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barktea's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
blurrypetals's review
5.0
This was a complete fucking delight. Honestly, after this and Boyfriend Material, I think I would happily read just about anything by Alexis Hall at this point.
I didn't like this one quite as much as I did Boyfriend Material, but this was almost as charming, heartwarming, funny, and lovely. Rosaline's growth as a person cast against the backdrop of the baking competition makes for a legitimately tense yet rewarding journey, just as if I was watching a season of a television show with a ton of behind the scenes content.
The only reason I liked Boyfriend Material better is because the humor was a little more my style and I found the romance to be a lot more engaging. That said, this book really does have a good funny bone and the romance does turn out to be quite sweet and lovely.
I also thought this had some really nice and refreshing sentiments when it came to bisexuality, motherhood, and dating that I found to be very authentic and rewarding. I am excited to read another installment in this Winner Bakes All series and just as excited to dig into Hall's backlog!
I didn't like this one quite as much as I did Boyfriend Material, but this was almost as charming, heartwarming, funny, and lovely. Rosaline's growth as a person cast against the backdrop of the baking competition makes for a legitimately tense yet rewarding journey, just as if I was watching a season of a television show with a ton of behind the scenes content.
The only reason I liked Boyfriend Material better is because the humor was a little more my style and I found the romance to be a lot more engaging. That said, this book really does have a good funny bone and the romance does turn out to be quite sweet and lovely.
I also thought this had some really nice and refreshing sentiments when it came to bisexuality, motherhood, and dating that I found to be very authentic and rewarding. I am excited to read another installment in this Winner Bakes All series and just as excited to dig into Hall's backlog!
becreally's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ROSALINE PALMER TAKES THE CAKE features Rosaline, a single mom on a British baking show, falling for her fellow contestants and doting on her anglerfish-obsessed daughter. She needs the money, and hopes the resulting spotlight will lead to a lucrative cookbook-writing career. This is the first book in a series which seems slated to have different protagonists in each entry, with a fictionalized version of a particular British baking show as the connecting thread. This means that while I'm sure some sort of connecting lore will develop, I can, at least, assess this as if it's a stand-alone book. It isn't trying to leave anything in particular to be resolved later (except that there will be another season of the show), and this story wraps up on schedule.
I was very glad to read about a bisexual protagonist who gets a narrative which doesn't treat her identity as a spectacle. Rosaline does, however, have to deal with some biphobia and some truly awful behavior. One of the potential love interests slowly becomes more and more unpleasant as the show continues, in a way which allows for several possible moments where a reader can realize that something is wrong and this isn't just a choice between two perfectly fine relationship options. I don't want to spoil how things go, but the slow escalation of toxic behavior is a really great example of how this kind of person can stay in someone's life well past the first warning sign, depending on what other pressures and stressors are in play. I've seen some other reviews which were upset at Rosaline for not realizing how bad this person was much earlier, and this frustrated me, because they seemed to not understand the narrative arc and her growth as a character. The book would have been dull and half the length if she'd immediately known who to end up with and just gotten there fast. Instead, her slow realization highlights how insidious classism can be, particularly the way that this person got past her guard because he engaged in the "acceptable" forms of bigotry. By not having Rosaline perfectly clock this person as a socially-adept asshole, there's room for her to have an arc of realization and struggle over how to deal with this new information.
Part of Rosaline's story off-camera is renegotiating her relationship with her parents. They have this idea of who she could have been which is incompatible with who she is, and she's felt bad that she didn't have the career they envisioned because she had Amelie instead. She doesn't regret her daughter, and doesn't particularly seem to long for a career in medicine, but it's hard to be settled and confident in the life she actually has when there's never enough money and her parents don't let her forget for an instant how much they've done to help her make both ends meet.
Things I love, in no particular order: Amelie and her various interests (I also loved anglerfish when I was a kid); the process of filming the baking show; the other cast members; Rosaline's relationship with her ex-girlfriend/best friend.
