I have read a lot of Alexis Hall books this year and I am so impressed how he can not only write unique stories every time, but also write so many characters that each feel so different, relatable, and special.

This is the second in the Winner Bakes All series and I loved the setting of the tv show -- even though it made me want to eat all the creations! Paris is an endearing character full of anxiety - and the way that he's written feels so authentic and accurate. Watching him struggle and grow is not always easy to read, but written so well that you can't help but cheer for him. Tariq is a perfect love interest, and I would love to read a book centered around him!

All the side characters are so wonderful as well -- they enrich the book and add a lot of needed comic relief. I am so happy to read that there will be a third in this series coming soon. I'm so impressed with Alexis Hall overall and cannot wait to read the rest of his books!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

I really wanted to like this because I love the great British baking show but I struggled hard to even get through this. Mental illness is a huge piece of the storyline but I felt the writing was very disjointed and all over the place.

I recently read and adored Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake, and I was looking forward to returning to the world of Bake Expectations with Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble.

As with the first book in the series, I loved the cheeky British humor, the diversity of the characters, the mental health representation, and all of the fun, quirky details that went along with the baking competition.

The story itself wasn't my favorite, though. I struggled with Paris as a character. I appreciate the author's effort to write an authentic experiences for him, but I never warmed to his character, and I truly don't think he and his love interest should have ended up together in the end.

Okay so honestly this cover really caught my eye i love the cover and its gay? sign me up so i went into this one knowing that it was a baking show competition with a romance twist and i really do enjoy that plot usually but this one wasnt bad however sometimes it went off into left field randomly and im like okay wheres the competition and stuff. And the main character was annoying at times i get it but he really annoyed me alot sadly as did alot of side characters. I do feel like people will like this one but for me it was just okay. One thing i LOVED was the cute little drawings on each chapter i thought they were adorable and the little baking pin after certain paragraphs. At times this book was super cute but also super annoying overall not bad.. If you like gay romance and baking shows you will love this one give it a try! This book also had funny moments and i liked that it touched down on mental health and stuff and other peoples cultures and religions and stuff.

Alexis Hall has by now established himself as one of the most beloved romcom writers currently working (and boy, is he working - how many books does he write a year?? Not that I'm complaining, bring 'em on!). Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble, second in the Winner Bakes All series, is no departure from Hall's best known style, in which a blossoming romance, quick-witted banter, and delicately handled serious issues all shine.

I adored the first in this series, Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake, and while I wouldn't call myself disappointed in Paris Daillencourt (I still loved it!), I did think it suffers a bit in comparison. The relationship between Paris, our anxiety-riddled protagonist, and Tariq, his effervescent competitor and love interest, feels a bit too easy in the beginning, but then winds up in a place where I found myself unsure they really should end up together. It takes a while (realistically!) for Paris to admit his issues are worth taking seriously, and I deeply, deeply appreciated that Tariq has to reckon on the page with his attitude toward Paris's mental health, as well; but perhaps both of them should stay single or see other people for a while, instead of jumping straight back into this particular relationship at this moment in time?

"This couple maybe shouldn't end up being a couple" is never a thing I want to be feeling at the end of a romance novel. But I love both of these fictional boys dearly as individuals (even when being inside Paris's head gives me a sympathy stomachache), along with the supporting cast of truly colorful characters who surround them, and really, Alexis Hall just puts words together so well, I'll read everything he writes no matter what (even when it's a repeat of a joke used in an earlier book! Yes, we see you, bus conductor bit).

Even the discussion questions at the end are hilarious. And yes, Alexis Hall, yes. I do feel old.

Content guidance as per author: MC with an undiagnosed anxiety disorder (that does get diagnosed), on-page panic attack, hospital stay due to panic attack, treatment plan for anxiety disorder discussed, Islamophobia (challenged), religious and racial microaggressions, emotionally unavailable parents, cyberbullying.

Thank you to Forever for the advance review copy!

