Telling Lies Online

So many lies. Jamie lies to Claire. Claire lies to Claire. Not to mention the catfishing was so uncomfortable. Jamie full on kept manipulating Claire.

“Telling Lies Online” is, I think, the third book I’ve listened to that featured a straight woman being matched with a lesbian by a dating app. It also plays to the “fake relationship” plot line, but in this case the two women aren’t working together to deceive others.<br /><br />In this book, the straight woman (MC Claire) isn’t initially shocked, because the lesbian (MC Jamie) decides to continue her online persona as Jay, allowing Claire to think that Jamie is Jay’s work colleague. Now, to continue further with this book, one has to be willing to consider both Jamie and Claire as fictional characters, with each doing things that are completely unrealistic, if not outright unlikable, for the purpose of entertaining the reader/listener with a silly comedy plot line.<br /><br />Let’s face it: Claire is completely unrealistic. She changes jobs and moves to be near Jay, because she loves him, though she’s never (obviously) met him. Jamie of course, is actively lying to Claire because she’s the woman of her dreams. Really? <br /><br />Ok, with belief properly suspended, and with agreeing not to evaluate or judge the actions of Jamie or Claire as we would anyone IRL, this is a pretty funny and cute book. Much of the credit to my enjoyment goes to the terrific narration by Stephanie Murphy, but I do want to chide her (and the author) for allowing some pretty poor audio quality onto the recording at multiple points. The author does a great job of having Jamie come up with various and increasingly ridiculous reasons for Jay not being around (e.g., “he” had to leave abruptly to research penguins!).<br /><br />I think the author wanted to deliver something along the lines of a Cary Grant / Katherine Hepburn “screwball comedy” from the 1930s. There are some elements here: a farcical scenario, quick banter, and the romance develops despite a battle of the sexes. But, Claire is more clueless than hapless, and Jamie is more deceitful than conniving, so the effort falls short of where it might have been.<br /><br />With a weak but entertaining story, and a lively but technically flawed narration, I rate “Telling Lies Online” 3* - meh.<br />

Oh, what fun this digital age is turning out to be: catfishing, internet-trolling, and Gwen Stefani finding out that her husband Gavin Rossdale is cheating on her with the nanny from an unsecured iCloud account. Oh, the woes! Childhood dreams shattered! As if dating isn't complicated enough, let's just add a fun little layer of technological confusion to the equation and see how it pans out!<br /><br />This digital digital get-down (Nsync, anyone?) turns out to be the living nightmare of the protagonist in this story, Jamie aka "Jay". Half of the novel, I wanted to throw homegirl a life preserver to save her from herself. The problem with lies is that you have to keep lying and lying even more. This is exactly what happens when the technological glitch (not Jamie's fault) turns into a Mt.Everest of lies (totally Jamie's fault). Strap on your hiking boots and pull out your trekking poles, folks. There's gonna be some hard climbing ahead!<br /><br />What I appreciate the most about this debut novel by Miranda Macleod, is that the elements of this story are not presented in "black &amp; white". The story exists somewhere in this beautiful grey space, which allows its readers to explore their own thoughts on some of the questions asked in this novel (wrong vs right, lies vs truth). The author also shows its readers in Telling Lies Online that appearances can be deceiving, especially when it comes to these "signs" that are referenced throughout the novel. What appears to be one thing, can turn out to be something entirely different, and this entirely different something can transpire and transform into the most wonderfully unexpected surprise. It's all just a matter of perspective, and perhaps, a little bit of nudging from fate.<br /><br />And an added bonus, Telling Lies Online also features a pretty diverse cast. Bravo!<br /><br />Macleod articulates this love story tenderly and with great care towards her characters, who experience the first stages of love and it's fragility. The pace and style of the writing are consistent and it's a gentle transition from chapter to chapter.<br /><br />One helluva debut and a solid start, I would say. You bet I can't wait for the next novel!

