Alexis Hall is rapidly becoming my favourite author. I love his frank depictions of adulthood and the struggles (including mental health) that comes with being a 20-something trying to get their shit together and balancing life, past breakups, family issues, etc. Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake explores the life of a bisexual single mother who is open about her sexuality, is best friends with her ex-girlfriend, and who navigates bi-phobia with aplomb, grace, and a shade of go-f*ck-yourself.

This book makes me want:
cake
to watch the Great British Bake Off
to purge the world of casual biphobia
to punch a certain character in the nuts

The most charming part of this book is the connection Rosaline makes with other people while filming. She doesn't just find love, she also finds friendship. One of the things that stuck with me when I read Hall's Boyfriend Material was the portrayal of friendship, and while it looks different in Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake, there is still such an emphasis on the importance of friends that it stands out as excellence.

Alexis Hall is slowly becoming an author that I will read no matter what. I came across his supernatural urban fantasy lesbian series set in London. It has all the things I like in urban fantasy: a dry often acerbic sense of humor, a little romantic heat, a messy heroine, a great deal of heart, and awesome lore. I know this is more of a conventional contemporary romance (involving a bisexual heroine) but I still came for the wordplay and slightly messy lead. This book has all that in spades, and though I thought it took a bit to really dig into Hall's signature humor, I still had an amazing ride.

Rosaline Palmer is a 27 year old single mother who is working at a dead end job, and is a talented baker. She has massive self esteem issues, mostly because her parents are snobby assholes who are more detrimental than helpful. She has her found family in her ex-girlfriend and her wife, and her very precocious 8 year old daughter, Amelia. She's also just been selected to go onto a British baking show that is most certainly not The Great British Baking Show and hopes to win the grand prize so she can get a new house for her and Amelia. Along the way, she meet cutes one handsome contestant, and misreads another handsome contestant. Between these two men, the vigorous schedule of filming the baking competition, and confronting her parents, Rosaline definitely had an eventful eight weeks.

I absolutely love Alexis Hall's comedic writing. It's a mix of wordplay, narrative tone, absolutely absurd situations, and characterization. His acerbic humor comes out in the ridiculously foul mouthed show producer, Jennifer, and I can't help but hope we see more of her in the series because she is ridiculous, but I want to know why she is the way she is. Then there's the awkward goofiness of Rosaline when she is trying to flirt, and her adorkable interactions with her ex-Lauren and daughter Amelia. Amelia's a scene stealer, and while ridiculously precocious, Hall managed to make her smart but still have an eight year old's perspective of the world. So while she knows her stuff, she often just starts spewing new information to see what her adults react to, which is what a lot of kids do, especially if they want to get out of things. Its great.

Now, the whole premise is that Rosaline is kind of caught in a love triangle, but it isn't all that terrible. We slowly see that one of her suitors is just not a great person, and even as she was connecting with the other, it didn't feel like it was played for drama. It felt natural, and smoothly allowed her to change her feelings as the plot moves a long. She also doesn't really waffle with her feelings, and it doesn't feel like she is really stringing the guys along, even as she does make some not great choices with one of them. I liked that about the way Hall approached the trope. It allowed Rosaline to be her own person without her story being perpetually attached to the guys. She has other stuff to worry about beyond her romantic entanglements. The romance, while important isn't as important to Rosaline as a character. And I appreciate that. It was nice to see her deal with other things beyond the guys who might be her romantic partners. Oh, and while she is interested in these two guys, her bisexuality is still important. And the book does not let you forget it. Her closest adult person is her ex-girlfriend, and it touches upon some of the ways in which prejudices against bi-folks can manifest themselves.

This is a rom-com that is funny and sweet, with a good amount of romance and cake. I am glad I found Alexis Hall and I am glad he's able to go more main stream. Rom-com fans, cake fans, and romance fans will love his work.

