I started this book and I was completely sucked in. 

This book is about Luc, the only son of two rock stars from the 1980s. He doesn't really know his dad since he walked out when he was three but since the man is back in the business with a reality TV show, Luc is getting papped by photographers all over the place. This is interfering with his job so he needs a fake boyfriend for a work function. Enter friend of a friend, Oliver, who needs a fake boyfriend for a family event. 

I wholeheartedly loved this book. Yes, the plot wasn't anything to blow me away and I could have done without the choice of conflict for the third act but the writing style had me from the first chapter. I just found it funny and enjoyable and I absolutely could not put it down, even when I was meant to be reading several other things for this reading challenge.

Part of this reason is for the cast of characters. They are all absolutely batty as anything and I really loved how interesting they were. Yes, some of them were a little one-note, especially some of Luc's friends, but I never really got any of them confused with each other and there was never one character where I was bored when they were on page. 

The romance itself I really enjoyed. Luc and Oliver both had issues with relationships that they had to get over, around trust and sticking around, and they had crappy parents to deal with on top of that, but it felt far more equal opportunity than it sometimes does in romance novels. For all Luc talks about how perfect Oliver is as a boyfriend, he really isn't (though there were sometimes when Luc thought Oliver said an incredibly arsehole thing and I was left going 'that really wasn't that bad' but I think the irrational bit was the point) and they both had great character arcs throughout the book. Maybe a little more for Luc than for Oliver but it was his POV so you got to see it a lot more. 

I just found this book really fun to read and if the author wants to release anything else about the other characters, I am more than happy to read it.

Definitely recommend. 5 stars!

Enemies to lovers, fake relationships, some of my favorite tropes! I thought this book was great and I loved all the side characters and the ever-changing group chat names as the story evolved. Luc and Oliver were well written and I liked that their relationship felt natural, and not forced (circumstances aside). Overall a very cute story!

I wasn't super thrilled with this one. I mean, I liked it well enough - but the way the characters talked was so out of place, it made me want to roll my eyes. I wish that the end had happened differently. It seemed like Oliver's personal challenges came out of nowhere, instead of how Luc's were talked about the entire book.

I really enjoyed this book! Though I think I was looking for more of a connection between Luc & Oliver. Also, I found Luc to be a bit annoying and was not as interested in the parts about his celebrity dad, etc. I'd recommend for a lover of cute romance novels and the fact that it's set in London doesn't hurt!

I wound up enjoying this book a lot more than I thought I would! Obviously I was expecting to like it when I requested it; I’d seen a lot about what a hilarious romcom it was and how good it was, so I was looking forward to it. But then I started reading it, and it wasn’t particularly my thing. Luc is a mess, and while I 100 percent support publishing all of the messy protagonists, they’re not usually the types of characters I find myself drawn to. This book also has a specific type of humor that didn’t always work for me (though lots of people said they found it hilarious), and the beginning was, quite frankly, rather slow. But then Luc started to grow on me, and I came to completely love him and his budding relationship with Oliver. It was so lovely to see his character arc evolve over the course of the story.

I will say, I didn’t like that it took until the last 15 percent of the book for Luc to realize that most of his relationship with Oliver was about dealing with Luc’s problems, and not Oliver’s. And then when some of those problems are finally revealed, we don’t really get to see Oliver work through them and strengthen his relationship with Luc, either. I also felt like things were really quickly wrapped up at the end, and I wish we’d gotten more time with Luc and Oliver together after Oliver finally made a fool of himself for Luc. But I say that because I’m obsessed with these two, and I really needed more!

All in all, these two are adorable, and I love how awkward they were together at first but how they eventually came to realize how well they worked together. And I really liked how both of them kind of needed the relationship to be fake in order to be vulnerable and eventually let it become real. Oh, and this is definitely an example of fake dating that works for me! Luc is very honest about it with the people who matter most in his life, though again, I wish Oliver’s friends and family had played a role much earlier in the story. Actually, typing this out makes me realize how underdeveloped Oliver’s arc is in comparison to Luc’s, and I wonder if having alternate POVs instead of just Luc’s would have made a difference in how the story was structured and developed and made it more even? But I also enjoyed Luc’s story so much that I’m hesitant to have that altered too much! All in all, this was a really fun, engaging read, and I highly recommend it!

4.5 stars, rounded up

This was a slow-starter for me--as in, "15% in and not sure I was going to continue" slow. But then... then it became amazing. Really amazing: angsty & snort-laugh funny.

