Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall is a delightful, quirky rom-com that’s perfect for fans of feel-good, character-driven stories. The book follows Rosaline, a baker with big dreams, as she competes on a reality baking show while juggling her complicated love life and career. Hall does an excellent job of blending humor with heart, creating a fun but thoughtful story about self-acceptance, finding love, and staying true to who you are. Rosaline is a relatable and endearing protagonist, and the romance is sweet with just the right amount of tension. It’s a charming, warm read that will make you root for Rosaline every step of the way.

Absolutely top-notch as Great British Baking Show fan fiction. As far as the rest of the plot, I'm not sure if I was entertained or overwhelmed.

"Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake" starts as a lot of fun. It has the characteristic Alexis Hall humor and lots of focus on dialogue, which keeps it engaging. On the other hand, it took me forever to figure out who the third person in the love triangle was, and as I got further along, I found myself slogging through a chapter at a time.

The exploration of sexuality, fetishization, and classism is well done and very interesting. As a romance, it's not very satisfying. Full points for Harry, regardless.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

3.5 stars, rounded up.

I found this book going differently than I had anticipated. I think the writing about biphobia was really well done. and well addressed. However, I don't love the "choose the mediocre choice to please others" plot. When you're constantly interacting with a mediocre character, even the best writing can lag. I found myself thinking hurry up during all the scenes with Alain, as we knew he was not the final or best choice.

I read this one for my neighborhood book club and I enjoyed it. It has been awhile since i've read it but I remember enjoying the story and the relationship that was being built. It was a nice sweet romance.

Overall I enjoyed this book, the food descriptions, yum! The middle was a little slower for me. Hall does a great job at exploring the challengers of being bi-sexual. Witty and quarky, loveable characters.

Baking romance has been having such a moment over the last few years, and I'm so glad I finally circled back around to Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake. I've enjoyed everything by Alexis Hall I've read, and this one is one of my new favorites. Of course, the British baking show set at a remote estate is absolute catnip (with, of course, going back to their daily lives during the week- US reality shows could never), with a range of characters from annoying to utterly charming. I appreciate that this also looks at issues of bi-phobia and the misunderstandings Rosaline faces, as well as her perspective as a young, dating single mom. Don't read this one hungry!

This sounded really fun and I’ve enjoyed Alexis Hall’s books in the past, but this just did not click for me.

I love watching cooking competition shows: the amazing and unique dishes, the personal stories, the drama… and also, yes, okay, the moment when the cake collapses or someone drops their pan of deliciousness right out of the oven has a healthy dose of schadenfreude. It hadn’t occurred to me I would enjoy READING about a cooking competition as much as watching, and Rosaline Palmer did not disappoint.

Amatuer cook and single (bisexual) mom Rosaline has just landed a spot on the nation’s top baking competition show. She does well in some challenges and not so well in others, interacts with a fabulous and unique cast of characters with their own agendas, and gets involved in a love triangle with a man who’s a substantial and dependable meat pasty and another who is more of a delicate souffle. Her personal growth is as important to the story as the show, and I devoured (pun intended) this sweet, funny, awkward tale which is more fiction with strong romantic elements, but features great conversations around ideals, goals, compromise and consent.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #RosalinePalmerTakesTheCake from #NetGalley.

I don't necessarily think I'm the audience for this one - I love a good rom-com but wasn't connecting with this.

A baking competition + LGBTQIA+ rep = a recipe for a great book. Alexis Hall started off a great new series on a high note - I loved Rosaline (and her wonderful child) and this story.

I absolutely love a romance set in a baking show scenario, and Rosaline Palmer did not disappoint. I would have loved a little more from the actual romantic relationship, but I loved Rosaline’s daughter and the witty dialogue a whole lot.

I will preface this review by saying that I adore Alexis Hall’s books and in my opinion he is one of the greatest romance writers of all time. That being said, I’m very glad I went into this one with adjusted expectations as well as some plot spoilers. Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake is more romance adjacent and focuses mostly on Rosaline finding herself through her time on a televised baking show. If you are a fan of The Great British Bakeoff, this is absolutely a book for you.

Rosaline’s experiences on the show, the dishes she makes, the other contestants, her time with the judges, host, and producer, and lots of behind the scenes glimpses into how the show is made are all heavily covered in the book and so much fun to read. The host and judges are especially well written and there is a scene during bread week where one of the contestants accidentally makes a phallic shaped bread loaf that is so funny I was in tears by the end of it. I would have read and enjoyed the book just for these parts alone but Alexis Hall never just does one thing.

Rosaline is a single mother, raising her delightful daughter Amelie with the help of her best friend, and ex, Lauren. I absolutely loved the dynamic between the three of them and Amelie is written as such an intelligent, funny, thoughtful child. I had a hard time with Rosaline’s toxic parents and they were a huge reason why she is such a people pleaser as an adult and struggles to initially find merit with the choices she’s made in her life. Despite knowing they’re a toxic presence, Rosaline feels pressured to stay on good terms with them because they help her out financially and by taking care of Amelie.

