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Seduction Theory: A Novel
For fans of
Conversations with Friends
and
Vladimir
comes a magnetic, fresh take on marriage and when two married professors tiptoe toward infidelity, their transgressions are brought to light in a graduate student’s searing thesis project.
Simone is the star of Edwards University’s creative writing renowned Woolf scholar, grief memoirist, and campus sex icon. Her less glamorous and ostensibly devoted husband, Ethan, is a forgotten novelist and lecturer in the same department. But when Ethan and the department administrative assistant Abigail have sex, Simone and Ethan’s faith in their flawless marriage is rattled.
Simone has secrets of her own. While Ethan’s away for the summer, she becomes inordinately close with her advisee, graduate student Roberta “Robbie” Green. In Robbie, Simone finds a new running partner, confidante, and disciple—or so she believes. Behind Simone’s back, Robbie fictionalizes her mentor’s marriage in a breathtakingly invasive MFA thesis. Determined to tell her version of the story, Robbie paints a revealing portrait of Simone, Ethan, Abigail, and even herself, scratching at the very surface of what may—or may not—be the truth.
Innovative, witty, and tender, Seduction Theory exposes the intoxicating nature of power and attraction, masterfully demonstrating how love and betrayal can coexist.
Simone is the star of Edwards University’s creative writing renowned Woolf scholar, grief memoirist, and campus sex icon. Her less glamorous and ostensibly devoted husband, Ethan, is a forgotten novelist and lecturer in the same department. But when Ethan and the department administrative assistant Abigail have sex, Simone and Ethan’s faith in their flawless marriage is rattled.
Simone has secrets of her own. While Ethan’s away for the summer, she becomes inordinately close with her advisee, graduate student Roberta “Robbie” Green. In Robbie, Simone finds a new running partner, confidante, and disciple—or so she believes. Behind Simone’s back, Robbie fictionalizes her mentor’s marriage in a breathtakingly invasive MFA thesis. Determined to tell her version of the story, Robbie paints a revealing portrait of Simone, Ethan, Abigail, and even herself, scratching at the very surface of what may—or may not—be the truth.
Innovative, witty, and tender, Seduction Theory exposes the intoxicating nature of power and attraction, masterfully demonstrating how love and betrayal can coexist.
Audible Audio
First published August 12, 2025
719 people are currently reading
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About the author
Emily Adrian
7 books195 followersEmily Adrian is the author of Seduction Theory, Daughterhood, The Second Season, and Everything Here Is Under Control, as well as two critically acclaimed novels for young adults. Her work has appeared in Granta, The Point, Joyland, EPOCH, Alta Journal, Los Angeles Review of Books, and The Millions. Originally from Portland, Oregon, Emily currently lives in New Haven, Connecticut.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,346 reviews
June 15, 2025
3.5 stars. I can already tell this is going to be one of those reviews where I enjoyed the book but everything I say is a criticism. Apologies to this book.
Its greatest strength is also a weakness. There is a playfulness to the perspective and structure that makes it a real page turner in the first section where you're not exactly sure who our narrator is and why they care about this story. That continues through much of the book as you wonder how does this person know these things? How much of this is invented and how much certain? But it all crumples in the last section where the mind games go mostly off the page. If this were a more traditional novel, the ending would be perfection. But this version loses much of its luster at the end, when our narrator throws omniscience out the window. This is true to the characters and it makes a lot of sense for the device. But the key to playing with form and structure this way is to find ways to pull the rug out while not pulling the wheels off and it didn't get there for me.
Honestly, the thing that kept bugging me even while I tore through this book was that I found Simone and Ethan both really annoying. Their marriage baffled me. (This makes sense within the gimmick but again it doesn't work so well for the reader.) I can understand why everyone finds Simone so enthralling. But why is she so devoted to Ethan? Why does anyone like this man? And the more Simone was devoted to Ethan the less I liked Simone. (What kind of person writes a novel about something that happened to his wife? And what kind of wife tells him he can write about her like that? And all of this AFTER the wife has already written a successful book about the same thing from her own point of view? Weird.) I admit I am a pessimist. I believe most marriages are not all that happy after the first few years. I absolutely did not believe that Simone and Ethan were still hot for each other nearly 20 years in. I simply could not suspend my own disbelief. And yes, this may be a me problem, but I'm not convinced it's only a me problem.
Structurally there is a lot to like. Once you have the birds eye view of the whole story it has a nice symmetry to it. And the device has a lot to recommend it. But I think it could have gone back to the drawing board, found some way to make it tighter, found a way to make the ending really hit the way it should.
And that, really, is it. That while I enjoyed this book, there is the potential here for a really, really great book and I'm a little sad that we didn't get that one.
Its greatest strength is also a weakness. There is a playfulness to the perspective and structure that makes it a real page turner in the first section where you're not exactly sure who our narrator is and why they care about this story. That continues through much of the book as you wonder how does this person know these things? How much of this is invented and how much certain? But it all crumples in the last section where the mind games go mostly off the page. If this were a more traditional novel, the ending would be perfection. But this version loses much of its luster at the end, when our narrator throws omniscience out the window. This is true to the characters and it makes a lot of sense for the device. But the key to playing with form and structure this way is to find ways to pull the rug out while not pulling the wheels off and it didn't get there for me.
