3.5*

This was... a lot. It's an engaging, endearing read, but it's a lot. And it's definitely not a romcom, so don't go in thinking it is.

I really liked Paris, and my heart broke for him, but this was tough reading at times. He has major anxiety and Alexis Hall wrote this story in such a way that I completely emphasized with Paris and I felt like some of his anxiety transferred to me. There was one point I actually burst into tears, it got to me so much.
It made me so sad that there hadn't been anyone in Paris's life, up until now, to see that he wasn't okay, that he needed help. It frustrated me that his parents pretty much ghosted their son.

When Paris joins the show, Bake Expectations, his mental health really takes a hit. There's a semi-sweet romance with one of his fellow contestants, Tariq, but poor Paris is so overwhelmed that he kind of self-sabotages things between them. For the most part, the romance takes a bit of a backseat to everything that Paris is going through and dealing with, which as I've said before, is a lot. But it's sweetly hopeful, though, and I appreciated how it was handled.
I really enjoyed the ending of the book, it was very fitting for the overall story.

Not a rom-com. In fact, I'm on the fence about if it's a romance. It's definitely romantic fiction, with a probable HEA, but this is a story about Paris and Paris' relationship with his anxiety. And his anxiety is severe.

We're back on the set of Bake Expectations (a pretty great British show about baking), and Paris is a contestant because his roommate signed him up. Tariq is a contestant who wants to be a little bit famous. Paris is not handling it well. He cries a lot. He catastrophizes. His anxiety spirals are epic. And as the book goes on, we see the way in which his anxiety keeps him from making connections with people and existing in the world.

As someone with mild anxiety, it felt very real to me, though I'll leave it to others who deal with extreme anxiety to say whether Alexis got it right.

Tariq, an observant British Muslim, is Paris' love interest. He's an interesting character who doesn't get the chance to be as fully developed as he could. He wants to be a little bit famous, and Bake Expectations is a step on that journey. I think Tariq had more potential. Because the story is so internal to Paris, most of Tariq's growth is set out through conversations with Paris. Which is alright, but... there was more potential there.

This book has Alexis Hall's trademark whimsical background characters who are, as usual, a hoot. But this is a book about Paris. The romance is secondary to Paris' journey.

I liked it, didn't love it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to Forever Publishing for sending me a copy of this book! I loved that this book continues the Great British Bake off Vibes and picks up on another season after Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake. A competition as the center of the plot really allows for great character dialogue as well as a plethora of fun secondary characters. Paris and Tariq felt so real and I think Hall discussed GAD really well. The book was pretty light, but covered a lot of mental health topics as well as the hardships faced by LGBTQ+ and Muslim characters. Hall's sense of humor combined with the seriousness and underlying messages found in his stories always bring me joy. I found myself laughing out loud as I usually do with his work and I loved seeing the journey Paris went on throughout the story. Tariq was a star love interest and I loved his vibe so much. This was a fun read and I'm super excited to continue the series!

I almost dnfed this book at page 46 because after 3 nazi jokes and one Hitler joke, our main character is worried that he’ll come off as antisemitic for not knowing what a knish is. Luckily this weird obsession seems to tamper off the rest of the book (with the exception of Jewish Dave and the ugg kosher comment and the Jewish donut.) This book needs some more sensitivity readers. Love the queer and anxiety rep, but I honestly think those jokes should be taken out as they are unnecessary and don’t add anything to the plot. I liked Sadie on a Plate much better than this book.
The anxiety rep - while anxiety is different for everyone I think this book did a good job of showing what is it like for someone to live with it. We see the spiraling thoughts and even how physically a panic attack can manifest. We also see someone begin to get help for it, get in a group therapy and reach out to a therapist. I also liked that we see him have a found family support system.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) & NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this arc

Paris Daillencourt is a handsome classics student and anxiety-ridden contestant on Bake Expectations, a British baking show. His anxiety is such that he doesn’t know he has anxiety and just feels like he is a mess and generally awful person. This book is kind of a romance between him and fellow contestant Tariq, but more so about Paris’ mental health journey and growth as a person.

