Review: Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble

Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble

Alexis Hall

Publication Date: October 18, 2022

Paperback, 368 pages, Forever

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, LGBTQ+

Goodreads

 

From the bestselling author of Boyfriend Material comes a sweet and scrumptious romantic comedy about facing your insecurities, finding love, and baking it off, no matter what people say.

 

Paris Daillencourt is a recipe for disaster. Despite his passion for baking, his cat, and his classics degree, constant self-doubt and second-guessing have left him a curdled, directionless mess. So when his roommate enters him in Bake Expectations, the nation’s favourite baking show, Paris is sure he’ll be the first one sent home.

 

But not only does he win week one’s challenge—he meets fellow contestant Tariq Hassan. Sure, he’s the competition, but he’s also cute and kind, with more confidence than Paris could ever hope to have. Still, neither his growing romance with Tariq nor his own impressive bakes can keep Paris’s fear of failure from spoiling his happiness. And when the show’s vicious fanbase confirms his worst anxieties, Paris’s confidence is torn apart quicker than tear-and-share bread.

 

But if Paris can find the strength to face his past, his future, and the chorus of hecklers that live in his brain, he’ll realize it’s the sweet things in life that he really deserves.

My Review

Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble has a really long title for such a quick read. It's also the second book in a companion series, which I didn't know when I requested it for review. Thankfully, though, you don't need to know anything about book one to enjoy book two. So if you like baking, complicated romance, deep topics, and reality TV shows, Paris might be for you.

Paris, unsurprisingly, follows the main character Paris Daillencourt, a university student, as he goes through a popular baking show competition. Unfortunately for Paris, his insecurity, accident-proneness, and tendency to overreact and overthink things leads to some chaotic times. But all this chaos does lead to Paris having a fun meet-cute with a certain fellow baking competitor, Tariq. Tariq is kind of a ball of sunshine and positivity.

Despite this book being classified as a romcom, it does have its deeper moments between the two main characters, as well as between Paris and his family and friends. So if you're looking for a purely happy book, this one may not be for you. Paris does have a lot of anxiety, and, honestly, if I'd been in a bad headspace while I was reading this, I could've seen myself spiraling a little. So trigger warning there. However, some of the relationship drama that plays out I don't think is entirely Paris's or his anxiety's fault. Tariq has his mess-up moments too..

All in all, though, if you liked Boyfriend Material or any of Alexis Hall's other stories, this is a nice one to add to your TBR, as long as you're in the right state of mind to read it. It's quick, full of goodies that'll make you crave sweets of all kinds, and layered with a story about mental health and an emotionally complex romance to lead to a semi-happily ever after.

*Note: I received a NetGalley ARC of this book to review from the publisher. This in no way affected my opinion/review.

Review: From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon

From Twinkle, with Love

Sandhya Menon

Publication Date: May 22, 2018

Hardcover, 330 pages, Simon Pulse

Genres: YA, Contemporary

Goodreads

An aspiring teen filmmaker finds her voice and falls in love in this delightful romantic comedy from the New York Times bestselling author of When Dimple Met Rishi.

Aspiring filmmaker and wallflower Twinkle Mehra has stories she wants to tell and universes she wants to explore, if only the world would listen. So when fellow film geek Sahil Roy approaches her to direct a movie for the upcoming Summer Festival, Twinkle is all over it. The chance to publicly showcase her voice as a director? Dream come true. The fact that it gets her closer to her longtime crush, Neil Roy-a.k.a. Sahil's twin brother? Dream come true x 2.

When mystery man N begins emailing her, Twinkle is sure it's Neil, finally ready to begin their happily-ever-after. The only slightly inconvenient problem is that, in the course of movie-making, she's fallen madly in love with the irresistibly adorkable Sahil.

Twinkle soon realizes that resistance is futile: The romance she's got is not the one she's scripted. But will it be enough?

Told through the letters Twinkle writes to her favorite female filmmakers, From Twinkle, with Love navigates big truths about friendship, family, and the unexpected places love can find you.

My Review

I find myself in a weird position when it comes to Sandhya Menon’s young adult contemporary books. While I absolutely love her ideas and the family dynamics she creates for her characters, I feel like Menon just misses the mark when it comes to delving into the coolest parts of her story ideas—the character’s projects. In this book, it’s Twinkle’s short film (though I’m not sure how original her project actually was), and in Menon’s previous book, it was Dimple’s coding project. Both didn’t get the amount of page time I desired.

