Home > Battle Royal (Palace Insiders #1)(86)

Battle Royal (Palace Insiders #1)(86)
Author: Lucy Parker

“The bachelor prince—soon to be a bachelor no more. Rosie and Johnny’s wedding was a big deal. But the heir to the British throne?” The glint in Pet’s expression intensified as she tilted her head meaningfully. “Hell of a cake contract, folks.”

Sylvie’s gaze rose to meet Dominic’s.

The drumbeat of the band was quickening in pitch.

He lifted a brow.

And the curve of her mouth deepened.

Let the battle (re)commence . . .

Acknowledgments

Writing is often a solitary process—unless you have a new puppy walking over the keyboard every five seconds, as I’ve recently discovered—but the support and hard work of so many people go into bringing a story to life on the page.

Firstly, I’m incredibly grateful to my amazing editor, Elle Keck, and the entire team at Avon. You made me feel so welcome from day one, and have all been supportive beyond measure throughout the whole process. While dealing with the extreme difficulties of a global pandemic, you worked so hard, always offering valuable insight, helping me to take these characters and make them who they needed to be.

Thank you, as always, to my agent, Elaine Spencer. You’re at my side on every step of this journey, an expert voice when I need one but also a constant cheerleader. You believe in me even when I don’t.

I’m so thrilled to have Liza Rusalskaya illustrating the cover, bringing a whole new, gorgeous, colorful dimension to Sylvie and Dominic, and their respective bakeries.

The friends I’ve met in the book community have been one of the greatest blessings since the beginning. It’s a privilege to know all of you, I’m so lucky to have you in my life, and I think about that every day. You’re the kindest, most talented people, and the very definition of friendship.

To the book bloggers, YouTubers, and Instagrammers who work tirelessly and often don’t receive the thanks and respect they deserve: I cannot thank you enough. I’m forever grateful for everything you do.

This is a book about family, biological and found, and I couldn’t do anything without mine. You’ve taught me the meaning of unconditional love, you’re my whole world—and you’ve had to put up with me brandishing pieces of paper and plot points scrawled on whiteboards for a second opinion, keeping frequently unsociable hours, and worrying over details large and small. I love you very much.

Teddy, my newest and furriest family member: you may have introduced me to Extreme Editing, in which all of my worldly possessions were destroyed around me while I revised, but you’re an adorable (and very mischievous) light in my life.

And to every person who reads my books, thank you so much.

I appreciate you all.

Announcement

And don’t miss Lucy Parker’s next delightful romantic comedy

Starring Pet De Vere and Matthias Vaughn

Coming Summer 2022

About the Author

LUCY PARKER is an award-winning romance author who lives in New Zealand. A romance reader from a young age, she loves to write about people pursuing their dreams and falling hopelessly in love along the way—often with the last person they would expect! Her previous titles have been featured in Entertainment Weekly, Cosmopolitan, and O, The Oprah Magazine, and were included in NPR’s Book Concierge for four consecutive years.

Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.

Also by Lucy Parker

LONDON CELEBRITIES SERIES

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Headliners

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

BATTLE ROYAL. Copyright © 2021 by Laura Elliott. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Cover illustration by Elizaveta Rusalskaya

Cake illustration © ALEXEY GRIGOREV / Shutterstock, Inc.

Ice cream with cone © bioraven / Adobe Stock

FIRST EDITION

Digital Edition AUGUST 2021 ISBN: 978-0-06-304007-6

Version 06102021

Print ISBN: 978-0-06-304006-9

About the Publisher

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