Thank you so much to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book. When it came to this book, after reading quite a bit of cooking/baking books this year, I enjoyed the baking competition aspect the best out of those books. If you love the Great British Bake-off you'll love this. It also showed a bit of what happened to the contestants afterwards, which is something I appreciate. I think though, where people are having trouble with in this story, are a lot of bisexuality stereotypes, the stereotypes when it comes to the single parents, and class stereotypes. With these, I felt like there was too much sometimes and if it was dialed back, I would love the story even more. There is a trigger warning for attempted rape, and I understand why it was put in there, however, I felt that there could have been another way. When it comes to the romance aspect other than that, I was rooting for the endgame person early on and I was very annoyed with the other guy from day 1 especially since endgame guy communicates very openly even in the bedroom(which I want more of in books please and thank you). I also was annoyed with how the anxiety aspect but upon reflection, there was a possibility that there was more to it than meets the eye. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, there are some aspects in this story that I wanted to be expanded upon and other aspects I wanted dialed back. Because of these points, I have to give this book a 3.5-4 out of 5 stars.

I enjoyed this one but it wasn't my favorite. The beginning chapeters were a bit long which made it difficult to get through and the characters are all super intense, especially Lauren. I really loved how it was focused on Rosaline's sexuality and the stereotypes surrounding her being bisexual. I thought it was also important that her daughter was very aware of their situation and understood, even when her classmates did not. She was by far my favorite character in the book. Amelie was very entertaining and super smart as an 8 year old! Lauren was way too intense and I disliked almost every scene she was in because it was just too much.

I think most people would agree when they sayd Alain sucks and is a judgmental ass. Then Harry comes in and hes the complete opposite. He is sweet and gentle and is just an all around great guy. I think it took way too long for Rosaline to figure out what she wanted and the romance was short lived at the end. I wanted more! I absolutely loved the baking competition and all the other characters really grew on you.

I would still recommend this to anyone who loves a good romance, and anyone who loves baking!

Although the storyline concept was great, I was a bit disappointed. There was just a lot happening and I understand sexuality is important but it seemed to be discussed more than baking. There was one particular chapter which I felt was a bit unnecessary and kinda spoiled the book for me. However, I loved the parts where the contestants were in the ballroom and it made me want to watch GBBO again - especially where someone commented that the US love when the Brits are hopelessly non competitive - I wish there was more of that. Amelie was one of the brightest parts of the book and her adorable and witty personality made the book worthwhile especially with her banter with Lauren. Overall, a decent book with some great parts.

I was really hoping to love this one, especially after loving Boyfriend Material so much, but it just fell flat for me. I didn’t connect with the characters or the plot. I think Alexis Hall is an amazing writer and I’ll definitely be reading more from them but I just didn’t vibe with this one. I felt like certain comments made by the main character were honestly questionable and borderline annoying. I am all about “woke” characters who call out problematic behavior but this book took it to an extreme in my opinion. One conversation between two characters about judging or not judging other people body types all felt off to me too. It just feels like the whole book is trying way too hard to be funny and then also woke Twitter or something and with the plus size comment, it just felt so weird to read that. What was the point of using that to describe this random side character anyways and then make it about political correctness but also a joke? In the end it ended up feeling like a lot of forced conversations with redundant information. It’s not that I didn’t agree with the sentiments I just wasn’t a fan of the delivery. I wanted more romance than I got from the storyline which left me putting off reading as opposed to feeling gripped. Of course I want my books to have more than just a romantic plot, with characters with complicated and developed stories, but this one just wasn’t for me.

This is a cute and fun book. Lots of food references which made me hungry. I really liked the story but it did drag a bit. Could have been a bit shorter but am excited to read more in this series.

A thoroughly lovely story of a single mum on an alt Great British Bake-Off, finding her confidence in life, romance, family, and cake as she goes.

It's rather unusual in romance terms, as Rosaline spends a lot of the book in a relationship with the wrong love interest, and we see as much of him on page as we do of the right guy. I'd sort of say it's between romance and women's fiction there.

Thank you readforever pub for an arc in exchange for a review :) I really liked this one! I thought it was really cute and I usually don’t like single parent tropes. But this book was quirky, fun and cute! I also loved the recipes!

