*Note I have recived a free copy of this title. This will not affect my thoughts or feelings towards it*

I was very nervous when I heard about this book but was overall happy once I finished it. The charaters are exactly how I remember them, which made it a fun time getting to watch them contiue to grow and have banter with eachother. The pacing was well done and never felt like a dull moment. This book made me laugh mutiple times and had ton of heart at other parts. Overall if you enjoyed the first one you will have a blast with this!
4.5/5 stars

What does the North Atlantic Ocean & Husband Material have in common?
𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙩: 𝙎𝙄𝙉𝙆𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙎𝙃𝙄𝙋𝙎.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for an eARC In exchange for my honest opinion.

I got approved for the eARC within a week of the book being released, and my hopes had been so high for this, that I had paid it the highest honor I gave and PRE-ORDERED IT.

I really wish I hadn't.

The first sign of trouble was when my friend Hannah revealed a crucial detail: this is a re-telling of 4 Weddings & a Funeral. It's a classic romcom! Starring Hugh Grant & Andie MacDowell! And the guy who played Jonathan in The Mummy!
𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙚.
𝘐'𝘮 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘱 5 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦.

Ok, deep breaths. I loved Boyfriend Material though! I shipped Luc & Oliver like my name was FedEx.

I am now 95% into the NetGalley, but my BFF has given me permission to DNF this piece of trash.

I no longer ship Luc & Oliver. Oliver deserves better. From literally everyone. Including himself. At this point, they've been together for just over 2 years, and they get engaged.

I'd say the pacing couldn't be slower, but I'm 95% in and they've had the same damn argument ABOUT FUCKING BALLOON ARCHES something like half a dozen times.
You know what they apparently HAVEN'T discussed?? Whether they want kids!
They're also STILL LIVING SEPARATELY.

I just couldn't handle it anymore, so I drove Husband Material back to Barnes & Noble. The bad book juju had to go.
There was trouble processing a return because my freshly received receipt (The book came out 8/2/22) was dated APRIL since I pre-ordered it, so I ended up picking another book to do an exchange.

Since my feelings about the characters have been irreparably tainted, I immediately went home and put Boyfriend Material in the donate box. And then for good measure, I also added Rosaline Palmer Takes The Cake, which I had only been meh about.

All of these books are dead to me.
1 🌟/5.

Do not recommend.

Thank you to Netgallery and Sourcebooks for an arc for a honest review.

What a disappointment. Since Husband Material is two years after Boyfriend Material, I would assume that the MC's would have gone through AT LEAST SOME growth?? Yet, they're STILL arguing over the same shit, yet on a bigger scale. The way Luc asks Oliver to marry him? The way that all the plot devices seemed to just shove along the two, and get them to the altar AND THEN THE ENDING?

You gotta be fucking kidding me. This book was SUCH a disappointment - and in my own opinion, it seemed to be just a money grab. The publisher and the author knows it would sell well, even if the content wasn't even great. I will be returning my copy.

I loved Luc and Oliver's fake dating turned real dating in Boyfriend Material, so of course I needed to see where their relationship went. Everything I loved about the first book - Luc's messy life, Oliver's strict and clean way of living, Luc's wild friends, and both their families - returned for this second book, and Hall managed to pack so many different adventures and issues into this one story.

So much is changing around Luc; his friends are getting married and having kids, his uncool coworker has even managed to find someone to settle down with, and Luc is just trudging along. He has Oliver, but he never really understands how Oliver could still be with him even after two years. I loved that aspect of their relationship; it just seemed like the most realistic part of their lives together. Who hasn't spent time in a relationship wondering why the other person is still with them, especially when the other person seems to have their life together and you don't?

Luc and Oliver really had their ups and downs throughout this book; for several nail-biting chapters, I actually thought this rom-com wasn't going to give us a HEA. But just like in Boyfriend Material, Luc and Oliver do things their way and in their own time. Was the ending what I was expecting? Definitely not. But does it make sense for Luc and Oliver? Very much so.

