I struggled with this book quite a bit until I crossed the 30% line and then blew through the rest of it in less then a day. For full transparency I do believe some of my issues were left over anxiety from how much I struggled with the first third of Husband Material (which I finished last month, after putting it down for a couple weeks). Alexis Hall truly excels at writing characters with mental health struggles, and struggling social skills. These are good things and I almost always come out of reading these books feeling delighted and seen, however, as an autistic person watching (or reading) someone put their food in their mouth over and over can be genuinely difficult for me. So this is your warning, not as bad as Husband Material but still an element of this book. I think part of what cleared this up for me in this book was a deepening understanding of what was really happening in Paris' mind.

That is all to say that Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble is a wonderful and sometimes difficult romance between a highly privileged but undiagnosed anxious mess Paris and proudly gay Muslim Tariq. Their relationship doesn't start cute and goes through some ups and downs but is the real emotional core of the book. I have seen some reviews saying that this book should not be classified as a romance, but I deeply disagree. This book is about Paris learning about himself while also being very focused on his relationship with Tariq and ends with a HFN. However, if you are looking for a light fluffy romance with minimal conflict then this isn't the book for you. If you enjoyed Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake or are willing to take some time for real emotional work with your romance then I think this will blow your socks off.

Despite my difficult beginning with this book I found myself sappy and joyful by the end, and not wanting it to end. This book will definably join my other Alexis Hall favorites on the shelf and I highly enjoyed this book and genuinely recommend it.

Thank you to Net Galley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for a free E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Paris Daillencourt is not a romcom. While the cover definitely gives romcom vibes, it is much heavier.

This book was actually quite exhausting for me. The anxiety representation was incredibly realistic, which at times was hard to continue reading. Paris is someone I can relate to, so that was probably why I kept reading.

There were many random n*zi and antisemitism conversations where Paris thought he was antisemetic for not knowing what a knish was. It all just felt unnecessary.

Paris was not an easy character to love. However, the anxiety representation in this is incredibly important. Tariq is my favorite. Morag was a good character too. I think the ending suited both Tariq and Paris.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I had expected. Thank you NetGalley & publishers for the ARC, all opinions and thoughts are my own.

Ok, this might be a bit of a rambling review but here we go.

I ultimately enjoyed this book. Not quite as much as the first in the series though. I again liked the glimpse into the baking show and all the different bakes the contestants had to make.

But, Paris Daillencourt. He is a hot mess. He was all over the place, had such low self-esteem, and just ooph. And the face that he is like this didn’t bother me on a whole, but it was 75% of the book of him behaving the same way. It was a bit grating. I understood it was a mental health matter, but that wasn’t really brought up or addressed until like 77% of the way through the book. I was wanting to see some character development a little bit earlier into the book. I really loved seeing him after he started getting the support he needed and began to work on himself.

Another thing that frustrated me was how Paris’ parents were such a big deal but then there wasn’t a huge resolution. Maybe it’s just me but I wanted a bit more than what happened.

Paris and Tariq’s relationship was sweet. I liked seeing Tariq stand up for himself and create a boundary with Paris’ behaviors. It’s hard being with someone who hasn’t addressed mental health issues that are impacting everything in their lives.

So basically this book has some redeeming qualities, but it was a struggle at times (3.5/3.75).

[cw - panic attack, generalized anxiety disorder, homophobia, racism]

Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble is not your typical romance, but it’s quite the ride. The book offers a pretty optimistic and heartfelt portrayal of mental illness and all it comes with it, as the main character deals with falling in love, the exposure to the toxic side of social media, his inner and family struggles, while being a competitor in a baking reality tv show.

The story deals with pretty serious issues, while keeping a balance with light comedy. The love interest and supporting characters are diverse, likeable and relatable, plus they work as a support system and contrast to Paris’s struggles. The story can get, pretty intense as the main character’s condition worsens, but it pays off if you choose to stay on the ride.

Through love, friendships, competition, reality tv stardom, and absent parents, Paris Daillencourt crumbles and rises with a beautiful message of hope for those who struggle with their mental health.

I read a review once of a very popular romance author who kills the "flirty banter" dialogue that basically said, "no one is that cute and witty flirty, we are awkward and it is weird." and that is all I could think about for darling Paris Daillencourt. Because, yeah, I feel his stumbling through how to talk to his crush was relatable.

