It’s been a while since I read Parker, I really enjoyed the first two stories in this series but then skipped book 3. The main trope on this is enemies to lovers but they aren’t too antagonistic so it worked well for me. Sabrina and Nick are headliners on individual news programs and are forced to work together. There were lots of tender moments and one where Nick hugs Sabrina for 5 minutes that made tears fall from my eyes.

Rating: 4/5


Thanks NetGalley for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sabrina and Nick, TV hosts, never got along, which only got worse when he decided do expose a plagiarism case in her family. After both of them being in a difficult place professionally, their broadcaster force them to host the morning show together and to make matters worse, it has low ratings and they need to save the show and their careers - without killing each other in the process - until christmas.

This is the fifth book in the series London Celebrities, but each book has its own story and focuses on a different couple.

The biggest difference between this book and the others is the setting, since the first three books focus on plays on the West End, the fourth one is about a kind of TV play and this one is about a TV program. So of course the dynamics is different here and the authors works with it very well. Just like in the other books, it is very easy to feel immersed in that reality, because of the level of the details Parker shows us.

As expected, the romance is incredible. The author knows how to create very real and relatable characters and the dynamics between them is very natural and evolves in a instictive way. Their dialogs are hilarious - their british humor is on point - making me laugh a lot. Also, it's very, very cute to follow their relationship stages. Besides, it's always good to see a TRUE enemies to lovers, since they really have good reasons not to like each other.

I ended up giving it 4 out 5, as I gave the others. I don't really have a reason for not giving it full rating, but as it happened to the other books, I felt the towards the ending, the books started to drag a little bit, but it could be just a personal impression.

I highly recommend it to people who love the enemies to lovers trope, London setting (the author always makes me feel like I'm there) and the behind the scenes dynamics.

Originally posted on: https://www.instagram.com/p/B5yVpRoDr2D

I love this series – although I kind of broke my rule. Normally I don’t like to read a series out of order and I haven’t yet read the fourth book yet…..which involves Sabrina’s sister Freddy (whom the reader has already met in a previous book) and Griff, who turns out to be a friend of Nick’s in this book. So technically I kind of missed the connection of these characters to the previous ones and there’s obviously some stuff that goes down in that book that feeds into this one but it really didn’t matter. You pick it up pretty quickly and all you really need to know is that Sabrina and Nick have a long running rivalry, taking potshots at each other on their respective shows and that Nick dropped a bombshell about Sabrina’s family that severely hit her reputation, despite the fact that she wasn’t involved – she was tainted by association. Then Nick was caught on camera ripping their network boss and so….the two of them find themselves shunted to the ailing breakfast show. Hosting it together.

Breakfast television is kind of the scourge of tv – mindless, inane, a false dynamic generally an attractive woman fake-laughing at the “larrikin” antics of her male co-worker. But for Nick and Sabrina, it’s basically the only shot they have to save their careers. The public like them both, despite their recent bad publicity and the fact that they’re known to dislike each other brings an added element to the show. It isn’t long before there’s a few incidents that lead the public to believe that the whole enemies thing is just a front…and that they’re really lovers.

The last book I read (#3) was a bit of a dip in quality for me but this one is straight back to the top. It’s everything I love in a romance. Enemies to lovers is one of my favourite tropes and I also adore opposites attract when it’s done well (and the bickering doesn’t feel like teenage siblings bored with each other at the end of a long summer break) and Lucy Parker nails it here. Most of the animosity occurs in the past (some is probably in the book I skipped) and there’s a grim realisation at first, to try and make this work. And then it becomes….much easier than any of them anticipated. I especially loved the way they figured out that someone on the production staff seemed to be trying to sabotage them and how they teamed up in order to try and get to the bottom of it, rather than go the route of suspecting the other or trying to do it alone. I love the way their relationship evolves the more time they spend together doing the show, the way the attraction flares but also….it’s more than just a physical thing. When they get to know each other they realise how much they actually like each other and how there’s been some extenuating circumstances I think, that have fed their rivalry. In a way they were sort of both trying to be different people – Nick because he was following in his father’s footsteps and Sabrina I think, was trying to make a name for herself to perhaps fit in with her successful family and also make up for the fact that her father didn’t seem to pay her much attention and that they have a fractious relationship. Nick in particular I think, was surprised to discover that a job he probably thought was beneath him when offered it, had real potential. That he and Sabrina could make something of it.

I adored this – and now I doubly have to go back and read the one before it because the talk about Freddy and the man she ends up with makes me think that it’s going to be 100% my sort of book, even more than this one is. And I can’t wait for the next book in this series…I hope Nick’s brother Iain gets a book, I’d love to see that. Given he’s a decent part of this book, I think it’s quite possible that he’s up next. I can only hope anyway!

