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Luc O’Donnell is tangentially – and reluctantly – famous. His rock-star parents split when he was young, and the father he’s never met spent the next 20 years cruising in and out of rehab. Now that his dad’s making a comeback, Luc’s back in the public eye, and one compromising photo is enough to ruin everything.
To clean up his image, Luc has to find a nice normal relationship…and Oliver Blackwood is as nice and normal as they come. He’s a barrister, an ethical vegetarian, and someone who has never inspired a moment of scandal in his life. In other words, he’s perfect boyfriend material. Unfortunately, apart from being gay, single, and really really in need of a date for a big event, Luc and Oliver have nothing in common. So they strike a deal to be publicity-friendly (fake) boyfriends until the dust settles. Then they can go their separate ways and pretend it never happened.
But the thing about fake-dating is that it can feel a lot like real-dating. And that’s when you get used to someone…start falling for them…don’t ever want to let them go.
4.5
Reviewer: Maureen
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Boyfriend Material
Review: Hereâs the TLDR version of my review: I liked Boyfriend Material so much that as soon as I finished, I pre-ordered a paperback copy, and I intend to get the Audible edition too. In the interest of full disclosure, I pre-ordered the Kindle edition back in December, but buying all three versions of a book is a rarity for me and something I only do for my most favorite books.If you want an actual review, here you go:Luc OâDonnell is a bit of a hot mess. Heâs always been vaguely famous because his parents are famous, but now that his estranged rock star dad is back in the spotlight, that means thereâs more of an interest in what Luc is doing.And thatâs a problem because Luc is a bit of a hot mess. He needs a boyfriend to help give him the appearance of normalcy. His friend sets him up with Oliver, who is super super normal and the complete opposite of a hot mess.Fortunately for Luc, Oliver also needs a boyfriend to take to a big event, so they agree to be fake boyfriends until both of their big events are over, and then theyâll âbreak upâ and go their separate ways.But OMG, guess what? Over the course of pretending to be fake boyfriends, Luc begins to develop real feelings, and maybeâjust maybeâOliver might feel the same way, which is completely ridiculous because they have almost nothing in common other than being gay.Romances tend to be dual-perspective, but in Boyfriend Material, the story unfolds from Lucâs first-person perspective. Hall does this a lot with his romances, and this device always works to strengthen the narrative. Knowing what the love interest is thinking would take away from some of the mystery; the reader only knows what the protagonist knows.In this specific instance, it works out especially well because Luc is super funny and Oliver is boring. I donât mean that in a negative senseâI absolutely love Oliverâbut he has his life together and his life is a series of predictable routines, until Luc comes along of course. I think having Oliverâs perspective would make him seem like less of the Ideal that heâs presented as being,On that note, thereâs some interesting discourse on Good Gay vs. Bad Gay. Itâs kind of like Goofus and Gallant from Highlights Magazine: Good Gays work as barristers and Bad Gays are photographed drunk in the gutter. To be more specific, Oliverâs homosexuality is tolerated more by society because he blends in and doesnât do anything scandalous, whereas Luc is Scandal Personified and a cause for concern for the donors to the charitable organization he works at. Of course, Luc’s harmful rhetoric is deconstructed over the course of the novel, and Oliver helps him understand that he’s not a person just because he’s been in the tabloids.I wouldnât go so far as to say that this book employs the âsunshine vs grumpâ trope because Luc has too much baggage to be a sunshine, although he is a lot of fun and I loved his sense of humor. Oliver, however, is definitely a bit of a grump, so it was simply delightful seeing these two opposites being forced to work together.Hall always does such a good job with secondary characters, and this book is no exception. From Lucâs French mum who has developed an affinity for Drag Race to Lucâs frightfully dim ex-public schoolboy Alex Twaddle, the secondary characters not only served as excellent foils for giving the reader insight into Lucâs personality, but they also stood well on their own, even when they werenât interacting with Luc.I would absolutely recommend Boyfriend Material. I love all of Hallâs books, but this is probably one of my most favorites. As I mentioned at the beginning, I will soon be the proud owner of three different versions of the same book, and if thatâs not a sign of a good book, I donât know what is.
Reviewer: Cursten L.
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: cute and silly.
Review: Going into this book, I wasnât sure I was liking it. The writing was a bit much, and it felt like the book wasnât taking itself seriously enough (in the sense of really stupid dialogue and weird tangents) but after Oliver gets introduced , the book starts to pick up. I started understanding the extreme writing style and the weird tangents the book was going on. I started looking forward to reading the book and had nights of little sleep staying up to read it. The relationship between luc and Oliver is really sweet and honest, and in ways I relate to both characters. This book was very enjoyable, and I will now proceed to reading its sequel.
Reviewer: B.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A Needed Laugh, and Good for the Heart, too.
