I'm thinking that maybe SEX, LIES, AND ONLINE DATING should receive even less than 3 stars, but after reading two previous Gibson books that I absolutely adored (they were my first of hers and total hits: IT MUST BE LOVE and SEE JANE SCORE) I'm reluctant to give a worse rating.

The writing was good I guess, though Gibson sometimes cuts up her sentences very oddly and one feels like a period was put in one place when it should have been a few words earlier or later. On the plus side, Lucy's female-writing posse (who are all heroines of their own book - stories TBR) was interesting and provided several funny and lighthearted moments - especially Maddie, she was a riot and I'm looking forward to reading her book! Also, she writes in some good red herrings.

CRITICISM
For me, the book had two major problems that I just could not get over and that were tied to one another in that they both have to do with the fact that Lucy and Quinn start off their relationship by "lying" to one another - I put lying in quotations only because although it's 100% accurate, they are both using covers for valid professional reasons. But still, it makes the love story and how it plays out completely implausible for me.

(1) Quinn thinks Lucy is a serial killer ... and he keeps on thinking she's a serial killer because everything keeps pointing in her direction ... yet he likes her. Ummm, so that's fine, but let's be upfront here: he obviously is just lusting after her and likes her body, because if he's liking her for her mind or her personality ... well that's just sketchy, since in his eyes she's a raving lunatic sociopath who goes out killing men through erotic asphyxiation.

(2) Lucy falls in love with Quinn WAAAAY too early - and page-wise it may have been a tad on the soon side, but still could have worked, however story-wise: no way. First of all, she doesn't even know the guy - he's still pretending to be a widower plumber and is lying to her practically nonstop - and second of all ... well, again, they just don't know each other (can't be said enough - it's all physical, nothing else)! He thinks she's a serial killer for god's sakes - it's not like they've had any great philosophical or even just everyday serious discussions, he's just trying to get her to sleep with him so she'll try to kill him. Call it lust, but don't call it love, because that just doesn't ring true.

WRITER FRIENDS SERIES
1) SEX, LIES, AND ONLINE DATING - Lucy Rotschild and Quinn McIntyre
2) I'M IN NO MOOD FOR LOVE - Clare Wingate and Sebastian Vaughan
3) TANGLED UP IN YOU - Maddie Dupree and Mick Hennessy
4) NOT ANOTHER BAD DATE - Adele Harris and Zach Zemaitis

BOTTOM LINE
Read IT MUST BE LOVE, SEE JANE SCORE, or TRULY MADLY YOURS instead. Those are all by Rachel Gibson and much better than SEX, LIES, AND ONLINE DATING. Also, if you like SEE JANE SCORE, you'll probably love HEAVEN, TEXAS by Susan Elizabeth Phillips ( )

Lucy Rothchild, a murder mystery writer, is working on a new book that features a female serial killer who meets her victims online. In the name of research she decides to do some internet dating with guys with online names like "luvstick" and "bigdaddy182". Quinn McIntyre is a police detective working on a case involving a female serial killer who meets her victims online and kills them using erotic asphyxiation (what a coincidence - just like the plot of Lucy's unpubbed book!) and he creates a persona "hardluvnman" and trolls around picking up women searching for the killer. Quinn and Lucy meet online and agree to a date at the local Starbucks. Both Lucy and Quinn are pretending to be something they're not: she says she's a nurse, he says he's a plumber. But they are instantly attracted to each other.

Quinn is convinced Lucy is lying about being a nurse and she seems to know too much about the crime he is investigating. So she becomes his number one suspect. I had a bit of a problem with the scene where Quinn, still suspecting she's a serial killer, tries to lure her into trying to kill him. He has his house wired for sound and video. There was a lot of kissing, groping, sighing and moaning and he brings her to orgasm, all of it recorded on audio tape. He had maneuvered her into the hallway so not all is on video but still it bothered me that a guy would do all that in the name of catching a killer. Before they get to the bedroom, he is called away by a phone call. The real killer has struck again. Lucy is very hurt when Quinn reveals that he suspected her of being a killer. I had a real problem with the fact that Quinn did not GROVEL nearly enough to satisfy me. When Lucy's life is threatened by the real killer, she goes running back into his arms way to easily. Also Lucy had a TSTL moment near the end but I don't totally blame her.

However, I did enjoy the book over all. The sex scenes were yummy and the action was plentiful but did not take over the romance. Just not Gibson's best. (Grade: B-) ( )

Rachel Gibson writes funny romances, and in my opinion, she's written a few of the best...and a few of the worst.

So I buy her books, but sometimes throw them at the wall.

My copy of Sex, Lies, and Online Dating isn't dented - neither is the wall or the cat - it's not great, but it's fun, and it has great characters. My major criticism is that in too many respects it's a one idea story - crime writer and cop meet online both doing 'research' and pretending to be someone they're not.

I'm also getting very tired of books that spend too much time trying to sell the author's next book; the epilogue of this one is primarily devoted to the major character of book two in the 'series.' It feels more like a sales pitch than literature.

That said, I found the book to be entertaining. The characters are well-drawn, the action moves along fast enough, and the suspense element works. And if you're looking for hot love scenes and fetching pets, Gibson does them equally well. ( )

Rachel Gibson writes funny romances, and in my opinion, she's written a few of the best...and a few of the worstbu....so I y her books, but sometimes throw them at the wall. This story is actually to entertaining; the characters are well-drawn, the action moves along fast enough, and the suspense element works. Another book from the "writers' series" ( )

So far, despite the bad grammer, this is a fun book.