Would recommend this title to readers looking for m/m romance that is tongue-in-cheek funny and banter-filled. Somewhat similar tone to Bridget Jones' diary with British slang and references. I found the strongest part of the book was the relationship between Luc and Oliver. Definitely lots of larger-than-life secondary characters as well.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sending me a complementary e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

'Boyfriend Material' by Alexis Hall is the best rom-com I have read this year so far. Luc O'Dennell is a hot mess. Being the son of two famous 80s rockstar, he is always under brutal public scrutiny and to fix his image he needs a "reputable" date. Oliver Blackwood, a barristar with high ethical values, seems to fit Luc's requirements for 'reputable fake boyfriend' perfectly, albeit having nothing in common with Luc.

This books is extremely funny, adorable, charming and heartwarming. I love Luc and Oliver - they might have made their way into my list of top 10 favourite couples. Their relationship is absolutely swoon worthy and made made my heart explode!! I honestly teared up so many time and I also laughed so much!! The dialogues were extremely funny and the characters are very well written. I also adored the supporting characters - honestly Luc and Oliver's friends are goals!!! Luc and Oliver might be highly flawed but they are perfect for each other. It was beautiful to see both of them deal with their past baggage and learn to trust each other despite of their fears. And most importantly, both characters not only fall in love with each other, but also with themselves. They learn to accept their flaws, deal with their issues, and learn to be vulnerable and communicate instead of pushing people away.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book. It was absolutely perfect right from the beginning to the end. It made me laugh and swoon and cry at the same time!!! Hands down, one of my most favourite reads of the year.

this book was charming and amazing. felt a lot like a soap opera with how much drama and deceit! i audibly gasped and genuinely loved it.

Oooooh I loved this one! A seriously witty M/M read that punched me in the feels. It’s packed with dry humour, fantastic characters and a plot that had me flipping through the pages to see what would happen next. It was my first read from this author and definitely won’t be my last.

Luc is a hot mess. The tangentially famous son of two 80's rockers, the tabloids have put his job in danger. Oliver is a buttoned up barrister in need of a date. If they pretend to date, they'll both gain what they need.

I super enjoyed this book. It's billed as a rom-com and *gasp* it's actually funny! But it's also two men confronting their issues and learning how to be better because of the other. So also very poignant. It was a book I didn't want to put down.

Many of the secondary characters are drawn quite broadly and a lot of the humor comes from the MCs bouncing off of them. It wouldn't surprise me if this has been optioned for a movie, because it reads very much like a good old romantic comedy. It's also PG-13 - while it's clear there's lust, the love scenes are not explicit and are mostly cut away from.

There's a single POV - Luc's - and at times I wanted to read from Oliver's POV, because I like a buttoned up character warring with himself over what he wants.