Honestly, the thing that kept bugging me even while I tore through this book was that I found Simone and Ethan both really annoying. Their marriage baffled me. (This makes sense within the gimmick but again it doesn't work so well for the reader.) I can understand why everyone finds Simone so enthralling. But why is she so devoted to Ethan? Why does anyone like this man? And the more Simone was devoted to Ethan the less I liked Simone. (What kind of person writes a novel about something that happened to his wife? And what kind of wife tells him he can write about her like that? And all of this AFTER the wife has already written a successful book about the same thing from her own point of view? Weird.) I admit I am a pessimist. I believe most marriages are not all that happy after the first few years. I absolutely did not believe that Simone and Ethan were still hot for each other nearly 20 years in. I simply could not suspend my own disbelief. And yes, this may be a me problem, but I'm not convinced it's only a me problem.
Structurally there is a lot to like. Once you have the birds eye view of the whole story it has a nice symmetry to it. And the device has a lot to recommend it. But I think it could have gone back to the drawing board, found some way to make it tighter, found a way to make the ending really hit the way it should.
And that, really, is it. That while I enjoyed this book, there is the potential here for a really, really great book and I'm a little sad that we didn't get that one.
August 6, 2025
what did I just read????!!!!!!! The only good thing I can say about this book is that it is very fast-paced. I read it in an hours time. In my opinion, the sypnosis is hugely misleading. This is not a sexy book about a student and teacher having an affair, but instead, it is mostly about the teacher and her marriage with little insights into the students crazy obsession with said teacher. None of these characters were likable in any way. I hate leaving bad reviews, but I have to be honest. This book is a waste of a Book of the Month choice, in my opinion.
August 28, 2025
this is one of those books where you either get it or you dont. i absolutely got it and LOVED IT! the author definitely has a very unique way of writing and it starts to make more sense as you read the book. the story is told from the pov of the student, robbie, since it is her dissertation paper, and i was a little confused by the writing choices until i read further and learned how her style stems from advice she was given from simone and ethan, the two professors. simone is the professor she is in love with, and ethan is the husband she thinks is a low life loser. this one was an enjoyable ride because you can't actually tell how simone feels. since robbie is in love with simone, she writes how she see's the situations play out in her mind, but she could 100% be delusional to feed her infatuation with her teacher. ethan really was such a loser. he was boring and a cheater, so he was definitely unlikable, and i enjoyed when robbie would trash talk him in her paper. robbie's storytelling was very unique and it was extremely fast paced. the chapters were long but they went by super quick.
this is not the type of book i would go recommending to everyone, telling them they will love it, because i would be lying. this book is definitely not for everyone, BUT that being said, i really did enjoy it, and if this review piques your interest, then i suggest trying it out. definitely go in with the knowledge that things make more sense as you continue to read and that the characters are definitely unlikable. the drama is GREAT tho.
this is not the type of book i would go recommending to everyone, telling them they will love it, because i would be lying. this book is definitely not for everyone, BUT that being said, i really did enjoy it, and if this review piques your interest, then i suggest trying it out. definitely go in with the knowledge that things make more sense as you continue to read and that the characters are definitely unlikable. the drama is GREAT tho.
August 8, 2025
my favorite thing about this book was the cover
August 4, 2025
˚｡ ⋆୨ “A virtue with which every writer should acquaint herself,” Simone went on, “is humility.”
She did not smile. My mortification at her hands was ecstasy. ୧⋆ ˚｡
꒰ 📚🖋🎓💍💔☕ ꒱
╰┈➤ 3.5 stars
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Started: 8/3/25
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Finished: 8/3/25
𝓣𝓻𝓸𝓹𝓮𝓼:
📚 Academia setting
🖋 Professor-student infatuation
📚 Toxic obsession
🖋 Unreliable narrator
📚 Infedility
🖋 Unique narrative structure
𝓐𝓽 𝓪 𝓰𝓵𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮:
⪼ Literary fiction about two married college professors toeing the line of infidelity
⪼ What happens when their affair is brought to light in a graduate student’s thesis project?
⪼ Heavy character-driven plot
⪼ Themes of power dynamics, marriage, infidelity, desire, betrayal, and love
⪼ College academic setting
⪼ Told through a voyeuristic thesis interspersed with thoughts from the narrator
⪼ Humorous and clever tone
𝓢𝓾𝓶𝓶𝓪𝓻𝔂:
Simone is the star of Edwards University’s creative writing program, a renowned Woolf scholar, grief memoirist, and campus sex icon. Her less glamorous and ostensibly devoted husband, Ethan, is a forgotten novelist and lecturer in the same department. But when Ethan and the department administrative assistant Abigail, have sex, Simone and Ethan’s faith in their flawless marriage is rattled.
Simone has secrets of her own. While Ethan’s away for the summer, she becomes inordinately close with her advisee, graduate student Roberta “Robbie” Green. In Robbie, Simone finds a new running partner, confidante, and disciple—or so she believes. Behind Simone’s back, Robbie fictionalizes her mentor’s marriage in a breathtakingly invasive MFA thesis. Determined to tell her version of the story, Robbie paints a revealing portrait of Simone, Ethan, Abigail, and even herself, scratching at the very surface of what may—or may not—be the truth.
