"Love and Liability" by Katie Oliver

Holly James loves her job at BritTEEN magazine but she would love for her big break to come writing about something a bit more meaningful than hunky pop stars and makeup.  And after her chance to interview the sexy city solicitor Alex Barrington falls to pieces, she needs to find something quick.  When she spots Zoe, a homeless teenager, outside of her office, she knows she has to tell her story.

While the editor of the magazine loves the idea and promises her an opportunity to publish the story, Holly’s boss Sasha is bent on stopping her big break.  She finds herself being sabotaged at work and isn’t sure who she can trust.  Sexy solicitor Alex is chasing her heart but Holly isn’t sure she can trust him either.  And before she knows it, her teen homelessness story has led her into London’s dark underworld.  Is she in over her head or will she be able to save her job and her heart?

Love and Liability, by Katie Oliver, is the second book in the Dating Mr. Darcy series, a fun and flirty series with a modern day Jane Austen feel.  

What I really like about this series of books is that it includes a whole group of characters, some who are featured more in one book than another.  We first met Holly in book one, Prada and Prejudice, though she was a background character there.  Now we get to learn her story.  Holly comes from a well-to-do family but is determined to succeed in London on her own and is pursuing a career as a journalist.  But she never would have thought that working at a magazine for teenage girls would bring so much drama and danger into her life.

Just as with the first book, I really enjoyed this story.  Katie Oliver packs a lot into her books which means the storyline is never dragging.  Sometimes that sacrifices bits of the story (some things could have more detail or not move quite as fast) but this book keeps you hooked from start to finish.  And what I appreciate about this chick lit offering is while it has your compulsory romance and mix-ups, it brings a more serious edge with the issues of homelessness and human trafficking.  Sure, it’s not going to solve the problem, but it’s nice that it shines a light on these issues.

The first book was a five star read for me and this book had all of the same things I loved about the first.  These are books that are fresh and whisk you away for a few hours of fun.  But there is one thing about this book that keeps it from being a five star for me and that is the writing becomes disjointed and rushed at the end.  Most noticeably, there are two scenes which are in direct contrast with each other, as in there were two different endings for these two characters and they were both included in the book.  It made it feel as though the secondary story lines were just being wrapped up quick and not given the full attention they deserved.  But other than that, I can’t complain about this book.

Love and Liability is the second in a series though it definitely stands alone.  But why would you want to read just this one when the whole series is so much fun?