This is a great read, and a fun one.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If this doesn't overtake A.C. Rosen's Camp as the book of the summer, I'm going to be so mad (but not really surprised). I honestly can't even remember where I came across this, but when I did I immediately requested a copy from the publisher.* And boy, am I glad I did—it was so good.
I first read Hall's work five years ago with Waiting for the Flood and could see the potential, but never followed up on my hunch only to be blindsided by this one! I could've been reading his work this whole time and growing with him. Needless to say, I will be going back through his back catalog in the near future.
Boyfriend Material is a fake boyfriend MM romance, but written more like a young adult/teen romance/RomCom story, rather than an explicit full-on sexy romance. Protagonists Luc, the child of a c-list celebrity with a baggage cart of emotional damage, and Oliver, an on the up barrister with his own hidden issues, strike a deal to fake-date each other until after an event, and of course eventually fall madly in love with each other.
"And, as a fund-raiser, it's my job to convince people that they're better off giving their money to bugs that eat poo instead of pandas, orphans, or—God help us—comic Relief." (Chapter 3)
Clearly, I was pre-disposed to like this book because it's a MM romance set in London, but that was further solidified when I found out Luc works in nonprofit fundraising. I mean come on, if I ever write a novel nonprofits and fundraisers will be involved because that's basically my non-book life. Add in that he has no filter and is constantly beating himself up and the only place you have to go is down. And Hall somehow kept going up. It took me a while but when I finally noticed that all the What's App group conversations names were puns I just threw another star on my rating (we're at like 20 already), because they just made me laugh!
• "Queer Comes the Sun"
• "Don't Wanna Be All Bi Myself"
• "One Gay More"
• "All About That Ace"
• "'Don't Luc Back in Anger"
• "You Can Luc (But You Better Not Touch)"
• "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" (even better b/c one of Luc's friends is Bridget)
Early in the book, I was wary when Hall described each of Luc's friends individually since it came across as checking diversity boxes, but thankfully it was only once and the few things he highlighted all came back later in the novel reiterating why he mentioned them (a minor character's religion or profession). The same thing can be said when both Luc and Oliver explain what is wrong with the other one at various points in their relationship. I was like why are we writing everything out (show don't tell), but then at some point it clicked and/or Hall made it explicitly clear that they had to specifically say everything because they were learning to communicate.
"There should really be a word for the feeling you get when you do a thing you don't particularly want to do to support somebody else but then realise they didn't actually need you and nobody would have noticed if you'd stayed home in your pyjamas eating Nutella straight from the jar." (Chapter 1)
If this novel is about anything, it's about communication. Like so many other romance novels, the protagonists either don't communicate. In this instance, they don't know how because of each of their respective histories and they have to navigate the unknown (oh hey every relationship) while in the guise of making their fake relationship look real. Their communication is brutally honest at various points, and yes there is a scene in the rain with love being confessed (so. much. swoon), and in the end they obviously sort it out but not without a lot of growth on both sides.
For me, the icing on the cake for the book was the lack of sex. It's been a few days since I read it, but I'm fairly certain there was only one full on sex scene actually on the page. There were quite a few fade away to curtains floating in the window moments and frankly, it was perfect. The more of these books I read, the more I realize I want the sweet/clean romances just as much as I want the down and dirty ones. One incredibly well written encounter in a book can carry be as rewarding as one a chapter, if the characters and story are strong enough, and in Hall's case they were.
Seriously though, I kept getting echoes of McQuiston's Red, White & Royal Blue rather than any of the dozens of MM romance (tag link) novels I've read this summer. McQuiston's may have had more sex in it, but they had similar OMG why is this so perfect I HAVE TO KEEP READING moments throughout that it would be doing Hall a disservice not to compare his work to that darling of the book blogger world.
Recommendation: My response is a mess, but suffice to say this is a wonderful book and I will absolutely be reading it again in the future. Hall's writing has vastly improved since I last read his work and Luc and Oliver's story, everything about it even the family drama which is so often overdone, just worked. As I was going back to grab pull quotes for my response, my heart fluttered. And if the few pull quotes I included was enough to get my heart fluttering at the story, there's clearly something wonderful here and I can't wait to revisit it and explore the rest of Hall's work.
*I received a copy of Boyfriend Material via NetGalley in return for my honest opinion. No goods or money were exchanged.

This book this book this book this book this booooooooooooooook.

We know I love a good fake dating trope, so that was immediately alluring. By the end of the book, I was absolutely obsessed with this story and the characters. It was funny, it was heartwarming, and it just honestly had everything I ever look for in a good romance read.

Alexis Hall is a funny freaking writer and I absolutely fell in love with Luc and Oliver. By page 2 I was laughing my a** off, and couldn't stop flipping through the story. Luc, self-deprecating and sarcastic grumpy Luc, was so endearing, and his relationship with Oliver was the stuff of dreams: real, hard, and full of warmth and honesty, with a dash of sarcasm and playful joking. Luc learns to love himself through loving Oliver, and Oliver learns his worth through his relationship with Luc, and it just 100% brought me to tears. These characters were real, and I don't say that lightly. They were absolutely realistic, and raw, and it brought me so much joy (even when I was crying) to navigate this weird pseudo-relationship with them.

I would also absolutely die for Oliver Blackwood. I want to protect that boy at all costs. He had me SOBBING by the end, and while I should hate him for that, I love him too much to consider it.

Long story short: this book is hella funny, and also brought me to tears about 10 times. Read it. Fall in love with Luc and Oliver and come out the other side a better person like they both did.

⭐⭐⭐

Boyfriend Material
Alexis Hall
432 pages | Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca

Publish Date: July 7, 2020

The estranged son of a famous rock legend, Luc occasionally finds himself in the tabloids. After an unfortunate photo effects his reputation at work, he needs to prove that he can clean up his act and settle down with a responsible man. Enter fake boyfriend Oliver. Both agreeing that a fake relationship would be beneficial for their own reasons. But even though the relationship is just for appearances, things begin to feel very real, very fast.

Why is fake-dating just like, the cutest romance trope out there? It never gets old and this was no exception. Luc and Oliver were adorable and I thought they balanced each other so well.

