#ROSALINE PALMER TAKES THE CAKE BY ALEXIS HALL

[lgbtqreads]

Fave Five: Books About Pie (and Other Desserts)

Happy Pi Day! The Heartbreak Bakery by A.R. Capetta (Speculative Agender/Transmasc YA Romance) Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies by Misha Popp (Bi Cozy Mystery) In the Case of Heartbreak by Courtney Kae (M/M Romance) The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar (Contemporary F/F YA Romance) Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall (Bi M/F Romance)

[bibliophilecats]

Currently reading: Rosaline Palmer Takes The Cake by Alexis Hall

[jovianjournal]

March 2024

Should i just do one big post for novels and comics at the same time? Anyway, here's the novels i read in march, mostly SFF plus one romcom

Uprooted -- Naomi Novik, French translation by Benjamin Kuntzer

A young woman is sent to the local wizard's tower as a yearly tribute (or something like that) where she learns magic and try to discover why the forest is being weird. Very long and frankly a little boring, i had pretty high expectations and i was a bit disappointed. At first it seemed right up my alley, there were some blue beard, dark fantasy vibes... that kind of went nowhere tbh. most of the characters are extremely annoying (although i did like Agniezka as a protagonist! and her friend Kasia. it could have been gay... it should have been gay!!) and the plot felt stretched out for no reason. But i did enjoy the old folk tale aesthetic, the magic system based around rhymes was beautiful.

*

A Study in Drowning -- Ava Reid

A college student is sent to a crumbling mansion by the sea for an architecture project, alongside her academic rival, mystery ensues. The vibes were perfect, the rising sea, the damp air, the raging storm, water everywhere. I have one complain tho: I spent the Whole Goddamn Book SCREAMING at the characters "why aren't you checking this One Thing???" and as soon as they did check this one thing the mystery was resolved. so that was a little annoying.

Overall I really liked this book, i'd recommend it if you're into Dark Academia, A House as A Character, and metaphors about sexist and sexual violence. Also the writing is really pretty! i want to read other books by this author.

*

The Mars House -- Natasha Pulley

disclaimer: i love Natasha Pulley So. Much. she is probably my fav author currently, and i am very aware that she tends to always write the same book, but listen : i am autistic and i like knowing what im getting into and knowing that im going to like a story before investing the time in it.

That Being Said, i have two and a half pages of notes in my journal that boil down to "i didn't like this book as much as i hoped :/". This is a sci-fi story about immigration and xenophobia where one of the main character is a martian right-wing politician and also there's some Gender Stuff in martian society that felt a little terfy? (which is weird bc basically in this book Martian society has Abolished Gender). I still adored this book! i'd wholeheartedly recommend it! the writing is spectacular, i loved the characters, the worldbuilding is super interesting, there's fun tragic irony where you know what's going on while the characters don't, there's fricking Mammoths. Read it, and then read The Watchmaker of FIligree Street, and then read the Kingdoms, and then read all of her other books.

*

Ariah -- B. R. Sanders

I don't know how to describe this book. A 400-page character study about a Pretty Annoying Guy? I think i picked it up bc i was looking for books with polyam relationships and that's why i powered all the way through it. I actually don't remember much about the plot. It's a high fantasy story, the main character has mind powers he has trouble controlling, he's kind of a dick to his lovers, every time something important happens the narration completely glosses over it. Reading over my notes, i did like the last part of the story, and the happy end felt deserved. don't have much more to say.

*

Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake -- Alexis Hall

Alexis Hall is another one of my comfort authors, im slowly getting through their bibliography. this one was okay! it's a great british bake off fan fiction, it was fun (but not as good as the Stucky fanfic). good banter, tropey plot. averages to and okay book.

[endlessly-ranting-antheia]

Alan: Rosaline “um” Palmer

Me: go fuck yourself you condescending asshole

[thecasualbookreviewer]

and that was the thing about journeys, wasn't it? They weren't about where you started or where you ended. They were about who came with you.