────⋆.˚ ✩ ⋆˙⟡────
𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀:
I'm unsure how to rate this. On one hand, the writing and narrative style were incredibly unique. The narrative unfolds through a graduate student, Roberta Green, whose searing thesis fictionalizes and exposes her advisor Simone’s marriage. The story was confusing at first, employing a "matryoshka doll" of nested narratives and interspersing first-person statements within a third-person narrative. It was jarring at times and takes some getting used to, but I thought this was a clever literary device. Very unique and refreshing. As the story progresses, you start to question how the narrator knows all this information. In the end, you don't know what the truth is (which makes it so fun imo)
The characters were extremely unlikable, and I could not understand the main character's marriage. Why was she so devoted to Ethan? Why does anyone like this man? He seemed like a pushover and a wet noodle with no personality. (I understand he was likely written this way via Roberta's interpretation, but it suspended my disbelief.) Also, what husband is writing a biography about his wife dealing with her mother's death? Especially after said wife already wrote a successful memoir about it. Seemed odd.
Yet this was compelling, and I read it in a single setting. I couldn't put it down. I devoured this story like a fever dream, leaving me perplexed and whiplashed. What was real or not? What the fuck did I just read? Did I like this? Not sure 🤷♀️ but it was memorable and thoroughly engaging.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
╰┈➤ 𝓑𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓸𝓶-𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓮:
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ A unique and refreshing work of fiction exploring marriage, power, academia, ambition, and betrayal. Presented as an MFA thesis with a humorous and clever tone. What happens when two married English professors entangle their lives with the department secretary and an obsessive graduate student narrator? Does anyone know the truth? Seduction Theory seems simplistic on its surface, but is full of texture and layers to be peeled back and examined, leaving you questioning what is real or embellished.
She did not smile. My mortification at her hands was ecstasy. ୧⋆ ˚｡
꒰ 📚🖋🎓💍💔☕ ꒱
╰┈➤ 3.5 stars
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Started: 8/3/25
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Finished: 8/3/25
𝓣𝓻𝓸𝓹𝓮𝓼:
📚 Academia setting
🖋 Professor-student infatuation
📚 Toxic obsession
🖋 Unreliable narrator
📚 Infedility
🖋 Unique narrative structure
𝓐𝓽 𝓪 𝓰𝓵𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮:
⪼ Literary fiction about two married college professors toeing the line of infidelity
⪼ What happens when their affair is brought to light in a graduate student’s thesis project?
⪼ Heavy character-driven plot
⪼ Themes of power dynamics, marriage, infidelity, desire, betrayal, and love
⪼ College academic setting
⪼ Told through a voyeuristic thesis interspersed with thoughts from the narrator
⪼ Humorous and clever tone
𝓢𝓾𝓶𝓶𝓪𝓻𝔂:
Simone is the star of Edwards University’s creative writing program, a renowned Woolf scholar, grief memoirist, and campus sex icon. Her less glamorous and ostensibly devoted husband, Ethan, is a forgotten novelist and lecturer in the same department. But when Ethan and the department administrative assistant Abigail, have sex, Simone and Ethan’s faith in their flawless marriage is rattled.
Simone has secrets of her own. While Ethan’s away for the summer, she becomes inordinately close with her advisee, graduate student Roberta “Robbie” Green. In Robbie, Simone finds a new running partner, confidante, and disciple—or so she believes. Behind Simone’s back, Robbie fictionalizes her mentor’s marriage in a breathtakingly invasive MFA thesis. Determined to tell her version of the story, Robbie paints a revealing portrait of Simone, Ethan, Abigail, and even herself, scratching at the very surface of what may—or may not—be the truth.
────⋆.˚ ✩ ⋆˙⟡────
𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀:
I'm unsure how to rate this. On one hand, the writing and narrative style were incredibly unique. The narrative unfolds through a graduate student, Roberta Green, whose searing thesis fictionalizes and exposes her advisor Simone’s marriage. The story was confusing at first, employing a "matryoshka doll" of nested narratives and interspersing first-person statements within a third-person narrative. It was jarring at times and takes some getting used to, but I thought this was a clever literary device. Very unique and refreshing. As the story progresses, you start to question how the narrator knows all this information. In the end, you don't know what the truth is (which makes it so fun imo)
The characters were extremely unlikable, and I could not understand the main character's marriage. Why was she so devoted to Ethan? Why does anyone like this man? He seemed like a pushover and a wet noodle with no personality. (I understand he was likely written this way via Roberta's interpretation, but it suspended my disbelief.) Also, what husband is writing a biography about his wife dealing with her mother's death? Especially after said wife already wrote a successful memoir about it. Seemed odd.
Yet this was compelling, and I read it in a single setting. I couldn't put it down. I devoured this story like a fever dream, leaving me perplexed and whiplashed. What was real or not? What the fuck did I just read? Did I like this? Not sure 🤷♀️ but it was memorable and thoroughly engaging.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
╰┈➤ 𝓑𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓸𝓶-𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓮:
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ A unique and refreshing work of fiction exploring marriage, power, academia, ambition, and betrayal. Presented as an MFA thesis with a humorous and clever tone. What happens when two married English professors entangle their lives with the department secretary and an obsessive graduate student narrator? Does anyone know the truth? Seduction Theory seems simplistic on its surface, but is full of texture and layers to be peeled back and examined, leaving you questioning what is real or embellished.
August 9, 2025
*BOTM hardback
I picked this as my Book of The Month. Ooof. Decision were made, regrets were had.
