Crossword Genius

Stuck fast at home reading novel (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ingrained

'stuck' is the definition.

'at home reading novel' is the wordplay.
'at home' becomes 'in' ('I'm in' can mean 'I'm at home').
'novel' indicates anagramming the letters (letters in a new or novel order).
'reading' with letters rearranged gives 'grained'.
'in'+'grained'='INGRAINED'

'fast' is the link.

(Other definitions for ingrained that I've seen before include "Dine in rag (anag.)" , "Deep-dyed" , "Deep-rooted" .)

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