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

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

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

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

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


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

The giddy feeling when you know you've found a new author to obsess over is priceless. BATTLE ROYAL is my first experience with Lucy Parker and I see a long author-reader relationship in the future for the two of us. I adored every single thing about this story.

Sylvie is the heroine of my dreams. Mellow, clever, witty and with a heart of gold, I fell in love with her from the prologue when she doused a stoic, arrogant bake show judge Dominic in a unicorn glitter cake. All on camera, to the delight of every reality tv fan. He was hard to get a read on but the more I got to know him the more obvious it became that this was a character who felt deeply and who took care of those he loved. Dominic had a surprising tenderness and sweetness about him that I didn't think someone who seemed to lack warmth could have.
Coolly, he said, “Jealousy is a destructive, pointless emotion and a complete waste of energy.”
“Fairly annoying, then, that it’s seeping from your pores right now?”
“Very.”

These two are as opposite as they can be yet their deepening feelings felt completely natural and credible. Both were scared to let someone in for fear of getting hurt. Sylvie had experienced loss when her aunt passed away, the person who raised her, the only parent she knew. Dominic came from a rotten home, with parents who didn't deserve the moniker.

She finally raised her gaze higher than the scattering of hair and freckles on his bare chest—and saw, in that cool, experienced, always imperturbable face, a reflection of everything she was struggling with. At sea with the intensity of feeling. The uncertainty of the new. The fear of not being enough.

I laughed out loud so many times, I grinned and chuckled pretty much on every page - Lucy Parker writes a mean rom-com yet at the same time she surprised me with an emotional depth that made me choke up a little. I wasn't prepared for that but it showed me what an amazing talent this author is. If you love characters with lots of layers, who are lovable and relatable, a sprinkle of British Royalty and a bake show setting don't hesitate. I enjoyed this book so much that I was sad when I was done.
“You walked into my life, tipped it upside down, and when it finally righted—you were right there in the center.

I have started this book so many times. And every time I just cant connect. I’ve tried multiple times to get into this one but I just can’t. The wording? The structure? I just can’t seem to want to continue with the story.

A cute romance that will attract fans of GBBO and lovers of the grumpy/sunshine trope. While the couple was cute, the other conflicts eventually overshadowed the romance.

One part baking competition, one part enemies to lovers, and one part royals all adds up to a recipe for a fun read. This was the first book I read from Lucy Parker. I enjoyed the set up of the baking competition, as I'm a fan of anything food competition related reality TV, so this was right in my wheelhouse. I also liked the background character information she provided as family dynamics played a big role in the development of Sylvie's and Dominic's characters and their inevitable coming together after a rocky start years earlier, when Dominic was the deciding vote in Sylvie leaving a baking competition. If you are in the mood for a charming read, would recommend, but with the caveat that this book doesn't operate like traditional romances, and does lean on more heavy subject matter behind the romance. Be prepared for a slow burn as Sylvie and Dominic explore their relationship.

HELP I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH I CAN'T STOP SCREAMING ABOUT IT.

Oh my goodness when I tell you this book had me HOWLING with laughter, I'm not even kidding. I haven't laughed out loud like that while reading a book since I read Boyfriend Material last year, and so I'm thinking I'm just meant for British humor. A true enemies to lovers story, Sylvie and Dominic were opposites in every way. Plus she may have had a misfire when she was on Operation Cake while he was a judge and he may or may not have ended up covered in glitter and icing and hated her for it.

Maybe.

Regardless, Dominic and Sylvie were your quintessential grumpy/sunshine, opposites, cannot stand the other duo, and their forced proximity as judges on Operation Cake and constant competition vying for a royal contract pushed them together enough that some of that ice melted between the two of them and then the real fun started.

These characters were fantastic, the growth was incredible, the side characters and the weaving of the storylines was so much fun, and I just genuinely enjoyed every flip of the page while reading Battle Royal. It was exactly what I needed, was better than I expected, and I still laugh thinking of certain scenes. But maybe even better, was that this book wasn't just a rom-com. If anything it was full of heart, and touched on tough topics like grief and abandonment and found family, and Lucy Parker wove those in between the humorous moments so beautifully that you didn't see them coming and the gut punch was real. This story was real, the characters were authentic, and I just, I loved it.

I honestly loved this book.

I'll be shouting about this story for a long time to come.

Many thanks to Avon and Netgalley for my review copy of Battle Royal. I cannot wait to see what Lucy delivers next in this series.

This is one of my favorite romances I've read in a long time, and the first contemporary romance to truly grab my interest since the Brown sisters books. This should be an auto-buy for any romance fan looking for enemies/rivals to lovers or a great grumpy/sunshine dynamic. It did not hurt that I've been binging The Great British Bake Off lately (Lucy Parker is not subtle about where the inspiration for this story came from).

The hero, Dominic, is basically Paul Hollywood except younger, not an adulterer, and he's a master of cake instead of bread. He's not so great with feelings or touching due to some childhood trauma and watching him work on that was lovely. The heroine, Sylvie, is a former fan favorite contestant on the show who was kicked off in a spectacular fashion involving a unicorn hoof to Dominic's face. She opens a successful bakery of her own (across the street from the hero's bakery, naturally) and is eventually asked back to the totally-not-GBBO show as a judge. Sylvie wants to really put her bakery on the map by earning the commission to do the cake for the upcoming wedding, even though Dominic's bakery is almost guaranteed the job before ideas are even submitted. The two have opposite styles and approaches to cake, but nonetheless end up the two final candidates to make the wedding cake. Their competition slowly turns into collaboration and it's an absolute delight from start to finish.

