I love a romantic comedy and this was perfection! This author has quickly become a favourite of mine! A great well written book!

This was SO much fun oh my god, I loved the writing and I cannot wait to read every single book by this author!

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

I love Baking and Romance, so this wasthe perfect book for me. If you love the Great British Bake Off this book is for you too , plenty of romance, full of humour and amazing characters you love. Perfect escapism

I am a HUGE Bake Off fan, and love a book that features baking or cooking in any way. So, this was a book screaming out to me from the get go.

I loved the portrayal of the baking show in this book, it felt homely while chaotic. As sweet, fluffy, and agreeable as cake. I've not read the Boyfriend Material series but if it's as good as this book I'll highly enjoy it.

I absolutely adored Harry, he reminded me so much of one of my favourite comedians, and I would love to read further in this series.

I have tried this book a couple of times (with big breaks in between) and I just cannot get into it.

I like Hall's writing style and also GBBO, but I really struggled with this book. I also don't think that this was a romance, and fell more into WF. That's not a criticism, but I wish I had known before going into this as I could've managed my expectations better.

I didn't finish this book, but I am leaving a neutral rating as I think it was a 'me' thing rather than the book.

2.5 stars.

Let me start by saying that this isn't what I'd call a romance novel. This is women's fiction which is fine but don't go into it expecting romance to be the focal point. It isn't. It's very much about a middle class single mother and her journey through a baking competition and what that teaches her along the way.

The book is well written and the characters really did come to life. It's just a shame I didn't like any of them (except Harry who was treated like crap, ignored and looked down on the whole way through and Anvita).

I really didn't like Rosaline. I thought she was snooty, judgemental and irritating and although we do see some character growth, it comes too late for me to connect with her. The British class system is a BIG thing in this book and I hated it.

The biggest downfall of this book was the fact that - at times- it came across as preachy. I love seeing strong characters stand up for themselves, defend others and correct people when they're wrong but it felt like this book was one big lecture. It felt like no one could do anything right and although the stuff that was said was valid, the sheer amount of rants made the book feel like it was never going to end (and not in a good way).

The book really improved towards the end with a spicy scene which I didn't expect but was very good.

Had I not been reviewing this for NetGalley, I probably would have DNF'ed it about 20% of the way in.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Alexis Hall has done it again with another wonderful romance book. This is a brilliant, queer adult romance, between two lovable but very different main characters. Set on a Great British Bake Off-inspired baking show, Bake Expectations (I LOVE IT), the book follows Rosaline, an aspiring baker and single mother as she grapples with friendships, a new relationship, and trying to win a baking contest.

I adored Rosaline, she's such a sweet, funny protagonist and it's easy to tell how much she cares for her daughter. Rosaline is openly bisexual and the novel spends a lot of time discussing biphobia, challenging it, and dismantling stereotypes about bi people, which I absolutely loved. Alexis Hall also uses the narrative of Alan's and Rosaline's parents' prejudices to discuss classism and challenge stereotypes about working class people.

Hall's writing is, once again, and absolute triumph of humour and sharp wit. The dialogue and interactions between the contestants and between Rosaline and her best friend were incredibly entertaining. Harry is a cinnamon roll and I would throw my 5 ft 3 self in front of his 6 ft something self to protect him at all costs. Amelie is a sweetheart. Alan is a toad.

I also really want to know if Alexis Hall went undercover on the set of Bake Off to do research for this book because the descriptions of the show, how it works, and all the behind the scenes moments seem SO accurate (to how I imagine it being)??? Alexis Hall, if you're reading this please feel free to DM me, I would LOVE to know.

Overall, this is a DELIGHT, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Alexis Hall just writes brilliant books, thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

(One thing to note is that this book contains a sexual assault scene, so be careful going in if that's a trigger for you.)

I am so late with this review but I loved the romance story in here. I love the author’s books so this one was a no brainier that I will read at some point. The characters are enjoyable and I wanted to bake something even late at night while I was reading it. Beautiful and must read romance.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

I'm a big fan of Boyfriend Material and love the GBBO so eagerly awaited Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake, I'm so pleased that it was as fun and engaging as I'd hoped. Highly recommended.

Well lately I’ve been loving Baking and romance book lately and this was a lovely read if you like great British bake off you love this book with a twist of romance and plenty of banter you enjoy. I loved the writing style and amazing characters you love

4.5 stars out of 5 (rounded up to 5 out of 5)

A huge thank you to Alexis Hall and NetGalley for an advanced copy in excahnge for an honest review.

I went into Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake fairly blindly, all I knew was that it was about baking at the main character was bisexual. I also knew that Alexis Hall has written Boyfriend Material, a book I have heard so many good things about but just haven't gotten around to yet. I am glad I knew so little as when I have told people what I have been reading the plot does sound a little cringy. A rom-com based around a baking competition with a love triangle: it doesn't exactly fill me anticipation. However I would say it exceeded all of my expectations and definitely deserves more hype than it gets.

All the characters came across as lovable (although in some cases it didn't stay that way) and I found the entire book to be well rounded and finished off nicely. The characters were relatable and showed some all too familiar family dynamics that I haven't seen much of in this genre. I loved reading a single mum that didn't regret her choices and didn't see her child as a mistake, I think it would definitely change a few people's perspective on things. I loved how involved in the story Rosaline's daughter was, having read so many books about charcters with young children and you can almost forget the child exists.

My only wish is we got to see more of Roslaine and Harry's relationship growing and blooming, so much time was spent on Alain (understandably) but Harry was such a sweetheart and I wish we got to see more of him. Harry and Anvita were probably my two favourite characters so more of Harry would have made it even more enjoyable for me.

