Paris Daillencourt Is About To Crumble is the second book in Hall’s Winner Bakes All series and is delivers just enough of the Bake Expectations to satisfy Great British Baking Show fans while also creating a sweet albeit difficult romance between Paris and Tariq.

Paris has issues, primarily crippling anxiety though he doesn’t get diagnosed until the end of the book. He just assumes it is the way he is, and is constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. For people to realize he’s nothing, to get kicked off the show, for his bakes to fail, for Tariq to dump him. Paris’ mind is exhausting. It’s amazing how everything is a disaster or a slight on him, even the most innocent comment, he is worried will be misconstrued as him being ignorant or racist or worst. Which is only compounded by being on national television with almost 2.11 million viewers.

I’m much more of a go with the flow person and people who constantly put themselves down are. . . I’m sorry to say, they annoy me. And Paris annoyed me a lot during the course of this book. While I understand it’s a mental illness and chemical imbalance etc. his narrative was exhausting to read after the first 100 pages but that is the point. Hall does a great job in depicting the misery of Paris’ day to day life with the way his thoughts hound him and twist everything to a catostrophe, and how it negatively affects his relationships with others. Although Tariq did have his share of blame for the way he handled it, it’s an eequal thing as Paris really did need to accept the idea and work to get better first. It’s realistic though I still personally feel Tariq had the patience of a saint to put up with it for five weeks and to think it was endearing somehow.

Nonetheless, while Paris isn’t someone I’d want to hang out, Hall’s realistic depiction of his persona and the progression of their accidental meet-up (Paris slams a fridge in Tariq’s fridge), their banter, communication, fall out and make-up kept me engaged. Tariq was a particularly delight, confident, self starter with enough vulnerability that he didn’t seem too perfect. Plus Hall’s dry sense of humor added lightness to the proceedings like a fellow contestant’s bum cakes. Can’t wait for the next season/book.

Boyfriend Material and Husband Material by Alexis Hall

Since I thoroughly enjoyed Hall’s Winner Bakes All series,, I decided to look into the love story of Luc O’Donnell and Oliver Blackwood. The former is the son of an outrageous and neglectful rockstar, and has the tangential fame that comes with it. Even though he doesn’t care for his dad, he is willing to clean up his act a bit so to get the paparazzi off his back and who seems mre strait-laced than the brunch loving barrister, Oliver who needs a date for family functions. It’s a classic mutual arrangement turned to real feelings that follows the predictable plot points of banter, they’re so different, oh no I actually fell in love when we agreed not to, honeymoon, big newspaper scandal, fight, makeup. It’s a bit by the numbers but enjoyable with it’s distinct British drollness and interesting conflict in regards to their gay lifestyle of which Oliver shies away from rainbow anything (possibly thanks to his reluctantly accepting parents) and Luc feels that is internalized homophobia.

Husband Material was far more entertaining to me as it is separated by four weddings and a funeral (which Hall openly admits his premise was inspired by the movie of the same name) and explores the complicated and varied feelings in regards to the instituition of marriage and how they feel about it. It’s quite refreshing as it feels most rom com novels focus on the pre-wedding romance rather than the engagement period and this book shows how family, peers and even exes influence their feelings on the marriage and how their relationship might change as a husband and husband.

I only wish that Hall gave POV to Oliver as Luc narrates both books and while we do see some of Oliver’s side through their conversations, it does feel very one-sided. I can understand since Luc has a lot of flaws and growth to go through but it can get a bit much only focusing on the screw-up.

Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake

In Blake’s previous book, Astrid Parker was a very interesting side character as the repressed, golden girls stepsister of Delilah Greene whose overbearing mother seems to be the root of her coldness and her unhappy life directions. So now we get a deep dive into it as Isabel Parker is still controlling the strings, encouraging Astrid to take on the Everwood Inn for a tv rennovation show as a way to improve her professional reputation after her public break-up. And Astrid does so because that’s the plan, all she has work. Work, work, work until she is paired with the Everwood granddaughter-carpenter, Jordan Everwood.

Jordan is against Astrid’s rennovation designs messing with the history and uniqueness of the Everwood Inn but no one else in her family believes her in designs or ideas of how to revitalize the place so she’s not a fan of Astrid barreling through. Nor of the prissy miss yelling at her for ruining her ivory dress and demanding she pay dry cleaning. Yeah, not a great first impression but this is a romance and their trenches against each other turn into a team-up with heavy romance and vulnerabilities on the side.

Like I said, Astrid’s cold, repressed persona hides deep sadness as she has pushed away true passions like baking, and settled for less (mainly men) because she was sure that was the path to success. Even if she’s not happy, at least she has her reputation, the only thing she can control and gain happiness from her reserved mother. It’s a wonderful progression as Jordan challenges her and pushes her to grab control for herself and put herself first. Plus there’s also real self-reflection as she comes out as a baby bisexual. Honestly, it was so interesting that I kinda cared more about Astrid more than the relationship. I wanted more scenes with her and her mother. Isabel only appeared a few times but was a constant looming presence. I felt there could be more especially as the reconcilliation and therapy between the two implied near the conclusion feels rushed.

Not that Jordan isn’t a good character. She has a problem with the second chance return as she had been burned by her ex-wife who divorced after finishing chemo treatment because she wanted true destiny love not just best friend love. Yeah, it sucks. Also I enjoyed Jordan’s understanding and boundaries as she slowly falls for Astrid, helps her find herself while also trying to make thing clear that she won’t be a experimental phase for Astrid’s self discovery. I just didn’t quite believe the whole “She doesn’t believe she deserves love” angle it was trying to work near the end. Jordan seemed pretty confident of what she deserved and what she didn’t, she was just cautious.

So a good book, though I found some elements more interesting than the other. Nonetheless it was a pleasant return to Bright Falls and I can’t wait for Iris’ book. She’s so much fun.

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun

Dev always believed in happily ever after. That’s why he works on the uber-popular Ever After reality show, promising twelve hopefuls a chance at a public-shy, mega rich tech wunderkind, Charlie Winshaw. Yeah, it’s a clear rip-off of the Bachelor but that’s what makes it so entertaining and what’s more entertaining and dramatic that the prince falls in love with his handler.

Initially, Dev is a last minute handler for Charlie who is freaking out about his public rehabiliation project. It doesn’t help that Charlie has generalized anxiety, OCD and freaks out with unexpected touching. Yeah, that’s going to make being the grand prize of a dating show. It’s a compelling slow burn as their interactions bring some ease and safety to Charlie in these overwhelming situations, and Dev sees Charlie at his reallest moments. It’s not hard for them to fall in love from there.

What makes this an interesting twist to the Bachelor-esque stories, besides being queer but how it tackles mental health. Charlie feeling like an outcast and confused about his sexuality on the queer spectrum and Dev’s depression that he hides from everyone because he is certain that people won’t like him outside of Fun Dev. Most of his previous relationships are him preserving the idea he thinks they have of him instead of sharing his whole, messy real self.

Cochrun also tackles the toxicity of the Bachelor show that many have pointed out. It’s explotative, it gears toward middle-class, Christian Americans. For all it’s promotion of being about love, it’s staged and unreal. It doesn’t take care with the mental health of its contestants nor his workers and Dev must consider whether he wants to continue being complicit with its brand or delude himself about the happily ever afters.