Hall put Luc and Oliver through the ringer by featuring several weddings throughout this book, each one seemingly harder to witness for our main characters. From best friends to exes to co-workers, I loved how each wedding was described. Simultaneously quintessentially British yet globally relatable, I could feel Luc and Oliver's anguish and complete lack of wanting to be there for each wedding they attended. And when Luc watches his best friend, his ex, and his coworker all get married, the pressure mounts for his relationship with Oliver to move to the next stage as well.

It's strange to say, but I think my favorite parts of this rom-com were the serious conversations that Oliver managed to have with Luc. Just like any couple thinking of settling down, Luc and Oliver had a lot to discuss before they could even think about tying the knot. Some of these were heavier topics, like dealing with grief, finding your place in a family that doesn't accept you for who you are, and finding a balance between a religious wedding and an LGBTQ+ identity.

I loved this continuation of Luc and Oliver's story. It was fun, with plenty of moments of Luc trying ever so hard to be serious. I related to Luc, and felt bad for Oliver having to deal with Luc's antics. There was a whole cast of fabulous (and sometimes not so fabulous) characters, and I spent the entire book alternately laughing and shaking my head and their ridiculousness.

**I received an arc in exchange for an honest review
I always get sequel nerves, especially when the first book is so well done. But this book was also very good. I was scared that it was going to be a bit more doom and gloom with their real world problems that each of them was having, but the author still managed to make a good rom com out of it while addressing those problems, but also creating a book that makes you think with the characters. Happy ever after doesn't mean that you're happy ALWAYS

I’m not going to lie and say I usually pick up books that are after the HEA because I don’t. I like to think in my own little world that they are happy and never have any problems (I know this is very unrealistic but here we are!)

I really enjoyed Boyfriend Material last year! Joe Jameson is the PERFECT narrator for this series and I was actually excited to get back into this world for Husband Material. I did a little reading but mostly listened to Husband Material.

This book had me laughing but also really feeling for the characters. Nobody is perfect but it was nice to see them try and grow together with what they have learned over the last two years.

I think that this book really shows that just because someone else is doing it, doesn’t mean you have to. Find out what makes YOU happy and go with that.

If you loved Boyfriend Material, definitely check out Husband Material! I can’t wait to see what happens in book 3!

I enjoyed this follow-up to Boyfriend Material and how it was told through different weddings. Luc was just as sarcastic and witty as I remembered and Oliver as sweet.

I wished that we would have gotten to see Oliver's POV. I can't wait to see what is next for Luc and Oliver.

So, Boyfriend Material by was one of my favorite books of 2020 and I have been eagerly awaiting the sequel. Let me tell you, it lived up to all of my expectations. It picks up with Luc and Oliver still together and attending a series of weddings for friends, exes and co-workers. Yes, the hilarious co-workers at CRAPP are back! The friends are back! Their parents are back! This book had it all - seriously laughing out loud humor combined with such real and raw emotion as Luc and Oliver deal with constant letdown from their own families as they try and figure out what they really want. My heart is full, my cheeks hurt from smiling and I hugged my kindle more than once.

Thank you so much for letting read this book. I loved this second installment just as much as the first one. It was funny and oh so swoony.

I have a very hard time rating this book and went back and forth between 3 and 4 stars for a long time. I absolutely loved Boyfriend Material and was so excited when I found out there was going to be a sequel and even more excited when I was approved for an advanced reader copy. I love all the characters and their quirks and while the writing style is different than most books I read I truly enjoy it too and found myself smiling and chuckling while reading it. The majority of the book I would give 4 stars but the ending almost ruined it for me. I have to say if it wasn't for the last page and how it was written I would have gone down to the 3 stars but the sweetness and poeticness of it bumped it back up to 4.

Alexis Hall does it again. This is a great follow up to Boyfriend Material with all the happy rom-com feels.

NO WAY. How can you even end a book like this!!!! Unbelievable, yet a bit disappointing. I loved Oliver and Luc so much in boyfriend material, but here? They just seemed too tamed and too domestic. Not that I don't like this kind of dynamic. I definitely enjoyed it, but the ending made me SCREAM. Hall, where is my spice and my proper ending?

