This novel is sweet but deep - Alexis Hall knows how to write an LGBTQIA+ romance. I recommend this for all fans of "Red, White, and Royal Blue".

3.5 stars

What Alexis hall always seems to do pretty well with his writing is make me laugh, provide a good amount of representation in the characters he writes, and tell an overall pretty compelling story. “Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble” has all of those things. But this book was, I think, way heavier than it needed to be. The first book in the Winner Bakes All series was so lighthearted for the majority of the book, laugh-out-loud funny, and a wonderful feel good read…and PDIATC felt like a whole other world. I really loved Paris because I related to him and empathized with him, but the story hit a point—a few points honestly—where being inside his head was too much and his anxiety was too much, and it was overwhelming to read. It was hard for me to find the balance between being frustrated with Paris for not doing something about his anxiety and not realizing how he was treating the people in his life, and being frustrated with everyone around him because of the lack of empathy Paris received. 
I also didn’t really care about the baking show aspect of this book as much as I did in Rosaline Palmer because it wasn’t as lighthearted as book one.
All that said, I enjoyed this book overall and Alexis really does have a way of writing engaging and entertaining side characters that helped keep this book from being a total downer. I wouldn’t necessarily call this book a romcom like I think it was supposed to be, but I don’t mind heavier reads. This was definitely one of those books where there were a few things I didn’t think worked as well as they could have, but overall it was a really sweet story and I enjoyed it.

Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble takes us back to the set of the reality baking show, Bake Expectations. There we meet contestants Paris and Tariq and see their journeys both on the show and in their developing romance.

While there is plenty of humor and such amazing descriptions of all of the tasty treats being made on the show, the heart of this book centers around Paris’ struggles with his mental health. The constant worrying and loneliness and the second-guessing of his every action was a painfully accurate portrayal of what it feels like to live with anxiety.

Tariq had his own struggles with dealing with racism and Islamophobia. He also dealt with being both gay and Muslim and finding his peace in both worlds. I appreciated that he stayed true to his faith, even when it could have cost him.

I love that Alexis Hall’s books tackle complex issues and not everything ends up tied up in a neat, little bow. It helps the characters and their stories feel relatable in a way that many other books don’t. They are stories that give you hope that even as an imperfect person in an imperfect world, there is someone out there that is perfect for you.

Paris Daillencourt is...a mess. He just is. He constantly doubts and second guesses himself, despite his talent for baking. When his roommate enters him into a baking competition, Paris is sure he'll be eliminated the first week. But then...he wins! And meets a gorgeous competitor, Tariq, who is kind and confident. However, Paris soon realizes that winning week one and meeting a cute guy will not solve his confidence issues.

My thoughts on this book are...complicated. On one hand, I really liked seeing Paris's journey through anxiety and getting diagnosed/starting medication. On the other hand...man was it exhausting to be in his head all the time. As someone who also has anxiety, I will say that the representation was incredibly accurate so it makes sense that it was exhausting to read. A lot of Paris's thoughts have been my thoughts, though perhaps to a lesser extent.

I think I would have preferred this book if it had dual POV to get a bit of a break from Paris's constant internal anxiety. I loved Tariq and truly he has the patience of a saint, particularly in the beginning of the book. I also loved Paris's roommate and the quintessential British humor throughout the book - it was delightful!

Again, I loved the message of this book and the journey with GAD and think that some people will find great meaning with this. And I do LOVE that the author put content warnings in the beginning because I do think that portions of this book could be hard for some people to read.

HUGE thank you to Netgalley and Forever for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. Despite what I said above, this was a 4 star read for me! I just have some complicated feelings.

This book was… a lot. It was far heavier and exhausting than I ever anticipated. As someone who struggles daily with extreme anxiety and panic disorder, I’ve never had a rom-com make me FEEL anxious due to the MC’s constant train of thought and overthinking - but somehow this book ended up being super triggering.

I should also touch on the fact that though there is a TW for islamophobia, it is so much MORE than I expected. In a book that on its surface is a cute, queer story about baking… the racism isn’t a sprinkle, it’s a downpour.

I think that this is being marketed heavily (given the cover and category) as a romance - and though Paris and Tariq’s story is romance in nature - most readers are going to come away feeling a bit like i did - that this was not, in fact, a romance. And that’s 100% fine. This is a story of Paris working on his mental health. But it should probably be marketed that way.

Overall, this is a 2.5 star for me. I rounded up for this star system. It was just a lot heavier and harder to read than I anticipated.

You know who else is about to crumble? Me, for forcing myself to finish this. Hoo boy, there's a lot to unpack here.

Let's start with the racism. Yes, there is a lot of racism in this book. Yes, there is a warning for islamophobia at the beginning of the book. No, that is not enough. I don't know who sat down and thought "Hey, this book needs like 50 more pages of racism in it, we'll just slap a warning on there and it will be fine!"

