Luc, the son of a former rockstar who is making a comeback, is caught in a compromising photo and is now in danger of losing his job. Unless he can clean up his image with the perfect boyfriend. ⁣
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Oliver Blackwood is as buttoned up as they come. He is a criminal barrister and a positive influence on Luc. They both agree to fake date until each of their important events are finished. But will their relationship still remain fake after all their time spent together?⁣
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This novel was so heartfelt and genuine. Each Luc and Oliver both struggled with different things and leaned on each other, creating a bond that is real and lasting! ⁣
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Oliver was definitely swoony that is for sure! He surprised me a lot with his compassion for Luc’s problems and their witty British banter had me laughing a lot! I also HIGHLY recommend the audio (thank you @librofm and @sourcebookscasa ) because it was great! I switched back and forth from reading to listening and I could not get enough of their story! ⁣

Very cute. Love the British humour described in the book - the dry and sardonic wit came through in the writing. The relationship between the protagonists was adorable to watch - both thinking they are irredeemable but both being perfect for each other. Definitely recommended as a light romance read.

Be still, my ever-quaking heart.

BOYFRIEND MATERIAL is everything you'd ever want in a fake-dating rom-com. Cheesy one-liners? Check! A reluctant-allies-to-friends-to-lovers romance? Check! A lovey-dovey date at a pop-up vegan cafe, where our protagonist hand-feeds a caramel brownie to his love interest? ...Check!

No, honestly, BOYFRIEND MATERIAL is an absolute RIOT. It's snarky, fun and the comedy is TOP-KNOTCH. Every page is FILLED with British humour, and I had a massive smile stretched over my face from page 1 until the very end!

And don't get me started on the CHARACTERS. Oh, my goodness. I mean, the main characters, Luc and Oliver, are fantastic. They're fun, they're flawed, they're relatable. But the secondary characters... wow. From Bridget, who ALWAYS has an (insane) emergency going on at her workplace, to James Royce-Royce (who happens to be married to -- guess who? -- James Royce-Royce), to the hysterical Alex and, Miffy (Miffy, of course, short for Clara)... EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER was over-the-top, individual, unique and SO MUCH FUN TO INTERACT WITH.

I cannot sing enough praise about this title! Honestly, do yourself a favour: go and buy yourself a copy. It's fun. It's campy. It's light. It's the perfect year-round romance.

Just be prepared to laugh. A LOT.

Boyfriend Material is a barrel of laughs. And I don’t laugh at books.

It’s true. Either because I’m not actively picking up comedy or books that are described as having ‘lots of laughs’. When I do read a book that, while isn’t advertised as funny, as comedic characters, that humour doesn’t usually make me laugh. I acknowledge that it’s a joke, but my face doesn’t even twitch.

I sound fun at parties, don’t I?

But, after receiving a lovely e-arc from the folks at Melia PR and Sourcebooks, plus getting a glowing recommendation from bookish friends, I decided to give it ago.

I had to put the book down from laughing too much.

Not only that, but I had to find people in the house so I could read bits of chapters out loud so they could share my sheer joy of this book. The comedy, funnily enough, is not what the book is focused on, however. This ain’t no joke generator, pumping out laugh after laugh. The premise is actually about the life and loves of a rockstar’s miserable son, who hates his father, yet still shares some of his limelight. To keep his job and lift up his reputation, he needs a nice boyfriend. Que the fake boyfriend scenario!

The humour reminded me a little of Fleabag, although Fleabag was harrowing at times and Boyfriend Material certainly wasn’t. There are serious plot points and backstories, but nothing that stops the book from being the fluffy and funny M/M romance that it is. It’s sharp, and our protagonist Luc is quicky and witty, where everyone around him is weird and he *supposedly* isn’t.

And then, what we’ve all been waiting for, the romance. A middle class, suit wearing, posh barrister paired with a man who is, on numerous occasions, called a mess? Yep, sign me up. What an absolute delight to read. Boyfriend Material took these two men and made them open up to each other, when they barely opened up to anyone else. I loved how much they leaned on each other during their fake boyfriend act, and how not fake it became *eyebrow jiggle*.

Seriously, if you want to read a fun queer romance and snort water through your nose from laughing, pick up Boyfriend Material.

This was charming and funny and everything I needed in a gay romcom. This has inevitably been compared to Red, White, & Royal Blue but I liked this one a lot more (I found the dialogue in that book way too cringey and unrealistic), and I think it’s because this one was actually written by a male. Luc and Oliver’s relationship is so cute and having Luc as the narrator was great because he is a naturally hilarious character which made the book so much fun! My only real complaint about the book is that it’s just a little too long for a romcom (it’s almost 450 pages) and started to get repetitive for me.