I really enjoyed this one. It took all the parts I adored from Winner Bakes All #1 (Rosaline Palmer Takes The Cake) and removed what didn't work (mainly Alain, who was awful). The humor written throughout the story, even at emotionally difficult moments, was a shining bright light that Alexis Hall excels at. I was cackling as I read through entire pages.

But between the laughs were some really profound themes where Hall addresses mental health, homophobia, racism, and neglect. I really appreciated the representation of Paris. who is constantly just a ball of anxious nerves, overthinking every moment and constantly worrying about what to do and the consequences of what he did. While I do not have GAD and I cannot say how the representation fits, it was definitely a moment to give me pause to consider out the outside observer (the Bake Off contestants, Tariq, etc.) might view Paris' actions compared to what was occurring in Paris' own brain that led there. Paris is a very flawed character and it was frustrating at points to read but I think that is one (of many) great aspects of this book to see him grapple with that and grow a bit more each time.

I imagine readers who enjoyed Rosaline Palmer and are coming back for book 2 will be prepared but, this series doesn't quite read like the typical romance framework. It would be helpful for readers to know that going in. This is a heartwarming, frustrating, hilarious, heartbreaking novel that has a romance but so so much more.

So this was definitely different than what I anticipated! I was a little sad there was no smut, but I seriously appreciated the blatant respect for religion. I have never related so hard to a character as I did to Paris. His anxiety is my anxiety. His brain is my brain. It’s such a relief to read from the point of view of a character that feels like I feel. Tackling mental illness AND being laugh out loud funny is not something I expected to find in Paris Daillencourt. Fair warning, though, to anyone with anxiety: it is triggering sometimes to read Paris’s anxiety. I sometimes became a little overwhelmed by it and became anxious myself. I really REALLY hope to see more of Paris.

I do not think this book is about what the description claims. By the cover and description, I thought I would be reading a cute, cozy baking romance, but this book is anything but cute and cozy and it is most certainly not a romance. Indeed, I could not even finish this book by how repetitive it was and how much I didn't like a single character. The main character, Paris, deals with truly crippling anxiety that was at times very difficult to read about, and I warn anyone with anxiety from reading this book as it exacerbated mine even when I wasn't even feeling that bad. I will say, though, that it gave a pretty accurate representation of someone with very bad anxiety's thought process, exhausting as it was. The "romance" in the book was not enjoyable to read about as it was extremely clear that the relationship between Paris and Tariq would never work. Their interactions were pretty questionable at times, though I have seen other reviewers expand on this better than I could. As for the baking aspect, I'm not entirely sure why that was made to be such a big plot point as it had very little to do with the actual plot. I think that if this book had been marketed differently and I wasn't expecting the cute romance I was, then I would have enjoyed the book better.

I am not a particular fan of Alexis Hall, but a friend had convinced me to read the first book in this series and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I really loved this one. Both leads were relatable and lovable; Paris was frankly even a little too relatable. I really love the premise of this series, enough to smooth over the bits of odd writing or awkward dialogue that make Hall's other work largely unreadable to me. I am looking forward to the next season - I mean book.

Yeah no. I can't with this one. Will be up-front, I didn't finish the book. It left me all kinds of uncomfortable and was super whiplashy to me. My very first thought on chapter one was "is it possible for a book to be *too* cheeky?" and by the end of that chapter, the answer was yes. After, it was non-stop trauma and I'm not here for it, sorry. Not sure who the audience is for this one, but it's not me.

In Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble, Alexis Hall serves up human emotion and personal journeys wrapped in humorous touches. He isn’t afraid to take on mental health issues. And this time, Hall puts Paris’s anxiety on display against the backdrop of reality show Bake Expectations and a budding romance with a fellow contestant. In true Alexis Hall fashion, it is a touching, tender-hearted, grinning, and grimacing experience with a mix of the light and the heavy. I adored it, and I found myself wanting to wrap Paris up in a warm hug.

With a shove from his extroverted and assertive roommate, Paris, full of talent and low on self-esteem, finds himself enrolled as a contestant on his favorite baking show, but perhaps it is a bit too much. His anxiety levels ramp up; he goes into thought spirals; and he does not have proper coping mechanisms in place.

While there is a romance plot included, its primary purpose is more relationship building and to support self-discovery than to make you swoon. What can the characters learn about themselves from the relationship?