And don't even get me started on the Nazism and Paris wondering if he's secretly antisemitic.

It's 2022, what the fuck.

Next, Paris is the most unlikable protagonist I have ever read. He's such an unreliable narrator that this should be an entirely different genera of book. It's basically House of Leaves but with baking. Yes, he has crippling anxiety, emphasis on the crippling part, but the book spends the entire time in his head and it's exhausting.

Paris was exhausted. I was exhausted. We were all exhausted.

The romance was an afterthought. The relationship was toxic. The only happily ever after that came from this book was me finishing it.

But hey, the cover is cute as hell.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever for providing me an ARC of this book.

Paris, a baker in his free time and a uni student in Classics at all other times, is nominated by his friend and roommate for the television show "Bake Expectations." On set, Paris meets fellow baker Tariq (perhaps "meet" isn't quite right -- Paris hits Tariq in the face with a fridge door and feels supremely bad about it) which leads to a very awkward friendship that turns into something more.

This one was a bit of a ride. If you want to know what an untreated anxiety disorder looks like under highly stressful conditions this is your book. If you are a person with an anxiety disorder (treated or not) this book will either deeply resonate with you or it will be minorly exhausting. I LOVE reading stories with mental ill-health representation, and I think the "anxiety spiral" that Paris tends to do is really spot on. However, I also live inside my own anxious brain and sometimes being confronted with someone else's constant anxiety and fear is... a lot. I really wish this book would have been dual POV with Paris and Tariq, just for a mixture of perspectives.

I'm kind of having a hard time rating this book. I did enjoy it, as usual with anything written by Alexis Hall. I just also struggle reading books where the main character has the same disorder I do. Settling on 3.5 stars -- not my favorite read of the year, but it was a great mix of baking fun and realistic mental health representation.

This book did not disappoint! I love husband material so much I just knew I was going to fall madly in love with this book as well.

Part fun/frothy gay romance and part serious examination of mental health, this book returns to the Great British Bakeoff-esque world of Rosaline Palmer. Diverse cast. Strong voices. Bakes.

It was okay. I liked the premise but it just dragged and the category of romance is a bit of a stretch. I think it was a nice refreshing book, but I doubt I'll ever reread it
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own

Paris Daillencourt Is About To Crumble by Alexis Hall

Paris, an upper-crust classicist with severe but undiagnosed anxiety, is entered into baking competition Bake Expectations by Morag, his fat Glaswegian sex goddess roommate. He meets Tariq, an extroverted, confident baker who wants to be a little bit famous and finds Paris charming. Paris struggles with the competition and his growing relationship with Tariq, and tries to learn to manage his anxiety, his relationships, and the internet’s cruel response to the mildly famous.

Paris Daillencourt was hard to read as a person with anxiety. Some of Paris’ spirals began to feed into my own anxiety, and I had to take a some breaks in order to emotionally regulate. I can see some readers might be frustrated with Paris, especially if they don’t experience anxiety (they might agree some of the tweets in part two, tbh). Watching Paris respond to pressure of the competition in addition to having a sort-of-boyfriend was so rough, and my heart ached for him. Tariq is a gorgeous character — full, interesting, well-intentioned, and obviously trying his best. I loved him, and it was good to see someone try so hard to work with Paris’ more obvious hang-ups, but the way he responds to Paris at the end of part one was rough.

I think without the second half of the book, and the lengthy, slow attempt at recovery, the first part would have been too much. But you do see Paris try to get better and accept the way he caused harm but also how had been harmed as well. The way Tariq badly handled Paris’ anxiety was addressed (I wish a bit more, but I’m coming from a sensitive place with this), and I liked that they were slow to come back to each other.

Ultimately, it wasn't the feel-good rom-com I was expecting, but honestly with Alexis Hall I should know better. He gives us the love, the tension, and romance, but there's always a deep and raw struggle for the characters to overcome. I think, perhaps, this was the first book for me where the character's struggle hit so close to my own, and that's why I ended up feeling it so intensely. I enjoyed the book a lot, and love, love, love this universe of the Bake Expectations series, but would advise others to be aware of how deeply you delve into Paris' anxiety and the repercussions of it.

I feel like I should get a gold star for finishing this one. I don't know why it wasn't edited to remove a couple of hundred pages, but it really needed it. Also, this is not a romance. It has subtle whiff of romance, but this does not end with a HFN/HEA.

This book also had a heck of lot of racist words, ideas, and thoughts. I will not focus on them as others have done a much better job that I could have. But how in the world could this happen in the year of 2022?

