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

After adoring Boyfriend Material, when I saw that this was written by the same person, well, I had to give it a try! And it was wonderful. Full of Hall's trademark wit, Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake takes the reader on a whirlwind adventure. Rosaline, a single mother, is a contestant on a BBC baking competition that is heavily based on the Great British Bake Off. On her way to the competition (which is, of course, in a town that doesn't get reliable rail service), she and another competitor end up stranded at a random rail stop. And she lies to Alvin, trying to make him think that she's more awesome than she really is. It totally backfires, of course. And then there's Harry. Who's a highly skilled laborer - electrician - and still somehow calls women "love." Rosaline lets him have it, and it sticks. Over the course of the competition, Alvin and Harry compete for the prize and for Rosaline's hand. Except.....

One of them turns out to be a right bastard and the other one a truly nice guy. Read to find out who she end up with, and how bad one shows himself to be a right bastard.

This book was laugh-out-loud funny, and kept me awake too late more than once, since I had to know how it ended.

Update: 2022-08-25: This was an excellent re-read. I noticed so much that I missed during the first read. There's a lot of discussion about class, which this American reader still doesn't quite get, but it was informative and interesting. It was also very cool to see the well-written evidence of what was going to happen between Rosaline and her two guys, as I noticed how they had completely different interactions with Rosaline and how those interactions telegraphed how their various relationships would play out.

Content Warnings

foreverinastory's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

Four for now. Might bump it up later. I need to think.

Rep: bisexual single parent female MC, one love interest has social anxiety, lesbian female side character, BIPOC side character (I think south Asian to be specific will follow up), sister of love interest is married to her wife.

CWs: Alcohol consumption, discussion of abortion and reasons why MC did not choose it, biphobia, cursing (including a child cursing), emotional abuse/parental neglect, gaslighting, mental illness (anxiety/social anxiety), past pregnancy, sexual assault, sexual content (graphic and several scenes), toxic relationship, misogyny.

Content Warnings

kp_writ's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

Lighthearted and quippy, this is definitely an easy summer read (barring the one sexual assault scene) for those interested in a down to earth romance between adults older than 25. Some of the internal conflict was frustrating, and the external conflict was terribly predictable, but it didn't take me out of the story too much. There was a period where I thought both romance interests were terribly boring and I contemplating shelving it, but I'm glad I didn't. A solid, lighthearted read overall that still manages to interrogate the question "what do you *really* want out of life" without getting too terribly existential.

Content Warnings

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