I couldn't wait to get back with Lucien and Oliver, but somehow this book wasn't what I imagined for them. I have mixed feelings about this one becasue there were scenes I liked and loved, scenes where I laughed or giggled, and there were some where I couldn't believe I was reading the same book from the same author. I was bored sometimes and the biggest problem: I missed Oliver so so much. He was there, of course, but I felt him a bit distant. We didn't get into his POV this time either, but in the first book it wasn't that big of a problem - but now. He was a side piece to Lucien. Lucien dragged him along to any and every wedding (there were 4 of them in the book!!!). I missed some Lucien and Oliver alone time (there was only one, but that one was perfect!) And by alone time I'm not about the sexy times because they don't need it that much, but just be cute together.

I know it's hard to write a love story after they got a HEA or a HFN, it could be boring to read about the lazy days when nothing happens... and yes, it was boring sometimes. Sometimes I just wish this book didn't exist and I could be happy just knowing the first book. I don't know... I'm not mad but a bit sad, I thought it would be better :( I had high expectations, sadly.

3 and a half stars for me

Luc is still a hot mess express and Oliver is still his steady rock. The friend group is as crazy and tight knit as ever. I loved revisiting all of these characters again!

After falling in love with "Boyfriend Material" when it was published, I was looking forward to reading the second book in the series, "Husband Material", which was my most anticipated read this year. I am not exaggerating, I had it marked down in my calendar and a countdown set for its release date. I was THAT excited.

"Boyfriend Material" has been my comfort read for quite some time now. There are only a few books which hold that special place and status in my heart. This book has been my go-to read when I need to find a place of comfort. It is filled with so much humor that I find myself laughing during so many scenes. I always cherish the little moments filled with social awkwardness which are totally a mirror for my own self. I see myself represented in it and I honestly can say that I have found comfort in Alexis Hall‘s books and voice.

I have been counting the days for the release of "Husband Material" and I never once worried about what it would be, or how it would be. I truly trust Alexis Hall in this. A voice of comfort which will never disappoint me. It felt like I am reconnecting with old friends, with my comfort zone. Therefore, I had extremely high expectations - and after reading it now I can honestly say that I loved every single moment of this book.

In "Husband Material", the book focuses on true love. In the first book, the two main characters pretend to fall in love and then suddenly realize that they are actually in love. So this book now therefore starts with the real love perspective. They have fallen in love, so what is next? Oliver and Luc have been dating each other for quite some time now, have experienced the ups and downs together and now are planning their own wedding which leads to even more chaos than you can already expect from both of them.
This book has been a true masterpiece for me, like the first book in the series, but I expected nothing less than a true masterpiece. It focuses on different really important topics - expressing yourself as a queer person when you cannot identify yourself with everything rainbow-colored. When you feel like you are part of something that does not feel like coming home. Social norms and the pressure that comes with it. But also just being loved while being flawed and messy. The first book felt flirty and sexy. "Husband Material" feels more personal, mature and domestic. I absolutely loved every single sentence I have read, all the characters involved into the story, the humor, the laughter, and for me, the coming home. The writing style was as phenomenal as expected and the end had me screaming since I did not expect something like this to happen AT ALL! Also, how can it end here and now I have to wait and suffer while waiting for the next book?

Hands down, "Husband Material" has been my most anticipated read this year and I was not disappointed at all. Instead, it became one of my favorite reads this year and deserves more than 5 stars (but unfortunately this is the limit on here). It was truly amazing and I will keep recommending it to everyone!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for providing me with an arc (for my most anticipated read this year) in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, a big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.

I would firmly put this in the 3/5 stars category.

This review will have spoilers.

I love Alexis Hall's style of writing. I've read his other books and always find his wit biting and his characters compelling. However, I was sad to finish this and find that the bones of what made Boyfriend Material so great were... missing here. I wanted character growth, but i found that both Luc and Oliver were (still) terrible at communicating, especially about major life decisions, and seemed to resolve most of their disagreements by just apologizing and refusing to talk about it. This evidently leads to (almost) disaster and it could just be me, but i truly dislike miscommunication/ or lack of communication as a trope.

The pacing of it was also rather slow, and I found myself having to force myself to finish it. The last bit ended without an epilogue and i was left feeling stunned and without a satisfactory conclusion.

I am still looking forward to reading the next book in the series, but i will not have my hopes overly high.