If you liked Red, White, & Royal Blue, but prefer a closed bedroom door, this book is for you. Lots on the value of found family and valuing the family that truly values you in return. One partner cannot fix another, but they can help hold the broken pieces while we fix ourselves.

Also--funny. Woke my partner laughing too loud funny.

I don't remember when I first heard about this book but I remember some of the early reviews raving about it and several said it was perfect for fans of Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. You all know how much I love RWRB so I immediately went and requested the ARC on Netgalley. This book is the perfect summer read! It's funny and lighthearted and made me squeal with happiness in parts.

I’m not normally a fan of the fake dating trope but I enjoyed the heck out of it in this book. Actually, the whole plot of this book revolved around the whole "we're in a fake relationship but it's becoming real" thing and them progressing from frenemies-to-lovers. It was kind of sweet and I loved the messy and kind of neurotic characters. Luc and Oliver are each a respective mess. Oliver just doesn't look like he is on the outside. They each have a bit of emotional baggage and trauma from some toxic relationships. I loved how their relationship progressed and became real! They were really kind of perfect for each other. The character development for both MCs was pretty awesome. I'm a sucker for the whole opposites attract trope and Luc and Oliver are definitely opposites.

I loved the romance in this book but I think I loved all of the quirky side characters just as much! Luc's friend group was weird and wonderful! Oliver's was a bit more kooky but equally as awesome as Luc's. Luc's mother and her best friend made me laugh so hard. Come for the sweet queer romance and stay for all the secondary characters.

As much as I enjoyed this book, it fell just shy of being a five star read for me. The pacing felt a bit wonky for me. I think my biggest critique I have of this book is that with the amount of time on developing Luc and Oliver's "fake" relationship to real, I wish we had gotten more of Luc and Oliver being together together for real and not just together in their “fake” relationship. It could have had another 50 or so pages for that and the pacing would have evened out a bit. There was also this one part in the second half that totally came out of left field and didn't make sense to me. Those two things were why this was only a four star read for me.

I will say this book has a lot of Briticisms in it that won't make sense to a lot of people here in America. The only reason I got a lot of them was because I worked in a lab where everyone except me was from the UK. I found the ones I didn't know easy to google though.

Overall, this book is a perfect book for summer and would easily fit most peoples' definition of a beach read. I highly recommend it!

This book! THIS BOOK! I didn't know just how much I needed Boyfriend Material in my life until I read it. Now, I foresee myself reading this every year. It's the sort of witty love story that leaves you with a stupid grin on your face throughout the entire thing and leaves you bathing in a pool of all the swoony and cozy feelings. I freaking loved every moment of it!

Luc and Oliver are the two leads of Boyfriend Material and oh my goodness, did Alexis Hall write these characters just for me? I instantly grew attached to the two of them and throughout the book, my fondness for them only amplified. The author really did a great job of crafting two characters who are unique and delightful in their own ways - I dare you to not love them! Growing up as the abandoned son of a rockstar, Luc has always been in the spotlight. Though he has no relationship with his father, he was constantly hounded by the paparazzi which has obviously had an impact on him. When the latest media storm leaves Luc's job as a fundraiser for a dung beetle charity (LOL, yes, you read that right) in a precarious position, he is encouraged to enter a fake relationship with Oliver, a man that his friend Brigid is convinced is right for Luc. The two had a sour interaction some time back but Luc agrees for the sake of keeping his job.

Luc was a very relatable character. He had this self-deprecating humor that he used to shield himself from his self-esteem issues. He really didn't view himself for the great guy he was and it was sad when I was reading the book because I just wanted to gently nudge him to remind him of how wonderful he was. He definitely had abandonment issues and those were only worsened as a result of being the son of a famous person. He really was kind of a hot mess, but I was glad that he had a great support system around him. I adored his mother who, I kid you not, had me howling so loud I fell off the bed - ouch, but so worth the pain! Their relationship was really wonderful and reminded me of the bond I have with my own mother. And Luc had some excellent friends who were his ride-or-die and would drop everything to come to give him a lending hand. I loved them so much! Luc was definitely the kind of main character I would protect at all costs!