*I received this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Raise your hand if you like watching baking competition shows 🙋🏻‍♀️When I saw this one was about a single bisexual mom competing on a reality tv baking show I was 😍🤩 It didn’t hurt that I loved Boyfriend Material either.

Love triangles aren’t usually my favorite trope, I prefer to get wholly invested in one relationship but it kinda worked for me here. It was easy to see who Rosaline would end up with, so maybe that’s why I wasn’t bothered. Besides the romance Rosaline’s daughter, Amelie totally stole the show, she’s a hilarious and precocious little girl and she cracked me up. Of course there’s a lot of delicious food descriptions too, overall an adorable and yummy read.

Do you like switching back and forth between print and audio with the same book? I do it occasionally, with this one I started the print then switched to audio, then went back again only to be sucked into the audio and that’s how I finished it. The narrator was excellent, I’m a sucker for an accent so I think that’s the main reason I went that route. If you’re an audio fan definitely check this one out.

Oh my goodness what a cute and genuinely funny rom-com! Rosaline’s daughter made me laugh; I saw little glimpses of my only child in her too. I thought the love triangle worked well in this one but I could have used a little extra Harry. The characters seem real and relatable. My only real complaint is the length - at 449 pages this is pretty long for a rom-com. Towards the end I started skimming some details. The book club questions at the end are amazing. Even if members of your book club don’t love it, your discussion will be fun!

😍liked \\ 💋 some scenes
🤟witty, happy, fun
📚Casey McQuiston, Abby Jiminez
🎶Sugar Sugar by The Archies
📺The Great British Bake Off

Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake has been a source of comfort and delight during a challenging week, and I implore anyone with a love of GBBO and messy stories of love and self-discovery to grab a copy, a cuppa and a favorite sweet treat for a decidedly delicious afternoon.

While I expected to love the book (I’ve adored everything I’ve ever read by Hall and am enough of a Bake Off fan to have watched multiple versions), its ability to keep my skittering brain focused on the scent of gougères not the smoke of wildfire burning neighboring hillsides was a welcome surprise. The novel so thoroughly pulled me out of my anxiety spin and into Rosaline’s hilarious romps, wrenching missteps, and burgeoning self-actualization that I nearly woke the household with outbursts of laughter, outrage and delight.

True to the title, it’s very much Rosaline’s story and focuses on her struggles to tease out what she wants, personally and professionally, from what she’s been acculturated to believe she should. The romance arc echoes that struggle with love interests who reflect aspects of her personality, values and goals. Alain is erudite and accomplished, everything her wealthy, intellectual parents want for her. He has a quick wit to match her own and pushes her to reclaim the prestigious trajectory she abandoned to raise her daughter. In contrast, Harry is unpolished and a bit awkward, but also steady, competent and kind. Like Rosaline, he values simple pleasures and time spent with family and friends. While one relationship races forward on a track laid in childhood, the other builds slowly as Rosaline excavates her classist assumptions and gains confidence in her own talents and life choices.

In addition to Hall’s wickedly funny dialogue and expertly drawn characters, the book offers a refreshing focus on Rosaline’s identity as a bisexual woman and challenges common forms of biphobia ranging from heteronormative standards in early childhood education to the conflation of bisexuality with promiscuity and the fetishization of bi women. The result is a blend of humor and depth I found deeply satisfying.

🔥: mostly low with one beautifully intimate love scene that includes toy play, A+ communication and non P/V sex

Rating: 4.5/A-

Oh, this is so good!

Alexis Hall is just such a reliably funny author. I snicker to myself all the time while reading his books. I mean, how can you not laugh at lines like, “. . . she’s had more cock than Colonel Sanders,” really. (That’s not a reference to Rosaline, by the way. As a busy single mom, her life is sadly deficient in that area.)

