User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Boyfriend Material spoke to me. I was truly not expecting to love it. I've had mixed experiences with Alexis Hall in the past, and I honestly didn't know he could be so
funny. This book is hilarious, especially if you like kind of snarky, British humor, and I found myself laughing out loud to myself in bed, shoulders positively shaking (my husband did not appreciate this).
But that's how this book gets you. Under the humor lies the feels.The emotions that I felt for these characters snuck up on me, and before I knew it, I was
hooked. I really couldn't stop reading, and I stayed up nearly all night to finish.
I know it sounds cliche, but I laughed, I cried, and I would do it all over again. It's funny, because plot-wise, nothing much happens in the story. It's sort of a meandering series of events in the MC's life where nothing seems to go quite right. The MC screws everything up time and time again, and puts his foot in his mouth so many times it might as well be permanently lodged there. However, he
grows on you. The main characters are so multilayered that they feel like real people, and the secondary characters are so unique and well-conceived that you'll want them to have their own stories.
This story has self-righteous vegans, dung beetles, banana curries, dick pics, posh/idiot co-workers, and humor woven around each and every thing that makes it all come together effortlessly. But
while you are laughing, be prepared for the feelings, a surprising amount of angst, and the strong, strong chemistry to hit you right when you least expect it. These guys are great for each other, baggage and all, and I was rooting for them like I haven't in a long time. But don't read this story if you are expecting steam, because this story is fade-to-black. However, I didn't mind the lack of steam with this one.
My favorite Alexis Hall book to date, Boyfriend Material delivered right when I needed it to most. I think the author did something special with this story.
*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*
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Rating: really liked it
This is one of the best romance novels that I've ever read. Tender, patient, and raw as a confession, the experience of reading this novel felt like talking with an old friend by the hearth of a fire on a rainy day. I loved Luc's narration, with its endless vulnerability and chafed honesty. It had taken me several days to finish this book because I kept turning his words over and over, like tumbling a stone inside my mouth, letting them sink into me even as I sank with the weight of them. The romance between Luc and Oliver is everything: the softness of it, the joy of being seen, of being known, of being utterly
held.
I will probably never write a full review for this book, simply because something about it still feels like a small treasure that had been in the water for a very long time and had washed up on the shore just for me. Something I’m not sure I'm quite ready to share.
Rating: really liked it
Been really into audiobooks this year and this narrator was one of the best I've heard... shout out to Joe Jameson for all the excellent voices!
Rating: really liked it
I accidentally told GR I was reading this.
When what I meant was, I wrote it.
Rating: really liked it
Basically the book of my dreams. The perfect romcom. Flawless. An instant classic. Hot-mess POV hero who you will want to cuddle. Enigmatic, perfect love interest who’s not so perfect after all, except I love him, so he is. Iconic friendship group. Glittering, knife’s-edge prose. I have lost the ability to sentence because I will never be as good at it as Alexis Hall so what's the point. I'm not even mad I'm just ready to read it all again. Six stars. Seven. Ten. Let's GO
Rating: really liked it
The core ingredients in my fighting-depression arsenal:➊ book with an i-am-dying level of hilariousness
➋ book with an i-shall-overdose level of adorableness
➌ book with an oh-my-rainbow-heart level of LGBT+ rep
➍ accordingly chosen music for playlist ➾ Spotify link
Or, you know, in short: this book aka Boyfriend Material. “I’m in love with you, Lucien. But it seems hardly adequate.”
You need to understand, the humour in this book shines quite blindingly through every scene, be it awkward, sweet, or emotional, making it less a hot and sexy adult romance and more a lethally cute and funny one. Honestly, it’s just heart emoji if it had two covers and 400+ pages.
So if you’re looking for a
rolling on the floor laughing my ass off type of book about
fake dating going horribly wrong (
or right, depending on your perspective), sprinkled with
life as adult gay men, clueless
posh English nobles, being haunted by
rockstar parents, some insight to life as a
vegetarian, work as a
barrister, and a job at a
charity (
I mean insights into getting people to give you their money without shouting “give me your money you potato burger”), dripping with too-adorable lessons on the complications of relationships and trust and generally
oh my god I have feelings what do I do for a
hedgehog main character...you’ve come to the right place.