Oliver was the perfect complement to Luc. While Luc was more all over the place, Oliver was buttoned-up, calm, and collected. As a barrister, he had this very staunch and stoic energy to him that made him seem unapproachable and frankly, boring at first to others. These two could not have been more different from each other, but as the story progressed you realize just how much their differences make them the perfect couple. Oliver wasn't just the rigid guy he appeared to be. There were so many layers to his character that he only slowly revealed to Luc. He was actually as funny as Luc was and had a definite softness to him. Ugh. He was perfect and I'd die for him.

The romance in Boyfriend Material was first-rate. I knew I was going to enjoy their relationship since fake relationship romances are my catnip, but man did Alexis Hall completely blow me away! I could not look away from Luc and Oliver's on-page dynamic. Their ridiculous banter together, the "dick pics", and just their openness towards each other made their romance one that filled my heart with all the joy. One of my favorite parts of fake-relationships is reading those moments when they begin to realize that they've caught feelings for each other and Boyfriend Material is full of those moments - you bet I relished them all! The progression of their swoony romance felt very real to me and gave me all the warm and fuzzy feelings.

I'm so thrilled that we were blessed by the book gods with Boyfriend Material this year because as of right now, it is at the top of my all-time favorites. This is my first time reading an Alexis Hall book but after what a dreamy experience it was, it won't be my last - I already have some recommendations from other readers and I can't wait to dive in!

I loved this book so much. The witty banter had the perfect amount of snark and sharpness and the romance just melted me. I also laughed out loud so many times at their friends and family. Such a perfect romantic comedy

Short version: this was absolutely fabulous. You should read it.

But in case you need more convincing: Boyfriend Material uses all the fun romance tropes (fake dating, miscommunication, parental issues) in ways that kept me happy, laughing, sobbing, everything throughout the story.

I could go into a summary, but you can find those anywhere, so let's talk about my new favorite boys instead.

First up, Luc, son of 2 80's rock stars, with an absentee father (not just a "we don't speak", more like a "we never had a relationship to begin with") has just been photographed falling on his face wearing "sexy" bunny ears for a party by tabloids, which has had backers for the non-profit he works for pulling their donations. And he is kinda a wreck of a human, and I love him. He definitely has anxiety and abandonment issues, is kinda a dick, a bit of a superiority complex, but also seems to deal with impostor syndrome, which shouldn't work together, but somehow do.

And Oliver, poor Oliver, is just such a good guy, but he works so hard to be so good all the time he never has a chance to just breathe. To him, showing even a bit of actual emotion is akin to a full emotional breakdown (and don't get me started on his parents, I hate them passionately).

If either of my boys sound interesting, or you are a fan of an almost Bridget-Jones level of insane and nosy friends who just want to help you get what you want, definitely give this a read.

DNF @ 10%

Honestly, I think this is more of an it's-me-not-you situation with this weird pandemic book funk I've been in and out of in the last few months. But for now I'm putting this one aside since I cannot get into it after multiple tries and will try again later.

Boyfriend Material follows Luc as he navigates life as a late-twenty-something, commitment-phobe, with a famous father who left him when he was 3. Oh, and because of this famous dad who is never around he is always in the tabloids. His work is concerned about his public image so naturally the solution is to get a fake boyfriend to make him look better in the press.

The plot is the classic fake relationship, but maybe it’s real! I am generally on board with the tropey, cliched, rom-coms, so the concept behind this book is totally up my alley.

I listened to the audiobook on Libro.fm and had a b l a s t. There were some hilarious bits, and some pitch-perfect moments, as well as some extremely well-placed sentences. However, I did find the overall plot to be a little under-done. I never, not even for one second, believed this relationship was fake. It was like the author said it was fake, but everything showed it wasn’t at all. Now, I wouldn’t have minded if it was just stated that it wasn’t fake right away, I didn’t need a fake relationship to like this book - it was funny and spunky and cute and had just enough steamy moments. It was thoroughly enjoyable, I just really didn’t love that it was meant to make me believe it was fake, but didn’t.

I also found the end to be extremely rushed, and the beginning/middle to be a little long.

The cute moments were extremely cute, and the banter was on point. The funny banter was probably one of my favourite elements in this entire novel, actually.

All in all, I enjoyed this book and I will 100% pick up more books by this author, but I had some issues with its execution in certain areas.

CW: Homophobia, cancer, abandonment, eating disorder.

Well this was, okay. I guess.