I pushed my disappointment for that aside, however, because I do really enjoy Menon’s main characters. They’re super realistic. I very much empathized with Twinkle and how crappy her friend was treating her. But Twinkle isn’t innocent in it all. She made some bad decisions and got a little full of herself. The side characters, including Twinkle’s friend, were very annoying, unfortunately. I’m not sure if it’s just because I’m not in high school anymore or if they’re really just all bad friends and people. I can’t say. I can say that to me, they seemed annoying and selfish.

I did like the love interest, Sahil. He was cute and a disaster. He did kind of let himself be pushed around a lot, though. The one time he did snap, I questioned if he was really a good guy or not because it was just such a weird thing to get mad about. But again, these are teenagers. Irrational, hormonal, awkward teenagers. Yikes. Twinkle and Sahil are still charming together, and I wish we’d gotten more time with their relationship, as well as for both of their families. The familial aspects of the story didn’t really seem finished, sadly.

So overall, I’m conflicted with this one. I LOVE Menon’s ability to build characters who are unique with unique dreams and goals and families and friends, but I always feel like there’s something missing by the end of the book. They’re all still fun reads, though, and I think I’ll pick up the companion novels eventually. This is huge considering I don’t read YA contemporary very often anymore.

Review: The Bromance Book Club

The Bromance Book Club

Lyssa Kay Adams

(Bromance Book Club #1)

Publication Date: November 5, 2019

Paperback, 352 pages, Inkyard Press

Genres: Adult, Contemporary Romance

Goodreads

The first rule of book club: You don't talk about book club.

Nashville Legends second baseman Gavin Scott's marriage is in major league trouble. He’s recently discovered a humiliating secret: his wife Thea has always faked the Big O. When he loses his cool at the revelation, it’s the final straw on their already strained relationship. Thea asks for a divorce, and Gavin realizes he’s let his pride and fear get the better of him.

Welcome to the Bromance Book Club.

Distraught and desperate, Gavin finds help from an unlikely source: a secret romance book club made up of Nashville's top alpha men. With the help of their current read, a steamy Regency titled Courting the Countess, the guys coach Gavin on saving his marriage. But it'll take a lot more than flowery words and grand gestures for this hapless Romeo to find his inner hero and win back the trust of his wife.

My Review

I kept hearing about this book. It’s been everywhere. There’s so much hype. And while it was a fun concept with good characters, it unfortunately didn’t live up to the hype. Mostly because of the ending, but I’ll get to that in a bit.

Gavin, the professional baseball player, and Thea, a stay-at-home mom, are the main couple of this first installment in the Bromance Book Club series. They’re on the verge of divorce, and their twin daughters are caught in the middle. Unfortunately, these characters didn’t communicate as much as I wanted them to. Their interactions were always very surface level for two people who are trying to work out their marriage. I know Thea was resistant to the idea of Gavin and her getting back together, but she never really talked to Gavin about her issues. And, like Gavin, she DOES have issues. She lied to her partner for years about their sex life. YEARS. I don’t understand why that wasn’t made a bigger deal of than the author made it. Everyone kind of laughed it off and blamed Gavin for not paying attention, but she LIED TO HIM. Yeesh.

Thea is a decent female lead, despite her lie. She’s very protective of Gavin and her family, but it did take way too long for her to face her fears. And Gavin, while he tried so hard, seemed to leave things unsaid by the end of the book. Overall, the ending was just wrapped up too quickly. It was kind of corny in a rom-com way, and it just wasn’t satisfactory for a couple that has so many issues to work out.

Basically, the beginning of the book only focused on Gavin’s flaws instead of both characters’ flaws. It really bothered me. Yes, The Bromance Book Club was cute and emotional at times (mostly because of the daughters and family unit), but more communication was needed overall. I understand romance books aren’t always the best at displaying healthy relationships in a realistic way, but it just needed more. So yes, the book club idea is super intriguing, but it didn’t play as big of a role as I was lead to believe. Additionally, the excerpt from the novel Gavin is reading just interrupted the main storyline. Nothing was really added by including them that exposition couldn’t solve.

Overall, The Bromance Book Club provides a unique concept, but the cliché and mediocre ending left more to be desired. A true bummer, in my opinion, though I did read the entire thing in the span of 24 hours. Maybe I’ll read book two. Maybe not. I’m leaning more towards not.

*Note: I purchased a copy of this book myself. This in no way affected my opinion/review.

