Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble

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Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble by Alexis Hall

51 reviews

sefkhet's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful tense 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

3.75

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savvyrosereads's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

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.

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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

Let me just start by saying if you're looking for a cute rom-com, this book is not it. It's billed as a lighthearted romance, but it is definitely not that. And that is not a bad thing! I love Alexis Hall's writing, and I love that he often goes outside the box when writing romance. Because of that, I almost think this book feels more realistic. It felt more like real-life to me.

The strongest aspect of this book is the way that Hall portrays Paris's anxiety. Paris has a pretty severe anxiety disorder, and it is exhausting being in his head for a good majority of the book. He is constantly second guessing himself, doesn't believe he's good enough, and torpedoes a lot of his relationships. Even though I don't struggle with severe anxiety like Paris does, Paris's voice felt authentic and realistic. And I think it will turn a lot of people away from this book.

Another aspect that makes this standout from other romance is Tariq's view on sex before marriage. It's another thing that you don't see a lot in romance, but I appreciated the focus on the fact that you can have romantic relationships without sex. More of this kind of romance, please!

Of course, the baking aspects were all lovely and wonderful, especially if you're a fan of Bake Off. I do hope Hall continues this series, because I think it's a really fun idea for a romance series and both books in it so far have been reallyl strong!

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kaleys23's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-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

3.5

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unsuccessfulbookclub's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad fast-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

ARC Review - pub date 11/1/22

The thing about Alexis Hall is that he writes RoNos that look like they’re gonna be super fluffy and then hit you with the sledgehammer of reality.

To whit, the latest installment in the Bake Expectations series: Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble. This is a romance featuring Paris, a man with intense undiagnosed anxiety, and Tariq, a man who is an absolute ray of sunshine. The two MCs were basically heartbreakingly realistic. Paris’s anxiety is intense and graphic. He is incredibly deep in his head - everyone hates him, he’s going to mess up, he’s the worst, etc etc etc. Enter Tariq, a devout Muslim and very out gay man, who tries his very best to “help” Paris while also being kind of into him aka Tariq kinda takes Paris on as a project, which never ends well.

Although this book definitely has a love story in it and ends on an HEA, its focus really isn’t the romance. Paris has an incredibly hard time with his mental health and so that the book becomes more about his struggles. I was much more concerned about Paris getting help than I was about whether he and Tariq ended up together. On the one hand, I loved how realistic and relatable the conflicts in the book were, but on the other, if you are looking for a comforting read about a comforting reality show - this ain’t it.

All that said? There were scenes and moments in this book where I was laughing out loud and reading passages to my husband. I suppose just like real life, there are funny and sweet moments mixed up with the bad ones.

Oh, and Paris’s parents are *gone* like they simply don’t text him back…ever? Even when he repeatedly asks them to? That little detail alone was a gut punch, and added to Paris’s intensely bad time and my angst as a reader. In sum, this book feels a lot like Queenie by Candace Carty-Williams in that there is an MC who is struggling realistically and mightily with their mental health and the general state of the world and you’re simultaneously rooting for them and empathizing with them and also very frustrated by their circumstances. It can be a really emotionally taxing thing to read a book like that so I want to make sure other readers are ready.

👍🏻Recommended with a big dose of check the CW and make sure you have the emotional capacity for this. Lovable and very realistic characters as well as mental health are a huge focus in this book, the romance is sweet but I would not call it the focus.

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-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

Thanks to Forever for the free advance copy of this book.

- Honestly, I'd read Alexis Hall's grocery list at this point. I adore his writing: the banter is top notch and the characters feel like real, flawed, lovely people.
- PARIS DAILLENCOURT IS ABOUT TO CRUMBLE was a bit tougher to read than other Hall books, though. Reading from Paris' point of view through his intense anxiety was often hard and frustrating, though possibly because I could see my past self in him.
- One of the best things about this particular series is that I'm never sure if the towns and the pastries Hall names are real or if they're satire, lol. Either way, they sound delicious.