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 2/5⭐️⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝: The humor in this book is, unfortunately, the only thing that kept me reading. I really enjoyed where this picked up and the continued dynamic of the friend group, CRAPP co-workers, and Luc's family. The one-liners are SO DRY/cutting and, like the first book, I found myself cackling out loud throughout.
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𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞: This is going to sound borderline mean but…I wish that Boyfriend Material would have stayed a standalone without this sequel. I had seen not-so-great reviews before starting it and I even adjusted down my expectations—yet my original gut rating of 3⭐️ (when I finished it) felt too high the more I sat with the book.

First, it didn’t help that I couldn’t care less about any of the weddings they attended, ESPECIALLY Miles’. Oliver completely faded into the background at every single wedding and felt like an afterthought despite being Luc’s boyfriend for multiple years and not just some random +1.

While there were moments in the story that were fun and light, it overall felt exhausting. A large portion of the book is just Luc and Oliver bickering, and when it came to actually communicating about larger issues—they brushed it off. I couldn’t help but feel like their relationship had run its course in the two years since we last saw them, and I can’t really say that I walked away from Husband Material hoping they would stay together. It just felt like they each had very little character development since the first book.

I wanted more romance, and while I get that their relationship was no longer in the “honeymoon phase” that is central to all romcoms…I can’t help but assert that these types of books take place in that phase for good reason. It’s hard to care about the mundane day-to-day of anyone’s relationship once the will-they-won’t-they wears off.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel.

Finally I get to hang out with Lucien and Oliver again! 🥰
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I have waited since I loved them in the first book, Boyfriend Material.
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People around them are getting married and maybe they should too? Is marriage what they want though? Well, read it and see for yourself!
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I can't recommend this book enough because Oliver and Lucien are adorable ❤️


4,5 stars

After reading Boyfriend Material I was excited to see the continuation of Oliver and Luc. They have so much relatability with marriage, family struggles, and how you handle live changes within your friend group.

So it was great, but for me completely different that the first one ☝️
Oliver and Lucian show us that relationships often is hard thing. And it shouldn’t be in the way that someone else want it, it’s something that should work for each of us in completely different way. I really think that this book make us think, not only laugh and have fun.
I highly appreciate what author show us, characters really work with their problems and insecurities and this is so healthy!
Yes, it’s not traditional romcom, but who said that it should be.
I really don’t quite understand what the third book will be about, but I have a thought that author will surprise me one more time. Can’t wait, by the way 😀

First of all, I received this ARC in both ebook and audio format and I broke my long standing rule of trying not to start a series in the middle. Granted, this is only the second book, but never the less, it should be noted that I did not read book 1.
As I mentioned before, I didn't read the first book so I got to meet Oliver and Luc as an already established couple. I immediately liked Oliver, but Luc was a bit harder to get a handle on. Honestly, he wasn't a great boyfriend - the word frenetic is a word that comes to mind. Oliver seemed like the more stable and laid back of the two and I think their differences were part of what made them work (again, I'm not sure how they got together but they were truly opposite personalities). It becomes apparent pretty quickly that Luc has commitment issues and he tended to run hot and cold in the relationship. I was surprised when he asked Oliver to marry him (even though by the title of the book I had already assumed the story arc) and it felt like Luc was not really emotionally prepared to take the next step even though he did ask the question. I really felt for Oliver with the way Luc kept trying to make him feel bad about the fact that he didn't really associate with the over the top end of the spectrum in the LGBTQ+ community. Everybody is different and I couldn't understand why that was such a sticking point with Luc.
I had several problems with this book and the main issue was probably that I just really didn’t like Luc. He really was an awful boyfriend, and honestly, he had issues outside of his relationship with Oliver that showed a lot of immaturity. But, in these stories, we often see the protagonist learn and grow. They start at one point and by the end of the book we can see the growth. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen in this book. Luc never grows. I never saw him get any better, or stop to think about a different perspective other than his own. He even made the death of Oliver’s father about HIS feelings. Then, to top things off, the book’s ending is AWFUL. Why the heck did I take the time and effort to read all of this crap to have it end the way it did? I wasn’t happy. It didn’t show any growth. In fact, there was NO closure. Not an epilogue to show how their actions were received, what the effect of their decisions were….nothing. So honestly, after I read/listened to the last word, I felt like it was just a complete waste of time. That RARELY happens to me so when it does, it means something.
The other thing that I felt while reading/listening to this was that it felt “preachy”. I felt like the author was trying to beat me (and Oliver) over the head with the “proper” way to feel about the entire LGBTQ+ community. That was something new. I am a huge fan of this genre and some of my favorite authors write in this genre. T.J. Klune comes immediately to mind. What makes his books so completely amazing is that he gets you to where he wants you to go in a way that eases you into a place that you didn’t even realize you were going to. The character development and the story arc are so seamless that you do not even realize that you are at the end until you reach the last page and you are devastated that it is over. This book however was a challenge to continue, to keep reading/listening to and I found myself constantly looking to see how much longer I had until it was over. To me, that more than anything told me I was done. I will not be continuing with this series.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and listen to this ARC. The opinions above are mine and mine alone.

