I really enjoyed the format of this book. I like how it was the thesis and how Robbie breaks the fourth wall often to speak to the audience. I really enjoyed reading about these characters and following them as they navigate relationships, situationships, and all the in-between scenarios. I enjoy books with messy characters and relationships and this didn't fail. It was a good read and I highly recommend it.

So insufferable, but so clever! I have appreciation for a book that you might not like the characters but has a deeper commentary, especially in an academia setting! I couldn’t help but laugh and also be appalled by the characters 😂. Fans of lit fic will enjoy this one!

This one was compared to Vladimir and Conversations With Friends, and this one falls right in-between those for me!

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/index.cfm/book_number/5081/seduction-theory

The premise of seduction theory really enticed me but I could not connect with the writing and this was unfortunately a miss for me.

Two married professors, a graduate student and a transgression scathingly documented in a thesis project set the scene for a delicious ride in this academic piece by Emily Adrian.

Simone is Edwards University’s shining star: a renowned Woolf scholar, grief memoirist and campus sex icon. Her devoted husband, Ethan, is a B-list novelist and lecturer in the same department. Their marriage is perfect until Ethan sleeps with the department administrative assistant and the couple’s flawless relationship is rattled.

While Ethan’s away for the summer, Simone grows close with her advisee, graduate student Roberta “Robbie” Green. Robbie becomes confidante, disciple and running buddy to Simone. But behind her back, Robbie fictionalizes her mentor’s marriage in an invasive MFA thesis detailing her version of the story. What transpires is a revealing portrait of Simone, Ethan, the administrative assistant and herself and what may – or may not – be the truth.

Told with adept detail, the author crafts an immersive story exposing the intoxicating nature of power and attraction. This book felt extra intriguing because of the college town in which I live. I thought it was well-written and perfect for an afternoon reading in the crisp New England air.

Thank you to Emily Adrian, Little Brown and Co. and NetGalley for a digital copy of the book for an honest review.

This was such an original and evocative story. I’ve never read anything like this. The plot was beautiful and so well developed with characters that will stay with me for a long time. I highly recommend going into this one blind and just enjoying the ride!

Thought provoking and entertaining. Seduction Theory is a smart, engaging novel that dives into the messy, complicated parts of life—family dynamics, creative ambition, and the ways people influence each other, for better or worse!

Seduction Theory has all the ingredients for an engrossing campus novel, infidelity, obsession, power dynamics, and blurred boundaries between student and professor. At first, the shifting perspective and playful structure made it a page-turner, keeping me guessing what was real and what was invented. But by the final section, the form unraveled, and the narrative lost much of its tension. The characters, particularly Simone and Etha, were hard to invest in; their marriage and choices baffling rather than compelling. Robbie’s intrusion into their lives felt implausible, even in a heightened academic setting. Still, the symmetry of the structure and psychological themes offered some intrigue, even if the execution fell short. For me, this landed around 3 stars: ambitious, but uneven.

firstly, 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

I enjoyed this story. I was curious about the premise -- a woman has an affair with her thesis advisor and the affair serves as fodder for her final thesis project, a searing glimpse into a couple's descent into infidelity. This novel is pitched to readers of Conversations with Friends and Vladimir, and I can certainly see why. It's an exploration of unconventional relationships, messy emotions, and the grayness of morality. While this started really strong and I enjoyed the narrative style, by the end, I found myself thinking the story fell a little flat. Still a worthwhile read, though, if you enjoy stories about morally gray characters and their motivations.

At Edwards University, Simone is the undisputed center of the creative writing department, having achieved the greatest success, and renown, of any of the department's faculty, including her husband Ethan. To outsiders, and even to themselves, Simone and Ethan's marriage seems perfect. Then, Ethan sleeps with the department's administrative assistant. Combined with Simone's own actions, these events call the very foundation of Simone and Ethan's life into question, as they, and the others in their life, explore what they owe themselves and each other and to what degree they want to hold onto the past.

This is an interested and well-written exploration of a marriage. The author captures Simone and Ethan's strong connection and the ways that external and internal pressures, not least of all their own egos, test what has long been the most important relationship in each of their lives.

