Welcome to Litsy!

I‘m calling it: this one looks perfect for me but is just not enjoyable to read. I‘ve started it twice and I just find it tedious. The main character is so cringey and also there‘s so much vulgarity in it that just isn‘t my style. Again, a queer love story with anxiety rep and the setting of a British baking competition SOUNDS like my ideal read, but maybe Alexis Hall isn‘t my cup of tea. Oh well! I tried.

This is the second book, but stand alone, in the romcom Great British Baking Show like competition, except it‘s much less about romance and baking than about mental health issues. Paris is spiraling downward in a sea of crippling anxiety. It‘s honestly difficult to wade through and I often wanted to give him a swift kick in the pants, but I truly think it was helpful for me to understand some of the challenges of anxiety.

Oh how I love this cover! This was okay, not quite as delightful as the first in the series, but that may have been the fault of my high expectations. I liked and cared about the characters but the obvious mental illness went on so long for me and was hard to watch and believe that it took so long to get him help. I did love the witty repartee and the peek behind the curtain. #BookspinBingo @TheAromaofBooks #AndreanToucan #Pantone2023 @Clwojick

#20in4 readathon starts today. I'm hoping for 20 hours but happy with any that I do get. Also hoping to finish a couple of books. Good luck all taking part. Enjoy.
@Andrew65

I don't know where to even start with this one! It's hilarious, heartbreaking, and so relatable. Paris is an anxious spirally mess and (although thankfully I am nowhere near as bad) there were many times when I wanted to thrust the book at my bf and say 'This! This is how my brain works!'
I loved that he and Tariq both had to work on themselves before they could really build a life together. Alexis Hall knows how to write serious topics with humor

Friends, I loved this. Paris‘s anxiety feels so immediate that it‘s sometimes oppressive, but Hall approaches the topic with empathy, realism, and a tempering dose of humour. While this is a serious book at its core—it also deals with racism and the pressure public figures face—it‘s a hopeful, witty one that strikes the right balance between issues and laughs. And of course, there‘s an awful lot of great baking in the mix.

1. PARIS DAILLENCOURT is much funnier than I expected, given its focus on anxiety, but it ain‘t just about the laughs. I‘m enjoying it a lot so far.

2. I‘m looking after some dogs who have their own espresso machine!

3. I‘m probably gonna need a couple of these today because said dogs were distraught their parents went away and they didn‘t fall properly asleep until 3:30 (at which point they snuggled into bed SO CUTELY y‘all don‘t even know).

Paris Daillencourt was removing his biscuits from the oven while a naked man he‘d never seen before raided the fridge for beer.
#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

4/5

Paris Daillencourt has two things: an undiagnosed anxiety disorder and a spot on the hit show Bake Expectations.

This was a times a very funny and very difficult painful as Paris's anxiety sabotages his relationship and his time now the show until he is forced to deal with it.

Paris has generalized anxiety disorder but is undiagnosed for most of the book and it‘s really about how having anxiety impacts your relationships with others and yourself, with the back drop of a baking show. While this book has romance in it, it‘s not a romance book, so adjust expectations before reading. I really liked Paris and Tariq and was rooting for them together and as individuals. I do like how it all played out.

Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble by Alexis Hall is a Queer Contemporary that focuses on anxiety and the impact it can have on a person's relationship with themselves and those close to them. I absolutely adored the MC/Narrator , Paris Daillencourt. While this is the second book in the Winner Bakes All series it can be fully read as a stand alone. This is not a romcom so don't go in expecting a romance heavy story. Book 4/100.

If it has Alexis Hall on it, I'm going to read it (eventually!) So ofc i was excited when I got this! Tbh it's not as good as some of his other books, but I think that in every book he talks Abt something v important. Here it's #mentalhealth and getting help, and lack of sex in relationships. I really enjoy that this convo came up bc nobody really talks Abt this (and how messy things can get when there's not good communication)

I‘m a dedicated Alexis Hall fan, I love the way he writes. So I really enjoyed this book, but I found it a bit disappointing. It is 2nd in a proposed series inspired by The Great British Bake Off and while the pastiche of that show was still fun here I think it will be a case of diminishing returns. I suspect the story development was a bit rushed to meet publisher deadlines, there was a glaring omission in believability of the MC‘s experience.👇

Paris is always worrying about the worst ways a situation can go. When his friend enters him into a televised baking competition to push him out of his comfort zone, he has an all new list of things to panic over.

Stressful but charming read! I related way too much to Paris‘s anxiety. 😅 2ary cast of characters are delightful, if a little flat. Wasn‘t super invested in the romance until the last 1/4. Loved the GBBO inspired backdrop! 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑

A low pick, because the MC's anxiety disorder, although well-written, felt very repetitive. Yes, I know this is a feature of AD.

The secondary characters were great and I'll definitely try a few of the recipes Hall collected in the back of the book.

I‘m 48% in. It‘s witty and banter-y, sweet and lol funny in places…but it‘s me and reading an MC with anxiety like mine is so hard to take that I can only read it in small doses. The audiobook is also well done. Maybe the miracle here is that it‘s so well written I can still enjoy it, even in small bites.

This has been impossible to find today! I planned to grab it before my doctor‘s appointment, but none of the B&Ns by me have the (single) copies they ordered yet. Feels homophobic, tbh. Our closest indie had a copy, but someone already grabbed it, so at least someone is enjoying it! Going to console myself by repotting some miniature African Violets I got for some color this winter, and try to find the book again tomorrow.

The noise I just made was only audible to dogs and small children. 😅

#ARC #NetGalley