Thanks so much to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing a free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. In 16% AJH managed to squeeze in comments about Nazis, Jewish people, Muslims, ancient Greeks, Egyptians, people from Glasgow, hippies, the French, penises, various political parties, and public schools (UK version). I have no idea if these were meant to be funny or AJH's incessant need to use his widely published books for half-baked social commentary and I am not going to waste any of my time trying to parse it out. Either way it shouldn't be in a light-hearted romcom about baking. I loved everything about this, starting with the amazing style of writing, the humour of it, the amazing characters and the amazing anxiety rep. Despite having been warned that this book wasn’t a romance or a romcom (those are debatable) and that the anxiety rep was intense, I still feel underprepared for what this book was. (Not that I even *know* what it was.) I feel almost unable to assess it properly after just one read-through. My opinion of it changed drastically several times while reading as I adjusted and readjusted my expectations. I’m not sure I can give a coherent or meaningful opinion on it right now. I’m also not sure I want to reread it so… 🤷🏻‍♀️ But I’ll do my best to come up with a review that says more than “…it was okay?” Tariq's eyes widened. "Um...I...how did you get there? Because I really didn't mean to suggest anything about your penis at all. I'm sure your penis is, um, fine. Lovely even. But none of my business."

Every once in a while you read a book that you want to SCREAM FROM ROOFTOPS about. I’m screaming, people!’ Sonali Dev 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.

More From the Same

It was a very realistic portrait of how it looks and feels to have a mental health issue and live with it. It is tender and dark and funny and poignant, story of two young gay men finding their place in the world (separately and together). I loved how Tariq wasn’t the perfect curer of Paris’ ills. He made huge mistakes and he admitted to them. The parental neglect which is furthest from my experience hit me the hardest. Paris texting his parents made me cry and I am never forgiving anyone for treating their child like that and I am super happy Paris didn't either.

Note: hi, this is u/readlikeyourerunnin-, not u/eros_bittersweet! I’m using the brilliant format Eros designed for buddy reads, so the vast majority of the following text was written by her.] Well. I honestly had quite a difficult time with this book. If you're looking for a cute romance, I would not recommend this.Okay. It was really good. Despite it being the second in the Winner Bakes All series it felt completely different to Rosaline. Like, it had the same Bake Expectations characters, and similar structure, but also not. There was a lot more post-show than what was in Rosaline, and I really enjoyed that. I don’t think the book would have worked if it had followed exactly the same structure. They try a relationship but it couldn't really happen until Paris got the medical help he needed. Tariq also had a lot to learn about himself and what being in a relationship meant. It was a process of growth for both of them and loved seeing it. . Despite his passion for baking, constant self-doubt has left him a curdled, directionless mess. So, when his roommate enters him in Bake Expectations, the nation’s favourite baking show, Paris is sure he’ll be the first one sent home.

Reread Oct '23 - didn't expect to reread this so soon, but it's another Bake-Off season, which made me think of Paris, whom I genuinely love, and here we are. Opinions much as before (perhaps I am a tad bit more grumpy at Tariq and the way he handles things), and I am still pissy about what a disservice mismarketing has done this book. I'm choosing to DNF for now at 30%. Being in Paris's head the entire book (it's told entirely from his perspective, third-person) is a LOT. He's a very anxious person, and I am also an anxious person, so it's too much. And I say this as someone who usually likes characters with anxiety in books (for instance, Misha Horne and Erin McLellan do this really well), but I'm not sure what it is here with this particular book. The way Paris's anxiety is written just feels like a drag to read and kind of feels like it keeps the reader at a distance. The situation with his parents and his inability to stop imagining more and more horrible scenarios making him unable to participate in any kind of relationship made me hurt so badly for him. 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. I'm going to air a theory I've been ruminating on for awhile: I think Alexis Hall secretly hates romance. I've noticed a trend in a bunch of his books recently where he seems to like making things almost impossible for his MCs, not like a hard-fought HEA but like a HEA that doesn't seem likely or even plausible. Again with this book- it is not a romance, nor does it deserve to be a romance. These two guys are a horrible match, mismatched in so many ways that it's actually hard to articulate.There is definitely less romance than you’d expect from the cover and the blurb and the romcom label and, well, everything. But I really liked what there was. I liked both characters, I liked that it started low-key, I didn’t even mind the no-sex-before-marriage thing because I thought it was handled well. I was SO happy when Paris finally started to get some help, though I wish it could’ve come sooner. I also, surprisingly, didn’t mind that the end of the book leaves his and Tariq’s relationship on a hopeful but somewhat tentative note, because it seemed to suit them – they are both really young, they’re growing as people, it felt like what they’d had was meaningful and what they still might have was genuinely promising, and even if it didn’t last, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. Again though, probably not a popular note to end on if you’re promoting this as a BAKING ROMANCE, lol. Two talented chess players challenge each other on and off the board in bestselling author Hazelwood’s YA debut.

I liked how Alexis Hall explored the issues of power and privilege - Paris is a white, rich, cis queer man yet when we first meet him he is absolutely vulnerable, devastatingly lonely and unable to maintain healthy relationships (lovers, friends, competitors on the reality baking show). From the bestselling author of Boyfriend Material comes a sweet and scrumptious romantic comedy about facing your insecurities, finding love, and baking it off, no matter what people say. This is not a romcom! I repeat this is not a romcom! Think of a gay Bridget Jones like Henry Fry’s First Time for Everything. The books have the same kind of vibes. And yet, not only does he impress the judges and win week one’s challenge – he also catches the eye of fellow contestant, Tariq Hassan. Sure, he’s the competition, but he’s also incredibly cute with more confidence than Paris could ever hope to have.My favorite parts of this book so far have definitely been the actual baking itself on the show, and of course my favorite secondary characters from the first book - Jennifer (the foul-mouthed producer) and Colin (Jennifer's assistant). Jennifer and Colin are great and provide the appropriate amount of entertainment I expected from them. I'm surprised there's no plans for Colin to get his own HEA? I think that could be fun to read about, and seeing Jennifer deal with that if Colin falls in love with a contestant could be interesting.