3.5 Stars

HEADLINERS gets off to a bit of a slow start, since it has to recap key backstory that unfolded in the previous book in the series, The Jane Austen Playbook, and because it throws in references and quick sightings of characters from the first two books in the series, too. Once it gets going, it proves witty, entertaining, and well-written, but not quite as grounded in clear feminist issues as the earlier books in the series are.

Sabrina Carlton (white Brit) and Nick Davenport (Guyanese-Brit), rival TV anchors, are competing for a hot evening news job until public embarrassments (Sabrina's revealed via a report by Nick) take both out of the running. Rather than fire them both, the executive head of programming gives both a second chance—if, first, they will co-host the network's dismally-rated morning show, Wake Me Up London, or WMUL, for the month of December. Surely their very public feud will draw audiences eager to see the two rival co-hosts trade insults and set-downs on what is supposed to be a cheerful, family-friendly show.

Neither Sabrina nor Nick, both more known for intelligence than for sentiment, is eager to take on the morning job. But as each wants to continue their network careers, they grin and bear it and start petting puppies, cooking pies, and interviewing celebrities and people with five minutes of fame.

Nick's long been attracted to Sabrina, but has long repressed that attraction, only allowing it out via his snarky public comments about her. He's regretting allowing his ambition to get in the way of his humanity, which led him to break the story that implicated Sabrina's family in a literary scandal; emulating his reporter-father, who cared more about his career and ideals than his family and friends, has never been one of Nick's life-goals. Sabrina is less enchanted by Nick, reading his one-time ruthless unveiling of her family's secret as a deeply-held character-trait. But when unexplained accidents begin to disrupt their morning shows, Sabrina and Nick decide to work together to discover the culprit. And in the process, they discover the person behind the headliner image each projects to the public.

Though well-written and plotted as previous entries in the series, this one felt a little flatter, perhaps because the goals of both characters—saving their television careers—didn't come across as that vital or compelling, and the saboteur plot felt rather predictable. Sabrina comes across as a rounded character, with her strong relationship with her sister, her difficult one with her father, and a romantic past that she is working to put behind her. But Nick is less developed, not only than Sabrina, but also than previous Parker male leads.

Headliners is the fourth book in Lucy Parker’s London Celebrity series and this time it features the ever famous and all so competitive Sabrina Carlton and Nick Davenport. Rivals in the field of tv journalism, these two are suddenly paired up in a morning show were they really have to make it work for the sakenof their careers! What results is a lot of on-set mishaps, ultimate nightmare guests and two people finding themselves falling in love in spite of everything in their pasts. Sabrina and Nick are fantastic characters who really grow on you and making you root for their own happily ever after.

Sabrina Carlton and Nick Davenport have been professional rivals and competitors for years with competing evening news shows. Their separate networks have recently combined in a merger - so there's only one spot at the top. But Nick displayed questionable ethics and broke a massive story about Sabs' family that ruined one of his closest friendships and almost cost her sister Freddy her career (The Austen Playbook), not to mention tanking Sabrina’s credit with the network. On top of that, Nick got caught on camera in a dressing room rant about the network’s shady new boss. So he’s doubly in the doghouse and what was going to be a professional dogfight is now a knives-out grudge-match. But they're each given one more chance: work together to rehab the network's flagging morning chat show in one month and maybe they won't be out on their asses in the New Year. Nick and Sabrina have to make nice for the camera but then doing it for the camera leads to perhaps making nice IRL...and then something more (knitting is involved, it's adorable). And when a saboteur starts causing strange accidents - a misprogrammed child's toy, salt in the sugar in a baking segment, a rogue boom mike - Nick and Sabs are in a race against time to save their careers and find time to come together (SPARKS DO SOME FLYING, OH YEAH). 

Headliners is an absolutely smashing enemies-to-lovers contemporary. This is an excellent addition to books that rehab the “bad guy” (Devil in Winter, Duke of Sin, Loving Rose) except rather than a rakish nobleman who kidnapped the previous book’s heroine or tried to kill the hero the stakes are much more realistic. Nick is a reporter who made a very ill-considered decision with professional and personal consequences. The fallout cost him friendships and integrity. The incident was also connected to Sabs discovering her boyfriend had been cheating on her (again) while on air which contributed to her bad press. Parker really gets into how one has to adult up after making a such a huge mistake, how trust has to be rebuilt. 

It's also another in a recent string of contemporaries where everyone refreshingly is an adult and has adult problems. Nick and Sabs, despite their seemingly glamorous television presenter jobs, get up every morning - too damn early for normal humans, in my opinion - and do the daily grind. They have family to deal with, former lovers, surprise job opportunities. They are eventually able to talk about what happened, about all the hurt that Nick's decision caused. And, to top it off, when Sabs gets her period and rotten cramps and the whole nine yards, and needs supplies, Nick goes out and gets them for her from the store, no whining, no acting like an nincompoop about it. Seeing characters on the page who aren't jerks about menstrual cycles is such a great step forward. (And if you were wondering if the infamous Sadie Foster, instigator of all the problems in The Austen Playbook, is still around, you best read this book.)