Dear Alexis Hall/Boyfriend Material Stans: Do not come for me. I still love Alexis.

I just do not love this book.

:Sigh: Ok. This book is not *really* a classic romance. And that's fine! I actually knew that going in thanks to some really well-written reviews that made this pretty clear to me, so what I was expecting from the book was a bit different. Honestly, had that not been the case, I might have rated this lower.

I so appreciate that Alexis Hall writes about anxiety in a real way. I think that the representation is so important. It's not a quirky, cute thing. It's not like manic pixie dream girl or boy energy. It's just...so messy and painful honestly. So that's my biggest praise of this book because I do want accurate representation of mental health struggles in all things.

HERE is why I didn't love it though:

I can understand not expecting a full traditional romance with this one, but at the same time, I didn't feel like the BOOK knew what it really was. It still aimed for some romance. In large part it was a mental health journey, but the plot was so meandering, and because I never quite connected to the characters enough, I ended up really struggling part way through.

I also struggled with the dialogue a bit. Now, I know I just praised Hall for representation and I stand by that, but I don't think we needed QUITE so many painfully uncomfortable scenes and back and forths. And some of the friend and family scenes with lots of dialogue felt like a gilmore girls script, and by that I mean...a little too cutesy and Lauren Graham speed-talky. It felt a little forced.

Also, and maybe this is unfair because I think Boyfriend Material is a masterpiece, in comparison, it just felt a bit rough? I felt that the transitions and the scenes in that book were so well-executed, where in this one I didn't. Finally, I don't think Tariq REALLY got a chance to be a real character here. He kind of suffers from Oliver syndrome in that he seems perfect and Paris is a mess. Hall attempts to fix this at the end, but it's just a bit too late. Instead he just feels like a long-suffering paragon of perfection while Paris is bumbling idiot all the time. And I KNOW some of that was intentional, but the imbalance got a little old. He didn't feel fully realized. Hall saves Oliver from that fate by giving him some pretty big flaws that are maybe less obvious on the surface compared to Luc's, but as we get to know him, we realize he has lots to unpack as well. I wish Tariq had gotten that same treatment.

Ultimately, Hall is still a good WRITER and I will still continue to want to read EVERYTHING but this was just not for me! I hope it IS for you.

The idea of this book is *very* cute, and while there were some jokes and genuinely touching moments that I loved, it just fell flat for me.

Paris' anxiety is incredibly relatable, and honestly, it was difficult to read. It stressed me OUT and made the story less enjoyable several times. Which, while authentic, for me was no fun.

Paris is also just... kind of a dick. I wanted to like him, but the being rude and then blaming it on his anxiety got old REAL fast. I dunno, I still had a fun time reading this, and I was happy with the way it ended, but ultimately this one just wasn't for me.

I absolutely love Alexis Hall's books - they're all just perfect! This series based on a Great British Bake Off like show is so easy to read and just an absolute delight!! Highly recommend not only this book but any Alexis Hall book!!

This is the second book in the Winner Bakes All series, however you could have read this as a stand alone.

I have loved some of Alexis Hall’s books. I wanted to love this book. In fact, I loved most of the diverse cast. Tariq was such a gem! I was invested in their stories. But the main character, Paris, did indeed make this story crumble for me.

The book primarily centers around Paris, who is on essentially a British bake off show, and clearly struggles with mental health issues although he has no awareness of it. He is very, very self-deprecating and every sentence has an apology in it. It’s like he was apologizing for existing.

At first, I could understand where Paris was coming from and give him some grace, but when almost the whole book was that way, it started to get very disruptive and frustrating… as it does for people around him. And as it would in reality, it made it SUCH a struggle for him to be on the show.

I truly hope the best for Paris. But I lost half of what was going on in the story by pure frustration with him. Maybe that was the point, maybe it wasn’t. But this has to go in the not for me pile.

Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher Forever for the opportunity to read this book. The review expresses my own personal opinions.

