Headliners

Enemies-to-lovers who are forced to work together to salvage a morning show that’s been receiving low ratings – sure, this will be no problem for Sabrina and Nick. They’re professional, right? They know a whole country is watching so they’ll be on their best behaviour, right? Well …

It’s a tall order to ask especially of Sabrina who’s always had a competitive and antagonistic relationship with Nick but especially after he revealed her family’s darkest secret to the public. It was a scandal of epic proportions that she’d only just learned about herself and barely had time to digest when Nick pulled that trick and upended her world and that of her sister’s, famed stage actress, Freddy Carlton whom we met in book 4. When the dust settled, Sabrina’s integrity as a journalist was called into question. That’s not easily forgiveable. Nick also managed to get himself into trouble when he was caught maligning their new boss live on the air. Yep. Their careers are in dire need of help but when their boss calls them in and tells them that they only way to dig out of the mess is to co-host a failing morning show, even they’re hesitant to take that on. Two sworn enemies working side by side is a nightmare scenario for them but a potential ratings bonanza for the show as it would reel in viewers curious about their on-air dynamic. They’re given a short period of time to turn things around and come deadline day, a decision will be made about who will get to see their career shine on.

By working in such close proximity you know they won’t be able to help themselves and will get to each other. Every day on the show brings some ridiculous mishap that finds them embarrassing themselves or fanning the tabloid flames that they’re actually an already an item and that they have this act going simply for ratings. The mishaps come often and it’s like watching a physical comedy show. (Just wait til you meet a certain stuffed animal!) I couldn’t help but laugh a few times. In between the work, Sabrina and Nick start to thaw towards each other. At some point they set aside their issues when they start to suspect that someone is sabotaging their morning show. Nothing like a bit of sleuthing to have them join forces.

Sabrina and Nick are not a cutsie couple like Freddy and Griff. (I think Griff might have a word with me about referring to him as “cute”.) I got the impression that they’re more the rough and tumble type that would have it out on a wrestling mat if it came down to it. I didn’t think that there was as much witty humour in Headliners as there were in previous books, however, whenever Sabrina delivered zingers they were more biting than funny which conveyed her still blistering fury at Nick. Nick could deliver a few punches, too. Despite their strained history, there was also a lot of heat between them though they’ll deny it until they’re blue in the face. Nick came off as smooth and generally put together (except for that one incident that landed him in hot water). A man who has a distinct picture in his mind of his career path and what he wants his legacy to be. Like all Lucy Parker’s heroines, Sabrina is impressive for her confidence and ambition. She’s someone who knows her worth and doesn’t suffer fools. Though he initially finds the morning show beneath him, he begins to appreciate his time on the show. It has him reconsidering his career plans and eventually calls his loyalty in to question. I liked that their individual ambitions were equally important and neither were given short shrift. Establishing trust between them is the crux of the the plot that’s also filled with funny moments and loads of sexual tension that’s sure to please.

This is the fifth book in the London Celebrities series and it’s just as enjoyable as the rest of the books. I liked that we moved away from the stage and ventured into a different venue with television though there are lovely appearances by some fan favourites. I lit up when they came on the page remembering how fond I am of them. I adore this world that Lucy Parker has built and how she continues to creatively expand it. The fact is, I can count on her to deliver deliciously sweet, sexy and funny stories that make me feel so happy when I’m done. If there’s ever a reason to escape from reality for a bit, it’s this series, for sure!

~ Bel

(Disclosure: I was provided an advance copy in exchange for an honest review

Sabrina and Nick are former rivals and forced to team up to improve the ratings on a morning show. As they work together they began to see that they don’t really dislike each other and start to fall in love. Recommended to anyone that likes enemies to lovers romance

I haven’t been shy about sharing my love for this series–Act Like It and Pretty Face in particular are favorites of mine. As I was reading Headliners, it dawned on me why I like this series so much. It’s not just the wonderful characters, which are uniquely different for each book. It’s not just the glimpses of possible characters who might get their own stories in the future, or the bonus of getting characters with real issues to overcome and who demonstrate growth over the course of the story.