Love, love, love....reminiscent of Red, White, and Royal Blue. Very cute and light read for fans of America/British romances.

This book was such a great read. If you enjoyed Red, White, & Royal Blue you will want to read this one. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

When I first saw this on Netgalley, I believed it would give Red, White and Royal Blue a run for their money, that it would be a worthy rival. Although I think that this queer rom-con is definitely worth the read, Red White and Royal Blue will always have a special place in my heart.

This book is so incredibly cute! I love the fake-dating trope, and Alexis Hall did not disappoint! I am looking forward to reading more from this author!

Right off the bat this book had me laughing and that is hard to do. A good romcom is the way to my bookish heart and this one did just that. It didn't have any overdone themes, and was a great mix of sexy, and adorable.

When I first started reading Boyfriend Material, I thought that I would not like Alex. But I pushed through. And when Oliver was introduced and you saw him with Alex, that is when I too began to fall a little bit for him as well. Two people who run in the same circles who have only their sexuality in common, should not make a good match. Especially when one is a serious Lawyer and the other a guarded insecure manchild.

Alex works for a non-profit that aims to save mankind one ding beetle at a time. Although the job isn’t glamorous, it’s the only one Alex has been able to keep. The child of a famous 80’s artist, he has had all of his shortcomings plastered across the tabloids time and time again. It is at the request of his employer for him to be mor presentable that Alex decides he needs a boyfriend who won’t sell his story to the highest bidder and won’t make him look anymore pathetic then he already does. This is where Oliver comes in, as a very serious very much the opposite of every guy Alex has ever dated. But this isn’t a forever kind of relationship, no, this is a relationship that has an expiration date and very specific rules. They will be in each other’s lives until said date and go their separate ways.

But somewhere along the way a wayward father makes an appearance, and everything that was supposed to be fake somehow feels more real to them both. But will they be able to survive past their agreed time and if so, how will Alex trust blindly? And will Oliver be able to see past his own insecurities to make it work?

This book was quite charming and I loved that the story was being told by Alex, because all the side characters in his life were as loveable and entertaining as Alex and Oliver as well. I would recommend this book to people who loved Red White and Royal Blue, the banter and ridiculous interactions had me laughing, smiling and just happy to see Oliver’s serious demeanor accept Alex for who he was. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for quick wit and a fee good hardy laughs

If you are looking for your next LGBTQ friendly, absolutely magical, and laugh out loud hysterical romance, please please please read this book!!
Absolute 5 stars EVER 👏🏻 SINGLE 👏🏻 DAY 👏🏻

I can’t even begin to list the amount of moments throughout this book that I was in absolute stitches over these characters.
But I meannnnnn here are a few: The first date was the most hysterical scene I’ve ever read. The boxers. All the whitty banter. The crazy coworkers. The main character zero concept of the law.
It was just too good for words.

But not only was this book absolutely hysterically perfect, it was also so deep in so many ways.
It showed love at its newest purest form, it showed people realizing how they can be better people AND better friends, it showed love blossoming, it showed the terrifying side of trusting that someone won’t hurt you.

And the perfect quote from this boat to sum it all up: “lets be terrified together”

Thank you so much to @sourcebookscasa #partner for the advanced e-copy!!
I can’t say enough about this book!
Steam level: 🔥

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

As the son of a rockstar he's never met, Luc's whole life has been documented in the tabloids, and rarely favorably. Now, if he can't clean up his act, find a respectable boyfriend, and stay out of the public eye, he'll lose his job. Enter Oliver, a vegetarian, perfectionist, very Type-A barrister looking for a fake boyfriend to bring to his parents' anniversary party. They couldn't have less in common, but something about their fake relationship works. Maybe too well.

This book is delightfully witty, and the dialogue really shines. Luc is a very self-destructive character, and I struggled to get into the story at first because it was painful to watch him treat all of his friends, Oliver, and himself so poorly. But that made his transformation even more powerful, and I was definitely won over by the end. After the halfway point, this book was truly a joy to read!

What a fun, laugh-out-loud read, that will resonate with readers regardless of their sexuality. The feels are real - a relationship slowly turning into love, thoughts of personal inadequacies, friends and family who support you no matter what - and those who don't. Full of quirky, yet authentic characters, and all around fun to read.

This was a delightful novel: for those who enjoy the classic tropes of romance, especially m/m romance, the play here with the trope of 'fake dating' is fun, but Hall avoids cliches and pushes this cliche into something with real substance. There's an emotional depth here that stops this book from being simply cheerful throwaway fiction: it is great fun, but the level of connection between the characters and the work they have to do on their personal issues (the reasons why each is is need of a fake boyfriend) gives it more heft than most and make the ending feel earned.

Thank you to the publisher and author for the arc of BOYFRIEND MATERIAL in exchange for n honest review.

