“The housewife dreamily thought of herself as a gallant warrior, rescuing her love from his self-described ennui and empathizing with him, feeling the same in her passionless marriage. He was saving her, too.”
Operation Mission Seduction – Elvira Weitman
My Rating
In Summary of Operation Mission Seduction
“When her college ex-boyfriend George, now a lieutenant colonel in the United States army, suddenly sends Natalie, a married mother of two young children, a private email message on Facebook, she is shaken to her core. He left an indelible impression on her the first day he walked into her German history class their college senior year. Natalie’s passion for him was one sided and he left her without regret to pursue his army career. Natalie’s resistance was low when she received George’s private message, she was feeling dejected in her marriage to David. Their love after fifteen years evolved from passion and romance to its static state of routine and obligation. Vowing to shift the balance of power, Natalie resolves to seduce George and vanquish her target’s heart. She formulates a strategy of seduction enlisting the aide of a book, The Art of Seduction by Robert Greene. The book’s doctrine convinces Natalie that seduction is her route to fulfillment and offers an escape from reality and to break free from her dutiful role as wife and mother. The book’s persuasive words incite Natalie to go down a libertine path, but can taking a new yoga class with Paul, the sexy yoga instructor and his sage words, help Natalie to let go of her ego and past grievances and recommit to her lucid fidelity to David before it’s too late?” –Synopsis on Amazon
WARNING: infidelity, struggling marriage, sexual and mental manipulation
READ IF YOU LIKE: former-lovers trope; yoga; military men; books that revolve around building tension
| Positives | Negatives |
|---|---|
| Realistically depicts the mundanity that can affect relationships/marriage | Protagonist unlikable at times through her active willingness to seek an affair |
| Tension is effectively built | Long build up to the climax with a short wrap-up of the story after |
| Interests of author reflected in the protagonist’s interests |
“She was a great observer of human behavior, and accepted the new role she was meant to play: the role of seductress.”
The Review
NEWSFLASH: Operation Mission Seduction is a worthy debut!
Go into this book knowing that there is not an immediate romantic connection (insta-love, if you will) and that there is a lot of tension build-up that occurs. This may feel slow, but it is a purposeful decision of the author to achieve the desired effect at the climax. (No, I am not talking about that kind of climax because of the book…Get your mind out of the gutter, people!)
Natalie is a complicated character that readers will both like and hate. Her marriage has lost its spark, which may make her relatable to some readers, while at other times her dismissal of her marriage and husband’s feelings make her the bad guy. Although I wish there had been further development of the novel’s denouement to wrap up the loose ends of her relationship struggles and personal journey, we do see character development in Natalie that leaves us thinking about what love means to us. Overall, Natalie is a flawed character that explores the boundaries of love and desire within a traditional, monogamous relationship. She represents the desires that we all have to maintain spontaneity, zest, and validation in our daily lives, as well as the potential consequences that one faces when searching for these things. Although her methods of searching for validation may not be ones I personally agree with, her character explores unorthodox options to test what if?
What I really enjoyed about this book is that we see the author’s interests reflected in her character, like yoga and reading (in this case, The Art of Seduction is her specific book interest). You know you have found an author devoted to her craft when she works to create characters that resonate with her!
Additionally, the author pays deliberate attention to detail when describing yoga scenes and the techniques in The Art of Seduction that Natalie gains influence from; it is easy to understand the inspiration that Natalie takes from these things to push her through her journey for personal fulfillment.
*Thank you, Elvira Weitman, for sending me a gifted copy of your book for an honest review!
Operation Mission Seduction Book Information
- Published: 2020
- Publisher: Independently published (can purchase on Amazon)
- ISBN: 9781250244147
- Format: Paperback
- Length: 230 pages
Archetypes & Anecdotes 
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