TEST
Following the recipe is the key to a successful bake. Rosaline Palmer has always lived by those rules—well, except for when she dropped out of college to raise her daughter, Amelie. Now, with a paycheck as useful as greaseproof paper and a house crumbling faster than biscuits in tea, she’s teetering on the edge of financial disaster. But where there’s a whisk there’s a way . . . and Rosaline has just landed a spot on the nation’s most beloved baking show.
Winning the prize money would give her daughter the life she deserves—and Rosaline is determined to stick to the instructions. However, more than collapsing trifles stand between Rosaline and sweet, sweet victory. Suave, well-educated, and parent-approved Alain Pope knows all the right moves to sweep her off her feet, but it’s shy electrician Harry Dobson who makes Rosaline question her long-held beliefs—about herself, her family, and her desires.
Rosaline fears falling for Harry is a guaranteed recipe for disaster. Yet as the competition—and the ovens—heat up, Rosaline starts to realize the most delicious bakes come from the heart.
AAR staffers Caz and Em – both big Alexis Hall fans – read this first instalment in Hall’s new Winner Bakes All series – and got together to chat and share their thoughts.
Caz: The first thing I’m going to say about this book – which I enjoyed very much – is that while it’s as clever, wonderfully observed and laugh-out-loud funny as Alexis Hall’s other books, and there is an HEA at the end, the focus is more on Rosaline and her journey towards acceptance and coming into her own than it is on the romance.
Em: I think that’s probably a good observation to include early in this review. Rosaline, the titular character, is a bisexual single mum who isn’t sure her life is headed in the right direction. Her parents are famously brilliant (doctors), wealthy and well connected, and Rosaline was following in their footsteps when she got pregnant at nineteen and decided to keep the baby. Rosaline loves baking, her daughter Amelie, (and she’s on good terms with Amelie’s father), but she feels a bit lost. Should she go back to university? Is she a good mum? Should she stake her future on a baking show? Ha! Well, fortunately for us, she decides she should. And in doing so, introduces us to the cast of characters that help her answer all those questions.
Did you love (or like) the premise of the story, and what did you think about Rosaline when you met her?
Caz: I’m not what I’d call a fan of the Great British Bake Off, but I do watch it, and I enjoyed the setting of the story and the way it’s structured. The different challenges were very similar to those in the actual show, and I definitely heard echoes of Mel Giedroyc in some of the phrases uttered by fictional host Grace Forsythe! I liked Rosaline from the get-go, actually; she’s a good mum, and – like all of us who are parents – worried she’s not good enough, and she obviously thinks the world of Amelie. She’s funny and smart, but as you’ve said, is worried about where her life is headed and she doesn’t like that she’s so dependent on her parents for financial support – hence the decision to try to win £10,000 on a reality show.
Em: Same. I liked her and could relate to her. Having a baby at nineteen is tough stuff, and even without a precocious daughter to take care of (and disapproving parents), growing up and figuring out who you are and how to be an adult is DIFFICULT. I question my choices on a daily basis!
Caz: Agreed. Did the baking show thing and the whacky cast of characters work for you?
Em: Yes! I love GBBO! I watch almost zero TV but it is the one show I look forward to every week when it’s on. I loved the large cast of characters in this story, and the hosts of the show, and I laughed out loud every time the producer harangued her naughty cast. She’s hilariously evil.
Caz: I laughed so hard at Jennifer’s incredibly inventive invectives(!) – and at so many of the descriptions. One that’s really stuck with me – and which might only resonate with people of a certain age – is that of warm, endearing judge, Wilfred Honey, as “a man so grandfatherly it was like his whole body was made of Werther’s Originals” – it just cracked me up.
Em: While I loved the marvelous secondary cast of characters and contestants on Bake Expectations (Anvita is also fantastic) I especially want to talk about Harry, who is AMAZING.
Caz: He really is – but it’s time for another PSA because I realise this will be a deal-breaker for some – Rosaline spends over half the book in a (misguided) relationship with someone else, which is probably not something romance readers normally expect to find ON THE PAGE in a book which is being positioned as genre romance.
Em: Unfortunately, yes. Because Harry is HOT, sweet, good and kind – but isn’t what Rosaline thinks she’s looking for in a romantic partner. He’s an electrician, his grammar is terrible, and at the start, she’s a bit of a snob where he’s concerned. She dismisses her attraction to him as an aberration, but he proves her wrong every single time they interact. Alain – whom she meets right at the beginning – is the kind of man Rosaline believes she should be with, and despite her growing affection for Harry, she purposely avoids acknowledging it or admitting she might be wrong. It’s a nice little – and not so subtle – jab at Rosaline’s biases.