Luc was a loveable and relatable human disaster and I was super impressed by his growth in the story. I wish we got to see more of that from Oliver too (I'm totally smitten with Oliver, I just wish we got to know him a bit earlier).

I want to be a part of Luc's friend group - they sound fab, if not a tad over the top. They, along with the various high society characters, tended to take me out of the story a bit. It as like they were all mostly caricatures of themselves. A character can just be posh - you don't need to constantly remind me what they are by over-exaggerating.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 stars!

This was a very cute rom-com. It was incredibly funny. I absolutely adored every single character and how witty they all were. Alex Twaddle KILLED me. His reactions to Luc's jokes every single day were hilariously frustrating. The characters were, for the most part, incredibly well rounded and SO personable - they literally jumped right off of the pages.

The witty banter between Luc and Oliver, Luc and Bridget, Luc and Priya, and on was other-worldly. It was funny and clever and well-thought-out, without being over the top and annoying. I found myself laughing along. Listening to this book (I did a hybrid of reading and listening) was hilarious and the narrator had awesome voices for each character.

Super small detail, but I loved how Hall included some misspellings in text messages. So insignificant and not important to the plot whatsoever, but it was a quirky little detail that made the book feel that much more real.

My only complaints with this book were that it was incredibly predictable with no "new" plotlines. I also felt like it was a little all over the place - a lot of seemingly random plot lines were started and the abruptly ended and took some of my focus away from the meat of the story.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed this one! Thanks to Netgalley, Libro.Fm, and the publisher for the ARCs of this book.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!

Rating: 4.5 stars
Rep: gay mc, m/m relationship, queer side characters


If you want a mash-up between "Bridget Jone's Diary" and "Red, White and Royal Blue", look no further! "Boyrfriend Material" was a fun rom-com with the best bit of British Humour, I honestly couldn't stop laughing throughout and this has now taken a place in one on my favorite romance books of all time!

Oliver was literally Mark Darcy 2.0 and no one can convince me otherwise. I loved Lucien and Oliver's gradual relationship from slight enemies to fake dating to friends to lovers. I was rooting from them right from the get-go! All the side characters were so well written and absolutely hilarious! I liked Alex and Priya the best.

Another thing I loved was that this book wasn't all fun and games. There was angst and sad times too, both Oliver and Luc don't have the best family situations and the way they connected over that was very realistic and sweet. While this book is over 400 pages long, it was action-packed and I was never bored for a second!

Overall, I highly recommend this rom-com to everyone that likes banter, British humour and fake dating! I can't wait to read more by this author in the future.

5 hilarious and wonderfully entertaining stars!

Oh, I loved this book! A witty, intelligent, delightfully entertaining m/m opposites-attract romantic comedy with a fake relationship setup and a fantastic duo of flawed but fabulous heroes that you cannot help but cheer for. I read it in a day, absolutely captivated from start to finish, and enjoyed every moment!

Lucien (Luc) O’Donnell is an absolute hot mess. The son of now-almost-forgotten 80s rockstars, he is a sort-of-celebrity whose life is splashed across the tabloids, creating a self-perpetuating cycle of questionable behaviour as he gets closer and closer to rock bottom. He’s pretty much there when his work with a local charity tells him he needs to improve his public image by entering into a suitable, stable relationship.

He is set up by a friend with snooty, serious barrister, Oliver Blackwood. They have met before, but it didn’t really go well, and neither of them think too highly of the other. But a temporary fake relationship also suits Oliver’s needs, so they agree to spend time together – both in and out of the public eye – to make their relationship look as real as possible until they go their separate ways.

“Explain to me again,” said Oliver finally, “why you need a boyfriend?”
It was the least I owed him. “Mainly for this big fundraiser we’ve got coming up at the end of April. Our donors all think I’m a bad gay.”
He frowned. “What’s a good gay?”
“Someone like you.”
“I see.”

OMG, I love these two boys! They are so well developed, as different as can be, and watching them bicker, argue and tease is so much fun!

“You know you’re wearing pyjamas wrong, right?”
He didn’t look up. “Oh?”
“Yeah, you’re supposed to just wear the bottoms, and have them hanging low on your hips, displaying your perfectly chiselled V-cut.”
“Maybe next time.”
I thought about this for a moment. “Are you saying you have a perfectly chiselled v-cut?”
“I’m not sure that’s any of your business.”
“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 love their snappy dialogue and their text conversations are a real treat. But underneath it all, they both have their vulnerabilities, characterised by sweetly tender moments and adorably endearing awkwardness.

