Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall

Publication date: May 2021
LGBTQ+ author? Genderqueer
Series: Winner Bakes All #1
Setting: Modern day UK
Content warnings: Biphobia (challenged), sexual assault (interrupted quickly)

I am not sure why this doesn’t have a higher rating on Goodreads. Outside of the Arden St Ives books, this is my favourite Alexis Hall romance.

Rosaline Palmer got pregnant at 19 and dropped out of medical school. She is now raising her delightful and precocious eight year old on her own while working part time in a shop. She goes on a reality TV baking show as a way to earn more money doing what she loves.

The book doesn’t even try to pretend this reality show isn’t The Great British Bake Off, which is a show I love. I love all gentle reality TV where people seem very friendly and make something they are very good at. So reading what the author imagines happens behind the scenes of one of these shows is so fun.

There are a lot of excellent supporting characters. My favourite is the potty-mouthed producer of the reality show. I also loved Rosaline’s daughter Amelie, who was obsessed with deep sea fish and saying very honest but awkward things.

Romance and too much bisexual drama

The book has a love triangle between Rosaline and two contestants on the show. The one she spends most of the book with is a stylish, well-spoken architect named Alain that her parents approve of. But she can’t quite get Harry, the soft-spoken electrician, out of her mind.

This is a queer romance, and Alexis makes sure we know Rosaline is bisexual. Her ex-girlfriend is her best friend and primary back up child care for her daughter.

Some of the bisexual drama that happens to Rosaline feels a bit over the top. In my many decades of being bisexual I haven’t had half the things happen to me that Rosaline endures in two months. This is the only thing I don’t like about this book. It pushes a fun story a bit into ridiculousness at times.

Overall, I think it’s nice to see a bisexual woman dating a man and being included in queer romance genre.

Alexis Hall themes

This is the seventh Alexis Hall book I’ve read so far, and still going strong.

One thing I’ve noticed is that most of his main characters are very similar, no matter their age or gender or story. They are very anxious, particularly socially anxious. Many of them are smart enough to get into Oxford or Cambridge but don’t do very well or drop out. There is a lot of class tension between love interests, with someone being rich and the other one scraping by. The posh one usually struggles with not meeting their parents’ expectations. I am here for many more books with versions of this character.

The author also threw in a sentence referencing the Chronicles of Narnia again. Does he do this in all books? It’s like “Where’s Waldo” for nerds of a certain age. And I am sorry Rosaline doesn’t like Turkish delight because it’s delicious.