A review by plumpaperbacks
Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall

emotional funny hopeful 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

3.5

This was good in the beginning and in the end, but my interest waned during most of the middle. While I did like Rosaline, my favorite characters were side characters—specifically, Anvita and Amelie. The banter was highly entertaining, but there were also times where some of the dialogue and even a couple of characters felt cringey. I liked Alain at first, but then he started to get on my nerves more and more, and then he outed himself as a totally pretentious, jealous asshole. I no longer like him. And while Harry is a sweetheart, no doubt about it, I… didn’t really feel any chemistry between him and Rosaline?? I liked their friendship, but never really got attached to their romance.

Also, it felt pretty obvious to me that Rosaline would win the competition. Books like these almost always either have the protagonist win, or they come in second/third place but still end up getting some sort of prize out of it. I’m happy for her, don’t get me wrong—and definitely glad that Alain didn’t win—but yeah. No surprise factor here.


Overall, this was fine. Not the new favorite I’d hoped it would be when I started, but not bad either. I’d recommend it, but there are other romances I’d recommend first/more. I’ll probably read the next one just because I’m curious, and these books are, at the very least, entertaining.

Representation
  • bisexual protagonist
  • lesbian side character
  • achillean side character
  • Punjabi side character
  • side character with an anxiety disorder (unspecified)
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