4.5 stars / B+

Alexis Hall’s Boyfriend Material was one of my Best Books of 2020 – a masterclass in how to do Romantic Comedy right, it’s a wonderfully, warm, funny and sharply observed opposites-attract romance that has become a long-term favourite. Needless to say, I was delighted to learn that the author was writing a couple more books set in Luc and Oliver’s world, and Husband Material is one of my most eagerly anticipated books of 2022. But I wasn’t as completely bowled over and charmed by it as I’d hoped. The author’s characteristic humour and insight are still very much present, and there’s a lot to like about it, but while I enjoyed it, I can’t say I loved it. Maybe that’s on me – my expectations for this one were, admittedly, pretty high – and I suppose that’s always going to be a danger when an author writes a sequel to an incredibly popular book; we readers want more of the same (what we loved about the first book) – but different, and that’s not easy to accomplish!

It’s no secret to say that in terms of structure at least, Husband Material is a riff on Four Weddings and a Funeral, so the story is told in five sections – three weddings, funeral, wedding – that take place over the period of a few months. When the book opens, Luc and Oliver have been together for two years, they’re still in love, they’re happy together and are still recognisably the same people; Luc is still the same slightly-neurotic hot-mess and Oliver is still stoic and more than a bit emotionally repressed.

The first wedding is Luc’s best friend Bridget’s, and of course, being Bridget the whole thing cannot possibly go off without lots of drama. Just days before the wedding, her fiancé Tom disappears, someone ‘helpfully’ sends Bridget a picture of him with another woman, and it’s up to Luc to talk her down while basically ditching Oliver and a long-awaited date night and then staying with her for several days (co-dependent, much?) while things are sorted out. And then it’s Oliver who is packed off back to London on a retrieval mission when it’s discovered that nobody has brought the wedding dress to the venue. He and Luc are hardly together on page throughout this section and I felt like Luc was taking him too much for granted.

Wedding number two is Luc’s ex Miles, the guy who sold him out to the tabloids and sent him into a downward spiral. After bumping into each other on the night of Bridget’s non-gender-specific bird-do, Miles very happily introduces Luc to the vision in glitter and rainbows at his side – who then announces they’re getting married and says Luc really must come to the wedding. Luc doesn’t know what to make of it, and it’s messing with his head; does he want to go so he can prove to Miles that he’s moved on and is happy with Oliver, or should he just let it go?

But this is the catalyst for Luc starting to panic. Everyone around him is getting married, he and Oliver have been together for two years, so… shouldn’t they be getting married, too? Isn’t that the logical next step for two people who want to spend their lives together? Luc decides it is and – in typical Luc fashion and without really thinking it through – blurts out a proposal, which Oliver, of course, accepts.

Luc and Oliver are a great couple, and they travel a rocky path in this book. I love Luc’s quirky, deadpan narrative voice, and was really pleased to see that while he’s still very much him, he’s more confident and conscious of getting caught up in his head and is able to get himself out of it. Oliver, on the other hand, is struggling a bit, still having to deal with his parents’ expectations and criticisms, questioning a lot of internalised assumptions and trying to work out if the discomfort he experiences over what he describes as “the trappings of mainstream LGBTQ culture” results from negativity inherited from his parents or is simply down to his own, natural reserve. He’s working through a lot in this story, and even though he finds it difficult to talk about emotions, he tries hard to be thoughtful and honest, and most of their conversations are far more emotionally literate than before.

I liked the way each of the events makes Luc and Oliver look at aspects of their own relationship they haven’t examined so far, and I enjoyed spending time with Luc’s friends and the CRAPP crowd, the daft conversations and silly jokes and all that – but by the time the third wedding came along, I’d begun to feel like the secondary characters were taking a lot of word count away from the storyline I was really invested in (Luc and Oliver) and they felt like a distraction until it was time for the real meat of the story to kick in at around the two-thirds mark. And something I realised after I finished reading was that Luc and Oliver seem to be at odds a lot in this book – I had trouble recalling many scenes where they seemed to be truly happy. The conflicts they’re dealing with are believable, especially for people who are past the first excitement of a new relationship but are still in those early stages where they’re still learning about each other and how to actually be IN a relationship, and those are only exacerbated by the stress of planning a wedding which will suit both of them.

