Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble
Ratings4
Average rating3.8
15
Ratings4
Average rating3.8
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.
Reviews with the most likes.
I want to start off by saying I expected to really like this book. I wanted to like it. And if the actual book had gone along with the synopsis, I think I would have. I'm not sure who dropped the ball there. But this book is not a romcom; it's not really even a romance.
That being said, I did DNF it around 70%. I read most of the first half in one sitting. MC Paris was funny and quirky and relatable, albeit a little whiney, occasionally exasperating, and there were occasions when I rolled my eyes or wanted to shake him. Then the exasperating Paris slowly overtook the funny/quirky Paris, and my main thought went from, “Jeez, honey, you might need therapy,” to “Paris! Just stop. Go find a therapist.” By 60%, I was fighting to continue reading, and my overwhelming emotion towards this book was exhaustion with low-key anxiety. (I admit, I do suffer from anxiety myself, though nowhere near as bad as Paris, which is part of the reason I found him relatable to begin with.) The constant catastrophizing and negative thought cycles just wore me down.
I wanted to see where this book was going, how it would work out between Paris and Tariq, and if there was a resolution with Paris' parents. But it was becoming too much of a slog, and I could literally feel myself falling into a reading slump. So, I'm calling it quits.