This book embraces the concept of the importance of representation—of people seeing themselves—in works of fiction. For me, it was filled with multiple “Wait: it’s not just me” moments that made me feel more seen and less alone.

Lest you think this one is too heavy, please be assured that there is plenty of Alexis Hall banter and British humor in the book as well.

This is the second book in the Winner Bakes All series but could be read as a standalone. I recommend reading Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake first, though, so that you have the background and lay of the land on the former contestants, crew, and location associated with the show Bake Expectations.

I hope you choose to open your arms to embrace Paris Daillencourt like I did.

Representation: Mental health (anxiety), Muslim, LGBTQ

Please check content warnings.

I received an advance copy from Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

Loved the GBBO vibes- the judges were hilarious. I appreciate anxiety rep but it became repetitive to the point of being obnoxious. IAlso, anxiety doesn’t turn you into a jerk so… This wasn’t a romcom and the love story fell flat to me, not to mention the lack of a clear HEA. And don’t get me started on the racism. Just no. I’m glad Paris got help in the end but this wasn’t the book for me.

This is based on The Great British Baking Show, which I absolutely adore. It's such a cute competition, with cheery music and delicious treats. Having the story modeled to be similar made me happy and boosted my rating of this.

While the setting was fantastic, the main character was not. Paris has crippling anxiety and can't go five minutes without apologizing and/or crying. It was way too much and made it exhausting to read his thoughts. Because Paris was always worried about messing up and being a failure, he was pretty self-centered and couldn't spare much thought to other people. I liked Tariq and thought he did a great job of trying to support Paris, but it was clear that a relationship was not a good idea. Paris needed to take time and work on himself before he could focus on anyone else.

This is a joke throughout the book, but the word "penis" is listed forty one times by my count. That's excessive right? Maybe we could tone that down please and thank you.

I did like the hopeful ending and the baking made me so hungry that I'm going to have to get a sweets fix. I think if Paris were a bit less overwhelming and rude at times, I would have had a better experience.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the copy

📣 As someone with anxiety, I really want to say Paris was relatable. 📣

Thanks to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

And also, this book made me cry, and I am writing this at 2:00 am. But I do need to begin this review by saying that the people that read the books in this series should NOT expect to relate 100% to the characters. Just because you share one thing that you like with them doesn't mean that this isn't the book for you. Alexis wrote these books for us to get a different point of view that somehow showcases the same character growth we see in GBBS. However, here we're with the characters all the way. It's frustrating, upsetting, it's maddening, and we can only hope that the characters grow and get better as we read.
Yes, Paris does things in this book that I disliked, disagreed, and got frustrated with, but THAT'S what the series is about.
Now the real question we should all be asking ourselves is: did Paris's character grow enough for us to be happy with his arch? Was it a good arch?
I believe it was because EVERYONE of his problems felt exactly like untreated anxiety. I CAN NOT express enough how accurate Paris's untreated brain was. I LOVED this book. It's truly amazing. Even if Alain was here for 5 seconds too many. 🤣

Second in a series centered around a British baking television show, this one features two heroes who meet in the competition but soon find themselves attracted to each other. This book made me laugh out loud too many times to count, but it also paints a picture of crippling anxiety and panic attacks. One thing is guaranteed: readers will not forget Paris and Tariq and their story. Highly recommended.

2.5

Marketing this as a romantic comedy is doing this book a disservice because there is very little comedy and the romance is questionable.

The bulk of this story is about Paris spiraling then recognizing and putting a name on his generalized anxiety disorder and coming to terms with how badly it is impacting his life. And while I am all for narratives that destigmatize mental health issues and I think the depiction of an undiagnosed anxiety disorder was done well, I picked this up to read a cute romcom and instead got bad flashbacks of my own struggles with anxiety.

Paris is a deeply flawed character and being in his head for the whole book was exhausting. He is constantly second guessing himself and catastrophizing, while I think it was a great representation of anxiety, it was not pleasurable to read. I do appreciate that Paris ended up getting help, both through medication and group therapy, and I found that whole process to be very relatable; however, I'm not sure I buy into the ground work he's done being enough to warrant the "happy for now" ending. Like he made a lot of comments that seemed to come more from privilege than anxiety throughout the book and that did not sit well with me.