This month for BOTM was dreadful but I wanted my free birthday book so I couldn’t skip.
I took a chance on this one and couldn’t even finish it. I got about 60-70% in and couldn’t take it anymore. I DNF.
I felt like I was reading random disjointed words thrown on a page. I had know idea which character the dialogue was coming from. Didn’t get the point of it. The chapters were long too.
Super disappointing. I hate leaving bad reviews but this just wasn’t for me…at all.
I picked this as my Book of The Month. Ooof. Decision were made, regrets were had.
This month for BOTM was dreadful but I wanted my free birthday book so I couldn’t skip.
I took a chance on this one and couldn’t even finish it. I got about 60-70% in and couldn’t take it anymore. I DNF.
I felt like I was reading random disjointed words thrown on a page. I had know idea which character the dialogue was coming from. Didn’t get the point of it. The chapters were long too.
Super disappointing. I hate leaving bad reviews but this just wasn’t for me…at all.
July 7, 2025
Seduction Theory at first glance appeared to offer a checklist of things I like in a book. Academic setting? Check! Student-professor infatuation with infidelity thrown in? Check! Psychological complexity in the form of a toxic student who becomes obsessed with her advisor and absorbs details of her life? Check again!
To place a fine point on it, I’ve loved books like Susan Choi’s My Education, where a precocious student ends up tangled in the marriage of two brilliant scholars. Seduction Theory has that vibe. Yet although it also contains themes of infidelity (both physical and emotional), obsession, perceived betrayal and power dynamics, there is a certain static quality that keeps me, as a reader, distanced from these distasteful characters (don’t get me wrong, distasteful protagonists are fun to read about when they are also more psychologically complex.)
Right from the start, we know that Robbie, a graduating student, is working on her MFA thesis, and her topic is the nature of infidelity and how it manifests in a long-term, stable marriage. Her unwitting subjects are Simone, her creative writing advisor who is both beautiful and a published star at Edwards University, and her handsome husband Ethan who also works in the department. Ethan is exploring a “friends with benefits” relationship with the department secretary, Abigail. And Simone? She is exhibiting some serious boundary issues with Robbie, her adoring student, and their interactions could be characterized as an emotional affair.
It was hard to believe that Robbie invasiveness could be tolerated, let alone condoned. Or that she, Simone, or Ethan could be readily tolerated in today’s academic climate. The perfectly-suited couple seemed unlikely to risk their marriage on others who seemed – well, unbalanced. Of course, we get their story as perceived and written by Robbie, so we don't know if everything reported is true. Still, the story didn’t coalesce for this particular reader.
I’m careful to add that term – this particular reader – because I do think there will be other readers who view it more favorably. I am grateful for the advance reading copy from Little, Brown in exchange for my honest review and wish them the best with the launch.
To place a fine point on it, I’ve loved books like Susan Choi’s My Education, where a precocious student ends up tangled in the marriage of two brilliant scholars. Seduction Theory has that vibe. Yet although it also contains themes of infidelity (both physical and emotional), obsession, perceived betrayal and power dynamics, there is a certain static quality that keeps me, as a reader, distanced from these distasteful characters (don’t get me wrong, distasteful protagonists are fun to read about when they are also more psychologically complex.)
Right from the start, we know that Robbie, a graduating student, is working on her MFA thesis, and her topic is the nature of infidelity and how it manifests in a long-term, stable marriage. Her unwitting subjects are Simone, her creative writing advisor who is both beautiful and a published star at Edwards University, and her handsome husband Ethan who also works in the department. Ethan is exploring a “friends with benefits” relationship with the department secretary, Abigail. And Simone? She is exhibiting some serious boundary issues with Robbie, her adoring student, and their interactions could be characterized as an emotional affair.
It was hard to believe that Robbie invasiveness could be tolerated, let alone condoned. Or that she, Simone, or Ethan could be readily tolerated in today’s academic climate. The perfectly-suited couple seemed unlikely to risk their marriage on others who seemed – well, unbalanced. Of course, we get their story as perceived and written by Robbie, so we don't know if everything reported is true. Still, the story didn’t coalesce for this particular reader.
I’m careful to add that term – this particular reader – because I do think there will be other readers who view it more favorably. I am grateful for the advance reading copy from Little, Brown in exchange for my honest review and wish them the best with the launch.
August 3, 2025
DNF 60%. Written very clinically, and it was so hard to determine who was speaking. This is a super short book, so I thought I could power through, but honestly, no thanks.
August 23, 2025
If I ever go to grad school, I’ll write my thesis on how insufferable MFA writers are, and this book will be the first proof text I cite.
July 5, 2025
In Seduction Theory, we meet Ethan and Simone, husband and wife duo lecturing in the same creative writing department at Edwards University. We witness Ethan’s affair with the department’s assistant, Abigail, and Simone’s increasingly close relationship with her advisee, Roberta “Robbie”. It’s messy enough without Robbie using the situation as an opportunity to fictionalize her advisor’s life and turn it in to an MFA thesis.
Adrian plays with form by delivering the novel to readers as the voyeuristic thesis itself, interloped with thoughts and clarifications from the narrator, so there is a lot to love and chew on here. It felt almost meta in a way that I found fascinating.