It’s also the realistic details. I love the secondary characters and their relationships. I love the feeling that you’re sitting down to dinner with friends and you spot someone you know. The characters in this series all move in and out of the West End theater world and it only makes sense they would know each other, if only peripherally.

Also, I love the way the author gets real about things like injuries and periods and the day to day stuff we all have to deal with. You’d think such details had the potential to be distracting but instead it grounds the story in a very realistic way that makes it easy to relate to the MC. Then there’s the little matter of how potent the chemistry is between the characters, and how their attraction is also rooted in the fact that they complete each other. I can’t say enough good things about these books.

Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over: https://margaretmcgaffeyfisk.com/category/reviews/

Lucy Parker consistently delivers a story with humor, poignant moments, and a realistic look behind the curtain or camera as the case may be. The characters are well rounded with as many flaws as strengths. This book builds on the previous in the series (The Austen Playbook), but it most definitely is not a rehash. Rather it jumps forward and shows what Sabrina and Nick’s professional rivalry turned hatred has developed into since the summer.

For those into holiday romance, this story is firmly embedded in the countdown to Christmas with a glimpse at both sides of that picture from charity events to the unattainable, but must have, toys. We also get to reconnect with favorite characters from the previous book and meet new ones equally complex.

After what happened in The Austen Playbook, Sabrina’s dislike of her competition for the prestigious evening news program has developed into pure hatred. He single-handedly exposed her family’s dirty laundry, which led to implications she and her sister knew about, and supported, their father’s actions. Nick, on the other hand, is uncomfortable in her presence because she breaks through his safe distance all too easily.

Imagine their delight to learn their careers now depend on working together in a sink-or-swim revival of a floundering morning show. After being at the height of the television reporting triangle, they’re now responsible for what they both consider fluff pieces. If that isn’t enough, they’re threatened with being replaced by someone completely unsuited to the task as if he could do better.

This is only the starting point. They have room to grow both professionally and personally.

The rivalry is well-seeded even if you haven’t read the previous title (though I’d recommend it and have). The dialogue is sharp and witty throughout, full of shades of meaning and character whether between the two leads or with others. I had several points where I laughed out loud, startled by a perfect reaction or line.

Three different plot lines wrap around each other. The first two, what drives their ambitions and the relationship developing from hate and lust into a love deep enough to terrify both of them at first, are strong and powerful. Parental influences, good and bad, made for some of the better poignant moments whether dealing with the loss of a parent even years later or getting advice they don’t want to hear.

The third, a mystery plot line, didn’t work as well for me, and perhaps this explains it being solved before the climax. I figured out who was causing trouble on the set at the first (and possibly only) hint in the early third of the book. But that’s not the biggest issue. Sabrina and Nick being the only ones on the set to connect a complete change of character to deliberate undermining didn’t make sense to me. Sure, there was a little bad luck and a chef who didn’t check his ingredients personally, but the director wouldn’t have let it go so long without investigating why her set was a comedy of errors.

However, the mystery is the only weak part. The way the filming of the morning show comes to life with both physical and spoken humor is wonderful. The depth of characterization makes even secondary characters feel real, and with the leads, Sabrina’s blinders when someone harms her family, even when that someone is her father, trip her up more than once. It’s her one trigger where she doesn’t stop to get the full story. When she has glimpses of the missing information, it’s powerful.

Nick, on the other hand, is mostly closed off when in a professional context. The personal glimpses of him with any member of his larger family are lovely. We are shown what kind of person he is when he talks about his grandparents, and when he interacts with his niece and mother. It’s even evident on stage when they interview a support dog trainer and Nick gets down on the floor to play with the puppies.

I have many more notes of things I wanted to mention, some avoided for spoiler reasons, but this review is long enough. There are open door relationship scenes, awkward catches by paparazzi, and a lovely exploration of what it means to be family in good times and bad. Between tender, sad, and humorous moments, the story is nicely balanced. Besides, one of the supporting characters is a dog.