Alexis Hall is consistently great though I think his latest title, 'Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble' is likely to divide readers. I think the ups and downs of mental illness were handled with deliberate, exhaustive, empathy. It really is that tiring to be inside the head of someone with anxiety. Don't know how much I believed the central romance but thought each character was interesting on their own. Will have more thoughts for the release.

DNF @ 34% - listen this is coming from someone with a diagnosed anxiety disorder: Paris being the sole POV character is EXHAUSTING. Yes, having anxiety is exhausting but somehow having to read every anxious thought in Paris's head all the time is worse than being in my own head during a panic spiral. A lot of weirdness around Tariq's race and religion and around Paris being wealthy that felt a bit off to me as well. Reading other reviews confirmed that my issues with this book were not going to improve so that plus how awful slogging through Husband Material was means I am leaving this one here.

I will come back to this series if there's a Grace/Jennifer host and producer romance though because they were an absolute highlight and I do love all the Bake Expectations scenes.

Point 1: Alexis Hall is a must-read must-buy author.

Seriously. Rosaline Palmer is excellent. A Lady for a Duke is groundbreaking and epic. And this book?

Point 2: This story is phenomenal. The plot is engaging and fun, in a way that feels like and hopeful, while tackling real issues like anxiety and racism.

Point 3: Paris is book boyfriend of the year. Probably. He is so honest, unsure, and just a breath of fresh air. (And Tariq is pretty fabulous himself.)

Point 4: I am a huge British Bakeoff fan (Noell for prime minister, please) and this book definitely hit the spot! Now I'm addicted Alexis Hall! (See Point 1.)

This perfect rainbow of a romcom with a serious side needs to be on your TBR.

"My advice to you is to stay calm, try to enjoy it, and remember at the end of the day, it's only baking."

I really liked this book a lot! I love The Great British Bake-Off and thought this was a super fun variation on a cooking comfort novel. I enjoyed both characters and their relationship and growth within it as well.

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

This is the second book in the series but can be read entirely as a standalone

CW: MC with an undiagnosed anxiety disorder (that does get diagnosed), on-page panic attack, hospital stay due to panic attack, treatment plan for anxiety disorder discussed, Islamophobia (challenged), religious and racial microaggressions, parental neglect, cyberbullying.

I really enjoy how the baking competition adds a fun timeline twist to these books and how the show hosts and crew are a constant throughout. This book follows Paris who has lived a bit of a sheltered life and realizes that he's been living with generalized anxiety disorder. Alexis Hall does such an amazing job of just having the reader live directly in his character's minds and he does it so well here.

Steam: 1

Well, this was mostly a miss for me. I contemplated throwing my book across the room multiple times - and not in a complimentary way.

PARIS DAILLENCOURT IS ABOUT TO CRUMBLE is the the second in Hall’s Bake Expectations series, queer romances that take place in the context of a Great British Baking Show-style program. The main character, Paris, is an attractive white guy with famous fashion parents who’s dealing with really serious anxiety. He doesn’t have much awareness into his shit and he’s got very low self-esteem. His love interest is Tariq, a British Bangladeshi Muslim man with sparkling energy and reality TV ambitions.

Despite this being a romance novel, I was rooting against the couple for almost the entire book. It’s clear Hall is trying to show how Paris’ anxiety gets in the way of his relationships - which he does, very effectively - but also, Paris is rude and insensitive in ways that aren’t excused by his mental health symptoms. Tariq does a massive amount of emotional labor the entire time that felt really imbalanced, especially when issues of religion and class come up, and Paris does that annoying white person internal spiral. Which again, accurate! But there wasn’t enough of Paris putting in the work to make me want to see them together. And from the beginning, it’s unclear to me why Tariq is even into Paris. At one point he’s like “you’re hot and you can bake and you occasionally make me laugh by accident”, which just didn’t cut it for me. Paris finally has some character growth in the last 20% of the book after being pushed hard into therapy, but that and the boys getting back together felt rushed to me after so long of very little development.