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patelyne's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective 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

5.0

Paris is about to be a contestant on the popular British baking reality show Baked Expectations. That much stress and international attention seems an odd life choice for a guy who has never met an imaginary disaster scenario he couldn’t speedrun in his head, but his roommate Morag signed him up in hopes of boosting his self confidence and … well, he isn’t good at saying no?

Enter Tariq, fellow contestant, who’s introduction to Paris is a smack to the face. Literally. With a fridge door. Oof. He’s everything Paris isn’t - outgoing, friendly with everyone from the first hello and confident. So unapologetically himself in basically every way. And, starting from the dramatic rebuffs of Paris’ *many* apologies for the Fridge Door Incident, Tariq makes it a personal mission to draw him out.

Despite the rocky start - and (many) further bumps and miscommunications along the way - they end up at the beginnings a relationship. Unsurprisingly - since this is based around a baking competition - there are enough food descriptions that made me constantly snackish. Surprisingly, there were many more tears than I expected from a romcom, and also more laughs than I expected with a book about some serious mental health and racial/cultural issues.

But it worked, like, really *really* well for me.

I enjoyed this book So Much - I read it in less than 24 hrs and only wished it were longer - and will absolutely be rereading it again. I am the worst when it comes to saying conclusively which one is my absolute favorite, but I can safely say this is in my top reads for the year.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the ARC!

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kbairbooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for approving me this arc.

As someone who struggles with mental health issues, I really appreciated that this book sheds light on how debilitating these struggles can be. I liked that there was a more realistic growth progression (although it was sped up because of the storyline at the end). I also liked that the relationship had more organic ups and downs rather than being picture perfect/nobody owns up to their mistakes. I also liked the character Joy and all the yummy desserts.

Now I’m not sure if there was a ‘dry British humor’ thing going on that just went way over my head but the majority to all of the characters struck me as MASSIVE jerks. Honestly they were all really quite dislike-able and hindered my reading experience. There were funny moments that I genuinely laughed out loud and the language of the book was super unique and fun. And I did start liking Paris and Tariq more at the end but overall I don’t think this was my favorite read.

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bananathebookbestie's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective 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

I enjoyed this book! After reading Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake, I was so excited to read another book in the same setting of Bake Expectations. This book followed a different structure from the first book, and we got to see a lot after the show finished and was airing. I think that helped with development of the characters and their relationships a lot.

Our main character, Paris, is dealing with a lot and he doesn't quite know how to manage it. He has undiagnosed general anxiety disorder, was essentially abandoned by his rich and famous parents, and is an excellent baker but cannot get out of his head (ya know, because of the anxiety). He spends most of the novel working through his self esteem and personal issues while on a reality TV baking competition his roommate entered him in. On Bake Expectations, he meets fellow contestant Tariq Hassan — after smacking him in the face with a fridge door — and they really hit it off (pun intended). Their relationship is very young and sweet, while also dealing with a lot of personal issues with each other. Tariq is Muslim and takes his religion and being gay very seriously and doesn't want to minimize either part of himself for anyone.

When reviewing Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake, I said it read more like women's fiction than a romcom; I would say the same about this book. It focused way more on Paris' anxiety and troubles and having him work through them until he finally gets a diagnosis, therapy and medicine to manage his anxiety. The relationship with Tariq was very cute and important, but to me, didn't feel like the central theme of the story.

Overall, I loved the characters still and thought the bakes and pacing were fantastic. I do think having Tariq's point of view would've been beneficial to the story so we could get a break from all the Parisian thinking — at times it was very overwhelming (and I have anxiety!).

Alexis Hall really does write great representation and characters full of depth. He is an auto-read author for me and I'm excited to see what the third installment of the series will be. Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for a review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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purplepenning's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

"By 'eck it's gorgeous"! A little heavy, but never stodgy, book two in the Winner Bakes All series is different from but as good as the first one (Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake) and could definitely stand alone. "Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble" is a sweet, poignant, personal, coming-of-age story wrapped in a satisfying romance and topped with just enough quirky baking competition capers to give it that extra something. The sensitive portrayal and pacing of Paris's anxiety and mental health issues and the navigation of the personal and relationship differences between Paris and Tariq (an openly gay Muslim) is *chef's kiss*. Plus, there are scrummy good bakes.

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