BOYFRIEND MATERIAL has so many elements that I love in a good romcom.
- Enemies/rivals/dislike to lovers!
- Opposites attract.
- Disaster guy falls for uptight posh (no so perfect) guy.
- Funny!
- There's only one bed!
- It's super gay.

Along with all those wonderful elements, I really love the character arcs of both our guys. They both have flaws, and they both show improvement before the end of the story, which you don't always see in a romcom. I loved it!

Boyfriend Material is the story of Luc, the son of two rock stars whose life is plastered all over the tabloids and who needs a fake boyfriend as to not lose his job because of the bad press, and Oliver, a serious, put together barrister who is under a lot of pressure from his family and who wants a fake boyfriend to go to his parents anniversary. Luc and Oliver don’t really get along but they have a friend in common that convinces them to go out together and they end up helping each other.

I’ll be honest, it took me a little bit to get into this book mainly because it has a very distinct humor and at the beginning, that humor was exaggerated and a bit too prevalent in the story. Also, it took me a while because at first, it seemed like Luc was taken straight out of Skins UK, except that he’s not a teenager, he’s 28. His life was out of control, he was partying and drinking, his house was a mess, his relationships with the people he cared about were deteriorating. Since this was just the beginning of the book and I didn’t really care about Luc yet, it was hard to look past some of his shitty behavior, especially the fact that he was mean without reason. All this to say that this book has a rough start.

Nonetheless, once Oliver is introduced, I started to find the humor in this book actually funny. Luc’s over the top, self-deprecating, a little bit mean humor was balanced well with Oliver’s dry sense of humor and his more serious personality. Together they were funny.

Oliver seemed very put together at first and like he had his life under control, but it was very interesting to see the depth of his character and how lonely and unhappy he was because he was trying to live up to impossible expectations. I think part of the reason Luc and Oliver connected in such a profound way was because both of them felt so lonely and sad.

Luc and Oliver’s romance had just the right amount of angst, they were so different and they both have so much baggage, so there were misunderstandings, confusion and hurt feelings, but seeing them be there for each other and slowly fall in love was so heartwarming, they were adorable together. In the end, Luc and Oliver’s individual character development was fantastic and so satisfying and it was the element that made this book feel so special.

I ended up not finishing this book.

This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and it was disappointing. I found myself skimming chapters and found this book to be a similar viewpoint to red white and royal blue.
Luke was extremely annoying and whines all the time and has the exact same personality as Alex from RW&RB. The relationship was forced and I found Luke very mean and possessive.

This was a fun book that was very reminiscent of Red, White and Royal Blue. I'm all for a British M/M romance! It was cute and sweet and I really enjoyed the characters and the romance between them!

This was very entertaining, incredibly romantic, and often laugh-out-loud funny. But it was also heartfelt and emotional and made me cry at times.

Luc and Oliver were likable, complex, sensitive characters, whose vulnerabilities and imperfections won me over as much as their strengths and fearlessness. Luc was perfectly snarky and awkward, while Oliver was perfectly polite and composed, for the most part.

I loved how they didn’t instantly fall in love. Though the attraction was there from the start, they fell in love over time, as they got to know each other as as their fake relationship became more real.

I loved how honestly the author portrayed the various stages of falling in love, the giddiness and awkwardness, the fear of opening up to another person and getting hurt, the anxieties and complications.

For most of the novel, I couldn’t put it aside. But somewhere near the end, it started to feel a little too long. I liked Luc and Oliver’s friends, but I didn’t like all of Luc’s colleagues/donors. They just seemed to exist to be funny.

Not to mention, the beetle ball/fundraiser that Luc had needed a fake boyfriend for turned out to not be that exciting except to show how Oliver was such a great guy and boyfriend.

However, the meeting with Oliver’s parents was really interesting and got me invested in the story and the relationship all at once. It showed a side to Oliver that I hadn’t expected, and was really well-written.

There were many scenes that reminded me of a ‘90s Hugh Grant rom-com. With the carload of friends. The aging rock star. The Bridget-Darcy opposites attract, Darcy the upstanding barrister and his way with words when he told Bridget he liked her. The inappropriate mother.

I also loved Joe Jameson' expressive, intimate, and sensitive narration. He was just so good. He got Luc and Oliver’s voices so right. I felt like he really was Luc, taking to me, totally inhabiting Luc's character, feelings, and experiences, and not just reading from a book. The book was good but the audiobook was even better and definitely worth my Audible credit.

I could totally see this as a movie, which would be good because it would cut down on some of the scenes that went a bit too long in my opinion. Even with the parts that dragged, I could listen/read this all over again. Though the sex scenes weren’t explicit, they were sexy, meaningful, and sweet.