Sylvie and Dominic paths first crossed when her unicorn cake tried to decapitate him in a baking competition. Now four years later, they are rivals each trying to secure a once in a lifetime opportunity to make the cake for the wedding of the century. As with their personalities, their design aesthetics couldn’t be more different. However, as things heat up in and outside of the kitchen, they come to learn that just like in baking all good things come down chemistry.

This book is decadent, indulgent, and delightful. It was the ultimate treat to read. I absolutely devoured it in a couple days. (And with that I’m now done with the food puns)

The various stories are woven together so artfully. Lucy Parker perfectly combined a romantic rivalry, a GBBO-esque tv show, and a Royal mystery and wedding. All of it is done so well, that you don’t want to take your eyes off the page. It is wonderfully multi-layered, complex, and completely engaging.

I really enjoyed the dynamic between Sylvie and Dominic. I really appreciated how nuanced layered they were. They were great characters to take this journey with.

This book had a great cast of characters, including Dominic’s sister Pet(unia) and Slyvie’s baking assistant Mabel. They were such fun and engaging characters, and popped on the page.

I did feel like the plot kind of ran away at the end, but it was just an instance of one too many elements getting wrapped up at once.

This was my first time reading a book from this author, and I will happily read more! I am looking forward to Pet’s story.

I enjoyed this book so much! It has all the right notes.

This was super cute and the grumpy-sunshine romance I needed. Plus, I couldn’t help but think of Paul Hollywood while reading, so that gave me a laugh!

Battle Royal took me a little while to get into it, but I ended up loving it.

Dominic has such a tough reputation, but it was evident pretty quickly that Sylvie brought out another side of him. I loved their banter and how they were competing but still able to work together. I liked how they supported each other during tough moments. The moments during Operation Cake were hilarious. I also loved the moments in their relative bakeries. I loved the royal element as well. There were some sweet but steamy elements that I loved as well. I'm so excited that this is a series!

I alternated between the audiobook and ebook. I'm excited to see what Lucy Parker writes next. Thank you Avon and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I will update as soon as I share the link on my bookstagram page.

Slyvie and Dominic first met four years ago when she competed on Operation Cake. His pristine minimalism clashed with her shiny unicorns. Now, they are both judges on the show and vying for the chance to make a cake for a royal wedding. As they spend more time together, they find that the chemistry they experience could lead to more.

This was a hard one for me. I enjoyed the story overall, it was just a very slow start. It felt more like women's fiction instead of romance. There were two on-page scenes. The connection between them was very believable. It's also refreshing to see main characters in their mid to late thirties and dealing with that reality.

This book deals a lot with loss and can be heavy at times. It was handled very well but please take care of yourself. There are also descriptions of past emotional abuse by a parent. Please take care of yourself.

Battle Royale
🧁🧁🧁🧁🧁

I *extra buttercream frosting* adored this book! My last couple of books have either been HEAVY nonfiction or emotional historical fiction and I just really need the comfort you get from watching The Great British Bake Off. Enter, Battle Royale, a sweet sunshine & grumpy one, enemies to lovers, cup of perfect English Breakfast tea 🫖🇬🇧

Unicorns-glitter-&-magic-Sylvie, along with austere-and-refined-Dominic, are judges on a British reality tv baking show. They also own neighboring bakeries & are in competition for the contract for a royal wedding cake 👑 💍🍰. Obviously, this is the perfect set up up to fall in love & I’m here for it! The build up for this enemies to lovers, opposites attract romance is adorable, the couple weren’t wishy washy in understanding their own emotions as they began exploring their relationship, and I found myself grinning through out from Lucy Parker’s writing style—warning though: this book made me incredibly hungry &, like when I watch GBBO, I also found myself snacking on lots of chocolate 😅. Consider yourself duly warned 💁🏼‍♀️

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Okay, I have to be honest about this one. When I read the blurb I couldn't help but automatically think about The Great British Bake Off. What would happen if this was something that happened in real life? Like I could totally see it unfolding behind the cameras!

Anyway, this story's synopsis did not disappoint! I was swept into the funny, but authentic world that Lucy Parker created and I didn't want to leave! While there were definitely moments of humor and fun, this novel had a lot more substance than the cover or synopsis might suggest. It had a lot of emotion and feelings that our main characters were working through. Both were guarded and unsure, but I very much loved watching them come together.

