Cut short reporter's story on books about love (7)
I believe the answer is:
bobtail
'cut short reporter's story on books about love' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'cut short reporter's story on' is the wordplay.
'cut short' becomes 'bob' (I have seen 'Short cut' mean 'bob' so perhaps 'cut' could also mean 'bob'; 'short' indicates an abbreviation).
'reporter's' shows a homophone (sound like) (report can mean to speak something aloud).
'story' becomes 'tale' (synonyms).
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'tale' sounds like 'tail'.
'bob'+'tail'='BOBTAIL'
(Other definitions for bobtail that I've seen before include "Stump behind" , "Rag, tag and ..." .)