Exacting and propulsive, Adrian seduces her readers with every page, every word. Musings on power, marriage and infidelity, desire, betrayal, and the narratives that we create for ourselves. I devoured this captivating novel in a day, unable to walk away once I started. Seemingly simplistic on its surface but full of texture and layers to be peeled back and examined. I couldn’t have loved it more.
You may enjoy this book if you enjoy Rufi Thorpe or enjoyed Scaffolding by Lauren Elkin.
Thank you Little, Brown and Company for the early copy in exchange for an honest review. Available Aug 12 2025
Adrian plays with form by delivering the novel to readers as the voyeuristic thesis itself, interloped with thoughts and clarifications from the narrator, so there is a lot to love and chew on here. It felt almost meta in a way that I found fascinating.
Exacting and propulsive, Adrian seduces her readers with every page, every word. Musings on power, marriage and infidelity, desire, betrayal, and the narratives that we create for ourselves. I devoured this captivating novel in a day, unable to walk away once I started. Seemingly simplistic on its surface but full of texture and layers to be peeled back and examined. I couldn’t have loved it more.
You may enjoy this book if you enjoy Rufi Thorpe or enjoyed Scaffolding by Lauren Elkin.
Thank you Little, Brown and Company for the early copy in exchange for an honest review. Available Aug 12 2025
August 13, 2025
Audiobook 🎧
This one was… complicated for me. The premise pulled me in right away a layered exploration of relationships, boundaries, and the messy, blurry places in between but the execution didn’t completely land for me.
I appreciated how Adrian isn’t afraid to tackle uncomfortable topics head-on, and the setting felt vivid. But at times, the pacing dragged, and I found myself disconnecting from the characters. Their choices, while intentionally flawed, sometimes felt more frustrating than thought-provoking.
Ultimately, I walked away feeling mixed I admired the ambition and the themes explored, but I never fully clicked with the emotional core of the story. Worth reading if you like morally gray characters and thorny interpersonal drama, but it might not hit for everyone.
This one was… complicated for me. The premise pulled me in right away a layered exploration of relationships, boundaries, and the messy, blurry places in between but the execution didn’t completely land for me.
I appreciated how Adrian isn’t afraid to tackle uncomfortable topics head-on, and the setting felt vivid. But at times, the pacing dragged, and I found myself disconnecting from the characters. Their choices, while intentionally flawed, sometimes felt more frustrating than thought-provoking.
Ultimately, I walked away feeling mixed I admired the ambition and the themes explored, but I never fully clicked with the emotional core of the story. Worth reading if you like morally gray characters and thorny interpersonal drama, but it might not hit for everyone.
August 8, 2025
this was really solid and at just a little over 200 pages didn’t overstay its welcome
August 27, 2025
While reading this book I kept remembering how last year there was a twitter thread that went viral saying something along the lines of “Okay everyone complains about all these MFA novels about academics sleeping with their students but name ONE” and people named more than one and this, too, is one.
Seduction Theory is styled as the submitted thesis of Robbie, a grad student studying under married professors Simone and Ethan. She details Ethan’s physical affair with his “secretary” Abigail (the book makes a point to say that she’s a department associate but that she calls herself secretary to be ironically reactionary, to give you a flavor of Seduction Theory's humor) and her emotional affair with Simone, though it’s unclear throughout the story if Robbie’s retelling is accurate.
Seduction Theory is a successful close reading of Simone and Ethan’s marriage. You believe both their love for one another and how they’ve come to hurt one another, and these explorations made me feel anxious and claustrophobic as I was reading. Though Robbie's own interjections begin to feel cluttered by the end of the story, up until that point they complicate our readings of Ethan and Simone in interesting ways. Is Ethan so much of a loser? Is Simone so much of a saint? Robbie isn't intent on you finding out, though she enjoys teasing about the bias she's holding over your head.
As a satire (?) of campus novels…? I don’t see a satire anywhere, and it’s when Emily Adrian zooms out from Ethan and Simone that her asides start to fall apart. A book attempting to lampoon MFA writing becomes of the navel-gazey real eyes realize real lies stories it’s trying to play off of, and many of the observations read as forced instead of thoughtful. There’s also a whiff of gender essentialism here in how Ethan's sexual relationship with Abigail is played as the natural end for a man, while Simone defaults to the far more feminine, "ethereal" realm of emotional cheating. There is so much sensuality spooled into the relationships between men and women, but lesbian connections are skated over, drawn as ephemeral and one-sided.
Despite the fact that I am mostly Complaining in this review, I didn’t dislike Seduction Theory, but I’d recommend it to a narrow audience. I read this because I’m a dark academia completionist.
Seduction Theory is styled as the submitted thesis of Robbie, a grad student studying under married professors Simone and Ethan. She details Ethan’s physical affair with his “secretary” Abigail (the book makes a point to say that she’s a department associate but that she calls herself secretary to be ironically reactionary, to give you a flavor of Seduction Theory's humor) and her emotional affair with Simone, though it’s unclear throughout the story if Robbie’s retelling is accurate.
Seduction Theory is a successful close reading of Simone and Ethan’s marriage. You believe both their love for one another and how they’ve come to hurt one another, and these explorations made me feel anxious and claustrophobic as I was reading. Though Robbie's own interjections begin to feel cluttered by the end of the story, up until that point they complicate our readings of Ethan and Simone in interesting ways. Is Ethan so much of a loser? Is Simone so much of a saint? Robbie isn't intent on you finding out, though she enjoys teasing about the bias she's holding over your head.