Stacking the Shelves: The Overbudget Bromance Edition

 "Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly haul meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality. It allows book buyers to share their accumulation of books with the online book-loving community.

I bought a book. I bought a book even though I’m on a book-buying budget. *sigh*

The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

I recently finished The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune, and it was so very good. Unfortunately, I was feeling slumpy since I didn’t have anything on my immediate TBR that was drawing my interest after reading, so I made an impulse buy via Kindle. The Bromance Book Club is one I’ve had my eye on for a while. I ended up reading it in less than 12 hours.

What books have you bought/received lately?

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade

 "Can’t-Wait Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted over at Wishful Endings, that spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, what's really got my pages in a twist is...

Spoiler Alert

Olivia Dade

Publication Date: October 6, 2020

Paperback, 320 pages, Avon

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Goodreads

Olivia Dade bursts onto the scene in this delightfully fun romantic comedy set in the world of fanfiction, in which a devoted fan goes on an unexpected date with her celebrity crush, who’s secretly posting fanfiction of his own.

Marcus Caster-Rupp has a secret. While the world knows him as Aeneas, the star of the biggest show on TV, Gods of the Gates, he's known to fanfiction readers as Book!AeneasWouldNever, an anonymous and popular poster.  Marcus is able to get out his own frustrations with his character through his stories, especially the ones that feature the internet’s favorite couple to ship, Aeneas and Lavinia. But if anyone ever found out about his online persona, he’d be fired. Immediately.

April Whittier has secrets of her own. A hardcore Lavinia fan, she’s hidden her fanfiction and cosplay hobby from her “real life” for years—but not anymore. When she decides to post her latest Lavinia creation on Twitter, her photo goes viral. Trolls and supporters alike are commenting on her plus-size take, but when Marcus, one half of her OTP, sees her pic and asks her out on a date to spite her critics, she realizes life is really stranger than fanfiction.

Even though their first date is a disaster, Marcus quickly realizes that he wants much more from April than a one-time publicity stunt. And when he discovers she’s actually Unapologetic Lavinia Stan, his closest fandom friend, he has one more huge secret to hide from her.

With love and Marcus’s career on the line, can the two of them stop hiding once and for all, or will a match made in fandom end up prematurely cancelled?

My Thoughts

I feel like this is a fanfiction story about the actors in Game of Thrones. Obviously, the TV show the character works on won’t be GoT, but it’s close enough to make me really curious. I do know that these “fanfiction” type stories can sometimes go very, very bad, like that icky book written about the misconstrued Supernatural convention years ago and the awful Destiel ship wars that have made it hard to even enjoy the fandom anymore. But I digress. Spoiler Alert seems cute, but I’m debating on whether or not I should buy a physical copy of this one versus an ebook copy. I like the cover, but I tend to not keep contemporaries unless I truly love them. I’m conflicted.

What book are you waiting for this Wednesday?

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Fence: Striking Distance

 "Can’t-Wait Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted over at Wishful Endings, that spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, what's really got my pages in a twist is...

Fence: Striking Distance

Sarah Rees Brennan

Publication Date: September 29, 2020

Hardcover, 368 pages, Little, Brown Books

Genres: YA, LGBTQ+, Contemporary

Goodreads

The boys of Kings Row bout with drama, rivalry, and romance in this original YA novel by The New York Times bestselling author Sarah Rees Brennan--inspired by the award-nominated comic series by C.S. Pacat and Johanna The Mad.

Sixteen-year-old Nicholas Cox is the illegitimate son of a retired fencing champion who dreams of getting the proper training he could never afford. After earning a place on the elite Kings Row fencing team, Nicholas must prove himself to his rival, Seiji Katayma, and navigate the clashes, friendships, and relationships between his teammates on the road to state championships--where Nicholas might finally have the chance to spar with his golden-boy half-brother.

Coach Williams decides to take advantage of the boys' morale after a recent victory and assigns them a course of team building exercises to further deepen their bonds. It takes a shoplifting scandal, a couple of moonlit forest strolls, several hilariously bad dates, and a whole lot of introspection for the team to realize they are stronger together than they could ever be apart.

The first installment of this enticing original YA novel series by Sarah Rees Brennan, rich with casual diversity and queer self-discovery, explores never-before-seen drama inspired by C.S. Pacat's critically acclaimed Fence comic series and boasts original cover and interior art by Johanna The Mad.

