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

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Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble by Alexis Hall

65 reviews

kbairbooks's review against another edition

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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ginfizz's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny reflective 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

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing an ARC for review.

Paris, an upper-crust classicist with severe but undiagnosed anxiety, is entered into baking competition Bake Expectations by Morag, his fat Glaswegian sex goddess roommate. He meets Tariq, an extroverted, confident baker who wants to be a little bit famous and finds Paris charming. Paris struggles with the competition and his growing relationship with Tariq, and tries to learn to manage his anxiety, his relationships, and the internet’s cruel response to the mildly famous.

Paris Daillencourt was hard to read as a person with anxiety. Some of Paris’ spirals began to feed into my own anxiety, and I had to take a some breaks in order to emotionally regulate. I can see some readers might be frustrated with Paris, especially if they don’t experience anxiety (they might agree some of the tweets in part two, tbh). Watching Paris begin to break down from the pressure of the competition in addition to having a sort-of-boyfriend is rough, and my heart ached for him despite recognizing he was creating many of his own problems. Tariq is a gorgeous character — full, interesting, well-intentioned, and obviously trying his best.

I loved him, and it was good to see someone try so hard to work with Paris’ more obvious hang-ups, but it killed me when Tariq declared Paris too much — that he thought he could handle it, but he couldn’t, and so he was leaving. This is perhaps the biggest fear of anyone who has severe anxiety — that they are a burden, that they will never be worth putting up with their problems, and the people they love will eventually leave. It was unsurprising that this, combined with his elimination from the show and the unflinchingly cruel responses of fans of the show, culminates in a breakdown.

I think without the lengthy, slow attempt at recovery and healing, the first part of the book would have been too much. But you do see Paris get help, you see him try to get better and accept the way he caused harm but also how had been harmed as well. The way Tariq badly handled Paris’ anxiety was addressed (I wish a bit more, but I’m coming from a sensitive place with this), and I liked that they were slow to come back to each other. If there was one thing that I wish had been stated outright, was that the way Tariq left Paris, said he could handle him but decided he couldn’t, was precisely what all those people who left Tariq because he wouldn’t had sex did to him. That parallel wasn’t explicitly stated, and I think having Tariq make that connection would have gone a long way in helping him realize how harmful that was for Paris, and ultimately make a reader want them to come together in the end.

Ultimately, it wasn't the feel-good rom-com I was expecting, but honestly with Alexis Hall I should know better. He gives us the love, the tension, and romance, but there's always a deep and raw struggle for the characters to overcome. I think, perhaps, this was the first book for me where the character's struggle hit so close to my own, and that's why I ended up feeling it so intensely. I enjoyed the book a lot, and love, love, love this universe of the Bake Expectations series, but would advise others to be aware of how deeply you delve into Paris' anxiety and the repercussions of it.

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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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dobbsthedog's review against another edition

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5.0

Received from Edelweiss, thanks!

Wooo! I get to post the first real review on StoryGraph!

Okay. It was really good. Despite it being the second in the Bake Expecations 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.

Gah, I’m having such a hard time writing this because I kind of just want to say all the things, but I also don’t want to give anything away and don’t want to stick this behind spoilers.

I think that Paris’ anxiety was really well described/explored. As someone who suffers from anxiety (though not to the extent that Paris does), I completely understood how his brain was working and what he was going through. I really appreciated his mental health journey, it felt very accurate, and I also really loved the realizations that his friends come to over the course of the book, in relations to his mental health.

I also really loved Paris’ relationship with Tariq. It was a bit different and included something I didn’t think I would like in a romance, but that really really worked in this story. I just really loved Paris and Tariq, for different reasons, and my feelings shifted a bit over the course of the book, but overall, really love them.

Very much enjoyed this and am so grateful to have gotten an early copy! I will likely come back when this is out and write a more in depth review, flailing about all the things.

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