I loved it, not least because it was not set in America thank you lord?
“You really do own your illiteracy, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I’m thinking about moving to America and running for public office.”
Guys I swear I made an effort to keep it short this time I swear but then I started writing, and I have no idea what happened next. CW ➾ homophobia, abandonment by parent, narcissistic parent, emotional abuse
The Humour That Be You all know me, I’m a clown, I admire clowns, and I value humour most in my books. And
I realise that I’m also an unstable weirdo who laughs at worldwide disasters and a crack in the wall (which in reality is funny but that’s another conversation) BUT, oh my god this book is absolutely hilarious. Like, asphyxiation, suffocation, choke you till you die hilarious (which is not as grim as it may sound—a worthy end to a life, really).The writing is so witty and absurd; it makes jokes the way you chat up ab attractive lady slash dude slash whocaresaboutgender—rather smooth and disarming, is what I mean. The banter is only the start of it, what’s most unique about
Boyfriend Material is its creativity in creating iconic and insisting patterns and brands of humour and weaving them all throughout the pages from one cover to the other. I had a blast with every page.
The Representation That Be Anybody can put together a cast of lesbian, gay, bi, etc characters and call it a yay-day, but it’s quite something else for the baggage they drag into the page to make them feel less like boxes ticked off a grocery-like list and more like, you know, actual human beings. With
Boyfriend Material, even though the aforementioned baggage is not fully and deeply opened and stifled through, it’s constantly present and considered in the character’s everyday lives and conversations to be
real rather than fake or overwhelming.
“You should never let anyone tell you it is wrong to be how you are.”
Too many LGBT+ books are about only the most painful and/or prominent moments of a person’s life, and while there is never enough books on stepping out of the closet and finding yourself and your place, this community also needs easy rep of everyday drama.What if you’ve come out to all your friends and family and have a healthy relationship of love and acceptance with all the people in your personal life? What’s next? How do you live a normal life and deal with all the different people out in the world, having their own understanding, ignorant, or (veiled) homophobic opinions? Those are the exact type of questions Alexis Hall tells a story about.
The Characters That Be (this got long whoops)★ Protagonist:
Luc is the human equivalent of a hedgehog. You might
want to hug him but as soon you get remotely near you should pick up a shield because
ohmygod ohmygod vulnerability alert cannot deal i repeat cannot deal ready for launch. I’m not even kidding.
“It’s just…it’s going to be all hard and messy.”
“Lots of things are. Many of them are still worth doing.”
It was a sign of quite how fucked up I was feeling that I didn’t try to make a joke out of hard, messy or, indeed, worth doing.
He’s such a haunted, wounded, pessimistic, self-deprecating, miserable, sarcastic, paranoid mess of a drama queen (
rightfully so because, when all you see of yourself is what the tabloids show you, what else do you expect) who’s rather fond of his teenager mode that I just want to hug the 28 yo bellend, damn being impaled. His growth was handled so deftly and smoothly, with the necessary bumps in the road of course, and it was so heartfelt and precious to see him learn to communicate and trust.
✯ Love Interest:
I have zero idea what to do with Oliver because
oh my god this dude. Really, as Luc put it, “Normally I didn’t do sweet but, well, Oliver.” He’s the very definition of a gentleman, ugh. Respectful and considerate yet opinionated and ethical (
I mean jeez only Oliver could turn a brownie into an ethical quandary), clean and serious yet secretly funny and rebellious, soft and delicate yet protective and slightly controlling. So patient, so caring, so outrageously thoughtful.
