Battle Royal ARC Review

Battle Royal by Lucy Parker

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Series: Palace Insiders #1

Heat Level: 🔥🔥

Release Date: August 17, 2021

Publisher: Avon

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.

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SYNOPSIS

Beloved author Lucy Parker pens a delicious new romantic comedy that is a battle of whisks and wits.

Ready…

Four years ago, Sylvie Fairchild charmed the world as a contestant on the hit baking show, Operation Cake. Her ingenious, colorful creations captivated viewers and intrigued all but one of the judges, Dominic De Vere, the hottest pastry chef in London. When her glittery unicorn cake went spectacularly sideways, Dominic was quick to vote her off the show. Since then, Sylvie has managed to use her fame to help fulfill her dream of opening a bakery, Sugar Fair. The toast of Instagram, Sugar Fair has captured the attention of the Operation Cake producers…and a princess.

Set…

Dominic is His Majesty the King’s favorite baker, the go-to for sweet-toothed A-List celebrities, and a veritable British institution. He’s brilliant, talented, hard-working. And an icy, starchy grouch. Learning that the irksome Sylvie will be joining him on the Operation Cake judging panel is enough to make the famously dour baker even more grim. Her fantastical baking is only slightly more troublesome than the fact that he can’t stop thinking about her pink-streaked hair and irrepressible dimple.

Match…

When Dominic and Sylvie learn they will be fighting for the once in a lifetime opportunity to bake a cake for the upcoming wedding of Princess Rose, the flour begins to fly as they’re both determined to come out on top.

The bride adores Sylvie’s quirky style. The palace wants Dominic’s classic perfection.

In this royal battle, can there be room for two?

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REVIEW

Baker Sylvie Fairchild thoroughly enjoyed her time on Operation Cake four years ago as a contestant. She’s elated that the producers have asked her on as a judge. It will provide great coverage for her shop Sugar Fair! The only downside of accepting the gig – she has to work with Dominic De Vere. The same judge that booted Sylvie off the show (okay, yeah maybe her unicorn malfunction that earned him a hoof and glitter in the face wasn’t the best for live TV).

Dominic is stern, but fair. He’s not the biggest fan of Sylvie especially after that glitter unicorn fiasco. Dominic and Sylvie also just happen to have neighboring bakeries as well. When Sylvie and Dominic end up vying for the top position to bake a cake for the royal wedding of Princess Rose – who will the Princess end up choosing? Will Sylvie and Dominic continue to stay rivals or will working in such close proximity have them seeing each other in a different light?

I absolutely loved Battle Royal. Not only does it have two of my favorite tropes – enemies to lovers and forced proximity, but the chemistry between Dominic and Sylvie was always sparking. Yeah, sure they disliked each other, but they also have a deep sense of respect for each others work.

The level of vulnerability each character in the story showed added a lot of depth to this amazing romance. Not only from Dominic and Sylvie, but also Dominic’s sister Pet as well as the royal couple Princess Rose and Johnny. Sometimes when there are a lot of side characters in a book I feel like it takes away from the romance. That was not the case in Battle Royal. Each and every single character in this book had an important part and they all added to overall story.

I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook of Battle Royal and enjoyed it so much! The audiobook was narrated by Billie Fulford-Brown and she did such a wonderful job voicing all of the various characters. I could definitely tell if Dominic was grumpy or if Sylvie was happy or sad. I loved the accents of all of the characters and really felt like the audiobook of Battle Royal was fantastic and highly recommend it!

Battle Royal was so swoony and I’ve highlighted so many parts that I can’t wait to go back and revisit. Definitely add this book to your TBR and pre-order for when it releases in August! Battle Royal is one of my favorite books of the year!

I absolutely cannot wait for the next book in the series!!!