The story includes thought-provoking threads about queerness and community and identity, about societal expectations for committed relationships and the heteronormative nature of traditional marriage, about how much, or even whether, one should be prepared to compromise or change for a romantic partner, and how stressful relationships can be, even when you love the people on the other end of it. It’s all very interesting and well put-together, but the episodic nature of the book’s structure means I sometimes felt as though I was revisiting the same arguments without any of them being properly resolved.

Contemporary romances traditionally end at the HEA, and to have a sequel about the same couple is fairly rare. Thankfully, there is no manufactured break-up here, just a lot of questions and adjustments and two people who adore one another trying to work out how far they can be themselves with each other, and what their future might look like. The conclusion Luc and Oliver arrive at is, perhaps, unexpected and unconventional, but it’s the right one for them, and I loved watching them talk things through and realise they’re both on the same page. The final moments had me happy-sighing, and the last line is perfection.

Husband Material really hits its stride in the ‘funeral’ section and Oliver’s speech is epic – but I can’t deny being a little frustrated in the earlier parts, for the reasons I’ve stated – not enough Luc and Oliver together and too many circular arguments and discussions. Still, Alexis Hall turns a phrase like nobody else and his ability to combine fun ridiculousness with serious soul-searching continues to impress. Husband Material definitely earns a recommendation, but in the end, it’s one of those books I wanted to love but which just missed the mark.

Just a few little house keeping items:
First, if you haven’t read Boyfriend Material… then you should probably go ahead and do that before you even continue reading this review.
Second, if you go ahead and read Boyfriend Material (or already have) then you are already aware of what a little gem it is.
Finally, Husband Material is also a little gem but be warned, it’s a little bit more on the serious side than its predecessor.

Husband Material is from Luc’s point of view.
The story picks up two years after Luc and Oliver pulled their heads out of their asses and got together for real. And they are adorable, in love, and they are in a really good place.
As happy as Luc and Oliver are, Luc is feeling some “pressure” (from his own self mind you) because a lot of his friends lives and relationships are changing faster than his own is. The Royce Royce’s have a baby, Bridget is getting married, heck, even Luc’s no good, dirty rotten ex boyfriend is getting married. So he feels like something is missing in his own relationship. This leads to some rash decisions, some miscommunications and arguments and some soul searching on both Luc and Oliver’s parts.

I’ve always been team Loliver (*yes I just gave them a couples name- no it’s not official). I think they are both interesting individuals, but I love that they bring out the best in each other when they are together. I love the honesty and acceptance in their relationship. I also love that even when there has been a miscommunication, they are still on the same page.

If Boyfriend Material was a book about Luc’s character growing and becoming the best version of himself, then Husband Material was Oliver’s moment in the spot light.
I liked seeing how Luc and Oliver navigated their relationship’s growing pains. It was nice to read about a couple who trusted each other and didn’t automatically assume the worst. They never really shied away from conflict because they knew the other one so intimately.

Luc was broken down and broken apart then put back together in Boyfriend Material. It was incredibly satisfying to see him become the rock in his relationship this go round.
Oliver’s metaphorical buttons came undone in this novel. Oliver sought out counseling and was working through his generational trauma and anxieties in this novel. What really made my little heart sing though was that Oliver finally, FINALLY, had a support system. I loved that he finally was able to fully be himself. It was Oliver’s turn to break down and fall apart, and it was Luc’s turn to help him put the pieces back together.

As a cisgender woman, I couldn’t personally identify with Oliver’s struggle with the LGBTQ+ community/ where he fits into it. Or how his gender expression differed from Luc’s.
But, I can empathize. His battle did not sound easy or simple and while I couldn’t put myself in his exact shoes; the content in Husband Material felt like something that many deal with daily. I think that this book will make a lot of people feel seen while reading.
Which I think is fantastic.

I’m obviously a fan of this book, but for as much as I did enjoy it, there were a few things I wish were a little different.
Wish Numero Uno: We’re two years out from the first novel- a check in and a quick little recap/catch up would have been really helpful/nice. I re read Boyfriend Material before I dove into Husband Material, and I would really recommend it. Alexis Hall just drops you off right where the last book left off and leaves you to it.
Wish Numero Dos: I wish we had less of Luc and his group of friends (especially) at the beginning of the novel. I really truly didn’t give a shit about Priya or Bridget or Luc’s ex- whose wedding Luc inexplicably felt obligated to go to. I felt like I could have skipped those parts. I came to see Oliver and Luc, and how they learned and grew and leaned in to each other and we really only got a focus solely on them around 45/50% in. Which was annoying if I’m being truthful here.

