After not reading the first book, I fell right into this deliciously baked confection of a novel. Full of sweet romance, rich lust, and steamy baked goodness.

This is a rough one for me to write, because I've loved this authors other works this one just didn't hit the mark for me.

I want to start by saying how much I absolutely loved Morag, her dryness and the levity she brought to this story. (As well as some of the other side characters from the baking show, I would absolutely come back and read a book about Morag on her own! )

That being said I absolutely hated Paris for 99% of this book, I absolutely understand what the author was trying to prove with his anxiety. However, he came off as self-centred (with cause, I get it I promise) and inconsiderate of absolutely anyone else's feelings around him. Through the whole book I was screaming at Paris at least show some respect to any (even a single one would have satisfied me slightly) of the characters and it just never happened.

For me it just didn't hit the mark, the internalized homophobia, the islamphobia and everything was too strong and in my perspective edged on the side of slightly too distasteful for my liking. Even the portrayal of a mental health illness was poorly done in my perspective. This book left a really sour taste in my mouth and I am disappointed and how the undiagnosed anxiety disorder was portrayed.

I really enjoyed the last 20% of this book. The first 80% was not super enjoyable for me. I found all of the characters unlikeable and unrealistic for most of the book. It really wasn't until the final part of the book that I saw enough character development, could believe the characters were realistic, and could actually buy into the romance. That said, I still feel somewhat indifferent about the relationship and I think I would have been just as content if the main characters realized they weren't right for each other and moved on with their lives, perhaps with Paris meeting someone who could better understand his struggle. All in all, this book still made me smile enough to earn three stars, and we'll definitely stock it in the store, but I don't think I will be handselling it.

I was really excited to read this one but I found I just had to dnf. I got to about 20% but Paris was just so unlikable. I guess unlikable is the wrong word. All ever said was Sorry, my food sucks, this is going to be terrible, and then the opposite was always true. I read some reviews that said later the book dives into his anxiety, which would make some more sense, but I just couldn't continue.

LONG REVIEW SO TL;DR - I enjoyed everything here except for how Paris’s anxiety is written (you’re not supposed to enjoy the anxiety part though), but take the representation with a grain of salt.

I’m conflicted about this, but I definitely don’t think it’s as bad as everyone else seems to.

A large part of that is because I have a lot of empathy for Paris. I’ve been there, I’ve done that, I quit caffeine because of that. And it sucks. The problem that this book faces, however, is managing to write Paris’s anxiety in a way where this book is still good entertainment. No one reads a book to experience anxiety. And this book swings so hard into Paris’s anxiety, that there’s large, frequent chunks that are not only very difficult to read, but also very tiresome.

But, like I said, I have a lot of empathy for Paris, so I’m probably being more forgiving towards this book than it actually deserves.

That all being said, I enjoyed every single character in this book except for Paris. I laughed (out loud!) several times. I loved Tariq, his family, the Daves, the other show contestants, Morag. All of them. I even liked Catherine Parr - in as much as I enjoyed her making butt-shaped cake pops and the other show contestants talking about how much they hated her.

Paris really came around for me in the last 20%, when he starts getting help, though I’m conflicted about this. As a character, I liked his arc and his friendship with Jennifer and how things turn out for him and Tariq. As representation, I felt like Paris made too much progress in too short a span of time. Like, Paris kept saying, “I’m not cured. I’ll never be cured. I’ll always struggle with anxiety,” (I’m paraphrasing here) but it felt very much like Alexis Hall had to make Paris say that because otherwise there almost wouldn’t be any evidence that Paris wasn’t totally miracle-cured. But I almost have to forgive Hall of this too, because after so much of this book being anxiety so tangible it comes off the book in waves, I didn’t really want to read Paris having another anxiety attack and I probably wouldn’t be giving it as high a rating as I did.

Quite frankly, I enjoyed the ending. I thought it was cute and sweet and I really loved seeing Paris and Tariq figure their shit out.

And in short, yeah this is a difficult book to read and I understand how and why people would not enjoy this book. That being said, I kind of did.

Side note: I did cringe a little when Tariq is telling Paris that saying Paris just got lucky when he won those three weeks because it puts down the winners of other weeks, and then again when Morag is telling Paris that he can’t say Morag has no reason to be around him except for cheap rent and free food without insulting Morag. This is pretty much exactly how I feel when Alexis Hall diminishes his success as an author, and it feels very much like Hall is talking out both sides of his mouth. But hey, what do I know.

Really enjoying this series. I love the GBBO so that’s very fun and the storylines bring up meaningful and interesting topics.

Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble was not exactly the romance, in the way Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake was not exactly a romance. The cute cover betrays the fact that this is a messy book, full of messy characters.
Many people will read this and not like Paris, but that was not the case for me. While he was not exactly a likeable character, he was relatable at points, and at others, I mostly felt bad for him. He is a person with anxiety who wants to be better, and many people who have anxiety can relate on some level.

My least favorite Alexis Hall book I have read
-The main character is unbearable to read. The amount of times him talking was describes as him ‘wailing’,,,, And I hate the anxiety rep, this characters anxiety was portrayed as him being childish and racist, which is just. What
-This book is so repetitive,, I had to skim alot because I was just bored
-So many random conversations about antisemitism or racism that just felt out of place in this book
-I felt no chemistry between these characters at all at any point, they just seemed to find eachother unbearable the whole time, idk how they were supposed to be together at all in this story.

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