Caz: Amen to all that. Harry is utterly lovely and the only thing wrong with him is that we don’t see enough of him!
Em: YES! Too much Alain and not enough Harry.
Caz: I know you – like me – aren’t the biggest fan of kids in romance novels, but Amelie… was kind of awesome. And Rosaline’s ex-girlfriend and now bestie Lauren was a hoot. Which brings me to talking about the fact that while this is essentially an m/f romance, Rosaline is bisexual. Even though her relationships in this story are with men, I thought her sexuality was handled really well, and the author did a great job of showing how it informed her relationships with both men and women, while at the same time showing just how badly misunderstood it is in some quarters and how oversexualised it can be.
Em: Amelie is essential to this story and I liked her, too. I loved the bits where Rosaline positioned as a tiger mother defending her choice to keep her, and challenging anyone who dared to treat her as a burden or impediment to Rosaline’s ability to live a happy, contented life.
Caz: I adored the tiger mother thing, too. We’re continually told how women can have it all, or that we should WANT it all, and I was completely on board with the idea that what we should want is what we want. Rosaline wanted to raise her daughter, and do what made her happy and I admired her for standing up for that in the face of the expectations those around her.
Em: I struggled just a bit with Lauren’s characterization; initially I thought AH positioned her as another Jennifer, but as the story progressed she proved to be a generous, loyal and loving friend. She’s ‘there,’ in every way Rosaline’s parents weren’t – although I think it’s a bit strange that she’s Rosaline’s former lover.
Caz: It sounds as though we both enjoyed the book. Any further thoughts?
Em: One of my larger takeaways from this novel is… well, it isn’t exactly preachy or teachy, but nearly every interaction Rosaline has with another character is treated as a teachable moment by the author, and it’s sometimes distracting.
Caz: I noticed that – but it’s at least mostly done “in context”; there are no lengthy diatribes and it’s subtle, but it’s there nonetheless and it was a bit distracting sometimes.
Em: Yes, I agree with you. It’s subtle, and some of AH’s observations pinged biases I didn’t even know I had. But some romance readers will not like the ‘other’ man in this story, and while I understand why he is part of it, I think the author muddies the water by making him such an obvious jerk.
Caz: The way AH works up to showing him to be such a dickhead is well done; to start with, Alain comes across as a decent guy – he’s charming and funny and it’s easy to see why Rosaline is attracted to him. We start realising all is not as it seems a little before Rosaline does, but she’s trying so hard to convince herself that he’s the sort of guy she should be with – which again, is all part and parcel of the journey she takes during the course of the book.
Em: I loved the premise of this story, its terrific cast of primary and secondary characters, and the slow burn love affair between Rosaline and Harry. I struggled just a bit with Rosaline’s tendency to make snap judgments about others, especially since she resents it when others make judgments about her. The novel is almost effortlessly both heavy and light – and I giggled quite a bit as I was reading it.
Caz: Same here. I loved the structure, the setting, the humour (OMG, I laughed so much sometimes I got funny looks from whoever else was in the room with me!), the characters and the ‘real’ romance. I get what you mean about Rosaline and her tendency to judge… but actually, it just made her seem more like a person than a character in a book. We’ve probably all been there.
So… crunch time. Final grade? I’m conflicted because while I liked pretty much everything about the book, as I said at the outset, the focus is more on Rosaline’s journey than it is on the romance, which isn’t really what the book blurb led me to expect. Ultimately, the relationship with Alain takes up too much page time and the real romance doesn’t get enough, so I’m going with a B+. It’s a fantastic read and contains all the author’s Hallmarks (see what I did there?) – it’s witty, sexy, insightful, and so many other things – but if you’re a reader who likes your heroes and/or heroines to be exclusive once they’ve set eyes on each other, this book might not work all that well for you.
Em: Hallmarks! I hated Alain and that parallel plot. He and it detract from what works and is wonderful in this story (literally, everything else and especially the romance with Harry), and makes it a B+ for me. And to clarify, I don’t care if Rosaline kisses (or fucks) a few frogs on the way to happily ever after… but in this story, that relationship went on much, much too long. Harry deserved more page time.
Caz: Agreed. To sum up then, Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake is a lot of fun. It’ll make you laugh and make you think (and probably make you hungry!), and it earns a strong recommendation.
