Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a book that I was extremely excited to get my hands on! The first in the series, Boyfriend Material, had me laughing out loud and racing to finish. When I heard there was going to be a sequel that plays with the rom-com trope of "Four Weddings and Funeral", I was sold.

While Husband Material started off strong, laced with quirky banter, hilarious antics from some of my favorite secondary characters, and what seemed to be a blossoming, mature relationship between Oliver and Luc, I was mistaken. Unfortunately, I did not see much character or relationship growth from the previous book, which was supposed to have been set 2.5 years prior. As I moved through Husband Material, I felt myself being less charmed with the antics and insecurity of Luc and more frustrated with his lack of growth. Without giving any spoilers, I felt that drama was needlessly interjected into storylines.

The conclusion of Husband Material is what cinched its 2 star rating for me - rushed, abrupt, and a near complete departure from the characters we've grown accustomed to.

3.5/5

Thank you netgalley for an ARC of this book! This was super cute and had the exact same energy as the first book. My only issue was that the ending felt very rushed and I didn't particularly like the way it closed out. Definitely worth a read though!

This had the same wonderful snarky humor that made me fall in love with Boyfriend Material. I loved getting to spend more time with the characters, and enjoyed the side characters even more than I had in the first book. While some of the plot was a bit over-the-top for me, I loved seeing a glimpse at what happens after the “happily ever after.” It was interesting to see Luc and Oliver still struggling with themselves and the changes they had started to make in Boyfriend Material.

Get your invitation to this wildly, funny, ridiculously delightful conclusion to Luc and Oliver’s story.

With a nod to Four Weddings and a Funeral, which I now need to go find on Netflix, in Hall’s second book in London calling, Luc and Oliver hit the wedding scene. From posh elite weddings to Luc’s ex’s wedding, we watch Luc and Oliver navigate this path to matrimony, which may or may not be their idea of happily ever.

A perfect ending, HUSBAND MATERIAL is filled with laugh out loud moments, like the workplace jokes between Luc and his coworkers 😂 and the heart breaking ones too when Luc and Oliver begin to have second thoughts 😭, and the raw emotions they (and subsequently we) feel as we draw closer to the end.

And that ending!!! 🤯🤯🤯

I did not expect that at all. Though, I have to be honest, it took me a good moment to absorb what happened. But after I got over my initial shock, it feels like the perfect kind of completion to Luc and Oliver’s love story.

Happy Reading ~ Cece

3.5⭐️

The sequel to Boyfriend Material follows Luc as he contemplates his perfectly splendid life with his perfectly splendid boyfriend Oliver while faced with the prospect of marriage.

This book was much funnier compared to the previous one. There’s a significant decrease in the self deprecating humour; or the self deprecation in general. Luc has matured a bit and is trying to be less of an obnoxious snob but not enough.

This time the author has tried to tackle quite a number of nuanced social issues surrounding the LGBTQIA community. The question of identity and belonging in the community is discussed at length. There’s also a bit of the condemning the slut shaming from the first book.

But Luc as a written character remains vaguely unrelatable with excessive dialogue. The pretentious rambling clogs up large chunks of chapters. The ending though unique and bold, seems a bit weak and weird.

Some people may not like this because it’s not all fluff and high drama but I found it quite enjoyable as a breezy read with some delightful British slang.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for this ARC just a week before publication.

Alexis Hall continues to chart relationship ups and downs established in Boyfriend Material with the next book in the series Husband Material. Luc and Oliver are in a good place- they have both worked through a lot to make their relationship work, and start to think about what's next for them after attending multiple weddings (and a funeral). A lot of this book is about the societal pressures for relationships as well as about gay identity. Luc is the primary narrator here, and especially early on I was missing Oliver's side of things and he was a bit lost in the story, but about halfway through the focus turned more to the couple and I found the conversations and journey they go through together rewarding. Their flaws and assumptions still creep up, family is still a complicated factor, but I appreciated how they worked through their issues and the concept of "happy", and the ending of the book was an unexpected delight.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca via NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.

Boyfriend Material was one of my favorite books last year, so I had very high hopes for this one. The sequel is a bit heavier than the first installment and tackles some serious topics. While I enjoyed catching up with Luc and Oliver as they navigate their relationship and the many weddings they attend, it didn't have the same lighthearted feel that I loved in Boyfriend Material (which had me laughing outloud from cover to cover!). A few moments were just a bit too over the top (like the wedding dress debacle) for me. That said, I still enjoyed it and am hoping for more!