The representation of anxiety is really powerful; it’s an immersive experience to read this book and live in Paris’ mind, and I commend Hall for that. It’s unfortunately very realistic for folks to not have help identifying and getting into treatment for really debilitating stuff that they instead internalize and struggle through alone, so I appreciate that aspect as well. Also the power of being able to name what you’re dealing with and find others who can commiserate! I’m all for it and it was really lovingly done. I adored the baking show setting, with the outlandish characters and Hall’s signature humor - there were some hilarious moments in here that honestly kept me going.

Overall it was a real mixed bag. I recommend it for the anxiety rep but not for the romance. Thanks to Forever for the eARC, this is our 11/1.

Content warnings: anxiety, panic attacks, racism, Islamophobia, homophobia, bullying

Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble is the second book in Alexis Hall's Winner Bakes All series, which focuses on contestants of a fictional reality TV competition obviously modeled after the Great British Baking Show. This story is packed full of endearing characters, hilarious and incredible banter, delicious sparks, and the kind of relationship drama that a LOT of readers will find relatable. And the end of the story is so very satisfying. Thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the opportunity to read this book!

If you're looking for the Boyfriend Material-like book from this author, this one is not it! It was described as a rom-com, but I wasn't really feeling that from this book. While there were some good parts to it, I just didn't connect with this story and felt myself cringing more than swooning while reading it. It was also a little on the long side and could have been cut down, so I felt myself skimming some parts too.

This book definitely has some laugh out loud moments, and has the unique voice of Alexis Hall, but as a reader, I’m not sure I would present this book as a rom-com.

It does have a romantic element to it, with a potential of a HFN, but the heavier mental health themes really take the lead in this story. This is a closed door, kissing only book.

I did really appreciate the dive into Paris’ journey into mental health, and especially loved the way Tariq was open, patient, and honest (and firm!) with his boundaries.

This is the second in the series, but could absolutely be read as a standalone.

*Rounded up 2.5 stars because I'm too nice of a star giver*
I had attempted to read a different Alexis Hall book before this one and hadn't been able to get through it...and I was hoping that this one would be different...Got through it but didn't particularly enjoy it.

Paris is a mess and is a very hard to read character. The best part about this book was when it was over lol

You do not have to read the first book in the series if you want to give this one a try. If you're looking for a cute romcom this book is not for you.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley & Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for this ARC. 

I really wanted to love this book. Really, truly, I did. However, I gave up at page 50. I usually try to read at least 100 pages, but I DNF'd at page 50. The Winner Bakes All series had a great start with Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake, so I figured Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble would be just as good. Alas, I was terribly mistaken.

The book's opening makes it abundantly clear that Paris has anxiety.  I also suffer from anxiety & fully understand how paralyzing it can be, which is why this next sentence is going to be a bit of a hot take. Paris' extreme anxiety made me too anxious. I could feel his anxiety through the pages, & as someone who likes to read as a form of escape, this did not make the book particularly enjoyable for me. 

Additionally, I generally do everything in my power to avoid any form of secondhand embarrassment, & the scene where Paris is talking to Tariq about Tariq's belief in no sex before marriage made me want to unzip my skin & crawl out of it. Alexis Hall is great at tackling social issues, so it was bizarre to me that the author would write Paris as having such a big issue with this belief. All that Paris had to do was say, "Oh okay, thanks for letting me know." I did not like how Tariq had to defend himself to Paris. As Morag pointed out, you don't have to understand beliefs, sexual orientation, or gender identity in order to respect them.

This novel being marketed as a romantic comedy felt off to me. Paris can barely form a sentence without worrying about something, so I'm not sure how he's ever going to make it to dating someone. Similarly, while his initial hesitation about his skills was understandable, his inability to accept that he was decent at baking was just fucking annoying.  Perhaps Paris seeks help for his anxiety at some point in the book, but I unfortunately did not have enough incentive to stick around & find out.