Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble by Alexis Hall
2.5 stars rounded up to 3
Pub date: 11/1

I was super excited to receive this arc through NetGalley because I love the cover, the description and the fact that it’s from Forever Publishing. I thought this book was good, but not at all what I thought it was going to be and that left me slightly disappointed.

I thought there was some incredible disability, generalized anxiety disorder rep in the story. Paris struggles with this (as do I) and I usually appreciate reading about characters that I share commonalities with. But being inside Paris’ head was exhausting and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I think dual POV could have saved this by giving us a break from all the negativity and showing us a little more of what Tariq was thinking.

I was expecting this story to be more of a rom com, but Paris’ struggles with his anxiety really take center stage, and his relationship with Tariq is more of an afterthought. Frankly, I don’t even know if Paris and Tariq should have ended up together with all of their differences of opinion and beliefs. I had a hard time rooting for them as a couple when I didn’t believe in their relationship from the start.

The banter was witty and while I usually enjoy Hall’s writing style, for some reason this one didn’t do it for me. It almost felt forced and a little over the top.

I love books about food and baking, so I really enjoyed that piece of it along with the reality tv aspect. The judges on Bake Expectations were hilarious and the show itself was just delightful.

I have some mixed feelings but overall this one wasn’t my favorite. I will continue to read books by this author but maybe not in this series if it continues. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for the arc to read and review. Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble comes out on 11/1.

This one definitely had a lot to unpack. Paris was a gem & my heart went out for him. His constant struggles felt real & painful. Tariq was a such a fun & supportive character/partner anyone could ask for.
Loved the baking theme & episode wise chapters; definitely added an interesting twist to the book!

<i>Thank you netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.<i>

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for an electronic advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

💙 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲:
🧁 Opposites attract
🍰 Anxiety disorder/treatment rep
🧁 LGBTQ+ rep
🍰 Cultural diversity

💭 𝐌𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: I liked the book just fine, but it didn’t wow me. The absolutely adorable cover first reeled me in and the premise was promising, but in the end the execution of the story was missing a lot of elements I had been hoping for with the book. The banter was great and I appreciated the representation for anxiety, LGBTQ and cultural differences in the characters, but there were times where it felt a bit much to be in Paris’ POV all the time. I would have enjoyed it more with dual POV to break up the intensity, I think. If you’ve enjoyed other books by Alexis Hall, you may enjoy this one as well. In the end it just wasn’t for me.

A smart, tender, funny story of love and personal growth that manages to deftly span the spectrum from laugh-out-loud funny to a starkly compelling depiction of mental health struggles.

This book has incredible representation of what it's like to suffer from severe anxiety. Its portrayal is intensely realistic but ultimately deeply hopeful and affirming.

The relationship between Paris and Tariq is sweet as well as complex: they are both fully rounded characters in their flawed humanity. I appreciated that Hall finds a happy ending that nonetheless manages to avoid cliches about mental health being definitively fixable or true love surmounting all challenges.

Also this book has possibly my favorite meet cute ever.

Escapist fluff? No. An unconventional love story that will challenge you, make you think, make you burst out laughing, and leave you smiling? Absolutely.

Alexis Hall is amazing at writing realistic love stories, and I LOVE Paris Daillencourt is about to Crumble. The author does an excellent job of showing anxiety, too. Some of my favorite parts were Hall showing the anxiety that Paris has. His panic and anxiety attacks were very realistic, and that meant a lot to me (as someone who has anxiety too).

The romance between Paris and Tariq was so cute and sweet! Seeing Tariq try to calm Paris's anxiety was so kind and unexpected. The setting of a Bake-Off style show was so much fun, and made the setting for their romance very unique. I also LOVED the secondary characters--his roommate!--and they made a wonderful addition to this romance.

I still liked the first book in this series (Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake) better, but this story was sweet and unique, and Hall was definitely meant to write romance novels. :)

**A big thank-you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for an advanced copy of this book for an honest review.**

I love author Alexis Hall’s voice and he has a knack for creating characters I want to see overcome.

This story is a humorous and honest take on living with anxiety. Yes, Paris is a little exhausting but sometimes anxiety is exhausting. Was he horribly flawed? Yes. Absolutely. If you’re looking for a perfect hero, honestly this author may not be for you.
Banter galore.

While Hall is typically a romance author, I do think this would be more aptly marketed as a fiction novel than a romance, which is something I saw as a complaint about Rosaline Palmer- if you thought that wasn’t romantic enough, this is even less so so adjust expectations. While an interesting ride, with their fundamental differences, I’m not terribly certain these two should end up together in the end if they even do.

Please check the care warnings.