Sylvie and Dominic seemed like opposites, but were really only so in terms of baking style. They shared a lot of similar personality traits and I felt like they both came together in just the right way for themselves. I don't think this story would have been as good without their strong character development and the secondary characters Parker surrounded Dominic and Sylvie with in their respective corners. Even the royals in this one stood out; although, I definitely felt a nod or two towards the real life Harry & Meghan and the constraints of royal life.

I'm not going to lie, I did shed a few tears in this one mainly because I felt so draw into this story and the characters. Parker really brought this world, these characters and this story alive for me. I couldn't put it down once I started. I was so engrossed. I loved the baking, the "behind the scenes" of a baking show, the "battle" of our two main characters, the self-realizations and growth and of course, the love story. This one really had it all for me and I'm so glad I requested it, picked it up and read it!

If you're looking for a good romantic comedy with substance then definitely pick this one up! I cannot wait to recommend it to all my friends!

You know anything that comes from Lucy Parker is going to be adorable. It's generally a safe bet. Battle Royal delivers on the sweetness and silliness but also gets real that it can be a bit disconcerting.

Sylvie has been doing well for herself since she was last on national tv and made a complete mess of things before she was booted off the show. Her bakery is a hit, her creations are phenomenal and now the show, Operation Cake wants her back as host. Sounds good but she'll have to judge alongside Dominic who was literally the recipient of her messy baking mishap on live tv. Their creative styles are drastically different, their approach to judging different, so what on earth could they have in common? How about the fact that their bakeries are down the same street from one another and that they're both asked to submit cake design proposals for an upcoming royal wedding. Soon these two enemies become cohorts of sorts on a mission to produce the best cake possible. Success for both of them would mean thriving businesses and a chance to gloat at the other.

As always, Parker writes some of the best zingers and ridiculous situations. Sylvie is one of the most disarming characters, full of love and ready to champion anyone. Dominic appears gruff on the outside but he's honestly a teddy bear on the inside. Sylvie brings that out. The two of them working together is unexpected but fun.

The touching aspect of Battle Royal is the element of grief. It's pervasive throughout. All the main characters have suffered some sort of loss or abandonment, and their souls are deeply marked by it. It's this that has me thinking that Battle Royal isn't the typical rom-com that readers of Parker's are used to. It's still good and I enjoyed it but I think anyone dealing with grief should be aware that it is a general theme of this story. That and the notion of a found family. They've all had their hearts broken by family either through rejection or disappointment, but it's the ones that they've fostered and nurtured that's become what a family should ideally be. Not going to lie, this hit kind of hard because I understood it so well.

I will read anything by Lucy Parker because her stories are always entertaining and touching. I think she pushes herself here to explore some complicatedAny fan of Great British Bake Off and romance in general will love this. Battle Royal appears to be a good start to a new series!

~ Bel

For fans of The Great British Baking show with a Nailed It! Twist.

Prepare to be craving all the sweets while reading this! 🧁

I absolutely adored this book. Sylvie Fairchild was absolutely whimsical while Dominic De Vere was cold cut. But.. opposites attract right?

This enemies-to-lovers will have you laughing, swooning, and sometimes on the brink of tears.

How can one stoic man get past a unicorn hoof to the head? Or the constant glitter in his beard? You will have to read to find out!

BATTLE ROYAL was well rounded in light hearted nature, loss and grief , and perfect conflict resolution.

I could not put this one down and I instantly looked to see when Pet’s story is going to be released because I am all for that bodyguard romance 👏🏼

Huge thanks to @avonbooks for the copy in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Steam: 🔥 (not graphic)

3.5 rounded up. I have a lot of mixed feelings about this one. It is super cute but for me it was really slow. The last like 30% was my favorite, it seemed to pick up pace once the conflict happened and everything went into disaster mode. By the time I was about 50% done i was just yelling at them to just combine bakeries and work together already. I'm totally planning on reading book to which follows Pet and Matthias and I like most people love Pet. If you enjoy slow burn, enemies to lovers, baking rivalries, and royal romances you would probably enjoy this too.

Baking + Rivals to lovers + a little slow-burn SIGN ME UP YES PLEASE. I will be rereading this during the holidays while I also bin watch the hallmark channels Christmas movies while shoving my face full of over frosted cupcakes. This book was everything I needed to get me over the last book I read. If you need a good pick-me-up that will make you starving for some romance with the side of baking, you should read this one next. yes yes and yessssss. A must-buy for 2021.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I have long wanted to read a Lucy Parker romance novel to see if I would like it. Battle Royal was my opportunity. It is definitely an enemies to lovers kind of story and anyone who has watched TV series that involve competition and baking will most likely be interested.

