Even though I read (and enjoy!) a lot of contemporary romances, it still feels like finding a rare treasure when I discover a new title to add to my favorites list. So, I’m excited to finally be sharing my thoughts on Headliners, the fifth book in the London Celebrities series from Lucy Parker, today, as it happens to be the latest addition to my list!

Headliners centers around a couple previously introduced in the series: rival TV presenters Sabrina Carlton and Nick Davenport who have been at odds for years. Unfortunately for the pair, they’re tasked to cohost a morning show (and effectively improve the ratings) after their reputations take a blow. But it seems like someone on their new team doesn’t want them to succeed. Forced to team up to figure out who is trying to sabotage their chances, Nick and Sabrina discover that there may just be actual romantic sparks between them underneath all that antagonism…

I had such a bloody good time reading Headliners! This novel makes it evident that Parker really knows her stuff when it comes to writing her rom-com stories, as it really captures the spirit and sentiment that characterizes this genre in other media. This story is filled with all the hallmarks that I personally enjoy in this genre: funny hijinks (including plenty of witty repartee), heartwarming moments (and not just the romantic kind), a sweet romance (that also had plenty of well-done romantic tension), a strong secondary cast (filled with cameos from previous novels in the series) and two main characters that I fell in love with. To top off this already potent story element combination, this is set during the holiday season as well (which I didn’t know going into it)! Headliners was completely delightful, and I absolutely loved it. I would recommend adding this one to your TBR (and saving it for December, if you’re the kind who loves holiday reading)!

Sabrina Carlton takes great pleasure in watching Nick Davenport, her greatest professional rival, cannonballing his career on social media by saying their boss has the charisma of a boiled egg. She is less impressed when she finds that—thanks to her father's recent plagiarism scandal—she and Nick are now the co-hosts of their network's morning TV show. If they want their contracts renewed, they have to play ball and improve the ratings. Otherwise, they'll both lost their jobs and someone else will get the morning show.

While Sabrina and Nick both consider Wake Me Up London to be the bottom of the TV show barrel, they also both want to keep their jobs so they are prepared to put aside their public feud and play nice on TV. This is an enemies-to-lovers romance, so it's not long before they both realise they don't actually hate each other. It's also not long before they both realise that things keep going wrong on set, and someone wants them to fail ...

Headliners is a brilliant and fast-paced romance in trademark Lucy Parker style. The fact Sabrina and Nick are known for not getting along gives plenty of space for witty writing. I especially loved the dialogue. Nick and Sabrina are both intelligent and motivated, and the dialogue sparkled with cutting wit. I'm also a big fan of the way the characters used humour to diffuse difficult situations.

(Those of you who follow my reviews will know I normally review Christian fiction. Headliners is not Christian fiction--it has a fair amount of sex, swearing, and plenty of innuendo.)

While Headliners is a standalone romance, Lucy Parker fans will recognise several characters from the earlier novels in the London Celebrities series. Fans will probably want to read the books in order to avoid spoilers for the previous book.

Recommended for rom-com fans, especially those who love an authentic London setting.

Thanks to Carina Press and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

Headliners is an enemies to lovers romance, which is one of my favorite tropes in the genre. These types of stories are usually good for some witty banter and I love the chemistry that comes from the kind of anger enemies can generate when they're secretly attracted to each other. And this couple really had some hate vibes going on. I was a bit disappointed that this book is a continuation of the last one in the series. I was under the impression that there would be spoilers for those who hadn't read the last book but Headliners could work as a standalone. I suppose I wasn't misled exactly, but I felt like I should've read that last book most of the time I was reading this one. Nevertheless, it's done now, and I still enjoyed this story. I also liked the writing style and will read future books from this author.

There’s just something incredibly adorable and captivating about Lucy Parker’s books. This is the fifth book in a series of interconnected stand-alones. While they can all be read on their own, I would definitely recommend at least reading The Austen Playbook as it does give us a bit of background on Nick and Sabrina.

Nick and Sabrina start off as former rivals forced to work together. They have a timeline and a goal and they have to start seeing past their differences. As mishaps start to happen around set, they start working together to see who is trying to sabotage them. This paired with the many other times they are forced to be in each other’s presence, starts to form a bond between them.