"I miss you.
Sorry. Was that too much?
I know it’s only been a few days.
Maybe this is why people don’t want to go out with me.
Not that you’re really going out with me anyway.
I hope I didn’t sound presumptuous.
I’m probably sounding really weird now.
I’m assuming you’re not texting back because you’re still asleep. Not because you think I’m disgustingly clingy.
If you’re awake and think I’m disgustingly clingy, could you at least tell me.
Right. You’re probably asleep.
And now you’re going to wake up and read all this and I’m going to die of embarrassment.
Sorry."

And as they get to know each other, they begin to understand each other, and of course things start to change. They form a connection which sparks change in both of their lives, and watching them slowly evolve was just gorgeous! There are, understandably, some anxieties there, but they just go with it, which I loved, and the slow burn of their relationship plays out beautifully!

“I don’t want fine. Fine isn’t enough. Isn’t not about the open fire or whatever other clichés you can conjure up, but yes, I want a connection. I want you to care as much as I care. I want you to need it and want it and mean it. I want it to matter.”

And the love story is so lovely. It’s sweet and funny with great chemistry, and these two guys genuinely care for each other. They are thoughtful and kind with each other, but still with this sense of fun and playfulness, and seeing them together seriously gave me happy tingles! There is intimacy, but there are no actual sex scenes, so if you’re new to the m/m genre, this is a pretty tame one to start with.

"These weren’t just yeah whatever kisses. They weren’t take it or leave it, get your coat you’ve pulled kisses. They were everything I thought I could never have, everything I’d been pretending I never wanted, telling me that I was worth it, that he’d be there for me and put up with me and wouldn’t let me drive him away.
Oliver Blackwood was giving all that to me, and I was giving it right back."

The book is written entirely from Luc’s perspective, and though we get a really good sense of Oliver (who I adore), I loved that we got to experience everything through Luc. He is such a disaster, and he has created a disaster of his life, and as much as this is a love story, he also has other issues that he needs to work through and I loved that we get to see him deal with his problems, work to get himself out of his funk and get his life back on track.

And then there’s the fantastic crew of supporting characters. Luc’s friends and colleagues are a fantastically developed group of weird and wonderful personalities – all very realistic (some of them scarily so) – that add so much to the story. From the bland and truly idiotic to the devastatingly selfish, the lovingly devoted and everything in between. Watching Luc’s interactions with the people in his life is a real highlight of the book.

"Mum patted him reassuringly. “Oh, Oliver … I am sure you are one of the best gays.”
I glanced back to find Oliver looking faintly flustered. “Mum, stop ranking homosexuals. It doesn’t work like that.”

If you’re a fan of wonderfully character-driven English comedy movies Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill, you’ll love this book. So many times while reading, I thought of those movies with their imperfect characters and diverse and quirky friend groups, and then all of those fantastic British-isms that add so much charm. This book is an experience that sucks you in and doesn’t let go until the final pages.

There is a bit of drama to bring the emotion, but mostly this is an angst-free read that made me smile, laugh out loud and fall in love, and I just adored it!

5 stars!

Before reading this, I'd seen someone, somewhere, compare Boyfriend Material to Red, White & Royal Blue and thought "pft, that seems like a stretch", but, and I'm saying this as someone who loved RWRB, the comparison holds. Sure it's a bit predictable, but it's such a sweet, romantic story sprinkled with heaps and heaps of humour, and exactly the kind of joy I needed to get me through lockdown, so we're letting it be predictable and sweet and delightful and we will still love it.

Luc is not necessarily your usual lovable MC, but he's real, and funny, and immature, and annoying, and exactly the right type for this story. Oliver is too mature and the complete opposite of Luc and exactly the right type for this story, too. It's definitely a character-driven story, and there's so much growth from both Luc and Oliver and I could gush about them forever but nobody's reading this anymore so I shan't. Know that they are delightful.

To round this off, I'd just like to mention that this book is utterly hilarious and had me actually cackling (and crying) in public. I'll just leave this bit from my initial "i-just-finished-reading-this pre-review review":

rtc (but i have 44 highlights, mostly of things that made me cackle (once or twice literally cry with laughter, don't judge me) and/or made me squeak with how precious it was, and i didn't realise i should be highlighting these things until around 22% in, so, that's a fifth of the book i haven't highlighted the funnies in and i'm still at 44 so in conclusion this is a hecking funny book (it is also the cutest thing and i have been given life))

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

‘I came to him like I thought I’d never come to anyone – forgetting to hold back in the need to make him feel as safe and cherished and as special as he made me. I held him, and he clung to me, and we moved together….’

