This book was hilarious. Ava is definitely the quirky, unflappable, smart, and independent heroine I needed to read about right now. I also more than adored Tom and his equally amazing family. This book embraces romantic tropes in all their many flavors. The author even provides a list of them at the end and how they were either used as-is or flipped.

Ava's best friend was murdered 10 years ago and the murderer was never caught. Ava left the Minneapolis-St Paul (MSP) area and hasn't been back (other than to fly through the airport) since then. She's a successful commercial airline pilot who made the news recently because of an amazing landing. She finds herself back in MSP the same weekend as a 10 year anniversary memorial for her friend is being held. Once she arrives at the memorial - things go to hell pretty quickly. The only bright side is meeting Ted while she tries to wrangle her dead friend's brother into a car after he gets drunk. Ted is a medical examiner in MSP and is genius level smart. He is also somewhere on the autism spectrum. He and his late sister's father-in-law are raising Ted's genius niece together. After Ava and Ted meet - they truly do team up to keep Ava safe and try to figure out who killed Ava's friend - because they are now threatening Ava.

Ava and Ted are really really good together. They seem to truly complete each other - and accept each other fully as they are. Neither of them is a particularly easy person - but their communication and caring for each other was just awesome. I also adored that the conflict in the story didn't come from Ava and Ted - but rather from external sources.

There is so much to love about this book - from the characters to the notes at the end of each chapter. That made it easier to let go of a few things that didn't really work for me or make sense. Like how the villain managed to mess around with Ava's urine sample and Becka's age. Even Ava - who is 28 in the book - felt older and the timeline felt like they squished a lot of years into the 10 that have gone by since the murder. Ted also seemed old for his age (around 23). He's a genius - Doogie Houser style - but still he didn't feel 23.

Overall, however, this book is hysterical and a joy to read.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

A clever and entertaining romance that's perfect for people who are looking for a quick and light read to take their mind off the pandemic. This isn't my favourite kind of novel but I appreciate the author's talent.
Thank you, #netgalley

This was a strange book, I think I enjoyed it but I’m not sure. It read like someone was telling you a story whilst talking really fast and never taking a breather. It had some funny parts, and was a quick read.

I really enjoyed this. It wasn't ground breaking or the best thing I ever read but it definitely was refreshing and a cute little mystery.

This was a fun love story between two rather unlikely suited protagonists. The heroine was delightful and the storyline flowed seamlessly. Highly recommended!

MaryJanice Davidson is BACK! I have been reading her novels for ages have fallen head over heels for them (especially the Undead and Unwed series). This one, while not a part of a series, is refreshing and funny! I loved the mystery thrown into the story even though it wasn't heavy! Such a good book!

Ava is unique and not your typical rom com heroine- which I LOVED. There are a lot of laugh out loud moments when you’re reading her inner monologues. The author got it right with this protagonist. It’s a quick read. Some parts are more memorable than others and there are some plot lulls but for the most part, I really enjoyed Davidson’s story!

I received this book I’m exchange for a honest review. This book was a glorious hot mess of a book and I loved it! Truth, Lies, and Second Dates is a romance/mystery mash-up with a generous dose of comedy thrown in. It follows the story of Pilot Ava Capp as she returns to her hometown on the tenth anniversary of her best friend's murder. When the memorial is vandalized and she's pulled back into the murdery mystery, she meets medical examiner Tom Baker who is convinced that she was the original murder target. As the two of them start to unravel the mystery, sparks fly and the two of them hit it off with some fantastic witty repartee. I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to see what the author writes next

Ava Capp is a commercial airline pilot with a sarcastic personality. She left Minnesota after someone close to her was murdered, but returns years later for the 10 year memorial anniversary. However, it seems as though the murderer has also resurfaced, in order to finish what they started. Will Ava be able to withstand the accusations and finger-pointing directed her way, and finally put the past behind her? Will the handsome Medical Examiner be able to trust her enough to help find the real killer?

The author talks about tropes in her introduction, and I liked that there were many instances where this book broke traditional stereotypes. The author includes footnotes within each chapter: I liked the idea of this at first as it made the book feel autobiographical, but after a while I just found it irritating to flip back and forth while reading a fictional book. I didn't really find this book to be much of a mystery, but others may find this the perfect book to escape 2020 for a while.

I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martins Press for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. #NetGalley #TruthLiesandSecondDates

This book had elements that I liked, but didn't add up to a whole book experience. Bits of dialogue here, interesting mix of romance and mystery, I could point to several isolated parts that worked for me, but they were just that, snippets of good ideas rather than a cohesive body forming an engaging story. It was like a lot of good ideas were thrown in, but there wasn't a step back and take it all in moment to ask: "Does this make sense as a whole?" Where I struggled the most was the humor: it felt heavy handed, and based on unrealistic premises (the baby in the overhead compartment was a real head scratcher).

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The rating is because this is supposed to be an adult contemporary romance, and I'm getting nothing of that from the first 15% of the story (which is when I couldn't read any farther).

It was just... very confusing and jarring. I felt like I wasn't properly introduced to any of the characters, and we didn't even meet Tom. If Danielle's story was an important part of this story and the main character's growth, then the story probably should have started around the spot I put the book down, because what is currently the beginning is very dramatic/soap-operaish and not all that appealing.