And he’s trying so hard and, ugh, dammit,
it turns him such an adorable secretly anxious lion-looking puppy—which makes no sense, what with one being from the dear old cat family and one the loyal dog one. I just cannot resist sharing his texting panic:
I was unexpectedly de-sleeped by a buzzing from my phone at 5:00 a.m.: My apologies. Next time, I’ll send a photograph of my penis. And then several further buzzings.
That was a joke.
I should probably make it clear that I’m not intending to send you any pictures.
I’ve never sent that sort of thing to anybody.
As a lawyer, it’s hard not to be aware of the potential consequences.
I also realise you’re probably asleep at the moment. So perhaps if you could just delete the previous five messages when you wake up.
Of course, I should emphasise that I am not meaning to imply any judgment about people who do choose to send intimate photographs to one another.
It’s just not something I’m comfortable with.
Of course if it is something you’re comfortable with, I understand.
Not that I’m suggesting you have to send me a picture of your penis.
Oh God, can you please delete every text I’ve ever sent you.
He had me frustrated yet amused and drowning in adoration, shaking my head and going
awwwwwww every other chapter while, frankly,
if I met him in real life there would probably be less amusement and adoration and more devising an evil plan to shake his life to the core, driving him right over a metaphorical cliff questioning all his beliefs and messing up all the meticulously ordered aspects of his life. Don’t look so surprised, you already know I’m evil.
Now that I really think about it though, I’m starting to come to the conclusion that I
have, indeed, met him in real life. He’s my eldest brother *insert poker face* I...I don’t quite know what to do with that information.
☆ Sidekicks:
You know that friend (
or maybe not friend, maybe it’s yourself) who is
so absurd or weird or different that ends up always standing out like a sore thumb, whenever and wherever, for good or worse, and has people whispering that one is such a character? That’s all the characters in this book.
Like
Alex The Posh And Incomprehensible Co-Worker who, if you held an exam on puns with scores from 0 to 100, would get a pretty minus with adorable bunny ears. No, scratch that, he’d receive a full mark and forever ruin all kinds of jokes for you—I honestly don’t think I can listen to the
knock-knock joke or the
elephant ones without thinking of his take; which is a good thing, I believe, since it would drive me to laugh harder than asked for by the dear joker. Seriously, the man uses hashtags like this:
#ColeopteraResearchAndProtectionProject
AnnualFundraisingDinnerAndDanceWith
SilentAuctionOfEtymologicalSpecimensAlso
KnownAsTheBeetleDriveAtTheRoyalAmbassadors
HotelMaryleboneNotTheOneInEdinburgh
TicketsAvailableFromOurWebsiteNow
Or
Priya The Only One With An Automobile AKA Truck who, even in her short scenes, managed to steal my heart with her ice-thorny attitude and steadfast support. Not gonna lie, it might be because she unbelievably reminded me of
Amren from my other current read.
Or
Bridget The Group’s Token Straight Girl and her publishing industry dramas, sweeping in with a
you are not gonna believe what happened and an
I can’t really talk about it but and a
I’m definitely gonna get fired. I was literally sitting with my eyes glued to the metaphorical door waiting for her to make a hasty entrance and steal the stage.
“Either you never trust anybody ever again, and pretend that stops people hurting you when clearly it doesn’t. Or, um, don’t do that. And maybe your house will burn down. But, at least you’ll be warm. And probably the next place will be better. And come with an induction hob.”
Or even
Sophie The Evil Lawyer From The Other Gang who I immediately became obsessed with. Or, truly,
Tom who was the rare sensible one among them and I have no idea why he would bother to hang out with these nuthouses except if he’s got a secret weird fetish for their weirdness and needs them in his life the way you’d need puppies. Or
Dr. Fairclough whom I can’t begin to summarise in one sentence—I mean I could, but I don’t want to.
I’ll be honest, at first I felt as if the friends and family coming along for the ride all sounded the same, but that is
so not the case. Yes, the MC and most of his group of friends do have constant banter that feels on the same wavelength, but
of course it makes sense that birds of a feather flock together. Most of their gang and even his, duh, mum speak the same language (
seriously, I have the same out-of-nowhere back-and-forths with folks who share my crazy or are compatible with it) while that very humour applied to people outside of their circle could invite amusement, bewilderment, or nothing, falling flat with a loud, awkward thump. It was when I could say which of the two James Royce-Royces (
yes they’r married, don’t even ask) was speaking that I saw how real these words on a page had become to me.