We loved this book!! You know those cartoons where they have love hearts coming out of their eyes? Well, that’s how we felt reading Boyfriend Material! Our hearts were positively bursting! We laughed, we swooned, and we fell in love with two vastly different guys, Luc, and Oliver!

‘I’m not as strong as you think I am.”
“This isn’t about strength, it’s about who you’re choosing to make you happy.”

This is our first book by Alexis Hall and now we want more because we loved absolutely everything about this story! A fake relationship, two beautiful men, a sort of enemies to lovers thrown into the mix, and the writing! OMG! We relished Alexis Hall’s writing style. The flair, the wit, the warmth, passion and romance….ohhh, it was all exactly what the book doctor ordered! What a fabulous feelgood story! These two guys completely stole our hearts!

“You are many things, Lucien. But you could never be average.”

After one negative tabloid story too many, Lucien (Luc) O’Donnell, has to smarten up his act or risk his job at a fundraiser working alongside some eccentric and laugh out loud funny workmates for a charity that ensures the future of the dung beetle. Whilst it’s not the job of his dreams, it’s one he wants to hold onto, but with the negative press putting his donors and his boss offside, Luc needs to attract good publicity, and he’s been burned by people selling their stories about him to the press.

“It’s just easier to push people away than watch them leave.”

The chronicling of Luc’s indiscretions in the tabloids is courtesy of his rock star father, Jon Fleming who is on the cusp of making a comeback. Luc’s father walked out on him and his mother, who Luc has a fantastic and hilarious relationship with when Luc was 3, and he’s not too thrilled at to have his father reappear in his life. It’s decided Luc needs a fake boyfriend, one who will spin a good story, bringing the donors back into favour and loosening up their purse strings. But can he pull it off?

‘I’m a criminal barrister. Most people think we’re the scum of the earth.”
“- and I’m the disgraced son of a disgraced rock star. I’m unnecessarily mean. And make terrible decisions.”

Luc’s publicist friend Bridget has just the man! Enter Oliver Blackwood, a 30 year old hot, stable, single and a successful criminal barrister. Although Luc and Oliver’s path had unsuccessfully crossed in the past, they both agree to a fake relationship which will benefit them both.

“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 is made us fake stronger.”

That’s all rather simplifying the story because experiencing the emotions between Luc and Oliver will fill your heart, the banter between Luc, Oliver and their eccentric friends is a laugh out loud delight! The puns between Luc and his workmates Rhys and Alex will have you in stitches! The relationship between Luc and Mum is hilariously warm and yet, amongst an amusing, sweet and entertaining story, Alexis Hall manages to wonderfully explore the complexities of family relationships.

‘He smiled. Oliver Blackwood was smiling. At me. For me. Because of me…’

We dare, no, we double dare you to not be as swept up in this deliciously funny, heart-warmingly sweet and in its own way, meaningful and poignant story. The characteristics of Luc and Oliver were brought to life in a story of love, trust and taking chances, and a story we never wanted to end.

“He’s the best boyfriend I’ve ever had.”
“That,” offered Priya, “is because you’re a titanic romantic disaster with incredibly low standards.”

‘I came to him like I thought I’d never come to anyone – forgetting to hold back in the need to make him feel as safe and cherished and as special as he made me. I held him, and he clung to me, and we moved together….’

We loved this book!! You know those cartoons where they have love hearts coming out of their eyes? Well, that’s how we felt reading Boyfriend Material! Our hearts were positively bursting! We laughed, we swooned, and we fell in love with two vastly different guys, Luc, and Oliver!

‘I’m not as strong as you think I am.”
“This isn’t about strength, it’s about who you’re choosing to make you happy.”

This is our first book by Alexis Hall and now we want more because we loved absolutely everything about this story! A fake relationship, two beautiful men, a sort of enemies to lovers thrown into the mix, and the writing! OMG! We relished Alexis Hall’s writing style. The flair, the wit, the warmth, passion and romance….ohhh, it was all exactly what the book doctor ordered! What a fabulous feelgood story! These two guys completely stole our hearts!

“You are many things, Lucien. But you could never be average.”

After one negative tabloid story too many, Lucien (Luc) O’Donnell, has to smarten up his act or risk his job at a fundraiser working alongside some eccentric and laugh out loud funny workmates for a charity that ensures the future of the dung beetle. Whilst it’s not the job of his dreams, it’s one he wants to hold onto, but with the negative press putting his donors and his boss offside, Luc needs to attract good publicity, and he’s been burned by people selling their stories about him to the press.