I loved their bantery fighting, I loved their flirting, I loved the way they learned to fiercely love and trust and support each other. I just all around loved this book

The latest installment in Lucy's Parker's London Celebrities series features two rival news personalities and the sparks between them flying into something more than mutual loathing. Rivals Sabrina Carlton and Nick Davenport find their careers' hinge on re-invigorating their network's "fluffy" morning show, 'Wake Me Up London' by Christmas... which is less than three weeks away. Their task is made all the more daunting with an unknown saboteur on set, Nick's past professional choices, and the sneaking realization they might be each other's perfect match.

The story was a solid expansion of Parker's exploration into the London theater scene. Sabrina and Nick feel like fully realized characters whose relationship shifts from enemies to begrudging co-workers to friends to lovers smoothly. Their romance features a good mix growth, attraction, and surprising sweetness. A good portion of their relationship angst stems from the pair witholding information, soley to increase the dramatic tension, so that knocked off a star for me. I also felt that I was missing details about *why* the two were so adversarial; turns out it all happened in a previous book, which I haven't read yet. This can be read as a standalone, but with a lot of nuance and previous characterization missing. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I'd been able to find and read the prior book first.

*I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Another great read by Lucy Parker. What’s not to love in “Headliners”, great chemistry, great romance!

Headliners
London Celebrities - Book 5
By Lucy Parker

Carina Press - Feb 2020

Contemporary Romance


Sabrina Carlton and Nick Davenport had a working rivalry that had worked quite well. They were on competing programs, and the ratings had benefitted. Then Nick had reported on the discovery that a Carlton legacy had been a scam, and their feud had moved to a new level.

Sabrina's career was still reeling from the impact of that announcement. When Nick's lapse in judgement in venting his opinion of his boss is caught on tape, the two find themselves in a meeting that could end both of their careers. Or save them. They were to host the morning show. The good news was that if they could succeed in bringing up the ratings by Christmas, their careers would continue. The bad news was that they had to play nice.

As they work together, they begin to see qualities they had missed. And although they always dismissed rumors of a romantic interest, they begin to realize that perhaps others had seen what they had been too blind to see themselves. Unfortunately, they had to focus on saving both of their careers, and someone seemed to be intentionally disrupting the show and they needed to work together to find out who.

Headliners was a story I’d been wanting to read since meeting Sabrina and Nick. The tension between the two had scorched in The Austen Playbook and I knew Lucy Parker would do justice to bringing these two strong personalities together. I enjoyed watching as they slowly revealed their true selves to one another, and began sharing in each others' lives. Headliners, is the fifth story in Lucy Parker's London Celebrities series, and although there are some spoilers for The Austen Playbook, it can be considered standalone.

Kathy Andrico - KathysReviewCorner.com

Alright, let me set the scene... feuding TV presenter suddenly forced into working as host on morning show where they are on display for all of London to watch them thaw their frostiness towards each other and fall in love. I MEAN! COME ON!

This was my first Lucy Parker book and while it is 5th in a series, you can read it as a standalone. I really enjoyed how these characters started out, definitely enemies! As soon as they interact with each other, you can FEEL the sexual tension!! Whew! As the story goes on and the begin dating, I love how both of them really consider the others feelings toward some of the work obstacles they face. Nick and Sabrina were perfection and I definitely felt their love.

I switched between reading and listening to the audio (which is on hoopla!!) for this one & really enjoyed that. The swoony British accents... amirite??

” When A Person Was Forced down a path they didn’t want to take , When they never got what they strove for ,and were unfulfilled by what they settled for , Spirit broke down .. Love broke down ”

Headliners Novel was such a great romance story , it made me really remember why I love this genre .

Sabrina and Nick love story was exciting to read about . Their relationship development from enemies to lovers , their attempts at changing their first impressions , solving their problems , understanding each other actions and personalities , forgiving and moving on to build a strong , supportive and respectful relationship , all were fascinating .

The plot was interesting and the side characters were supportive and great additions to the main story line.

I loved Lucy Parker Writing style , expressive , simple and totally engaging .

For All Romance Readers , If you like a beautifully written ” Enemies to lovers ” story full of ambition , inspiration and good feelings , trust me , this one is for you .

**I’ve read the book without reading the previous ones in the series and still got the full experience **

Very excited to be discussing one of my favourite books of 2019 with Lara from Words With Lara! It made sense seeing how obsessed we both are with all of Lucy Parker's books that I ask Lara to come and discuss Lucy's latest release, Headliners in all its glory with me. Also, I loved Headliners so much that I'm giving away a copy of it! More info at the bottom of this post!