Buy it at: Amazon, Audible, or your local independent retailer
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Grade: B+
Book Type: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 16/05/21
Publication Date: 05/2021
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
Related Reviews
I agree with much of what has been said so far (and definitely recommend).
1) I found my self not minding the “teaching moments” so much (they are there) because I was learning something. They were interesting and not gratuitous.
2) I was surprised by the preponderance of “bad” language. Not Hall’s usual style at all. I was especially turned off by Jennifer’s manner of speaking and really glad I don’t have to work around people like her. I get that she is an ass – there have always been/always are lots of those in too many workplaces. But I’ve never worked with anyone who speaks like her. Is this one of the “British class system” things Hall asks about in the discussion questions at the end of the book? I don’t mean to imply anything or offend anyone. It just seems so out of the blue to me.
3) I loved the discussion questions btw. It’d be worth recommending this book to my book club just to go through them with the group. They are hilarious (as well as great discussion questions).
4) This is the first big, mainstream romance I’ve ever read in which the heterosexual MCs “have sex” that is not penetrative. Yay!! It’s way past time to break that repetitive – and therefore boring and predictable – cycle.
5) Noted this below in a reply about the audio version – but would recommend reading off the page AT LEAST THE FIRST TIME through. I was missing too many of the words (and therefore humor) with the audio version. Much more satisfying to read off the page (at least for this American).
As an English person who swears a lot, I’ll make some comments about your second point!
I didn’t really notice if this book was swearier than other books by AH. The character of Jennifer obviously was as, IMO, she was written to represent a certain type of character who swears for effect, which is, I think, a ‘thing’ in England. I don’t think I’ve ever come across anyone as extreme as her, and certainly not in the workplace, but they definitely exist. She’s certainly in the book for comedic reasons but maybe that works better for people who are used to hearing quite a lot of swearing anyway!
I think that the film ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ gives a pretty accurate example of the level of swearing amongst people who have been to private, fee-paying schools – so, yes, ‘posh’ people tend to swear a lot, but they are by no means the only ones who do so!
Thank you Wendy and Caz for the info. “Swearing for effect” – good to be aware of before my next trip to Britain! ;-). (And I loved the movie but haven’t watched it for many years, so a good excuse to re-watch it.)
It’s certainly a combination of my age and the jobs I’ve held. I’ve been out of “corporate” life for many years (and people just didn’t swear in that environment at that time), and my last professional positions were in education and public libraries where you definitely wouldn’t hear language like this on the regular.
Basically, what Wendy says. I swear like a trooper and I thought Jennifer was meant to be one of those types who swear for effect. I found it pretty funny precisely because it was so OTT.
I totally agree! While this particular story doesn’t sound like my cup of tea, I am definitely pleased to read that there is a mainstream romance bucking the industry standard when it comes to MF sex, and hope it opens up possibilities for future romance novels. It may have been radical at one point to include oral sex in category romance, but now it’s fallen into a predictable, clichéd pattern of fingering -> oral -> PIV with little if any variation.
I would agree with your grade on this. I loved the humour in the book, liked Rosaline and LOVED Harry. The supporting cast are great – I especially enjoyed Anvita – and I thought structuring the book round the baking show worked well.
I was pleased to read a female bisexual MC for the first time, male bisexuals having featured quite often in m/m romances that I’ve read.
I also liked the way that classism was addressed in such an overt way.
I didn’t mind Alain’s role, as he was cast as The Villain, surely?
Yes, I would have liked more of Rosaline and Harry together and agree that most current romances give the MCs more time together. However, if I think back to the contemporary romances published in my teens (early 70s) by Mills and Boon etc., they often ended early in the MCs relationship, after a kiss or a date….
Anyway, Alexis Hall uses a lot of classic Romance tropes in this book, so I think that I would call it a Romance, even if it’s of the RomCom branch!
I read most of this but listened to some chapters of the audiobook. The narrator is experienced and widely regarded but, sadly, I did not care for her style of narration. I found reading it much more enjoyable.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Wendy. AH does so much so very well here and I thought he wrote Alain really skilfully, making him seem like the hero at first and then slowly turning that around. I just could have done with less of him and a bit more of Harry.
Guys,
I’m still unclear: how much romance would you say there is in this book?
I remember thinking that while Boyfriend Material was well written, it personally fell short for me in the romance department. That was disappointing.
Now I’m sensing that this latest book straddles the line between women’s fiction (but in a cheeky, not serious, way) and romance. IOW, I’m not sure what the “romance quotient” is for this book, after reading the review here.
