Series: London Celebrities

Review: Headliners by Lucy Parker

Posted January 28, 2020 by Rowena in Reviews | 3 Comments

Review: Headliners by Lucy ParkerReviewer: Rowena
Headliners by Lucy Parker
Series: London Celebrities #5
Also in this series: Pretty Face, Making Up , The Austen Playbook
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication Date: January 20, 2020
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Point-of-View: Third
Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
Content Warning: View Spoiler »
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 400
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges: Rowena's 2020 Goodreads Challenge
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
Series Rating: four-stars

Sparks fly when two feuding TV presenters are thrown together to host a live morning show in Lucy Parker’s latest enemies-to-lovers contemporary romance.

He might be the sexiest man in London, according to his fan site (which he definitely writes himself), but he’s also the most arrogant man she’s ever met.

She might have the longest legs he’s ever seen, but she also has the sharpest tongue.

For years, rival TV presenters Sabrina Carlton and Nick Davenport have traded barbs on their respective shows. The public can’t get enough of their feud, but after Nick airs Sabrina’s family scandals to all of Britain, the gloves are off. They can barely be in the same room together—but these longtime enemies are about to become the unlikeliest of cohosts.

With their reputations on the rocks, Sabrina and Nick have one last chance to save their careers. If they can resurrect a sinking morning show, they’ll still have a future in television. But with ratings at an all-time low and a Christmas Eve deadline to win back the nation’s favor, the clock is ticking—and someone on their staff doesn’t want them to succeed.

Small mishaps on set start adding up, and Sabrina and Nick find themselves—quelle horreur—working together to hunt down the saboteur…and discovering they might have more in common than they thought. When a fiery encounter is caught on camera, the public is convinced that the reluctant cohosts are secretly lusting after one another.

The public might not be wrong.

Their chemistry has always been explosive, but with hate turning to love, the stakes are rising and everything is on the line. Neither is sure if they can trust these new feelings…or if they’ll still have a job in the New Year.

Headliners is the fifth and I think it’s the final book in the London Celebrities series by Lucy Parker. This book follows Sabrina Carlton as she falls in love with the man she despises above all over men, Nick Davenport. They are rival TV presenters who bicker back and forth but their rivalry kicks into high gear when Nick drops a story that takes Sabrina’s family by the throat and squeezes. The story Nick drops hurts Sabrina’s family and it’s something that Sabrina hasn’t gotten over so when they’re forced to join forces on a morning TV show, in order to keep their jobs and neither of them is happy about it.

Nick’s career was on a fast track to him getting his own travel journalist gig where he would be writing investigative news. He would have followed in his father’s footsteps but nobody is more surprised as Nick to learn that he is actually enjoying hosting the morning show with Sabrina Carlton of all people. Sure, they had a rough start where anything that could go wrong, did go wrong but with Sabrina’s help, Nick is doing his own investigative journalism trying to figure out who is trying to wreck their show. It’s an inside job for sure and the deeper Nick and Sabrina dig to find out who the bad guy is, the closer they seem to get with each other.

I really enjoyed getting to know both Sabrina and Nick in this book. Seeing them both front and center was a lot of fun. I didn’t think that I would love Nick as much as I did because I couldn’t stand him at the end of the last book but Lucy Parker did a fantastic job of redeeming his character for me and I’m glad because I really, really loved him. He was probably my favorite part of the book. I loved him on his own, I loved him when he was with Sabrina. I loved seeing him with his niece, with his brother, and his mother. He was a fleshed out character that melted me at every turn and I just adored him.

Sabrina was a fantastic character on her own. She’s the big sister who loved and supported her sister in every way, but she struggled with her relationship with her father and I was glad to see that Lucy Parker included that relationship in Sabrina’s overall character arc. I was glad to see her and her father work through their issues and come out stronger on the other end. Sabrina was such a strong character and I really enjoyed seeing her work through her different issues within herself, with Nick, her father and I loved that through it all, she was still the Sabrina that we knew and loved. She was just so much more in the end.

The romance between Nick and Sabrina was hot and I was here for it all. I thought they complimented each other well and when they became each other’s person without realizing it at first, I was thrilled because I really enjoyed seeing them together. This was such a strong addition to this series and if it’s the end, I thought this story ended the series on a high note. I adored seeing everyone from the other books in this one and I have come to care about all of these characters so I will miss the hell out of them. All in all, this was a great book and if you haven’t read this series, I highly recommend that you change that. Everyone should know and love these characters, Nick and Sabrina will capture your heart just like they captured mine. So good!