This romcom is about rival bakers (he's a grump, she's a ray of sparkly sunshine) from a British baking reality show (this is becoming it's own trope!) who are competing for the commission to bake a princess's royal wedding cake. Although the middle dragged a bit for me, there's fantastic banter, I liked that the characters get together fairly early on and I really enjoyed the royal couple's storyline. I'm all in for the next in this series.

Thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for a copy to review.

I am a huge fan of Parker and could not wait to read the first installment of her new series. When I am not reading, I am usually watching Food Network, so this synopsis was right inline with my favorite things. The banter and slow burn romance between Dominic and Sylvie was entertaining. I found myself constantly giggling at their antics and banter.

The baking and reality TV aspect were engaging, and I wanted to see even more. Even though there was much humor, there were many emotional moments too. I found myself tearing up often. The secondary characters, especially Pet, were adorable and they added much depth to overall story.

I am not interested in the "Royal Family", but I did not mind the minor plot involving them. I look forward to the next couple/installment.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for my review copy.

I struggled a bit with this one. It felt very long even though I don’t think it really had that many more pages than average. The pacing was just a little off maybe?

But overall it was a cute story. I’m intrigued by the next book because I would like to see what happens with Pet, so I will likely give that a try as well.

DNF at 50%. I’ve loved Lucy Parker’s other books and was really looking forward to this but unfortunately it was a miss for me. It felt too similar to other books I’ve read. I’m not caring much about the characters and when I stop reading, I’m not drawn to return to see what happens next. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook, I also bought the audiobook myself.

This was a new for me author & I really enjoyed the dynamic of the characters! It’s always fun the read grumpy/sunshine tropes! Sylvia and Dominic share a passion for baking though their cakes couldn’t be more opposites. Sylvia like color, sprinkles, & glitter. While Dominic likes minimalistic cakes. He’s a perfectionist. These two have a small past of interactions through competition. Now these two are competing to make the cake for the Royal wedding! Watching these two fall for one another was wonderful. It had a great build up, sweet touches, and a lot going on! The characters were great and had good chemistry as well! I also enjoyed that it was low on drama! It like when the characters act mature and not overreact! I would also advise that there are some heavy and sensitive topics within the story! All in all an enjoyable read!

Oh, I’m such a fan of Lucy’s other books and when I saw the cover of this and the similarities to GBBO, I knew I had to read it!

This book did not disappoint! I loved Dominic and Sylvie. In fact every character was richly written and amazing to learn. Petunia was simply amazing and I can’t wait for the next book in this series. As long as Lucy keeps churning out thought-provoking books, there’s a reader in me.

This match was one of my favorite matches any Romances ever! I just left Dominic and he is my new book boyfriend! This book had all of my favorite things in it… Enemies to lovers, sparkles and unicorns, cooking and sweet and sexy banter! I have not Heard of this author and I’m glad I have now. I will be watching out for all of her future publications. This book was a cover pic for me and I fell in love with it! A must read for the year!!!

So Cute!! I love a grumpy love interest! This book is British Bake Off with a dash of romance. I also love the start of the relationship former contestant meets a moody judge who has not now work together.

QOTD: Salty or Sweet?
My A: Salty!!! I actually really don't like sweets and couldn't finish a piece of cake if you paid me. A bag of chips though? You'll have to tear those away from me if you want any.
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This has been one of my more anticipated reads on NetGalley, the cute cover and fun blurb taunting me on my Kindle for months. Finally the time to read it came!... And I was too busy to get to it before pub day. The one perk of my lateness is now you can go get the book ASAP!
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Fun banter fun of wit and spice, chemistry for days, yummy food descriptions and a little bit of royal drama, Battle Royal is a must read! I flew through this one, unable to tear myself away from Sylvie and Dom. Seriously, who doesn't love the sunshine falling in love with the grump trope? I really have no complaints about this book, it was just too cute!

Battle Royal by Lucy Parker was so FUN! Enemies to Lovers: check. Refrences to Harry Potter: check. Cooking Show: check. Royal connections: check!

For some reason, this is like the 5th cooking show romance I have read this year and I am not mad about it. This was so fun and clever!

It was entertaining but -and I can’t quite put my finger on what- something was missing. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it. But there was just something lacking that could’ve pushed it over the edge for me. Funny and romantic, I’d still read it again!

It’s been a while since I’ve read one of the author’s books, and I’d forgotten just how well she does an enemies to lovers, opposites attract, grumpy loves sunshine story with the most endearingly British characters. While the shenanigans surrounding the GBBO style baking show are an uproarious delight, the Royal wedding storyline running parallel to it is surprisingly poignant. We see Dominic and Sylvie go from butting heads professionally to begrudging respect to ultimately heart melting love, the whole time battling insane contestants, baking disasters, professional rivalries, family drama (biological and found), and Royal love stories.

Sylvie might be the sunshine of the pair but Dominic is just such an amazingly swoony grump it’s hard not to fall for him. He bakes, looks down his nose at everyone, then goes and does the loveliest things, and a silver Fox to boot (he’s greying, not old), what’s not to love! Their connection is at once, fiery and old fashioned and steamy and so perfectly sweet it got me good. All the baking was, well an icing on the many tiered cake. Pet as Dom’s sister and Mabel the terrifying assistant to Sylvie were the standout secondary characters. However, the Jay storyline seemed just too belatedly broached and slightly hastily wrapped up. My favorite side character though, was Humphrey Boggart the viciously crabby cat, whose a furry grumpier version of our main man and a total hoot.