DNF'd at about 100 pages. To start, I'm a big fan of Alexis Hall, his work, and his presence in the queer writing/publishing community. I think he raises some important issues, especially from what I've observed in this book. Rosaline Palmer tackles issues of family, life decisions, biphobia, and navigating romantic relationships in this book, all against the backdrop of a British baking show.

This book is, like many other reviewers have stated, definitely more along the lines of contemporary fiction than romance. The main love interest, Harry, is hardly mentioned 1/4 of the way into the book, and the chemistry thus far is nonexistent. I understand that Alain and Harry, the two love interests, are in place to demonstrate that even Rosaline experiences personal bias (in this case, classist bias) despite calling out heterosexism, unwanted comments on her parenting, etc. However, it was too much. The dialogue drifted so often that I found myself forgetting that the plot was a baking show, which is why I initially picked up the book.

I might revisit this novel at some point in the future because I should love everything about this book (bi MC, class discourse, hopefully more food descriptions than discourse?). However, I think Hall should consider writing nonfiction essays alongside contemporary/romance fiction in order to address some of the concerns he tries to squeeze into the book. It's difficult to educate readers, especially those who are most likely the target audience and therefore already in the know, when the information is bogged down amidst a plot and multiple side characters.