I loved this book so much and it seemed to accurately portray anxiety. I really FELT the ruminating thoughts and “what if?” spirals he had throughout the story.

Tariq was also incredible - kind, lovely, fashionable, and a devout Muslim. He completed Paris so well . Plus, the laser tag scene with his family for his Dad’s 50th birthday was one of the funniest things I’ve read in a long time.

Thank you, Alexis Hall, for writing this magnificent novel.

This is not the cozy weekend romcom I was expecting.
While I loved the baking show aspect, and I did chuckle once or twice, this book was a miss for me.

Paris’s mental illness is the real star of the show. And while it was great to see someone struggle with their mental health and actually read about them getting help, instead of
PROLOGUE - ‘I got help and everything was great’
It still didn’t feel like enough.

Aside from anxiety Paris had some serious issues with respect, selfishness and an inability to see passed himself. This was all labeled ‘anxiety’ and I’m not sure how I feel about that one.

This is the kind of book that screams for multiple POVs. I would have loved to see how Tariq was processing his relationship with Paris.

To be totally honest I did not love either character and I found it difficult to cheer them on.

This is a queer M/M romance surrounding a baking competition. I think this might be a “me” issue, but this book was marketed as a rom com and I have to disagree. Paris is a wholly unlikeable character and unreliable narrator. It was exhausting to be so much in Paris’s head.

This felt more like a “getting my life together” book, with a nod to romance. If it had starred a woman, it would have definitely fit into the women’s literature category. This was not my favorite, but I did love the cover!

3.5 stars

I’ve read many books that deal with mental illness, but I’m not sure I’ve ever related to a character quite the way I did with Paris. He could be absolutely exhausting and there were times this book was uncomfortable to read in that way that’s like someone holding up a mirror and making you face the parts of yourself you don’t like. I related to Paris, sympathized with him, and understood him. I wanted to shake him and hug him at the same time, and I felt this huge sense of relief in seeing someone whose thought processes were so similar to mine. Hall shone a bright spotlight on anxiety and wasn’t afraid to delve into every messy corner of it, which I really appreciated, even when it was difficult to read.

While there was a good balance of heavy and light, if you’re looking for a cute, light-hearted romance or romcom, you might want to look elsewhere. Hall excels in the humour department, as always - there were plenty of laugh-out-loud moments - but the romance often felt like more of a subplot. Paris was truly the star of this book, and I appreciated how Tariq supported him to the best of his ability, but ultimately the story was about Paris learning to cope with his anxiety and function better both on his own and in his relationships.

🍰Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble 🍰

The second in the Winner Bakes All series, this one revisits the Bake Expectations reality show cast and crew with Paris as a contestant. While there is romance for Paris through the show and book, this is more focused on his journey with mental health and anxiety.
Check it out if you’re looking for laughs as well as self-discovery and growth.

Thank you to @readforeverpub and @netgalley for an advanced copy!

Alexis Hall returns to his Winner Bakes All series for a second book. The setting is a new season of Bake Expectations, a fictional equivalent to The Great British Baking Show This is a stand alone novel but the show judges, director Jennifer (my favorite side character) and the comic relief appear in both books.

Paris Daillencourt is entered into the competition by his roommate Morag. Even though he has great baking skills he is always sure he will be the next person sent home. Fellow contestant Tariq Hassan, is cute, self confident, very gay, and very Muslim. They fall into a the beginnings of a relationship while filming. The focus of the book in not romance but on Paris and his debilitating anxiety. Tariq tries to understand Paris and his thinking, but Paris needs more than to be taken on as a project.