Review: Though I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced copy of this book for the purpose of review, I had so much faith that Iâd like it that I preordered it for myself the instant I heard it was being published. And Iâm thrilled that I did, because Boyfriend Material is a marvelous gift of a story. Having said that, I had to rework quite a bit of what Iâd originally written, since, as has been the case with everything else Iâve read by Mr. Hall, there was more to consider than was initially evident.On its surface, Boyfriend Material is an absolutely hilarious tale about two people falling in love. I can honestly affirm that I havenât laughed this hard while reading a story in years. Not just a random snort or giggle, either. I mean the eye-watering, tea-aspirating laughter thatâs rare enough to be kind of magical. And laughing that much was so welcome and felt so good that Iâm still grateful I was able to have it.While Luc and Oliver certainly have their share of funny moments together, Boyfriend Material wouldnât be as wonderful without the vast majority of the additional characters. It wonât even do any good to name my favorites, since the list would just keep growing until Iâd included nearly every one. Save for Bridget, who gets a special mention becauseâsheâs Bridget. Still, I thought they were riotously diverting and bright and glorious, and the difference between them and the few that were fairly loathsome was unquestionably stark.I think what makes the comedic elements even better is that, though they own a significant place in the story, they are never used to trivialize the other matters of the heart the main characters are navigating. Luc and Oliver are so different that there are legitimate reasons to assume their relationship canât possibly work. Except that it very much doesâwonderfully so. Where I believe theyâre similar, however, is that their most pressing problem doesnât seem to be a mutual struggle to love, but to allow themselves to be loved.Despite having very different histories of hurts and betrayals, the resulting wariness and skepticism was much the same for Oliver and Luc, and broke my heart for them both. Lucâs preferred means of self-defense is to stick to casual sex and be generally and preemptively awful, while Oliver doesnât seem to do casual anything and hides behind a diligently maintained exhibition of control. Regardless of the catalysts, Luc and Oliver share a certainty that being themselves within a fictitious relationship is safer and therefore preferable to the inevitability of a ârealâ relationship failing because who they truly are canât possibly be good enough.With a completely graceless turn back to the positive aspects of Boyfriend Material, I have to mention that thereâs also a delightfully generous reference to Welcome to Night Vale that I literally squealed about and may eventually admit to doing a happy dance over.Iâm always thrilled when an anticipated story not only meets, but surpasses my expectations, and Boyfriend Material did just that with room to spare. Luc and Oliver were an irresistible (if occasionally obscenity-engendering) pleasure, and I ended up thoroughly swoony for them both. Though it wasnât easy in places, I had a genuinely good time reviewing it and maintain that it was worth every pang of my heart. As much as I appreciated all the different aspects of the narrative (particularly laughing until my back hurt), reading Boyfriend Material made me very happy. I hope it will do the same for someone else.
Reviewer: Maria Zilene
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Então esse livro me fez rir, chorar, em determinado momento fiquei com um pouco de tesão, e em determinado momento tive vontade de quebrar tudo. Acho que a Boyfriend Material se beneficiou bastante da comparação com Red White e Royal Blue nas listas de “se você gosta de x, experimente y”O livro chegou com um leve amassado na capa!
Reviewer: C. Masse
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Bought this books as I kept seeing it everywhere and the cover art intrigued me. Fell in love; it was so funny. The day I finished it I ordered ‘Husband Material.’ Then after I was done with that one I went out and bough ’10 Things that Never Happened.’ Before I even finished 10 Things I had already bough ‘Glitterland’ and ‘Waiting for the Flood.’ I have not started on those two yet (I am currently reading a murder mystery a friend recommended), but I am looking forward to getting back into Alexis Hall’s world.Alexis Hall’s writing feels a lot to me like the British comedies I grew up with and still enjoy: Blackadder, Are You Being Served, and even The IT Crowd. The characters and situations are ridiculous, but they work within that world. The ridiculous does not take away from the heart nor from really connecting to the characters and their lives. The ridiculous just makes you giggle out loud… even when reading the book while waiting for your specialist appointment (yeah I got looks). Don’t think the book is all fun, the emotions still hit when the fear and heartache happens.
Reviewer: Karen Constantino
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Me gustó mucho que aunque es un libro romántico, irónicamente no romantiza ciertos temas y en realidad no es que los problemas de los personajes se resuelvan por el poder del amor si no que deja muy claro que es algo en lo que se tiene que trabajar de manera individual
Reviewer: Heinz
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Loved the characters and the story from the beginning to the end.
Reviewer: Catherine
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Amazing book with relatable characters and very witty narratives. It’s a definite page turner and an easy read as well. Kudos to Alexis Hall for giving me a lot of spontaneous laugh out loud moments and making me feel and reflect.