P.S. I received this Advanced Reader Copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

My first Parker novel won’t be my last!

This is the fifth book in Parker’s London Celebrities series with Carina Press. Additionally, it has one of my favorite tropes, though when I did a little research about Parker’s series it appears that enemies to lovers is her speciality with multiple books in the series featuring the same trope. As they often say, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it and Parker highlights how good she is at the trope and creating characters to sustain it.

The story itself was easy to get roped into. With two rival television personality’s and their careers on the line. The only way Nick and Sabrina can save their jobs and future with their television network is to work on the same show together and attempt to improve the ratings. With one month to get the job done they have to put aside their differences and focus on the new morning program they are responsible.

This book is pure fun, from the banter and scathing retorts to the scandals and constant one-ups that happen. Honestly, whatever can go wrong does, from sabotaged cake to guest interviews that skim the horror stories of Sabrina and Nick’s past. It’s a never-ending question about what’s going to happen this time. The best part is how Sabrina and Nick figure out that their animosity is hiding a major case of attraction. The plot is seamless with continuous wind up of the stakes, the developing romance due to close proximity, and the way Parker allows the characters to stay true to themselves and communicate their feelings.

One thing that threw me off… the lack of big conflict for the romance aspect in the second half of the story. There’s a certain point in the book where both Sabrina and Nick really have nothing holding them back from each other, except a bunch of small problems that could be the disaster and don’t. I credit the author for pulling this off and keeping me interested. I kept waiting for the horrible thing that would split them apart, but our H/h are damn adults and proudly act like. I was satisfied and someone how a teensy big let down. Still not one hundred percent why, but I found extra respect for Nick and Sabrina in how they didn’t jump to conclusions. Preferring to have grown up conversations instead. In a way that is nearly as refreshing as the pair falling in love.

Overall, this was a great book and even though it’s set in the month of December, so technically a Christmas book, I enjoyed getting back into the spirit of the season. For readers who enjoy Lauren Layne.

Originally posted on – Smittenbybooks.com – get more reviews there.

I first jumped into Lucy Parker’s London Celebrities series earlier this year when reading The Austen Playbook, and fell in love with Sabrina then, as the sister of the heroine from that book. It was pretty obvious that she and rival TV presenter Nick were going to get their own story, but it was also obvious that Nick was going to need one hell of a redemption arc after doing something which was pretty much morally bankrupt near the end of The Austen Playbook, something which has had pretty far-reaching consequences for Sabrina.

If you’re jumping in cold to start the series here, I don’t think it’ll matter; the author does an excellent job of setting the scene and explaining just why Sabrina and Nick are at daggers drawn without infodumping. Or at least… I understand why Sabrina’s murderous. It’s never quite clear why Nick dislikes her so much, unless it’s professional jealousy, which seems somewhat unworthy of him. But then, that stunt he pulled which tipped things over into all-out war was pretty terrible. I started the book very much not on his side, but along with Sabrina, he slowly grew on me, and not in a like-mould kind of way. With the pair of them thrown into close proximity as they’re forced to work together on a new breakfast show, there are some absolutely hilarious scenes which play out – I laughed out loud any number of times – and they slowly start to come to like and respect each other, first on a professional level and then personally and romantically.

Nick does give an appropriate apology to everyone hurt by his past actions, and not only that, he shows by his actions that he’s changed. It’s Darcy-esque level self-realisation, remorse and redemption, beautifully written and very believable, and by the end of the book I was absolutely satisfied that Nick was indeed the kind of guy Sabrina needed and deserved.

This is such a fun read, but with some deep underlying truths about the decisions we make and the unseen, far-reaching consequences they can have when karma comes back around. Nick recognises and atones for his mistakes, but there’s a delicious comeuppance for at least one antagonist who doesn’t learn and change.

I don’t know much (anything, really) about the inner workings of a TV studio or the real lives of celebrities off-camera, but Lucy Parker writes it so believably, there’s certainly nothing here I read and thought ‘unlikely’. I’m hoping for a romance for Nick’s brother Iain (with adorable plot moppet daughter Pippi) next in the series! Five stars for a terrific read.