The way I see it, what makes these characters remarkable and tangible is their small quirks, annoying habits, and persistent figures of speech and thought—I know that’s not an actual thing but, please, bear with me. Such as the way Luc’s mum could say such well-meaning clueless things that would be possibly harmful but are not because she succeeds in getting her wisdom and actual meaning across. Somehow.
The Relationships That Be This was why relationships sucked: they made you need shit you’d been perfectly happy not needing. And then they took them away.
I don’t think I’m actually in fit condition to discuss this...beautiful, unforgettable, filled-with-endearing-arguments, so-palpable-it-was-about-to-step-out-of-the-page-and-murder-me...matter, seeing as I’ve had a couple of peculiar near-death experiences from cuteness overdose. So forgive me as I skip this step and just very calmly thank the author for having the characters quickly address problems arising from lack of communication.
The wholesome, fully developed friendships and familial bonds despite—or should I say
because of—complications were also nothing short of marvelous. And I wholeheartedly appreciated how the family struggles were concluded realistically, if not happily, or in one case only began to be dealt with—it was refreshing, so there’s that. Shoo now.
The Themes That Be (If you were not wondering whether I’d misplaced or forgotten my
let’s dig deep and see what the book really had to say and generally overanalyse everything part, that you do not know me my dear—which is for the best, really. Do say a prayer of thanks.)
“I’m coming to the conclusion I might be unbelievably terrified.”
“Me too,” I said. “But let’s be terrified together.”
With all its jokes and fun times,
Boyfriend Material is about dealing with and facing life head on because the more we try to hide from something, the more power we give it. It shows why you need to accept that you need help, and realise that no one else is going to sweep in and suddenly turn your life upside down; no matter how much they help you move forward and see your path more clearly, it’s
you who walks it. And more importantly,
it’s about understanding and taking the first step and the second step and the third one, rather than finishing a journey that doesn’t really have an end. That, in the end, the world is not going to become heaven populated by nice and kind people.
And that, really, it’s not about the three words, it’s about everything that came before it and everything that comes after it.
Rating: really liked it
OHMYGOSH. Goodreads Choice Nominees are here and
My Reaction Video is up! Don't forget to vote!
The Written Review 
Luc O'Donnell, also known as the son of two incredibly famous rock stars, has hit the (yet another)
speed bump of his life.His dad just picked up another show and his fame is on the rise (again)...and with that comes increased paparazzi for all those tangentially related...like poor Luc.
Luc's latest scandal (though relatively minor) was enough to
send his bosses heads flying and the donors for his work scrambling away.
The only solution?
Find a cute, stable and SAFE boyfriend to settle down with until it all blows over.
Enter
Oliver Blackwell - the epitome of the bring-home-to-the-folks trope.
He's a barrister, he loves spending the night in and above all, he's scandal-free. AND he needs a fake boyfriend to bring home to the folks as well.
Only what once was a clear-cut fake relationship is quickly feeling incredibly and permanently real.
Overall -
I LOVED this book.I know, I know. It definitely looks like just another
fake-to-real boyfriend trope but the way it was executed - flawless.
I've read so many of those books that every moment of this book, (I thought) I had a pretty solid prediction of where it was going.
BUT I was wrong nearly every time (and the few times I was right, I was SO happy the book was taking that direction).
So much of the book is pure dialogue but the two main characters had such sass and class - their quips and quotes had me literally laughing out loud.
All in all, I adored this book. I loved this book.
I'm going to be devastated if there isn't another one.
With thanks to Netgalley, Alexis Hall and Sourcebooks for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest review. 
I'm so excited to get a copy to review - folks are saying it's the next Red, White and Royal Blue. Fingers crossed!