I think the amount of growth and maturing that Luc did in Husband Material was fantastic. His character arc was wonderful, I fell in love with him all over again. Oliver struggled so much more openly in Husband Material it was really heart breaking. I was glad that he finally was true to himself. When I was done reading, I looked back on Boyfriend Material and Oliver would have read as a much more tragic character had I known then what I know now. Oliver deserved so much more from the people in his life and Luc was honestly a God Send.

I don’t know that I LOVE the ending.
I’m glad it was a HEA and I know happy endings can look different for everybody.
The ending just felt a little out of character to me, I feel like an epilogue would have done wonders in this situation and I would have loved a little fast forward, future”update”

It was a really good follow up to Boyfriend Material.
It didn’t have the same magic behind it that BM had, but it was still special and sweet and raw and that’s one of the things I like about Alexis Halls writing.

I found this book incredibly frustrating. I'll preface this by saying I loved Boyfriend Material and was excited about the sequel, so my disappointment in this book was unexpected and therefore even more frustrating. It also feels relevant to say that I've been in a same-sex marriage for 12 years now (and I am raising a child with my same-sex spouse), so I feel like I've been through a lot of the discourse that this book handles. And the way it was handled left a bad taste in my mouth. Spoilers ahead.

Functionally, this book spends most of its pages discussing planning a wedding between two people who still have profound communication and trust issues, only to resolve in the end by implying the institution of marriage itself is the problem and that queer people are better off not engaging in it. It isn't said in so many words (i.e. you get the "it's just wrong FOR US" speech instead) but the way the book presents married queer couples (the James Royce-Royces are almost comically stereotypical, from their shared name on down to the way they are fully subsumed by parenting; let's not even talk about Luc's shitty ex and his husband) is pretty different from how it presents, say, the lesbian throuple who have no interest in marriage. The barely-controlled chaos of the proposal and everything that follows keeps you turning pages, but it also comes with a distinct undertone of, "this is a bad idea because it's heteronormative" vs. "this is a bad idea because this is ill thought out and these people need to mature before making ANY decisions about getting married or not."

The writing was excellent and the characters were vibrant, but the plot made me want to throw the book across the room. Where does that leave me on rating? I don't know. I was invested in how this book resolved its plot points, but it felt a little like watching a train wreck happen and being unable to look away.

I LOVED boyfriend material and I think Alexis' writing and voice to the character is something not many other MM writers can achieve. And while I loved the mundane going-ons of Luc and Oliver it felt like a lot of the bickering and arguments they got into were pointless in the grand scheme of their relationship.

Regardless I still loved reading Luc and Oliver's story and I love the side characters that Hall brings into their writing.

I can't tell you how excited I was to get my hands on Husband Material. I absolutely loved Boyfriend Material! Luc and Oliver are one of my favorite fictional couples and I'm a big fan of Alexis Hall's writing style. His books are hilarious and heartfelt and just the right amount of snarky.

If you've seen other reviews, you know that this book is a retelling of Four Weddings and a Funeral. Based on this description and from reading Boyfriend Material, I was expecting a rom-com. Unfortunately for me, this book was much more serious. Most of this book involved Oliver and Luc being separated either physically or emotionally and when they were together, they were arguing. Not the funny banter type of arguing, but the maybe-we-should-break-up type of arguing. I just really wanted more Oliver and Luc being cute together than I got. It was great to spend time with Luc and Oliver again but I wish they had been happier!

Husband Material is a good book that delves into a lot of painful subject matter and handles some very serious questions about what marriage really means when you are LGBTQ+. It also has some somewhat ridiculous situations that I think were supposed to be funny but just fell flat for me. Luc does a couple of things that make absolutely no sense and Oliver didn't seem like quite the same character to me that he was in Boyfriend Material. Luc's friends also seemed one-dimensional in this story. Overall it just seemed disjointed, possibly because it was broken into sections for the weddings and funeral, and I felt sad most of the time while reading it. It's an interesting story with a great main couple but it didn't deliver what I was hoping for from it.