“It’s just easier to push people away than watch them leave.”

The chronicling of Luc’s indiscretions in the tabloids is courtesy of his rock star father, Jon Fleming who is on the cusp of making a comeback. Luc’s father walked out on him and his mother, who Luc has a fantastic and hilarious relationship with when Luc was 3, and he’s not too thrilled at to have his father reappear in his life. It’s decided Luc needs a fake boyfriend, one who will spin a good story, bringing the donors back into favour and loosening up their purse strings. But can he pull it off?

‘I’m a criminal barrister. Most people think we’re the scum of the earth.”
“- and I’m the disgraced son of a disgraced rock star. I’m unnecessarily mean. And make terrible decisions.”

Luc’s publicist friend Bridget has just the man! Enter Oliver Blackwood, a 30 year old hot, stable, single and a successful criminal barrister. Although Luc and Oliver’s path had unsuccessfully crossed in the past, they both agree to a fake relationship which will benefit them both.

“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 is made us fake stronger.”

That’s all rather simplifying the story because experiencing the emotions between Luc and Oliver will fill your heart, the banter between Luc, Oliver and their eccentric friends is a laugh out loud delight! The puns between Luc and his workmates Rhys and Alex will have you in stitches! The relationship between Luc and Mum is hilariously warm and yet, amongst an amusing, sweet and entertaining story, Alexis Hall manages to wonderfully explore the complexities of family relationships.

‘He smiled. Oliver Blackwood was smiling. At me. For me. Because of me…’

We dare, no, we double dare you to not be as swept up in this deliciously funny, heart-warmingly sweet and in its own way, meaningful and poignant story. The characteristics of Luc and Oliver were brought to life in a story of love, trust and taking chances, and a story we never wanted to end.

“He’s the best boyfriend I’ve ever had.”
“That,” offered Priya, “is because you’re a titanic romantic disaster with incredibly low standards.”

Alexis Hall’s Boyfriend Material is quite possibly the best romantic comedy I’ve ever read. Almost every page produced a smile, a grin, a snort or a full-out belly-laugh – and I honestly can’t remember the last time I read a book that produced full on giggling of the sort that made my family members give me funny looks.

I love a good fake-relationship story and this is a VERY good one. The premise is nothing new; our PoV character Lucien – Luc – O’Donnell has appeared in one-too-many embarrassing photos in the press and is told to clean up his image or be fired from his job. But Alexis Hall turns this commonly used plotline into something special; yes, it’s frequently hilarious, but it’s also charming, touching, awkward, sharply observant and refreshingly self-deprecating, as is evident right from the start in the way the author pokes fun at the premise itself by having Luc working for a charity dedicated to the preservation of the dung-beetle, whose name, in acronym form, is CRAPP.

Turns out, the one thing worse than having a famous father who blew up his career like a champagne supernova is having a famous father who’s making a fucking comeback.

Twenty-eight year-old Luc is the son of a famous rock-star couple whose dad abandoned both Luc and his mother when Luc was just three years old. For much of his life he’s been constantly compared to his reckless, self- destructive absentee father in the media, the slightest infraction or cock-up on his part inevitably leading to smug ‘like father, like son’ pronouncements, but he learned to live with it (mostly). Five years before the book opens, Luc’s long-term boyfriend sold his story to the tabloids for fifty grand, which sent him into a downward spiral that, for a while, served only to reinforce people’s worst assumptions about him. Now, he’s a mass of insecurities, a cagey, grumpy, paranoid mess with serious trust and self-esteem issues who has made an art form out of pushing people away.

Because somewhere along the line, I’d turned getting ahead of the story into a lifestyle.

With his father making a comeback as a judge on a reality TV show, Luc is once again fair game as far as the paparazzi is concerned. So when a perfectly innocuous photo of him appears in a tabloid complete with sensationalist byline, Luc’s stuffy boss at the Coleoptera Research and Protection Project (CRAPP), worried about losing donors over his reported antics, gives him an ultimatum. Repair his reputation or he’s out of a job. Luc has no idea how to do this – until a colleague (with the wonderfully unlikely name of Alex Twaddle – seriously, many of the names in this book are Dickensian in their ridiculousness!) suggests he should get himself an appropriate boyfriend to be seen around with and then take to the upcoming CRAPP fundraiser.