Final Grade

4 out of 5

London Celebrities


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Sunday Spotlight: Headliners by Lucy Parker

Posted January 19, 2020 by Rowena in Features, Giveaways | 3 Comments

Sunday Spotlight is a feature we began in 2016. This year we’re spotlighting our favorite books, old and new. We’ll be raving about the books we love and being total fangirls. You’ve been warned. 🙂

Headliners is the fifth book in the London Celebrities series by Lucy Parker. I’m a pretty big fan of this series so I have been looking forward to this book for as long as I’ve known it was coming. I wasn’t too wild about Nick as the hero since he pissed me off in the last book but I’ve already dug into my eARC of this book and Lucy Parker’s redemption game is strong because by the end of this book, I loved Nick to pieces. I’m super stoked to share an excerpt from this book so that hopefully, you guys will be stoked for this release, right along with us. Check it out.

Sunday Spotlight: Headliners by Lucy ParkerHeadliners by Lucy Parker
Series: London Celebrities #5
Also in this series: Pretty Face, Making Up , The Austen Playbook, Headliners
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication Date: January 20, 2020
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 400
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
Series Rating: four-stars

Sparks fly when two feuding TV presenters are thrown together to host a live morning show in Lucy Parker’s latest enemies-to-lovers contemporary romance.

He might be the sexiest man in London, according to his fan site (which he definitely writes himself), but he’s also the most arrogant man she’s ever met.

She might have the longest legs he’s ever seen, but she also has the sharpest tongue.

For years, rival TV presenters Sabrina Carlton and Nick Davenport have traded barbs on their respective shows. The public can’t get enough of their feud, but after Nick airs Sabrina’s family scandals to all of Britain, the gloves are off. They can barely be in the same room together—but these longtime enemies are about to become the unlikeliest of cohosts.

With their reputations on the rocks, Sabrina and Nick have one last chance to save their careers. If they can resurrect a sinking morning show, they’ll still have a future in television. But with ratings at an all-time low and a Christmas Eve deadline to win back the nation’s favor, the clock is ticking—and someone on their staff doesn’t want them to succeed.

Small mishaps on set start adding up, and Sabrina and Nick find themselves—quelle horreur—working together to hunt down the saboteur…and discovering they might have more in common than they thought. When a fiery encounter is caught on camera, the public is convinced that the reluctant cohosts are secretly lusting after one another.

The public might not be wrong.

Their chemistry has always been explosive, but with hate turning to love, the stakes are rising and everything is on the line. Neither is sure if they can trust these new feelings…or if they’ll still have a job in the New Year.

Excerpt

Blindfolded biscuit decorating.

Sabrina was rapidly becoming a lot less fond of Fenella Price.

Phil Meyer, one of the finalists for Ultimate Cakemaster, the current Sunday evening obsession around the country, was just about bent double so that Layla Johnson, his petite fellow contestant, could secure the length of black silk over his eyes. The pair of them had been chuckling and jostling one another, and obviously having a grand old time as they effortlessly produced a stack of perfectly browned, crisply shaped gingerbread people at their station.

They also looked far too unsurprised by this exciting turn of events; evidently, they’d been given a heads-up in the green room that things were going to take a farcical turn.

Sabrina winced as she glanced back at the pile of biscuits on the Carlton/Davenport station. Their lines of figures looked flat-out tragic. Several were missing limbs after she’d accidentally dropped a tray while trying to avoid bodily contact with Nick, and at least half of them were burnt, after the biscuit prince had forgotten to take them out of the oven. He claimed the temperature had been set too high.

And unlike the piping bottles at the opposite station, their royal icing had an interestingly crunchy texture, because Nick Davenport, usually a veritable Renaissance Man, had no idea how to crack an egg. He’d bounced the shell off the side of the bowl like he was slam-dunking a basketball.

“I thought you knew how to bake,” she muttered under her breath as she slipped the blindfold around Nick’s head. She was tall even without her heels, so they didn’t need to resort to Phil and Layla’s acrobatics. He made a quiet sound of protest when she pulled the tie too tight, and she slipped her fingers under it to loosen it. “Sorry.”

He’d managed to transform in the hour before they went live, and now looked as alert and dapper as ever in his crisp suit. She could smell him, this unusually close. His skin had a warm scent of oud from his cologne and, faintly, vanilla from the bottle of extract he’d spilt all over his hands. Sabrina could almost taste it in the back of her throat.

