JUNE 2021 - AudioFile
Listeners will root for young single mother Rosaline as she competes on “Bake Expectations,” a televised UK baking show. Her connections with her fellow contestants, as friends and more, lead to some unexpected twists and turns in this largely appealing and often funny romance. While narrator Fiona Hardingham gives an enthusiastic variety of British voices to all of the characters, they’re not always believable as real people. Her best creation is her kid-voice for Amelie, Rosaline’s precocious 8-year-old daughter, who is adorably fixated on things like deep-sea fish. As Rosaline deals with everything from her disapproving parents to an unwanted sexual encounter, all while trying to win the show, listeners will be swept up in anticipation of the outcome. J.M.D. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
★ 03/01/2021
Hall (Boyfriend Material) does it again with this scrumptious, quietly subversive rom-com set against a Great British Bake Off–style reality TV show. Bisexual 27-year-old Rosaline Palmer, single mother to a precocious eight-year-old, goes on Bake Expectations in a desperate attempt to turn her life around. On the way to the first filming, she winds up stranded with fellow contestant Alain Pope, an archly charming architect. Alain is everything Rosaline thinks she should want, and to impress him she tells him a heap of lies about her life. It’s a classic rom-com setup, but Hall upends expectations: the deception is swiftly and realistically revealed, and even as Rosaline enters a relationship with Alain, she finds herself bonding with contestant Harry Dobson. Harry, a gentle giant electrician whom Rosaline initially writes off as a “cockney fuckboy,” soon proves his quiet decency and subtle sense of humor. Hall balances the adorable love story and witty narration with incisive critiques of classism and the fetishization of bisexual women. As Rosaline learns to trust her instincts and stand up for herself, the tension of the competition keeps the plot flying, and the vibrant cast—including vivacious baker Anvita and Rosaline’s ex-girlfriend, Lauren—couches her journey toward self-actualization in encouraging community. Hilarious, heartwarming, and grounded, Rosaline’s story proves that happy endings look different from person to person. Agent: Courtney Miller-Callihan, Handspun Literary. (May)
From the Publisher
"[Hall] crafts some of the most sparkling prose in contemporary romance. . . . we give this fully baked concept our highest compliments."—Entertainment Weekly
"Hall does it again with this scrumptious, quietly subversive rom-com again . . . Hilarious, heartwarming, and grounded, Rosaline's story proves that happy endings look different from person to person."—Publishers Weekly
"In this delicious romantic comedy . . . Hall creates a memorable cast of characters, from Rosaline's supportive ex-girlfriend to the utterly adorable and scene-stealing Amelie. Setting the book at a reality TV show is a brilliant choice . . . there's sparkling humor and plenty of baking mishaps. A perfect bake."—Kirkus
"Hall’s creation is a joy—a deeply emotional and ultimately rewarding story about a woman finding her true path and true love, surrounded by delicious baked goods on a BBC soundstage."—Bookpage
"Hall seamlessly combines humor, romance, and drama to create a story that is intimately believable and at once cozy and sexy. . . . The book combines sweet escapism and poignant cultural touchstones with well-crafted characters and hilariously familiar settings. Hall does it again with this culturally relevant, wonderfully escapist foray into the baking world. This is a must-buy for any library."—Library Journal
"A romance that's made for fans of the UK's Great British Bakeoff."—Oprah Daily
"[A] romance perfect for fans of The Great British Bake Off!"—Book Riot
"With loads of wit and baking-related banter . . . perfect for fans of the Great British Bake Off and Hall’s trademark humour."—The Nerd Daily
"A must-read."—Hypable
"Alexis Hall is the undisputed master of romantic comedy."—Jenny Holiday, USA Today bestselling author
Library Journal
★ 05/14/2021
Rosaline Palmer needs a change. She didn't finish medical school, she had a daughter earlier than she planned, and she's still under the financial thumb of her well-to-do parents. So what do you do as a better-than-average baker in the UK? You try out for Bake Expectations, Britain's top baking show, which is definitely not based on a certain show on a certain streaming service. Hall (Boyfriend Material) seamlessly combines humor, romance, and drama to create a story that is intimately believable and at once cozy and sexy. Refreshingly, Hall writes the heroine's identity as a bisexual woman in a way that addresses and conquers stereotypes; Rosaline isn't picking between a man and a woman, she's not interested in being the third in a relationship, and she rails against fetishization by potential dates, her daughter's teacher, and her Bake Expectations castmates. The book combines sweet escapism and poignant cultural touchstones with well-crafted characters and hilariously familiar settings. VERDICT Hall does it again with this culturally relevant, wonderfully escapist foray into the baking world. This is a must-buy for any library.—Ahliah Bratzler, Indianapolis
JUNE 2021 - AudioFile
Listeners will root for young single mother Rosaline as she competes on “Bake Expectations,” a televised UK baking show. Her connections with her fellow contestants, as friends and more, lead to some unexpected twists and turns in this largely appealing and often funny romance. While narrator Fiona Hardingham gives an enthusiastic variety of British voices to all of the characters, they’re not always believable as real people. Her best creation is her kid-voice for Amelie, Rosaline’s precocious 8-year-old daughter, who is adorably fixated on things like deep-sea fish. As Rosaline deals with everything from her disapproving parents to an unwanted sexual encounter, all while trying to win the show, listeners will be swept up in anticipation of the outcome. J.M.D. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2021-04-14
In this delicious romantic comedy, a British home baker must win a televised cooking competition and navigate her competitors' distractingly good looks to provide a better life for herself and her daughter.
Rosaline Palmer loves two things most in this world: her 8-year-old daughter, Amelie, and baking. When the stars align and she's selected to compete in a reality TV baking competition called Bake Expectations, Rosaline is wary of leaving Amelie for filming but knows this could be the path to a more secure future for their little family. Alain Pope is a landscape architect and fellow contestant who winds up stranded with Rosaline on the way to the set when their train breaks down. The two share an easy connection, but while Alain seems like the perfect man on paper, Rosaline begins to question their attraction when another challenger enters the bake tent. Harry Dobson, an electrician, is at first written off by Rosaline as a rough-around-the-edges charmer looking for a good time, but he surprises her at every turn with his empathy and gentle humor. For years, Rosaline has been unhappily single, but since she's bisexual, she's been seen by many in the light of the biphobic idea that bi people can't make up their minds. Now she finds herself trying to choose between two partners in the midst of competing for something that would vastly change her life. Love and romance are central to this rom-com, but the most important journey is Rosaline's as she learns to love herself and discovers that romantic partners don't have to be integral to her own acceptance of herself. Hall creates a memorable cast of characters, from Rosaline's supportive ex-girlfriend to the utterly adorable and scene-stealing Amelie. Setting the book at a reality TV show is a brilliant choice as it not only introduces elements of forced proximity, but also the tensions that come from competition; there's sparkling humor and plenty of baking mishaps.
A perfect bake.