FIND HEADLINERS:
/ Goodreads / Amazon / Book Depository /


ELLA: Hey Lara! I am so excited to chat everything Headliners with you! We’re both such fangirls of Lucy Parker’s books and I know you were just as excited as I was for Headliners. There are so many things I want to talk/scream about but the first thing I’m really eager to discuss is the TV setting in this book! I was OBSESSED with how much fun it was to read about and now want a million books set in this setting. What did you think?

LARA: Lucy Parker is definitely one of my favourite authors and I was SO excited for Headliners (sidenote: thank you for introducing me to her). I LOVED the TV setting. I really wasn’t sure of how I’d feel about it (I’m not good at change and this was a bit different from the other books in the series), but it worked out so well and really provided an awesome setting for the two main characters to interact.

ELLA: Couldn’t agree more, Lucy managed to pull it off with such effortless flair. What did you think of the “mystery” element and how it fit into the story/book? I personally enjoyed the mystery in Headliners more than I did the one in Lucy’s previous book, The Austen Playbook, but that’s just me. I really enjoyed how the mystery added an interesting plot element (although I knew who the person was behind the accidents pretty early on haha).

LARA: I think I preferred the mystery in The Austin Playbook, but I totally agree that the one in Headliners fitted both the story and the genre a lot better. Honestly, I had no idea until right before the reveal who the person was behind the sabotaging, but I’m pretty useless when it comes to predicting things like that. I’ll blame the fact that I was too tied up in obsessing over the romance to pay any attention to anything else.

ELLA: I think the mystery in Headliners was so much smaller compared to the one in The Austen Playbook which is why I preferred it as it didn’t take over or take anything away from the romance, but I can totally understand your point! Talking romance, let’s move onto the most important part of the whole book! I bloody love how good Lucy is at writing enemies to lovers and it was perfection in Headliners.

LARA: Lucy Parker is the best. She is the reason that romance was my most read genre last year (coming from someone who used to avoid contemporary and romance like it was the plague). And if it’s done well the enemies to lovers trope is SO much fun to read… Needless to say, Lucy Parker absolutely smashed it.

ELLA: Yeah, I think romance might’ve been my most read genre of 2019 as well! I’ve still yet to find contemporary romances as good as Lucy Parker’s, though not for lack of trying. (She’s just too good!) I’m also not the biggest fan of contemporary but now that I’m officially in my twenties (ahhhh), I think I’m reaching for it a bit more. But one of the reasons I’m such a big fan of Lucy Parker’s work is how FUNNY every one of her books are! It’s one of the reasons why her books work so well for me as the humour is so cheerful and uplifting.

LARA: One thing I love about Lucy Parker is how good she is at writing in hilarious, snarky and sassy leads without making it seem forced or annoying. Sabrina and Nick had the best banter (that’s the only way I can think to describe it?) and reading their dialogue was so much fun.

ELLA: YES! I really, really loved Sabrina. And Nick and Sabrina’s dialogue was A+++. I felt genuinely really sad when I got to the last page of the book and knew that that was the end of their story! I really would like to see a novella about these two as I think their story could definitely be carried on for a bit longer (or maybe that’s just wishful thinking).

Also, I just LOVE how Lucy Parker writes her grumpy heroes! They never go into abusive or mean/unkind territory which is something that I come across a lot in romance, especially with the enemies to lovers trope. I hate when it goes down that track as horrible behaviour should never be framed as sexy or heroic or like part of a hero’s/love interest’s personality, y’know? Anyway, I really love how Lucy Parker avoids going down that track.

LARA: Ugh I totally understand what you mean, I can’t stand characters like that and it’s made me DNF books in the past. Give me a soft grumpy hero anyday over the ones that just turn out to be assholes and that’s their entire personality.

ELLA: I’m trying to nail down my *favourite* parts and moments in the book and it’s so hard! I don’t want to spoil anything for people that haven’t read it yet but one of my fav moments of the whole book was the Thames dip. I knew as soon as I got to that part of the book that HEADLINERS was going to go on my favourite books of 2019 list!

LARA: Honestly I don’t even know where to start with my favourite parts, but I think you’re probably absolutely spot on! If you want to know what Ella’s talking about you’re going to have to read the book.

Thanks Lara for discussing Headliners with me!

GIVEAWAY!
CLICK HERE to follow the giveaway I'm holding for one of Lucy's books on Twitter! Good luck!

What was your fav romance you read in 2019?

