A review by celebrationofbooks
Battle Royal by Lucy Parker

funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This has been a year where I have only wanted to read books that help me escape the reality around me. Because honestly, life in 2021 sucks. Hard. The world seems to think that everything should be back to normal by now, that masks aren’t necessary, that yelling at people in the service industry is totally okay, and that they can be generally assholes to women. Couple that with my own personal hellish year and, well, it should come as no surprise why I just want to read light hearted fiction right now.

If you love baking, spunky heroines, haters to lovers tropes, and then a solid romantic relationship that isn’t troubled by random unnecessary drama, delightful sisters, and a touch of royalty, then this is the book for you! Sylvie and Dominic are not unlike Olive and Adam (The Love Hypothesis) in that we have a fun and spunky heroine dealing with some grief from the loss of their mother figure and a strong, silent, brooding but loving type in their romantic lead.

Both are surrounded by a cool cast of secondary characters and friends and you can’t help but anxiously anticipate the next in the series that will focus on Dominic’s delightful little sister. There’s a bit of culinary espionage, a veritable culinary wonderland, delectable descriptions of mouth watering chocolates, and a baking competition, which despite the description’s emphasis on it, really takes a back seat to everything else in the story. Our royal couple have their own challenges, as do our bakers, and it all mixes together to make the lightest and fluffiest chocolate cake of a book that you could possibly imagine.

And yes, because I’m obsessed with it, this book does pass the Bechdel test.
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