His novels aren’t just comic, though; they have much to say about the human heart as well. I’m not referring only to the romantic elements of the plot, although that’s obviously part of it. The romance is actually somewhat muted here, because a more significant part of the story involves Rosaline learning to ignore what other people think she should want and looking inward to discover what matters most to her. That includes her daughter Amalie, of course, but it also involves her deciding once and for all what she wants her life to be, not what her parents or others think would be most socially acceptable.

It’s that desire to conform to the expectations of others that leads Rosaline to first ignore one man she finds attractive in favor of another who would also please her terribly snobbish parents. Harry is of a lower class, a tradesman rather than a university-educated professional. In contrast, Alain has all the attributes Rosaline’s parents might choose for her. But again, Rosaline has to learn to listen to her own heart as she works through her feelings about both men.

She finally does (helped along the way by some absolutely dickish behavior—putting it mildly—by one of them), and her realization involves my favorite lines in the book:

“The way he met her, mouth to mouth, as familiar as home, and unfurling sweetly with all the promise of days to come and moments to share. And they and this and he could be hers. Simply for knowing she wanted them.”

Putting bisexual Rosaline in a love triangle with two men might seem like a bit of a copout to some people, I think. It does allow the author the latitude to explore issues like biphobia and bi erasure without the story becoming politicized in the same way having Rosaline choose between a man and a woman would. Rosaline’s ex Lauren is such a strong (and hilarious) presence that there’s never any danger of a reader forgetting that Rosaline isn’t straight.

All in all, it’s clear why this book has made it on so many of this year’s “must-read” lists and gotten so many starred reviews. I’ll just add my accolades as well. Highly recommended!

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the idea of it taking place at baking show and getting to know the other bakers and the film crew. I haven't read a book with any type of love triangle in awhile so I didn't enjoy that element. Especially when I didn't agree with her initial choice. However I love how it played out and that the characters all got satisfying endings. Love the LGTBQ+ elements, Alexis Hall always does a great job with representation, and I look forward to reading more Alexis Hall books in the future.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

Since stumbling upon Alexis hall and finding one of my top reads of last year with 'Boyfriend Material', I’ve really been on pins and needles for this new release of 'Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake'!

I adored the quirky personalities of Rosaline and her daughter Amelie and the other secondary characters - the ones I was supposed to at least. Their witty banter kept the story light and fun throughout, but there were also many layers and conflict that provided quite a bit of depth as well. My favorite was the plot surrounding the baking competition and swear the descriptions almost made me feel like I was tasting the creative treats they were baking - yum!

While there were many elements to Rosaline’s journey that I really enjoyed, I had some struggles with the pacing and flow and really getting zoned into the story. It made me question my mood, but I honestly can’t say that’s the cause or put my finger on the culprit in this case. I loved that Rosaline found success, but I also really wish that there would have been more closure in the end with Rosaline and Harry’s future... I can be a bit greedy like that!

Although this left me with some mixed emotions, I do really love the uniqueness of Hall’s writing style and storylines and am definitely glad to see that we’ll get future works featuring some of the endearing secondary characters as well. I'd certainly recommend this to foodies or reality show fans out there and those looking for a really unique read!

This is categorized as a romance, but it's mostly women's literature. The romance itself is handled very oddly. Rosaline falls into a relationship with Alain early on and ignores the warning bells that the reader can easily pick up. My big red flag that got bigger as the book went on was that whenever he referred to her, it reminded her that she stuttered when she first met him, 'Rosaline umm Palmer.' First reminder, cute after that, you're being a dick. During her romance with Alain, she becomes close to Harry, who she first judges harshly because he calls her love. This doesn't translate well from British to American, so I couldn't tell if she was being reasonable or classiest because he's an electrician with the 'wrong' accent. While she's with Alain, she starts falling in love with Harry. I can't blame her for falling for Harry, but this felt a little too YA love triangle for me.

However, the rest of the book is great. The characters are well-formed and interesting. The romance plot might not have been great, but the banter between the characters is fun and witty. Rosaline is competing in a cooking competition show, and I liked the behind-the-scenes look of reality tv. I wished for audio of this book because when the show's producer's cusses, she cusses in the way only British people do.

