Loved, loved, loved (even though not at first).

In the first half of this book, I was ready to chuck it to the back of my bookshelf. I didn't love it, I thought it was kind of preachy, and I could not figure out what Rosaline saw in Alain. Like he was rude straight from the beginning, girl.

BUT, then Harry became Rosaline's friend and we saw more of Amelie and got some more backstory from Rosaline and I fell in love. It helps that the organization of the book and the setting of the baking competition were extremely well done.

Harry was the beautiful sunshiny hero I needed in my life. And he complemented Rosaline so well throughout the book. I laughed out loud so many times during their scenes.

I really liked that the secondary characters were well developed. And I thought that the open conversations of bisexuality throughout the book were really well written.

Previously, I'd only read Boyfriend Material from Alexis Hall, so I didn't know what to expect from this one, but I fell hard and am eagerly awaiting the next in the series.

Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake was easily one of my top 5 most anticipated books for the year, so I’m having a hard time parsing out expectations versus judging this book solely by what is on the page. I think a lot of that comes down to not just high expectations for Alexis Hall’s writing, but the expectations the publisher set with the cover and by marketing this heavily as a romcom.

At the end of the day, I really don’t think I’d call this a romcom — yes, it has a lot of humor; yes, there’s a romantic arc that ends happily... but there’s also a lot of difficult subject matter including but not limited to: gaslighting and emotional abuse, biphobia, sexual assault, classism, etc. Rosaline, quite frankly, has to go through a lot of garbage experiences before she reaches her happy ending. And the romance is only a tiny part of that journey, in the grand scheme of things.

Throughout the story, Rosaline has to recalibrate a lot of her expectations of what she thinks a successful, happy life looks like for herself and her daughter — and that journey is not always pleasant, nor is it often romantic or comedic. And there lies the crux of the issue, I think: the romcom label comes with promises to the reader about the emotional payout of a story, namely that the romantic arc is central to the plot. I would argue that if I went into this book expecting Women’s Fiction or even a kind of Bildungsroman, I would have expected an emotional payout more in line with what this novel delivers. Instead, by marketing it as a romcom, the publisher rather set the reader up to walk away disappointed, because our genre expectations have not been met. The romantic plot is really more of a subplot, honestly, so classifying this as a genre romance seems a bit odd. (Without any spoilers, what we do get in terms of the (actual) romance is really lovely but still pretty bittersweet because I just wanted *more*. Rosaline's eventual HEA partner is absolutely swoony and I feel a bit robbed that we got so little page time with them together.)

All that being said, I did ultimately love this story and it *was* hilarious, delivering all of the comedy beats. I will continue to eagerly anticipate every new work Alexis Hall publishes and I'm absolutely counting down the days for Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble. I think if readers go into this knowing it's a story more about Rosaline finding herself, with love as a subplot, rather than Rosaline's romantic HEA journey, they'll be more likely to enjoy the book and walk away satisfied. It's a truly lovely book, but calling it a romcom, in my opinion, is a stretch.

Super cute and quick read. Huge hit for me. East recommend. Glad I got to read this one. I loved the chemistry between the characters

I have tried to read this book to completion several times in 2021 and at this point I think I need to just concede defeat that this book is not for me. I can't even explain why really because I feel like it should work for me, but didn't. I think you'll like this book if you're in the mood for a romance that leans more toward contemporary fiction and you're okay with a romance heroine spending a lot of time romantically with a man that is not ultimately the hero. But I found that man insufferable and so I just couldn't make it far enough to watch her wisen up and figure out who she really ought to be with. Anyway, I know/hope this book has found it's audience, but that audience unfortunately does not include me.

I never did finish this book, despite multiple attempts. Nothing wrong with it hot the point I read, it just didn’t compel me to keep reading. Strange, since I’m usually such a fan of this author. I’m putting it down to 2021 reading brain, sorry.

A highly entertaining romance novel that left me wishing there was a baking competition romcom movement for upcoming novels.

I need more and I need them all. Please let this become the new “it” thing!

I really wanted to like this book, as I absolutely adore baking and bi MC, but it just wasn't for me. I got the majority of the way through it but I ultimately was not able to finish it because I was getting extremely confused by the pacing of the book. The baking competition was on the weekend and it would be a full chapter sometimes but then other times it would be way shorter and just be skimmed over. I did however love how Rosaline's sexuality was really highlighted and celebrated, even when people are trying to invalidate it. You may like this book if you enjoy watching baking shows as there seems to be a fair bit of technical know-how in it!