I will NEVER not love these two!

The first book was everything I needed after Boyfriend Material left me needing more from this romance!

This was EVERYTHING I needed, everything.

The swoon? Unmatched.
The steam? Riveting.
The plot? Perfection.

I’m SO SOOO grateful for this ARC.

This was a decent romance novel but it didn't have me all up in my feelings, like I was to be while reading one. Luc and Oliver have been together for over two years now, and all around them, people they know are getting married. So they feel pressured to do the same. This is definitely an interesting look at societal pressures and how/why we succumb to them. It's also about finding your own identity outside of your family. There's great humor and some decent swoony moments but overall I found the book too long and slow. I liked it but didn't love it, though I still recommend it for readers of this author.

So we've all been waiting no this for e=what feel like forever and I'm overjoyed to have gotten an early copy to read!!! I'm so happy! It was such a joy to get all the friends back together! I don't know what was different but I want to say I enjoyed the first book a lot more than this one but I think that's because it focused on Luc and Oliver a lot more. I'm ecstatic that Hall is coming out with a third book in the series but I would be grateful if there were some books about the side characters as well! Even if it was just about the friendships!

3.5 stars!

This book is a follow up to the fabulous Boyfriend Material, and is a fun, slightly awkward and very real revisit with a couple (and their friend group) who completely captured my heart when they met, fake dated and fell in love.

Beginning two years after the ending of the first book, Luc and Oliver have been together for two years, and despite being complete opposites with little in common, they are still happy and committed, and still delightfully and entertainingly awkward.

“You still make me happy, Lucien. You are still everything I want, and a lot of things I couldn’t have imagined wanting.”

There’s not a distinct plotline to this book, we’re just following Luc (as the book is written entirely from his POV) through life as he and Oliver attend the weddings of friends, enemies and bizarre work colleagues, and do life together. There are sweet moments, poignant moments, painfully awkward moments and laugh-out-loud funny moments as they navigate a series of random situations amongst a bizarre and eclectic group of characters.

The storyline does develop towards the end of the book as Luc and Oliver are forced to confront their differences and figure out whether they still belong together, and what their future looks like. It’s sweetly and honestly written, with all of the awkwardness, mistakes and pain of real life, but with the humour and fun that I expect from this author and these unique characters.

Luc is still a bit of a mess. He’s trying hard, but life is all a bit overwhelming for him. His insecurities are frustrating at times, but he grows throughout the book, and I liked watching him find his way. Oliver may be deadly serious and more formal than his kitsch-loving boyfriend, but there’s just enough playfulness in him to make his almost-smiles and witty comments really special. He, too, is looking at his life and examining things, and his journey is painful, but satisfying to watch.

These two men seemingly have nothing in common, but somehow they make it work. The love between them is honestly a it confusing at times (seriously... why?), but those little moments when they are on the same page, open and honest with each other, are so sweet.

“I am yours, more truly than I have ever been anyone’s. Because when I’m with you, I’m me. Not someone I think I should be. And I’ll be with you, however you want, for as long as you’ll have me.”

I enjoyed being back in this world with this quirky group of characters. Despite all of the laughs, there are some truly deep messages in this book, and I appreciated the way they were raised, examined and dealt with by the characters. It brings a sense of realness to the story, and added a lot of heart to the journey.

I enjoyed this book. You’ll definitely appreciate it more if you’ve read the first book rather than reading this one as a standalone, and I enjoyed being back in this world.

3.5 stars.

Sometimes books need to be standalones. Luc and Oliver weren’t really present in the story, there was no character growth and the conflict was…weird.

Just a big nope from me (but I'm too nice to give a 1-star rating). I didn't like the characters. I didn't like the super, duper posh dialogues. Maybe I'm just not smart enough, but it didn't seem like the conversations would be ones had between boyfriends or friends. Maybe I'm missing something since I started with this second book, not realizing that it was the second book. No idea, but all I know is I was so happy to be finished.