London Celebrities is a series that follows the lives of different West End personalities and with every book in the series, I feel myself echoing the same thought, and it’s how much I appreciate and enjoy that every set of characters in the books, has a different profession within that world. That makes it so much more interesting for me and it makes me want to learn more about what they do and all the behind the scenes action.

For Headliners, we have two competing TV presenters that are forced to work together in order to be in the running for their dream job. However, something happened the summer before the book starts that makes these two rivals’s relationship even less ideal and tolerable but both of our main characters need to accept.

All these five books follow different leads, and despite some brief cameos and mentions of previous characters, they are quite separate stories. However, if you are interested in Headliners, I suggest reading The Austen Playbook, book four in the series, first, because it goes into detail about Sabrina’s family, what happened that made the relationship between her and Nick so difficult, and why that’s important for Headliners.

From what we saw of Sabrina and Nick in The Austen Playbook I was not sure I would enjoy Headliners as much as I did but it’s one of my favourites from the series. The dynamic between the two leads is amazing. Something happened at the beginning, which is hinted in the synopsis, that made them form a sort of alliance, which was my favourite thing from the book, having them work together (outside the set) and sort their differences and feeling for each other. It was great seeing both their perspectives and I absolutely appreciated how what happened between them was not brushed under the rug and they had to deal with the consequences; it made their dynamic that much more interesting and real.

Sabrina was amazing and I was surprised by how much I liked her; especially after not caring that much about her storyline in Austen Playbook. And it was great to see more about Nick and why he’s the way he is but I have to repeat that the best thing is how they’re around each other and the bond they’re forced to make. I enjoyed seeing all the behind the scenes, as I did with the rest of the series, but I felt like it was different with Headliners, and we got to see more of it than in the previous installments. It was really fun seeing the countdown for their job deadline at the start of the chapters and how their situations at work came to be and change, from the preparation that goes into it to all the different sketches and interviews.

The story kicked off immediately and the pace was better than the previous books. It also felt like we got more elements to the story that we did not get in the other installments and we got to see a more competitive pair but also some tension, comraderie and intrigue. I think them being presenters played in favour of the story because there was always something going on that kept the story fresh, interesting and engaging.

The perfect first book of the year and decade! Parker does hate-to-love so well. I always believe the animosity but can see the attraction underneath it all. Sabrina and Nick are rival TV news anchors who are forced to work together to revive a sinking morning show... or else. With their careers on the line, the stakes were raised. It added the perfect amount of tension to the story! I thought the newsroom was a fun shift in setting from previous books in the series, and the suspicious events added a nice hint of mystery (and comedy!). Parker consistently writes amazing romances with well-developed characters and just enough drama. I'm So Obsessed With It! PS: I'm a sucker for cameos of previous couples and am happy to report you'll find some here.

An amazingly heart fluttering enemies to lovers contemporary romance sure to make you swoon, I promise! Two ego centric television stars Sabrina Carlton and Nick Davenport join together to cohost a show. Nick claims to be the sexiest man in London and Sabrina with the longest leg, but who will win this battle but each other’s hearts. I love the story line and this trope is one of my favorites. This was definitely a fun read that had me from the very first page.

I think everyone knows that my love for Pretty Face is unparalleled, unmatched...but damn, Headliners came pretty close to dethroning Pretty Face as my all-time favourite Lucy Parker book.

ALMOST, because even charming Nick Davenport couldn't defeat my husband Luc Savage.

This book is a delight from the start. The snippy remarks between Nick and Sabrina, the "oh my god I'm catching feelszzzz" moments, the tenderness and intimacy that developed between them, the A+ banter, the "Jesus Christ. The man's useless. He's not even a satisfactory villain." line (!!!)...

ugh, this book is truly a personification of the 100 emoji.

MORE, PLEASE.

I read Headliners in < 24 hours, so, safe to say I enjoyed it.

As many others have noted, it's the fifth in the London Celebrities series. And while you *can* read it as a stand-alone, you will likely increase your enjoyment (and definitely your understanding of some of the referenced backstory) if you read the fourth in the series (The Austen Playbook) first.

I suspect I liked Headliners so much because it was easy to root for the couple featured, Sabrina and Nick, two "feuding" TV presenters who suddenly become co-hosts. Enemies to lovers, forced proximity, workplace romance... Parker combined a lot of tropes I typically like, and I daresay did that really well.

Content warnings: Complicated parental relationships, grieving dead mothers, discussion of gambling debt, reference of previous assault and cheating

(Thank you Harlequin - Carina Press and NetGalley for a free e-arc of this title for review.)

