Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble by Alexis Hall
Product Details
Web ID: 15255798Lovely queer rom com
This plot of this book is basically two queer men (one of which is Muslim & saving himself for marriage) going on a bake-off show (similar to GBBO) and fall in love. Along the way, Paris deals with extreme mental health struggles and Tariq learns a lot about himself. The descriptions of Paris’s internal dialogue (fueled by anxiety) are almost TOO relatable. I really enjoyed this even though it was too long for my taste. I love Alexis’s writing and stories but the length of the books get to me!! I liked the balance of scenes on and offset of the cooking show - I think it would have been too much if it was all on the show set. Definitely recommend if you like longer books and are looking for a funny, relatable love story! CWs: mental illness, anxiety/panic attacks, abandonment, racism, Islamophobia, homophobia
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
heartfelt and funny with a LOT of anxiety rep
This book took me longer to finish than any book (that I was actively reading) in recent memory. I started and finished several others before managing to finish this one and that is because it was incredibly emotionally difficult for me to read. I related to Paris too hard, you see, and so I spent most of the book cringing hard out of second-hand embarrassment. This book is an incredibly accurate portrayal of mental illness - specifically anxiety that gets so bad it runs your life before you realize it. I've been there. Anxiety isn't my only mental illness, but it has loomed very large in my life and so I felt everything Paris was feeling on a very visceral level. Case-in-point: even though it was a struggle for me to read, I was wracked with anxiety and guilt the entire time because I love this author and I really did enjoy this book and had intended to finish and review it before publication and... well, it's a month past publication date now so you can see how that's going. My thoughts at 50%: "I am making such painfully slow progress through this book and I feel so guilty about it because I'd meant to finish and review it, gods, weeks ago now. And the thing is, it's not that I'm not enjoying it or something. It's so so good. It's funny and relatable and secondhand-embarassment-inducing because gods Paris is basically me. And it's painful to see the worst of yourself in print. I love it." I am SO glad that Paris learned strategies to cope with his anxiety, as well as started medication for it. It's so clear that he *is* so much better by the end. Still dealing with it, but actually dealing with it rather than flailing about and crying about everything and being terrified of everything and feeling guilty about everything. I also loved the group therapy sessions and the way Paris implements all the strategies for coping with his anxiety. Tariq is adorable and while he certainly wasn't perfect in their relationship I am glad for the way the book ended. They have the potential to be really, really good together, now that they both know where they stand and can really see each other. I really enjoyed the reality baking show framework, and the other contestants were great. And the Daves. And Morag. Really, all the characters were such... individuals. They were 100% themselves and that is my favorite kind of character. In some ways, I think it was good for me to read this. Because I can look back on my former (un-medicated and un-therapied) self and really see what went wrong in my relationships as I was growing up and all the ways my brain lied to me. Which is why it was SO important to see Paris getting better at realizing when his brain is lying and how to deal with it. We see his thoughts and the anxiety trying to take over and the way he can combat that (with effort). I had no idea how much this book would affect me emotionally. I mean, intellectually I knew it involved anxiety, but I underestimated how difficult it would be. I have struggled with anxiety my whole life but have spent the last 15 years coming to terms with it and learning to manage it. My husband has only recently really begun that journey, as has my kid. Anxiety is practically another member of my family, in other words. And sometimes it's hard to see something that is such a big part of your existence. It's had to see it, as in it's almost invisible it's so prevalent. But also hard to see it, as in it physically hurts to watch it play out and recognize how prevalent it is. Watching Paris apologize incessantly about things he really didn't need to apologize for was a lot. I saw myself, and my husband, and my kid in that. Again the second-hand embarrassment was intense. Even though this book was very much about Paris' anxiety, it was also a funny story about a baking competition, and a relationship that had problems and obstacles but was also so incredibly sweet. I love Alexis Hall's way with words, and his ability to create touching but also hilarious moments. His characters always feel so well-developed and real that they try to jump off the page, and this was no exception. I loved them all. (Except Catherine Parr and maybe Gretchen.) I haven't read the previous Bake Expectations book yet, but it didn't impede my enjoyment of this story. I hope to get to it soon (and hope it's not quite so emotionally difficult to read). I received a review copy of this book.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Exhausting