Thank you to netgalley for a copy of this novel, all opinions are my own.

Rating 2.5

I had a challenging time reading this story, as the constant anxiety experienced by Paris dominated the plot Tariq and Paris meet-cute on the bake show and subsequent romance was overshadowed by the constant self-doubt in Paris's head. At times, it was taxing to read.

Paris, while adorable in his sweetness, does need to check himself on inclusiveness. He'd avoid trouble in his love life if he would just recognize his snobbinshess. The other cast of characters were enjoyable, from the Bake Show judges to the fat Glaswegian sex goddess.

At the end of the day, I am not so sure these two are good match. I also question if this book should be labeled under the genre romance.

Thank you Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the e-book of Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble.

Paris Daillencourt Is About To Crumble by Alexis Hall is a truly raw expression of having undiagnosed mental health struggles while doing one’s best to live life & in this case, go on a reality baking competition called Bake Expectations:
I went into this expecting a romcom & that’s not what this was. I struggled getting lost into this book. However, I really did enjoy how it all came together though & I was glad I stuck with it.
I loved the format of the reality baking show. I loved that the reader gets to experience both the filming of the show & the eventually airing as well as the public reception & social media responses to the show. I thought that was super interesting. I enjoyed the whole cast of the show & getting to periodically see them throughout the book.
I am always appreciative of more mental health awareness & representation. I thought the anxiety representation felt very raw & realistic in many ways. However, there were multiple jokes that made me uncomfortable & just seemed unnecessary.
The severe anxiety that included social awkwardness, spiraling, constantly getting lost in their head & more reminded me of some of my own experience with anxiety so I appreciated that. It also reminded me of the anxiety representation in Turtles All the Way Down by John Green.
I did like some of the difficult but open & honest conversations the pair had, especially about mental health & the intersectionality of having faith & being gay. I think if you go into this book not expecting a romcom book, it would be a better read.
I am a fan of the author’s writing. I also liked how Paris eventually received care for his mental health struggles & openly expressed them. I am always thankful for more representation so I appreciate that.

Massive thanks ti NetGalley & Forever for the arc, which I voluntarily read & reviewed. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

Final Rating: 4.5 Stars

In Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble, Alexis Hall takes us back to the Baked Expectations universe for the second round of showtime. Once again Alexis Hall creates a baking show universe that is very easy to fall into with a bright collection of supportive characters.

There is an abundant portrayal of Paris's severe anxiety that is present through his internal monologue and self-destructive decisions, especially in his initial interactions with Tariq. Paris continues to make these decisions throughout the story, and although it becomes repetitive, I think it's an accurate reflection of living with severe anxiety.

Hall's banter is still present in this story and is woven throughout several characters (namely Tariq's housemates). Hall also includes several important topics namely loneliness, religion, and identity. I really admired how Tariq set firm boundaries and reminded Paris that he can also set boundaries to ensure that he's comfortable. Tariq is a sweetheart that exudes confidence, and I wished that his POV was more available in some chapters. Watching Paris and Tariq grow emotionally toward the end of the story felt very sweet and rewarding and I want the best for both of them!

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever Publishing for a copy of an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ok. While this is a solid standalone book, I would appreciate it if it was made clearer that it was technically part of a series. However, I am not annoyed with the fact but I'm not going to go back to book 1 so I get everything.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I appreciated a main character who has anxiety. Now, did it get repetitive? Absolutely but that's how I know she got it right. Anxiety is so much about how you keep on circling back and forth with what you are facing. So that was spot on and I liked how he went through his treatment. That was great. I also loved the competition part and the judges. As someone who watches a lot of baking competition shows, that felt spot on. I did like it.

Now, what I didn't like? It's less dislike and more that I feel that Paris and Tariq simply didn't fit as a couple for me. There was something missing that I couldn't put my finger on. I'm not sure this really should be labeled a romance due to how much was spent on everything else happening in the book. If anything, i would say a contemporary but I'm not in charge of labels.

All in all, an enjoyable book.

I am what you would call an Alexis Hall ‘Stan.’ I will read absolutely everything they ever write, because they have the ability to write the sweetest, sexiest, silliest, most absurdly good queer romances that always make me laugh and cry and feel hopeful. So I was eagerly awaiting this book (the first in the series was a delight, can’t go wrong with queer romance and baking shows!), and I have to say …

Book, it isn’t you. It’s me.

The main character, Paris, is an anxious mess. He’s self-deprecating, questions himself constantly, is in desperate need of therapy, and treats people like crap because he is so damaged. And I could see myself in some of his mannerisms, and it became SO HARD to enjoy this book. Granted, I’ve been in therapy for a long time, worked on myself, put a lot of effort into being nice and positive and not a big bag of sad all the time. But Paris? Paris has not gotten there yet. And the whole time reading I was just so ANNOYED with Paris.