A sweet (ha) and hilarious romance that caught me by surprise more than once. I've been getting tired of reality TV/baking romances, but this one had me sold immediately. It also asks some great (and complicated) questions about sexuality, class, and the assumptions we make about other people. A delightful read for between seasons of Great British Bake Off.

Do not read this book if you easily get hungry or love baked desserts! This whole book I just wanted to eat everything they where baking! I loved how Rosaline gained her confident and honestly Amelie might have been my favorite character. This book is perfect for those who love bake shows!

This was SO much fun! I loved the setting of a baking competition reality show. The characters were adorable and I loved the drama and how it unfolded. The daughter character kind of drove me nuts, I wanted to her to stop talking so much and being so strong headed. But it wasn't enough to knock off a star for me. It was just such a fun time and I'm very excited this is becoming a series. And now I want to go watch the newest season of The Great British Baking Show.

If you've ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of baking shows, then this book is for you! Rosaline is a single mum who participates in a sort of Great British Bake Off. Between friendships, rivalry and feelings, Rosaline finds herself in adventures and misadventures, baking, cooking and being close to breakdowns more often than not. Baking shows sound exhausting and very stressful. I loved many things of this book, like Rosaline's daughter, like she defending her sexuality to queer phobic people, like not having everything sorted out no matter how old you are. Rosaline was very relatable with life that took a totally different path than the one her parents and herself pictured for her future. There are many very important elements in this story, discussions about stereotypes of bisexuality, about rich people being total snobs towards hard working people they think aren't worth their time because they don't make a lot of money.
The book was maybe a bit longer than necessary, but it was still a very great read and I can't wait to read the following book of the series.

I tried over and over again to get into this book and just could not. It took too long to get to any if at all climactic or big moments. I wanted to finish it but just couldn't.

Thank you so much @ReadForeverPub & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 18 May 2021)

SYNOPSIS | Rosaline is a 27 year old bisexual single mom who dropped out of medical school at 19 as she unexpectedly got pregnant. She absolutely loves her daughter, but often wonders what could have been especially as she is working at a stationery shop & struggling financially. She decides to partake in a Great British Bake Off style cooking competition in the hopes of winning.

WHAT I LIKED:
- this had all the Great British Bake Off competition feels
- the snarky witty British self-deprecating humor & banter was delightful
- the side characters especially her daughter Amalie
- the conversation around respecting other peoples life choices & consent

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- this is more of a women's fiction than a true romance
- the story starts off pretty slow & is very wordy so it does take an adjustment

I didn’t love this one, I couldn’t finish reading it. Maybe I’ll try over the winter, but I didn’t love it compared to some other titles.

I listened to this audiobook during a particularly long road trip and apart from being so very different to most romances I’ve read lately, which is always the case with this author’s works, everything about this story was simply fresh and delightful. It's the story of struggling single mother Rosaline Palmer who, in the hopes of giving her daughter a better life, enters a popular TV baking competition, the fictional equivalent of UK's Great British Bakeoff. But when Rosaline enters into a love triangle with two fellow contestants, her life suddenly becomes very complicated. A heartwarming and at times hilarious tale of a young woman learning to love herself that I absolutely ADORED.

Thank you to the publishers for sending me an ARC in exchange for my review!

Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake was so fun! We have a bisexual protagonist who is trying to better her and her daughter's lives by going on a baking competition reality show! The supporting characters really make this book and multiple times I was laughing out loud.

Hall is a clever and humorous author who really captures the characters and leaves us wanting more!

Easy enough read but meh. Would've probably been one of my passive audiobooks vs an ebook. Seemed really cliche & highly disliked the male lead.

Very sweet, very cute, it was the perfect read for the end of summer/beginning of fall. First time reading from Alexis Hall and I was pleasantly surprised to see how much I liked the writing style.

I am often picky about the relationships I like and don't always love them but this one was easy to love.

I need to preface this by saying that I LOVE Alexis Hall. This was really well written and a good story, just not what I needed at the time. I will say that I do think the baker trope is a little over-done but Alexis still did it well! Love the diversity and rep. 3.5 stars.

Requesting this book on Netgalley was a no-brainer for me: Alexis Hall is one of my favourite authors, and I got REALLY into GBBO in 2020. So, a romcom about a bisexual single mom trying her luck out on a British baking competition and dealing with the affections of two very different men? Count me in!

Filled with Hall’s humour, insight, sass, and spice, this was a delight to read from start to finish - Rosaline and her attitude towards her sexuality, her life, and what she deserves from a partner was just glorious. I’ve never read a book by Alexis Hall that didn’t make me want to immediately pick up another one …. and now I’m excited for the second in this series!