I was interested in the synopsis madman I liked the cover. However, I wasn't too far in when I realized this book just wasn't for me. I couldn't connect with any of the characters. I found all the explanations at the bottom of pages intrusive and annoying. The pace seemed frenetic and I just couldn't find the grove. This one was a miss for me.

Truth, Lie, and Second Dates promised sparks, romance and some drama but never really delivered. Yes, there is some romance but it's nothing you can root for. The characters aren't ones you will fall in love with, they are very hard to connect with. I think the book as a whole felt rushed. I was looking froward to this but didn't end up connecting with it.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2 stars

In theory, the premise of the book is great: a murder mystery mixed with a little romance - my two favorite genres! However, it was not well executed and after reading this book, I'm not sure that it could be well executed by any author. Murder is too serious of a subject to be invested in the relationship between the heroine and the hero.

There was a lot of witty banter but most of it felt inappropriate given the surrounding circumstances. There was a severe lack of character development and many strange facts thrown in just because. A lot of it didn't make sense and just didn't fit with the characters or the story. The writing also contradicts itself in places (which may be due to the advanced copy that hasn't been edited completely) but a lot of it just felt off.

I kept reading because I was curious but the execution of this premise was not great.

I went into this thinking it would be a 100% light rom com. Oops! While it is totally a romantic comedy with witty banter that doesn’t stop, I was not expecting a cold case murder or any of the subsequent emotions and revelations. I’d say it’s a definite entertaining read for fans of the genre. 3 1/2 stars rounded up ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️💫

The first 20% of this book was definitely a challenge for me to read. The main character has traits that I dislike. I pushed forward and was rewarded. All of a sudden, the book changed for me! I became engrossed in the plot and honestly was in awe of how my opinion of the main character was altered. I actually began to care about her!

I enjoyed the last two-thirds of the book so much. Balanced with the beginning of the book, I am giving this book 3 stars. If I were not so persistent in trying to always complete a book, I would not have read past the few chapters, which would have been a shame.

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read the advanced reader copy. My review is own opinion not influenced by receiving the ARC and not under an obligation to review.

Truth, Lies and Second Dates by MaryJanice Davidson is a mystery with a touch of romance, snarky dialogue, humor, insight into the world of commercial aviation and a heroine that is smart, independent and good at her job.

I hadn't read any books by this author before this one and I was delighted to be engaged in the story from the first chapter. A smoothly paced plot, plenty of twists, no viable suspects, fiction tropes scattered throughout and the cutest genius I have ever been introduced to in a book made this an easy and fun afternoon read.

I really should have liked this, but it just didn't click for me. The premise was fun and I do love me some sass, murder, and tropes. However, I couldn't quite get into it for some reason. It all felt very surface level - I didn't really connect with any of the characters. Sure, it was fun, but it didn't offer full immersion into Ava and Tom's world. I also didn't find the chemistry between the two particularly remarkable. Overall, it's just a meh from me.

So, I started this book several times, thinking that I would get more into enjoying it. Unfortunately, the true enjoyment never happened. I think that was mostly because I didn’t like the flippant narrator (Ava) or the fact that the genre for the book was all over the place. It was rom-com-mystery-thriller, or at least it tried to be. Captain Ava Capp is an airline pilot with an attitude who would much rather be flying than planted somewhere with a family. It is obvious that she has relationship issues and that she likes to come across as bossy when she is really very insecure. None of the characters, however, was very well fleshed-out so I didn’t find any of them particularly likable. The romance was light, the comedy was like a single ha and the mystery about the murder of Ava’s best friend was not very satisfactory since it kept being placed on the back burner. I think that most of my disappointment came from expecting a cozy mystery with some romance mixed in and that is not what this book is. The dialog between the characters was like encoded messages with lots of parentheses to explain the conversation, all of which were very distracting to the storyline. All in all, I found the plot hard to follow and the characters too flat to like. Those who enjoy satire, which is what I really think the genre is, may enjoy it, but it was not my cup of tea (or coffee, or anything else.)
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

I received this book from NetGalley as an eARC in exchange for a review.

Truth, Lies, and Second Dates (I appreciate the oxford comma in the title) follow Ava, a pilot with some internet fame for a buzzfeed article about an impressive landing job she pulled off, and Tom, a medical examiner for the MN police. Ava's best friend in high school was murdered, and since then Ava has avoided MN like the plague.

Going into this book, based on the cover and title, I thought this was going to be a cutesy romance book. Boy was I wrong. I really enjoyed the murder mystery. I loved the romantic interactions. I loved the representation (demisexual, on the autism spectrum, virgin, etc.) and the dialogue was funny and enjoyable. I will definitely be picking up more books from this author because I finally had a good time with a book, for the first time in a few books.

This was a first for me - the heroine Ava Capp is a commercial airline pilot. Then there's the hero, Dr. Tom Baker who is a medical examiner. What an unlikely match-up. Made for a different romance read for me. I liked the two main characters This was an interesting read but not my usual fare.

I received the Advanced Reader Copy from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an honest review.

This is the first book that I have read by this author, and I must admit that I like the writing style. The interactions between the characters are interesting and funny.

Ava is an airline pilot. After losing her best friend ten years ago, she left Minnesota, trying to put the past behind her.

Tom is a Medical Examiner. He is single and besides work, he dedicates his life to his niece and her grandfather.