Dominic and Sylvie are interesting characters with childhood backgrounds that have had a big influence on their lives. I loved the little scenario of Dominic and his sister when he was thirteen. Of course they are grown now and I have to say Pet really intrigued me. I think her story will be fascinating and with royal links, will make it very readable.

Battle Royal is well written and involves many facets that I am sure romance readers will love. If you are interested in royalty ( I am) that’s another drawcard. However a British Prince Patrick?? Really the most unlikely name ever! It’s too Irish and Catholic!

Was the book for me? No, not really. First of all the tone is one of romantic comedy with smart writing but it sort of held me, the reader, at arm’s length from the characters. And they do have moving stories. I just didn’t get emotionally involved until way into the book. The plot seemed to weave about a bit and I was a little bored here and there.

There is a lot of “f” bombs and open door bedroom scenes so be warned if that’s not your thing.

I have to say I am tempted to take a look at the next book in the series – the characters and the whole family aspect, plus true royal love are very much a plus.

Sylvie and Dominic met 4 years ago when she was a contestant on a baking competition show, and he was a judge. He found her glitter and vibrancy to be frivolous, and the whole nation found him to be terrifying and harsh. After a bit of a fiasco involving an airborne unicorn hoof covered in frosting, Dominic is the vote that sends Sylvie packing. Fast forward, now Sylvie has a successful bakery across the street from Dominic and is now a judge in the same competition alongside him. Oh, and they’re also competing to win the bid to make the cake for the next royal wedding! This story is a bit slow and wordy, like a lot of Brit lit, but it’s not boring! It’s full of grumpy and sunshine, enemies to lovers, and a very detailed baking competition storyline. Each character has a complex backstory and the drama deserving of a book about royals. 😉 The chemistry and slow burn felt a little stilted and forced early on, especially when the author tried to convey a softening toward each other. It felt a bit out of character or too sudden, but it found it’s groove in the last half of the book. Their banter was great. The twists were predictable but that didn’t detract from the story.

One annoyance for me was that this author used many words I had to look up, which is rare for me. That’s fine, and I enjoy learning new vocabulary, but it came across a bit forced or trying to hard. I’ve never seen the benefit of using words that 90% of the population doesn’t know the definition to unless you’re just trying to be pretentious. Maybe it’s unfair, but I don’t believe for a second that this is the usual vocab for the author. I imagine she was looking up the words the same as me, and that just feels unnecessary. Perspicacious. Garrulous. Prescience. Verisimilitude. Thank goodness for Kindle’s dictionary function!

Overall a fun, sweet and emotion-packed story!

A classic opposites attract pair who have one thing in common: baking. The descriptions of a fictional British baking show are, pardon the expression, delicious. The supporting characters are hilarious. The slang might be tricky for American readers, but that's part of the fun.

This book is as sweet as the delicious baked goods that our main characters, Sylvie and Dominic bake throughout the novel. It has a lot of fun elements — a good execution of the enemies to lovers trope, a fun spin on the Great British Baking Show, and compelling secondary characters in Sylvie’s right hand lady Mabel and Dominic’s sister Pet.

I really enjoyed this book but I think it had one too many things going on — there’s a baking subterfuge plot line, multiple royal love stories, and lots of family trauma on all sides. I think I could have done without the baking subterfuge, especially since it was super predictable who the culprit was. But overall the writing is snappy, the dialogue is engaging, and Sylvie and Dominic are easy to root for. I’d recommend it to anyone who loves enemies to lovers and baking!

If you love cooking competitions, you will fall in love with Ms. Parker's new novel, BATTLE ROYAL. It is quirky, witty, funny, with subplots overload! It stars Sylvie Fairchild, a pretty, colorful lady who was a contestant on Operation Cake years ago and had an embarrassing encounter with stern, staid judge Dominic De Ver, famous baker to the royals. Sylvie now is working at her own dream bakery, right across the boulevard from Dominic's place. Sylvie is all sunshine, sparkles and sass, where Dominic is grumpy, guarded, and gloriously talented. When Dominic and Sylvie find out they are battling each other on Operation Cake, their burners sizzle and snap in their race to bake that special cake for Princess Rose.