Rosaline's character is interesting. She's a single mother who has to deal with her parent's disapproval of keeping the child and not becoming a doctor. I liked that the author has no problem showing poor parents and not having a simple one conversation that clears everything away that other books have. Adult children-parent relationships are more complicated than that.

Confession: I did find Rosaline's daughter annoyingly precocious. But I usually do find children's characters annoying.

This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.

This was a MOST anticipated read for me and it did NOT disappoint!! Rosaline Palmer got pregnant at 19 and is now a single, bisexual mom to her 8 year old daughter Amelie. She also has a complicated relationship with her well-off doctor parents (very Gilmore Girls esque in nature) and their disappointment that she hasn't resumed her medical studies. The novel starts off when she is on her way to take part in the new season of a Great British Bake off style reality show. Full of quirky, memorable characters, the 8 week show plays center stage in this novel as Rosaline struggles to find her rhythm while also balancing new romantic relationships and single parenting a precocious child. If you love a good underdog story this one has it all (including lots of swearing, so be warned if that's not your thing). Alexis Hall does a great job exploring the challenges of being bisexual and Rosaline goes on a wonderful journey learning to chase after what she wants despite other people's expectations. Fellow contestant, Harry was also one of my favorite characters and there is a great mental health representation in the book as he learns to seek professional help for his anxiety disorder. HIGHLY recommend this one. I loved it so much and didn't want it to end - be prepared to get hungry reading about all the delicious food! Thankfully it is the first in a series and a new book featuring another season of Bake Expectations will be out next summer, now to wait in agony. Thanks to NetGalley for my e-ARC and Hachette for my gifted Goodreads giveaway copy!

CW: attempted sexual assault, teen pregnancy

I think a lot of my enjoyment surrounding this book can be tied directly to the fact that I ADORE baking competition shows. Specifically, the one this book’s Bake Expectations is modeled after - The Great British Bake Off, abbreviated GBBO, or annoyingly known in America as The Great British Baking Show because of trademarks or whatever. It’s less sabotage and underhandedness than most baking shows and I just find that pleasant. I mean, the book calls us out on this one and I can’t fault it. Because it’s true.

This book has significantly less romance than I would expect and wouldn’t necessarily be what I would call a Romance book, with a capital R. It probably falls in line with Women’s Fiction, which I typically avoid, but seeing this is by Alexis Hall and I LOVED Boyfriend Material, I winded up reading this anyways. This story is more about Rosaline’s journey through the show and discovering herself than hitting any familiar romance beats even though the hero is quite lovely and this does ultimately end with a HEA.

It helps knowing going into this book who the endgame romantic partner is going to be and knowing it isn’t really a Romance so you can adjust your expectations accordingly. Although this story has a love triangle in it, I think the blurb gives enough of a hint that Alain is a bit of a bitch. Oh, sorry. Is that a spoiler? Oh well. I hate him.

Trigger warnings from the author’s website because it’s detailed enough: sexual content (on page but not graphic), classism, emotionally distant / emotionally unsupportive parents, discussion of a teenage pregnancy (which happened in the past), brief mention of Rosaline considering an abortion (she kept the baby), casual biphobia, casual homophobia, unwanted sexual advances / threat of sexual assault, gaslighting, an attempt at blackmail (doesn’t go anywhere), mild violence (one character throws a punch), very graphic swearing and insults from one particular character that continues all through the book.

Rosaline Palmer is 27, bisexual, and has an 8-year-old daughter named Amelie. Rosaline is a single mom who is doing the best she can to raise her daughter. She works at a stationary shop and enjoys baking. She hopes that being on Bake Expectations and, hopefully, winning will give her a step up in life. Rosaline doesn’t have grand plans if she DOES win, but really just hopes for an extra oomph to enrich her life. Her best friend, Lauren, is an ex and they get on really well, much to the dismay of Rosaline’s parents. Rosaline’s parents are well off and acclaimed in their medical fields, but are awful parents.

