On the Couch: A Witty Romantic Comedy of Mistaken Identity and Seduction in Manhattan

by Alisa Kwitney

After going for more than a year without a date -- a record in New York City -- Marlowe Riddle has finally met a broodingly sexy, sharply intelligent man who is clearly interested in making more than polite conversation. The only Joseph Kain is an NYPD detective clearly under the mistaken impression that Marlowe is a call girl. But while Marlowe does take money for spending time with strangers in her expensive Upper West Side apartment, she's a psychologist -- not Manhattan's answer to the Mayflower Madam! A fact she has no intention of telling Joe ... at least not until she finishes her research project on the "Behavioral Effects of Disguising Identity." But Marlowe's not the only one trying to secretively gain information ... and it's becoming increasingly unclear who is seducing whom. Because sometimes the only way to learn what a man really wants ... is to get him on the couch.

Genres: Chick Lit, Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Ebooks

309 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

I'm the author of YA, graphic novels and novels for adults who still feel young, at least most of the time. Recent works include GILT, a graphic novel about time-traveling women of a certain age; Cadaver & Queen, a YA Feminist Frankenstein meets Grey's Anatomy tale, and Mystik U from DC Comics, which features Zatanna and other magical characters in their first year at college. I also co-host a Sandman podcast, The Endless, with Lani Diane Rich.

My first novel, Till the Fat Lady Sings, is also about college and romance and eating disorders. (It was my thesis at Columbia University's MFA Program, where I felt like an outlier for liking comic books and romance as much as literature.) I was an editor at Vertigo, the mature/dark fantasy branch of DC Comics, before going freelance. (I've also written two hormonal werewolf books as Alisa Sheckley.)

I live near the Vanderbilt Estate in Hyde Park, NY, with two dogs and a frightening number of books.

aka Alisa Sheckley

Reviews

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is verrrry sexy. Alisa Kwitney combines the male and female voice which both are the main character of the novel. So damn hot... can't help reading it until the last pages. Hee hee... recommended for you, romance-hunger--like moi! :)

[Niki · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have no idea why I bothered to finish this...it was dreadful!

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

This!!! This I was not expecting.

I generally read a lot of thriller or human interest type stuff. I haven't picked up a "beach read" in ages. I was looking for something simple and palatable to cleanse my mind from all the big stuff I've been reading lately.

Boy was I surprised! I was expecting your average Chicklit - this is no Shopaholic. Wonderful characters! The writing was so well done. It's definitely a lighter book, but written as if I were actually observing the lives of these people instead of just reading a story.

Let's get down to the sexy bits. Now, I'm no prude, I have read my share of erotic novels. I do not enjoy long winded descriptions or tasteless and crude language. I got five chapters into Anne Rice's Belinda and wanted to puke. It made me feel so awkward. This book, however, was very sexy, very real, very titillating.

I want more of this.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so great! All the women i know at one time or another would love the opportunity to pretend to be someone else. It was incredibly enjoyable and made me smile until the end.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back cover calls it a "screwball comedy" - more like a screwy, highly sexed comedy/mystery. It was an enjoyable quick read, if you can tolerate a plot filled with misunderstandings, coincidences, and a fairly implausible conclusion. My more exact rating would be 3 1/2 stars.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars 🌟

[Tanya B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light hearted quick read that kept me entertained.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short light read in the Chick Lit field, but really entertaining and funny. I enjoyed the different points of view from both main characters.

[Melissa (Always Behind) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of eh chick lit--cop mistakes a psychologist for a call girl. Too much sex and not enough story.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, fun read. Not too much substance but passed the time on a train journey!

[Temitope Coker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing characters with a charming storyline.

[Marcie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given this book and asked to read it and let someone know what I thought, so I had no idea what to expect. The main character Marlowe is a psychologist who by a series of coincidences runs into good looking and intelligent Joe and is immediately attracted to him. Due to the circumstances in which they meet however Joe believes her to be a call girl. The misunderstandings and thoughts of these 2 characters as the book progresses I found hilarious. I am so glad I was given this book and found it to be a treasure.

[Melissa Angeles · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a strange ending. It was like the author wanted to squeeze in five minutes of a thriller cop movie into the ending of this romantic comedy.

[Tara Majuta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started reading this book when I was in my twenties, and I throughly enjoyed. Just for fun, I decided to read it again while in my thirties. It’s fun, flirty and a good, quick read.

[Sarah Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was so hard to finish. SO MANY PLOT HOLES, it feels like a waste of time. Additionally, the MMC was incredibly hard to tolerate.

[Maraya Rodriguez · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf

[FlibBityFLooB · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a lot of potential, but it was very frustrating to read. The characters were neurotic and there were subplots that were boring.

The basic premise of the book is a cop who mistakeningly calls a psychologist thinking she is an escort he needs to investigate.

There was some hope in cop's alpha-male scenes, but in the end it fell short. Glad I got from library.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book more than the rating might indicate. Sorry, but I am just not interested in gratuitous sex which is not necessary to the plot. Kwitney came up with some very interesting characters, but digressed, then kind of faded away with their development. Still liked it, but if I were the editor the book would have been a novelette, about 1/2 to 2/3 as long.

[Emily]

It is a cute, quick read.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little too pornographic for my liking but ok story line.

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

my little note in my book journal has 'bad'. It was lackluster and you don't really give a crap about the characters.

[Leonel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible:

http://luhathoughts.blogspot.com/2012...

[Darnia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Totally crap...

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy and enjoyable read.

[Ashley Lotich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book back in undergrad and I just loved it so much. I ended up re-reading it years later and I still enjoyed it. It was a fun and interesting plot.

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book was just ok. Not terrible but I thought it would be funnier.

[Danielle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Chick lit not at it's best... but a very easy & quick read

[Jenny Walker]

Cute, short naughty one day chick lit read.

[Shelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like Joe, but couldn't get over him being kind of a jerk.