Rosaline Palmer takes the cake, Alexis Hall

[meeghanreads]

Top 5 books with baked goods

Hello friends!! Welcome to Top 5 Tuesday!! This week’s topic is top 5 books with baked goods!! This Thursday, 14 March is International Pi Day. Something about 3.14… maths, circles, other math/sciency things. Look, I read a lot of fantasy and romance. I don’t need to understand how to calculate a circumference. So, instead of picking 5 books that have something to do with math or STEM (let’s be…

[witsserviceablesubstitute]

I'm listening to 'Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake' by Alexis Hall and loving it but I can feel it dragging me back into my Great British Bake Off era.

[wahlpaper]

Rosaline Palmer Takes The Cake Review

Rosaline Palmer Takes The Cake by Alexis Hall

CW: Drinking, Heavy Drinking, Queerphobia, Bi-phobia, Sex Descriptions, Sexual Harassment, Classism, Sexism, Manipulative Parents, Gaslighting, Heavy Swearing, Money Problems, Discussion of Teenage Pregnancy, Consideration of Abortion, Blackmail Attempt, Mild Violence

4/5

I can honestly say this is the first adult book I've read where the main character is a bisexual woman and is having a romance with a man. I have read two teen books like this, but never for adults. That being said, the romance wasn't the part of the book that pulled me in. The real romance to focus on is the one between Rosaline and herself. If you want a story about a woman setting boundaries and finding out what she wants out of life, Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake is a really good book for that.

Rosaline Palmer is a single mom in her late 20s who works in a shop. Although she can take money from her parents, it has conditions. There's a certain life they imagined for her and the fact that she strayed from it is upsetting to them. To pay her parents back and help her daughter, Amelie, have a better life, she enters a baking competition show. As the weeks go by, Rosaline meets two men that show her what she does and doesn't want out of life. There's Alain, who sees a lot of potential in her and her parents approve of him. Then there's Harry. He shows her that she is already an impressive woman, plus he knows how to win Amelie over. By the end of the competition, will Rosaline find what she's after?

Initially, I did not like either Alain or Harry and considered putting the book down. However, I've read both Boyfriend Material and Husband Material by Hall, so I trust his writing. Additionally, I was already pulled in by Rosaline and Amelie. Their mother-daughter relationship was sweet and fun. Hall knows how to write books with an ensemble of characters. It's not just a main plot and a love story that you get when you read his work. As this book revolves around a baking competition, we get to know the other contestants and the TV crew. They filled the story with energy and kept me reading. Considering there are two more books ahead of me in this series, I am especially grateful for the TV crew.

The built-in structure of a weekly competition kept the book at a realistic and enjoyable pace. The time dedicated to both men, exploring Rosaline's relationship with her parents, the baking competition itself, Rosaline's home life with Amelie, and Rosaline bonding with her competitors was enough and very well balanced. Despite being only slightly interested in the love plot, I didn't want to put this book down. It was entertaining, emotional, funny, and cute. Certainly things that I want from a book.

As I mentioned previously, I've never seen straight-passing bi romance offered for adults in book form before. This representation is important no matter the age. Rosaline faces a lot of queer and bi-phobia within the story. Her parents prefer for her to be with a man, she faces people assuming she would be okay with a threesome, one of her fellow competitors provides unsolicited opinions about her sexuality, and her daughter's school has rules about mentioning LGBTQ+ related topics. Romances between a bi person and someone not of their gender are important because they show you that you don't have to "look" queer to be queer.

If you've seen any of The Great British Bake Off, you'll understand exactly what Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake is going for. Even if that's not the case, I think this book still appeals to a wide audience. Single moms, fighting classist rhetoric, and bi representation! I can't wait to read the sequel!

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

💙💜🩷 Books for Bisexuality Visibility Month 🩷💜💙

please support this blog

💜 How incredible is it that I made a list of 99 books for bisexual visibility month, KNOWING there are so many NOT featured on this list? I'm so proud to be bi. Having these characters and stories intertwine with mine warms my heart.

