Love Is the Crooked Thing is the sequel to Fat. Rita finds that her relationship with Arnold is more complicated than she had expected. Arnold goes off to Europe, and Rita writes romance novels to earn money to go after him. Reviews of the sequel are mixed. Zena Sutherland finds it "just as adroit at the first book and just as witty, but a bit more bittersweet." Beth Anderson calls the novel "reader titillation at its worst." Deborah Locke writes, "The events of the story are absurd, but with a kernel of truth about romantic ideals and expectations. Expect to hear more from Rita Formica."