My Thoughts

I had no idea there was going to be a novelization of the Fence graphic novels by C.S. Pacat. I adored Pacat’s adult fantasy trilogy, so I was curious about her next works. Unfortunately, I don’t really like graphic novels, so I missed out on her new endeavors. I’m simply not a picture person; I like words better. Needless to say, I am uber excited I don’t have to miss out now. I am a little hesitant that it’s not Pacat who’s writing this. While I’ve enjoyed some works by Brennan, she’s not an author I’ve closely followed.

What book are you waiting for this Wednesday?

Review: Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann

Let’s Talk About Love

Claire Kann

Publication Date: January 23, 2018

Hardcover, 288 pages, Swoon Reads

Genres: YA/NA, Contemporary

Goodreads

Alice had her whole summer planned. Non-stop all-you-can-eat buffets while marathoning her favorite TV shows (best friends totally included) with the smallest dash of adulting--working at the library to pay her share of the rent. The only thing missing from her perfect plan? Her girlfriend (who ended things when Alice confessed she's asexual). Alice is done with dating--no thank you, do not pass go, stick a fork in her, done.

But then Alice meets Takumi and she can’t stop thinking about him or the rom com-grade romance feels she did not ask for (uncertainty, butterflies, and swoons, oh my!).

When her blissful summer takes an unexpected turn, and Takumi becomes her knight with a shiny library employee badge (close enough), Alice has to decide if she’s willing to risk their friendship for a love that might not be reciprocated—or understood.

My Review

This book has been on my TBR for a while, and I didn’t pick it up because I’ve been on a fantasy/sci-fi roll for the past year or so. It’s truly hard for me to get into YA contemporary nowadays. But the asexual rep in this one had me curious, and since it was Pride Month, I wanted to go for it.

Thankfully, Let’s Talk About Love has college-age characters, so it’s more of a New Adult title than Young Adult, which means a more emotionally stable protagonist and some deeper relationship feelings. I love reading about a female main character who knows who she is inside but is just trying to figure out what she wants to do in the world. In college and even today, I had the same issues. Alice is fun, quirky, down-to-earth, and asexual. However, this story isn’t just about Alice’s sexuality. It’s about her relationship with her friends, parents, counselor, and her uncertainty in picking a major.

At first, Alice’s inner dialogue was a little difficult to sync with. She’s has a unique narration style, but after a few chapters, it gets easier and more fun to follow. She also drops a lot of fun pop culture references, including a Dean Winchester/Supernatural reference. That’s an automatic win in my book.

As for the side characters, that’s where I have a few issues. Feenie and Ryan are Alice’s best friends, and Alice decided to move in with them over the summer. When Alice and Feenie get into a fight over Feenie and Ryan ditching Alice, it’s kind of just let go by both characters. I did not like that. If you invite a friend to go to a party with you, and then you abandon her to hook up somewhere without even telling your friend where you’re going, you’re a jerk. You need to apologize. But Feenie never really did. And Ryan was pretty wishy-washy about the situation too. I just felt like both friends were trying to keep Alice from living her own romantic life and make new friends. Almost in the same manner Alice’s parents were trying to keep her from pursuing a different college major. While Feenie and Ryan had redeemable moments, I just couldn’t get over how $hitty they acted during all that drama. Maybe I could’ve accepted everything if the situation wasn’t glossed over and there’d actually been a true fight/conversation about what had happened. Things were simply resolved too easily. And perhaps that’s just how life works sometimes, but I personally was disappointed in how it all played out.

Now, Takumi, he’s quite the stud muffin. He can cook, he reads stories to small children, he babysits, and he’s just super sweet. I kind of wish he’d had a flaw or two, just to make him more realistic. (Stupid book boys giving readers everywhere unrealistic expectations about real-life men. Lol.) Regardless, he and Alice were both super adorable together.

All in all, this is an important book. Not just because of Alice’s asexuality, but because it deals with a character who doesn’t have her life together towards the end of her college career. It’s important for high school and college readers to see that kind of representation in their books. It’s also important they see characters like Alice take charge of their lives, even when others, including parents, put obstacles in their paths.

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly

"Can’t-Wait Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted over at Wishful Endings, that spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, what's really got my pages in a twist is...

The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly

Jamie Pacton

Publication Date: May 5, 2020

Hardcover, 384 pages, Page Street Kids

Genres: YA, Contemporary

B&N | Book Depository | Amazon | Goodreads

Moxie meets A Knight’s Tale as Kit Sweetly slays sexism, bad bosses, and bad luck to become a knight at a medieval-themed restaurant.

