Few things tickle our fancy as much as a good cult story. If you’re anything like us, frankites, then buckle up! Chloe Elisabeth Wilson’s debut novel Rytual is the kind of read that will have you re-thinking your relationship with your make-up drawer. The sinister (and, at times, side-splittingly funny) story follows Marnie Sellick as she drifts through her twenties, haunted by shadows of grief, despair and ennui. When she seemingly out of nowhere snags a job at a beauty brand (the titular rytual cosmetica) that promises to change her life, Marnie – and you too, dear reader – wants to believe that it will. The only catch is, she must completely and utterly surrender herself to the work – you know, just your typical job requirements.rytual is an all-consuming institution that feels more like a religion than a beauty brand. Up in the sky of millennial pink-coated clouds with an all-seeing eye sits rytual’s mystifying head honcho, Luna Peters. rytual’s disciples dress in designer, reformer machines are where miracles happen, Friday Night Drinks is their church and lip gloss their holy water. That is, until pigments of the truth start to seep through the layers of carefully-applied foundation that the brand has been built upon. Cracks begin to show, the truth pokes through, and Marnie isn’t so sure that everything – or anything – is how it seems.

Whether you’re a faithful devotee to your eight-step AM/PM skincare routine, or you’re still using that lippy your gran gifted you in your teenage years (guilty), Rytual is about as un-put-down-able as a hand mirror to your face after you’ve nailed a perfect smokey eye. Exploring ideas that reckon with modern-day feminism, the world of beauty and the power of desire, the novel is as gripping as it is hilarious. Hop skip and jump your way to your closest bookstore to nab a copy of this ripper read.

This nifty book recommendation was published in partnership with Penguin. To snag a copy of Rytual and other great reads like it, check out the Penguin website.