Although this book lacks quite the same charm I loved in Husband Material, it is by no means a disappointing sequel. So happy that I was able to read this in advance. I'm sure this will do gangbusters as well.

I’m not going to lie, I had pretty low expectations going into this. “Boyfriend Material” is one of my favorite MM romances I’ve read I’ve the last 3 years, and I was hesitant this would effect how I felt about the original. I would definitely say it did. Where “Boyfriend Materiel” set Luc and Oliver up for success, it feels like “Husband Material” spends the book setting them up for failure. While Luc was always charming and endearing with his wit and humor, it gets quite mean a lot in this book. I wasn’t the biggest fan of him, if I’m honest. He’s horrible to his friends, tries to dictate Oliver’s identity and pressure him to align himself with things he’s not comfortable with, and makes a tragic loss about him. Oliver, on the other hand, continues to be the shining beacon this story needs, going along with anything Luc wants even when he’s grieving, and truly gets shafted so much in this. Some of the side characters, Bridge especially, suffer from revising them as well. I don’t quite understand the ending, as I’m seeing from many bookstagramers and booktokers…it just felt like a big wind up to no pay off. All that said, this does bring the characters of Luc and Oliver back to the page, and you can’t help but love them unconditionally. Did it need to happen? No. Am I glad it did? It’s a lukewarm yes.

This book had me crying from laughter, feeling complex feels and dying for more. I loved this Bridget Jones-esque romcom book wholeheartedly. The characters were perfectly nuanced and well written, the plot was incredibly funny and the pacing was brilliantly thought out. I fell in love with these characters all over again.

Thank you Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for providing me with an ARC!

Can a book be absolutely brilliant and hilarious until the last two pages and then you wished for more?
The answer here is "yes".
I laughed out loud until I cried on almost every page. Luc, who charmed me in Boyfriend Material, was an absolute riot of a main character in this one as well.

Book one (in case you didn't figure it out/didn't know) was based on Pride and Prejudice, by way of Bridget Jones' Diary. His best friend is named Bridge!

This one is based on Four Weddings and a Funeral in much the same way, in that "if you know you know", but if you don't Alexis Hall hands you all of the info.

It's charming and thoughtful, with great characters, who have complete lives, sometimes ridiculous adventures, and always very genuine emotions.

The only thing I wish was different (and I just mean longer) is the very very end of the book. Though I know this is another homage to the movie, I wish for an extended scene to make my emotionally riotous heart settle just a touch more.

Alexis Hall has more books slated in this series and I am all in on reading more of Luc and Oliver.
Yes, please.

Let's get the super negative stuff out of the way first: No, this was not a necessary sequel. And no, as a romance this book does not really succeed on its own merits: there is none of that ebullient joy a great romance inspires, and nothing really to provoke a sigh or a "swoon worthy."

But, if you, as I did partway through the first hundred pages of this book, start to think of this less as a romance and more as that rare example of a non-manga slice of life, then damn. This book is a pleasure. Hall's writing is just so much fun: laugh out loud funny at points, and with some really delightful imagery. For the first act of the book, where we're basically just being carried along from wedding to wedding, all that sentence level goodness does a great job of sweeping the question of "Um, what is this all building towards exactly" to the side. But for me the book really started to hum when we got back to the unresolved bits of the first book - i.e. the Blackwoods family drama - and from that point on I was basically willing to go wherever Hall led me.

For me, one of the great strengths of Boyfriend Material was how much of it was just conversations between Luc and Oliver, the both of them getting to know each other better and trying to figure out things between them. That's present here but...I do feel like a lot of that was hamstrung by the push to get them to their wedding day without stopping for a minute to interrogate why they even wanted to get married which...you know, I get was kind of the point, and I loved the way it ended but I do think it would've been worth it if Hall had tried to break the mold a little more here. Maybe have that final scene earlier? Have the resolution be a little less movie-finish? Again, I did like it, but I felt there could've been more to it.

It's kind of hard to be objective about this one, because at the end of the day I really did just want to spend time with these characters, and I got to do that. But I also don't think this book will have the staying power in my memory that Boyfriend Material did so...I guess I'll give it a soft recommendation.

I'll probably be back for book 3, even though the title makes me twitch, and I will definitely be back for more of Hall's writing. Unnecessary sequel or no, the man can craft a sentence.