I'm not sure Paris Daillencourt is about to crumble, I think he's already mostly there. Paris is a mess. Basically, anxiety has taken over his life, and when his roommate signs him up for an extremely well-known baking competition, it's obviously a recipe for disaster. The one bright light is Tariq, the young man that Paris manages to give a bloody nose to on the first day of filming. Tariq is able to look past Paris's fluttery outside to the person within, and he likes what he sees. But is Paris ready for a relationship? Or to be in this competition? Or for anything?

I enjoyed this, but I struggle with its marketing as a romance. Yes, it hits a lot of the romance beats, but really this book is about Paris figuring himself out (with a lot of help along the way), with some kissing thrown in. And while I empathize with Paris's anxiety and understand how crippling that can be, it's still really hard to read about for an entire book. I also wish there was some sort of resolution with his parents.

Overall, I liked this and will read more of Hall's work, but you shouldn't pick this up expecting a by-the-numbers romance.

I don't think Alexis Hall can write a book I won't absolutely adore. What I love about his books is that they aren't afraid to go a different direction than what is maybe expected. Romance is such a tricky genre sometimes because it's often challenging to subvert the usual expectations. While I do think this book has many common aspects of the romance genre within it, I think it's also incredibly different from a lot of romance I read. I really liked this book and I loved Tariq and Paris sooo much. They were messy characters who were definitely flawed, but it made them feel all the more real and I adored getting to know them. This one is definitely another winner and I can't wait to continue to read any book Alexis Hall writes.

When I picked up this book, I was honestly expecting more of a light romcom style book. Instead, this book is much heavier, focusing intently on mental health issues with a little bit of romcom sprinkled in.

Overall, this book missed the mark for me. I was put off by the Nazi jokes early on, but elected to continue. The main character, Paris, was utterly insufferable. I have an anxiety disorder. I get what he's going through. But anxiety is not an excuse for being completely culturally insensitive with regard to his Muslim boyfriend Tariq. It's also not an excuse for being completely unaware of his own wealth and privilege. Add that to the constant shame spiraling, intrusive thoughts, self loathing, and complete lack of self-awareness, and Paris was a really hard pill to swallow. Reading through his limited perspective and being stuck in his head was exhausting. I kinda think this book might have been better if it was a dual perspective between Paris and Tariq.

I really loved the side characters, and I adored Tariq, so I finished this book out of sheer determination and loyalty to the rest of the cast of characters. Morag was hilarious, and Bernard is a national treasure. But wading through 75% of the book before Paris finally realizes maybe he needs help was too much angst and self loathing for me.

Another sweet and funny romance from Alexis Hall, and I am already desperate for the next one. Paris is a good representation of life with anxiety, and it was handled perfectly in the story. More!

💭Thoughts:
I loved the premise of this book. The thought of falling in love on a baking show. The weekly competitions and the banter between contestants, but wow Paris’ anxiety is really too much. I suffer from anxiety myself and found his constant catastrophizing very off putting. I really felt for him, but some of his behaviors are inexcusable, anxiety or not. I also wouldn’t say this is a rom com as advertised.

I did enjoy the wrap up at the end of where the constants are at in their lives after the conclusion of the competition. Seemed like everyone was right where they needed to be! I also enjoyed the recipes at the end! That was a fun addition.

This is the second book in the “Winner Bakes All” series. The first book is Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake. You don’t need to read Rosaline’s story before this one (but it’s great so I highly recommend it). Both stories are set against the stage of a British Bake Off style competition, which is one of my favorite shows.

This book focuses on Paris’s journey through the competition, his struggle with crippling anxiety, and a budding relationship with one of his competitors.

As someone who has struggled with anxiety, especially after the birth of my son, I can say that this book definitely represents that struggle with fidelity. Paris’s anxiety can be hard to read at some points but that’s just how anxiety feels sometimes. Like you’re trying to breath under water and you can’t figure out where the surface is.

To cut some of this tension, the book includes cute moments of romance and Hall’s typical sense of humor, but I did find it to be more serious than some of his other books.

