Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Review: A Novel Seduction by Gwyn Cready

A Novel Seduction by Gwyn Cready
Publisher: Pocket Star
Genre: Contemporary Romance A Novel Seduction Cover
ISBN: 9781451612646
Source: Publisher
Blue Ribbon Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Original Review Link
Book Purchase Link

To snobby book critic Ellery Sharpe romance novels are at the bottom of the literary barrel. But when she gets in trouble for trashing the biography of a well-known romance publisher, Ellery is forced to choose between keeping her job and writing an article that is a love letter to the romance genre. If the assignment alone wasn’t enough to make Ellery want to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge, the man hired to take the photos for the article would seal the deal.

Axel Mackenzie knows that this job is his last chance to win back Ellery. Axel knows that although he’s a changed man, it won’t be enough, so he turns to romance novels for help…specifically, the insanely popular Kiltlander. To his surprise, Ellery falls in love with Kiltlander, and Axel learns a thing or two about love from the book’s protagonists. Will romance novels be what brings one former bad boy and his romance novel-hating book critic to the happily ever after of their dreams?

A romance novel featuring a heroine who hates romance novels but is forced to give them a try. When I read the premise of A NOVEL SEDUCTION, I just knew this book would be tons of fun. Happily, I was right. Author Gwyn Cready takes her skeptical heroine and hero on a journey of self-discovery via romance novels that will make you smile.

Axel is one heck of a hero. He’s a former party boy who has since learned his lesson and grown up. Ms. Cready gives enough flashbacks and information on Axel’s past for readers to truly appreciate how he’s grown. I liked that I didn’t just see the perfect hero. Axel’s flaws endeared him to me and made me root for him on his quest to win Ellery back. Ellery, in turn, is a heroine who could have been unlikeable at the hands of a lesser author. She’s the type of person who has never read a romance novel, yet passes judgment on the entire genre and thinks herself above it. Every romance reader I know has met someone like that. Now if only those of us in the real world could do what Ms. Cready does to her heroine and force her to read a couple of romance novels. Watching Ellery as she learns that there’s more to romance novels than she thought was a pleasure. What was also a lot of fun was hearing about the three different books she read. Ellery tries an adult paranormal romance that has Twilight-level fame, a historical romance and then the famed Kiltlander, Ms. Cready’s homage to Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander.

A NOVEL SEDUCTION is truly a delightful book. It has a great love story, humor and self-aware insight regarding the pleasures of reading a romance novel, something that is just too delicious to ignore. This is the first book I’ve read of Ms. Cready’s, but it definitely won’t be the last!


Note: My review was written for Romance Junkies and is cross-posted here with permission from Romance Junkies.

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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