Rosaline Palmer Takes The Cake by Alexis Hall
Published by Forever on May 2021Genres: Adult Fiction
Pages: 448
Format: eBook
Source: Publisher
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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.
There are some really wonderful things about Rosaline and her baking adventure.
Her journey as a single mom, struggling to make ends meet and fulfill her dream is easy to get behind. As always, Hall writes his supporting characters so well it’s easy to fall in love with every single character in the book. (Obviously, not Alain because ew. What a creep.) But everyone else from Rosaline’s ex-girlfriend, her amazingly clever and insightful daughter and the other contestants on the show are just incredible.)
The writing is solid and it really brought me right into the bake show. I mean, I could smell the food. It felt like I was watching the Great British Bake Off. I loved the contestants and the scenery. The show really brought an extra layer of urgency to the show. Yes, I want Rosaline to find her happily ever after, but OMG I want her to win too! Can she have both?
That said, I had some minor issues with the story. Rosaline is a bit too prickly/preachy for me, always eager to correct people’s behavior but then herself behaving in some not nice ways. I was talking about it with a friend and I think she just reminds me of some other women I know so it might have less to do with her and more to do with my own personal experiences. Alain is the main love interest for a lot of the book and then we have Harry. And we’re already kinda invested in Alain (until he turns out to be a terrible human being) and then we’re pretty much smacked in the face with Harry. There’s nothing wrong with changing love interests obviously, especially when one of them turns out to be truly horrible, but I wish I had been more invested in Harry when the switch happened. I felt like it was too abrupt and didn’t really get that slow romantic build I wanted.
Overall though I think Rosaline Palmer is a solid woman’s fiction about a young single mom trying to find her way and win a baking competition. It has humor and lots of heart.
Kimberly majored in Songwriting and currently works full time in the music industry. When she's not listening to music, knitting or writing, you can find her outside reading her favorite genres: Young Adult, Adult Fiction, Mystery, and Romance.
