Holly's Inbox: Scandal in the City - Holly Denham

In this second book about the trials and tribulations of Holly Denham, we get more of the same under the principle 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. Once again Holly suffers through misunderstandings, bitchy colleagues and a vivid social life.

I enjoyed it as much as the first book, but felt it was even more contrived than the first. It suffered from Bridget Jones 2 syndrome: what do you do when your heroine achieves her happy ever after at the end of the first book? Here the author decides (as they do in the second Bridget Jones book/film) to artificially create tension by breaking up the two main characters.

The peripheral characters and their snappy exchanges with Holly are as fun as ever although I did miss Aisha's mad antics from the first book.

I tired a little of the predictable nature of the plot in the end - even the 'surprise bombshell' wasn't exactly shocking, given the amount of foreshadowing the author provided.

As with the first novel it's no more than light entertainment but diverting enough for an afternoon's reading.