All in all though, Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake felt like such a warm hug but it still covered some important topics like biphobia and sexual assualt. It had the perfect balance of heavy topics mixed in with light-heartedness without brushing over the important issues.

Also, how the hell did Alain make it on the Bake Expectations with such a boring personality???

An absolutely hilarious and brilliant romance, with the perfect satire on GBBO and a kickass bisexual heroine. Rosaline Palmer is everything I wanted from an M/F bisexual romance and I spent the day reading it cover to cover, unputdownable.

It's worth noting that there is a sexual assault scene in which two women are coerced with alcohol, I found this particularly triggering but luckily looked up the content warnings. Proceed with caution if necessary,

Rosaline is a single mother who has entered a TV baking show with the hope of winning the prize money and becoming less reliant on her parents. Along the way there are her fellow contestants, who are not who they seem, so will Rosaline make the right choices?

An enjoyable read but I would have liked more of an epilogue to see what happened next

I'm not do sure how to feel about this one. It's not the book I expected. It's still quite interesting and expertly written, but, as far romances go, it's a bit anticlimactic.

Rosaline is a difficult main character to get into at first. She's headstrong and that can seem off-putting. But, quickly you realise how unfair it's to judge her, just because she is a woman used to speaking her own mind. If you do manage to give her change, you see that actually, she is a great female protagonist that is great a standing up for herself (even if she can't see herself clearly at first).

There's some sweetness to Rosaline PalmerTakes the Cake, but to get to the good stuff, there's quite a bit of tartness as well. Given this was inspired on the most idyllic TV Show there is (The Great British Bake Off) I was expecting more light and fluffy moments.

So, I'm conflicted. Yes, this was still a good read. Alexis Hall is great at creating an interesting narrative. And while I still recommend this book, just don't let the cute cover fool you.

I really enjoyed this book. It was the fun bake off inspired book I wanted it to be but it was also so much more than that!

We follow our main character Rosaline as she sets out to try and win a baking show so that she can provide for her daughter, there’s cakes and a meet cute or two along the way and it’s a joy to read.

What I really loved though was the deeper discussions within this book. Rosaline is a single mother who got pregnant at 19 and while she loves her daughter she still has questions about what her life would have been if she made different choices. She’s also a bisexual woman and this book does a great job at tackling the issues of fetishisation of bisexuality.

My only issue really was that there was a character that I really disliked (you were supposed to) and it just felt like it took way too long for their true nature to come to light. In contrast, there was a character I loved who I wish I could have seen more of.

Overall a great read that I just couldn’t put down!

I requested this book from Netgalley because I'd read Boyfriend Material last year and really enjoyed it. I was not disappointed.
Rosaline Palmer is a single mum who feels like she's failed at life - even though she's being a great mum to an awesome kid. On a whim, she enters Bake Expectations (which is GBBO by another name, really). The story charts her journey from being a shy and timorous newbie to a confident amateur baker, which her love life charting a course alongside the competition.

I enjoyed this book immensely and it made me chuckle out loud several times. It deals with some darker subjects (like sexual assault) as well - I particularly liked the way Rosaline dealt with the perpetrator of the assault when they called in the middle of the night to beg forgiveness. (It's very hard to talk about this without giving spoilers - so you're just going to have to read it yourself to find out what I'm on about).

All in all, it's a good fun book. There's a lot of cake in it (yay). There's even a few recipies, written in character, at the end.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the review copy.

Rosaline Palmer gave up her plans to go to university when she found out she was pregnant. She enters a TV baking competition in the hope that she can win the prize money. What she doesn't plan for is falling for two of the other contestants.

If you are a fan of The Great British Bake Off I think you will really enjoy this book. The book follows the format of the show with each week having a different baking theme. Rosaline is initially attracted to Alain who turns out to not be who she thought he was and then falls for Harry. I wasn't the biggest fan of the romance in this book sometimes love triangles work but they are not my favourite.

Overall this was a fun quick read. I enjoyed the baking element of this book.

I really enjoy Alexis Hall’s writing and this was no exception. This one read to me like a women’s fiction/romance cross, as Rosaline spends the majority of the book with Alain (a total arse). I love Rosaline’s growth throughout the novel and the realism of her life as a hard-working single mum. I loved the bake off setting and the secondary characters are brilliant and really funny. Mostly I loved Harry! I can totally see it being made for the screen!
Thanks to Little Brown Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

🍰 Bake-Off and Bisexuality 🍰

In a word: Charming 💗

Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake is my perfect cozy romance!

Like many, I assumed that Rosaline would be choosing between male and female love interests, when she's really stuck between a himbo and a knobhead!

I actually really liked this, as it could easily feel like she was choosing between genders as well as between people. It was more a journey of Rosaline learning her own worth, and getting a partner along the way.

Rosaline's bisexuality was woven into her history and her present, simply as a part of her. It doesn't matter that this a love story with male love interests, she is still bi.

Outside of the bi rep, there was some nice discussion about classism, parental expectations, and the sexualisation of bi women.

Bear in mind, this was deftly woven between scenes of whimsical competitive baking! Not the easiest feat, but Alexis Hall did it.

Rosaline comes across as real and as flawed, and as having good intentions. I really liked her and was happy to see her get an ending she deserved. She tries to be a good mother, and I actually really enjoyed the scenes with her daughter, who was just the right level of funny and precocious (I'm not normally a fan of little children in books).

It's worth noting there aren't any overt sex scenes, but I don't think it needed it. I think not having sex scenes makes this charming story more accessible to more people, and who would complain about that?!

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Thank you to the publisher @littlebrownbookgroup_uk, and Netgalley for providing me with an eArc in exchange for an honest review.