Also, brackets in novels? No thank you.

"Truth, Lies, and Second Dates" was thoroughly amusing; another gem by MaryJanice Davidson. Captain Ava Capp is at least as funny as Betsy Taylor, Queen of the Vampires, from the Undead series, and is definitely irreverent. The book (and the series) sets out to honor and mock tropes, especially those beloved of romance novels, and in this book, also horror novels. Ms. Davidson includes a list of tropes in an appendix at the back of the book and indicates which tropes she has subverted. The cast of characters is great, from airline pilot Ava to head flight attendant G.B. to medical examiner Tom Baker and his precocious genius niece Hannah. The plot of the book, while interesting and well-crafted, is really just a vehicle for utilizing tropes and creating amusing interactions and conversations. Ms. Davidson utilizes the occasional endnote to poke fun at herself, reveal that events that seem surely to have been invented were in fact real, and to explain airline crew slang -- my favorite is "gate lice."

I don't know that another full-length novel featuring these characters would work without feeling derivative, but I think a series of short stories about Captain Capp and her flight crew or a short story featuring Hannah would definitely be enjoyable possibilities.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Kooky. Ava is a total nut job and not as funny and as cool as she seems. I didn’t like her except I liked her. She seemed more like a chip on her shoulder teenager than someone almost 30. Tom was an odd duck as well, but I wish the ambiguity about him and his niece on the “spectrum” had been clear not hidden. Having the trope list at the end was entertaining but sad to see it clearly written out about how many were in the novel.

I was provided with an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Truth, Lies, and Second Dates is more of a contemporary rom-com than a romantic suspense story.

Ava Capp pilot for Northwest Southeast Airlines (they fly everywhere) she enjoys flying in somewhat friendly skies, no roots, no commitments, just hook-ups, and no second dates.

Thomas Baker, MD, Medical Examiner in Minnesota, assists Ava with getting Dennis Monahan, her dead best friend's brother back to his hotel, after the ten-year memorial of his twin sisters' unsolved murder.

There is a lot going on in this story, while some are over-explained by the author, other notes are simply pointing out tropes and footnotes along the way. While this might be helpful for some books this was just overkilled in my honest opinion. I found it a struggle to move past certain parts of the book, they were just boring while some lines were funny, others were just so-so. I really wanted to like this book more than I did.

This was the first book that I have read by this author and the well rounded characters kept me totally engaged with the good storyline and I look forward to reading more from this author!

This was a new author for me, but the blurb sucked me and the story was simply amazing! I couldn't put it down!

This book was a glorious hot mess of a book and I loved it! Truth, Lies, and Second Dates is a romance/mystery mash-up with a generous dose of comedy thrown in. It follows the story of Pilot Ava Capp as she returns to her hometown on the tenth anniversary of her best friend's murder. When the memorial is vandalized and she's pulled back into the murdery mystery, she meets medical examiner Tom Baker who is convinced that she was the original murder target. As the two of them start to unravel the mystery, sparks fly and the two of them hit it off with some fantastic witty repartee.

The dialogue in this book was some of the best I've ever read. Witty, fast, realistic, and absolutely hilarious. I loved reading the conversations between Ava and pretty much anyone because I was guaranteed a laugh. All of the characters are funny and well-rounded and Ava and Tom were so three dimensional that I could imagine meeting them tomorrow. Davidson knocked it out of the park with her characters and dialogue. Unfortunately, the writing style and punctuation were a little too manic for me. With parentheses and footnotes and random exclamations strewn through the pages, it was a little distracting and hectic for me. Additionally, the murder definitely took a back seat to the romance to the point that I felt like she should have spent a little more time on it. Still, this book was a fun read and the dialogue was SO good!

Truth, Lies, and Second Dates by MaryJanice Davidson is a Romantic comedy and romantic suspense :)
This is the first book that i have read of this author and was very surprised to find the the incredible writing
The dislodges are witty making you smile as you read.

Captain Ava Capp avoids commitment and is a pilot without roots. Tom Baker is a sexy brainy doctor who offers to be Ava's bodyguard as Ava tries to understand the events related to death of her friend.

Its refreshing to have clumsy, cute hero (Why should heroines always have to be clumsy?).

"I have several things to keep track of" he said with faux haughtiness. "Where parts of my body are in relation to random large objects is not high on my list"

The personalities of the protagonists, wouldn't be for everyone as they are both not great with social niceties but that's how the characters were written realistically making this really a fun read
I enjoyed reads the metal lists that Ava prepares at the start of every chapter! The book was written in third person point of view but the view point shifts in some places abruptly

I will be going back to read more of this author soon.

Thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin's Griffin/Press for providing an ARC

Fast paced, intriguing, suspenseful and not predictable. I really enjoyed this story. It keeps you on your toes and guessing what the next twist will be.

This story tells the story of Female pilot Ava Capp who happy flying planes, and this book tells her story of what happens in her life.

Unfortunately I really struggled to finish this book and wasn't able to finish it, the characters in the book just came to fast eg too many characters introduced , and I also struggled with the storyline

With thanks to Netgalley & St Martin Press for the arc of this in exchange for this honest review