Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™

Wilder, Book 3

From the publisher:

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, creations captivated viewers and intrigued all but one of the judges, Dominic De Vere. When Sylvie’s unicorn cake went spectacularly sideways, Dominic was quick to vote her off the show. Since then, Sylvie has used her fame to fulfill her dream of opening a bakery. 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 and a veritable British institution. He’s brilliant, talented, hard-working. And an icy, starchy grouch. Learning that 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 fight 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?

This is the perfect amalgam of romcom and British Bakeoff; no wonder it garnered starred reviews all around. It’s also the classic enemies to lovers trope of romance, and done really well.

Sylvie lost on “Operation Cake” when her unicorn cake blew up and attacked the judge, Dominic. He had no patience for her quirky, sparkly cakes anyway. Dominic is the classically trained pastry chef whose cakes appeal to the Royal family. Sylvie opened her own cake shop right across the street from his, but there customers don’t really overlap. Except for the princess who is now planning her wedding. Her parents want Dominic, she wants Sylvie and both are invited to submit cake designs for the wedding, adding another layer of discord between them. Then one of the judges on Operation Cake leaves, and Sylvie is invited to be a judge. She can’t afford not to do it, plus it will give her shop tons of exposure. Of course, she’ll have to work with Dominic, but maybe it won’t be so bad.

Turns out Dominic isn’t exactly the stuffy ogre Sylvie always thought him to be. And she’s not the flighty miscreant he thought her to be. Eventually, they realize they have a lot more in common than they thought and team up in a variety of ways – even romantically.

This was a really fun read with a lot of emotional resonance. Romcoms don’t get much better than this! Don’t miss it.

9/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

BATTLE ROYAL by Lucy Parker. Avon (August 17, 2021). ISBN: 978-0063040069. 416 pages.

Kindle

Audible

This entry was posted on Monday, September 13th, 2021 at 8:00 AM and is filed under Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.