The fun parts of the story include roommates Morag and the four Daves. Bake Expectations casts mates, judges and crew add to the fun mix. The filthy language (over 200 f-bombs) and stream of consciousness rants are hilarious. But the reality is the main character has GAD, general anxiety disorder. And the more I read, the more overwhelming and anxiety inducing the character feels. Hall accurately portrays Paris from blanking out, continually catastrophizing, to having a panic attack. I never understood why his parents didn’t contact him, (which is probably the point since Paris doesn’t understand).

I started out laughing and really liking being back in the baking show world. But the further I went the harder it is to read. It gets repetitive as Paris spirals and I had to force myself not to skim read. I was glad where it ends up and it feels realistic to the characters and their situations. I’m giving it 3 stars with big trigger warnings for people who suffer from anxiety.

In this book there are some funny moments that will make you laugh out loud. British humor is my favorite as the book is set in the UK. The story revolves around Paris and Tariq, a gay couple. Considering Paris anxiety issues that I can relate to, I did think their romance was secondary. There were times when Paris anxiety was quite irritating to read due to the writing style.

Baking competition, funny scenes, and a setting made Bake Expectations a delight to read. All the characters were hilarious and dynamic, even the three Daves, I also had a soft spot for Paris despite his whininess at times and the fact that his parents completely abandoned him. Reading this was an overall joy and hilarious experience.

Thanks Netgalley and Forever Publishing for the ARK of this book. This was a honest review.

I love everything Alexis Hall writes. Or at least I try to love them all.
But like everything in life, you can’t just please everyone no matter how and what you do. Unfortunately this one hits too much on many topics that are underdeveloped for my fully understanding and liking side.
I enjoyed the overall story and experience while reading it. But the over the top scenes of collapsing and anxiety felt too much honestly. Nothing wrong with that as in real life I know well enough how hard it is for the people who actually have to live with it daily. And again, this supposed to be a lighter read as it’s fiction and while very reliable and real , it’s way too much for me.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

Paris Daillencourt is about to Crumble is the second book in Alexis Hall’s Bake Expectations series. I love Alexis Hall and I also love The Great British Bake Off so this book was hitting a ton of checks for me. Unfortunately, this installment in the Bake Expectations series didn’t totally do it for me. There were a lot of important topics being discussed in this novel. Anxiety, queerness, religeon, absent parents, and islamaphobia, to name a few. These are all really important topics and I felt that because the main focus was on Paris and his struggle with anxiety they were kind of overshadowed and just felt like extra topics that were sprinkled into the book. Honestly, even the romance part of the book became overshadowed by Paris’ anxiety and I struggled to read some of the chapters. I don’t feel knowledgeable enough about severe anxiety to know if this was a good characterization of it, but I had a hard time reading his inner monologue. One thing about this book that I loved, and that I think is one of the best things from Alexis Hall novels, are all the quirky side characters. They were all so interesting and shone in their own way, whether it was grouchy Catherine Parr or the fat glasweigian sex goddess Morag(she was probably my favorite character). I think the ending tied everything up really nicely. I really loved how Paris was able to find help and support that he needed and all the loose ends were nicely sorted out. While this wasn’t my favorite Alexis Hall novel, I still enjoyed reading it and can’t wait for the next installment of Bake Expectations!

Thank you to Netgalley for my advance copy!

This was so cute! I love baking shows and this really brought it to the pages! I thought the whole depiction of anxiety/panic attacks and anxiety disorder to be realistic and handled with care.

I appreciated the romance and the banter was spot on! This was fun!

I really really loved Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake, and was a little disappointed by Paris Daillencourt. But that seems to be the theme with Alexis Hall sequels. Parts of it were really really good, parts of it were really really funny, parts of it were really really touching, and parts of it were really really disappointing. So it averages out to three stars.

Alexis Hall doesn't write traditional romance, and PD, like RP and BfM, are very much relationship fiction, as opposed to romance novels. Knowing that going in makes the book better, as you don't spend half the book trying to figure out how, exactly, it's a romance novel.