(PS. check out this week's BookTube Video to see why I'm psyched about this one and the other fabulous books I picked up!)
YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat @miranda_reads
Rating: really liked it
Imagine a book like a Four Weddings-era Richard Curtis movie (and *not*, let me be clear, like the vomitous Love Actually), with the feelgood elements and the genuine romance and the terrific cast (only more diverse than Curtis is capable of), and real pain and emotion grounding the hilarious banter. Sounds amazing? Well, here you go.
The joyfully queer British romcom escape book I desperately needed. It's absurdly funny--like proper laughing out loud--and swoonily romantic, with a sharp edge of wit and observation that keeps the story bounding along, bad actors that you can really dislike, a lovely supporting cast of friends and family, and two flawed but deeply likeable leads. An unbridled 'one-more-chapter-oh-no-it's-3am-oh-well' delight.
(Disclosure: I had an ARC from the publisher and share an agent with the author. Notwithstanding, I don't leave rave reviews if I don't mean them.)
Rating: really liked it
Tal vez 3.5, lo voy a pensar :).
Review pronto.
Rating: really liked it
**I received an advance copy of this book from SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Thank you so much for approving me for this ARC!**I’m aware I rarely say this about books, but this was
FANTASTIC! Once I started to read
“Boyfriend Material” I couldn’t stop anymore and with every chapter I read, I was drawn even more into the story. The conversations between the two MCs, Luc and Oliver, were so much fun and I found myself clutching the pages while laughing out loud.
Sure, not everything in this book is hilarious and Alexis Hall tackles plenty of serious topics as well. The author always does it with a little humour though and this made this a really enjoyable and entertaining read. For instance Luc’s boss is a horrible person. I mean I get it, beetles are important for the environment but boy, does she lack the finesse of human interaction. Some of the things she said at the beginning of the book were flat out rude and inappropriate and if Luc wouldn’t have been such a nice person she probably would have lost her company a long time ago.
The good thing about those moments is that they were all either called out or challenged by some of the characters and I really appreciated this approach. Alexis Hall deals with prejudices, bias and a good dose of discrimination but the author does it in a healthy kind of way. For such a funny book this is quite remarkable and before I dwell on those topics even more I’ll just go for the good stuff! Namely the easy banter of the two MCs , the fact that Luc (whose full name is Lucien btw and we all know about my weakness for that name! ;-P) is a disaster gay and the amazing portrayal of friendships which gave this all such a wholesome and healthy vibe!
“What if someone asks? I should know for verisimilitude.”
The corners of his mouth twitched slightly. “You can say I’m a gentleman and we haven’t got that far.”
“You” – I gave a thwarted sigh – “are a terrible fake boyfriend.”
“I’m building fake anticipation.”
“You’d better be fake worth it.”
“I am.”I swear Luc and Oliver were such a formidable couple! Yes, they might have started fake-dating because at that point of their lives they both needed it to save their reputation; they were always honest and forthright though! And this was so, so, so, so refreshing!!! Most of the conflicts in “Boyfriend Material” didn’t come into being because of some miscommunication between the MCs but because the characters were used to deal with their problems on their own. They were stuck in their habits and problems and had a tough time letting anyone in, which considering both of their backstories was actually pretty relatable.
“Are we really bad at this?” I asked.
“We’ve been fake dating for three days and we’ve already fake broken up once.”
“Yes, but we fake resolved our difficulties and fake got back together, and I’m hoping it’s made us fake stronger.”As were their friendships! I loved Bridge and the funny dynamic between Luc and his other friends. They were exactly like you’d expect good friends to be and their support for Luc was amazing! Funnily enough I even liked Alex, Luc’s gullible, innocent and totally clueless co-worker who wouldn’t even notice if he would put his foot in his mouth. Let’s just hope the Alex’s of this world will never be confronted with harsh reality. XD
This said, the only thing I didn’t like were the two storylines about Luc’s father and Oliver’s family. Whilst the plot that dealt with Luc’s father might have been dissatisfying but realistic, the part that focused on Oliver’s family fell short for me. I really wish we would have gotten more of his storyline throughout the entire book and not only on the last 30 pages. I get why Alexis Hall did it that way and I appreciate the point the author made, but for me this came out of the blue and kind of spoiled the ending.