I don’t really know how to review this book. It’s delightfully queer but not a romance at all, even if there are romantic interests in the story. There’s a wide cast of characters just from the fact that it’s a reality television show, and you have many contestants, the host, the judges, and the production crew just to name a few.

But out of all this, Rosaline winds up with the misfortune of meeting Alain first. And falls in lust with him. He’s appropriately a man with a career her parents would approve of and he comes across as competent when it comes to baking. He does wind up on the show after all, so it’s not like he could be a terrible baker off the bat. I knew ahead of time from a lot of friends that Alain is awful, and I think he definitely comes across that way from the very first moment we meet him. I don’t know if this is aided by the fact that I listened to this book on audiobook shortly after I had attempted to start this book by text, but Fiona Hardingham, the narrator, gives him the type of voice that makes you very much want to punch him in the face.

I adore this book for being inspired by GBBO, but if it had turned into an adaptation of a BBC drama with a murder in a countryside town on a lavish estate because a contestant deservedly murdered Alain and it turns out everyone helped to cover it up?? I would not have been opposed.

But alas. We see way too much of Alain and all the reasons why Rosaline feels like she should be with him, and not Harry. Harry is actually in this book a lot once the story gets going and Rosaline gets over herself, but it’s not enough, you know?

Harry is a Cockney boy and an electrician in the family business. He doesn’t come across as sophisticated as Alain, and because on her own upbringing, Rosaline is quite prejudiced against Harry from the start. Anvita (another contestant and later, Rosaline’s friend) describes Harry as a hottie and while correct, that’s not all to Harry. He’s very sweet and kind and awkward and I love him to pieces!! The only downside to Harry, and I agree with Ricky (another contestant) here, is that Harry is a Spurs fan. The author says it’s purely a coincidence that he is named Harry when the Spurs’ most famous player is Harry Kane. But really, that’s my only strike against him if I truly HAD to find one. Harry, the character, is lovely, quiet, and anxious, and I dearly wished Rosaline had been with him from the start instead of having to work out all her feelings with Alain.

***POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD***

I would’ve been content with Alain as a villain on the side rather than a prominent love interest that takes until around the 76% mark (and sexual assault!) to resolve. The sexual assault is initiated by Alain to try to push Rosaline to have sex with his maybe bicurious and drunk ex-girlfriend is gross, unnerving, and I don’t think the scene needed to be the breaking point where Rosaline finally realizes he’s simply a TERRIBLE person. Alain was already awful before then. He’s a narcissist and gaslights Rosaline at every opportunity. He sulked when he did mediocre in a challenge and avoided Rosaline when she came at the top of a bake. Which is just some examples of minor, quiet things he did compared to all the things he says OUT LOUD.

I think it’s interesting (and okay, also disappointing) that Rosaline has so many sex scenes with Alain and yet only the one with Harry before the book ends. There is a difference with the way the scenes are described - like less detailed and tepid with Alain, and much more drawn out and fun with Harry. But I think my overall feelings in regards to this is that the relationship with Alain unfortunately takes up a majority of the book. Something worth noting, I think, is that Rosaline’s daughter never once meets Alain and does meet Harry a time or two in this book and you can see the clear contrast between the two men and how they are around Rosaline and any mentions of her daughter. Alain avoids mentioning Amelie in any way and described her as more of a burden keeping Rosaline from a life could’ve had. Meanwhile, Harry knows to crouch down to eye level to talk to Amelie and actually takes the time to listen and talk to her.

I haven’t even really mentioned Rosaline’s parents. But I didn’t like that the story tried to give them a chance to make things right with Rosaline. It would’ve been more enjoyable I think if they just…disappeared. Got written out? Rosaline’s relationship with her parents and, I don’t know, her whole story leading up to the competition honestly feels a little too Gilmore Girls for me. And not in a good way.