This book made me so happy, the love the witty banter the panics and all. I have loved the journey of Lucien and Oliver and this made it even more wonderful!

ah, where do I even start with reviewing this amazing, amazing book?
It gave me all I was expecting and then some more, a lot more.
I loved Boyfriend Material SO MUCH when I first read it so of course the news of a sequel had me very excited and I was crying with joy when my request for this e-ARC got accepted.
Alexi's writing style is not only smooth and flowing, but it is also full of witty remarks and humor. I genuinely adore the way he writes and will read the whole of his backlist now.
The characters are, of course, written very well with so much depth to them. Oliver and Luc's relationship and the dynamics give me so much joy. They shouldn't be so well and yet they do and I'll never not be mesmerized by this fact. I see so much of myself in both of them despite there not being anything in common between the three of us on the surface level.
So many parts of this book managed to hit right home, which was wholly unexpected. Especially Oliver's dynamic with this father and the speech, I'll go back to this again and again and again.
So yeah, highly highly recommend this amazing book to everyone!!!!! You need it in your life okay, just trust me and go read!!!!

I recently read Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall and immediately ran to NetGalley to request the sequel Husband Material, which hits shelves on August 2, 2022

It was so nice to be back with Luc and Oliver who are polar opposites, but somehow they just fit. Boyfriend Material began with fake dating which has benefits to each of the gentlemen, whereas Husband Material focuses on Luc and Oliver two years later during wedding season, and as they plan their own wedding and future.

I can’t get over how funny the side characters are, especially Luc’s coworkers at CRAPP, Rhys has me laughing out loud whenever he’s involved in the storyline, and I wish we had more from them throughout the story.

I really liked the growth between the two men from the first book to this one, and I really loved how far Oliver has come, and how much confidence he’s seemed to have gained.

The ending though, felt somewhat rushed to me, like I enjoyed the conflict, and I liked how everything played out, I just wish it wasn’t as rushed.

Charming and funny but serious look at two men who love each other struggling with following the norms of societies expectations or finding their own paths. The best part of this story is the ending. Touched my heart.

"Husband Material" has all the the things that made "Boyfriend Material" absolutely unforgettable: it's funny and quirky and angsty and romantic and complex and, just, plain lovely.
In some ways, in exceeded my expectations; in others, not so much, but we'll get there.

First things first, the good. The very, very good.

Hall's absolutely hilarious and snarky writing was, as usual, a treat: I've read several books by this author, and I don't think I'll ever get over how good he is at balancing quirkiness and silliness and deep, meaningful stuff about life and love and family. Alexis Hall's brand of humour, as usual, was a mixture of "I am dying from laughter" and "I am dying from all the fuzzy, cosy feels" and "I'm dying, because whoops, that really hits close to home, ha ha, I need therapy".

The other really great thing about this book (and my recent re-read of "Boyfriend Material" confirmed it) was the characters, both main and side. Luc was a lovable mess, a tad too dickish a times, but absolutely endearing nonetheless. He's such a relatable character, with his bone-deep insecurity about how he's not actually deserving of love and his many, many anxieties about trust and relationships. So, obviously, I loved him.

What surprised me the most (but actually, I already knew this thanks to my recent re-read of "Boyfriend Material") was how much I actually adore(d) Oliver: I think I might have underestimated him when I was first reading "Boyfriend Material", because not only did I love him to absolute bits, but actually, I think he might be my favourite character, in the "I'd die to keep you safe and healthy and happy, nobody deserves you and your wholesomeness and dorkiness, yes, that includes you too at times, Lucien" sense.
He's so funny, so dorky, so lovably uptight and anxious and sexy and charming and a tiny bit broken, and as relatable as Luc. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to jump into the book to hug him or cheer him on, and in particular, if you've read the book, his speech at you-know-who's you-know-what? I was so damn proud of him. I nearly cried.

I loved getting to see how his and Lucien's relationship has progressed since the, rather abrupt, ending of "Boyfriend Material" and I definitely underlined half of their swooniest interactions. And also the funnier ones too.

So why four stars? Well, what left me feeling a tad underwhelmed and yes, disappointed as well, was the amount of unnecessary (in my humble, personal opinion) "Luc's being needlessly mean" relationship angst. Yes, I get it, it wouldn't be realistic if a relationship didn't have any problems or issues, but well, I was expecting something more, or maybe, something less in that specific area: if Luc's insecure dickish behaviour was endearing in book one, here, three years into their relationship and him knowing full well that Oliver is as messy as he is, felt a bit too much. Yes, I know, realism, and I can appreciate that, but it was so frustrating seeing him rehash arguments and issues that should have definitely been resolved before, during the actual book, and not in the very last chapter.
And that brings me to the second issue I had with this novel: the, again, rather abrupt ending. I loved the hell out of the first four parts of the book, but that fifth part gave me anxiety, and not in the fun thriller/mystery-adjacent way. I literally skimmed some bits, I was just so angry and disappointed. Don't get me wrong, it was still a wonderful book and I'm so happy we got to have Oliver and Luc for another fabulous ride, but well, I was still expecting something *more* concrete, more HEA-esque.