I guess this might be a typical "it's not the book, it's me" situation though. Well, at least so far no other reviewer seems to have mentioned it.
“I'm conscious this could be rather burdensome to hear, but you remain the thing I have most chosen for myself. The thing that's most exclusively mine. The one thing that brings me the deepest joy.”All told I really enjoyed
“Boyfriend Material” and had a more than just tough time to put it down. The hilarious humour and easy banter made it really addicting and before I even knew it I found myself rushing through the pages. If you’re looking for a sweet rom-com that isn’t afraid to tackle a few serious topics and will make you laugh out loud, this might be exactly the right book for you! ;-) Happy reading!
_____________________________
It’s time to tackle this before my ARC runs out! >_<
(My time management still erm... s*cks. *lol*)
Anyway, let’s do this!!!
I’m sooo ready to be swept off my feet! XD
Wish me luck, I hope this is going to be a good one!
_____________________________
First things first:
Thank you so much SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca and NetGalley for accepting my request and giving me permission to read and review this book!
And now that this is out of the way:
OMG!!! OMG!!!! OMG!!!!
ADFADKFASJFDKSADFJASJ! I've been dying to read this and I got approved!!! YAY!!!
And now excuse me while I jump around in my flat and do an embarrassing happy dance! *lol*
I can't believe I got approved for this ARC! T_T <--- *happy tears*
P.S: For some reason my first pre-review for this got deleted. I'm so happy right now that not even a goodreads glitch could destroy my excitement! <333
Rating: really liked it
2.5 starsI'm glad that I read Boyfriend Material because it delivered a cute fake dating opposites-attract romance, albeit a few things that I personally couldn't get behind in the novel. I found that whilst I was enjoying it, it was in a more detached kind of way. I didn't feel like I was a part of the story, I was just watching it, and it wasn't always interesting. This lowkey feels like this is something that would've taken place in the early 2000s England, as opposed to being a modern-day english story. I emphasise
england.
On the positive side, I loved Oliver for 90% of the novel, the way that he treats Luc and seeks to defend him is so cute and he's just the sweetest bean. I also feel like he was the character that felt the most grounded to me, even though we didn't get to see him fully fleshed out. I also appreciated the England setting and how everything was set out — although, the slight jokes about Wales were... there. I didn't hate them, but I didn't really get the point either.
Their "dick" pics were also hilarious, I need that in my life. The humour of this story was spot-on and I found the writing of them to be hilarious and it's where Hall's writing exceptionally shines. Plus, the development of some of the main characters was pretty good!
But, I just wasn't a fan of some of the side characters or some scenes which were overly drawn-out. Those words could've been used to develop the relationship, Oliver or any of the secondary characters more. I really would've loved to see the side characters a lot more, given how they help influence Luc's direction in the story. Oh shit, I haven't spoken about Luc yet. He was okay — I fully empathise with him having a tough relationship with his father, given my own personal history. His actions are also quite justified, given the way he acts selfishly and how he's unwilling to trust people again because of his previous relationship, his relationship with his father, and the tabloids.
There's also the question of believability in this story, as being fired for being "the wrong type of gay" just felt highkey illegal to me and something Luc could've definitely taken them to court for as per the Equality Act 2010, something Oliver could've assisted with, and oh shit, it would've thrown the entire case in disarray if that's how they fell into their romance— ok, let's not try to rewrite the novel.
This is also where the novel also failed for me, the amount of
emphasis they put on the right type and the wrong type of gay, like people are just... gay? Sexuality doesn't define you as a person so I just didn't vibe with that. Can I also just talk about the fact that there is blatant homophobia professed by some of the characters in this novel and... nothing is done about it? It's literally like "oh wow that's homophobic" and then they move on with their lives as if nothing happened. ?!?!?!
