I started it off thinking it more a romance but it actually felt more like a personal growth and how the main chararcter goes about figuring out life. It is not easy for these two young men but they put in effort to find their purpose and learn to help each other. It throws light on anxiety and how some might be handling it in their day to day life. I liked the way generalized anxiety is handled in this book. I totally thought this was a light read but it actually had sensitve but relevant topics and has some heavy moments.

Ooof, this book. It was honestly beautiful and heartbreaking. I was a huge fan of Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake, which also dealt with some difficult issues, but I think this one hit closer to home because I also struggle with the voice in my head that tells me everything that could go wrong and that everyone secretly hates me. It was really tough to be in Paris’ head for so long, and I don’t think I’d read it again, but it was a really powerful story that was really well told. I struggle to categorize this series as rom-com because it really is so much more than that. Highly recommend this series.

A m|m contemporary romance set around a baking competition with mental health rep? Add on a cute cover and I was so stoked. My excitement ended there though.

I’ll start with the big issue- why on earth are we casually dropping in repeated Nazi jokes and antisemitism? Let’s no forget the Islamophobia, although I guess we can be grateful it’s mentioned at the bottom of the content guidance in the beginning of the book. How did all this not raise any questioning flags from editors?

If you can get past those cringeworthy moments you’ll be left exhausted with Paris and the never ending chaos. As someone who also deals with anxiety and panic attacks, this was a wild ride of stress. I felt Paris repeatedly used it as an excuse to have those around him forgive his crappy behavior instead of owning up to his own actions.

Setting of a bake off, gotta love it. I enjoy baking and cooking shows so much so getting to read books that show an insider look to get me immersed, is sure to win my heart. The promise was here but felt entirely too long and with the other issues, it’s just not a read I can recommend.

Out now! [Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!]

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The new season of Bake Expectations features Paris, who must juggle his own severe (and borderline crippling) anxieties while also navigating his burgeoning feelings for fellow contestant Tariq, an openly gay devout Muslim.


I adored ROSALINE PALMER TAKES THE CAKE, and I adore Alexis Hall. So, suffice to say that I was so excited to read this book, and I definitely enjoyed it.

The mental health representation here is spot on, and I appreciated that it was a romance that nonetheless took care to navigate important and sensitive themes. The storyline was equal parts fun and serious, and the romance was sweet (though not steamy! I am fine with a spice-less rom-com but so be aware that’s what you’re getting it you pick this up.)

My only reason for docking a half star was that I didn’t connect to these characters *quite* as much as I did to those in RPTTC, because I felt like we spend most of our time in Paris’s head rather than connecting with others. But, that is truly a quibble of the most insignificant magnitude. If you want a cozy, diverse, hilarious romance with a side of delicious baked goods, look no further.

Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: LGBTQ rom-coms; baking shows; mental health representation

CW: Mental illness/panic attacks; Islamophobia; some homophobia; mentions of abandonment/child neglect.

This author is really wonderful! I now want to make sure and read everything I can from them!! I read the first book in this series so I was excited to get the second one. I feel like this one was more of finding out who you really are and all the feels! The characters in this book are young and it does show some in their maturity. I do enjoy the banter, baking competition, and how the characters grow! Paris is an anxious person who likes control. He feels unloveable. He’s wealthy and a little whiny at times. Tariq is a Muslim Indian. He’s def a sunshine in all this! I think they make a cute pair and help balance each other. I think this was a good read but it was a lot due to all the anxiety and only having one POV.

I really loved the first book in this series by Alexis Hall. I was expecting something more along those lines and this wasn't a typical romcom. The main character, Paris, suffers from an undiagnosed anxiety disorcer and being inside his head was difficult to read at times and made me tear up several times. I'm glad I read it and got to see life from Paris' perspective. It was eye-opening. I do wish the author had elaborated more on Paris seeking treatment and spent more time on his therapy and what that experience was like. I'd give it 3.5 stars.

I enjoyed reading this book - but Paris's crippling anxiety did get a little tiring. I, too, struggle with anxiety - so maybe it was that his anxiety was making me anxious?

I was expecting this to be more of a romance book, but it wasn't quite that either.

I liked the judges on the baking show! They were well developed and sort of funny.

I think this is more of a contemporary fiction than a rom com/romance of sorts. I know a lot of people will like it though!