I loved Tariq and I liked that in the end he admitted that their breakup was not solely on Paris, though the majority of it was. Tariq is a loud and proud gay Muslim Bangladeshi-British man and I think my favorite part of this book was the scene where he talks about his struggles reconciling his faith and his sexuality. I also appreciated seeing a love interest that wants to wait to have sex until marriage. That being said, I could not buy into Paris and Tariq as a couple. In the beginning it was cute and then Paris kept talking and I just never felt like their differing beliefs (about religion, sex, money, etc.) were ever adequately addressed even after the reconciliation.

Also, the only moment in this book hat had me remotely emotional was the scene at the end where Paris <spoiler> stopped texting his mom and instead reached out to his old housekeeper</spoiler> which I think proves how Not a Romance this book was.

I will likely still continue with the series because I really love the spin on GBBO. Maybe I need to go in expecting contemporary not expecting romance and it will land better.

Oh no. This book.

I don’t even know what to say. Anxiety is real, and very serious, and I understand that this is how some people think. But it was too much. Things did not get better until about 80% through.

I felt the book was trying too hard to be quirky, and it just became awkward. For a book with no sex they referenced the human anatomy way too often, and in too many terms. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not shy about sex in books.

I will say, I read ‘A Lady for a Duke,’ by the same author and REALLY enjoyed it, so this book is not a reflection on the author as a whole.

This wasn’t my favorite Alexis Hall read - There are parts of this book that are wonderful and charming - but for me, someone with anxiety issues, it was a little hard to read. Paris is *so* up in his head and negging himself that it’s sometimes hard to see what Tariq sees in him.

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**

Alexis Hall keeps up his prolific pace with Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble. Readers follow Paris, a well-to-do student whose roommate entered him into a baking competition that will air on national TV. Paris frequently finds that he gets overwhelmed with worries, and isn't sure a televised competition is the best way to de-stress. Add in one Tariq, a handsome gay Bangladeshi Muslim competitor who might be flirting with him and that Paris maybe hit in the face with a fridge. Paris is distinctly far beyond whelmed.

While Paris' book does follow Rosaline Palmer's, there is absolutely no difficulty in starting the series with Paris or with only reading Paris. I had not read Rosaline's book, and did not feel I was missing anything, though I'm certain there are easter eggs or cameos I could not have caught.

Please be aware of content warnings for this book as Paris is a character with undiagnosed generalized anxiety disorder whose exploration of his mental health does compose a portion of the story. In addition, Paris is our perspective character, so readers will view the story through his lens.

As a reader with a type of anxiety (test anxiety), the experience of reading from Paris' perspective was relatable and annoying, much like actually experiencing irrational anxiety. Certainly well-written on the author's part, but I couldn't say I particularly enjoyed that or the miscommunication that occurred as a result of Paris' anxiety. Nothing at all against Hall's work, but that was not a fun portion of the reading experience for me despite being able to acknowledge that it was well done and that the representation is both important and welcome. This little ding against my personal enjoyment did prevent this book from getting 5 stars from me.

Hall excels at romantic comedy. He has a talent for incorporating a very British sort of humor in his writing both as part of the narrative and part of character interactions. He also excels at writing characters that are easy to root for and relate to, which he has delivered again with Paris and Tariq. Add in a Great British Bake-Off style competition, and Hall had a winning blend.

Alexis Hall has undoubtedly become an auto-buy author for me over the years and I was so happy to be able to read this newest work early.

Much like the first book in this series, I really enjoyed the concept of the baking show in this book, and how it brings so many unique and interesting characters together. The thing that stood out to me the most about this book was the representation of generalized anxiety disorder and how it doesn’t just affect the person who struggles with it. This representation allowed me to really relate to Paris when it comes to his thought processes and daily struggles. I also really liked how the topic of religion was treated in this book when it comes to Tariq’s character. Overall, this book made me feel seen and understood while addressing many important topics through a diverse variety of characters. I would definitely recommend this book!

Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble by Alexis Hall is the second book in a series and I was excited because I read the first one Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake.

Paris is a mess and has gotten himself into it. His roommates enters him into Bake Expectations, a popular baking show, and Paris will figure out how to not fail and make it past the first week.

I started reading this book and although I can relate to Paris because I have anxiety, this book and the situations he was in have me even more anxiety.

This book was not very romantic which threw me off because I thought it was a romance. I think it was probably my fault for not reading about it because requesting it.

I really wish I could give it a better review but I struggled to finish it.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the arc.