As a satire (?) of campus novels…? I don’t see a satire anywhere, and it’s when Emily Adrian zooms out from Ethan and Simone that her asides start to fall apart. A book attempting to lampoon MFA writing becomes of the navel-gazey real eyes realize real lies stories it’s trying to play off of, and many of the observations read as forced instead of thoughtful. There’s also a whiff of gender essentialism here in how Ethan's sexual relationship with Abigail is played as the natural end for a man, while Simone defaults to the far more feminine, "ethereal" realm of emotional cheating. There is so much sensuality spooled into the relationships between men and women, but lesbian connections are skated over, drawn as ephemeral and one-sided.
Despite the fact that I am mostly Complaining in this review, I didn’t dislike Seduction Theory, but I’d recommend it to a narrow audience. I read this because I’m a dark academia completionist.
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September 10, 2025I need something witty and fun, let's try this American debut!
August 21, 2025
A campus novel told in the form of a graduate thesis. The narrator, Robbie, writes her final project about the devolving marriage of her professors, Simone and Ethan. Simone is a respected memoirist and Ethan is a novelist who once "borrowed" from Simone’s grief to write his only successful book.
At first, Robbie presents herself as an observer of their unraveling, but her interest quickly turns into obsession. The novel becomes less about what actually happened and more about how Robbie chooses to recount it, rewriting scenes and blurring the line between truth and fiction.
Seduction Theory is about the messiness of power, obsession, and storytelling itself. I loved how this book plays with structure and perspective. You shift between thesis drafts, revision notes, and Robbie’s own thoughts, creating a story that keeps you questioning what’s real. It’s short but full of texture, with layers to peel back and examine. You never getting lost in the academic jargon which I appreciated, but still feel grounded in the atmosphere.
Robbie is as unreliable as it gets. But she is brilliant, obsessive, and always shaping the story for her own interests. Definitely a polarizing read because people tend to not like unreliable, unlikeable characters. But while they may be hard to like or have unclear motives, that's kind of the whole point. Adrian plays with form so cleverly here—it’s a refreshing and unique take on the campus novel. I devoured it in one sitting and couldn’t have loved it more.
At first, Robbie presents herself as an observer of their unraveling, but her interest quickly turns into obsession. The novel becomes less about what actually happened and more about how Robbie chooses to recount it, rewriting scenes and blurring the line between truth and fiction.
Seduction Theory is about the messiness of power, obsession, and storytelling itself. I loved how this book plays with structure and perspective. You shift between thesis drafts, revision notes, and Robbie’s own thoughts, creating a story that keeps you questioning what’s real. It’s short but full of texture, with layers to peel back and examine. You never getting lost in the academic jargon which I appreciated, but still feel grounded in the atmosphere.
Robbie is as unreliable as it gets. But she is brilliant, obsessive, and always shaping the story for her own interests. Definitely a polarizing read because people tend to not like unreliable, unlikeable characters. But while they may be hard to like or have unclear motives, that's kind of the whole point. Adrian plays with form so cleverly here—it’s a refreshing and unique take on the campus novel. I devoured it in one sitting and couldn’t have loved it more.
August 16, 2025
What tried to be Heller’s Paper Palace landed much closer to Hoover’s Verity.
None of this to say this was bad. It just missed its mark and made not a whole lot of sense to me.
None of this to say this was bad. It just missed its mark and made not a whole lot of sense to me.
Read
September 3, 2025firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc!
dnf @60% — someone reviewed this book and said if you get it, you get it… unfortunately i am one of the readers that did just not get it.
we follow a couple who each secretly have affairs (or participate in affair adjacent behavior?) but when the husband confesses to the wife, she gets her panties in a twist. babe, you took a shower with the grad student you’re going to advise… be so fr
dnf @60% — someone reviewed this book and said if you get it, you get it… unfortunately i am one of the readers that did just not get it.
we follow a couple who each secretly have affairs (or participate in affair adjacent behavior?) but when the husband confesses to the wife, she gets her panties in a twist. babe, you took a shower with the grad student you’re going to advise… be so fr
August 27, 2025
Readers of my reviews who know that I usually fulminate with curmudgeonly indignation when exposed to "postmodern flim-flam" may be surprised at my rating of this delightful farce, but this story is set in an English Department, where what looks like absurdist fiction is simple everyday realism. Our principal character is a graduate student who is writing her master's thesis in creative writing at a high-powered Ivy League university in upstate New York. Her supervisor is the department superstar, Simone, who writes "memoir"; not "memoirs"--that's what politicians write (or have ghostwritten) or "a memoir" but "memoir"--which term having spent a few years in the neighborhood of a creative nonfiction writing program, I can assure you is current idiom ("creative nonfiction" oxymoronically means it can be mostly made up out of whole cloth). Simone's spouse Ethan s what we call an "unproductive" member of the department, a mere untenured lecturer who is boffing the department secretary. But Simone is putting the moves (emotionally not physically) on the graduate student she is supervising, Rebecca (or Robbie), a lesbian. But the fun part is that this book that you are reading is Robbie's MFA thesis, so all the characters, including the author herself, are made up--like memoir! Which means we have revised drafts, so sometimes we read a chapter followed by another chapter with the same setting and characters but a different outcome, including a conclusion with two versions of the thesis defense. (Oh, we also get a trip to Iowa City, with a reading at "the famous bookstore" as well.)