I left this book with somewhat mixed feelings. What I enjoyed about the book was the baking competition setting, and it was fun to see some of the banter with the judges. It was interesting to see Paris's struggle with anxiety throughout the book since that came across as one of the book's main focuses instead of the relationship itself. You're in Paris's head through most of the book, and it can be overwhelming at points. As someone who struggles with anxiety, I appreciated how honest it was about anxiety, but it did make it overwhelming to read at times. I had to put the book down a few times just because I felt overwhelmed. I thought Tariq was an interesting character, and I wish the story were dual-POV for the reader to see more of him. This book is more of a mental health journey instead of a romance book. Please check the trigger warnings because there is a strong focus on anxiety and a good amount of racist and Islamaphobic content in the book.

Thank you to Forever Books and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh boy, where to start? First of all I think I deserve a medal for managing to slog through this book. I had an absolutely terrible time reading it and the only reason why I finished it is because I kept hoping it would get better and also because I would like to get to 100 books on my goodreads challenge.
Let’s start with Paris, our main character. He has generalized anxiety disorder, which is literally crippling to him. Now I have severe anxiety, almost identical to his, so keep that in mind. I know what it’s like to be unable to function due to anxiety. Anyways, Paris is a total dick. For most of the book there’s hardly anything redeemable about his character, and I don’t think you can blame his extreme self centred-ness on just his anxiety. He has moments of being VERY culturally ignorant, which again is blamed on his anxiety. He also spirals about being anti-Semitic and N*zi because he didn’t know a Jewish recipe they had to bake on the show. That part was completely unnecessary and shouldn’t have been included. He’s a rich white guy who thinks he’s not rich and it’s very aggravating. The whole book is just his spirals of anxiety, + a tiny bit of plot. Yes this is accurate to what anxiety is like, but this was a book marketed as a romance, not a contemporary book about anxiety with a romance subplot. It got exhausting to read, with his consistent self deprecation, and everyone trying to tell him he’s not horrible. Accurate to real life, yes, but not something I want to read a 368 page book about. Paris was truly awful to Tariq, his Muslim boyfriend. 99% of their conversations were about Paris, Tariq felt like he was just there to serve as the catalyst for character growth for Paris. Paris somehow refuses to believe that he has anxiety, which like, come on. Also Tariq and Paris had zero chemistry, this is the kind of romance that 100% will not last
I’m not Muslim, so I can’t say whether or not the queer Muslim representation was good, but if someone who is sees this and is a queer Muslim who has read this book, feel free to add your thoughts! I would love to hear your perspective. What I will say though is that Tariq deserved better. He deserved someone he didn’t have to educate and he deserved someone who wasn’t going to be culturally and religiously insensitive to him.
The baking plot was lacking, and honestly felt cartoonish.
Overall, I think I genuinely hated this book, and it takes a lot for me to hate a book.

this was such an interesting book! i am so thankful to netgalley for letting me read this one early! such an amazing plot and characters!! blew me away!!!

If there's one thing I love, it's Alexis Hall's writing. I feel like they tackle real life issues and don't sugar coat anything. This novel is no exception. The characters of the book are so well written, I felt the emotions, and felt empathy for them. I think many of us have found ourselves in anxious situations and I love that Paris explores diagnosis and treatment. Using fiction and romance, Alexis Hall is normalizing mental health struggles in a way that allows those readers who have mental health struggles to feel heard and accepted.

Alexis Hall is one of my favourite writers (and only after reading two books so far), so getting a chance to read this early was so wonderful.

I loved this! As someone who also deals with anxiety in his life, I admit, it was tough to read at times. However, I think it was a good representation of it. If you're someone who has challenges with reading about anxiety - please caution!

I loved the characters (the baking show judges were hilarious) and I really enjoyed Tariq. Loved the writing style and it consumed me. Happy to see that the romance wasn't at the forefront and although it was more about a messy MC, I quite enjoyed it.

I received a copy of this book for review from NetGalley. This book was sweet, funny, and very hard to read. Living in Paris's head for 2.5 hours was gut-wrenching, and I came close to crying several times. Paris very obviously has an anxiety disorder, and I spent 90% of this book wishing someone would give him a hug, and then spent the other 10% wanting to give everyone around him a smack upside the head. I get it; everyone in my house is neurodivergent or has anxiety or both, and it can be hard to live with them sometimes. But there were a number of moments in this book where the people that theoretically were supposed to be his allies made Paris feel like less for something that he literally could not control, and that was heart breaking.
To be perfectly honest, although I liked Tariq a lot, I had trouble forgiving him, and I'm not completely sure I bought the relationship happy ending. Your mileage may vary, of course. While the cover is fun, and this book is very funny in places with excellent banter, it is not a hot light-hearted story about a baking competition. This is a kissing only exploration of navigating life with undiagnosed anxiety, and while well done, I need to go read some fluff to recover.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I didn’t relate to the characters and would’ve loved to see the book cut down by a few hundred pages. This book is definitely not a romance novel and focuses very heavily on Paris’ anxiety. I am sure that many will see themselves reflected in this book and find solace in that they are not alone in how they are feeling.