So, this was a cute queer romance - with no sex (!), a Muslim mc, delightful side characters, baking and adorableness and all that. But I just did not enjoy it, because … ugh, Paris. I wish I could say differently.

Regardless, Alexis Hall is still one of my favorite authors, and I’m excited to read whatever they write, forever. This book just didn’t work for me.

There are things you come to expect from an Alexis Hall book: wit, dry humor, quirky characters, and his unflinching way of tackling real life topics that maybe don't get tackled too often. I also just really enjoy his writing style, and the way he uses words and phrases like "𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭-𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺".

This is the second book set in the Bake Expectations world. This season we follow Paris, who has a severe case of Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Hall does a great job shining a light on what it might be like to live with GAD, and how it truly affects a person and those around them. Having said that, this one *almost* crossed the line of being a little bit annoying? I know, I KNOW, he has an undiagnosed disorder and I have no clue what it's like to live with it... So that's basically what I kept trying to tell myself– that I wouldn't know what I'd do cause my brain functions differently.

The love interest and fellow contestant,Tariq, was such a charming character. His and Paris' meet cute (meet disaster?) was...something. 😂

Lastly, I appreciated how much of their personal growth we get to see on page. They are both twenty years old, and it's probably good you keep that in mind while reading. 🧡

🍰 New Adult
🍪 Baking show setting
🍩 MC with GAD
🥧 LGBTQIA+ book

I dnf'ed this book as it just wasn't doing it for me. I didn't really vibe with the characters and I had to force myself to keep going until I decided to just abandon it. A shame since I generally tend to really enjoy Alexis Hall's work.

Paris Daillencourt is about to Crumble was a 3.5 star read for me.
I went into this book with no expectations, and honestly it was a decent read. I loved the side characters including Paris's roommate Morag and Tariq's roommates the four Daves. They definitely added some light heartedness to this novel. You can never go wrong with a baking show, and this one was no exception. I loved the way the judges were written and the interactions between the director and the judges,
The one thing I really struggled with in this book was the constant over-thinking and doomsday like thoughts Paris had in this book. I can understand the overthinking, but for every paragraph to be the world is ending, I'm the worst person, everything I've done is a failure was too much. The banter was great throughout the book, and I enjoyed reading about the different baking challenges each week. I enjoyed Tariq, and how he initially tried to help Paris understand how his actions and behaviours were not normal, and mental health may be the main cause, and encouraged Paris to try and get help. I didn't love the relationship between these two for most of the book, and I don't seem them surviving as a couple.
I felt in some ways this book tried to address too much, and wasn't able to spend enough time properly addressing certain problems and concerns that had been brought up. I did enjoy the growth Paris had in this book, and how having support, therapy and the right medications can truly help a person have a better understanding of themselves and how to interact with the world when dealing with anxiety.
Overall I would recommend checking this book out, but to be aware of the content warnings before picking it up.
Thank you Netgalley and Forever for this ARC.

Alexis Hall’s sense of humor is present on every page of this rollicking great read about two lads on a British baking competition show who meet, date, implode, forgive, and finish aimed at a better future for them both. Although focused primarily on Paris, Paris’ love interest Tariq is charming in his own way. Paris has a severe case of generalized anxiety disorder and Hall doesn’t flinch from describing just how debilitating constant anxiety can be. In the end, Paris seeks professional assistance in dealing with it which leaves the lads on the uphill climb towards a well deserved HEA at the end. Thoroughly enjoyable.

As always, I'm a huge fan of Alexis Hall's humor and knack for writing characters that truly jump off the page. My only issue with this book is that the main couple just... isn't convincing. I thought for all the stuff Paris puts Tariq through in the first half of the book, it was a bit weird that their apologies were more 50/50 because Tariq really didn't have much to apologize for. I also just didn't care a whole lot for the baking show premise, which is quite the saturated setting right now in queer adult romance, and I found the side characters to be pretty boring. I still really enjoyed Paris's journey with his mental health and the representation provided.

Every book that I have read by Alexis Hall I have not finished. I just do not think her writing style is for me. Her characters just seem to childlish. I wanted to give this book a chance to see if it was different from her other books. And once again the trend of me not finishing books by her contuines. This book just seemed very annoying to me. Thank you for the ARC though.

Oh boy did these two certainly give me fits throughout this book. Both Tariq and Paris are distinct, different characters with their own neurosis and issues.