Like RP, I found some of the sections very hard to read, because the person in charge of the filming is, frankly, an abusive bully to her charges. Which is not a good thing at all, but is an especially bad thing when the main character has an undiagnosed anxiety disorder. I also found the last section, the one with the tweets way way too over the top and very much unnecessarily harsh. I was also disappointed in the ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the eARC!

Alexis Hall writes about the pain of anxiety with grace in the coming of age contemporary book about competitive baking, social media and the trials of being young and on camera.

Woo. Ok, so I need to start by saying I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that shows, on the page, the cycles of anxiety so well. As someone who is constantly in battle with her own anxiety, this book made me tear up at times because it was so powerful in how it displayed the trials and struggles of anxiety on the page. Paris is a hard character to love, partially because of how he is unable to manage this illness through the first two thirds of this book. His experiences resonated with me and I can see myself recommending this book to people to help them understand how I can see the world sometimes.

I don’t know that I would call this book a straight romance. It’s certainly not a romcom as it’s packaged to be. Rather it’s more of a New Adult Contemporary Fiction story about Paris Daillencourt learning to deal with his anxiety with a soft romantic secondary plot line. Paris, and his friends and romantic love interest are all young. They are 20 and are selfish, self-focused and unaware of so much in life. Which is how they should be at 20! However, I struggled to like or empathize with many of the secondary characters. Paris is a privileged young man who’s parent’s success and fame as a model and fashion designer has set him up for a life of wealth. However, his parents have utterly abandoned him. They won’t even respond to his text messages, which is an absolutely heartbreaking part of the book that I wish got some resolution. Paris is really naive about his wealth and privilege which is sometimes jarring because it seems slightly out of character for someone who’s anxiety makes him so hyper focused and aware. Paris, and his romantic interest, Tariq, a gay muslim man who is a ray of sunshine have a fascinating relationship. Sex is off the table from the beginning as Tariq is open about wanting to save himself for marriage. There is some interesting conversations and dynamics about sex, religion, homosexuality and the tension between those three areas that I wish was more fully developed by the end. The characters do have a HFN, but I couldn't help but feel like there was a lot still needed to be discussed left on the table for me to believe the HFN. However, I did remind myself that at 20, perhaps that was the best ending you could hope for.

Let’s talk about the secondary characters. Tariq’s family is frankly a delight and is a darling juxtaposition to Paris’ completely absent family. However, the rest of the characters were not great: especially Morag, Paris’ roommate who calls herself a “fat Glasgowian Sex Goddess” but who seemed to be cruel and self obsessed. Tariq’s roommates, all called Dave, were kind of funny, but in the way that you would expect a flat full of young men living together to be.

During the actual baking competition, I really enjoyed the different characters competing against Paris and Tariq. The baking scenes, aside from Paris’ constant tears and whining, were some of my favourites in the book. Paris loves baking but doesn’t think he’s good at it (which is totally the anxiety talking) but his constant rejection of his skill gets annoying, which I’m pretty sure was Alexis’ goal. I did feel, however, during those scenes like I was watching an episode of The Great British Bake Off, which was a delight. Although this is the second in the Winner Bakes All series (first was Rosalind Palmer Takes the Cake) they read as standalones.

All in all this was a fascinating read about one man’s struggle with anxiety and his growth and development through taking accountability for his actions and seeking treatment. It is not, however, a core romantic story.

Thank you to Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh this book. I liked how Paris had anxiety rep, this is so important for readers to encounter. However, as someone with anxiety, it was hard to spend a lot of time with this character. Also, I’m not a fan of this being called romance when the romance wasn’t the focus of the book and, honestly, with some major differences and disrespect of Tariq’s beliefs, I wonder if they’ll last.
Also, the nazi comments did not land well with me at all.