**If the one Bangladeshi in the competition goes out because a white guy hit him in the face with a fridge I will be... completely unsurprised. #bakeexpectations

If Tanya doesn’t win this whole thing I’m not paying my licence fee next year #bakeexpectations

im just gona say it paris can hit me with a fridge any time #bakeexpectations #gotohornyjail

A Muslim drag queen talking about the environment is peak BBC. #bakeexpectations**


Spoilers ahead, you have been warned.

Alrighty, onto to the story. Apparently this was based on the great british baking show, which I have never seen so most of that part flew over my head.

In this one we have Paris who seriously should have had help years before this book happened. Someone at his boarding school should have noticed and gotten him help. He was not just anxious, he had serious mental issues. I mean, he could not even speak in full sentences. Being that this was only in one POV, we could only see things from Paris' view and he was an unreliable narrator at best. His parents abandoned him, he lived in this expensive flat with a woman who was supposed to be his friend, but did nothing but torture him, and a cat that deserved better. And I need to mention that the phrase "Because she was a cat" was typed out more than once, and drove me batty. Of course she is a cat, you told us that many many times!

It was not only that cat that was done wrong, let's talk about the roommate. It may be that I did not want to read about vagina cookies, but that opening was rough. The only one I liked from the beginning was the naked guy who ate the vagina cookies.

“Everyone’s attracted to you.”

“Well, I’d say that’s because I’m a fat Glaswegian sex goddess, but mostly it’s because I fucking ask them if they want to have sex with me.”


That was one of the best lines she got. I am not sure who these books are aimed at, but its not women, non white people, nor romance readers because the rep of all of these people was bad.

Now Paris was entered into this baking competition by this roommate and went through with it because he had mental issues. He meets Tariq, who he tries to be in a relationship with. It does not work out. Now I want to put in here that this was in a 3 month time frame. He did the show, met the guy, got broken up with, and fainted due to anxiety all in 3 months.

After he fainted, he was told he had to go to group therapy and get some help. So he does. And it actually seems to be working. He tries to get back with Tariq, but the other guy doesn't really want to be in a relationship but Paris actually pushes on this and he gives in a little bit and decides to be his friend.

I am not going to lie, all the way up to 80% was a freaking slog. It got a little better after Paris started working himself, but I went into this thinking I was getting a romance. I did not get that here. And it honestly had nothing to do with the lack of sex. If had to do with the fact that at the end of the story, Paris and Tariq are not together. Did they talk about getting back together? Somewhat, but it was iffy. There was a kiss, but a kiss does not make it a romance. At the end Paris was alone, but doing better, which is awesome, but not what I was expecting.

I loved A Lady for a Duke so I was thrilled to get to read this one. I’m not sure how to rate this. It doesn’t feel like a romance and that’s what I went in expecting. It’s more of a look at living with undiagnosed anxiety. I wanted Paris to work on himself sooner than he did and most of his inner thoughts were a slog to read.

We see Paris’s worrisome thoughts before AND during an experience, and both are riddled with anxiety. It was a lot. It’s probably accurate rep for someone with debilitating anxiety, but from a storytelling perspective it was exhausting.

I always like to see underrepresented groups be main characters. But Paris’s long streams of worrying—especially during the bakes when there wasn’t much conversation—and self-absorbed outlook wasn’t a storytelling style I could enjoy for the length of an entire book.

It’s more of a personal growth story than a romance, and I wish Paris’s arc had started at a lot sooner than it did.

This book hits close to home for me as someone with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I really identified with Paris as he spiraled and talked down on himself, without realizing that there was anything wrong with his behavior. The accuracy of it all really hurt (in a good way, I promise). It can be frustrating watching someone with such potential just flail about, and I often found myself frustrated with the book. However it's realistic to my (and many others') experiences. And for me, baking shows tend to be my anti-anxiety happy place of television so it was fitting that we see Paris thrive in such a place.

This book is definitely more of a contemporary than a romance, though I did enjoy the flashes of it that we do see. I recommend this for people who love baking shows and enjoy reading about mental health in books.

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

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an advanced copy. While I really enjoyed the premise of Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble, like Paris, I am a highly anxious person and his constant inner anxiety monologue made it slightly difficult for me to enjoy. The whole time I was reading I couldn't stop thinking "please get help, you need help" and was happy that it was eventually a plot point but for me, it came too late. While I didn't read the first book in the series, this won't stop me from giving it a try. I really enjoyed the ending and the tone shift, but I just wish it had happened earlier in the novel. 2.5 stars.

I am a huge Alexis Hall fan, and this cover made me even more excited to get my hands on Paris Daillencourt.

As always, Hall brings us witty banter, drool-worthy food descriptions, and fun-to-read baking challenge scenes. The dialogue in Hall’s books never fails to crack me up. I liked that this book was a nod to Rosaline Palmer without being the exact same structure–there were a lot more scenes outside and after the baking show.