Paris needs help, and to be honest it is evident from the first few pages that he does. I do empathise with im, but it is almost like he is a character who has become comfortable in his own misery. This competition is about him reaching outside of his comfort zone, but he is often in his own way and I found myself frustrated with him as often as my heart broke for him.

Tariq is almost too much as well, but his opposites attract attitude drew me in quite quickly, though both he and Paris seemed a bit combustible from the get-go. His ability to admit when he was wrong made him a likeable character even as I wondered throughout the book if these two belonged together.

The baking competition remains a wonderful breeding ground for colourful characters, including ones from the previous book who had me laughing out loud, tsking and shaking my head all in good turn. I can't wait to see what happens here next, and who stumbles upon the stage. It also left me wishing for a little more behind the scenes in my regular baking competition.

It was also interesting to see how the characters responses to things changed based on where they were. Neither felt comfortable out of their own environments and the way they interacted in each of them seemed to change, both of them off kilter when it came to the competition and the differences in each other's lives.

The ending was hopeful without being too bitter which was appreciated but it was by no means perfect and that was exactly how it should've ended. The two characters trying to put aside their differences, reaching for each other while reaching for help externally was a good, hopeful way to end it.

Personally, I had a difficult time with this book as someone who also suffers from anxiety (at times quite badly). I really appreciate that it's been written and shares the experience with other readers. However, I found it to be quite triggering and Paris' constant rumination, spiralling thought patterns, and catastrophizing were at times very real and reminded me of anxiety attacks I've had in the past. I appreciate that they capture the experience, but I found myself feeling very unsettled after reading the book. It was just not the right book for me given my own mental health. I thought it would be a cute romance about baking, but it was more about mental health than I realized. Perhaps in another place and time this would sit better, but I just felt exhausted in trying to manage myself while reading it. I also would just like to say that I recognize I am but one person, with one version of this life experience, and so I hope that this book does well with others bc it's an important story to tell.

I keep waffling between 3 and 4 stars for this one, so I'm going with 3.5 and rounding up.

What I liked about this book was the portrayal of Paris's anxiety. That portrayal is the focus of the book, and I found a lot about Paris's experience very similar to what goes on in my own head. I've got panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder and felt like this was a very realistic picture of how much it sucks to be stuck in your own head when your thoughts are basically your worst enemy and no matter what you do you can't turn them off or escape them. Paris has a privileged, easy life in many ways. That doesn't change the fact that he has a debilitating medical condition. Another book by Alexis Hall, A Lady for a Duke, has a line about how suffering isn't something we earn, it's something we bear. That line has really stuck with me, and I think it's very true for Paris. His anxiety isn't a blanket excuse for all his wrongs, but it also isn't something he has to earn. It's one facet of who he is that has sort of hijacked his entire life, the way mental health issues so often do. I also smiled at one point when "intolerance for uncertainty" is mentioned as being like an allergy to uncertainty because that is legit straight out of the readings I've been doing for the anxiety outpatient program I'm in. I felt very seen lol

What worked less well for me here was the romance. I did not see these two MCs as a match. I never felt a real connection or spark between them. There wasn't a single swoony moment in the entire book. I don't know what Tariq sees in Paris, apart from thinking he's pretty. They barely felt like friends to me, let alone something more. I just did not want these people to end up together. I was glad they both ended up happy, but any hint of romance was entirely lacking for me. I also wish there'd been a bit more conversation around how their relationship would work in regards to Tariq's wanting to wait until marriage to have sex. As someone who is ace and really appreciates discussions in romance about how relationships can unfold with various types of intimacy that don't involve sex, I would have loved to read more about how they would navigate that.

I sort of liked the Bake Expectations stuff here, but also felt like the side characters weren't as memorable this time around. The pacing also felt a bit off, the middle dragged somewhat for me. And the emphasis on the show meant that I didn't know as much about Paris and Tariq's life outside of the show as I'd have liked. They are both very young, and still figuring out who they are, but I still wanted to know more about their day to day lives apart from the show.

Not all the jokes and conversations landed for me. But then occasionally there would be a sort of throw away line that was so spot on and unexpectedly charming that I'd have to highlight it and read it over again. I usually love the banter-y bits between MCs in Hall's books, but for some reason they felt lacking here. And there was a joke in this book that's also in Husband Material (well, part of it anyway, you know how it is when Luc tries to tell Alex Twaddle a joke), but I'm choosing to believe that was sort of a wink wink nod nod situation rather than the author running out of wonderfully corny jokes. As ever, I love that there are recipes included, especially since they are written in the "voice" of the characters.

So I guess I'd recommend this if you're looking for a relatable MC with anxiety but less so if you're looking for swoony romance.