If you were an English major, you may well find this book absolutely hilarious though a trifle toned down. If you are the sort of reader who thinks Stoner is the greatest academic novel, you'll throw this one against the wall before finishing the first chapter. And if you are currently a member of an English department, you'll wonder which of your colleagues will sue the author for libel first.
If you were an English major, you may well find this book absolutely hilarious though a trifle toned down. If you are the sort of reader who thinks Stoner is the greatest academic novel, you'll throw this one against the wall before finishing the first chapter. And if you are currently a member of an English department, you'll wonder which of your colleagues will sue the author for libel first.
September 9, 2025
This book does a fantastic job of dwelling in the complexity of a marriage in shambles. It’s one of my favourite reads of 2025!
Full review on BookBrowse: https://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/in...
Full review on BookBrowse: https://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/in...
August 10, 2025
What in the world? How was this a BOTM 😵💫
February 11, 2025
It is only early February, but this might be my favorite book of the year?
Emily Adrian's Seduction Theory is a delightful tangle of perspectives on marriage, power, academia, ambition, and betrayal. Presented as an MFA thesis, this tells the story of two married English professors and what happens when their lives calamitously intersect with both the department secretary and our graduate student narrator.
The resulting novel is hilarious and, honestly, one of the freshest and most biting things I have read in a long while. Single sentences crackle to life, and I basically would have ended up highlighting the whole book if I didn't stop myself. This is something I look forward to reading again soon and then forcing into the hands of anyone I can so that we can discuss it.
Can't recommend this one more! Many thanks to Little, Brown, and Company and NetGalley for providing the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Emily Adrian's Seduction Theory is a delightful tangle of perspectives on marriage, power, academia, ambition, and betrayal. Presented as an MFA thesis, this tells the story of two married English professors and what happens when their lives calamitously intersect with both the department secretary and our graduate student narrator.
The resulting novel is hilarious and, honestly, one of the freshest and most biting things I have read in a long while. Single sentences crackle to life, and I basically would have ended up highlighting the whole book if I didn't stop myself. This is something I look forward to reading again soon and then forcing into the hands of anyone I can so that we can discuss it.
Can't recommend this one more! Many thanks to Little, Brown, and Company and NetGalley for providing the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
August 8, 2025
I’m still not sure if this is something I actually read, or one of those weird dreams you have when you’re sick. Very disappointing and extremely weird story line
September 7, 2025
"Nothing meant more to her than the legend of herself."
✒️📝💞
An outrageous, moving novel that asks: Who has the right to the narrative, and do we have the right to overstep boundaries for the sake of a good story? Expertly weaving together fact, fiction, desire, and art, Seduction Theory is a maze of blurred lines and vivid emotions. Subverting expectations and pushing the borders between admiration and betrayal, this is a novel for those who have wondered how far they will go to create their best work, and how love and desire have the power to drive our own realities and truths. Funny, sympathetic, and twisty with a core of loneliness and hope.
✒️📝💞
An outrageous, moving novel that asks: Who has the right to the narrative, and do we have the right to overstep boundaries for the sake of a good story? Expertly weaving together fact, fiction, desire, and art, Seduction Theory is a maze of blurred lines and vivid emotions. Subverting expectations and pushing the borders between admiration and betrayal, this is a novel for those who have wondered how far they will go to create their best work, and how love and desire have the power to drive our own realities and truths. Funny, sympathetic, and twisty with a core of loneliness and hope.
May 23, 2025
I love when a book pulls you in slowly, and then suddenly you are drowning. This book took me by surprise. It felt outside my normal repertoire, but I loved it!
From the perspective of a MFA student writing her thesis, “The Seduction Theory” is a modern take on the messiness of marriage and adult relationships. The author takes their time in the justifying the complexity of infidelity and sexual tension between adults, who cross all sorts of ethical boundaries. If you enjoy an unreliable narrative and a realistic sense of the awkwardness of real life, please check out The Seduction Theory by Emily Adrian this coming August.
Thank you Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for this ARC.
March 21, 2025
I remember seeing the deal announcement for this book and was thrilled to see the ARC was available. Thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the early read.
I am a sucker for an academic novel, and the premise of this one intrigued me.
I loved the thesis format of the novel - a fun and clever device. But what I was most engaged by was the narrator's voice which was funny and smart.
I suspect that this is a writer's sort of book - especially for someone (like me) who has been in an MFA program.
I am a sucker for an academic novel, and the premise of this one intrigued me.
I loved the thesis format of the novel - a fun and clever device. But what I was most engaged by was the narrator's voice which was funny and smart.
I suspect that this is a writer's sort of book - especially for someone (like me) who has been in an MFA program.
August 7, 2025
I hated every character. The description is very misleading and reading this book would be a waste of time.
September 29, 2025
The cover is lovely.
Since this is a story written as an MFA “thesis,” I’ll try to review it with a more academic lens. One character actually critiques some of the MC’s writing as “all atmosphere, no point,” which I’m not sure if the author was being intentionally ironic with this but it’s a very apt description of the book itself. Except without the atmosphere lol. I’m all for an all vibes, no plot story when the stellar writing is the point, but that isn’t the case here.