DNF

I'm sorry. I really tried to continue reading this book but I just couldn't. This book felt like a HORRIBLY written wattpad story (this is coming from someone whose guilty pleasure is wattpad). I just couldn't continue after reading words like Marie Antoinette’s vagina. There are just so many books I want to read in my life. I'm not going to spend the small amount of time I have reading books that make me want to shoot myself in the head.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I normally love Alexis Hall’s writing and was an especially big fan of Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake, the first book in the Winner Bakes All series, but I have to admit that I struggled with Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble.

The reality TV baking contest was just as entertaining as in the first book. I loved the behind the scenes moments as we get to watch the show come together and hear the baker’s thoughts on their creations, etc., and I was a huge fan of the hilariously snarky banter between the show’s cohosts and the producers. I also thought the mental health representation was so well done. Paris, the title character, has an undiagnosed anxiety disorder that is clearly impacting many aspects of his life. Hall does a wonderful job of realistically showing those impacts as well as Paris’ journey to finally seeking the help he needs.

What actually didn’t work very well for me, unfortunately, was Paris himself and his romantic interest, Tariq, another contestant on the show. It’s probably just a me thing, but I found Paris to be quite obnoxious, constantly alternating between blurting out offensive elitist comments and then incessantly apologizing for his very existence. It was kind of cute and quirky at first, but then it got old fast. Then, there was Tariq, who felt the need to point out to Paris every time he said something offensive, which as I said, is pretty often. At first I felt bad for Tariq because being with Paris just seemed so exhausting but then that got old too and I was just sitting here like “OMG, it’s not your job to police every stupid thing Paris says. And why do you offended so easily?” For me, these irritating traits somewhat overshadowed what was otherwise nice chemistry between them and I ultimately found myself indifferent as to whether or not they got a HEA.

Still an overall good read, thanks to the baking show and the wonderful side characters, but definitely not my favorite book from this author.

I had a really difficult time with the way Paris's anxiety seemed to rob him of maturity and self-worth. It really made it difficult for me to want the relationship to work because it seemed like he wasn't at all ready. Not my favorite Alexis Hall.

This was so fun! It's perfect for fans of baking shows if you love romance! I really appreciated the thoughtful discussions around mental health and respect for boundaries.

This was an interesting read. I'm not sure what I expected but it was not what I got. This was my first book as I did not read the first book in this installment. Maybe it would have helped me better to understand the writing flow. This story is mostly told in Paris's POV and we get to experience first hand his struggles with mental health (anxiety). That was good representation however I found it to have be on edge throughout the story. I would have loved to see more from Tariq's side. I did enjoy the witty banter and some of the writing in the story. I appreciate what the author was trying to do with the highlighting of racism and how it truly is however I did not like the way it was done in this book that on the surface was meant to be a romance. Overall, I was able to get through it, but would probably never pick it up again. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 stars.

I am having a hard time reviewing this book, and here is why. This has absolutely been marketed as a romance, and it's not. Not enough of the storyline is actually about Paris and Tariq's relationship for it to count in my opinion. Through the romance lens, the book is very lopsided, with Tariq having almost no character development at all, and acting as a sort of manic-pixie-dream-boy for Paris.

This is really a story about Paris dealing with his own mental health, spiraling and accepting and seeking treatment, and it was unrelenting being in his head. The single POV meant that there was no break at all from the anxiety that fills him up. And while I believe the accuracy of the representation was good, I was reading this as if it were a romance, so it was actually a miserable slog by about the halfway mark. If it had been marketed correctly, I wouldn't have read it at all, because that kind of book just isn't my jam.

The first 30% was filled with enough of Alexis's characteristic dry humor that I coasted along well enough, laughing out loud multiple times. But after that, when it was clear it was just going to be a slow motion train wreck of Paris on a baking show, even those quips couldn't save it for me. If it had been dual POV it might have worked for me, with Tariq's sunshine to bright some light and more character development for him.

The fact that they were both New Adults didn't help either, and they didn't have anything in common except thinking the other one was pretty. I don't believe the HFN that they had, and am not convinced they should even try to be together. Which would be fine if it was literary fiction instead of romance, but yet another book is let down by this marketing mistake.