I have been listening to so many audiobooks lately, mostly because I’ve taken up making my own clay earrings. This is a process I’ve deeply loved, but one that is extremely time consuming. So prepare yourselves for many posts about audiobooks because I’ve been listening to them like hotcakes! Today I wanted to bring you some mini reviews of audiobooks I’ve listened to recently on audiobook.
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Paris Daillencourt Is About the Crumble by Alexis Hall
Paris Daillencourt is a recipe for disaster. Despite his passion for baking, his cat, and his classics degree, constant self-doubt and second-guessing have left him a curdled, directionless mess. So when his roommate enters him in Bake Expectations, the nation’s favourite baking show, Paris is sure he’ll be the first one sent home.
But not only does he win week one’s challenge—he meets fellow contestant Tariq Hassan. Sure, he’s the competition, but he’s also cute and kind, with more confidence than Paris could ever hope to have. Still, neither his growing romance with Tariq nor his own impressive bakes can keep Paris’s fear of failure from spoiling his happiness. And when the show’s vicious fanbase confirms his worst anxieties, Paris’s confidence is torn apart quicker than tear-and-share bread.
But if Paris can find the strength to face his past, his future, and the chorus of hecklers that live in his brain, he’ll realize it’s the sweet things in life that he really deserves.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
TW: anxiety, panic attacks, cyberbullying
You know those books that almost feel too real that it’s hard to look at them? That was my experience with Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble. From the get go, I adored the baking puns and reality television aspect. I enjoyed Rosaline Parker Takes the Cake and so it was an easy choice to listen to this sequel. And there were some thoughts and moments that felt so close to home I had to take a break. So much of Paris’s perspective and reactions to his anxiety – including his narration – feels so raw, so vulnerable, and so similar to thoughts I have had, and I’m sure others have too.
For anyone who felt exhausted or annoyed reading Paris’s thoughts, I’d ask you to consider Paris’s experience. The exhaustion of his anxiety, the ways it roots into the pieces of his life, and his daily life. All of the characters are vibrant from the beginning. The disasters in the kitchen, the confessions to our best friends, and our feelings of self-doubt. While some parts of it felt too close to home, I enjoyed Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble because it was a story about Paris and his journey to figure out what really motivates him, who he wants to be, and also featured a romance storyline.
I never felt like one or the other element was lessened to make space, it felt seamless. Ewan Goddard, the narrator, did a phenomenal job at infusing Paris’s narration with care and vulnerability. With the ways his words, thoughts, and emotions are shifting throughout the pages. Find Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, Libro.fm, and Google Play.
Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake
For Astrid Parker, failure is unacceptable. Ever since she broke up with her fiancé a year ago, she’s been focused on her career—her friends might say she’s obsessed, but she’s just driven. When Pru Everwood asks her to be the designer for the Everwood Inn’s renovation that will be broadcasted on a popular home improvement show, Innside America, Astrid knows this is the answer to everything that is wrong with her life. It’ll be the perfect distraction from her failed love life, and her perpetually displeased mother might finally give her nod of approval.
However, Astrid never planned on Jordan Everwood, Pru’s granddaughter and lead carpenter for the inn’s renovation, who despises every modern design decision Astrid makes. Jordan is determined to preserve the history of her family’s inn, particularly as the rest of her life is in shambles. When that determination turns into a little light sabotage, ruffling Astrid’s perfect little feathers, the showrunners ask them to play up the tension. But somewhere along the way, their dislike for each other turns into something quite different, and Astrid must decide what success truly means. Is she going to pursue the life that she’s expected to lead, or the one she wants?
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Okay so I was not prepared to identify so much with Astrid. The ways she feels she has to be put together, unflinching, cold, and calculated. Ever since Delilah Green Doesn’t Care I’ve been intrigued in Astrid. In trying to see her unpack what her mother has done to her, her visions of herself, and who she is. And it was worth the wait. With a disastrous meet cute, Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail is perfect for everyone who has scoffed at those who said failure was a step towards success. To everyone who thinks that failure is the ultimate loss and will try to avoid it at any cost.
Throughout the course of the book, we witness Astrid and Jordan open up to each other. They go from rivals to unlikely allies, to friends, to more? All the ways we can sometimes be more vulnerable with people we don’t know especially with a “I can’t stand them, but I might love them” energy. I loved to see Astrid not only letting loose, but also coming into the true essence of herself. Of critiquing the toxic relationship and finding her own voice, her own ambition, and her own love.
Overall,
If you were also interested in Astrid ever since Delilah’s book, this is an easy choice for you. But if you also like a character at the precipice of having to re-evaluate every fiber of her life and just might unlock her true self then you have to read this one. Kristen DiMecurio did an amazing job at bringing hints of vulnerability to a character who would rather walk on coals than be vulnerable. DiMecurio infuses Astrid with the doubts, the moments of tenderness, that we need to see. Find Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, Libro.fm, and Google Play.
Happy Place by Emily Henry
Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t.
They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.
Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blue week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.
Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week… in front of those who know you best?
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the Libro.fm. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Historically I have been a fan of Emily Henry’s adult romance books and I think I’ve read all but one, but Happy Place was not it for me. I’m not sure if it’s just the combination of tropes or elements just didn’t click with me, but I could not fall head over heels in love with it. I think one of the major reasons is this tension about “what the hell happened between them”. It’s a similar frustration I felt in People We Meet on Vacation. Where there are these two characters and something has happened – also with a dual timeline – and no one will tell us what. We get these hints about what happened, but the tension of the ‘what’ is held so long that once it resolves, it feels anticlimactic.
In fact when it was all revealed, I think I spoke – aloud mind you – “are you serious?” It’s just a writing choice that I think is very difficult to nail the timing and, for me, the conclusion of it was too late. I enjoyed the way Emily Henry explores and plays with the idea of a “Happy Place” and what that means for each of us: whether it’s a place, people, or something else. And I even enjoyed the banter and chemistry between Harriet and Wyn, but the frustrating tension held too long just left me feeling incredibly unfulfilled at the end. Another element or trope I had a problem with – which I know is contentious is the miscommunication one.
And?
This isn’t particularly a spoiler because I think not only is it relatively common, but it’s not about THE resolution. It’s this thread I saw throughout the book not only in Harriet and Wyn as well. Maybe if there was just the one or the other, then I could have gotten more on board, but there’s only so many times I can hear the words Happy Place, while being in a frustrating place. My favorite element had to be the friendship group in Happy Place which felt weird especially since the main characters seem to me like the main draw?
I think if you loved People We Meet on Vacation and specifically that tension between what happened and now, then you’re bound to enjoy Happy Place. Or if you’ve ever felt like you weren’t right for a person, and you didn’t know how to broach that. I think there are some relatable pieces within, it just didn’t save it enough for me. However, another of my favorite element was Julia Whelan the audiobook narrator who is one of my favorite ones I follow. Julia was able to bring the emotional tension and angst which made the literary frustration I was feeling more managable.
Do I recommend this? I think either know you love Emily Henry, enjoy the tension of “what happened here”, or go in with a grain of salt. I do think that many readers have found their own happy place within. Find Happy Place on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, Libro.fm, and Google Play.