I really enjoyed this sequel to Boyfriend Material and am so excited we're getting even more books in this series including PARENT MARERIAL! After going to a series of friends weddings, Luc and Oliver decide to get married themselves. But the stress of wedding planning might just ruin their happy day--and their relationship. I thought Hall did a good job of creating a lot of tension despite the fact that Luc and Oliver are already in a committed relationship at the start of the novel. A fun read for anyone who couldn't get enough of this duo in Boyfriend Material and want to continue to watch their relationship grow.

Alexis Hall stuns and amazes with the second installment of their 'London Calling' series in HUSBAND MATERIAL.

Readers are catching up with Luc and Oliver two years after BOYFRIEND MATERIAL and the two have seemingly slipped into the comfortable place couples enter once the shine and newness have long worn out. The novel begins with the mundane: cooking, sleeping, clothes, and orienting yourself into another person's space and life. We get to watch Luc stress over his neurotic behavior and a disastrous cooking episode that's full of heart and humor.

But it's not long (five chapters, if I'm recalling that right) before Hall hits us with the first of many obstacles the boys must either work through or not...

Without delving into the spoiler-y territory, all I can promise if your jaw will hit the floor multiple times, and then STAY THERE after the last page.

What a disappointment! I absolutely loved "Boyfriend Material" and I almost wish I wouldn't have read this sequel. There are occasional funny bits, but it is mostly an endlessly long sequence of the same argument happening again and again. Would not recommend as a standalone.

PS. Oliver deserves better.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

As a big fan of the first book I have to say that I like Husband Material but I don’t really love it as I expected.

As the first one we have our dose of drama and cute and funny moments between Luc and Oliver while we see them living on this point of their relationship where everything is relatively stable because their friends have begun to settle down, so that makes them question what they want for their relationship in the future.

Luc and Oliver were perfect, they gave me beautiful moments. Luc is like in the first book, dramatic, irreverent, spontaneous and funny, and Oliver being his counterpart being charming and correct. They are perfect together with all their imperfections.

My problem with this book is that I felt that it was just past the half of this and there wasn’t any point in all the things that were happening. It's like mini stories put together to connect with the other half of the book where finally we can understand and see the real conflict between Luc and Oliver. And if I can rate this book because that half of the book I think it would be very good. That brings my other problem with this book, even though they say they have 2 years together they fight for the same problems that they had in the first book. I know they have their problems and this is a process that takes time, but the communication my friends!! Communication is really important and to be in a relationship for 2 years it seems that they haven't learned that.

As I said this book was good, but not perfect as Boyfriend Material. The characters as always saved the day with all their charm and their precious moments together.

A solid follow-up to Boyfriend Material, and a good chance to explore a more established relationship. I liked the couple's ultimate decision on what was right for them; it's nice to see non-traditional, non-marriage paths taken in romance.

Our favorite disaster gays are back! It was wonderful to see the crew again.

That being said. Generally speaking I did enjoy this book, but I liked it less as it went along. Luc's sense of tension, anxiety, and being unsure was a bit too palpable. The first book succeeded because Luc's feelings were portrayed as realistic without being over the top, and I think this one went too far in that regard. There was significantly less humor and significantly more bickering. Like. I get wanting to portray characters as genuine people, but it didn't feel like a book in the same series. This one felt a lot more General Fiction than Romance, if that makes sense. If there are more books in this series, I hope that the natural humor finds its way back. I missed it a lot.

Thank you to NetGalley for a preview copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Sequels are always tough, especially when the first book is so great, and ends satisfyingly. Unfortunately with HUSBAND MATERIAL, that is how I felt. I very much enjoyed BOYFRIEND MATERIAL so when the sequel was announced I was ecstatic and the nervous.

This addition to the story fell flat for me. It felt like 300 pages of Luc talking to his coworkers about things that never added to the story and were always long and drawn out for the gimmick or joke but really, for me, took away from the only interesting relationships in the book. This aspect of HUSBAND MATERIAL made it a grueling reading experience because I did not care for his coworkers and was just waiting for those scenes to be over.