I enjoyed Boyfriend Material, so I was very excited about Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake. Although I have to admit, I liked Boyfriend Material a little more.
This is a hard review to write without spoiling anything because many of my complaints are plot points. So I will simply say I felt like the book focused too much on characters that it should not have. On the other hand, I thought the premise was very original; I liked the forced proximity and the baking show competition. Developing a relationship in that sort of environment would be challenging, and I felt like the book did a good job of picking up on that.
I enjoyed Rosaline’s character was but also expected a little more from her. We saw some character growth, but again, focusing on the wrong characters made it harder to see her growing. I did like how Rosaline being bi-sexual was brought up throughout the story. This book did a good job of pointing out some of the stereotypes that I assume many bisexual people are forced to deal with.
While overall, I enjoyed this book, I just wanted more. Also, I would have liked the ending to be a little more drawn out.

I was looking so forward to this book, but I’ve been trying to get into it for ... almost all of June. I think it’s finally time to admit it’s not for me. I love a character-driven story, but I need to be able to connect to the character somehow for that to work for me. I’m just not there with Rosaline, unfortunately.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.

A delightful start to a new series from Hall! I was charmed by the concept from the beginning (who doesn’t love a Bake-Off-inspired romance?), but I’m probably among the portion of readers who was a little miffed by how much of the book was spent around a character that ultimately revealed himself to be terrible before Rosaline had that realization herself — because I liked the love interest she ended up with so much more! I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy the read, but Rosaline and Harry were so much more happy-inducing that I would’ve preferred less page space given to Alain overall. But on the whole, I was sold on so many other aspects that I was able to hold out for the real romance (which doesn’t happen until further in the book).

I had a love hate relationship with this book. I started off really liking it and toward the middle I wasn’t as enamoured. I was happy with the ending though and overall I did end up liking it. It’s a romcom based around contestants vying to win a cooking show. There was an eclectic group trying to be the best baker. Beware - there is a lot of talk about yummy baked creations. I really enjoyed the humour and snappy dialogue between the characters and the different personalities.

It was a good read. Alain was a tool, no I'm not spoiling anything from the start it's clear he's a wanker. Harry makes up for it. I'm not keen on love triangles but one like this I make an exception for because one guy is totally a horrible choice and you are just waiting for her to realize it. The romance story for me fell second to the rest of the story, her relationship with her parents, kid, best friend and the baking competition. The romance was just icing on the cake.

I really wanted to love Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake, but this story didn't work for me unfortunately. I was so excited when I heard the premise of the book as I am big Great British Bake Off fan and I loved that the main character is a bisexual single mom, however the writing style and execution of the story made it really hard for me to get into the book. Also, I really don't mind swearing in books but it felt a bit over the top for me and took me out of the story. Although it didn't work for me, I think others will really love this book! My tip would be to preview the first couple chapters to see if the writing style is for you.

Rosaline Palmer is a bisexual single mother who decides to go on a baking competition reality tv show. Winning the show would provide opportunities for her and her daughter. She meets fun contestants on the show and continues to battle her judgemental parents and trying to meet their expectations.

I loved reading about Rosaline. Her daughter is so amazing and their relationship is perfection. I loved reading a book that represents a bisexual MC but the romance story line is with the opposite sex. What I mean by that, is that some people judge or have a hard time understanding bisexual individuals who are currently in relationships with the opposite sex. This book just perfectly showed what that was like for Rosaline and how things worked in her head. I needed that representation to open my mind, but also validate my own thoughts and feelings.

Now, the characters she meets and builds relationships with are so fun! I loved the baking competition element of the story. The romance storyline and the love triangle trope was so delightful and I was definitely pleased and happy with the ending of the book. This one is 5 stars from me and I highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this gifted eArc in return for review!

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 4.5/5⭐️⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫: a season of the Great British Baking Show (in book form), friends-to-lovers trope, slow burn/light steam
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𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝: Have you ever binged a full season of the GBBS in one day? Because I have many times, and listening to this book on audio felt like I was doing exactly that. I found it very un-put-down-able.

I really enjoyed this one on the whole, but I especially loved the baking show aspect. They added levity, had me audibly parroting the catch-phrases (THREE darlings!), and had me laughing at the baking disasters & behind-the-scenes drama.

