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

I have a lot of baggage that this book poked at. I wanted to sympathize with the protagonist but the kissing without asking and the groping without asking are just not things that make a character likeable or relatable.

The mental illness stuff also seemed well above and beyond generalized anxiety disorder, IMO. But maybe wealthy cis men have a different experience with pathologization than I do. I've been diagnosed with BPD a few times over and feel doubtful that Paris didn't have some kind of cluster B thing going on. Also just applying 1 therapy and 1 medication just seemed like way too simple a fix and not representative of the reality of what interacting with the mental health care system is like.

I've got other stuff I typed out and then deleted but yeah. This is definitely my least favourite Alexis Hall book by a long shot.

Content Warnings

bzliz's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful tense slow-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

2.75

This was much tougher to get through than Rosaline’s story. Paris has severe undiagnosed anxiety and panic disorders and it was challenging to keep going. There’s a lot of spiraling in fits of anxiety that was minorly triggering for me and I don’t typically find that’s something I experience.

Not only does Paris have real issues he needs to see a medical professional about but Tariq is trying to fix him without realizing it and without being equipped to help. On top of that, Paris keeps reaching out to his parents and gets nothing in return in a way that really hurt my heart. Honestly, my favorite character was the cat.

The structure also suffered in my opinion, because there was so much to cover post-filming. There were relatively few mid-week scenes which made everything feel like a rinse and repeat of Paris buried so deeply in his own head that he can scarcely function. Over all, I didn’t hate it but I certainly wouldn’t read it again.

Content Warnings

laura_keoski's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

amarreth's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad tense 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

5.0

Ready! Set! Bake! It's another season of ~~The Great British Baking Show~~ Bake Expectations and Paris is ready to take home the win – if he can keep his crumpling anxiety in check (he can't) and his growing relationship with a fellow contestant on track (he can't). Paris is an excellent, if frustrating main character as he frequently experiences panic attacks or, just generally, being mashed potatoes under the stress of generally existing. But under Alexis Hall's pen you feel for him and want to see him navigate these issues, while not being demonized for them. Hall's patent style is flirty, fun, and funny while remaining grounded is shown to great affect here.

Content Warnings

pkc's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

oliviathebookwyrm's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional funny reflective tense 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

3.5

Content Warnings

evelynyle_88's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted 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

Content Warnings

the_reading_kat's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional fast-paced

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

2.25

Good points about mental health, but only in the last quarter of the book. Until then it’s literally just the main character being a hot mess, not always relatable. Didn’t feel the chemistry between the mc and the love interest until the last twenty pages or so. Understandable with the plot but difficult to read anyway.

Content Warnings

More...