Another hallmark of Hall’s writing (ha) is how realistically he writes about anxiety. It was exhausting to be in Paris’s head for a whole book, which I assume was Hall’s intent–to show how tiring and frustrating it must be to constantly be at battle with your own brain. Paris had an incredible character arc, and I loved the support his friends gave him in encouraging him to seek help for his mental illness.

It sucked that Paris was so unfair to Tariq, even though I see its purpose. Tariq definitely was way more patient with Paris than most people would have been!

I wish we got to see more of what Tariq was thinking. Tariq was a sweetie who really knew himself and wasn’t afraid to be who he wanted to be, despite everyone else’s judgment. I loved his family, too! I would have loved to see a dual perspective, but I’m not sure what I would have taken out to make room for one.

Overall, I think I liked Rosaline more just because the baking show theme was so new at the time, but I still loved this book and its message.

This is an excellent book that hit me harder than I expected. It's funny as heck -- I laughed out loud much more than I do with most romcoms -- but it also goes deep into Paris's anxieties and insecurities. Some of them are so much like my own that it felt almost like reading about myself; consequently, it shook me up and I needed to follow it up with some heartwarming, fluffy books to get myself back on an even keel. It was a lot like reading The Heart Principle. THP captured the process of trying to figure out how to be appropriate in every situation and how exhausting it can be and left me with a major book hangover. Similarly, PDIATC captures fears and insecurities and the brain's endless creative ability with "what if" scenarios.

The first book in the Winner Bakes All series, Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake, was about Rosaline coming to terms with how to figure out what she personally wants out of life as much as it was about Rosaline's feelings for and interactions with the two handsome competitors who have caught her eye. Similarly, PDIATC is a story of Paris struggling with and ultimately working through his own issues as much as his romance with Tariq. I found Tariq with his glittery fingernails, his kindness, and his take-no-shit attitude to be an absolute delight. I do wish he'd been allowed a bit more in the way of personal flaws rather than just being this (almost always) perfectly supportive sweet guy.

As always, the side characters are a delight, from Tariq's flatmates to Morag the Glaswegian sex goddess to Jane Grey, who is John Bull femmed up and wearing an apron.

Highly recommended, but do mind the content warnings if reading about anxiety may be triggering for you.f

This was a cute story, fun story, but it wasn't all lighthearted. Set in a show similar to the Great British Bake Off, this story features sweet foods (with handy recipes in the back) and serious discussions of mental health, panic attacks, family issues, racism, and homophobia. While I enjoyed reading the romance aspects of the book, I really loved the friendships between Paris and Morag and between Tariq and the Daves. I wish we'd gotten to see more of Tariq's family, too, because they were really fun!

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

This books is the second book in Alexis Hall’s “Winner Bakes All” series. It follows Paris, who joins a baking show (similar to the Great British Bake Off) after his roommate signs him up for it.

I appreciated the anxiety representation in this book although at some points it was a bit difficult to get through. I didn't really get into this book until a few chapters in. I enjoyed the setting of a baking competition tv show and the representation.

There were some main characters I really didn't like and some language I didn't like as well.

I have so many thoughts. The first thing I should say is that I went from almost DNF'ing at 60% and now I am giving it 2 stars so it definitely redeemed itself in a lot of ways.

Im struggling to decide if I didn't like it because I didn't like the story or characters, or if it was just genuinely triggering to read as a person with anxiety and being in Paris's mind was unbearable. I'm pretty sure it's the second thing. And I want to be very careful not to paint this as "People with untreated anxiety are annoying AF" because there are real people who think just like Paris and probably relate to him a lot. My personal experience with anxiety is no where close to what Paris goes through but maybe could have been, if I had not started meds and therapy in my teenage years. I could relate to his insecurities, etc, however it was just A LOT.

Something I (usually) love about Hall's books is that they are a personal growth journey for the MC as much as they are a romance novel. And I love how they have to overcome their mental health shit or hang ups on their own before they can come back and be a good partner. The reason I think it didn't work here is because it was out of balance. Usually the personal growth/mental health rep/etc is beautifully balanced with the romance, IMO. They compliment each other and you genuinely want the two MC's to work it out.

In this book, it was heavy on the Paris-has-crippling-anxiety and lacking in the beautiful romance bit. I was actually relieved when they had their big break up. I felt they shouldn't be together. Paris needed to get his shit together more than he needed anything else. When they finally get together at the end it is sweet, but I still didn't get that feeling like I need them to be together.

After the break up, things get much better. Hence the two stars. The two stars aren't for the romance part though. It's for Paris's growth and Hall's writing. If this wasn't billed as a romance and/or was dual POV so you could have a break from Paris' inner thoughts for a little bit this book could have been great.

I'm glad I finished it. And I can see what Hall is doing mostly because I've read his other work multiple times. But it didn't work for me this time.