💜 What's your favorite book featuring bisexual characters?

💙 The Henna Wars - Adiba Jaigirdar 💙 Perfect on Paper - Sophie Gonzales 💙 Imogen, Obviously - Becky Albertalli 💙 Red, White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston 💙 Queens of Geek - Jen Wilde 💙 Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster - Andrea Mosqueda 💙 Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute - Talia Hibbert 💙 Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake - Alexis Hall 💙 A Merry Little Meet Cute - Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone

💜 Leah on the Offbeat - Becky Albertalli 💜 The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid 💜 Radio Silence - Alice Oseman 💜 The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue - Mackenzi Lee 💜 You Exist Too Much - Zaina Arafat 💜 Wolfsong - T.J. Klune 💜 The Pairing - Casey McQuiston 💜 Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail - Ashley Herring Blake 💜 Heartstopper - Alice Oseman

🩷 Going Bicoastal - Dahlia Adler 🩷 Some Girls Do - Jennifer Dugan 🩷 Hani & Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating - Adiba Jaigirdar 🩷 Autoboyography - Christina Lauren 🩷 Written in the Stars - Alexandria Bellefleur 🩷 They Both Die at the End - Adam Silvera 🩷 Cool for the Summer - Dahlia Adler 🩷 Delilah Green Doesn't Care - Ashley Herring Blake 🩷 One Last Stop - Casey McQuiston

💙 I'll Be the One - Lyla Lee 💙 Running With Lions - Julian Winters 💙 Take a Hint, Dani Brown - Talia Hibbert 💙 Felix Ever After - Kacen Callender 💙 Not Your Sidekick - C.B. Lee 💙 Ophelia After All - Racquel Marie 💙 Iron Widow - Xiran Jay Zhao 💙 Something to Talk About - Meryl Wilsner 💙 The Girls I've Been - Tess Sharpe

💜 Iris Kelly Doesn't Date - Ashley Herring Blake 💜 Never Ever Getting Back Together - Sophie Gonzales 💜 Her Royal Highness - Rachel Hawkins 💜 Call Me By Your Name - André Aciman 💜 I Wish You All the Best - Mason Deaver 💜 Mistakes Were Made - Meryl Wilsner 💜 Hang the Moon - Alexandria Bellefleur 💜 Kiss Her Once for Me - Alison Cochrun 💜 The Brightsiders - Jen Wilde

🩷 Wild Beauty - Anna-Marie McLemore 🩷 The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - Victoria Schwab 🩷 Payback's a Witch - Lana Harper 🩷 A Dowry of Blood - S.T. Gibson 🩷 Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo 🩷 Dark Rise - C.S. Pacat 🩷 If This Gets Out - Sophie Gonzales & Cale Dietrich 🩷 Let's Talk About Love - Claire Kann 🩷 Carry On - Rainbow Rowell

💙 Under the Whispering Door - T.J. Klune 💙 I Kissed Shara Wheeler - Casey McQuiston 💙 Pumpkinheads - Rainbow Rowell 💙 Icebreaker - A.L. Graziadei 💙 This Poison Heart - Kalynn Bayron 💙 A Lot Like Adiós - Alexis Daria 💙 Sorry, Bro - Taleen Voskuni 💙 We Are Okay - Nina LaCour 💙 Count Your Lucky Stars - Alexandria Bellefleur

💜 Hot Dog Girl - Jennifer Dugan 💜 Verona Comics - Jennifer Dugan 💜 They Hate Each Other - Amanda Woody 💜 The Disasters - M.K. England 💜 The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvater 💜 You Should See Me in a Crown - Leah Johnson 💜 These Witches Don't Burn - Isabel Sterling 💜 My Dearest Darkest - Kayla Cottingham 💜 City of Shattered Light - Claire Winn

