live it. While Lilly is breaking hearts, Neave loses herself in the illicit romance novel The Pirate Lover.

As grown women they are expected to settle down and marry, but instead they set their sights on creating their own cosmetics business - that is, until Lilly suddenly disappears... Desperate to find her sister, Neave receives help from the most unlikely of places, proving that the bond between sisters can overcome anything in life - and beyond.

A haunting, darkly funny and thrilling tale of sisterhood, showing us that sometimes the guiltiest of pleasures can be our salvation. The Romance Reader's Guide to Life is a compulsively readable novel of equal parts mystery, romance, and family saga, with a dash of dark comedy.