Highly recommended.

Wow! This was my first book to read by this author but definitely not my last! This book will leave you wanting for more and the characters and storyline stick with you long after you finish it. Do yourself a favor and pick up this page-turner!

If you're looking for a quick fun read or a palate cleanser -look no further. This was so clever. I loved the writing style. I think fans of Mona Awad will enjoy Seduction Theory. I chuckled out loud a few times. My jaw dropped at the "traffic incident" (iykyk), and again when Abigial and Robbie become co conspirators. The last 30% of this book had me racing to the end. Overall would recommend!

Seduction Theory would work better at seducing its audience with its pretentious prose if the characters didn’t give you the ICK. I could not stand any of them. The way the story is told mostly from a close 3rd person perspective interweaved with the narrator slipping into the first person was certainly a choice. It was not one I enjoyed as a reader. It kept me disconnected from the characters. It made the narrator seem like she had a superiority complex, even though she came across as pathetic & vindictive. The plot was SLOOOOOOW. I found myself bored & not wanting to pick the book back up. The comeuppance at the end would have been more satisfying if I cared about the characters. Thank you to NetGalley & Little Brown & Company for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

Many thanks to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for early access in exchange for my honest opinions. While this book publishes tomorrow, I haven’t seen very much about it, other than it being a BOTM option for August with a GORGEOUS cover. I finished reading it last week, and I took the weekend to formulate my thoughts. Once I finished reading this, I grabbed an upcoming romcom for a much needed change of pace from this more intellectual read.
Seduction Theory takes place on a college campus in upstate New York, where married couple Simone and Ethan teach creative writing. Simone is the rockstar tenured professor of the department, whereas Ethan published a novel to qualify as a spousal lecturer hire. Robbie is an MFA student studying under Simone, working on her thesis. Abigail is the department’s administrative assistant. These main characters develop different secret relationships that would likely be considered inappropriate if the college were to find out.
It’s a pretty short read (224 pages), but with deeper messages than I’d expect from a book of that length. This litfic wasn’t the best match for me, leaving me unsure if I really “got” the book and the deeper themes/takeaways. It made me think about one of the lyrics from Hamilton, “Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?” Robbie appears to be an unreliable narrator for this book (is it her thesis?), and it seems both Ethan’s novel and Simone’s memoir were written about the same experience. Who decides how something is portrayed in writing and how much control does the storyteller have if they are telling someone else’s story? Is that what the author wanted me to get from the book? I read at least one other review which also stated confusion on what exactly the author is trying to say, so that made me feel better. I think this would be a good book club book, and I bet the discussion would be helpful to my comprehension - if anyone else has read it and wants to chat about it, send me a message!

Thank you to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for the ARC! This book was so interesting, and I loved the way the characters were woven together. This was such a good read, and I loved the emphasis over older literature being present in the text. AHHHHH. So good.

Big fan of the campus novel, so I knew I would like this, but it is so much more. Clever and biting and then there's a narrative trick! Enjoyed this immensely.

A campus novel with an illicit romance? Count me in! Unfortunately, this didn't quite work for me in the ways I thought it would. Despite the liberal arts college campus and an unraveling marriage and temptations, this novel felt bogged down in writing that took away from my experience reading the story. I felt like I was watching the story from the outside, and not actually in the story with the characters.

Seduction Theory really surprised me in the best way. The writing style is smooth and super engaging—I felt pulled in right from the start. The pacing was also spot-on; it never felt slow, but it didn’t rush either. I devoured this book in one sitting. The only reason I didn’t give it a full 5 stars is that I wanted a little more depth at the conclusion, but honestly, that’s a small thing compared to how much I enjoyed it. Overall, it’s clever, well-written, and a book I’d definitely recommend.

I was really excited to be able to read this book even before it was announced as a monthly selection for Book of the Month. This was such a different kind of book than what I’m used to reading and I really liked the authors creative writing style and format of this book. I thought the humor in this was sharp, witty and dry and I was able to finish this in just one sitting. It was short and sweet with multiple layers and depth and a good insight about attraction, love and power dynamics.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review and feedback.