Once I got into this book, everything went quickly, but there were lots of awkward dialogue and the footnotes felt really unnecessary. Overall it was a fine book, the characters were overall really likable and the premise was fun. But there was a LOT going on.

This is my second book by this author and OMG I just love her style! I feel that the story flows well and I love the "snarkiness" in the dialogue. If these characters were real-life people; I would love to meet them.
Capt. Ava Capp is currently a commercial pilot. Like the stereotypical pilot/navy personnel; she has "a guy in every port" kind of thing. She has no desire to settle down or actually "date". She hates her home state of Minnesota for various reasons. 10 years ago her best friend was brutally murdered. Ava meets the local M.E., Dr. Tom Baker by chance; while back in her home town and attending the anniversary memorial. He is intrigued by the unsolved murder of her friend. One of his theories is that her friend wasn't the target, Ava was....
Great story!

Truth, Lies and Second Dates was a fun easy read, and was apparently the 3rd book in a series. I did not read the previous two books, but that did not make this one any less enjoyable. Ava Capp is a well known pilot (Captain Capp -- you can tell some of the ridiculous you will be facing from the very start of this novel - so much fun!), due to her "belly flop" landing of a few weeks prior which was all over the news. People come into her sphere, already knowing her from social media and the news, although they have never met. She also lost her best friend 10 years ago, in a horrific murder which is now a cold case. She runs into her friends twin, who boards her flight that is going to her home state, only to be confronted with the question of if she is going to the memorial service for her friend/his sister. How can she say no to his face, when she will actually be right there. Grudgingly, she agreed. Through many weird turns of events, she is grounded until a drug test is re-run - due to an alarming panel of positives that came up on the test. More oddness occurs, including her meeting a stranger who is quite yummy, who she makes out with one night. I do not want to give up too much of the story, but suffice it to say, this is a very twisty, yet fun novel, that will make you laugh out loud and wonder what could possibly happen next.

This novel is so much fun. I love the way the author has the character directly speak to the readers, throughout the story, which makes it feel like you have a personal connection to this character, who is a trip. It is also a page turner as this reader could not stop until the book was done, which ended up being one day long read fest as a result.

If you love mystery, thrillers and/or thrillers, you will love Truth, Lies and Second Dates.

No summary, book cover, or book title could have prepared me for this read because I didn't see any of this story coming. And I loved that. It wasn't too predictable that made me yawn, but kept me on my toes to desperately find out what happens next. This book is a mystery slash romance, that follows commercial pilot Ava Capp, who reveals that her best friend Danielle was brutally murdered a decade ago, and became on the of biggest cold cases in her hometown of Minnesota. In the present, Danielle's twin brother and Ava's former crush, Dennis, is on her flight back to MN with his cousin slash girlfriend. He asks her if she's going to Danielle's memorial service, which she doesn't want to but goes anyway. After a crazy day, she and Dennis go out on the town where she meets Tom. Dennis disappears for the night and she and Tom get cozy and share an intimate makeout sesh, naturally. Turns out, the next day there was an incident at the funeral home, so she and Dennis are called in to check out the scene. And who's there but TOM, our new leading man, who's a whip-smart medical examiner who's taken an interest in Danielle's cold case files and solving the murder. This book is told in back and forth perspectives, which were a little jumpy because we didn't see Tom's point of view until 13 chapters of Ava's, so it felt a bit jumpy. I wish it was less abrupt and made more sense chronologically. I really liked this because it wasn't too too tropey and predictable for a romance. But, that romance was quite cute as they try to, albeit terribly, hide their feelings. Once there's a relationship, it's pretty lukewarm on the hot and steamy scale, well until the buzzer and the final chapters. There's a few deep makeouts, but nothing too smutty until the end. It's a very intriguing mystery read and a cute romance that was fun to dive into. By the end, obviously, the murder was resolved in a way I didn't see coming but maybe that's because I just didn't remember the person who did it from the earlier chapters.

