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caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
- This is a romance novel that really digs into feelings, both past and present. I love a book where you get to watch the leads learn how to care for and support each other.
- To be honest, I didn't really feel any heat between Sylvie and Dominic, but their relationship was so tender that I was mostly okay with it. I'll still keep reading this series; I for sure want to get stories for Pet and Mabel!
Graphic: Car accident, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual content, Stalking, Alcohol, and Cancer
Moderate: Medical content, Vomit, Alcoholism, and Injury/Injury detail
kfmcf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
However, there was one thing about this book I found completely unnecessary (spoiler).
Overall, if you want a light book to take on a week or weekend long getaway (depending on how fast you read), this one does the job.
Graphic: Abandonment and Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Terminal illness, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Gaslighting and Kidnapping
totallyshelfaware's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.25
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Abandonment and Child abuse
treereads's review against another edition
3.25
Graphic: Grief
tacoshark's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Grief
bookworm_leilani's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
None of which is to say this book is not good: it's excellent, and I'd even say delightful. While it handles a lot of very heavy topics, including death, lost love, neglected childhoods, estrangements, and mental health, it did not feel overwhelming or dark to me. Conversely it is also not at all what I'd categorize as a "rom com." I loved this book, and think Lucy Parker executed a bittersweet, deeply hopeful, very romantic, very human story while deftly setting up what looks to be a promising series. It's just a.) not a rom com and b.) does deserve content warnings (a feature I love about this app!) but needed some finessing to make sense.
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Child abuse and Death of parent
onthesamepage's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
His gaze went to her hair and locked there. He wanted to touch it. In that instant of time, he obviously desired nothing more than to slide his long fingers into the fine strands, cup her head with that huge palm, tug her forward, take a slow breath . . . and sling her out the window by her ponytail like the Trunchbull.
I believe I was on page 3 when I first had an inkling that I was going to really enjoy this book, and I'm so glad that proved true because I think I would've been gutted otherwise. This has the perfect blend of tropes I enjoy, characters I grew to love, a setting I really like (baking + royalty? heck yeah), great pacing and character development, and, of course, the exact kind of humor and banter that can absolutely make a book for me. I haven't read many romances that are this spot on and conforming to my tastes. I absolutely loved it.
“He once called you the pretty, annoying one,” Mariana added, clearing up that little mind-boggler of a moment. With intense dryness, Sylvie said, “I don’t think he intended you to insert a comma into that sentence.”
It starts with our main characters and how the relationship develops between them. Whether it's enemies to lovers, hate to love, rivals to lovers or whatever other variations there are, this is a trope I really, really like when it's executed well, and by that I mean, the characters don't just start lusting after one another secretly right from the start. By necessity, that means the relationship is more of a slow build, otherwise it doesn't feel believable for me. But I believed it here. Sylvie and Dominic are such a precious couple, and their romance felt so heart-warming and tender. There was definitely plenty of steam too, but it's honestly the quiet, simple moments that got to me and made me root for them so hard. The way Sylvie managed to worm her way through the wall Dominic puts up for the world, and the way Dominic became her support when she needed it, was just *chef's kiss*.
But there's a lot more to this story than just the romance, and those other elements were all amazing too. The book actually deals with some heavier themes like grief from losing a loved one, and the pressures that come with being in the public eye. There are also a lot of very loveable side characters, from Pet, Dominic's sister, to Jay, Sylvie's partner and best friend, to the royal couple, and they're all worth rooting for in their own way. I found the subplots to be just as interesting, and I was super invested in everything the author was trying to sell me. It doesn't hurt that this is a book about two bakers, and romances that have something to do with food always earn extra brownie points.
There is also no dramatic conflict to break the couple apart briefly before they get back together again, because they are adults who communicate, and even when they're going through a tough time, they deal with it and don't run off. That alone would bump it up a star.
Maybe it's too early to say after reading one book by the author, but I have a feeling Lucy Parker might become my comfort contemporary romance author, the way Courtney Milan is for historical romances. Can't wait to dive into her backlist.
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Death of parent
kimiichanga's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
like this was my jam
baker enemies to lovers, ft the great british bake off ALSO A ROYAL WEDDING
the fact that it had so many sub plot lines didnt feel congested to me
ugh this was so good
Graphic: Sexual content, Cancer, and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse and Injury/Injury detail
getbrekked's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, and Car accident
Minor: Vomit, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Violence
lnzava's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Grief, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Cancer
Moderate: Car accident, Death, and Death of parent