Part of my confusion, maybe, is that it sounds like there is a relationship for much of the book–it’s just not the right one. Is that correct? Or does the book actually spend a great deal of time on Rosaline’s “journey” apart from any romance?
Hoping this question makes sense. Women’s fiction bores me, so I need to know. :-)
PS–This sounds like it could be converted into a rom-com script, like one of the old Meg Ryan rom-coms. Possibly suitable for one of Hallmark’s ubiquitous romance movies?
Yes, it does straddle that line, and the romantic storylines are the predominant ones; as someone says in this thread, there’s a romantic triangle à la Bridget Jones. WF isn’t my cuppa either so had this book been solely in that genre I may not have enjoyed it as much as I did. I liked the romance in Boyfriend Material more although the ending in that was rushed. It’s a fun read, but maybe don’t go in expecting romance like Pansies or Glitterland
Yes, it does straddle that line, and the romantic storylines are the predominant ones; as someone says in this thread, there’s a romantic triangle à la Bridget Jones. WF isn’t my cuppa either so had this book been solely in that genre I may not have enjoyed it as much as I did. I liked the romance in Boyfriend Material more although the ending in that was rushed. It’s a fun read, but maybe don’t go in expecting romance like Pansies or Glitterland
You probably won’t like to hear this, but there is a trend toward allowing more women’s fiction/romance crossover lately. One of the editor wish lists for Carina Press made this point particularly clear:
Considering Carina Press is coming right out and saying they want this, other romance publishers may be implementing similar policies as well. Maybe they’re trying to nab a bigger audience? I’m all in favor of genre mixing and mashing, but if the romance isn’t “front and center all the way through,” it’s not really a romance by definition, is it?
While I’m fine with publishers wanting to expand their market, the type of book described in the blurb rarely works for me. I’m not a fan of WF and rarely enjoy books where female (non-romantic) relationships form the bulk of the story. I guess it says something that out of 2000 books,only two are on the WF shelf, and one of those is Evvie Drake Starts Over, which, like this book, is marketed as a CR when in reality it is a WF book with romantic elements.
I’m not sure this Alexis Hall is going to work for me, either, but will probably give it a try at some point. Maybe I’ll see who ends up narrating it when it comes out on audio.
Clarifying:out of 2000 books on my GR shelves….
Oh, I was about to say, that is one impressive physical bookshelf. :-)
I get what you mean about women’s fiction not working for you. This is veering a little off-topic, so I’ll probably move it over to the Agora, but I have an anecdote about the genre. I have a friend of a friend (a friend-in-law?) who became a women’s fiction writer after trying hard for years to be a category romance author. Back in the pre-internet days, she got a lot of positive rejections saying that yes, her books had compelling heroines and HEAs, but they had way too many subplots and too much secondary character focus to be classified as romances. Fast forward a few years when women’s fiction became a genre, and she found her niche. While I’m certainly happy for her, I can see why her work isn’t a good fit for romance: it meanders, tosses in as many crazy scenarios as possible, is over the top, and the romance is far less central than the antics of the heroine’s friends and family.
Okay, this is definitely becoming a tangent. Off to the Agora to explore this topic some more!
Audio narrator is Fiona Hardingham (I can’t remember where I saw that!). I’m not familiar with her, but she’s got over 200 titles listed at Audible.
I started out both reading and listening to the book; and have to agree with others that there is something lacking in the audio version. I think it may have been the speed with which the narrator spoke? There were too many words I didn’t/couldn’t catch and/or “Britishisms” I don’t know. Reading off the page for this American was infinitely more satisfying. Hall’s prose is too fine to not get every word.
I find this somewhat depressing because it seems so cynical—although, as Carrie G points out, publishers need to expand their markets and readerships. I’m just not a WF fan—there’s not enough focus on the main romantic relationship for my tastes—plus, I’m old enough to have already read plenty of books in the 1970s & 1980s about women “finding themselves” (who else remembers reading FEAR OF FLYING?). Perhaps this turn toward Romance-WF hybrids in m/f stories is why I seem to be gravitating more and more to m/m romances: the focus there is generally front-and-center on the romantic relationship with other subplots most definitely in a secondary position to the central love story.
But… doesn’t romance outsell WF by, well, a lot? So what we’re really looking at is WF trying to attract more dedicated romance readers, no? Which I think has been especially obvious in the past few years with the advent of the Cartoon Cover – which is really blurring the lines. I read a fair bit of WF back in the 80s and 90s, but I can’t be doing with it now.