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book via NetGalley.

Rating ~ 4.5 stars
This was sooo so good!! My first read of 2020 and its a win! I’d have read some of the other books in the series but when I saw the blurb, I wanted to read this bad. Cause we all know I adore a good enemies to lovers/hate to love trope book.

In Lucy Parker’s headliners, two rival TV presenters with their own shows are forced to work together to save the channels sinking morning show or they can kiss their careers goodbye. Sabrina Carlton and Nick Davenport have had rocky relationship, with what started out as a mild pretend snark has turned into full out war and hatred. Now they have to very reluctantly work together to save their jobs, which they have both worked very hard for.

Theres are a lot of shenanigans happening in this book, I just had so much fun reading it. Not only because Sabrina and Nick have such a wonderful chemistry but because the whole of their corner of the world is filled with drama, angst and craziness (the whole shebang). The drama and angst aren’t over the top, they balance really well with the romance and the relationship developing between Nick and Sabrina. I don’t know ,it had been a while since I felt this so engrossed in a book, I read it one sitting. This could totally be made into a movie and I’d watch it.

Sabrina and Nick are opposites of each other and that’s pretty obvious from the get go, but they come together and learn from each other. I loved how their relationship developed, with the anger to sparks to understanding, passionate and sweet love (still full of starkness and teasing though)! I also really liked Sabrina and Nick’s relationship with their siblings. There is a little focus on their families and it made the characters more fleshed out. There’s also some cutes scenes of Nick (and Sabrina) with his niece. There is also quite a bit banter in the book (an enemies to lovers book without banter would just not do really) which I also enjoyed immensely.

We also get cameos of the other couples in the series, which was also lovely!!

There was a lot of funny stuff in the book, with Sabrina and Nick having do stuff they’d rather not, things going absolutely wrong. The falling in love and them growing closer to each other while the career aspirations they have might go down the drain, if they don’t achieve the success demanded of them while dealing with the sabotager added a bit of an extra oomph to the story.

I don’t want to give away lots, just because I went in there pretty blind and really enjoyed it. Overall, (I’m just saying the same things again but!!) this was really lovely, the ridiculous things are balanced with the more mature stuff and the romance with the humour and drama. It worked really well, also the festive seasons in the book made it all the more I don’t know sweeter and perfect for a cozy winter night read. It felt me feeling very happy, warm and satisfied. I want more books from the author!!!

“I received a free, advance copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review”

Every time that the writer Lucy Parker publish a new book, I’m always very excited about that. Because I’m a big fan of her writing style and books. But this time, I was a bit anxious about reading her new book ‘Headliners’ and the reason for that was because of the main characters, Sabrina Carlton and Nick Davenport. If you have read the previous story ‘The Austen playbook’ you will recognize Sabrina and Nick as second characters from that story and know that something big and bad happened between them in there. So I was really curious how the writer would turn these two enemies into lovers.

And after reading ‘Headliners’, I can honestly say that I loved this story very much! The writer really convinced me of the love between them. I enjoyed how both characters were thrown together in a situation where they didn’t have another choice but to work (and spend time) together. The writer created the perfect opportunity to let them fell for each other. And the ‘accidents’ on the show made me smile a lot and it certainly brought fun into the story.

The story is told from both POV’s. The main characters are both intelligent, hard-working, assertive, ambitious and energetic. One of the things that I appreciated about them is that although they are forced to work together, both are professional enough to give it their best. To not sabotage the other in any way. I liked that about them. They both had a good heart. In this story we saw a few of the characters back that we met in the previous book ‘The Austen playbook’. That gave this story (to me) more the feel of a series. Where you can read the other books in the ‘London Celebrities’ series as standalones, I think that for this book you better read ‘The Austen playbook’ first to get a better insight on the background of this story and the feelings of everyone involved.

I’m already looking forward to the next new book of this writer. Maybe that will be about Nick’s grumpy older brother? I hope so!