A review by onceandfuturereaders
Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble by Alexis Hall

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

2.0

I adore Alexis Hall and his books, but this one was probably my least favorite I’ve read so far. As someone with anxiety, it can be tricky to read characters who have anxiety - it’s hard to find books that do it right without making it triggering. This was a triggering kind of story - Paris has very severe anxiety and apparently no one has suggested that to him until he goes on a baking show and meets a prospective love interest who is like “hmm something may be medically wrong here” and then Paris is like “no, this is just me” all while thinking he doesn’t want to appropriate a medical condition that isn’t his. Honestly Paris should have been in therapy years before 80-some percent of the way through the book. So often I was torn between wanting to give Paris a hug and wanting to scream “GO TO THERAPY” at him. 

There were parts I liked - Tariq for the most part, Morag for the most part, Paris in therapy and his friendship with Joy, and most importantly the entire laser tag scene with Tariq’s family. 

Overall this fell flat for me, despite loving the GBBO style story where I could easily envision how each weekend would go. I wanted to like this so much more than I did. 
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