She smoothed the silken fabric into place over his short black curls. “What happened to the scion of the baking dynasty?”

For the first few minutes of the segment, she’d thought he was just embracing the direction to fudge things a bit, make sure their guests looked suitably expert. After she’d watched him poke curiously at the butter with the handle of a wooden spoon, and the acrid bitterness of burning sugar had reached her nostrils, she’d realised he wasn’t acting, he was just shite.

London Celebrities

Giveaway Alert

We’re giving one lucky winner their choice of one of our Sunday Spotlight books. Use the widget below to enter for one of this month’s features.

Sunday Spotlight: January 2020

Are you as excited for this release as we are? Let us know how excited you are and what other books you’re looking forward to this year!


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Joint Review: The Austen Playbook by Lucy Parker

Posted May 23, 2019 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Joint Review: The Austen Playbook by Lucy ParkerReviewer: Holly & Rowena
The Austen Playbook by Lucy Parker
Series: London Celebrities #4
Also in this series: Pretty Face, Making Up , Headliners
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication Date: April 22, 2019
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 352
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges: Rowena's 2019 GoodReads Challenge
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
Series Rating: four-stars

In which experienced West End actress Freddy Carlton takes on an Austen-inspired play, a scandal at a country estate, an enthusiastic search for a passion outside of acting…and the (some people might say icy*) heart of London’s most feared theater critic.

*if those people were being nice

Freddy Carlton knows she should be focusing on her lines for The Austen Playbook, a live-action TV event where viewers choose the outcome of each scene, but her concentration’s been blown. The palatial estate housing the endeavor is now run by the rude (brilliant) critic who’s consistently slammed her performances of late. James “Griff” Ford-Griffin has a penchant for sarcasm, a majestic nose and all the sensitivity of a sledgehammer.

She can’t take her eyes off him.

Griff can hardly focus with a contagious joy fairy flitting about near him, especially when Freddy looks at him like that. His only concern right now should be on shutting down his younger brother’s well-intentioned (disastrous) schemes—or at the very least on the production (not this one) that might save his family home from the banks.

Instead all he can think of is soft skin and vibrant curls.

As he’s reluctantly dragged into her quest to rediscover her passion for the stage and Freddy is drawn into his research on a legendary theater star, the adage about appearances being deceiving proves abundantly true. It’s the unlikely start of something enormous…but a single revelation about the past could derail it all.

The Austen Playbook is the fourth book in Lucy Parker’s London Celebrities series and it follows Freddy Carlton as she falls head over heels in love with the last man she ever thought she’d catch feelings for. J. Ford-Griffin is a critic who has given her some harsh reviews for her work in different plays so when she signs on to do an interactive play on his home ground, she’s not thinking about him at all…until he’s the only thing that she’s thinking of.

J. Ford Griffin is busy. He’s busy trying to get a movie off the ground but is getting pushback on that and with his family’s spending rising and not enough money coming in, he’s doing everything he can to make sure that they don’t lose their family property that has been in the family for ages. The last thing he needs is an attraction with an actress but Freddy Carlton keeps showing up around his property, in his thoughts and before he knows what’s what, Freddy Carlton is the woman he wants to be his forever.

Rowena: This was a really quick read for me and I really enjoyed it. Freddy and Griff were a wonderful couple and I really enjoyed their romance. What did you think, Holly?

Holly: This is my first book by Parker. Even though it’s book 4 in the series, it was the perfect standalone. I actually thought it was book 1 until you mentioned the others. I really liked the romance, though it took me a little bit to settle into the story. I’m not sure if it was my reading mood or the book itself, but the first 1/3 of the book was kind of slow. Still, I really liked Griff and Freddy. They were cute together. I loved how grumpy Griff was.

Rowena: I’m glad to see that you liked it. All of the books in this series can be read as standalones but I like that Lucy Parker has grouped them together since they all take place in the same world.

Yeah, I really liked watching Freddy and Griff grow closer and closer. I liked that their attraction was organic and it wasn’t one of those insta-love stories. We saw them get to know each other and I felt their connection throughout the entire thing so I was a happy camper.

Holly: Yes, it was great how they started as sort of enemies, became friends, then that turned into more. The progression felt true and natural, and I really liked how Freddy’s naturally sunny attitude worked on Griff.