I was very glad to read about a bisexual protagonist who gets a narrative which doesn't treat her identity as a spectacle. Rosaline does, however, have to deal with some biphobia and some truly awful behavior. One of the potential love interests slowly becomes more and more unpleasant as the show continues, in a way which allows for several possible moments where a reader can realize that something is wrong and this isn't just a choice between two perfectly fine relationship options. I don't want to spoil how things go, but the slow escalation of toxic behavior is a really great example of how this kind of person can stay in someone's life well past the first warning sign, depending on what other pressures and stressors are in play. I've seen some other reviews which were upset at Rosaline for not realizing how bad this person was much earlier, and this frustrated me, because they seemed to not understand the narrative arc and her growth as a character. The book would have been dull and half the length if she'd immediately known who to end up with and just gotten there fast. Instead, her slow realization highlights how insidious classism can be, particularly the way that this person got past her guard because he engaged in the "acceptable" forms of bigotry. By not having Rosaline perfectly clock this person as a socially-adept asshole, there's room for her to have an arc of realization and struggle over how to deal with this new information.
Part of Rosaline's story off-camera is renegotiating her relationship with her parents. They have this idea of who she could have been which is incompatible with who she is, and she's felt bad that she didn't have the career they envisioned because she had Amelie instead. She doesn't regret her daughter, and doesn't particularly seem to long for a career in medicine, but it's hard to be settled and confident in the life she actually has when there's never enough money and her parents don't let her forget for an instant how much they've done to help her make both ends meet.
Things I love, in no particular order: Amelie and her various interests (I also loved anglerfish when I was a kid); the process of filming the baking show; the other cast members; Rosaline's relationship with her ex-girlfriend/best friend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual assault, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Alcohol, Biphobia, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Mental illness, and Sexual content
Minor: Racism and Infidelity
sara_cornelia's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Y pues bueno, el libro nos cuenta la historia de Rosalind Palmer, una mujer joven, madre soltera de una niña de ocho años atrapada en un dead end job y con padres, ambos doctores, que no terminan de aprobar las decisiones que tomó hace años cuando decidió dejar de estudiar medicina para tener a su hija y cuidarla por sí misma a sus 19 años de edad. Con el trabajo que tiene, Rosalind a veces tiene problemas económicos que la hacen tener que recurrir a sus papás, que siempre la ayudan pero siempre le reclaman, entonces con la esperanza de mejorar su situación económica y no tener que depender de sus padres, Rosalind se apunta a participar en Bake Expectations, el reality show de preparación de postres más famoso de Inglaterra, y pues obvio que durante la grabación del programa tiene su propio triángulo amoroso y tiene que cuestionarse muchas cosas sobre sí misma y su vida.
Y como dije, tenía mis dudas con respecto a este libro, pero al final de cuentas salió de la mente de Alexis Hall y amo todo lo que escribe Alexis Hall, hasta la fecha no hay un solo libro de él que haya leído y no me haya gustado.
Algo que me pareció raro fue que este es el primer libro (que yo leo de Alexis Hall) donde hay una relación entre un hombre y una mujer (no sé por qué pensé que este era un libro sáfico lol) sin embargo me gustó mucho que a pesar de eso, el libro se sigue sintiendo queer. Nuestra protagonista Rosalind es bisexual y su mejor amiga (claro que su ex lesbiana, ¿quién más?) hacen que este libro se sienta fresco y queer, a pesar de que la relación principal es entre un hombre y una mujer, además me gustó mucho que por lo general, cuando he leído libros de mujeres bisexuales, como que la gran mayoría de los casos solo se siente como un character trait, y en el caso de Rosalind, me gustó que forma parte de su identidad y de su manera de ver la vida y hacer su vida. Es una parte vital de quien es y me encantó poder leer un personaje así.
En cuanto al romance, creo que esa es la parte más floja del libro, o al menos la que menos me convenció. Rosalind conoce primero a este hombre Alain con quien tiene un meet cute y empiezan a salir. Toda su relación con Alain está basada en el hecho de que Rosalind piensa que así debió de ser su vida, Alain es un arquitecto exitoso, hombre culto, que sus padres aprueban y que cultiva sus propias especias y toda la cosa. Alain ve en Rosalind todo lo que ella pudiera haber sido de haberse quedado en la escuela si su hija no estuviera presente. Y a Rosalind eso le gusta, al menos al principio, alguien que vea su potencial y que no la de por perdida. Sin embargo, pronto nos damos cuenta de que Alain la tiene idealizada y piensa que es esta chica salvaje y carefree que fácilmente puede volver a acomodar su vida por el rumbo que se supone debía llevar. El problema es que Rosalind no quiere acomodar su vida.