I was exhausted by the time I finished this book. There were things that I did like about the book but it wasn’t the romantic escape that I had hoped it would be. A big part of my issues may have been that I was expecting an entirely different book than the one that I got. I had hoped for a nice romance but instead, I felt like I spent the entire novel in Paris’s head dealing with his anxiety. Paris is a contestant on a baking show, Bake Expectations, where he meets Tariq. Paris deals with a lot of anxiety so being on the show is a lot for him. We spend the book in Paris’s mind so we know all of his worries, insecurities, and doubts. I think that mental health is incredibly important but so much of this book is repetitive and predictable that it just wasn’t all that enjoyable. I honestly spend enough time in my own mind dealing with my own insecurities that I just couldn’t handle the constant stream of it coming from Paris. I did like Tariq and really appreciated the fact that he is Muslim. I liked that he held true to his beliefs and his religion played such an important role in the story. Tariq’s roommates were a lot of fun and there were some truly funny moments in the book. I didn’t really feel any between Paris and Tariq so it was really hard to get excited by the romantic aspect of the story. I listened to the audiobook and thought that Ewan Goddard did a great job with the story. I liked the voices that he used for the various characters and I thought that he added a lot of emotion to his reading. I thought that he had a very pleasant voice which made it easy to listen to this book for hours at a time. I do feel that his narration added to my enjoyment of the story. I think that a lot of readers will like this one a lot more than I did. I thought that the story did have some great moments but I found the bulk of the story to be tiring as a reader just looking for a bit of entertainment. I do hope to read more of this author’s work in the future. I received a digital review copy of this book from Forever and purchased a copy of the audiobook.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Love + Growth + Baking
In Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble, Alexis Hall serves up human emotion and personal journeys wrapped in humorous touches. He isn’t afraid to take on mental health issues. And this time, Hall puts Paris’s anxiety on display against the backdrop of reality show Bake Expectations and a budding romance with a fellow contestant. In true Alexis Hall fashion, it is a touching, tender-hearted, grinning, and grimacing experience with a mix of the light and the heavy. I adored it, and I found myself wanting to wrap Paris up in a warm hug. With a shove from his extroverted and assertive roommate, Paris, full of talent and low on self-esteem, finds himself enrolled as a contestant on his favorite baking show, but perhaps it is a bit too much. His anxiety levels ramp up; he goes into thought spirals; and he does not have proper coping mechanisms in place. While there is a romance plot included, its primary purpose is more relationship building and to support self-discovery than to make you swoon. What can the characters learn about themselves from the relationship? This book embraces the concept of the importance of representation—of people seeing themselves—in works of fiction. For me, it was filled with multiple “Wait: it’s not just me” moments that made me feel more seen and less alone. Lest you think this one is too heavy, please be assured that there is plenty of Alexis Hall banter and British humor in the book as well. This is the second book in the Winner Bakes All series but could be read as a standalone. I recommend reading Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake first, though, so that you have the background and lay of the land on the former contestants, crew, and location associated with the show Bake Expectations. I hope you choose to open your arms to embrace Paris Daillencourt like I did. Representation: Mental health (anxiety), Muslim, LGBTQ Please check content warnings. I received an advance copy from Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Delicious New Installment
Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble follows anxiety-ridden Paris as he navigates a season of Bake Expectations. When his roommate enters him into the running for the baking show, Paris assumes he’ll never get in. When he does and starts to win, he is absolutely shocked. Almost as shocked as when the stunning contestant Tariq takes an interest in him. But Paris has been living with untreated anxiety for a long time now, and Bake Expectations creates the perfect storm. Will Paris be able to manage his anxiety as the pressure mounts? I absolutely love Alexis Hall and will read anything he writes. I’m also a fan of the real Great British Bake-Off, so I really enjoy this series. That said, Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble deals with very serious anxiety. It was so difficult to watch Paris self-sabotage and endlessly apologize for existing. Alexis Hall creates a good balance between the joy of baking, the newness of his connection with Tariq, and his difficult struggle with mental health. I was happy to see what Paris ended up deciding in the end and the resources he used. My favorite part was the descriptions of the baking competition and I wish there had been just a little more romance. However, I think it also makes sense that Paris cannot truly engage in romance or a relationship until he is able to take care of himself better. Alexis Hall is an incredibly witty and thoughtful writer. I can’t wait to see what Alexis Hall writes next and look forward to reading literally anything he writes…grocery lists included!!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
emotionally heavy read
PARIS DAILLENCOURT IS ABOUT TO CRUMBLE is a story about struggling with anxiety and the path to seeking help. Paris is unaware that he is completely anxious, but he feels it every minute of every day. He has entered the baking competition, Bake Expectations, with the expectation that in no way would he ever have a chance of winning. That feeling doesn't change when he wins the first competition, and he spends most of the time crying on camera. On the first day, he accidentally hits another contestant, Tariq, with the fridge door. Tariq is very cute and luckily very understanding, while Paris falls all over himself to apologize. He ends their discussion with worries that Tariq would think he was being inappropriate and over-corrects into saying he would never date him, something that would not be true. As they get to know each other, their relationship is consumed by Paris's own fears and insecurities that are also consuming himself too. As the competition heats up, so does Paris's anxiety. When it all comes to a head, Paris is left alone, lonely, and finally gets the wake up call that he needs to seek some help. This was a really heavy read, as the reader lives inside Paris's head, and Paris spends all of his time consumed by worries and fears. The escalation and then recovery doesn't happen until close to the end of the book, so it ends up being very intense and suffocating, much like Paris feels about his own mind. The romance definitely falls to the wayside in the wake of Paris's anxiety. It could have been helpful to see Tariq's perspective as well, as this would give the reader some distance from the intensity of anxious thoughts and to really get more into the romance. Tariq was also a great character in his own right, as a gay Muslim who is proud of his identity, has an awesome family we get to meet once, and has a comical living situation of so many Daves. However, it was tough to really get to know him, just as Paris does not really get to know him, as Paris's anxiety is an onslaught. The book did feel true to anxiety and captures the necessity of seeking help and the importance of talking about mental illness so that those with it can know how to find help. The last part of the book was really strong as well as Paris seeks help. I did go into this expecting a romance, but this did not really feel like one. It was more of a character-driven journey through mental illness and recovery. Other smaller themes are around prejudice towards orientation and race (from another contestant and social media), embracing identity, how to discuss topics around identity/religion/boundaries, and parental negligence/absenteeism. Overall, this was an emotionally heavy read about mental illness and recovery set around a baking show. I would recommend for people who appreciate character-driven and emotionally-laden stories. Please note that I received an ARC. All opinions are my own.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Love on bake-off
Imagine two guys went on Great British Bake Off and fell in love? It’s this book. Alexis Hall is magnificent at writing wonderfully complex characters with huge depth of personality, and I loved reading about Paris and Tariq both on and off the show. Main character Paris has a lot of anxiety issues and while my anxiety isn’t as severe, it was still very relatable. Highly recommend this book!!!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Somewhat sad...somewhat hopeful
Paris is a contestant on a British baking show. He’s very talented but suffers from crippling anxiety. So much so that his thoughts become a constant self-sabotage. He meets Tariq while filming the show. Tariq is sparkling in personality, and confident in who he is and in his abilities. But their relationship starts off on a shaky foundation. While I enjoyed this book, it wasn’t always enjoyable to read (if that makes sense). He’s a very sad character, with a very lonely life. While there is a hopeful ending, Paris’ mental health journey is far from over. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com