Rosaline Palmer is a struggling single mother who has just landed a spot to compete in the next season of Bake Expectations, a televised baking competition. If she wins, the prize money and exposure could change her and her daughter’s life. But she didn’t expect to meet not only one, but two eligible men on the baking show, who just might make her question her lifelong beliefs.
I wanted to like this book so much. I wanted to love this book. Especially because I’ve heard such great things about the book and the characters. And I can’t tell you how much I love a baking competition, a la The Great British Baking Show. But unfortunately, I didn’t love this book.
The last 25% of this book is great. I loved the ending. But in order to get to the great parts, you have to read through the not-so-great parts.
I’m not sure how I feel about Rosaline. She annoyed me for so much of the book, that I don’t know if her ending at the conclusion of the book is worth it. At the beginning of the book, she lies about her profession and doesn’t want to tell the other bake show contestants she is a single mother. She dreads telling people she has a kid because she is worried about what they’re going to say about that. I felt like Rosaline thought it was shameful that she was a single mother which I did not care for. It is 2022 and there are plenty of single parents out there. She’s also a bit of a doormat as she lets people walk all over her and lets her parents make her guilty for living her life the way she wants to. But, at the end of the book, she finally finds her backbone, stands up for herself, and figures out what she wants to do. I was rooting for her at the end, but as I said, you have to wade through a lot of Rosaline being a pushover before she flourishes.
I loved reading about the baking show and I felt it was very realistic – from the host and their punny introductions, to having to repeat lines to make sure the cameras got everything, to practicing bakes before the show, it was everything that I imagined being on a baking show would be like. There is even the foulmouth producer who spends her time insulting the contestants and only cares about making a show that will bring in the ratings. I did however have some trouble remembering who all the contestants were. Unfortunately, for the minor baking show contestants, we only get a sentence or two about them, which made it difficult for me to recall who everyone was. I did love the camaraderie Rosaline had with Anvita and Harry, though.
In my opinion, this book is not so much a romance as it is women’s fiction. The plot largely circles around Rosaline’s character growth as she’s on the baking show. As Rosaline continues on the show into each new week, her baking gets better as well as her confidence. I don’t want to spoil anything but there is a love triangle in this book, which is my least favorite trope. Although, romance is not so much the main focus of the novel so it didn’t bother me too much. I was definitely more interested in the baking!
I’m really kind of torn about how I feel about this book. I loved everything that had to do with the baking competition but the main character was not my favorite.
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