Y es aquí cuando entra Harry, un electricista (mucho más guapo que Alain) que viene de una familia más humilde, que no tiene una educación de Oxford, ni ha leído a Shakespeare y que le dice “love” a todas las chicas que se cruza y usa la palabra “bird” para referirse a ellas. Desde el momento en el que Rosalind conoce a Harry, lo encasilla en este estereotipo de hombre heterosexual que piensa que respeta a las mujeres pero en realidad no lo hace, sin embargo, conforme más se van conociendo, y más van aprendiendo el uno del otro, Rosalind se da cuenta de lo equivocada que estaba con Harry, que resulta ser un hombre más cálido y sensato y sensible de lo que se imaginó.
Desde el principio del libro podemos darnos cuenta de que Alain no es el indicado para Rosalind (incluso sin leer la sinopsis, que en realidad solo leí muy por encima y al parecer mal porque creí que era un libro lesbiano y no) pero no es hasta mucho mucho más adelante cuando nos damos cuenta de lo basura y asqueroso que es, y creo que ese fue mi mayor problema con el libro, que Rosalind pasa más del 70% del libro con Alain.
Y no es que Harry no aparezca hasta el final, sino que durante la gran mayoría del libro solo son amigos, y no creo que esté mal, de hecho me gustó y me parece algo necesario, pero si bien hay grandes momentos de amigos entre ellos, romance romance, no hay casi más que al final, y me frustraba un poco al leer que Rosalind seguía con el mugroso Alain teniendo a alguien como Harry que estaba listo para una cosa bien con ella.
Pero como dije, al final de cuentas este es un libro de Alexis Hall y él nunca me ha fallado, entonces a pesar de que el romance, si bien lindo, no me pareció de otro mundo, leer la historia de Rosalind me gustó mucho y siento que necesitaba leer a un personaje así, con una vida completamente diferente de la que se supone que estaba destinada a vivir, una vida que se supone ella debería detestar, y que precisamente por esto nunca se ha atrevido a aceptar la realidad de que le gusta su vida, de que es feliz, y tiene que aprender que está bien ser feliz con poco, está bien ser feliz sin tener una educación universitaria, está bien ser feliz sin ser doctora, está bien ser feliz en una casa que no tiene dos cuartos de dibujo, que no tiene ni uno, y está bien ser feliz con un hombre que dice “me mum” en vez de “my mother” (Harry hermoso mi novio te amo).
Así que en conclusión, si bien no es el mejor libro de Alexis Hall, lo disfruté y me gustó, no me arrepiento en absoluto, y creo que solo refuerza la idea de que Alexis Hall es mi escritor favorito de romance. Le doy punto 5 extra por Harry (especialmente la escena en la que golpea a Alain, digo, no estoy a favor de la violencia but that was hot)
caetiecakes's review against another edition
5.0
This book had me audibly laughing out loud. Great British Bake Off Romance with Love Island banter!
cate_aclysm's review against another edition
4.0
There is a reading group discussion question at the end of the book (regarding a shit character being total shit) "If you realized early, could you at least sympathize with Rosaline's reason for taking longer?"
And, honestly, it has been really hard. I did realize early; once the character went from just a little catty to being a mean jerk to another character, and I'm really struggling to find a way to justify Rosaline just accepting that as okay. To treat anyone like that.
It's like the old litmus test of being cruel to the waitstaff.
Sure, she would eventually start having doubts, but she also had her own preconceived notions on class that, I think, meant that she was kind of okay with some incredibly rude things. Perhaps because she thought a little similarly. (It makes me so sad. It makes me not like her more than a little.)
I'm also not British; I'm an American immigrant with an accent who long ago accepted the truth of what her mother once stated as "the worst thing about having an accent is that people assume that you also have an accent in your brain".
(And I'm also incredibly lucky to have always had the privilege of, and never having a problem with, telling shitty people to fuck right off.)
So, yeah, I wanted to like this a little bit more than I do. I wanted to love it and the protagonist more. But I'm just too flawed to accept all of her flaws.
natalie_is_reading's review against another edition
4.0
I don’t read too many “romance” books but I loved the idea of a baking GBBO themed one and I actually really enjoyed this! I think there could have been more baking but it was cute and I devoured it in 2 days! Also perfectly timed with my Great British Bake Off Renaissance (I have started watching again and potentially even baking a bit?)
nay09's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
reillyharr82's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0