OMG! What a fun read! Truth, Lies, And Second Dates is a magnificent contemporary romance by MaryJanice Davidson. Ms. Davidson has given readers a well-written book filled with characters that are sassy, quirky and make this book a joy to read. Captain Ava Capp is an airline pilot trying to think of a reason to avoid going to the ten year memorial of her best friend's murder. Tom helps Ava get her drunk friend from the bar to the hotel. When Ava is called back to the funeral home the next morning, she's shocked to find her helper from the previous night there, and he's her alibi and the medical examiner. Tom and Ava's story is packed with drama, humor, sizzle. I laughed all the way through this book and look forward to reading more from MaryJanice Davidson. As an added bonus to this terrific book, we get to meet Tom's niece Hannah and her grandfather Abe. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC. Not sure what I was expecting going into this one, but it was a delight. Fun, quirky, zagged when you expected it to zig, and just generally *fun*. Which is good stuff when you're talking about a murder mystery. The protagonists are both weirdos with baggage, yet smart, engaging, and likeable. And their relationship works, despite their vast differences. The romance is sweet more than anything, which I'm fine with. The supporting cast are a hoot and come across like real friends. The big reveal was a little rushed and out of nowhere, but there's a decent reason for that, which is rolled out at the same time.

MaryJanice Davidson is a new author to me.
I liked female pilot idea.
The story was ok for me. I think my expectation for book was higher.

I received this ARC for an honest review. MaryJanice Davidson is a new to me author. While I think she has a good idea for this book, it wasn’t executed properly. The book didn’t flow. It was a lot of choppy sentences. When the characters talked to each other, I often got lost at who was talking. I think this book could be a good book if it was edited again. It needs to be restructured.

This was a quirky little book. I thought Ava was a bit ditzy for a pilot and a bit of a sex maniac. The dialogue was all over the place and I found it a bit tedious at times.
I was expecting something else from this book, maybe more light hearted. I thought it was just ok
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy

3.5 Stars...
I was actually torn between 3 & 3.5 stars for this rating. I ended up generously awarding the latter. Truth, Lies and Second Dates had the potential to be a five star read for me. Unfortunately, I didn't love it, didn't connect nor did I feel the writing was smooth. The pace was slow in my opinion. At least the first half of the book felt that way. This book is 320 pages but it felt like much more.

From the synopsis, I inferred the story to be different from what it was. The premise was explained well enough but the execution didn't work for me. To be honest, I expected a darker tone. Ava, one of the main characters, was too sarcastic for me to take seriously; and her humor made me cringe during certain conversations. There is a time and a place for everything. This author didn't feel that way. As a result, I wasn't laughing all the time. The dialogue between characters was okay, but at times I had to re-read paragraphs because I could not follow along. Several times, I wondered if I missed some vital information because too many aspects didn't make sense. Another aspect that interrupted my reading flow was the inserts of definitions at the end of each chapter and way too many parenthesis throughout the text. Also, the sudden switches in POV were another issue I had with flow. This book was very busy.

At some point after 30%, I ignored the monotony and decided if I wanted to like this book at all, I would view this story as a murder mystery and not a romantic comedy, as well as ignore the numerous onslaught of tropes. While the romance aspect ended up being cute, I didn't feel this book was romance. That's ok, though because I knew going in that the author was integrating many tropes; unfortunately that just didn't work for me. But thankfully, one stood out so I focused on that. The "who done it" aspect. And to my delight and surprise, I didn't see the end coming. Nor was I able to guess the murderer until that moment of resolution. I warn you now, there is no foreshadowing in this book. Situations just spontaneously arise. That said, regarding the climax, or my view on it, it was rushed. I had to re-read part of that final scene a few times.

To sum this review up, I didn't hate the book. While there were parts of the writing I didn't connect with, there were a few that I delighted in. This author took the dark undertone from the main focus and wrote characters with intellect, witticism, flaws, outrageousness and created an original story. Truth, Lies, and Second Dates, was most definitely something I have never read before. Nor have I read this author before. You cannot take this book seriously.

I want to close this review with one thought. If you are researching this book, deciding if you will read it, don't look too deeply into the reviews. There are many mixed feelings about this book. Some loved it, some hated it and like me, some thought is was okay. We all have different preferences when we chose a book and while this book didn't resonate with me in a fully posiitve light, you may love it.

