Liam & Liz

by Iris Lim

Lizzie Benet loves her job and hates her boss. William Darson finds the new intern, quite unlike the girl he's been writing, a distraction at best. But sometimes, your soul mate and your mortal enemy can be one and the same.

In an original modern take, chance and circumstances bring together an urban professional, a freelance artist, a cozy country room, and a beloved favorite book to build bridges between two misunderstood people each yearning for a new chapter of life. What happens when you fall in love with the same person you detest in every single way? How much of a coincidence is behind their encounters - and how much is fate?

A contemporary variation, with a hint of old-fashioned love letters, and a heavy dose of modern-day travel.

92 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 2, 2020

Reviews

[Sheila Majczan · Rating 4 out of 5]

At 92 pages this can be a very short read. It is a modern variation. I read it between various chores, exercises, shopping and making dinner. The author's blurb gives us a good outline of what this story involves. I have read and enjoyed other stories by this author.

Liam and Liz are regular renters at the Collins home in Rosings, Ohio, but, obviously, on different occasions. He is there to visit his aunt. While E. uses the time to connect with an old friend and unwind with her favorite book, P&P. What starts the relationship is a note Liam decides to leave in the book he finds in a coat she left in the room when she last stayed there. They begin to write notes and leave them in this book and both find much to appreciate in this new unseen friend.

Meanwhile, ironically, E. Benet and William Darson have met in person (but don't realize such as the names used are different) when she is hired to work for his aunt's firm of which he is a VP. While he is attracted to her physically he also finds her place at the firm unsettling as they argue over her art submissions and she resents his changes to those.

When things come to a head at the DBC (de Bourgh Corporation) Elizabeth runs to the place she connects with comfort...only to find it is his rental time. Suddenly their two worlds collide. Much time is spent talking about the good, the bad and coming to an understanding. But as in P&P there are misunderstandings.

Again it is some time later when Lizzy again decides to visit her friend Char Collins that their worlds come together again but in a different way. Char is gone, the house is empty and none of Lizzy's e-mails to Char or Liam have been answered.

I do enjoy modern variations. This was no exception. I recommend it.

[Ree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Short Story
I thought this was a very well-written short story, which I definitely recommend. A great story to read in between the longer variations.

[Sisi_k · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a weird book. Didn't feel any chemistry between the characters and didn't understand why they acted or said the things they did.
I had a hard time suspending my disbelief about the characters in *this story* reading and philosophizing the real P&P without any mention to the similar names of people and places: Elizabeth, Charlotte, Catherine de Bourgh, Rosings, Hunsford.
Maybe I missed it with all the skimming? As I said, a weird book.

[Madenna U · Rating 4 out of 5]

A random book left at an Air BnB leads to two people getting to know each other through note and letters left in a coat signed Liam & Liz. Little did they know that they were also getting to know each other in reality as well as William Dearson and Lizzie Benet. The classic misunderstandings and class struggles from Pride and Prejudice come into play in this modern retelling - even as the characters discuss the book itself.

This was a good easy read!

[Craftyhj · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gentle read - 3.5*

This is a nice little plot idea and after a slightly wobbly start it finds its feet and flows smoothly. Unfortunately it is written in the present tense which just doesn't seem to fit well for this sort of plot.

[Faustine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice and short variation. Excellent plot, good ideas, smart characters who act and think their ages. I thought some parts of the story were unrealistic such as Darson firing Liz or buying her a house; and the way the story was told was a bit chaotic: it’s as if some of the story, dialogues or inner thinking came straight from the author’s brain without being processed for the readers. Not bad but difficult to completely enjoy and follow. Hence 3 stars.

[Anne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish for two reasons. One, it’s too Meta for me. Liz loves P&P as a novel but there’s a De Bourgh corporation and it’s just too much.

Second, I hate novels written in present tense. It has to be done well.

[Teresa Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute

This was a very short, sweet book. It does need more editing, but wasn’t too bad, and, although I would have liked Lizzie and William to have been more filled out, it probably wouldn’t have been such a short, easy read.

[Michelle Hassett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liz is an intern at Liam's company. The Collin's have an "air b&b" type cottage. They each stay there and swap notes back and forth in a P&P novel. But in real life they hate each other / don't know they are the writers.

[Michelle Snow · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't feel any chemistry between the main characters.