But yes, these are minor complaints, because the rest of the book was truly fabulous and heartfelt and I'll miss the hell out of these characters and their hilarious and endearing found family of misfits and assholes. Alexis Hall is a master at what he does, and I'm so curious to read the next installment in this series, the mysterious "amnesia plot" book I'd literally sell my soul for. So yes, bring it on (and fingers crossed).

Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the advanced readers copy!

This book follows Luc and Oliver through 4 weddings and a funeral, 2 years after Boyfriend Material. I enjoyed Boyfriend Material so much and was expecting to really enjoy this sequel. It unfortunately missed the mark for me. Luc and Oliver's relationship felt brand new, not 2 years old. In the first book you couldn't help but root for these two to get together. In this book, I felt myself begging them to let the relationship go because they seem so wrong for each other. There were some great moments of banter and some other parts I found funny, but overall, I just thought the men would be better off apart.

Told through the premise of several weddings that the story follows Oliver and Luc as their relationship continues to develop and their feelings grow for one another before they too decide that marriage is the next step for them.

For me, the downfall of this book is it’s pacing. It felt slow and clunky in some areas and since I haven’t read the first in the series I do feel as though I was missing bits of context that perhaps would’ve made me drawn to the couple more. I also thought there were far too many secondary characters whose descriptions weren’t fleshed out and that often left me feeling confused as to who was who and why they were relevant to this specific part of the story but then would disappear later on. I thought this would be funnier in places too but the jokes fell a little flat for me - they seemed to be targeted at a younger audience even though I fit the target readership.

*Thank you to the publisher for the copy via Netgalley in exchange for my review

I was such a fan of 'Boyfriend Material', and jumping back in to the story here was like reuniting with old friends - they were just as fun and loveable as in book 1, and I loved the framing of the story being about different weddings. I'm not sure if there'll be a book 3 but I would 1000% read one if there was!

Absolutely could not wait for this book to come out and Alexis Hall did not disappoint. This book takes you on a journey with Oliver and Luc that hits close to home in so many ways. With different perspectives on relationships to the myriad of emotions that come with love and loss, this story delves deeply into what friendships and relationships are all about. From attending weddings of people you can barely tolerate to supporting your friends with late night emotional support visits, this book is the essence of love and belonging, even if it may look unconventional to others. I truly hope there is another book in this series, I can’t wait to read more about Luc and Oliver!!

3.5
As one of our most anticipated reads of 2022 we honestly felt let down.

The parts just didn’t add up to a great whole with a consistent plot. More like little short stories. This was a riff off 4 weddings and a funeral.

This book takes place two years after book one and both of our characters apparently have grown up a bit as have the friends.

Part 1 - was Tom and Bridget’s wedding along with everyone going to see Tom because they think he’s cheating.

Part 2 - was Miles’s wedding (Luc’s backstabbing ex boyfriend). This wedding brings up a lot of emotions in Luc who wants to prove to Miles that he’s over him and better off without him and that he’s happy. It’s a very fun, gay wedding which causes another fight because Oliver doesn’t really like stereotypical gay things and Luc does.

Part 3 — this is a co-worker of Alex’s wedding, in the middle of nowhere with super homophobic classist people. Luc proposes to Oliver who says yes. They meet up with his parents who still don’t like Luc or that Oliver is gay. Oliver finally stands up for himself and they leave but Oliver’s Dad dies soon after.

Part 4 — Oliver makes an awesome eulogy that is so vulnerable and honest about how his father was flawed and mean and he’ll never know if they could have repaired their relationship. Then Luc and Oliver end up fighting even more about their own wedding. They’re both so different and want different things: one traditional heterosexual wedding stuff and one lgbtq rainbow stuff.

Part 5 — They call off the wedding which is a huge disappointment after spending so much time talking about it and getting so many other weddings in this book.

We needed more of Luc and Oliver instead of other peoples lives. We needed more on Luc planning Bridge’s wedding and more of Luc and Oliver planning their own wedding. We have them doing lots of weddings but where is the character development!