This is my honest and unbiased review and I thank you for taking the time to read it. :)

Little bit of intrigue, little bit of good old fashioned like-at-first-sight, and two people who are just trying to stay in the day to day and do their jobs – for their work, for their friends, for their families. But life isn’t always so cut and dry…

I really liked Ava! She has a lot of good things (about herself) that others see that she does not. She doesn’t want to go back to her hometown but she finds herself…let’s call it stranded…there for a bit while she works through some trouble and issues that come into her life. Along the way, she meets Tom but doesn’t know he will play a big part in that life. As does his family… Don’t want to give any spoilers but how he interacts with the folks around him tells a lot about this man. And he and Ava are good together, no matter what the two of THEM think.

It’s not a very heavy storyline so no worries. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed it and loved how I could read it and just be carried along. Just enough background on the intrigue-side to keep me reading and loved all the characters and how they dealt with what life threw at them. Really enjoyed it!

I hate to use this word but "average" is all I really took away from this. I felt like the plot was average, humor was average, the romance was average, and the drama was average. None of it really captured my attention and I don't know how to even feel about the book.

I picked up this book because I like rom-coms and I live in Minnesota, which is the setting. I didn't get too far through it, to be honest. The writing style wasn't for me.

I loved the idea that the cover and the blurb conveyed, but somehow it fell off.

I was expecting something fun, light and easy to read, but this was not that. The humor was weird, the characters felt childish, and all the mystery? that was a bit too much for me.

Finally, FINALLY a book with the female lead in a great position. Ava is a pilot which is super cool ! Ava is really happy not having any roots so to speak.. She loves flying and almost uses it as her excuse not to settle down.
She's not all happy go lucky as her best friend was murdered 10 years ago and she returns home. Of course there is a little bit of a mystery going on as she is still a little raw over the it and determined to find out why it happened. Especially since it seems she may have been a target.

I liked how strong she was and the combination of the rom com mystery really worked.

I always enjoy a book that makes me laugh out loud and this book did that for me. Ava and Tom are great together and the situations they find themselves in are unique. Romance, mystery, and more make this a fun read! Recommended.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I'm speaking fo myself here, my own experience with the book, everything is subjective when it comes to fiction.
I'm honestly not pleased with this book, I'm sorry to say it.
I wanted to read something light and fun and nice. And maybe it was, for others.
I did appreciate the try in making everything light and fun but at some point, it became too much and it got confusing.
First of all, the characters were a bit childish, even though they were supposed to be funny and cute.
Second, for the whole plot, I felt like every time two characters were having a conversation I was supposed to crack some sort of HTML code because...I had no idea what were they talking about. The dialogue was all over the place and sometimes (for me) it made no sense.
Third, I think the whole book was a bit rushed at parts and also the whole 'mystery' thing - I didn't really have any of that.
I really wanted to have more good things to say about it than bad but I just...couldn't. I promised honesty.

I'm a fan of this writer because I enjoy the humor in her books so i looked forward to reading this.Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Per the author's note, this was supposed to be a spoof of a typical book in the Romance/Horror category. I don't read Horror so I didn't get that nor did I realize that was a subgenre.  It was more of a Suspense-Romance in my opinion. I also didn't get the whole sarcastic spoof trope thing.

A third of the way thru, I thought " I have no idea what this story is about..." but i kept reading. I liked the Ava character. It had Davidson's razor-sharp wit that i enjoy. As the story progresses and more characters (ie.Tom) are introduced, it gets better.

I've come up w/my thought on the plot summary:
Ava is a commercial pilot who avoids commitment and her hometown in MN. A little after she graduated high school her best friend was murdered. It's unsolved. Due to unforseen circumstances, Ava becomes stranded in her hometown on the 10 yr anniversary of the unsolved murder. She meets Tom, the ME, and he convinces her to help him solve the cold case.

Ava had great chemistry w/Tom and his family. The dialogue between them was hysterical.
I have no idea how realistic it was but the scene w/the belly-flop plane landing was thrilling.
And i'm not sure if the writer had experience w/pilots making similar announcements on her flights but i have to say that I would enjoy a flight w/a similar Captain.
Also because i was engrossed in the absurdity of the story, i didn't guess the killer.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

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.

The author made it clear in the introduction that it was a trope of romance AND horror.

This IS the book for fans of horror stories.

In exchange for a honest review, I received a free digital Advanced copy of the book.

Loved it!! So funny and written with humor and love. It was perfect from start to finish. A weekend or a beach read for sure.