The book brings us back to Luc and Oliver’s relationship two years after they started dating in a whirlwind year full of four weddings and a funeral.

Boyfriend Material was one of my favorite books in 2020, and listening to this one has me questioning everything 😅. I loved that the audio narrator was the same as it felt like I was picking back up with my friends, but this was lacking the charm and banter I originally loved.

Luc grated on me in this book as he constantly was battling his insecurities and kept prioritizing his friends over Oliver. I liked Oliver but feel like we barely got him in the story and when he was around the scenes were doused in Luc’s low self-esteem.

It was fine overall but for me this is a case of the sequel ruining a good thing.

Thanks NetGalley and Sourcebooks for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Husband Material maintained the same hilarious pace as Boyfriend Material, with all my favourite side characters back for a more adulty ride.

If I had to sum this book up with a phrase it would be Character Growth. Oliver amd Luc deal with so many common issues like shitty parents, insecurities, and involvement and what it means to be a part of the queer community, with a clumsy, realistic flailing that made me love them all the more for it.

I loved how Luc and Oliver f*cked up, made up, and grow all the more closer for it. I was cheering them on and commiserating with them from the sidelines.

This was the adulting, queer, found family book I was hoping for and I adored every single second of it.

Count me in for book three! I love these characters and want all the happiness for them.

4.5 stars!

Thank you so much SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed Boyfriend Material when I read in it 2020. The audiobook was fabulous and I loved the fake dating and the relationship between that grew between Luc and Oliver.

I struggled with Husband Material because it's two years later and Luc still seems so immature and I feel like he is blowing off Oliver for his friends. This was missing some of the charm I loved in Boyfriend Material.

I loved Oliver and Lucy the first time around and this book definitely had some wonderful moments, both laugh out loud and heartbreaking. However, I felt it got dragged down, going in circles over the same issues and that ultimately, the story could have been shorter and tighter.

Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

This book is hilarious. Very rarely do I ever think to myself that a character has a distinct “voice” but somehow Luc O’Donnell always makes me think that.

I could not stop laughing at this book. Luc is such a mess and Oliver is such a cinnamon roll and they just work perfectly together.

It’s strange to see a sequel to a romcom with the same characters, but I was glad to get more of their story. This book was through the lens of marriage, happening all around them and on the verge of happening TO them.

I thought Alexis Hall handled some very sensitive subjects in such a profound and respectful way. All in all, this was a great book.

HOWEVER. Wtf were those last two chapters? Throughout the entirety of the book, there were moments where on of the boys or the other would annoy me a little, but nothing major. Then the last two chapters, it felt like someone else wrote them because I didn’t feel like the Luc I have read about for two books would make those decisions. It didn’t feel authentic and the ending left me feeling frustrated.

I read Boyfriend Material when it came out in 2020, and I loved it! Picking up this sequel was like reuniting with an old friend.

It was so easy to jump back in with the characters. The same cheeky, insightful humor is present at the start, too.

However, the story took an unexpected turn about halfway through. I can't go into too much detail without spoilers, but the tone changed, and I was a bit baffled.

VAGUE SPOILERS BELOW

The whole book is about Oliver and Luc getting married, along with the societal pressure and cultural norms that surround weddings and marriage. I loved that aspect of the plot. The commentary was spot-on.

However...

The stress of deciding whether or not to get married, followed by the actual wedding planning, causes a rift between Luc and Oliver. They fight constantly throughout the book. I understand that the author was trying to show how societal expectations can cause conflict for couples, as well as how grief can twist relationships, but it made me feel like Luc and Oliver shouldn't actually stay together. Disagreements and arguments are natural in a relationship, but not constant fighting. They loved each other, but it seemed like they both needed to take time to work on themselves. So, despite the happy ending, I was left with a feeling of unease.

END OF POSSIBLE SPOILERS

There is also a third book in the series planned, but it was announced that it will focus on other characters in the book's universe, not Oliver and Luc, which is disappointing. ETA: It turns out the third book doesn't focus on Oliver and Luc, but the fourth book (Father Material) does! We are actually getting three more London Calling books total!

Sometimes books don’t need sequels and that’s how I feel about this book. The first book was AMAZING. This was meh for me. I spent the whole time being like “ok when are they breaking up…?” It seemed one problem after another and it wasn’t really entertaining. After a while, I was just reading to find out what happened but I wasn’t as invested in Luc and Oliver as I was in the first book.

I received an eArc of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Alexis Hall is truly a brilliant comedic writer in the most British (affectionate) way possible. I enjoyed Boyfriend Material and to be honest was very confused as to how there would be a sequel, I mean it's a romance novel, they get together in the in end? How exactly do you write a follow up? By having them break up?