I wanted to love this book - truly. The setting, the backstory, all of it was very cozy and extremely cute. However, I found Paris to be just on the wrong side of "relatable" into downright self-serving, narcissistic, and it was legitimately painful to read. While I know many people will be able to relate to Paris, it became over 300 pages of behavior that was increasingly hard to write off and it left me feeling for Tariq and Morag.

All in all, I'm resoundingly disappointed.

AAAAHHHHHHH! Oh Gawd sorry for screaming just omg Paris is just too good for this world.

OMG and it's in the midst of a bakery show like my favorite The Great British Bake off. I always love the bakers that are so awkward and anxious but have the best bakes.

Paris was entered into the Bake Expectations by his roommate cause that isn't something he would do on his own regardless of his talent.
He meets Tariq during a baking accident on the show and tries very hard to make a good impression but can't stop saying things that are kind of inappropriate.

I always enjoy when there is a person with anxiety or any other mental health conditions the other person is supportive and kind of opposite personality.

And yes Paris I thought I was the only one that cycles through all the worst case scenarios from ok to gruesome constantly. I'm always in crisis mode in my head but you can't tell. And I'm always talking about nothing. But only to my husband lol, who listens to every 20th word or looks for key words🤣. I just love when people talk like Paris.

There were so many fun side characters with both of their roommates Morag and the Dave's.

This book was as everyone is saying more a fiction book with the romance on the side. Paris' anxiety and mental health journey are a big part of the story as well.

Thank you readforeverpub and netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

✨Check TW

I really liked this book and I really liked Paris. He's sad, lonely, anxious, and doing his best but always believes he's doing the worst. While I don't have an anxiety disorder, I do feel like I could relate to a lot of what Paris was going through and spent most of the book worried about him. Worrying aside, I enjoyed getting to know him and Tariq and all the other characters. Tariq is the sparkliest ray of sunshine and is friendly, outgoing, and has a strong moral compass. Morag, Paris's housemate, is confident, speaks her mind, and goes after what she wants. Also, shout out to Paris's cat, who provides excellent cat therapy and companionship. There's also the usual assortment of Alexis Hall side characters who are absolutely bananas (thinking specifically of all the Daves).

Set amidst the background of a cozy baking show and eclectic characters, you'd think this would be a light, fluffy read. However, the story is very fraught as Paris's mental health spirals the longer he is on Bake Expectations. I do like that Paris eventually seeks help and starts down a path to learning about his mental health. He also gets the opportunity to mend relationships and receives some much needed apologies. Overall, a well told story about mental health, baking, friendship, dating, and second chances.

The truth is that I'll read anything that Alexis Hall writes and Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble gave us something new to love from this author. Paris has a passion for baking so his roommate enters him in Bake Expectations, a beloved baking show, that he is SURE he will fail at miserably. Spoiler: he doesn't fail AND he makes some connections along the way. The vibes were Great British Baking Show meets The Charm Offensive - lot's of personal development, mental health, and social issues. As with any queer book, you will be better for reading this one! Don't miss it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever Publishing for the ARC - Paris Daillencourt is out now!

did not finish, i found the main character draining and insufferable and i can relate to some of his anxieties. overall i dont think this one was for me

Paris and Tariq have such great chemistry, and I really love the Bake Off inspired setting and plot. Just like Rosie Palmer Takes the Cake, I enjoyed this one and found it cute and cozy. The author is really transparent about content warnings, but I did find some of the anxiety situations to be hard to read.

Paris Daillencourt is a gem and Alexis Hall is the author of dreams. I absolutely loved this romance!

Review 3.5
Okay, let me see how I can say this without coming across as insensitive. If you're looking for a fun, cute romance, this isn't the book for you. I found myself almost DNFing this book between 5-10% in because I just could not handle Paris. While I understand that he suffers from undiagnosed anxiety for the majority of the book, his constant self-doubt and catastrophizing made this very difficult to get through the beginning of the book. However, I felt like I needed to push through in order to fully understand Paris and I'm glad I did. While this book is marketed as a romance, I felt the romance between Paris and Tariq played second fiddle to the anxiety Paris was dealing with the majority of the book. On that note, Tariq seemed like a great character and I would have probably liked this more if it had been told from his perspective. I think his story would have been interesting and could have touch on similar thought provoking subjects due to Tariq being religious, Muslim, and gay. All in all, I'm glad that Paris got treatment for his anxiety and was able to self-reflect and grow. If you're a fan of The Great British Bake Off and like your romances with more depth, I'd recommend you try this one.

