Anna's Reviews > Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake

Reread December 2021

This is definitely one of my favorite romance reads of the year and I'm pretty sure that I'm ready to commit that this is my favorite book that features a baking competition. It is just so well done in the way that it connects both baking and character development and romantic subplot etc. I think I like this book so much because it is so closely related to the Great British bake off and when I say that I mean literally. The judges and the hosts and the way the competitions are set up and the finale all are basically drawn from the schedule and format of GBBO. I personally love that. I love that the bakes get attention and there's enough actual baking content without feeling overwhelmed. It's cute and quirky and everything that GBBO is.

While this book has romance in it I stand by the fact that this book is more about Rosaline coming into her confidence and believing that she deserves to stand up for herself.

It also features one of my favorite sex scenes. It is near the end of the book and there is so much consent in communication and discussions happening during it that it felt like romanticizing realism and I think that that is really important. A lot of the times sex scenes are written in a way that makes everything seem so perfect and I think it's really important to showcase that sex doesn't always go the way you want it to and that it's okay to talk and communicate during it to figure out what yourself and your partner enjoys. Open honest communication should be a part of sex and I really appreciated that the end scene had all of that.

This is also a great book for any of my fellow sex repulsed friends. This book is fade to black in the explicit scenes and while there are mentions of sex during the book they're never in depth or fully explicit.

Original review:
5+
Oh my gosh y'all this is exactly the type of book I adore. It's beautifully queer, has loads of amazing characters and a handful of asshole ones, a squishy cinnamon roll man hunk of a love interest, and a crap ton of baking. I will note that I am slightly obsessed with the great British bake off and I am a baker, so while I adores the huge amount of time spent focused on baking, it may not be for everyone.

Bisexual single mom MC, m/f relationship, secondary lesbian character, secondary queer characters

CW: biphobia, attempted sexual assault, internalized sexism, mentions of anxiety, explicit sex.