At this point I think most people have either read this one or have read spoilers but I will include some below so if you do not want any then here is your chance to stop reading.

Rosaline spends most of this book falling for and actively dating a complete and utter bag of dicks and their relationship ends abruptly with sexual assault. There is another character on the show that she befriends and it is clear the story will ultimately lead to the two of them ending up together, but that does not happen until nearly the end of the book which was slightly disappointing. I would have enjoyed more on page time of the two of them and less of the pile of flaming garbage she starts off with. This one is billed as a love triangle, but I’m not really sold on that as Rosaline is actively dating Alain most of the book and really doesn’t think much about Harry until the very end when she’s basically broken up with Alain. So if you’re like me and love triangles really aren’t your jam, I think you’re safe here.

Ultimately I enjoyed this one and I’m really glad I read it. I’m excited to read the next book in the series, Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble. Thanks so much to forever for sending me this finished copy!

📣BEST📣BOOK📣ABOUT📣BIPHOBIA📣AND📣BISEXUAL📣 FETISHIZATION📣 I’VE 📣EVER📣 READ📣

(Knocked a star off tho bc it’s marketed as a romance and it’s more of like a coming into your own type story)

TW for biphobia and sexual assault

Also this is witty AF and Alexis hall is so incredibly clever

3.5 stars

This is not a romcom. This is much more women’s lit.

After reading the description, I went into this thinking it was 2 guys fighting for her, but was very confused when the first 70% is her shagging just one of them and he sucks.

Rosaline needs therapy, a good hug, and a nap. Also as a bisexual character, part of me would’ve loved to have seen her love interests be both genders, not both men.

I love Harry! But also don’t feel any natural romantic vibe between him and Rosaline.

The amount of times my jaw dropped in regard to Alain being the absolute fricking worst, it’s nearly in the triple digits.

Not the best baking challenge book I’ve read.

This book was entertaining, but nothing special... I felt like it dragged throughout the middle of the story, and wasn't completely convinced by the relationship. Compared to Boyfriend Material, which I really enjoyed, this book didn't hold up.

I liked Alexis Hall's previous book more, but this was really fun! I loved getting to follow a character on a Great British Bake Off-esque adventure.

While this book did provide a handful of laughs, overall I felt it was lacking depth and lasting characters/moments. It felt very surface level and at the end of the day I just want more!

Unfortunately this book did not work for me. It had the potential. I tried listening to it but it was DNF. Thank you for letting me read and review this book.

I thought I would love this one. I love baking and baking competitions, but sadly it was hard for me to get into this. I thought this book was way too long, and took way too long to really get into the story. I like romcoms that have a unique meet cute that sucks me into the story within the first few chapters. I also don’t care for love triangles as much.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this one!

I had a hard time rating this book, but Alexis Hall’s writing is so dang good, I just can’t give ROSALINE PALMER TAKES THE CAKE anything less than four stars. I am so, so happy I was warned that this book was more general/women’s fiction than romance. I set my expectations accordingly, and it helped me immerse myself in the story without undue frustration.

Rosaline Palmer is a single mother on her last leg – she’s also bisexual – just ask her precocious daughter (lol!!). She needs to prove herself to her parents and herself that she isn’t a complete screw-up by winning a Great British Bake-Off-type show. It’s a comedy of errors when she tries to make it to the first filming, and she ends up stranded with a handsome fellow contestant. And that’s just the beginning!

The dialogue and humor sparkle – there isn’t another word for it! It was delightful. I laughed so many times. The secondary characters, including Rosaline’s daughter, ex-girlfriend, and the other contestants on the show, were equal parts hilarious and endearing. Rosaline is a bit of a mess, but she is so human and relatable it was easy to root for her – even when she was messing up.

If you enjoy the Great British Bake-Off, you’re going to adore this book. The baking show scenes were absolute perfection. Wholesome and British, yet bitingly witty. I was as eager to find out who would get kicked off each week as Rosaline!

Why I ultimately knocked off a star – without spoiling anything, there is a love triangle element to this story that drove. Me. NUTS. I almost put the book down at one point because the romance aspects of this book were not my cup of tea. I was ultimately happy with the ending, but getting there was ROUGH. I also felt like the book was a little preachy with its social messages. I agreed with everything Hall said through his book; it was just too overt and heavy-handed at times.

Overall, if you enjoy Alexis Hall’s books and set your expectations for general fiction, you’re going to enjoy this book! The hero was too sweet and pure for this world; I could really use a sequel where we get more time with Rosaline and her man. I also listened to the audiobook, and the narration was ridiculously excellent. The narrator’s different accents were perfect for the story!

**I received a free copy of this book in order to provide an honest review**