I received an ARC through Netgalley. Thank you to Carina Press for selecting me. All opinions expressed are my own. I was not required to leave a positive review.

I have been eyeing Lucy Parker's books for awhile. So I jumped on the opportunity to read this one through Netgalley. Unfortunately I did not realize that this was the 5th book in the series. It would be beneficial to have read the other books before I read this one, as the characters from the previous books made an appearance in this book, and drama from other books are dealt with in this book.

This book begins with competing evening news anchors Nick & Sabrina being forced to work together (and improve the ratings of) the morning show. The started out disliking each other, but soon this changed to mutual admiration and respect. When little things start going wrong in their show, they realize that there is someone not-so-happy with their on-screen chemistry. This little bit of mystery added a definite comedic element and is solved by the end of the book.

What I really enjoyed was the banter between Nick and Sabrina. There was a past history between these characters, but I was so glad that it was something they both could deal with and move past... no need to rehash ALL THE TIME!

This book has the sweet moments, the funny moments (hello Wibblet), and the more serious. It's easy to see how together Sabrina and Nick become better versions of themselves.

So much fun! This story has a lot going for it. It has a great premise, two likeable main characters, snappy dialogue, LOL moments, sweet scenes and some pretty hot scenes. I liked that the author did not fabricate silly m,misunderstands and had both characters act like adults and that they discussed issues openly honestly (and I really like the way the scene with the ex was written).

Headliners by Lucy Parker is book five in her London Celebrities series. Though part of a series, it reads well as a standalone. This is my first novel by this author, so I was happy to discover a fine example of contemporary romance.

Sabrina Carlton and Nick Davenport have both had recent scandals affect their reputations and careers. They’ve been bumped from their respective evening programs and slated to cohost a failing morning show. This is a tall order because their professional relationship has always been contentious, and they have no personal relationship. At least not yet. Surprisingly, Sabrina and Nick find themselves liking both the show and each other, and a saboteur only brings them closer together, allowing them to savor their budding romance.

Headliners is laugh out loud funny. It’s as good as any big screen romantic comedy. I throughly enjoyed this novel and rate it 4 out of 5 stars. This is a must-read for lovers of contemporary romance. There is some explicit sexual content that may be offensive to some readers.

My thanks to HARLEQUIN – Carina Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. However, the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine and mine alone.

I’ve been hearing good things about Lucy Parker’s London Celebrities series for years now, but somehow, I’d never gotten around to reading any of them. What a mistake! Headliners is enemies-to-lovers romance done right, and now I’m kicking myself for not trying her books earlier.

Nick and Sabrina may have evening news commentary shows on the same network, but they’ve never gotten along. They had been (mostly) politely sniping at each other for years, before Nick broke a story that put Sabrina’s family under a scandalous cloud. On top of that, the new owner of the network has decided only one evening show is necessary, and Nick and Sabrina both want that slot. When Nick is caught bad-mouthing the owner, however, he decides that neither of them will keep their current jobs, and instead makes them cohosts of the network’s unpopular morning show. If they can improve the ratings, Nick and Sabrina will be made permanent cohosts, but otherwise they’ll both be out of work. No pressure, right?

Rivals forced to work together in a high-stakes environment! It’s the perfect setup for romance. (Or homicide, but that would be an entirely different book.)

What I liked about the way the author handled the relationship between Nick and Sabrina is that she didn’t rush the transition from enemies to lovers. Other than a drunken interlude when they are trapped together at a wedding that turns physical (more on that in a bit), the first part of the book is Nick and Sabrina slowly realizing how much they really do like each other as people. There might have always an unacknowledged attraction between them, but the romance is allowed to grow slowly as they acknowledge their changing feelings. When Sabrina forgives Nick for his exposé about her family, it felt natural to me, as did the evolution of the rest of their story.

The book is also funny! Sabrina and Nick are both witty people, and the author gives them some excellent lines. Plus, Sabrina is a bit of a klutz, and together she and Nick are accident prone. That’s where the scene at the wedding comes in, as well as an unexpected dip in the Thames. Sabrina and Nick also must contend with a saboteur who has targeted their show, and some of that person’s pranks are funny—well, until it takes a distinctly unhumorous turn.

If you like enemies-to-lovers romance, I’d highly recommend this one. And now I have to catch up with the rest of the series!

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the fifth book in the series, and runs on directly from the revelations of book #4, where Sabrina's grandmother's plagiarism was uncovered and revealed to the world... by Nick.

I am really enjoying this series of interlinked stories based in London theatre and TV world. It is fun, cheeky, and makes some interesting points which may make us think a little more carefully before making assumptions.