Working as a wench―i.e. waitress―at a cheesy medieval-themed restaurant in the Chicago suburbs, Kit Sweetly dreams of being a knight like her brother. She has the moves, is capable on a horse, and desperately needs the raise that comes with knighthood, so she can help her mom pay the mortgage and hold a spot at her dream college.

Company policy allows only guys to be knights. So when Kit takes her brother’s place and reveals her identity at the end of the show, she rockets into internet fame and a whole lot of trouble with the management. But the Girl Knight won’t go down without a fight. As other wenches join her quest, a protest forms. In a joust before Castle executives, they’ll prove that gender restrictions should stay medieval―if they don’t get fired first.

My Thoughts

I just recently heard about this one, and I’ve been intrigued ever since. I’ve actually never been to a Renaissance Fair or any of the medieval-themed restaurants that are in larger cities. I want to go, but I just don’t have any in my immediate area. This sounds like a fun romp to meet my curiosity. It also sounds like it could put off some Fangirl vibes. Contemporary mixed with fantasy. I really hope it is similar. I’ve been thinking about giving up on YA contemporary lately, so maybe this one will change my mind?

What book are you waiting for this Wednesday?

Stacking the Shelves: The Lonely Twinkle Edition

"Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly haul meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality. It allows book buyers to share their accumulation of books with the online book-loving community.

Well, once again nothing spectacularly special has been going on this week. I had to make a dentist appointment, and my apartment paperwork for lease renewal is due soon. Yay for adulting! Other than that, it’s been quiet. Just work, gym, sleep, in that order.

From Twinkle, With Love by Sendhya Menon

I didn’t buy this book. My roommate grabbed it for me from Simon. She’s actually had it for a week or so, she just kept forgetting to bring it back to me. It sat on her work desk buried beneath other books.

This actually isn’t the only book I got this week. I managed to get a few others on Friday. However, I usually take my Stacking the Shelves photos on Thursday nights, so I decided to save the other books for next week’s haul.

What books have you bought/received lately?

Review: Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Geekerella

Ashley Poston

(Starfield #1)

Publication Date: April 4, 2017

Hardcover, 320 pages, Quirk Books

Genres: YA, Contemporary

B&N | Book Depository | Amazon | Goodreads

Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic science-fiction series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck and her dad's old costume, Elle's determined to win - unless her stepsisters get there first.

Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons - before he was famous. Now they're nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he has ever wanted, but Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake - until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise. But when she disappears at midnight, will he ever be able to find her again?

Part-romance, part-love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom.

My Review

If you’re looking for a cute, no-true-substance contemporary read about geeky people being oddly persecuted (despite us living in a geek-accepted day and age), then this book is the one for you. I don’t want to come off as too harsh while reviewing this book, because it had its fun moments, but it was just all around too cliché.

So the story is based off of Cinderella. Danielle is playing the leading lady. Darien Freeman, the actor playing Carmindor in Danielle’s favorite franchise, is the prince. And, of course, there are the evil stepmother and stepsister(s). Why can’t any book make a realistic, three-dimensional stepmom? Without one, Danielle’s entire storyline just felt like a pity party. Danielle also made some strange decisions that had me doubting her realistic-ness as well. (I mean, who takes a dog to a premiere?! Paris Hilton? Really?) There were other more important strange decisions, but the dog one forced me to knock the book down a half star. It was just odd….

Before I get too much into the less impressive qualities of the book, I’ll share the good stuff. Darien, while also whiny, had a very interesting storyline. I found myself enjoying his chapters much more often than Danielle’s. He was an actor on a popular movie set versus Danielle’s cliché situation. So yes, his chapters were better.

The geeky setting of the story was also very cute, but there were too many corny “We’re all in this together” moments. Conventions are not High School Musical. Oh, but the Starfield universe does sound super cool! The author should write books about those characters! (I know she wrote a new sci-fi YA book. I’ll be reading it at some point.)

All in all, maybe this book just wasn’t for me or I read it at the wrong time in my life to truly enjoy it. I was hoping for a Cinderella Fangirl, but I just got a more contemporary Cinderella a la Hillary Duff’s A Cinderella Story. If that’s your thing, check this one out. If not, just reread Fangirl.

*Note: I received a review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affected my opinion/review.