The supplemental characters were great, and I especially loved Rosaline’s daughter Amelie and ex-girlfriend-turned-best-friend Lauren.
⁣⁣⁣
𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞: I was actually irked by Rosaline for a lot of the early parts of the book because she mirrored a lot of the traits that she hated in her parents. Specifically, she came across very classist and dismissive of Harry because of his looks and his job. While I know it was intentional and it aided in her character growth throughout the book, it didn’t make her less unlikable. Additionally, I prefer a little more steam in my romance, and this one was very light save for one short chapter at the very end.

While I wanted to adore this book, and there were lots of things I did adore ... the baking, Amelie, the conversations about personal choice etc ... I couldn't help comparing it to Boyfriend Material, a book I couldn't put down until I finished. This one was sweet, but I honestly couldn't connect with Rosaline and her choices and insecurities and mindset.
However, the book took me back to England and that's always a good thing.

I have been killin it with the cute romance books lately. It seems like it's all I'm reading AND all of them have been major hits for me. ROSALINE PALMER was no exception. Generally speaking, I can count on Forever Romance to deliver some winners to me when I need them. I was putting off reading this one for some unknown reason (I mean, look at that cover AND the whole plot of the novel!) and finally decided to pick it up. I ended up reading more than half of it in one sitting, staying up past 1am.

The setup is that single mom Rosaline heads off to a GBBO-style baking competition and quickly finds herself involved with Alain. This isn't a spoiler, since it's right there in the synopsis, but Alain ends up being not the right fit for her. Harry, the charming, awkward, and nervous electrician makes her smile and seems to genuinely care about her. It was so refreshing to read their relationship. I'm not a love triangle hater really and I could generally see why she had some interest in Alain. He wasn't overtly terrible all the time. BUT, the winner for me the whole time was Harry. I didn't remember reading about him in the synopsis and was thinking "am I shipping her with someone completely random?" way back from their first interaction.

There were some minor things that I can't really put my finger on that bugged me during my reading. The writing style was pretty enjoyable for the most part. (I tend to love British books like this!) I think the romance with Alain went on a big longer than I was hoping for. Based on the book summary, you can tell that it probably won't work out and Harry will win in the end; it almost feels like a spoiler to even mention him because the romance with Alain went on until the very late chapters in the book.

Most of the book was really refreshing and honest. The characters felt real and had a lot of interesting motivations for their behavior. I could basically put myself in anyone's shoes and understand where they were coming from. (This is less true of Rosaline's garbage parents but even then I can kind of understand why they thought they were being good, helpful parents...)

The final chapters of this were wonderful and again, very honest. I'm thrilled that this will be a companion series because I definitely want to read more romances set in the Bake Expectations universe/show.

DNF at 25%. I like to go into books without knowing much about them. Often that’s perfect and lets me just go along for the ride! But occasionally it means I pick a book that I would know wasn’t for me if I read the description.

I saw it was Alexis Hall and vaguely Great British Bake Off and I was sold!! However I missed that it’s a love triangle which isn’t my thing. I was still trying but finding one of the male characters so unlikable that I’m going to call it as not for me. Love triangles rarely are though - so this could be more personal preference than the story.

Thank you to Forever, Hachette Audio and Netgalley for the advance reading and listening copies.

I received an ARC from Netgalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

I read this book with a smile on my face almost for the entire book.

Rosaline Palmer is 27, and since having a baby at 19, she's felt that she is under-performing at life. She's been raising a precocious daughter and working in a paper shop rather than training to become a doctor like her parents. This decision is something that they will never let her forget.

When Rosaline is selected as a contestant for Britian's top baking show, she knows the money would change her life. There she meets the variety of contestants including Alain Pope (in a rather memorable meeting). Alain checks a lot of the boxes in a potential partner including her parent's approval. But Rosaline also feels drawn to quiet Harry, an electrician by trade.

I normally don't like books that include a love triangle, but Alexis Hall has a deft hand with writing. Both you and Rosaline will know who is the catch before the end of this book. As a word of caution [Alain treads into sexual assault territory before this book is out by attempting a forced menage a trois with himself, Rosaline, and his ex. (hide spoiler)]

Throughout this book you get to see Rosaline grow. At first she is hesitant. Rosaline feels like she is not good enough for the show, and her life is too small and unimportant. As the book continues Rosaline begins to feel more confident in herself and the life she is living. Maybe she was forced into some of her choices, but she loves the life she lives and is proud of the choices she made.

LGBTQ+ representation. Great for fans of the Great British Baking Show. Less of a romance novel and more contemporary women's fiction.