Due to a merger and an ownership change, Nick and Sabrina find that they are being forced out of their evening shows and into a joint morning news show. Not really either of their styles, and certainly not together – the setup is perfect for forcing these two independent souls to have to work collaboratively, and as it turns out a saboteur who is trying to destroy them both. As possible culprits and previous enemies come out of the woodwork, suddenly Nick and Sabrina need to work hard to keep their jobs and to stay safe. Whether they can also keep their hearts is another matter entirely.

This is a real slow, slow burn, but it is hugely entertaining. Another excellent addition to the series, thank you, Lucy Parker.


Jordan – ☆☆☆☆
I have read most of the previous books in Lucy Parker’s London Celebrities series and have thoroughly enjoyed each one! Headliners takes place right after The Austen Playbook (book #4) by Parker and follows Sabrina Carlton and her co-host, Nick Davenport. Having to co-host a failing morning show with Nick is possibly the last thing Sabrina would choose to do if she had any choice, but if they want to save their careers they’re going to have to find a way to stand each other’s company.

I have always been impressed by the way that Parker so effortlessly brings the West End to life in her books and I was equally impressed with the shift from the theater to the TV entertainment world. Personally, I think having read the previous book in this series was helpful into understanding a little more into the backstory, but this book can be read as a standalone. However, having read the previous book, it was such a delight to be able to see old characters pop back up throughout Parker’s book.

Headliners was a bit of a slower start for me, but once I got going, I was fully invested in this enemies-to-lovers story! I still think the previous book, The Austen Playbook, has been my favorite in this series, but all in all another charming addition to the London Celebrities series by Lucy Parker.

This is another great installment in the London Celebrities series. It works as standalone but we see a lot of the MCs in the previous book, the Austen Playbook, so I would recommend reading it before you pick up Headliners (and all the previous books while you are at it :)

Lucy Parker's writing is outstanding as usual, the many laugh out loud funny moments were unexpected but highly appreciated. A very moving enemies to lovers romance, two professionals in a rough place, forced to work together to save their careers.

I found the main conflict believable, their animosity and dislike felt real and I was convinced in their growth as people which led them to see each other in a different light. The simmering physical attraction between them had always been there but the needed to be ready to admit it to themselves and act on it. His regret was heart-felt, came after deep soul searching and facing some inconvenient truths about who he was/ was becoming. She had heavy family issues to to deal with, and ex-partner who kept causing problems.

It's a fast paced story, a minor suspense plot and lots of holiday feels, sense of family and togetherness. It all felt natural, they way their families were present in their lives. I loved seeing him staying friends with his ex (and he new husband). The complexity of the relationship between siblings, parents was very interesting for me to read.

Some of the plot twists towards the end felt over the top. The "baddy" got their dues but felt too contrived and didn't fit with with character in my opinion. I am purposefully vague because here because I want to avoid spoilers.

Highly recommended read!

CW: loss of a parent (in the past), grief, minor incidents

❤️❤️❤️❤️ out of 5
This is my first LP and my thoughts on it are quite simple- I need to go and read all the other books she has written. I enjoyed the heck out of this book and I need more contemporary romances set in London in my life.

Our hero and heroine are rival news presenters until their networks are merged and to save their jobs they have to co-anchor a failing morning show. If this wasn’t hard enough someone doesn’t want to see their show succeed which leads to some very interesting and comedic moments.

This is book is written perfectly as an enemies to friends to lovers that I don’t see around a lot. Their friendship from enmity is beautiful and their chemistry gives it the perfect edge into lovers. I liked both characters, but what I liked even more? They never had doubt in the other even in particular circumstances- and this is something used as a plot device to add drama in a lot of books. Sign me up as a Lucy Parker fan right now! Obviously I recommend this to any and all contemporary romance lovers!

Sabrina Carlton and Nick Davenport were introduced in the previous book of this series but you really don't need to have read it to enjoy this book. When Nick broke the story about Sabrina's grandmother being a fraud, he destroyed her life. And it seemed like he did it fairly gleefully. The two have always butted heads while going after news stories but that was just... mean.
But Nick has his own problems; he was taped badmouthing the new owner of their network. Now both are relegated to the network's morning show. While neither is exactly excited about it, they're both just trying to hold on to their careers. Unfortunately, it seems like someone still wants them to fall even further than they already have. Malicious pranks are being pulled on both -- while the first few were written off as accidents, it's starting to be too many to be just that. The two decided to start working together to salvage what they can of their careers.
Parker is amazing at making you fall in love not only with her characters but their relationships. I have to admit that Sabrina and Nick annoyed me a little and I didn't have the bond that I did with the first book in the series but it was still an enjoyable read.