OKAY BUT ALSO CAN I TALK ABOUT THE FACT THAT ONE, THEY LITERALLY HAVE A CONFLICT IN THE LAST 10% THAT'S RESOLVED SO QUICKLY AND TWO, THAT THEY INTRODUCE A PLOT THREAD IN THE LAST 1% OF THE NOVEL WITH NOTHING ELSE TO LEAD UP AFTERWARDS LIKE ?!?!?!?!?!? WHAT
I'd recommend this if you're wanting a light, hilarious and fluffy story with some tension of external conflict and angst for the characters.
Rating: really liked it
Turns out my reputation of eating sunshine for breakfast and stomping out rainbows and generally being a curmudgeonly grump might be warranted.
But to be fair, I WANTED to like this book.
It's got my favorite trope (fake dating). It's a romance (which I always desperately want to enjoy). There's a tinge of enemies to lovers (the other best trope of all time).
And yet.
The fake dating is almost never fake!!! There's none of the yearning and miscommunication and stifled feelings! The romance itself hardly feels present! And the enemies to lovers simply consists of one character being an absolute sh*tstorm to the other, who simply takes it!!!
This book had more tragic backstory and descriptions of unholy curries and friends who appear and disappear with an eye to plot convenience that would make deus ex machina jealous. Like, as a concept.
I think Alexis Hall's writing style might just not work for me, and so with a hint of mourning designed to draw your sympathy and a far-off look into the distance I must say...
Bottom line: Nope. Sorry.
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pre-reviewi've said it before and i'll say it again:
FAKEDATINGFAKEDATINGFAKEDATINGFAKEDATINGFAKEDATINGFAKEDATINGFAKEDATINGFAKEDATINGFAKEDATINGFAKEDATINGFAKEDATINGFAKEDATINGFAKEDATINGFAKEDATING
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reading all books with LGBTQ+ rep for pride this month!
book 1: the gravity of us
book 2: the great american whatever
book 3: wild beauty
book 4: the affair of the mysterious letter
book 5: how we fight for our lives
book 6: blue lily, lily blue
book 7: the times i knew i was gay
book 8: conventionally yours
book 9: the hollow inside
book 10: nimona
book 11: dark and deepest red
book 12: the house in the cerulean sea
book 13: the raven king
book 14: violet ghosts
book 15: as far as you'll take me
book 16: bad feminist
book 17: a song for a new day
book 18: one last stop
book 19: to break a covenant
book 20: honey girl
book 21: check, please!
book 22: the subtweet
book 23: if we were villains
book 24: everything leads to you
book 25: you have a match
book 26: ziggy, stardust, and me
book 27: all the invisible things
book 28: heartstopper
book 29: boyfriend material
Rating: really liked it
It was just so fucking... heart emoji that I actually had to take a moment.
Permission to squee for the rest of all time. I know I have often referred to romcoms leaving me a pile of warm gooey goodness, but I can't help it if it's true.
The year 2020 is one that will go in the history books as one where the world went topsy turvy. My 2020 disasters bingo card basically became obsolete when China diagnosed the bubonic plague and there was a rabbit ebola outbreak in the US. Clearly the universe is telling us something, but like the admirable ostrich, I shall bury my head in the sand and lose myself in books that make me feel part marshmallow and swan feather pillows.
Boyfriend Material is my favourite fake boyfriend book along with Trick Play. But while Finley's book was a formulaic contemporary romance, this one isn't. It's a delightful breath of fresh air.
Our narrator, Lucien is a hot mess who works for a dung beetle charity. He is the son of a Mic Fleetwood wannabe who fought with Alice Cooper over a grammy and a French lady who is the best book mum I have come across since Molly Weasley. Lucien is also the funniest narrator I've read in a while, but that may be because I'm partial to sarcasts and Brits. His conversations with his mum may have been my favourite thing ever.