I didn’t love all the theater drama. That’s not really my style. Every time Sadie came on page I wanted to punch her. I was sad she didn’t get her comeuppance.

Rowena: Yeah, Sadie needed to get punched in the face a time or two. So did Nick. The theater stuff was okay for me, we didn’t get enough of it to make me bored or anything. I was really invested in both Freddy and Griff, together and apart. I wanted Freddy to find the backbone to stand up to her father and I wanted Griff to figure out how to keep his family’s financials afloat without selling his soul. I liked seeing them really grow into their own and I loved that finding themselves, helped them grow together so all around, I just really liked this one.

I also really liked Charlie and loved that he finally found his purpose in life as well. So much good stuff in this one outside of freaking Sadie and stupid ass Nick. I heard that Nick is going to be redeemed in his own book (which I’m assuming is going to be with Freddy’s sister) and that’s good to know since I heard that Nick was named after our blogging friend Nick from The Infinite Limits of Love. 🙂

This book gets 4 out of 5 stars from me. What about you?

Holly: Don’t even get me started on Nick. I’m not sure he can be redeemed. I’m sorry for our friend Nick, because he’ll forever be Nick the Dick to me. haha

I was invested in Freddie’s personal growth and Griff’s determination to save his family. Though I’ll be honest, I don’t see why he didn’t hire a marketing manager for his parents. That bothered me. With direction they could have made quite a bit of money.

Charlie was wonderful. I really hope we get a book for him.

I’m going to give it 3.75.

Rowena: Nick the Dick….hahahahahaha. Girl, I’m crying. I have faith in Lucy Parker’s abilities. Just you watch.

Final Grade

Holly: 3.75 out of 5
Rowena: 4 out of 5

London Celebrities


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Review: Making Up by Lucy Parker

Posted June 14, 2018 by Rowena in Reviews | 3 Comments

Review: Making Up by Lucy ParkerReviewer: Rowena
Making Up by Lucy Parker
Series: London Celebrities, #3
Also in this series: Pretty Face, The Austen Playbook, Headliners
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication Date: May 28, 2018
Point-of-View: Third Person
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 254
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars


Author of Act Like It and Pretty Face Lucy Parker returns readers to the West End, where it’s fireworks onstage and off in a sexy enemies-to-lovers showdown.

Once upon a time, circus artist Trix Lane was the best around. Her spark vanished with her confidence, though, and reclaiming either has proved…difficult. So when the star of The Festival of Masks is nixed and Trix is unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight, it’s exactly the push she needs. But the joy over her sudden elevation in status is cut short by a new hire on the makeup team.

Leo Magasiva: disgraced wizard of special effects. He of the beautiful voice and impressive beard. Complete dickhead and—in an unexpected twist—an enragingly good kisser.

To Leo, something about Trix is…different. Lovely. Beautiful, even though the pint-size, pink-haired former bane of his existence still spends most of her waking hours working to annoy him. They’ve barely been able to spend two minutes together for years, and now he can’t get enough of her. On stage. At home. In his bed.

When it comes to commitment, Trix has been there, done that, never wants to do it again. Leo’s this close to the job of a lifetime, which would take him away from London—and from Trix. Their past is a constant barrier between them.

It seems hopeless.

Utterly impossible.

And yet…

Making Up is the third book in Lucy Parker’s London Celebrities series and it was another enjoyable book that I ate right up. Leo and Trix were a wonderful couple and their story was solid.

Trix Lane’s role in her show has been upgraded and she’s elated at the same time that she’s terrified of messing up. The new role is more complicated, her routines a lot harder and though she knows the basics, she must up her game if she wants to keep the role but her confidence has taken a hit thanks to her no good piece of shit ex, the ex that tried to get between her and her best friend Lily in Lily’s book, Pretty Face. To make matters worse, someone from her past is back in her life working on her show as a makeup artist and he’s the last person that she wants to see around.

It doesn’t matter what she wants because Leo isn’t going anywhere and he’s always around because he’s renting one of the rooms in the housing unit that Trix lives in. Poor thing, haha. But Leo is trying to make some moves for himself professionally after a setback. Sure, he’s not all that excited to see Trix on a daily basis but he’s not going to let her derail his plans.

This was a great romance about two people who did not get along but fell in love anyway. Leo and Trix’s story started when they were in high school and didn’t know how to deal with their big time feelings. Things were said, feelings were hurt and a feud began. Every time they saw each other, they burned hot and everyone tried to get out of their blast zone. Seeing them work things out and then figure their things out together made for an enjoyable romance.