Three and a half stars
This book came out January 20th
ARC kindly provided by Harlequin Carina Press and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

I have read two of Lucy Parker's past books, and I think they are just not for me. I was unable to get into Headliners, although I love the thought that Parker gives to her characters and the full lives that they lead. The enemies to lovers trope sometimes hooks me and sometimes dissuades me, as it did in this case, where I felt like the bar for dislike started very high in the beginning. For folks that read this series regularly, I think it's going to be a great new story to enjoy.

If you’re a fan of this series then you’ll remember that Sabrina Carlton and Nick Davenport are rival anchors on competing networks in London and at the end of the previous book Nick had reported news that tore Sabrina’s family apart. So, at the beginning of Headliners when they are both told they would be anchoring a morning show together for one month I knew that the sparks would be flying! When they start the show and realize someone is out to sabotage their chances at making this show a success they band together to find the culprit and all of a sudden there are other kinds of sparks flying.

Just as with the previous novels in this series Lucy Parker really knows how to write great dialog, characters who are not perfect but that a reader can care about, and sizzling romance. I loved that Sabrina and Nick were an interracial pair yet all of the issues they had stemmed from non racial issues. In fact, despite the saboteur at work, this was a “normal” romance…and that is how it should be. Maybe it’s not realistic to talk about issues others may have with their pairing, but truthfully? All I cared about after starting to read was that they were interesting characters and had some great dialog, and most importantly HEAT. Enough said.

So, despite seeing Nick as the bad guy in the previous novel, that one act was all we knew about him. This book allowed us to see his regrets over how that story played out. That insight totally helped me get past him screwing Sabrina and her sister Freddy over. I moved on from dislike to enamored rather quickly, exactly as the author intended. It also helped that in this novel Sabrina and Nick had a common enemy to fight. There’s nothing like banding together to fight evil that makes you think of sex! LOL.

Headliners was a ton of fun to read and I hated that it had to end. I’m trying to think of someone that this series could continue with, maybe Nick’s brother Iain? A single dad who is slightly gruff, but loves his daughter? Hmm. From my lips to the book gods (ok authors) ears in New Zealand… fingers crossed! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher for my honest review and it was honest!

Lucy Parker consistently delivers a story with humor, poignant moments, and a realistic look behind the curtain or camera as the case may be. The characters are well rounded with as many flaws as strengths. This book builds on the previous in the series (The Austen Playbook), but it most definitely is not a rehash. Rather it jumps forward and shows what Sabrina and Nick’s professional rivalry turned hatred has developed into since the summer.

For those into holiday romance, this story is firmly embedded in the countdown to Christmas with a glimpse at both sides of that picture from charity events to the unattainable, but must have, toys. We also get to reconnect with favorite characters from the previous book and meet new ones equally complex.

After what happened in The Austen Playbook, Sabrina’s dislike of her competition for the prestigious evening news program has developed into pure hatred. He single-handedly exposed her family’s dirty laundry, which led to implications she and her sister knew about, and supported, their father’s actions. Nick, on the other hand, is uncomfortable in her presence because she breaks through his safe distance all too easily.

Imagine their delight to learn their careers now depend on working together in a sink-or-swim revival of a floundering morning show. After being at the height of the television reporting triangle, they’re now responsible for what they both consider fluff pieces. If that isn’t enough, they’re threatened with being replaced by someone completely unsuited to the task as if he could do better.

This is only the starting point. They have room to grow both professionally and personally.

The rivalry is well-seeded even if you haven’t read the previous title (though I’d recommend it and have). The dialogue is sharp and witty throughout, full of shades of meaning and character whether between the two leads or with others. I had several points where I laughed out loud, startled by a perfect reaction or line.

Three different plot lines wrap around each other. The first two, what drives their ambitions and the relationship developing from hate and lust into a love deep enough to terrify both of them at first, are strong and powerful. Parental influences, good and bad, made for some of the better poignant moments whether dealing with the loss of a parent even years later or getting advice they don’t want to hear.

The third, a mystery plot line, didn’t work as well for me, and perhaps this explains it being solved before the climax. I figured out who was causing trouble on the set at the first (and possibly only) hint in the early third of the book. But that’s not the biggest issue. Sabrina and Nick being the only ones on the set to connect a complete change of character to deliberate undermining didn’t make sense to me. Sure, there was a little bad luck and a chef who didn’t check his ingredients personally, but the director wouldn’t have let it go so long without investigating why her set was a comedy of errors.

However, the mystery is the only weak part. The way the filming of the morning show comes to life with both physical and spoken humor is wonderful. The depth of characterization makes even secondary characters come to life, and with the leads, Sabrina’s blinders when someone harms her family, even when that someone is her father, trip her up more than once. It’s her one trigger where she doesn’t stop to get the full story. When she has glimpses of the missing information, it’s powerful.