Which is how come Luc ends up agreeing to go on a not-date with the terribly proper, uptight barrister Oliver Blackwood. They have absolutely nothing in common other than the need to have a plus-one to take to an upcoming event – Luc’s fundraiser and Oliver’s parents’ anniversary – so they agree to be publicity-friendly fake-boyfriends for a few weeks, then have a fake-break-up and pretend it never happened. No problem.

Well, it should be no problem, but as their fake-relationship progresses and Luc starts to get to know Oliver, he begins to realise that behind the serious, fussy, perfectly-presented exterior is a man he could come to like very much – for real.

Luc is pretty self-absorbed, but given his circumstances, it’s not too surprising; he’s famous-by-association and has lived under some sort of spotlight for much of his life. When other kids were getting drunk or stoned at parties nobody batted an eyelid, but when he did it, it made its way into the papers with copy about his being a ‘wild child’ or ‘his father’s son’. He’s short-tempered, sharp-tongued and has a talent for saying the wrong thing, but he’s endearing and vulnerable, despite his outward prickliness, and I loved watching him gradually coming to accept that he was worth loving and deserved to have good things in his life.

And Oliver, while seemingly Luc’s total opposite is absolutely perfect for him. He’s a bit stuffy – although as Luc discovers, has a very dry sense of humour – and is sometimes a bit preachy, but it all comes from a good place and there’s something about him that is completely and utterly charming. He’s had lots of boyfriends, but no relationship has lasted, something Oliver himself puts down to his being boring. To start with, Luc is inclined to agree, but soon starts to wonder. Oliver may be a bit uptight, but he’s also kind, considerate and intuitive (plus, he’s seriously hot) – so how come he’s never had a relationship last more than six months?

Luc and Oliver’s romance is beautifully written and well-paced, and is full of snark, tenderness and genuine affection. From their very first fake-date, the chemistry between them sings, and their gradual progression from fake boyfriends to ‘um… this doesn’t feel fake any more’ is extremely well done. The story is related entirely from Luc’s PoV, but Mr. Hall does a great job of bringing Oliver to life through his eyes, and showing the reader things that Luc sees but doesn’t SEE. Luc is so caught up in his own problems that he fails to see that Oliver is just as screwed up and insecure in many ways as he is – and I appreciated that part of Luc’s journey towards being a little less hard on himself was in learning to recognise when others – notably Oliver – were struggling, too.

He’d helped me see that my life was better than I’d thought it was… that I was better than I’d thought I was.

The sub-plot concerning Luc’s conflicting emotions about his father – who has discovered he has cancer – is really well done, and Luc’s circle of friends – their WhatsApp group variously titled “Queer Comes the Sun”, “One Gay More” and “All About That Ace” – are a bonkers, quirky bunch who clearly adore each other and wouldn’t be out of place in a Richard Curtis film.

Luc and Oliver light up the pages whenever they’re together and while Mr. Hall’s trademark humour and love of pop-culture are very much present throughout, there’s a more serious, emotional side to the book, too, a story about self-worth and acceptance and the need to be true to oneself. Romantic, funny, silly, messy, tropey and completely wonderful, Boyfriend Material is easily one of the best books I’ve read this year. I was captivated from start to finish and I’m sure you will be, too.

This book just gives you ALL the happy, gleeful smiles and we were living for it.

Also, I don't know if this reflects badly on my sleeping habits but I did stay up until 4.30am reading because I was so enchanted by this book.

First of all, I ADORED the audiobook narration and it's what honestly made the experience for me. I loved all the voices the narrator did for each character and the way they brought Luc's character to life. I read along with my ebook for a little while and I loved doing it like that. It literally was like watching a movie and I was just living my best life

The writing was so really great and is PACKED with witty lines. We all know how I'm a sucker for banter and it didn't disappoint. I loved the setting and how I was transported to London. Very nostalgic.

But the best part was the characters. They're all so well-written and three-dimensional. Luc was, I think, my favourite. He's the literal definition and embodiment of disaster gay™ and,,, needs protection at all costs. And also a slap across the face. He just word vomits everywhere and can't control his emotions and I ADORED him. Oliver was also a sweetheart. But also needed a slap across the face. He's an anxious bean with posh family issues. They're the best kind if we're being honest.

The side-characters were also just a TREAT. Luc's mother was my favourite, especially her voice. (Pssst listen to the audiobook). But his friends and Oliver's friends as well.

The family dynamics... oof so complicated. But made the story so complex and, frankly, interesting. Even though they suck. Truly. We're talking about Luc's father as well as Oliver's parents. The freaking WORST. Honestly.