I never read much m/f contemporary romance anyway – like DDD, I’ve moved onto m/m, and if there’s a move to “romantic women’s fiction” that’s even more of a good reason to stick with m/m!
Speaking of cartoon covers, take a look at this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Taggart-Family-Values-Lexi-Blake-ebook/dp/B0927SP445/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=lexi+blake+taggart+family+values&qid=1621195629&sprefix=lexi+blake&sr=8-3
I was laughing my head off the first time I saw it. Talk about false advertising: Masters & Mercenaries, the series these stories are from, is straight-up bdsm with no apologies. Anyone who buys this book thinking it’s going to be a group of vignettes about keeping the romance alive when you’re raising your kids is gonna need smelling salts!
Yikes! I would never suspect a whiff of BDSM based on that cover alone. What on Earth was the art department thinking? BDSM = cute?
P.S. If anyone wants to rant on a thread specifically about women’s fiction/romance, I’ve set up a topic on the Agora: Women’s Fiction vs Romance, Thoughts? – All Things Romance – the Agora@AAR (allaboutromance.com)
Whoa. That cover is ridiculous and hugely misrepresentative of what’s inside. That’s another issue that’s come up on reviews here a few times, that the blocky, bold colours of the cartoon cover don’t always give an accurate idea of the overall tone of the story.
WF commands much higher prices so a successful book will garner a bigger piece of the pie.
Agree. Publishers are blurring the lines as a way to get (independent) bookstores a higher price point per book (many independent bookstores claim they can’t afford to shelve romances/mass market paperbacks and make any money – despite higher numbers of romance readers. Also, to get romance readers used to paying more per book.
That last point is a very good one. And romances with cartoon covers are selling for $2-3 more than those with more ‘traditional’ romance covers.
In retail we had a phrase,”Don’t sellout of your own pocket.” Which is a vague way to say just because you have a budget and wouldn’t pay the posted price, don’t assume other people won’t. I have to keep reminding myself that other people are willing and able to pay $7-$10 for a book. I, on the other hand, have a pretty strict budget and read, on average, 5 books a week. I’d be bankrupt at those prices. I depend on the library, KU, whispersync, and sales to feed my addiction. If there’s a book I want that I can’t get it at my library and it never goes on sale, I simply don’t read it.
That’s a good point. As I’ve said before, I’m lucky that I get most of the things I want to read as ARCs, because I couldn’t afford to buy them, not given the number I get through in an average week.
Yep. I think we had a similar discussion here somewhere before about how some romance authors are heading to WF or historical mysteries because the price points are higher than romance. I don’t blame anyone for wanting to make more money – good luck to ’em. But I don’t appreciate that happening while their products are being misrepresented to people like us.
Because I’m five, I laughed at the title. But this sounds sweet – I’ll pick it up soon!
Because I’m always there for the angsty heartache, I much prefer Alexis Hall’s Glitter Land/Spires books (especially FOR REAL, one of my Keeper Shelf favorites). I’m happy that he’s found success with this new formula of rom-com-closed-door romances, but I really don’t know that they’re for me.
Glitterland and Pansies are still my favourites. Did you see that he is extending the Spires series by writing books for Dom the Dom, Niall and Marius?
No! Happy to hear he’s not completely letting go of the angsty stories.
Yes, and the original Spires are being re-released in paperback over the next couple of years with extras and bonus material.
I’m really looking forward to Tuesday, when this book is released, and this review has whetted my appetite even more!
The two competing love interests sounds a bit like Bridget Jones’ Diary to me and I don’t think that I’ll find it a problem. (Even though it was Daniel/Hugh all the way for me!)
I’m only an occasional viewer of GBBO but I think I should be able to pick up the references – I’m hoping for a suitably grotesque Paul Hollywood character……..
I’m also looking forward to all the usual Hallmarks(!) plus some on ‘class’ in this one.
As an aside, I was really surprised to find this review this morning – I was expecting Misdirection!
Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to read the Ashe yet – my work schedule (I do freelance audio proofing) has been packed tight so I’m behind with my reading/reviewing. I’m planning to read it today so maybe a review next week!
Come back and tell us what you think of this one when you’ve read it :)
I can’t believe that I’ve read it before you!
Hah – well, there’s a first time for everything ;) I just took on a couple of really long proofing jobs – and while I don’t work on them for more than a few hours at a time, the intense concentration I need to maintain can be tiring and my brain just wants to veg out after !
I also haven’t been able to squeeze it in!! Maybe we need a guest review Wendy!!
Oh, God, no, I couldn’t stand the angst these days!!!!!!!!!