***END OF SPOILERS***

I know this is the first in a series of at least 3 books and I honestly can’t wait to return so we see more of Jennifer and Colin. Somehow I’ve come to really like them?? Jennifer is the show’s producer and Colin is her assistant. Jennifer comes across as quite harsh at the beginning and I think it’s because we first meet her through Rosaline’s eyes when Rosaline was still a bit shy and not looking to pick any fights. But as we progress with Rosaline’s journey, we see that maybe Jennifer isn’t all THAT terrible? I think her swearing all the time is hilarious, and the way she doesn’t put up with Alain’s lies after THAT moment in the book is icing on the cake. The, I want to say Scottish, accent in the audiobook for Jennifer seems very fitting and I love it. Colin gets the brunt of Jennifer’s yelling but he’s also very lovely and obviously not paid enough to put up with these contestants AND Jennifer. I just can’t wait to see him again in the next book as well.

I’m not sure I would’ve finished the book without listening to the audiobook, to be honest. I’ve listened to Fiona Hardingham a few times for YA books and like her with those narrations, but I LOVE her here. She had distinct voices and accents for the characters. It’s been pretty wild to learn how to properly say the name Rosaline the British way (vs an American one), and the name St. John is not all at what I thought. I did slow down the audiobook narration because of all the accents but I usually listen at a horrendous 2x or higher, so it was interesting having to slow the narration down to a 1.3x to make sure I didn’t miss anything. The audiobook also comes with a PDF of some of the recipes I want to try to bake, and a discussion guide, which I found interesting.

Overall, I really liked Rosaline and her daughter! I loved a number of the other contestants, but especially Harry. Alain gets the subscriber count he deserves (aka not enough to monetize). This book would have been much more enjoyable without a love triangle with Alain of all people. I am not opposed to love triangles, I am just opposed to men like Alain and the fact that he took up way too much of the book. I really enjoyed the baking parts of the story and it definitely got me thinking about what might be happening behind the scenes on episodes of GBBO. Well, maybe not the Channel 4 episodes, but the original BBC ones for sure. I’m very much looking forward to book 2 and finding out who Paris Daillencourt is!

***Thanks so much to the publisher for giving me an e-ARC for review!***

Rosaline has always tried to meet her parent’s toxic and unattainable standards. I appreciate Rosaline because there is genuine character development as a single mom who wants to make everyone happy. She realizes she has to be happy first. There’s baking, a love triangle, queer representation and my personal favorite, a fantastic best friend to guide Rosaline to a better her.

This was a new to me author & I’m absolutely delighted I was given the chance to read this book. It was witty, fun, and great writing! I loved that we got to watch our main character grow and learn thing about herself! I believe that it’s truly important. I would like it to be known that this isn’t really a romance but def worth the read!! Our heroine, Rosaline is a single mom, who works hard! She’s gotten into Bake Expectations with 10 other people. (During the time she’s competes, her daughter stays with her bestie Lauren.) There is a love triangle,which I’m not much for, but I do love how Harry actually gets to be friends with Rosaline and they get to know one another. While the other man, Alain isn’t that great. I do love that we get to know that Rosaline is bisexual and how important it is to her. This book had so much going on but in a good way! I can’t wait to read what’s next! Just wonderful!

if you want to know what reading this feels like, is basically just reading a season of Great British Bake Off. There’s low stakes competition, lots of British baking, and a love triangle centered around the bisexual protagonist Rosaline Palmer. (Although please check trigger warnings before reading!)

While at the heart of it, the plot is really simple and not much goes on, it really is a great story about finding who you are and what you want from life. The language is really very British and doesn’t try to explain any of the baking terms, but if you’ve watched a season of Bake Off, you’ll feel right at home. It didn’t hit as hard to me as some of the other Alexis Hall books I’ve read, but it was still a good read.

