Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble

By: Alexis Hall

Narrated by: Ewan Goddard

Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Alexis Hall (P)2022 Forever

Solid Followup Bake Expectations Story

I really enjoyed this story! Paris & Tariq are the kind of realistic characters I crave more of. Evan Goddard’s narration does a wonderful job of conveying Paris’s downward spiral and ultimate redemption.

Delightful book

It was so funny. It made me laugh out loud. I really enjoyed it. Would recommend.

Fun

Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble is a delightful romp for anyone who enjoys a lighthearted fiction novel, with a light intermingling of romance and the desire to see the Great British Bake Off brought to life in the pages of a book. Alexis Hall's writing is very good, the plot line is fun and interesting, and this novel will work for you on all levels if you love novels along the lines of Sophie Kinsela. I enjoy Alexis Hall as an author and truly enjoy explore his works. If you are looking for a true romance, this is not it, this is definitely more long the lines of a "women's fiction" novel (even though I hate using the term Women's Fiction, it is just a fiction novel). It truly focus' on Paris' journey through the story and the romantic elements are very light throughout the novel. But if you love Alexis Hall's writing and works in general I think you will definitely walk away from this novel with a smile on your face.

Couldn't get through it.

While I loved the first book in this series and could not wait for this one to come out, I couldn't even finish it.

The main character is exhaustively self depreciating. He's not cute or charming in his simpering meekness, he's just annoying.

TW: Anxiety

If you suffer with anxiety, you may find this book, extremely triggering. It hit me right in the soul. Alexis Hall, as usual, is simply brilliant. 😭💔💜

Great

this might be my new comfort book, while I don't have it as bad as Paris, it is nice to understand that some of the clumsy brain acrobatics I put myself through isn't a singular experience

A beautiful story of mental health recovery (with laughs, cakes and romance ❤️)

I loved this book. It reminded me of Glitterland in its representation of a 3-dimensional MC's mental illness, loneliness, doubts, self-loathing and road to recovery through love and human connections. I can see why other reviewers got annoyed with Paris (just like the fictional Twitter trolls in the story). He does worry, complain and cry A LOT in the first half of the book. But I've frankly never seen such accurate, nuanced, loving representation of anxiety disorder and coming to terms with getting help when your brain is literally plotting against you. This is what happens in our brains. It's exhausting. And therapy is so freaking hard. Except, unlike Paris we hide it a little bit better in the real world (which is equally exhausting). Like in the first book we get a lively cast of bakers, family and friends - and a reunion with the zany hosts/judges/producer. But the core of the book really is Paris's sensitive heart, his journey to recovery and his truly lovely friendship/relationship/romance with Tariq. The narration was, as usual, absolutely perfect.

Another great story by Alexis Hall

Paris really is a hot mess, and I totally understand why that’s offputting to some people, but in order to have a meaningful journey to the place where he shows real growth we do have to see the reality of what he’s like. I really appreciated how much time and detail went into the resolution phase of this novel. Totally rooting for this adorable couple. Also, even in the hard/dark/annoying times, there’s still the signature Alexis Hall laugh out loud touches. And the narrator for this one is great, too. Great work all around!

Intense themes but still cozy

Other reviews are not wrong, it can be hard to inhabit Paris’ brain and while it took me some time to get into the book, I did ultimately still enjoy this and found myself rooting for him and Tarik at the end.

Cute

Cute story. I had to speed up the narration because it was so slow sometimes.