"Your father," she declared. "He has not aged well."
"Good to know."
"His head is bald as an egg now and a funny shape. He looks like that chemistry teacher with the cancer."
This was news to me. But then I haven't exactly gone out of my way to keep in contact with my old school. To be honest, I haven't exactly gone out of my way to keep in contact with people who live on the wrong side of London.
"Mr. Beezle has cancer?"
"Not him. The other one."
...
"Do you mean Walter White?"
"Oui oui. And you know, I think he is too old to be hopping around with a flute these days."
Perhaps the best part about this rom com, aside from the obvious slow burn romance, is the colourful cast of side characters. They're all so compelling I could almost ask for a book about all of them. There is the James Royce-Royces (yes, they're both called James Royce-Royce), Bridget who is always dealing with a literary crisis that deserves a series all on its own, Priya the tiny metal art sculptor, Luc's workmates at the dung beetle charity, most memorably Rhys Jones Bowen who has only recently heard about hashtags on Twitter and just discovered
the instagram.
Lucien and Oliver's love grows so strong and sure because their flaws are there for us to see. I am also beyond ecstatic that the entire book is in first person. The book also managed to subvert a bunch of romcom tropes going as far as giving us a sunrise reconciliation scene rather than one in the rain, or the airport, or the hotel where the love interest ran away to etc.
I can only hope that we get a sequel because I'd love to see Lucien and Oliver when they're playing boyfriend and boyfriend for real. I mean it was so heartwarming to see these 2 men who have to pretend to be a couple for their own reasons and in the process fall in love and learn how they are people worthy of love and though they're imperfect make perfect boyfriend material... Ooooooooh....
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
Although I did really like both Luc and Oliver, in the end, after TWELVE DAYS of stop and start reading, I found this book slightly tiring to get through.
At a reported 427 pages, I found the pacing to be significantly slower than I prefer, so I kept putting it down over and over, with less and less enthusiasm to pick it back up again.
I think that if the level of banter had been higher, that would've helped, but as written, to me at least, it felt like the story couldn't really decide if it wanted to pick up the humor and run with it, or stay on the more subdued side.
I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Luc's (eventual) personal growth, but was less than thrilled about all parts of the story relating to Luc's dad. The non-resolution to the dad plot points left me extremely unsatisfied. I was almost rooting for the man to be hit by a bus by the end, just for *something* to happen on that front.
For those looking for steam, this was very much a fade-to-black story in regards to the bedroom, with the story also, for the most part, keeping the angst to pretty moderate levels.
The story also included a (view spoiler)[ break up (hide spoiler)] , of which I was *not* a fan. It came totally out of the blue and made absolutely zero sense to me, feeling as if only being included as some sort of "Insert Big Contrived Plot Event Here" formulaic nonsense.
Maybe the story was slightly over-hyped, but with the lower level of feels, more subdued comedy, and dragging pacing, while I "liked" the book, it never turned into "love" for me.
I'd rate it at around 3.5 stars, but still round up due to the consistently good writing and editing.
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Rating: really liked it
Luc:
“Genuinely? Do you ship them? Do you have a Tumblr as well?”Oliver:
“I don’t know what any of those words mean.”The inevitable end conflict of a romance book can either ruin or elevate the story and this one slightly ruined it for me. It dragged, it was unnecessary, I wanted to backhand them both.
But I slept on it and despite all that, I enjoyed it for the most part. Oliver and Luc are too precious.
If you’re looking for books along the lines of
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue and Red, White and Royal Blue, I highly do recommend Boyfriend Material.
It’s sarky, it’s British, it’s swoony, it’s fuckin’
sweet, it has a great friendship group, Luc’s mother deserves her own book, Oliver’s parents deserve…hell.
And Luc and Oliver deserve the world.
But really, this book is just joyous. Every time the plot took centre stage, I became irritated because I wanted to be around Oliver and Luc. So yes, I’ve formed an unhealthy attachment to them. As I should.
And I’ve found a new favourite author too.