Paris Daillencourt hates himself a lot and i scared of everything. Somehow, his best friend thought it'd be a good idea for him to be on TV, on a baking competition. So here he is. That's where he meets Tariq. Paris can't believe this cute guy is flirting with him. He can't, right? He's so terrible at everything no one could ever be interested, right? Right?

Look, I have anxiety and I hate myself but, like, this was taken to an extreme and being in Paris's head was hell for me. I still don't know if I wanted to shake him or kill him. I'm sorry but I really couldn't stand him and that was hard for me to care about anything throughout.
Also, I definitely wouldn't call this a romance. For me, this was mostly about anxiety and mental health, not about the romance; it really was something extra and not the main plot.
Basically, this was impossible for me to enjoy but other people probably will. It was an interesting pov of someone with GAD, I just couldn't... And the fact that I expected a romance also didn't help...

4.5 stars Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble is Alexis Hall at his prime. Laugh out loud funny, witty banter, with an amazing bunch of side characters, this book can make you snort with laughter one minute and then relate to your emotional side the next. Second in the series featuring the hit British show “Bake Expectations” (after Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake) Paris’s roommate Morag (self described as a fat Glaswegian sex goddess) has entered him into the baking competition. A nervous wreck at every turn, Paris’s insecurities just might prevent him from being able to perform in the competition, let alone make friends. But he doesn’t expect “sparkly” Tariq to befriend him, whom effortlessly makes Paris feel special and understood. This book gave me all the same feelings as Boyfriend Material with the whip smart dialogue, lovable but flawed hero, and a fabulous cast of characters. I loved Tariq and how he seemed to be the yin to Paris’s yang, but without changing himself for anyone. He sets boundaries and keeps to them, while still being wonderfully Tariq. I also adored Paris and loved being on the journey with him as he comes to terms with his anxiety, absentee parents, self-doubt and insecurities (Tariq goes as far to tax him every time he says the word “sorry”). This book is so much more than a romance, but a look at culture, living and coping with an anxiety disorder, and learning how to enjoy the people around us. The social commentary and Tweets interspersed throughout are literary gold for advancing the narrative and keying the reader in to Paris’s emotional rollercoaster. And the side scenes away from Bake Expectations filming, i.e. Laser Tag and meeting the Daves are *chef’s kiss* perfection. If you’re looking for a story that’s enjoyable to read without being too light and fluffy, you might find it here with Paris. I can’t wait for the next season of Bake Expectations in 2024! Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Read this book if you like: Baking shows, rivals in competition, LGBTQ representation, anxiety disorder representation, Muslim representation

Paris Daillencourt is a recipe for disaster. Despite his passion for baking, his cat, and his classics degree he is constantly anxious and doubt himself. His roommate enters him in Bake Expectations, the nation’s favourite baking show, Paris is sure he’ll be the first one sent home. However, he win week one’s challenge and meets fellow contestant Tariq Hassan.

Tariq is the competition, but he’s also cute, kind, and confident. Still, neither his growing romance with Tariq nor his own impressive bakes can keep Paris’s fear of failure from spoiling his happiness. The show’s vicious fanbase confirms his worst anxieties, Paris’s confidence is torn apart.
 
I liked this book. I loved Tariq. I love how he spoke about his culture, religion, etc. I never stopped liking him. I learned from him, for sure. Paris was a bit unlikeable. This was tough for me because the book was only in his POV. It would have been more rounded as dual. A few times he was almost a caricature of someone with anxiety. I related to some of the stuff about Paris as I have anxiety disorder. This book was heartwarming and hilarious in some parts. I enjoyed the competitors and characters in this one much more than the previous book. The judges are so ridiculous and funny.

However, there were racist jokes that were absolutely not needed in the story. No matter how high my anxiety is I never wonder if I'm racist for not knowing what a bread is. 🤣 I also wanted more romance. The romance that was there wasn't super believable to me. The previous book was similar in the romance being almost a subplot of a general fiction story. Overall, I enjoyed it.

Thank you to the author and Forever for the gifted book! ❤️