This took me a little longer to get into than the other books in this series, but I wound up enjoying it. I think it's is a solid book and I'm really excited to see where this series goes!

4.5 stars

Headliners by Lucy Parker is such a good read.

Great storyline, entertaining characters that will capture your heart and mind with their story.

Every book from the London Celebrities series has been a joy to read and I highly recommend them all!

*An ARC was provided in exchange for my honest thoughts.*

Headliners by Lucy Parker is a brilliantly written contemporary romance novel. A classic hate turns to love trope, but original in its own way. The characters are strong yet also soft and sincere. The London setting is the perfect backdrop for this story.

Nick is a man’s man in every sense of the word, but under all that masculine exterior lies a heart of gold. Sabrina is tough as nails with a fiery red mane to go along with her stubborn streak. These two are thrown together on a news stage when the glaring hate between them turns to heated passion.

I truly loved this novel. I fell in love with the characters right away. The way the author writes them is nothing short of amazing. First off, Nick and Sabrina are a biracial couple. Second, Sabrina’s best friends are married lesbians with a daughter and one on the way. However, while these characteristics could have been full of blatant innuendos and controversial fodder for some, Parker writes this as if they were perfectly ordinary. And they are perfectly ordinary! I applaud Lucy in the way she recognizes diversity while not throwing in our face like it is a novelty.

Thus, I feel it is only proper to award Headliners a full 5 out of 5 stars. If you are a fan of modern romance, you won’t find much better than this gem from Lucy Parker. She knows how to bring the heat and tell a fantastic story at the same time. Thank you, Lucy!

Headliners effectively picks up where The Austen Playbook left off. It’s a fabulous enemies to lovers (a la Much Ado about Nothing) story. It also has a secondary mystery and some absolutely laugh out loud moments.

I quite liked the ensemble feel to this book. Nick and Sabrina alone might have been too ascerbic, but the secondary characters, including those from previous books really made this book shine. It bounced from sweetly romantic (and yes, it’s definitely there) to harsh, and then from hilariously funny to deeply emotional. Well-rounded in the emotions department, I’d say.

Neither Sabrina nor Nick were characters I was deeply fond of from previous books but they worked very well together in their own. Let’s just say, to steal someone else’s line, that they rowed together quite well. Sabrina originally came across as a bit too much in previous books, how she treats Freddie and her intense competitiveness. Nick came off as an absolute jerk in previous books. I mean, if you are willing to throw your best friend under the bus to further your career I don’t really like you. I loved how Headliners showed motivations, fears, and concerns, effectively how things like this can happen even if you don’t fully sympathize with it.

With a string of mishaps on set and in front of a live audience, it seems someone wants them to fail. But failing is not an option so Nick and Sabrina decide to solve the mystery. They have too much pride and their livelihoods riding on making this work. With an “us against the world” attitude kept in check by their personal animosity and then blown out the water by their chemistry, getting to a grand gesture was inevitable. Keeping their jobs, falling in love, and trying to not fall for the multitude of plots around them certainly keeps them on their toes.

I admit, I also got some cheering in when a certain someone got their comeuppance finally! I’m hoping for more, but this seems to have reached a natural stopping point so I am unsure if this is the last or if we’ll have more to look forward to.

Headliners, moves out of the theatre and behind the cameras as two competing ( and antagonistic) TV hosts are forced into proximity. Sabrina and Nick, having both suffered image problems - hers is fallout from a family scandal and not her fault, and his is completely his fault due to a lack of situational awareness when dissing the big boss- and they both lose the host job on the evening show that they'd been competing for. They are given one last chance if they can bring off cohosting a morning show and bring the ratings up or else they are both out of jobs. The start of their working relationship is rough - he actually broke the story that exposed her family scandal - and they have been sniping at each other for years, but slowly things change and they start getting to know each other and things start heating up.

This was Enemies to Lovers done well, I liked the slow transition from loathing to grudging respect and loving. I didn't expect to like Sabrina. She appears in other books and in the previous book which had her sister in the lead, she seemed not to have her act very together with her inability to stay away from her self-described on/off actor boyfriend. But she feels much smarter here. And I liked the fact that Nick is worth loving, since he seemed like a real jerk in the previous book.

I love this series, and Headliners didn't disappoint. I sure hope there will be more books in the future - maybe even one where one of the leads actually works for the gossip rag that gives the series its name?

This is an unpaid review - ARC courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley - this is available now