I'm happy to report that was not the tack Hall took, instead opting to take a more mature path and have the characters deal with the lovely time in everyone's life where it feels like everyone else is getting married. As a result this book can feel a bit fluffy and episodic at times but Hall's skills as a writer mean when there's no suspense it's easy to get swept up in the comedy instead.

A joy from start to finish, highly recommend.

This was my most anticipated read of 2022 so when I was approved to read it, let me tell you I SCREAMED and could not download this fast enough! Husband Material has the same ol' Luc and Oliver that we got used to in Boyfriend Material. Luc is still a bit of a wreck and Oliver is his calming self. I loved this book so much an love the relationship Luc and Oliver continue to nurture and grow. Such a great read, highly recommended!

I really wanted to love this book but for me it just didn’t hit the mark. All the fun banter that spurred from the enemies to lovers of boyfriend material was just lacking in this book!

In all honesty I really just felt like this books mission was to prove that Luc really isn’t a loveable character. He wasn’t a good friend or boyfriend through out the whole book, and I’ll save you spoilers but if you read it I think you’ll probably agree that Luc just wasn’t the same. I missed the vibe the first book gave us for sure.

Also I’m just not sure what that ending was.

I’m sorry wish I could be more positive about this.

I was so excited for this book, but unfortunately it was not for me. I re-read Boyfriend Material right before I started this one since I had forgotten a lot of the details and I still loved that one. Alex was one of my favorite side characters and I couldn't wait to see what happened with everyone in the time between the two books. Only...Oliver and Luc have been dating for two years but nothing seems to have changed or grown in their relationship. They were just like before and it was a bit disappointing. I wanted to see them more in love and more a unit since the end of the prior book, but it didn't really feel that way to me. Oh well.

The real issue for me is this book is full of wacky hijinx that I did not enjoy. Mainly because they made no sense! Like there was an issue with Bridget which immediately was like why is everyone thinking x when it is obviously y? Why would you jump to that conclusion when the obvious one is there? Because we wouldn't have a book otherwise. I enjoyed all the side characters in Boyfriend Material, but for me this type of comedy is better in small doses (yes if you are a fan of it you will probably enjoy this book way more than I did). A whole book of these wacky adventures was too much, especially when they made no sense to me. It was a constant why are they doing this? Why do they think this? What is going on?? for me. Even if it was not so confusing why the characters were doing what they were doing I still wouldn't have loved this as much as the first book. It would have been more okay, but not my absolute favorite.

Also with the thing with Bridget she was really upset and Luc was like I will go be with her and support her through this tough time. Which makes total sense, she was always there for him he wants to be there for her, but Oliver had a weird issue with it? Like they were supposed to go to the theatre and have a date night and he was weirdly upset that Luc was being a good friend. It again made no sense to me. Like if it were me I cannot imagine my husband being upset I went to comfort a friend. He would be the one telling me to go because they obviously need me and we will figure out another time to go to the theatre. It was weird and felt like after 2 years you should be more supportive. I don't know. This obviously wasn't for me, but I can see where others might enjoy it. Oh, and I DNF-ed it at 60% because I couldn't make myself continue. I kept trying and putting it aside to get to that point and finally I threw in the towel. If you like wacky adventures this one might be for you. If not it might be a skip.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of this book

It was funny, but the ending was highly disappointing and it honestly dragged in the 4th part...Which is too bad since it did have me laughing earlier on.

thank you to Netgalley for an e-arc

DNF at 25%, I really loved Boyfriend Material but this just isn't doing it for me. We are 25% in and there is like nothing happening and the whole Luc having to make his friend's wedding perfect isn't really appealing to me. Overall the rest of the book could be great but I'm bored and I don't care

This book was absolutely hilarious and even better than I anticipated. I loved it even more than Boyfriend Material because of the places that the characters, especially Luc and Oliver, were at when this book occurs, and the premise of it being set around the plethora of weddings that occur in friend groups at a certain time (and the various pressures that come with that) was genius. There wasn’t as much tension and stress in this book, which I enjoyed as it felt like the narrative arc flowed better and the characters really had grown and evolved in the two years separating the events; at the same time though, the characters still felt true, especially Luc and the way that he never fails to get himself into messes. I adored the ending, and how such a central part of this book was the feeling that Oliver had about not being included in the community that he should be welcomed in. I have loved every Alexis Hall book that I have read, and I am looking forward to the next ones that I can devour.

A DELIGHTFUL CHECKIN WITH ONE OF MY FAVOURITE BOOK COUPLES

I am an absolute sucker for enemies to lovers romance stores, which was one of the reasons why I originally fell in love with Luc and Oliver's story in Boyfriend Material. So I was a little concerned about reading this story of them as an established couple. But my worry was unbased - Luc and Oliver are still amazing! As is the rest of the cast in this Four Weddings and a Funeral inspired novel.