The ending just crushed all Oliver’s character development from these moments, bringing him right back to where he was. We went through so much to have Oliver right back in his internalized homophobia not wanting to get married! It made us so mad on his behalf. Luc also backslid into his anxiety, self loathing emotions where he’s now freaking out and also not wanting to marry Oliver. So they call it off and run down the aisle together and that’s it. We would have been ok with their bickering and sad choices if their last conversation was about let’s have a celebration of our love, date and discuss marriage more in the future maybe even have Luc go see Oliver’s therapist with him to work through their relationship issues together. The LGBTQ community worked very hard for equality and there were ways to keep that triumph and blend traditional and flamboyant.

This is a story about commitment.  When Luc O'Donnell and Oliver Blackwood first met two years ago, they did not seem to have much in common, other than each needing, for their own reasons, to seem to have a public relationship.  Following many challenges, including public scrutiny and difficult family dynamics, their fake relationship turned into real feelings -- and a real relationship.  They have been dating ever since and, despite (or maybe because of) being opposites in many ways, they are quite happy.  

But now it seems like everyone in their lives, from best friends to exes, are getting married -- and Luc is feeling the pressure to do the same thing.  After all, who could be husband material more than Oliver?  As Luc and Oliver navigate four weddings and a funeral, complete with man-of-honor duties, destination ceremonies, and wrenching family interactions, they both perceive that society -- and even each other -- expects them to go from boyfriends to husbands.  But things are rarely a direct line for this couple -- and they must confront how they fit in with their community, with their family, and even with each other as they consider what is next and what they want for their happily ever after.

Like so many, I loved Boyfriend Material, so I was beyond excited to read this book.  It was terrific to be back in Luc and Oliver's world, seeing what their relationship and lives are like following their happy ending at the conclusion of Boyfriend Material. The author did an excellent job of depicting the realities of a long-term relationship, complete with communication challenges, work pressures, and balancing friends and significant others.  Like the last book, the book excels at depicting family relationships and the powerful force that parents continue to have over their children, even as adults.  I also really appreciated how the book explores the different relationships that Luc and Oliver have to the queer community and the ways that impacts their views of each other and the future they want.  Most of all, it was a delight to spend more time with Luc and Oliver.

Highly recommended!

I lucked out in that I had not gotten around to Boyfriend Material until earlier this summer on a road trip. I instantly fell in love with Luc and Oliver, their growth and how the relationship progressed was really refreshing. I also love Alexis Hall's ability to have diverse and dynamic side characters that you care just as much about. It was really great to see the whole gang back and see what they had been up to for the past 2 years.
When I first heard about this book I assumed it might focus on Oliver's development since I felt we only barely touched on his issues at the end of the last book. Boyfriend material felt a lot like Luc maturing and really working on himself. Oliver was presented as this perfect person that we learned has his own issues to work on. I realized this probably wouldn't be all about Oliver since we were still getting it from Luc's point of view. I found it nice to think that even though 2 years had passed they both had things to work on, kind of exploring there is no happily ever after. I did find it frustrating that they would approach very serious discussions from the start of an argument and then never really resolve that issue, just kind of move on and continue to be happy. I can't criticize it too much because I know it can be easier to avoid a scary conversation, but since they are pondering their relationship and their future it stressed me out that there were blatant future issues they would sweep under the rug.
This book had 4 clear parts, but they flowed really well and the plot never stalled. I kept thinking about this book when I wasn't reading it and always wanted to get back to it. There are definitely some serious plot points in this, it's a thought provoking romance, rather than a everything is great because romance. The only main issue I had was that the end was so abrupt. It did make me think and I liked that it wasn't what you were expecting but I really wanted some more time to digest it, it was just kind of dumped there and the book was over. I still loved reading it and still adore these characters, so I hope we'll see more of them in the future!

Luc and Oliver have been making things work ever since they were honest about their feelings for each other. Now, it seems everyone around them is getting married and Luc’s feeling the pressure to propose to Oliver. However, it’s a long road to “I do” for our beloved boys.

The boys are back! 😍😍😍

Diving into this one felt like visiting old friends! This book was filled with Luc’s failed jokes of the day at work, Luc’s mom’s obsession with Drag Race, Oliver’s dry humor, and the fun friendship dynamics I fell in love with in Boyfriend Material. For me, it also provided a more realistic representation of a relationship filled with happy times, banter, disagreements, compromise, and apologies.

I do think this book is going to hit people differently, depending on their own relationship status and feelings towards marriage. I think I’m still digesting my feelings about that last chapter (no spoilers, but IYKYK 🙃). The lack of steam was the only real disappointment for me because I did love reading about Luc and Olivier’s steamy side of their relationship. Hopefully this won’t be last we see of Luc and Oliver’s love for one another! 👀