Reviews with content warning for Biphobia - Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

Okay, admittedly this is more ✨self-discovery✨ than romance but you know your girl latched onto the slow burn, wholesome, friends-to-lovers romance okayyyyyy🥲

I stan Alexis Hall & everything he writes.

I loved SO MUCH about this book. I already know this review will not do it justice. I also recognize I am extremely biased because I:
💓am already a die-hard Alexis Hall fangirly
💜GBBO has been my comfort show foreverrrrr & is what got me into baking in the first place
💙am bisexual & deeeeeply relate to the shit Rosaline has to constantly hear & deal with on a daily mf basis
Despite that, I’m confident you’ll love this little slice of heaven🍰 (see what I did there? Plz don’t unfollow me, corny dad jokes/puns are SO GREAT😅)

As far as the parallels to GBBO: The descriptions of their bakes, the themed weeks, the judges’ banter & feedback, the BTS producer guidance & the challenges.

As far as the interpersonal relationships & Rosaline’s journey, I especially appreciated the discussions of:
-bisexual fetishization (the situations Rosaline was out into rang so damn true & felt authentic. I’ve never felt more seen in regards to sexual orientation💔)
-classism
-feeling good enough for your parents & hoping they could be proud of you & happy for you regardless
-what constitutes as a “full life” (“I want what I’ve got and what I’ve got ✨is✨ enough” 😭😭😭😭😭😭)
-being proud of being a young single mum
-kids not being a burden or just a “responsibility”
-healthy sex lives, consent talk & sex toys
-so much more!!!

I adored how Amelie was so present in the story & showed how amazing kids are. She was fiesty & modeled an open mind so beautifully!

Honorable mention to Rosaline’s ex girlfriend & best friend Lauren, who was hilarious & is the perfect representation of why there’s nothing like found family😭 the support, encouragement & honesty she provided Rosaline with was absolutely lovely. I’m also here for healthy friendships with your exes — sometimes no one is the villain, you’re just not each other’s person.

So grateful for this book & for Alexis Hall🙏🏽

Content Warnings

jennifer_bush_73's review

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emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

philli17's review

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3.5

🫣 I really wanted to like it. I just don’t understand a bunch of choices the author made.

Content Warnings

plumpatio's review

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

evelynyle_88's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

kazoo's review

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

i enjoyed a lot more than i thought i did, i dnf'd one of the authors other books and now im thinking maybe i was too harsh on it. I do think the books ive tried have suffered from overly quirky characters that can get on your nerves at times that it takes away from how good it could be.

Content Warnings

eramser's review

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Easy beach read vibes that I couldn’t quite take seriously.

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roodborstje's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was wonderful! I love that even though this is a f/m romance the main character's bisexuality is not just a footnote, it really is a queer story about a queer person having queer relationships. Even the way her attraction to men is described still felt very queer to me, which was really great to see.

The bakeoff-inspired setting was so much fun and really well done. I highly recommend this if you like The Great British Bakeoff, it felt like reading fanfic of the show, but I mean that in the most positive way!

I think the heavier topics in this book were handled with surpricing grace, especially the classism, I didn't expect to see that being discussed with such nuance in a fluffy romance book and I appreciated that a lot.

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