👍 What I Liked 👍

Luc and Oliver: Luc and Oliver did not disappoint! I loved how contrasting they are to one another and yet so perfectly suited. It is a true pleasure to be in their company once again.

Chemistry: There is so much chemistry between these two! It's practically leaping off the page! Even during the most mundane things, Luc and Oliver sizzle and make me a bit jealous tbh... They have banter, they have smoulder and they have undeniable chemistry.

Characters: Aside from Oliver and Luc there were plenty of other characters to love and adore. Among my favourites were Rhys, the accidental soft-porn star, Alex, the posh groom and Bridget, the fierce if slightly emotional best friend. Such a strong cast of characters can carry any story through.

Growth: While I had hoped to read about Luc and Oliver's relationship as something stable and established, I found myself glad to see that there was still room for them to grow. Both as a couple and as individuals. Perhaps most important were their battles with heteronormativity, which was very refreshing and fit well with the story and the characters.

👎 What I Disliked 👎

Repetitive: The only thing dragging this down from a five-star read to a four-star was the repetitiveness. In my opinion, the plot kind of went in circles. It seemed like Oliver and Luc were deadlocked in the same conversation/argument over and over. And while that might be very realistic, it does get tedious to read the same fight 6-7-8 times...

To begin with, this book took me 3 days to read which is completely not like me. Secondly, I completely forgot what boyfriend material was about. Once I had a refresher, I was completely disappointed in this novel which I hate saying. I did enjoy the mentions of therapy and Oliver figuring out the different aspects of himself. My favorite part of the book was honestly the last page and I was a bit disappointed it ended that way.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review as always all words are my own.

REVIEW: Husband Material by Alexis Hall 💫

Thank you @sourcebooks and @netgalley for the gifted eARC in exchange for an honest review 💓

Ughhhhhh so many mixed feelings yall. I didn’t write a review for Boyfriend Material - which is book 1 of this series - which is extra sad because it was on of my fav books of July! I loved it! I was legitimately laughing out loud in public while I was taking Charlie for walks and listening to it on audio. It was such a breath of fresh air for the romcoms I was reading!

But this one…. Whomp whomp whomp 🥲🥲🥲

I was so bored and just wanted it to end. It was so long and got so whiney. The Luc I found sarcastic and hilarious in book 1 was jaded and mean in this one.

But there will be a book 3 that was just announced for 2023 called Father Material so let’s be real, I will defs still be reading the series 🤣

Sweet, funny. As good as book 1. Luc and Oliver are still growing together despite the wacky situations. So many weddings. The inner insecurities, friends and families all contribute to make their journey to happiness an entertaining read. ☂️

Sadly, you can tell that the author hadn't originally planned on writing a sequel to Boyfriend Material. This book is trying to be so many things at once (I just don't think that a book should be both a romcom and a social commentary) and the humour feels a bit outdated and seems to be solely based on the fact that the author doesn't want to be cancelled on tumblr, twitter or whichever platform the target audience uses these days.
Still, Husband Material was a good "I just don't want to use my brain" read :)

Let’s have some of those uncomfortable conversations.

They’re back!! Lucien, Oliver, Brigitte, Tom, James Royce-Royce, Pryia, and yes, even Alex and Miffy are back and in the mix of shenanigans. Two years after Lucien (Luc) and Oliver (Ollie) met and fake dated only to become truly in love and dating, we find them stronger than ever. In fact, Luc has come a long way from his self-loathing and self-destructive ways and developed a healthy relationship with Ollie, his friends, and his adorable mother, Oldie.

As Luc and Ollie both grow together as a couple, they attend three weddings together. At the weddings, Luc learns forgiveness, being a true friend, and even coping with the idiosyncracies of those who you feel may not have much in common. Since attending these weddings, we see how comfortable Luc is with the gay community whereas Ollie does not, for he does not feel they represent him or feel a part of their world. In stark contrast, Ollie prefers the old Cathedrals and the old-fashioned weddings much to Luc’s chagrin.

The arc of the story is when they face how they feel towards their respective fathers and come to terms with those bottled-up feelings.

I do recommend you read the first novel, Boyfriend Material but you can still read this and still get the gist of what is going on, fairly quickly. Reading the first novel will give you a better understanding and make this story richer.

I truly enjoyed the banter between scene-stealing Oldie and Luc. While she may at times seem flighty, she is very astute and is the voice of reason when Luc needs to hear the truth, whether he wants to or not. I also appreciated how Luc and Ollie navigate through their relationship when they may seem at odds with each other’s points of view. What surprised me greatly is I was expecting this book to be a light read. It contains some heavy and much-needed conversations about heated topics between the characters. For that, my 3 1/2 stars were firmly bumped up to a solid 4. There is a lot of heart in this novel.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebook Casablanca for sending me this digital review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.