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Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble
Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble by Alexis Hall is $2.99 and a Kindle Daily Deal! This is book two in the Winner Bakes All series. I loved book one, but really struggled with Paris and his treatment of the love interest. Last time this was on sale, the comments said that this one should have been marketing differently. What were your thoughts?
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.
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The Heretic Royal
The Heretic Royal by G.A. Aiken is $2.99! This is book three in The Scarred Earth Saga and many of us on staff have enjoyed the series. I’d say reading in order is probably beneficial as events build over the course of the three books currently out.
As two sisters battle for a single throne in G.A. Aiken’s newest fantasy, warring factions take up arms, a land is divided, and uncertain allies become very certain lovers . . .
Gods save the queen!
Ainsley Farmerson has always planned to break free of the family business—and the family drama. But what was once farming, smithworking, and bickering over the dinner table has turned into open warfare between sisters. Sides have been taken, lives are on the line, and Ainsley has no doubt which sister must be queen. She’ll do whatever is necessary to take down the soulless Beatrix. Even if that means joining forces with angry battle nuns, irritating monks, and overbearing centaurs.
Gruffyn of the Torn Moon Clan has no time for human beings. And yet . . . there is something about the uncontrollable princess that he can’t ignore. Maybe it’s the way her eldest sisters underestimate her. Or her bravery facing down dragons and mad queens from distant lands. Whatever the reason, Gruff is willing to fight by this human’s side. Not only for the entertainment value, but because she’s right. Beatrix must never be queen. So whatever he has to do, whoever he has to destroy, Gruff will battle beside Ainsley. Fast. Hard. And with absolutely no mercy . . .
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The Boxing Baroness
RECOMMENDED: The Boxing Baroness by Minerva Spencer is $2.99! Carrie reviewed this and gave it B+:
The more grounded in history the novel was, the more I liked it. For instance, I enjoyed seeing how Marianne trained every day. However, people with more patience for plot than I will love the same increasing complications that just made me want to take a nap. There’s something here for everyone and I look forward to the next book, The Dueling Duchess.
Inspired by the real-life Boxing Baroness, acclaimed author Minerva Spencer sparkles with this brilliantly imagined story of her romance with an infuriating duke in the first of a witty, Regency-set, feminist series exploring the role of women in a rigidly patriarchal society. A new generation of readers and Bridgerton fans will delight in the rapier sharp wit, sexual fireworks, and thought-provoking entertainment of The Boxing Baroness.
Magnetic and educated, Marianne Simpson has the manner of a lady and the looks of a lover, not a fighter. Neither of which explains her occupation as a boxer in her uncle’s circus, Farnham’s Fantastical Female Fayre. Nonetheless, when St. John Powell, the exquisitely handsome Duke of Staunton, begins turning up at her shows, she finds herself dangerously distracted by the powerful peer’s mysterious presence. With her safety at stake, Marianne’s days in the ring are numbered. But how long can she fight her attraction to the man the ton calls Lord Flawless?
St. John Powell doesn’t just want Marianne Simpson, he needs her … to rescue his brother, who is being held for ransom by a treasonous English baron—the man all of Britain knows as the Rake of Rakes.
No matter how little Marianne wants to see her duplicitous ex-lover, the man responsible for the humiliating nickname the Boxing Baroness, St. John must convince her. Even if it means climbing into the ring with the beautiful boxer and taking everything she’s got . . .
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Half a Soul
Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater is $2.99! This is book one in the Regency Faerie Tales series and subsequent books in the series were listed in latest Hide Your Wallet. There’s another YA vs. Adult debate for this one as well. I believe there is no sexual content in this one.
“Whimsical, witty, and brimming over with charm” (India Holton), Olivia Atwater’s delightful debut will transport you to a magical version of Regency England, where the only thing more meddlesome than a fairy is a marriage-minded mother!
It’s difficult to find a husband in Regency England when you’re a young lady with only half a soul.
Ever since she was cursed by a faerie, Theodora Ettings has had no sense of fear or embarrassment—an unfortunate condition that leaves her prone to accidental scandal. Dora hopes to be a quiet, sensible wallflower during the London Season—but when Elias Wilder, the strange, handsome, and utterly ill-mannered Lord Sorcier, discovers her condition, she is instead drawn into peculiar and dangerous faerie affairs.
If her reputation can survive both her curse and her sudden connection with the least-liked man in all high society, then she and her family may yet reclaim their normal place in the world. But the longer Dora spends with Elias, the more she begins to suspect that one may indeed fall in love even with only half a soul.
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The Alexis Hall is definitely my pick of these. Aiken never works for me, and I wanted so much to like the other two but could not make myself finish either.
I don’t go for the cartoonish covers as a rule so what do I know, but I definitely think the cutesiness of that cover vs the angsty struggles of the the book – it’s a worthwhile but harrowing journey – is a perfect example of how misleading that trend tends to be.
‘Paris Daillencourt’ is packaged like a rom-com but IMO is very much not. It’s new adult coming-of-age while dealing with mental health issues while having a serious crush on someone. It made me anxious. That said, it’s a hopeful book, in the sense of being about a person who wants to love and be loved, but HFN is the most optimistic way to describe the conclusion. Like all of Hall’s books, it’s true to genre (in this case ‘chick lit’ but with queer protagonists) and also tries to do more.
$1.99:
– Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto
– Too Much Man (Firebirds Book 1) by Katy James
I actually enjoyed PARIS DAILENCOURT IS ABOUT TO CRUMBLE. Either Paris will work for you as a character or he won’t. Personally, I found it really easy to get into Paris’s anxiety-filled headspace because it sounded like my worst day, dialed up to 11. While this sounds quite dire, the book is not all doom and gloom. The side characters are very funny, including the show itself, which really qualifies as a character itself. And Paris does go on a genuine journey. He’s not in the same place at the end of the novel that he is at the beginning, which helps makes for a good book.
It very much helps to know that Paris is 21 and approaching the end of his schooling in this book. So the unmanaged anxiety makes a lot more sense (from this middle aged practice) when you realize how young and unmoored he is.
Agree with all of the comments about the Alexis Hall.
Here’s a bit from my GR review.
3.5 B-/C+ This is a pretty good coming of age story and an entertaining riff on The Great British Bake-off but not a genre romance.
I’m honestly not sure how to rate this. It’s told from the point of view of Paris, a young man with an undiagnosed (until the last 1/4) anxiety disorder and it’s not always pleasant to be in his head. Some parts were so painful to read, I wasn’t sure if was going to bother finishing it while other parts had me laughing out loud in delight. And some things were so cringe-y I’m not sure I can really recommend this to anyone. Paris’ roommate Morag, a self-proclaimed fat Glaswegian sex goddess, in particular made me cringe. Paris’ early interactions with Tariq, his fabulous queer Muslim love interest, were also extremely cringey – some of the cringe is clearly intentional and some I think wasn’t.
@omphale – Good point about Paris’ age. I think it works really, really well as Paris’ coming of age story. I loved his journey and how he grew – not just starting to manage his anxiety but starting to take responsibility for his actions and figuring out how to a better friend and boyfriend and how to take care of his needs too.
I didn’t like Paris Daliencourt. I assumed it was because the book felt really young, and I am not very young. As others have said, the cringe level is pretty high.