And that romance. All the giddy feels. I loved their inside jokes and just the way they interacted and... worked. As I mentioned, both these idiots are messed up but they're messed up together, you know? They were a tad dramatic near the end, but that was expected tbh, it's an adult romance.

My only complaint is that I think the story was missing something. I'm not entirely sure what yet, just an element to perhaps add more tension or maybe the tension could've been heightened? So it did drag a bit at times. Still nonetheless enjoyed but there was just that one thing, you know?

Also, I wanted to touch on the humour in this book. The author is genderqueer, but a lot of the side characters that were never taken as acceptable, did make some offensive homophobic jokes, which could be triggering. Just wanted to warn everyone. Whilst we're on the topic, trigger warnings for emotional abuse, cancer and possible eating disorder.

This book was *clenches fists* just so lovely.

I need an epilogue. Please and thank you. Akjhjsgad I LOVED THIS BOOK!! ALL THE HAPPY, GIDDY, GRINNING FEELS!!!!

This book was highly entertaining. Luc and Oliver are genuinely hilarious in their interactions. Luc is so dramatic, but sometimes I like the over dramatic characters. And in Luc’s defense he’s aware of this characteristic and he does get better over the course of the book. I love when we can see a character grow and develop and Luc’s development felt so realistic. Boyfriend Material touched on quite a few other things: friends, families, work place shenanigans. I loved each of their friend groups and the scenes with them in it were so funny.

Oliver and Luc were such a great pair to read. They were fun, flirty, and I really liked seeing their relationship go from fake to real after quite a few pit stops. They each see the worst parts of each other and of each other’s families and still want to be with each other. Which really hit the great romance nail on the head.

My only issues are that for a long minute there at the end I thought we weren’t going to get a happy ending and that was stressful for me. And that I wish desperately that this was written in dual POV. There were SO MANY scenes where I really wanted inside Oliver’s head.

Overall, this was a lot of fun and I definitely recommend to romance readers.

This book had me laughing out loud from the very start! I can’t remember a book that I have read (not a comedy) that had me laughing as much as Luc’s and Oliver had me laughing. Their back and forth conversations, Luc;s inner dialogue and the comical situations he gets himself into made this romance an absolute riot to read.

I have been over stressed with life and dramatic love stories for a while now, so Boyfriend Material was a welcome change.

This story sets up with Luc, the abandoned son of a British rock legend trying to reform his image after another unflattering run-in with the paps. Solution: a squeaky clean boyfriend to redeem with tarnished image. Insteps Oliver. He’s a barrister and almost OCD with his cleanliness and professionalism. If anyone can shine a light on Luc, its Oliver. They go on a disastrous first date, but since they both need this relationship to prove a point in the future, they decide to fake date. Hilarity ensues.

These two don’t know how to be in a real relationship, so obviously their fake relationships has just as many ups and downs… until they can’t tell if the feelings they are feeling are real.

Luc and Oliver were an adorable odd couple and their pairing had the same comedic genius. Their going attachment and love was fun to watch develop and root for.

Right now we can all use a little fun in our romance and this book definitely was fun. I highly recommend this book!

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall is scheduled to be released July 7th, 2020.

I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from Sourcebooks Casablanca through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a DNF for me. I loved the premise of this book was not engaged at all. At about 45%, I stopped. Luc was an incredibly unlikeable character and I felt like I was supposed to feel sorry for him, but I just couldn’t. I was also quite confused during large chunks that I just could not follow. On top of ghat, luc and Oliver did not seem to have any chemistry to me so I was not rooting for them.

I loved this book so much. It was funny and cute and quirky and I could not put it down.

Luc is the son of a has-been rockstar, making him slightly famous and a favourite of the London paparazzi. When Luc resurfaces in the tabloids as an out of control druggy party boy, he becomes in danger of losing his job. There’s only one thing that can be done, find a fake boyfriend who is perfect in every way and can help clean up Luc’s party boy image. Olivier is perfect boyfriend material, he’s an ethical vegetarian and Barrister and most importantly is willing to pretend to be Luc’s boyfriend as long as he joins him at his parents ruby anniversary. The problem is, when you’re pretending to be in love with someone how do you stop from actually falling in love with them?
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This was a 4.5 star read for me. The writing is excellent, the humour is hilarious, the romance is steamy and the characters were perfect. I can not recommend this book enough and is definitely one of my new favourite rom-coms!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for this review arc.