🩷 The Unbroken - C.L. Clark 🩷 Dread Nation - Justina Ireland 🩷 House of Hollow - Krystal Sutherland 🩷 Love & Other Disasters - Anita Kelly 🩷 Ace of Shades - Amanda Foody 🩷 The Lost Girls - Sonia Hartl 🩷 Of Fire and Stars - Audrey Coulthurst 🩷 This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story - Kacen Callender 🩷 Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe - Benjamin Alire Sáenz

💙 If You Still Recognise Me - Cynthia So 💙 Melt With You - Jennifer Dugan 💙 The Charm Offensive - Alison Cochrun 💙 That Summer Feeling - Bridget Morrissey 💙 The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School - Sonora Reyes 💙 The Luis Ortega Survival Club - Sonora Reyes 💙 The Fiancée Farce - Alexandria Bellefleur 💙 Flip the Script - Lyla Lee 💙 Role Playing - Cathy Yardley

💜 I Think I Love You - Auriane Desombre 💜 Truly, Madly, Deeply - Alexandria Bellefleur 💜 Gearbreakers - Zoe Hana Mikuta 💜 Finally Fitz - Marisa Kanter 💜 The Spirit Bares Its Teeth - Andrew Joseph White 💜 Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl - Brianna R. Shrum & Sara Waxelbaum 💜 Late Bloomer - Mazey Eddings 💜 A Darker Shade of Magic - Victoria Schwab 💜 Love at First Set - Jennifer Dugan

[self-made-cages]

Morgan’s 2024 Reading List

Jan 2: The Nightingale - Kristin Hannah (4 stars)

Jan 10: Eragon - Christopher Paolini (re-read)

Jan 12: Eldest - Christopher Paolini (re-read)

Jan 15: Brisingr - Christopher Paolini (re-read)

Jan 19: Inheritance - Christopher Paolini (re-read)

Jan 26: England - Rick Steves (not rating)

Jan 30: Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel (2.5 stars)

Feb 16: The Poppy War - R. F. Kuang (1.5 stars)

Feb 18: The Good Part - Sophie Cousens (4.5 stars)

Feb 26: Trust - Hernan Diaz (4.5 stars)

Mar 5: Part of Your World - Abby Jiminez (2.5 stars)

Mar 12: Murtagh - Christopher Paolini (3.5 stars)

Mar 15: The Things We Cannot Say - Kelly Rimmer (3.5 stars)

Mar 31: NW - Zadie Smith (3 stars)

Apr 8: The Sun Sets in Singapore - Kehinde Fadipe (1.5 stars)

April 17: How To End a Love Story - Yulin Kuang (4 stars)

April 30: The Club - Ellery Lloyd (4 stars)

May 5: Remarkably Bright Creatures - Shelby Van Pelt (3 stars)

May 11: Funny Story - Emily Henry (4.5 stars)

May 16: The Husbands - Holly Gramazio (4 stars)

June 1: House of Earth and Blood - Sarah J. Maas (3 stars)

June 2: The Women - Kristin Hannah (2.5 stars)

June 11: House of Sky and Breath - Sarah J. Maas (4 stars)

June 15: When He Was Wicked - Julia Quinn (re-read)

June 22: House of Flame and Shadow - Sarah J. Maas (3 stars)

June 22: God Spare the Girls - Kelsey McKinney (1 star)

June 25: In Cold Blood - Truman Capote (not rating)

June 25: The Four Winds - Kristin Hannah (1.5 stars)

June 29: Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake - Alexis Hall (4 stars)

July 3: Bad Summer People - Emma Rosenbaum (2.5 stars)

July 6: Widowland - CJ Carey (2 stars)

July 12: What’s Mine and Yours - Naima Coster (2 stars)

July 23: The Gifted School - Bruce Holsinger (4.5 stars)

July 29: All the Summers in Between - Brooke Lea Foster (dnf)

Aug 2: Cover Story- Susan Rigetti (4.5 stars)

Aug 7: Family Family - Laurie Frankel (5 stars)

Aug 17: Plays Well with Others - Sophie Brickman (4 stars)

Aug 23: Class Mom - Laurie Gelman (1.5 stars)

Aug 31: The Guncle Abroad - Steven Rowley (2 stars)

Sep 2: Homegoing - Yaa Gyasi (4.5 stars)

Sep 15: Twilight - Stephanie Meyer (re-read)

Sep 16: New Moon - Stephanie Meyer (re-read)

Sep 20: Eclipse - Stephanie Meyer (re-read)

Sep 22: Breaking Dawn - Stephanie Meyer (re-read)

Sep 24: The God of the Woods - Liz Moore (3.5 stars)

[duckprintspress]

Celebrate Bisexual Awareness Week with 18 Awesome Books with Bi Characters!

