I found myself desperately needing a romance, so I read this one, and I absolutely loved it! It's in a similar vein as Talia Hibbert's books with the addition of British royalty and cakes, and it's absolutely freaking hilarious and adorable. I loved, loved, loved the juxtaposition of Dominic and Sylvie's personalities and baking styles, and there were so many times I found myself cracking up while reading. But what sets this book above a lot of other romances I've read is that it also isn't afraid to go deeper into some harder topics, and Lucy Parker handles it all masterfully. Any fans of The Great British Baking Show or just romances in general will LOVE this brilliant book!

(Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

This was a solidly entertaining read. The supporting characters were delightfully quirky. The alternating viewpoints rounded out the view of the developing relationship. The rivalry with the tertiary bakery needs some more development and the betrayal of the employee was apparent early on.

When I first heard about this book I was so excited- I love Lucy Parker's London Celebrities series and the premise of two bakers competing to create the royal wedding cake? Chef's kiss.

I loved Sylvie and Dominic and the evolution of their relationship. I'm very picky about the enemies/rivals-to-lovers trope. If the people involved really hate each other (and I mean like really hate each other for good reasons) I just can't get into it. But we've seen that Parker can do the trope well in her other books and she did it well here, too. I could see the evolution of their relationship clearly and it was totally realistic (and ridiculously sweet and romantic).

The story itself was great as well. The side characters were memorable, the subplot of Patrick and Jessie was heartbreaking, and the sick bed scene was everything.

Also, I spent the whole book hungry for sweets and wishing I could actually go to Sugar Fair.

This book was so wordy, though. Parker's books have come to be synonymous with the witty banter between characters and the actions of the characters moving the story forward. This book, however, seemed to be a lot of big chunks of text followed by a little bit of dialogue and then another chunk of text. I missed the clever dialogue and I found myself skipping ahead over paragraphs at a time and having to go back to read (or not) more often than I'd like.

Overall, though, I loved the concept and the characters and when we did see dialogue and action, it was fantastic.

A few things I love: romance, baking, British Royals

A few things in Battle Royal by Lucy Parker: romance, baking, and British Royals

If it isn’t obvious I ADORED this book. It is my first time reading a Lucy Parker novel, but it definitely won’t be my last. The emotional connection between the two main characters was so sweet I’m still swooning over it a week later. Thank you to Avon for the early copy.

Battle Royal is out today, and I’m telling you that you gotta read this one. It was SWEET in more ways than one!

I tried with this one several times and just couldn’t not get into it. I even switched to the audio and it’s just not for me unfortunately

A new to me author and I'm in love. This contemporary romance was just what I needed. The premise of rival bakers who are also judges on a British baking show was so fun. The added element of a royal wedding and how that further influences their relationship really amped up this story. Full of laughter and feels, this is one of my top reads this year.

I found myself delighted by the two leads as I found them well rounded and interesting. Their back stories are slowly revealed as they deal with all the emotional baggage that comes along with their past. Sylvie with her glittery, fantasy romantic ideals are pitted against Dominic and his stiff, more traditional sense. If you love enemies to lovers this will be right up your ally but unlike some other stories like this it is never a hate situation, just a clash of ideals. I loved that Dominic is no nonsense but not unfeeling and that Sylvie is someone who has confidence in herself and craft. Their dance around each other was wonderful to read about, it isn't about completely changing one self but adapting and learning from the other person.

The side characters and setting I thought were all great especially Sugar Fair! Please tell me this exists somewhere. The juxtaposition of messy families between the royals and our leads was realistic and I hope we see more of them. (seeing what the series title is i think so)

The one drawback I can see was just certain elements being obvious but it did not detract from my enjoyment at all. I can also see someone maybe feeling like the ending was wrapped up a little too neatly but for me it was great. Who doesn't love a happy ending? There are other plot elements that are not wrapped up but since this is the beginning of a series I know that they will likely be addressed in other books and I can't wait to read those stories.

Thank you to Avon for gifting me a copy of this.

A dual review of "Battle Royal" by Lucy Parker and "The Royals Next Door" by Karina Halle.

These witty enemies-to-lovers rom-coms are perfect for both fans of all things royal and readers who are eager for a variation on the trend. Rather than being princes or princesses themselves, the couples in these romances either work for or get sucked into the orbits of royal families.

In Battle Royal, the first book of her Palace Insiders series, Lucy Parker follows two London bakers at war with each other over lucrative, high-profile commissions.

In Karina Halle’s The Royals Next Door, a duke and duchess’s departure from royal duties leads to romance between two solitary people who find themselves unwillingly fascinated with each other.