Then, Dominic and Sylvie are thrown together researching a mystery about the royal house per request from the royals. Working together sparks an attraction between them and they are faced with emotions that are at times troublesome and then, wonderfully passionate. Watch out because their relationship combusts into something purely physical, can you believe it? They are enemies and complete opposites, but stranger things have happened. Will they or won't they fall in love? Read on,as the world turns...

Drama, delicious delicacies, dastardly deeds and devilish conundrums effortlessly combine in BATTLE ROYAL. This is a fun, feisty, tasty baking competition between two British powerhouses. Sylvie and Dominic have history, with many bumps in the road. There is passion, tension, angst, all wrapped into one lovable reunion between this star-crossed couple. The author deftly delivers many sub-plots with intriguing characters and an alarming mystery that ties it all together. Plus, my favorite surprise character is a crabby cat, Humphrey. Oh my gosh, what a hoot! A hearty applause on a well done plot! My favorite parts are actually the intriguing side stories. They added a meaty richness that flavored the whole story. BATTLE ROYAL is just like a hot fudge, whipped cream, cherries on top Sundae. Absolutely devilishly delicious!

This was exactly what I needed at this moment. It was light with some more serious notes, but mostly a love story we watch unfolding with especially one unwilling participant. Sylvie and Dominic are both vying to make the wedding cake for Princess Rosie. Rosie, who loves video games and is the wild royal, would be perfect for Sylvie's fantasy designs. Dominic's family has been baking for generations and is a favorite of the royal family. Who will win? Will Sylvie hit Dominic in the head with glitter and unicorns?

Just plain escapism and Sylvie is such a lovely character. You know she will break through Dominic's icy exterior, which quite frankly, most of us would walk away from. I look forward to seeing where they go next and how will the next wedding cake competition turn out?

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon for a copy of this book.

W: Grief/loss of a loved one

I have to admit, I had a hard time getting into this book the first time so I put it aside for a while. Picked it up again today on my sick day and I was just...completely blown away.

I was expecting true rivalry between Dominic and Sylvie over the royal contract the whole time, but Lucy being Lucy, she managed to twist it in a way that was unexpected and completely refreshing to me. This being a Lucy Parker book, the kisses and touches and just the softness of them all just slain me.

Another thing that I didn't quite expect going into this book was the potent grief element. Both Sylvie and Dominic have lost people they loved and the loss coloured their lives and the way they interacted with people. I was just steadily crying through this book - both from cuteness and from the sadness.

Anyway, BOOK 2!!!! Lucy's giving us another security man hero romance I AM READY-

This was a fun story, one I enjoyed overall. It had lovable characters and a fun story line. My only complaint is that I felt like there was too much going on a lot of the time. I think the author could have cut a side plot or two without any trouble and it would have helped the pacing quite a bit for me. Still worth picking up though, especially if you’re a fan of enemies to lovers stories!

Thank you to #netgalley and @avonbooks for the review copy.

3.5

I liked the first few Parker books I read. I have friends who rhapsodized over them and...well, I was on board for the first couple books. And then? TBH, I'm not a theatre geek and the setting isn't all that exciting to me. But cooking shows? I dig them. Baking contests. More please. Unfortunately, we don't get nearly enough of the show elements and tooooooooo much time with a pair of principal characters who are smitten nearly from the start of the story and know it (it's a slow burn for no reason), poorly fleshed out back stories, an assassin baker, and a royal couple who - based on royalty these days - it was a challenge to root for. The twist just made me even more doubtful.

I liked this story? But I had no problems putting it down and seeking something lighter and funner and better paced mid-read, and while I thought the principal characters were likeable and meant for each other, I knew that from around the third chapter. I just didn't feel like there was enough story here.

If you like Parker, maybe this is a hit. If you don't, it's not. <b>Battle Royal</b> didn't help my prolonged romance reading slump.

I feel like perhaps this book was written specifically for me? Really the only thing it was missing was the "only one bed" trope!
I adored the Great British Bake Off- esque plot line, and the wonderfully done enemies-to-lovers and sunshine/ grump tropes in this story. Plus the addition of just a smidgen of the faux British royal family? LOVE LOVE LOVE.
Sylvie and Dominic had smashing chemistry. It was a steamy slow-burn, and I was here for it! There were wonderful secondary characters, but Pet and Mabel are definitely my favorites. I'm so glad this is just the first in a series because I honestly can't wait to read more!