This is the second book I’ve read by Alexis Hall, and it’s safe to say that I was very excited about it. There was part of me that was a little nervous. I loved Boyfriend Material because it read like lad-lit. And this book definitely has chick-lit vibes about it. But I was unsure that it was going to work this time.
I wasn’t disappointed. I read this book in a single night. It wasn’t as much of a favourite as Boyfriend Material. But I still adored it.
Rosaline Palmer is a single mum, who deciding she needed to do something with her life. Entered a baking competition. There she meets two attractive guys, deals with her own family and has to work hard to win it all.
This book was very funny. That should come as no one’s surprise. I know that bits and pieces will have been changed in the American version, and I’m curious about that. But this was a very British baking show book.
I did really like the characters. Rosaline was sweet, if a little bit of a pushover at first. And Amelie was the cutest kid. She was weird, and fun and she clearly loves her mum a lot. I did love that there was plenty of commentary on Rosaline’s sexuality. It seems that a lot of the time, bi people get the sharp end of the stick. Which isn’t fair. And it was good to see some of those issues popping up in a book like this.
The love interests and romance were a little bit predictable. I had issues with one of the guys from the start, and seconds before a certain scene happened, I said it would. But these kinds of novels can be very formulaic, so I can’t hold that against it. Not when I had such a good time reading it. But the other love interest was a proper sweetie, and I think I’d probably fancy him myself.
It being a baking show book, there was obviously a lot of talk about cakes. It made me hungry, even if some of the cakes weren’t to my taste. So, I do recommend reading this with some snacks. And not at like 2AM when you shouldn’t be eating… Ahem
This book did have a lot of skips during the week. Which is fine. The competition was only at the weekend, and you’d skip a lot of her day to day life anyway. But I would have liked to see a little more of it. Maybe a little bit more contact between her and the contestants other than love interests throughout the week. Some of them are clearly good friends of hers by the end of the book. So that made it seem a little huh.
As that was kind of my issue. There were a couple of really good friendship scenes. But there weren’t many. I’d liked to have seen the friendships that were built up, built up a little more than they were.
Overall, this was a solid book. Very fun and I look forward to seeing what the next competition holds.
4/5 Stars
Title: Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake
Author: Alexis Hall
Genre: Romance
Age Range: Adult
Publisher: Piatkus
Release Date: 05/08/2021
BUY LINKS
Lace and Dagger Books 