Gwyn Cready's A Novel Seduction

Fans of romance novels, Outlander and people who constantly have to justify why romance novels ARE literature and not just smut will enjoy this novel. Gwyn Cready has created cute, funny, realistic characters and painted them in a picture that is relatable on various levels. This novel, unlike some of Cready’s other novels, seemed to be more of an ode or thesis for romance novels and why they are not just smut but that they are literature. The main heroine in this novel, Ellery Sharpe, is a snobbish book critic who works at an elite literary magazine. As a punishment for a scathing review Ellery wrote, her boss forces her to write an ode to romance novels. Ellery is beside herself about what to do because she thinks that the romance genre is the literary equivalent of word search puzzles and an embarrassment. To make matters worse, her photographer for the story is Axel Mackenzie. Axel and Ellery have a past of love, loss and regret that may make the assignment impossible.  

The classic romance novel Outlander, called Kiltlander in this novel, is what makes Ellery a believer in romance. It was fun to wonder with Ellery and Axel, if visiting a place from a favorite novel would open your eyes, allow you to feel the magic, or be a disappointment. The question throughout most of the novel seemed to be “What would Jemmi (Jamie) do.” This created some amusing choices for the characters decision making.