Nick, on the other hand, is mostly closed off when in a professional context. The personal glimpses of him with any member of his larger family are lovely. We are shown what kind of person he is when he talks about his grandparents, and when he interacts with his niece and mother. It’s even evident on stage when they interview a support dog trainer and Nick gets down on the floor to play with the puppies.

I have many more notes of things I wanted to mention, some avoided for spoiler reasons, but this review is long enough. There are open door relationship scenes, awkward catches by paparazzi, and a lovely exploration of what it means to be family in good times and bad. Between tender, sad, and humorous moments, the story is nicely balanced. Besides, one of the supporting characters is a dog.

P.S. I received this Advanced Reader Copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Headliners is the fifth book in Lucy Parker’s London Celebrity series, and it is not an exaggeration to say that I have been a squatting like a goblin in the corner, waiting to pounce on this book. I LOVE Parker’s style, and it’s absolutely worth picking this book up for her snark and wit alone.

All the books in London Celebrity work as standalones, but for those who have been following the series, you’ll have met Sabrina and Nick in The Austen Playbook. Sabrina Carlton is Freddy’s sister, and Nicolas Davenport is Griff’s close friend. They’re both incredibly charismatic television hosts. With their own shows. In the same time slots. In the same network. As you would imagine, this was more conducive to feuding than friendship, all the more so when their network decided to reduce their evening news commentary programs down to one. But before the battle royale of sparkling teeth and camera charm can properly commence, Nick made a dastardly decision to break a generations long scandal involving Sabrina and Freddy’s family. The Carltons have long been theatre royalty, and the subsequent scandal would have been enough to knock her out of the running for sure…until Nick’s diatribe, detailing the 10 things he hates about the CEO of their network, was leaked online.

This doesn’t just result in them both being kicked off primetime, but with their executive head of programming cuffing them together in the morning program, the same program with tanked ratings that has been, as Nick describes, “Egregious rubbish for years.” They have from the start of December until Christmas to raise the ratings of the show. The show is theirs if they succeed, and if not, they watch someone whom they think is even more insufferable than they find each other walk off with the job instead. This insult is nothing to sniff at when the injury would be their careers left flapping in the wind. And because the universe sometimes likes to laughingly out itself as a sadist, Nick and Sabrina also have to contend with a clever saboteur trying to boot them off their show. Not only do they have less than a month to yank a flopping show over the finish line, and work out whodunnit, they’ll have to do it all without killing each other on live broadcast.

You can see why I turned into a goblin in the corner, and let me tell you, this story didn’t disappoint. For many of the same reasons their network thought sticking them together in a live broadcast program wasn’t just a good idea, but a goddamn money tree, I loved seeing them together. Individually, they each have their own brand of panache that gained them their own followings. Together they have enough chemistry to power a city. Under their years of professional rivalry and mutual verbal eviscerations, there’s also an underlying attraction that magnetize them towards one another. (Pretty literally. They had trouble keeping their hands off each other from the get go.)

Their chemistry was wafting around even in the previous book, and another major draw for me was how the dastardly thing Nick did is properly rat-bastard-y. I don’t know about you, but if I’m promised a redemption arc, I want a REDEMPTION arc. One where the character ACTUALLY fucks up. Not a miscommunication, with no Reasons, and definitely not, “It’s my fault, it’s my fault, it’s completely my fault~~~ (even though it really isn’t) but I’ll keep saying it so pointless misunderstandings continue. I’m so unworthy of the looooooove I need to be saaaaaaved.”

Ew.

Happily, we get to come along for the ride as Nick works through reconciling his actions and what his values really are. What Nick did made the road to reconciliation, let alone love, between him and Sabrina look more like a mountain than a hill to me. The interest I had was sustained and deepened as I got to know Sabrina and Nick.

Sabrina is a knitting glamour queen who, for all her temper, is a forgiving person. Once she works through her anger, she doesn’t bother with grudges. She makes a point of letting go, moving on, and being clear where she stands. No matter what you’ve done, she’ll still see the good in you, but respects herself enough to be selective about who to let back in. (To any peeps out there struggling with forgiveness, remember it often takes time and to be kind to yourself!) And Nick, for all the dastardliness of his dickery (no, I will not stop alliterating) is a genuinely kind person who cares deeply about his friends and family. If you’re someone he cares about, he’ll always speak up for you, lend you a dog for petting when you’re down, and will give you the support you need. His people care about him in return, enough to still keep him close while they tell him to his face he fucked up. When he ultimately apologizes, he does exactly that – no shifting blame, no groveling, no sly wording. He just says he’s sorry, and means it.

Too often, people act like apologizing to each other is the equivalent of thanking a fairy – putting yourself under the other’s thumb. Or they go too far the other way, and aren’t able to get over their own mistakes. Neither is healthy. The process of learning to forgive ourselves and others can be more fraught than how it happened for Sabrina and Nick, but they show that it can be done. Plus, I can’t imagine someone trying to manipulate Nick just because he admitted to being wrong. Please, he’d eat them for breakfast. And if someone tries to do the same to you, you can, too!