I wanted to love this book more! I just couldn't get into it and didn't feel attached to any of the characters. Unfortunately this wasn't it for me but I would be more than open to reading a future book by this author and I did appreciate their voice and certain storytelling techniques.

I typically love Alexis Hall books and her first book in the series was excellent, but this story was a bit tough for be to connect with. I found the characters to be annoying at first with the constant whining and lack of confidence in anything he did on the show and his life. However, as the story moved so did my heart. I began to realize why Alexis wrote the story in this fashion so the reader could feel the change and growth as Paris changes. By the end of the story, I found myself enjoying it and having an understanding for people’s journey with mental health.

Thank you for the advance copy.

Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble by Alexis Hall
#2 of the Winner Bakes All series. M-M romcom.
Paris is a contestant of a famous British cooking show. He’s sure it will all be a failure. He meets competitor Tariq and the two become friendly.

Paris is a blubbering mess. He’s sure he is terrible at baking and is nervous of everything. But he goes on the show and tries his best.
He is a mess. And it went on for too long.
There was a reason. He has an anxiety disorder. And once diagnosed (at 80%) and he gets some therapy and treatment, he’s better. But by that time, I didn’t care if he repaired relationships or not.
And what’s with the parents? Missing in action.
It’s resolved romance at the end which was nice but I read to finish, not thinking he should be forgiven or given a second chance, but it’s a romance happily so I knew it would have a good ending.

There was some Weird verbiage such as “explainogised”.
“It felt suburban even though there was no particular urb for it to sub”
I’ve loved other books by this author. This one, too much for too long. Sorry.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.

I really enjoyed Boyfriend Material so I was excited to receive this book. Paris Daillencourt Is about to Crumble has a diverse cast and a main character that suffers from anxiety. As someone who also has anxiety seeing it portrayed is either validating; as I know exactly how that feels or it’s draining. While anxiety comes in many forms and no one is exactly the same, Paris's mental load was truly exhausting. The story became weary along with jokes that fell flat and some that felt offensive.

I will look into the next book that Alexis Hall writes but perhaps look at the trigger warnings a bit more carefully. Thank you to Forever Publishing and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy, in exchange for my honest review

Didn't finish this one, which is unfortunate because I love baking show based plots. I did find Paris's anxiety relatable, but ultimately wasn't able to connect with the voice.

✨ Review ✨ Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble by Alexis Hall

I'm already here for anything Alexis Hall writes, but even more so when it's about cake.

This is less of a romance than many of Hall's books and in some ways felt a bit more coming-of-age and mental health focused as the main character, Paris, struggled with a lot of anxiety while on the book's baking show and his budding romance with fellow contestant Tariq.

This book offered a really stunning portrayal of how anxiety can takeover your life as your brain catastrophizes everything around you. At the same time, this constant anxiety made this difficult to read, as I struggled with my own feelings with anxiety. It really beautifully depicts that inner struggle to recognize a problem and seek help, which is also frustrating as a reader as you're calling out to him to seek help all along.

At the same time while tackling these more serious issues, this book is so delightfully funny, leaning into that quirky Alexis Hall humor. Paris and his roommate are a delight, and there were so many places to laugh in this book, even while Paris struggled. I appreciated that balance.

The romance in this is more of a sweet romance, not a lot of physicality to it, but it worked within the bounds of the story. Another really beautifully written story by Hall.

Content guidance: Main character 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, emotionally-unavailable parents, very graphic swearing, cyberbullying, religious and racial microaggressions, Islamophobia (challenged).

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: m/m contemporary romance
Location: UK
Reminds me of: the Great British Bake Off, so weird the parallels between that show and this fictional one... 😉
Pub Date: out now

Read this if you like:
⭕️ mental health representation
⭕️ silly jokes and clumsy characters
⭕️ baking reality shows

Thanks to Forever Publishing and #netgalley for an advanced e-copy and a physical copy of this book!