Romance readers and Great British Bake Off fans will both rejoice with the release of Battle Royal by Lucy Parker (Headliners; The Austen Playbook). In this delectable romantic comedy, two baking enemies find themselves suddenly becoming more than friends as a competition heats up.
For the past four years, ever since she accidentally exploded a cake at judge Dominic DeVere and got kicked off her season of Operation Cake, contestant Sylvie Fairchild has ignored the stern Dominic as much as humanly possible. And Dominic has continued to roll his eyes at Sylvie's over-the-top, fantastical dessert creations. But now Operation Cake has invited Sylvie back--as part of the judging panel this time. Inevitably, Sylvie and Dominic are forced to spend a great deal of time together, much to their initial mutual irritation. But as Dominic and Sylvie get to know each other better, they have to admit that they might have been wrong about each other. Then they find out they're both in the running to create a cake for the next royal wedding. Can their budding relationship survive the pressure?
Sweet in more ways than one, Battle Royal is Lucy Parker at her brilliant best. Witty, yet sensitive and heartfelt, with characters who have had to overcome genuinely difficult life circumstances, Battle Royal perfectly mixes reality television, endless piles of baked goods and some frothy royal intrigue into a recipe for romantic success. --Jessica Howard, bookseller at Bookmans, Flagstaff, Ariz.