Let's be honest. This was <i>very</i> unrealistic. <br /><br />A "straight" girl decides to move across the States for a 'man' she'd never met and doesn't even know his last name. Never even heard his voice, doesn't have his number, nothing. Okay then.<br /><br />Then the 'man', who is actually a woman pretending to be a man - are you still following? - sees her? on the street. Just like that. Coincidence. First one. Okay, it happens sometimes. I guess.<br /><br />Then they became bff, move in together, because the 'straight' girl - who is not so straight - has nowhere to go, then they quickly, I might say very quickly, fall in love, but of course stuff happens, the girl finds out her online boyfriend is actually her real girlfriend pretending to be her online boyfriend, she's mad for a while, then <i>another</i> coincidence happens and the rest is a history. <br /><br />This whole book was such a unrealistic cliché. Also typical U-Haul kind of book, which I'm not a fan of. <br /><br />And don't even let me start about the ending. <br /><br />I'm giving this 2.5, but I have a soft spot for it, so I round it up to 3.<br />

I don't feel comfortable reading about a relationship based on lies. Moreover, lies over lies over lies. Of course, in the case of a funny comedy of errors all this is not only acceptable but welcome. But unfortunately this story is not a comedy. A fun read? Yes. A comedy? No.

2.5 stars. I didn't particularly enjoy this one as most of the book is focused on sustaining the lie rather than romance.

Jamie and Claire are both using a dating app. A software glitch screws up some of their basic information (like gender and location) and they begin chatting online. Claire is interested in men but thinks Jamie/"Jay" is a guy. Jamie realizes what has happened fairly quickly but can't quite give up chatting with Claire. Claire arrives for an unscheduled visit and Jaime claims to be best friends with "Jay" who is out of town. While Jaimie and Claire become friends, "Jay" becomes more and more of a nuisance. More madcap craziness ensues. <br /><br />This is probably my favorite by Miranda MacLeod but in general I am a big fan of her romance + comedy efforts.<br /><br />I listened to <u>Telling Lies Online</u> via my Audible Romance (now Escape) subscription. Stephanie Murphy was the perfect narrator for this little tale. Note: I'm also a big fan of Stephanie's voice and reading.<br /><br />I could see this being something like <u>Bellweather</u> that would be fun to revisit periodically.<br /><br />5/19/2019: Just as delightful the 2nd time!<br /><br />6/28/2019: ;-)

I liked the story. It was clever and fun, and I enjoyed the cast of characters. This is a feel-good book with quite a bit of angst. The narrator of the audiobook was outstanding.

A fun read - just don’t read too much into the optics.

Catfishing will get you nowhere but in a heap of trouble, even if it started off by accident. This book is centered on a computer glitch that leaves two women in precarious situation. This crazy novel is fun, and reminds us the truth will set you free.<br /><br />Dr. Jamie “Jay” Richards is a climate scientist. While Jamie has had a rash of bad luck dating, she tends to always pick the Miss Wrong, but currently things are beginning to look up. She’s met someone amazing on an online dating site. This may finally be the lady she is looking for. Everything is going wonderful until an automated message turns the whole thing upside done. A malfunction in website led her match to believe Jay is a male, and her profile picture she’s wearing a cowboy hat doesn’t help dissuade this error. <br /><br />Dr. Claire Flores is a professor of literature at a small college in Portland. She has spent her whole life trying to attain the high standards her great aunt has set for her. Nothing was ever good enough, and Claire was constantly reminded that her deceased parents would have expected more form her. Claire has spent her whole life feeling guilty, and wishing she had what her parents had. She has ideals of what her future should look like, and that does not include a wife, it includes a husband. She feels a connection to Jay, but if she knew Jay was a woman, all bets would be off.<br />Jay does the unthinkable and lets Claire believe that Jay is male. Claire decides on whim to take an interview for a job in Jay’s hometown of Boston. This is when things get crazy, and it keeps getting crazier.<br /><br />This novel is light-heated and fun. It is perfect for a quite weekend, when you want to relax and unwind with a fun tale. You won’t be disappointed! <br /><br />3.5 Stars<br />