Ava happens to be in Minnesota when a memorial is being held for her best friend. She doesn't relish the idea, but attends just the same. The reunion with the other members of her friend's family is far from being warm. See, the murder case is now cold and she is somehow held responsible. Along comes Tom, and he too has his suspicions. Worse he is attracted to her quirky personality. They realise that anyone could be the culprit at this point. Will they solve the case? Can they have a future together?

I like the friendship between Ava and the airline crew. I found myself chuckling at the internal monologues quite often. The murderer isn't anyone that I would have suspected. The romance is unusual. What am I saying? The whole story is unusual and there lies the beauty of it.

I received a complimentary eARC from Netgalley and the views expressed are my personal opinion.

A lighthearted and fun story. Ava is a pilot who is living the life she wants. She is bubbly and uses humor to hide a complicated past. Tom is the M. E. In the town she grew up. He is handsome, smart and a klutz. The two are working together to solve the10 year murder of Ava’s best friend while falling in love. The author keeps the story rolling with laugh out loud humor, movie references and airline insider jokes that will delight the reader. Tom’s niece, G.B. And the other characters add extra depth and flavor to the story and makes it even more interesting.

Sloppily written and hard to follow I wanted to like this book and trudged through all of it without a good experience

Perhaps I'm not the target demographic for this book. What a bizarre novel. I enjoyed the witty, snarky dialogue. The author has created an interesting cast of characters. The plot and structure was was too unconventional for my taste and sadly, the genre mashup didn't work for me. Thanks for the opportunity to read the ARC.

I really liked Captain Ava Capp and her take no prisoners attitude. Returning to her home state for a layover feels like the worst thing that could ever happen especially at this particular time when the overnight layover happens to be in her hometown. It’s been a long time and wounds are finally starting to heal, but someone wants them to remain open and fresh. Who is causing this torment and why?

Thank you netgalley for allowing me to read this early. I have never read anything by this author so i was excited when I was granted access. This was pretty good but I did have some trouble keeping me interested in it. Overall a fun story.

thanks to Netgalley, St. Martins Griffen and Mary Jane Davidson, for this ARC. I believe I’ve read this authors works before, but haven’t recently, so I thought I’d take a chance on this new one. I thought it was an OK book, but I found there wasn’t enough substance in the story as far as the mystery murder part of it. To me it read just like bantering back-and-forth and making absolutely no sense as far as the contents of the book. I guess this was supposed to be a romance more than a mystery. I just wasnt my kind of book, But if you love a romance this could be for you..

Title: Truth, Lies, and Second Dates
Author: MaryJanice Davidson
Series: Romantic Tropes
Pages: 320
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Date: December 15, 2020

Summary:

Captain Ava Capp has been flying from her past for a decade. She’d much rather leave it, and her home state, behind forever. But when she finds herself back in Minnesota, against her better judgment, everything goes sideways in a way she never expected it to.

M.E. Dr. Tom Baker has never forgotten Ava and the cold case she ran away from. When she shows up unexpectedly in town, in spite of himself, sparks fly. Which is terrible because he can’t stop his growing attraction to her. Can these two Type-A’s let their guards down and work together to put Ava’s tragic past behind her for good? And keep their hands off each other at the same time?

Review:

Unlike the first two books in this loosely connected series (Danger, Sweetheart and The Love Scam), Truth, Lies, and Second Dates stands alone. The only connection is the H in Danger, Sweetheart and the h in TLSD (that is way too long to keep typing out) are former hookups. They were not a couple. They were not even really friends, but simply got together when Ava was in town.

And Ava - Ava is a pilot for a wonderful domestic airline that I would really like to be for real. It sounds like a great place to work and fly with. Anyway, she ends up back in her hometown, which she hates, for a layover. She left ten years earlier when her best friend was murdered AND that is the basis for the plot. The murder was never solved and now it looks like the murderer is after her.

As in the earlier books, I started out not liking this one. I thought it was dumb. Of course, the premise of the series is to address as many romantic tropes as possible, so it kind of meant to be dumb. But like the earlier books, I really enjoyed it. I adore Tom and how literal he can be. At the very end of the book and this is not a spoiler because it is so obvious, it’s stated that he is on the spectrum. As the kids used to say, “Well, duh.”

My favorite character of all is Tom’s niece Hannah. She is only six and her I.Q. is off the charts. I really hope we get her book when she has time to grow up. That’s if she hasn’t destroyed the world by then.

As I said, I ended up liking all three of these books. They’re fun and they don’t take a lot of thought. If you’re looking for escapism, I couldn’t recommend anything better.

This book was sent to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

A funny who done it with some romance and a bunch of giggles. Thoroughly enjoyed reading it and enjoyed a book full of tropes. Great break from more serious reads.

I absolutely adored this book, oh my goodness. Surprisingly sweet and refreshing for a book that's largely about murder, Truth, Lies, and Second Dates had me engaged, intrigued, and wanting more at every turn.
I loved everything about Tom-- how unabashedly himself he was, the lack of judgement toward him from either Ava or the narration, and and the sheer humor he brought to the table. Ava's bluntness complemented him as well, and it was really nice to see two characters whose personalities I could identify with so much.
I have a desperate need to read every MaryJanice Davidson book ever written, and am on my way to acquire them as soon as I post this.
Definitely recommend it for fans of romance and cozy mysteries, and love love LOVE the inclusion of a Tropes List in the back.