Copy provided by netgalley in exchange for honest review

*3.5 stars*

I had very high expectations going into Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake. First off all, Boyfriend Material was my favorite book of 2020, and I thought it was hilarious so the promise of another funny book with a bisexual female MC and a take on the Great British Baking Show and, man, I was hoping for the moon.

But... when I started reading this book I felt... irritated.

Do yourself a favor and rearrange your expectations (this is what I had to do in order to fully appreciate the story, by the way). Repeat after me: this is women's fiction, not romance. I think that's what tripped me up and annoyed me for so long. The story is all about Rosaline and her own personal journey to figuring out more about herself and her needs. The romance aspect is very underdone and felt half-baked (*ehem*), so if you are impatiently waiting for the relationship to start cooking (okay, I'll stop now), you will be waiting a very, very long time. Sure, there are some sweet elements that happen towards the end of the story, but that's just a bare hint of a true romance and is more in line with what you'd find in a women's fiction story. That's fine, just not what I was anticipating.

Also, Rosaline often annoyed me, I'm not going to lie. I found her personality to be a bit bland and wishy-washy, while also being too pointed at times. I really enjoyed the side characters a whole lot more, and I adored all of them. I even enjoyed the ones I ended up hating, just because they had unique personalities (some of those personalities were simply: wanker). I really liked Rosaline's ex, Lauren, and all of the competitors on the show (and the judges!). The only true laughs I got from the book were from the producer, who is hilariously, aggressively aggravated at all times.

Of course, I loved how Rosaline was bisexual and proud and her child was also proud and aware of that fact. I have a similar parenting style, so it resonated with me. Of course, I loved Harry (he is the best of all), and wish he didn't have to be shoved aside for so long until his kindness and worth was realized.

The story took me on a journey because I started off not really liking it at all, but once I shifted my mindset, I truly got into the groove with the story and didn't want to put it down. Hard to rate for me, but I think rounding up to 4-stars is the right call.

Another well-written effort from the talented Alexis Hall. I really hope to see more funny and interesting books from him in the future.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

A nicely written and sensitive story about a single mom trying to make her way in the world and find out who she is. Well done.

I couldn't be happier with the premise of a romance on a British baking competition. Ultimate comfort read. There were a few parts that did quite work for me as a queer woman, but they weren't big enough to distract me from enjoying.

4.5 stars
TWs: biphobia, attempted SA
When I realized Alexis Hall was coming out with another book there was such a spark of excitement in me. And this did not disappoint. This was a fun romp that helped me get out of a reading slump hardcore. Alexis Hall has this style of writing that is energetic fast-paced and super digestible. And I loved how present and important Rosaline’s bisexuality was in the story. Amelie was a well-written kid and hilarious overall and every scene with her was a joy to read. And, really, who doesn’t love a good great British bake-off style book?
The humor is a little crude and not always my cup of tea but I did laugh a lot and enjoyed seeing Rosaline’s journey and seeing the important lessons the story has to tell.
Thank you NetGalley and Forever for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was one that I didn’t particularly enjoy. I mean, I didn’t dislike it - I just didn’t like it. I felt very meh about it throughout. It also felt like such a long read. I automatically feel like stories have a tendency to drag when written in 3rd person so coupling that with 448 pages made this one seem like a monstrosity of a read for me.

I do appreciate the attempts by authors to highlight and embrace diversity but at times it felt like diverse characters or situations were thrown in there for fanfare and didn’t highlight the real issues with each cause.

What I did like was the interaction between the baking show contestants - there are some funny moments and I really enjoyed them!

I loved Boyfriend Material so I was very excited to read this one! This book was so cute and I really feel like it hit the nail on the head with so many things! Road line grew so much in this book and I really loved her coming out of her shell and have the confidence she deserved! I feel like the theme of this book was to remember you have to do things for you, not for what other people think or what they want for you.