September 16th to 23rd is Bisexual Awareness Week, culminating in Bisexual Visibility Day on the last day! To celebrate, we cooked up a list of our 18 favorite books featuring bisexual characters!

The Rules and Regulations for Mediating Myths and Magic by F. T. Lukens

Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Guardian by priest

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

Unmasked by the Marquess by Cat Sebastian

Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli

Heartstopper by Alice Oseman

Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan

When the Stars Alight by Camilla Andrew

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake

Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake

Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall

The Heartbreak Bakery by A. R. Capetta

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

The Last True Poets of the Sea by Julia Drake

What are YOUR favorite books with bisexual protagonists? Tell us so we can get our read on even more!

This post was compiled with contributions from numerous Duck Prints Press contributors. We’ll have another post coming out on the 23rd, with Duck Prints Press publications featuring bi characters!

[fahye]

First of all, bless you for writing A Marvelous Light! I couldn’t put it down! Unfortunately, now that I’ve finished it, there is a gaping hole in my life. I was wondering if you could recommend any similar books? Books that inspired you? It’s so hard to find queer romance novels that 1) have happy endings, 2) are well-written, 3) have smut that isn’t creepy. Thank you again for writing such a perfect book!!

well-written queer romance novels with happy endings and good smut! this is an area in which I AM AN EXPERT!

m/m

[gestures at literally every single book by k.j. charles] my faves are band sinister, think of england and the will darling adventures which begin with slippery creatures

of cat sebastian's many wonderful books my faves are the ruin of a rake and peter cabot gets lost

pansies and something fabulous by alexis hall; he has a huge fantastic backlist of various varieties of queer romance, and I'll also shout out rosaline palmer takes the cake which is m/f with a bisexual lead and a total delight

work for it by talia hibbert

honeytrap and tramps & vagabonds by aster glenn gray

peter darling by s.a. chant

the wolf at the door (and sequels) by charlie adhara

f/f

all of olivia waite's books: the lady's guide to celestial mechanics, the care & feeding of waspish widows, the hellion's waltz

delilah green doesn't care by ashley herring blake

how to find a princess by alyssa cole

one last stop by casey mcquiston

I haven't read it yet but I have heard good things about mistakes were made by meryl wilsner

[bibliophilecats]

04 October 2023: National Cinnamon Roll Day

[the-bi-library]

Here are 20 bi/bisexual pink books to celebrate the barbie release!

Books listed 💕The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur 💕Can I Steal You for a Second? by Jodi McAlister 💕This Spells Disaster by Tori Anne Martin 💕A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy 💕Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston 💕Season of Love by Helena Greer 💕Flip the Script by Lyla Lee 💕Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert 💕The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste 💕In the Ring by Sierra Isley 💕Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall 💕Abbott by Saladin Ahmed 💕Then Everything Happens at Once by M.E. Girard 💕One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston 💕Forget This Ever Happened by Cassandra Rose Clarke 💕Who I Was with Her by Nita Tyndall Honorable mentions 💕Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster by Andrea Mosqueda 💕Follow Your Arrow by Jessica Verdi 💕So This Is Ever After by F.T. Lukens 💕The Gallery of Unfinished Girls by Lauren Karcz

[endlessly-ranting-antheia]

Me at Rosaline every time Alan shows up in Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake

[thecasualbookreviewer]

it didn't matter what it was. It only matter that it was yours.

Rosaline Palmer takes the cake, Alexis Hall