Full Review: https://bookpage.com/features/26556-contentious-courtships-romance#.YTEY7Y5KhUA

This is the epitome of sunshine girl, grumpy guy trope, and I absolutely adored both Dominic and Slyvie as characters. I just could not put this down.

There was so much humor and drama surrounding the British Bake Off-esque baking show that our two main characters are both judges on (and where they met 4 four years prior when Slyvie was a contestant and Dominic a judge). But Parker also tackles the concepts of found family and loss of family members in such an amazing and heartbreaking way that really drew me in and make me connect to the characters so much.

I will 100% be continuing on in this series when book #2 comes out. I can already tell the chemistry between Pet and Matthias is going to be to die for!

I received an ARC from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

This sounded really cute, but I found it disappointing. I finally ended up DNFing.

I wasn't enjoying the characters or plot. I found this boring, which is sad because I love this kind of setting.

I LOVE baking competition shows, and the blurb for this got me right away! Dominic and Sylvie kept me on the edge of my seat as they battled, and loved their way through this book! I absolutely loved their story and can’t wait for more from the series!

I really enjoyed the character in this book. They were well rounded and interesting. Beyond that the Plot of this one was a mess. It was all over the place with so many outside unnecessary details.

I wanted to love this one but because their was too much going on it was hard to keep track and for your characters to have the time and space to develop more fully. I love a baking romance but this one was not it.

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️4/5

Get your vaccines and read this book

Don't be fooled by the cartoon cover. This is an angsty romance. Everyone has issues. From Sylvie, the heroine who lost her family and has had to cobble together her found family to Dominic who had abusive parents and ran away from home at 13. There is Dom's sister, Pet (Petunia) who also had a rough childhood. My favorite character is Humphrey the Cat, the animal Dom inherited from his grandfather. There are sweets, a British baking contest, smart banter and TEARS. OMG the tears. My tears. This book made me cry in public, while I waited for my 1st Shingles shot. Get your vaccines people. And read this book.

4 stars. ARC review copy via NetGalley.

Raise your hand if you adored Rosaline Palmer and immediately wanted more baking competition books?? I never knew this was something I needed in my life, but I definitely do now. This was my immediate thought when I read the synopsis of Battle Royal.

This book ended up being so much more! On top of the baking show, you have an enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity love story, a royal wedding, and even more professional competition.

These characters are so well written and have so much depth, and the side characters are just as good as the main characters. They all have complex backstories that made them seem way more real. I loved how there was a perfect mix of emotional scenes and humorous scenes. It made the whole book feel very well-rounded.

I absolutely can't wait to read Pet and Matthias's story next!

Wow this book was SO much better than I was expecting. I was expecting a kitschy romance version of The Great British Bake Off. And there was a little bit of that in the background, but all of the characters were so well developed, as was all the world building. This book was deep, ya'll, and the writing incredible.

Exceptional banter with characters that are as comforting as a season of GBBO. The slow reveal of the backgrounds of the two main characters is done with such skill and prefect pacing. Additionally that supporting characters are completely fleshed out and only enhance the main couple rather than distracting or feeling like filler.

This book was so good! Like soo good. I can’t tell you how much I loved it, It was totally one of my favs of the summer. I can’t wait for book 2!

I'm a huge fan of Lucy Parker so I was excited to dive into her latest book. The book's concept is a ton of fun — combining a baking competition with a business competition to bake a cake for a royal wedding. The dialogue was solid. Parker excels at combining serious plot lines with HEAs. I plan on recommending it in a future edition of my newsletter.

I have said it before and I will say it again: I love “Enemies to Lovers.” But what I learned after reading Battle Royal is that I REALLY love “Bakers to Enemies to Lovers.”

Battle Royal is a book about love: familial, friendly and romantic. I laughed, I cried, and I baked some cookies (because what else do you do when you are reading about bakers).

Well, I’m definitely in the minority here but I did not enjoy this book at all. There was so much going on and hard to keep track of everything. I really had to push through the book. I just kept putting it down and trying to come back to it but could only do a chapter or two at a time. It took me forever to finish. It never fully pulled my interest in from the beginning and continued throughout. Didn’t work for me but I’m in the minority here.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Who else is loving all the baking romances that have been released in 2021? This is a trend I can get on board with!

A romance featuring a British baking competition AND a royal wedding? Yes please. Anything that features baking shows makes me happy, but this enemies-to-lovers romance is so much more than that. It gets deep with family drama and grief. I will say there were a lot of story lines happening, which got a bit confusing at times, but I loved all of the subplots (again royal wedding AND GBBO style show!!!). This one is the first in a series and I will definitely be picking up book 2!

I flipped back and forth between physical book and audiobook, and while I usually love a British narrator, the audiobook was more challenging for me to follow in this case.


Thank you Avon Books and Harper Audio for the gifted copies!