Unnecessarily self-indulgent, and much of the story felt like random thoughts and words thrown together with unrealistic dialogue about infidelity, but not really about infidelity. It doesn’t offer anything new, or anything to ponder at all. Vladimir vibes with none of the intriguing academia or entertainment factor.
Things happen, the reader is TOLD characters feel certain emotions, but we’re never shown this. There is zero emotion in this book. It’s like every self-important character is described in the most clinical, unfeeling way possible. Even the kid, Byron, is unlikable and not really child-like.
The narrative POV is confusing more than it is clever. I could maybe forgive the constant uncertainty of the POV if it weren’t for the constant repetition that goes along with it. The multiple times a scene is told one way and then retold AGAIN because the narrator “tricked” us wore my patience thin.
I’m still not sure if this book takes itself too seriously, or if it’s supposed to be very unserious. The idea of a thinly veiled fictionalized revenge MFA thesis is good in theory, but this wasn’t nearly as compelling as expected.
Since this is a story written as an MFA “thesis,” I’ll try to review it with a more academic lens. One character actually critiques some of the MC’s writing as “all atmosphere, no point,” which I’m not sure if the author was being intentionally ironic with this but it’s a very apt description of the book itself. Except without the atmosphere lol. I’m all for an all vibes, no plot story when the stellar writing is the point, but that isn’t the case here.
Unnecessarily self-indulgent, and much of the story felt like random thoughts and words thrown together with unrealistic dialogue about infidelity, but not really about infidelity. It doesn’t offer anything new, or anything to ponder at all. Vladimir vibes with none of the intriguing academia or entertainment factor.
Things happen, the reader is TOLD characters feel certain emotions, but we’re never shown this. There is zero emotion in this book. It’s like every self-important character is described in the most clinical, unfeeling way possible. Even the kid, Byron, is unlikable and not really child-like.
The narrative POV is confusing more than it is clever. I could maybe forgive the constant uncertainty of the POV if it weren’t for the constant repetition that goes along with it. The multiple times a scene is told one way and then retold AGAIN because the narrator “tricked” us wore my patience thin.
I’m still not sure if this book takes itself too seriously, or if it’s supposed to be very unserious. The idea of a thinly veiled fictionalized revenge MFA thesis is good in theory, but this wasn’t nearly as compelling as expected.
August 25, 2025
I laughed on every page and teared up after the last sentence. It’s so fun that I worry people won’t understand how smart it is. Honestly I could open it right back up at the start and read it again and write some sort of essay about it, and maybe I would do that except I need to lend my copy to Kyra.
August 4, 2025
Not everyone will enjoy this book. It has a unique writing style and felt like a fever dream. I could not put this book down.
November 4, 2025
"do we need another story of privileged white people having affairs?"
you judge a book by its cover. this one's cover snagged me immediately. the synopsis implied yet another couples mid life crisis with infidelity, though i hadn't seen the comparison to vladimir, which i vehemently detested and dnf'ed. the narrative, told from one of the women that the wife had a situation with, poked fun at itself and the books that write about such topics. adrian asks: "do we need another story of privileged white people having affairs?" and the short answer is: no.
this had humorous aspects to it, had moments of characters introspection that i went "wow", but in no way did this book amaze me. it quite literally is like every other story of privileged white people having affairs.
often when i read a book like this i wonder: which side was the author a victim (or perpetrator) of? this felt like a diary of someone trying to understand why they were cheated on or why they cheated on someone else. as the narrative suggests, many works of fiction are inspired by people's individual experiences. the husband, ethan, banked his success after writing an entire novel modeling his wife's life. (which, when considering how pathetic he is in the novel, is funny to think about how his only success was due to her). robbie, our inconsistent narrator, writes her manuscript paralleling her experience with simone and simone's infidelity. of course it can be just a work of extreme meta fiction. i just always wonder how much of a book is from the author's true experience. thinking about that while reading this made the insufferable book a little bit more bearable; once i could look beyond the ridiculousness of the characters and their lives, i found their misgivings quite entertaining.
the highlight of the book was never letting us forget how pathetic ethan was.
you judge a book by its cover. this one's cover snagged me immediately. the synopsis implied yet another couples mid life crisis with infidelity, though i hadn't seen the comparison to vladimir, which i vehemently detested and dnf'ed. the narrative, told from one of the women that the wife had a situation with, poked fun at itself and the books that write about such topics. adrian asks: "do we need another story of privileged white people having affairs?" and the short answer is: no.
this had humorous aspects to it, had moments of characters introspection that i went "wow", but in no way did this book amaze me. it quite literally is like every other story of privileged white people having affairs.
often when i read a book like this i wonder: which side was the author a victim (or perpetrator) of? this felt like a diary of someone trying to understand why they were cheated on or why they cheated on someone else. as the narrative suggests, many works of fiction are inspired by people's individual experiences. the husband, ethan, banked his success after writing an entire novel modeling his wife's life. (which, when considering how pathetic he is in the novel, is funny to think about how his only success was due to her). robbie, our inconsistent narrator, writes her manuscript paralleling her experience with simone and simone's infidelity. of course it can be just a work of extreme meta fiction. i just always wonder how much of a book is from the author's true experience. thinking about that while reading this made the insufferable book a little bit more bearable; once i could look beyond the ridiculousness of the characters and their lives, i found their misgivings quite entertaining.
the highlight of the book was never letting us forget how pathetic ethan was.
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