Redemption arc aside, Sabrina and Nick’s relationship was just so healthy. It progressed quickly, and when one needed to draw back a bit, they still made a point of maintaining a connection with the other. There were no jumping to conclusions or pointless, jealousy-fueled rampages. When one needed space, the other gave it while still being present and supportive. Neither let their egos mislead them. Even when Life intruded in the middle of a fight, they practiced the old “Don’t go to bed angry” adage – they were okay, and they’ll talk later. Seeing two confident people adulting in a healthy relationship is extremely catnippy for me!

Another thing I really enjoyed about the book was how family, loss, and grief were explored and layered together. Sabrina and Nick had both lost a parent at different points in their lives, Sabrina as a girl, and Nick as an adult. Nick’s was also close with his maternal grandparents, who have both passed on. The way the book explores how memories of loved ones shape their grief was beautiful, as was the way family ties can continue to cross over beyond death.

Hanging out with two witty, caring, and charismatic people on their various adventures is exactly as fun as it sounds, and overall, I only have two complaints.

First, I felt like I didn’t see enough of how Nick and Sabrina came to love working on the morning segment, which they both profess to in the last quarter of the book. Even though they were specific about the things they enjoy about it, I felt like I didn’t see enough of what drew them to the show to understand what they meant. It always felt like the show was more of a backdrop to everything else, even though it sounded like their relationship with the show was a love story in itself. Sabrina and Nick, the highly capable and ambitious duo. The morning show, the frumpy step down from primetime with shit ratings to boot. Collectively, they’re forced together by sheer circumstance. See where I’m going with this? They even talk about giving the set a makeover. It’s like a potential romance, but their feelings shifted too easily.

It just felt like I didn’t get to see enough of what made working on the morning show special to them, to the point that making it a success became a goal in its own right. It could be because I don’t watch English TV, but I didn’t understand what made them enjoy things like the morning show’s pacing vs the evening programs, or why the guests they had on the show would be notable to them, especially since the evening and morning shows had overlaps in the guest lists.

The mystery saboteur portion of the book was fun and seamlessly knitted into the story with its own satisfying resolution. It underscored the futility and dangers of trying to be ruthless in furthering one’s career, but it didn’t need to be there. I felt like maybe it took up space that could have otherwise been used to explore how Sabrina and Nick came to love the morning show.

The second bone I have to pick is how race and racism is basically left out of the story. It’s not made clear whether Nick is a Black or biracial person, or if he is part of a biracial family after his mom remarried. While I appreciate the lack of trite stereotypes and how skin tone wasn’t made any character’s defining trait, a person’s racial identity and how they navigate the ways they’re racialized by society and by their interpersonal relationships deeply impacts who they are. Whether Nick is biracial or not would be a core part of his identity, and whether his family is biracial or not would have an impact on their relationships and how they operate as a family.

For the same reasons, race not even coming up in conversations between Nick and Sabrina seems impossible to me. Honesty has been a key part of Nick and Sabrina’s relationship, even when they were rivals, and they don’t strike me as the sort of people who would pretend race is non-existent, especially with an intimate partner. (If there’s someone in your life that tells you they dOn’t SeE CoLOuR, they JuST sEE YOu – RUN. It means your relationship with them is contingent on a fundamental part of you being erased so they feel comfortable. Note: this is not what happens in Headliners at all, but it’s an important point for me.)

I liked learning that Nick’s maternal grandparents are from Guyana, and how this part of his heritage is underscored through food. The problem is it doesn’t go beyond that. In my experience of dating and being friends with White people, racial dynamics doesn’t stop at saying what my background is, or sharing food from my culture. It’s also explaining why certain things are important to me, understanding what’s important to them, realizing the many different ways we approach the world, and working through my frustration when I comprehend on more visceral levels the things I’ve been made to work for that White people just don’t have to think about. Dating a White person when you’re a person of colour has complexity, and it’s dishonest to show interracial dating without any of the messiness. That we don’t even know if Nick or his family is biracial means we can’t even guess what fundamental experiences he’s going into his own interracial relationship with.

Racism is alive and well in the UK (go go, Megxit Ranger!), and London is at once a city so vibrant because of its multiculturalism, yet also deeply steeped in racism. The book doesn’t really convey how diverse London is, and skips racism entirely. For there not to have been any instances of racism seen or acknowledged in a story that otherwise accurately reflects the world doesn’t feel honest to me. Not only is it statistically impossible, it’s especially jarring for me because it feels like I’m being asked to view the story through a ‘colour blind’ lens, which then comes off as erasure instead of fantasy.