When I read 'Boyfriend material' or 'Se busca novio' in Spanish, I didn't know that I was going to a news item after the story, but when I found out I couldn't be more excited. It is true that, for me, in the first book the story is closed, it is not a book that you feel you need next, but I am not going to complain either. She enjoyed all the characters and the story of Luc and Oliver again, for which I am very happy.

At the same time, one of my biggest fears in deciding to read this book was whether the story might get screwed up. As I say, there was no need for a second part and to think that it could be released just for the sake of it, because it scared me. But I can say that all those fears have come to nothing because I really enjoyed the book and I even liked it much more than the first (and it was difficult). Let's say that this book keeps all the good things from the primary book and also adds others that make reading better.

If in the first book they used the construction of the relationship with the cliché of fake dating, now we can see how their relationship unfolds now that it is real. It's a type of story that I've been reading a lot lately and I'm liking it. Mainly because I think the stories become more real. In romance it seems that after the end it is a "they lived happily", and with this type of book we see the reality that relationships have problems, and not toxic problems, but problems of simply being a human being. Here we have two characters with their own stories that they have to deal with, as they deal with how that affects their relationship.

Luc + Oliver - Book #2

I was so looking forward to more from those two!
I LOVED their first book so much!
And now they're finally back!

It's wedding season in London. Luc's bestie is getting married and he's Maid of Honour - so he's very busy with that.
Someone from his past is getting married too and he's invited to the wedding.
And of course we have the usual relationship and family and work and life problems with our two darlings to deal with too!

What will happen with Luc & Oliver?
Will there be a wedding for them too?
Read the book to find out!

══════════════════

FINALLY!
More of Luc and Oliver! How I missed them!
I did a re-read of Boyfriend Material before starting this and it was just as perfect as I remembered. I just love these boys!

The second book was just as adorable and hilarious and just as beautiful as the first one.

Luc's co-workers are still pure comedy gold!

I so need to see these books and these people on Netflix asap!

Two years have gone by where Luc and Oliver have been pretty much living together happily ever after - only without the happily ever after. Everybody seems to be getting married - but they never even talked abou it.

Ugh - this is just such a great book. I don't want to tell you more about what's happening. You just need to know that it's full of amazing moments! READ IT! And please start with the first book if you haven't read that yet!

► HUSBAND MATERIAL was the most perfect Luc + Oliver sequel! So adorable + hilarious + just everything! Such a beautiful love story! Run to your nearest amazon for your own Luc & Oliver - they'll be sold out in no time! ☺

1st half of the book, hilarious, so happy to be back with our favorite couple and friend group, laughing so much whilst reading that I’m disturbing my husband. 2nd half couldn’t bring myself to read, which is telling. I usually want to immediately dive back into a book any free moment I have, instead I kept starting other audios, and finding myself wanting to do other things. It .was an emotional rollercoaster, but not in the so invested that you feel every last detail like you were living it yourself (and the books you can’t wait to immediately recommend, where emotional rollercoaster is the highest compliment) , more in the whiplash between humor and absolute low depressing storylines.

I suppose now that I’ve heard there’s going to be a whole London Calling world branching out from Luc and Oliver that decision makes more sense…. And maybe I’d have been more forgiving reading this had I known, but honestly I’m upset because the original book that I just relistened to, Luc and Oliver are flawed but grew together, and it felt like a great ending…. So if we’re going to reopen the story it needs to go somewhere, have some growth…. More life experience and challenges, rather than one long run on bickering fight (I’m thinking of Running Wild here, where the 2nd book just felt right, we needed more to that story) but somehow even after 432 pages I don’t really feel like we got that much more of Luc and Oliver.

So the ending…. Like I guess I kinda get it, but also really don’t. On one hand I like that they’re doing what’s right for them, but I feel like the whole 2nd half of the book was overly political (for lack of a better term) about what the ‘right’ way for them to be/act/feel was….and that it really didn’t feel sensitive, and I can see how other LGTBQ+ reviewers were offended by it.