Lucy Parker does a great job of making the readers care about her characters. I cared so much for both Trix and Leo. I wanted the best for them throughout the entire book, even when they were both getting on my nerves. Their story was full of warmth, charm and the romance itself was steamy. Leo was really good in the sack, haha. The way that he couldn’t get enough of Trix melted my heart. I loved seeing them come into their feelings for each other and though it wasn’t the most perfect of journeys, it was a good one.

I’m pretty anxious to see if we get more books from this world and I’m hoping that we do because I’d love to read a story featuring Jono front and center. His character is interesting. Overall, this book was fun and though there were times that I wanted to strangle first Trix and then Leo and Cat wasn’t safe from these hands either, I still enjoyed the romance, the story and seeing Trix’s professional world first hand.

Leo was a strong hero who cared deeply for those close to him. Trix was a wonderful match for him and I really enjoyed their chemistry together. Kudos to Lucy Parker for another winner.

Grade: 4 out of 5

London Celebrities

four-stars


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Review: Pretty Face by Lucy Parker

Posted February 21, 2017 by Rowena in Reviews | 3 Comments

Review: Pretty Face by Lucy ParkerReviewer: Rowena
Pretty Face by Lucy Parker
Series: London Celebrities #2
Also in this series: Making Up , The Austen Playbook, Headliners
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication Date: February 20th 2017
Pages: 264
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Highly acclaimed, award-winning author of Act Like It Lucy Parker returns readers to the London stage with laugh-out-loud wit and plenty of drama

The play's the fling

It's not actress Lily Lamprey's fault that she's all curves and has the kind of voice that can fog up a camera lens. She wants to prove where her real talents lie—and that's not on a casting couch, thank you. When she hears esteemed director Luc Savage is renovating a legendary West End theater for a lofty new production, she knows it could be her chance—if only Luc wasn't so dictatorial, so bad-tempered and so incredibly sexy.

Luc Savage has respect, integrity and experience. He also has it bad for Lily. He'd be willing to dismiss it as a midlife crisis, but this exasperating, irresistible woman is actually a very talented actress. Unfortunately, their romance is not only raising questions about Lily's suddenly rising career, it's threatening Luc's professional reputation. The course of true love never did run smooth. But if they're not careful, it could bring down the curtain on both their careers…

This book is approximately 96,000 words

One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you're looking for with an HEA/HFN. It's a promise! Find out more at CarinaPress.com/RomancePromise

Pretty Face is the second book in Lucy Parker’s London Celebrities series and it was another winner in my book. I adored Luc. I loved Lily and I really, really loved their romance.

Lily Lamprey’s soap opera career is coming to an end and she’s looking forward to moving on from the homewrecking role she’s been playing for far too long. She’s young and she’s got the rest of her life and career ahead of her but not a lot of people think she’s got what it takes to really make a go of it in the theater world.

Luc Savage is renovating an old West End theater and he’s producing the first play that will debut in the new space and at first glance, Lily is not what he’s looking for in any role on the play. Her voice is all wrong for the theater and not even threats of investors pulling their funding is going to stop him from doing what he wants but that all changes when he meets with Lily and gives her a legit shot. Not only can he see her bringing life to one of the key characters in the play, but he can also seeing her being a star in the theater world.

There’s a huge age difference between the hero and heroine in this one. The hero is 40 and the heroine is 26 but that didn’t matter to me. The romance between the two of them worked well and that’s a credit to Parker’s writing style. There was so much going on and so many road blocks in between the two of these guys that something as small as the age difference just didn’t matter. I liked getting to know Lily and Luc on their own but I adored the two of them together.

They both had lives apart from each other but they were pretty drawn to each other and I liked that. Holly and I were talking just last week about how we’ve been noticing that romance novels these days have the hero and the heroine in each other’s pockets for the entire book. There doesn’t seem to be a lot going on in their lives apart from each other and we miss the couples of old, who had friends and family that were a part of their lives and their stories but that wasn’t the case here. Luc had his family and stuff going on with them whereas Lily had her best friend and family and her own stuff going on with them.

All in all, this was another fabulous read by Lucy Parker and she’s cemented her name on my radar and I will definitely be reading more from her. This was an entertaining novel about two completely different people who came together and made sense. Their love grew with passing page and I was completely on board with their feelings, their passion and their story. It’s a definite recommended read from me.

Grade: 4.25 out of 5

four-stars


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