Fake relationships will either work or not, depending on the context. In this case, it didn't work for me. Luc, born to ultra famous parents, is under the spotlight - he is even introduced as such at times, which I found it to be weird - is almost always on guard, second guessing everyone he meets and being very much on alert the entire time. Being under the spotlight means paparazzi, and paps means pictures of him on the internet he'd rather not have.

So, to save his job, his very ridiculous beetle charity job, he needs to find a boyfriend to clean up his image.

I fail to see how a risky fake relationship will do anything to clean up an image that frankly doesn't need cleaning up, but the thing about fake relationships is that you either buy into them, or you don't.

Luckily, this book quickly moved on from the the awkward forced plot to bring these two together and what I was left with was a unique sense of humor, combined with cheesy plot and British witty shenanigans.

Boyfriend Material had an unpretentious to the point writing style that I actually enjoyed most of the time, the MC's life is a mess from parents to job to co-workers but it was a funny read overall.

A complete delight! I loved reading this sweet, romantic, and steamy romance. The characters were so warm and relatable. This book is funny and has a ton of heart. I'll be recommending this to a lot friends!

I am so happy that I was able to read Boyfriend Material, because I fell in love with it and the characters instantly. There’s not a big plot as far as this story goes, but that honestly didn’t matter to me when it came to this book. I enjoyed the main characters and all their friends so much and that was what really made me fall in love with the book even if it didn’t have much of a plot.

There were so many laugh out loud moments throughout the entire story and I was living for every single one of them. Luc and Oliver seemed like complete opposites, but I was rooting for them so hard. They “relationship” together was a treat even when Luc kept messing things up over and over again. He’s so angsty and I loved that. Oliver is so posh and proper and it was funny seeing them together. They both had their fair share of baggage, but I loved them together anyway. The banter between them and also with their friends was gold. I also want to point out how much I love Luc’s mom and the fact that she was binge watching RuPaul’s Drag Race, because I’ve been binge watching RuPaul’s Drag Race for three months now and I loved seeing all the references and that I got them LOL.

Overall, Boyfriend Material was cute, hilarious, and had all the feels. There’s so much depth to every single character and it was so much fun to read. I love British humor and this book was a winner to me. I loved this book so much. I highly recommend checking it out!

A fake relationship trope, two charming Brits, a little bit of angst, low key sexiness, sharp and witty banter, I mean do I really need to tell you guys more than that?! I kinda feel like I don’t, because if that doesn’t sell you on reading this one I’m all out of ideas, but I will. How about fantastic narration if you’re an audiobook fan? I switched back and forth between audio and print and can confirm both formats are equally engaging. Ok, do you like a little drama? Because this one delivers with family drama, friendship drama and relationship drama. Did I already say humor? Cause this is legit laugh out loud funny. Opposites attract? Luv and Oliver couldn’t be more different and both are endearing in their own sweet and perfect ways. There’s also a cast of quirky supporting characters that keep things interesting. Last thing, do you like feeling all the feelings when you read a rom com? Laughing one minute and getting emotional the next? That’s all I’ve got but trust me when I say this one was an absolute delight and a must for romance fans.

This book was great. I loved the characters as well as some of my absolute favorite tropes (fake romance, enemy to lovers). I felt that the characters were realistic while being placed in very interesting positions. The path of their relationship was believable and well written and I loved the small motifs peppered throughout.

This was a cute and charming little book that unfortunately, in my eyes, fell short of the Red, White, and Royal Blue comparison that the cover so resolutely demands (seriously- compare the covers of these two books and tell me that there isn't at least a LITTLE "inspiration" involved.) However, unlike RWRB, I didn't care very much about these characters or the plot. Sure, they're cute, and the plot is charming enough, but it felt like all fluff and no substance. Again, perhaps it's because I read (and loved) RWRB, which had some serious consequences and tension beneath the cute fluffiness, that I made these comparisons - and I'd feel guilty for doing so if not for the fact that this book so clearly wanted to cater to the same crowd. It's fine, but I'll just be rereading RWRB.

Some familiar elements but managed to sidestep the obvious and make an interesting plot with loveable characters. Loved the humor.

A complete triumph. This book needs to by hyped and hyped hard.

Honestly, it’s one of the best romance novels I’ve ever read. It’s raw and genuine and side-splitting hilarious.

Luc’s narrative is absolute perfection. Seriously, so perfect I can’t even put it into words. He is on the top of the list when it comes to first person narrators.

To put it plainly... I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH!!! At this point I’m hoping it’ll be optioned to become a movie because the population of world needs this story in their lives.