Nick, being a celebrity in the entertainment/broadcasting business, would have a heightened experience of racism that comes with how exposed he is, on top of the systemic racism of his industry. While Nick’s struggles with racism do not need to be central to the story, I think they do need to be seen and acknowledged the way Sabrina’s experiences with sexism and misogyny are. We see Sabrina dealing with an odious guest who talks down to her, ogle her, and reduce all women’s financial abilities to alimony almost all in the same breath, while in her place of work, with her colleague standing right next to her. It wasn’t the only time something like this happens in the book, and we know from Nick she’s even been harassed while on the air. These moments belong in the book because they’re honest, and it would have been a disservice to both Sabrina and the readers to pretend misogyny doesn’t happen. I would have liked to see racism handled in a similar way in the story. It is an equal disservice to Nick and readers for the story to proceed as if racism doesn’t exist.

How race and racial identity are portrayed in stories is a sticking point for me, because I’m someone who doesn’t get to forget how I’m racialized. Like all people of colour, my racialization is not something I choose. It happens to me constantly, impacts my life immensely, and I have absolutely no control over it. Despite it being done to me, I’m also constantly being gaslit about whether it’s really happening or manipulated to believe it’s my fault how I’m othered and marginalized. When a story leaves out racism and race entirely, it clangs like a dissonant chord, because book-world is now reinforcing the gaslighting I experience in the real world, all the more so when major characters are people of colour.

Overall, this book is a B for me. I think other returning fans of the series will enjoy this book at least as much as they did the previous ones and newcomers will easily be roped into reading all the other ones. There were cameos of characters that I loved and loved to hate from earlier in the series, plus there was more Freddy and Griff, the couple from The Austen Playbook. I love all the characters in this series, and it’s always fun to see what they’re up to, doubly so to see how they interact with each other. It’s another solid installment in this feel-good series, but racial dynamics and identities needs to be portrayed honestly for me to be able to fully sink into a story.

I first jumped into Lucy Parker’s London Celebrities series earlier this year when reading The Austen Playbook, and fell in love with Sabrina then, as the sister of the heroine from that book. It was pretty obvious that she and rival TV presenter Nick were going to get their own story, but it was also obvious that Nick was going to need one hell of a redemption arc after doing something which was pretty much morally bankrupt near the end of The Austen Playbook, something which has had pretty far-reaching consequences for Sabrina.

If you’re jumping in cold to start the series here, I don’t think it’ll matter; the author does an excellent job of setting the scene and explaining just why Sabrina and Nick are at daggers drawn without infodumping. Or at least… I understand why Sabrina’s murderous. It’s never quite clear why Nick dislikes her so much, unless it’s professional jealousy, which seems somewhat unworthy of him. But then, that stunt he pulled which tipped things over into all-out war was pretty terrible. I started the book very much not on his side, but along with Sabrina, he slowly grew on me, and not in a like-mould kind of way. With the pair of them thrown into close proximity as they’re forced to work together on a new breakfast show, there are some absolutely hilarious scenes which play out - I laughed out loud any number of times - and they slowly start to come to like and respect each other, first on a professional level and then personally and romantically.

Nick does give an appropriate apology to everyone hurt by his past actions, and not only that, he shows by his actions that he’s changed. It’s Darcy-esque level self-realisation, remorse and redemption, beautifully written and very believable, and by the end of the book I was absolutely satisfied that Nick was indeed the kind of guy Sabrina needed and deserved.

This is such a fun read, but with some deep underlying truths about the decisions we make and the unseen, far-reaching consequences they can have when karma comes back around. Nick recognises and atones for his mistakes, but there’s a delicious comeuppance for at least one antagonist who doesn’t learn and change.

I don’t know much (anything, really) about the inner workings of a TV studio or the real lives of celebrities off-camera, but Lucy Parker writes it so believably, there’s certainly nothing here I read and thought ‘unlikely’. I’m hoping for a romance for Nick’s brother Iain (with adorable plot moppet daughter Pippi) next in the series! Five stars for a terrific read.

Lucy Parker truly knows how to deliver a fabulous enemies-to-lovers romance. I was eager to see how the redemption arc would work for nefarious Nick from The Austen Playbook which while not 100% necessary to read before Headliners WILL make you appreciate this story all the more.

The slow-burn and almost cozy romance (with steam, you just have to wait) combined with the details about Nick and Sabrina's new day time TV talk show gig was a perfect way to while away some reading time in bed. The dialogue sparkles and the little details like Nick falling in love with Sabrina AND knitting are lovely and perfect.

The "mystery" sub-plot about who is sabotaging the show was not important to me but may be attractive to readers who appreciate the small intrigue it offered. This book is also a "holiday" romance if you consider the time period leading up Christmas and some holiday partying and a hunt for a scary "tickle me Elmo meets a Furby" type gift for Nick's niece to be Christmassy.

I also adored that both Sabrina and Nick were clear on their desire to be child-free!