The ending of the book also just felt like the first however many pages we read were a waste of time because we were essentially back where we started,

Not for me sadly, but I still love Alexis Hall!

Thank you NetGalley, author, and publisher for giving me this arc in exchange for my honest review. What an addicting story! I fell in love with the characters. Quick read!

Still utterly hilarious, Alexis Hall is a consistent and stunning writer. I will say I struggled with this book being about an established couple, Of course, they had their conflict, but I always assumed it would be worked out so I didn't find myself fully invested. That said, still utterly charming.

📚Recently Read📚

Husband Material

It’s been a minute since I have posted. Whoops! #summer

Thank you @netgalley and @sourcebooks for the ARC

I wanted to love this book I really really did. Especially because I was such a big fan of the first book. But this just didn’t do it for me. I found the plot lacking and the characters weren’t enough to salvage it. But I might be in a bit of slump, hopefully others will disagree!

#newbooks #arc #northsurreysecondary #summerreading #romancebooks #tbr

DNF at 20%, I loved Boyfriend Material and all the other books that I have read by Alexis Hall, so I was really excited to pick this one up. Unfortunately it was just not working for me in my current reading state. I am a very moody reader and some books just don't work in my current mood. This book starts off a couple of years after Boyfriend Material and I enjoyed seeing Oliver and Luc still together and with their friends but I could tell that this book was going to be a bit heavier than what I was wanting. I know I will eventually get back to this one when I am more in the mood for this kind of romance and I know Alexis will make me fall in love with these two characters even more! Thank you Sourcebooks Casablanca for my gifted copy for review.

I received an ebook copy of Husband Material by Alexis Hall from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. As someone who has read multiple books by Alexis Hall over the years, this one was an amazing read that had an unbelievable amount of character growth. I enjoyed getting a second look at Luc and Oliver’s relationship and can’t wait for more books set around their friend group. The plot flowed nicely and allowed for more exploration of Luc’s friend group. Furthermore, there were many memorable quotations throughout the book that helped lighten up some of the more emotional sections of the book. Overall, I highly recommend this book!

I think I have a love-hate relationship with Husband Material. I enjoyed it, but at the same time, I didn’t.

I still love Luc and Oliver. And I love catching up with them and seeing how their relationship has grown since Boyfriend Material. It was fun catching up with everyone and seeing familiar faces, but I didn’t find all this book necessary it was essentially an extended epilogue.

Like Boyfriend Material, this was told from Luc’s perspective, and even more so in this book, I would have liked some chapters from Oliver’s perspective. But, quite frankly, there was a little more Luc than I could take.

No spoilers, but I loved the end of the book. I don’t think others will be as happy with it as I was but….

In romance, the book usually ends on the Happily Ever After or at least the Happily For Now. If there is a sequel, it usually focuses on a couple adjacent to the one in the first book. Hall continues to break into new (or at least seldom trod) paths by writing a follow up book, one wherein the two characters plan their wedding. I liked the idea of seeing what happens after the credits roll but, though Hall is an amazing writer, I had trouble reconciling everything in this book with what happened in the first, especially since most of this book felt like Luc and Oliver were on the sidelines (i.e. all of the conflicts seem external and, in a follow up book, it seems like there could be more things internal to the relationship), and I didn't especially love the way the book ended. I liked the ending, just not the actual execution.
Luc and Oliver fell in love and are now living in their HEA. But a brush with his ex-boyfriend causes Luc to question whether they are ready to take the next step in their relationship. It sure seems like everyone else is taking that step and maybe even expecting it from them as well. But are even of them really ready?

Three and a half stars.
This book came out August 2, 2020
Follows Boyfriend Material
ARC kindly provided by Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

“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 was anticipating the release of husband material as i loved the first book boyfriend material. i think what made boyfriend material so good was that it had the fake dating trope and just how cute Luc & Oliver were.

"This was exactly why I needed to go to the wedding. I need to show my ex-boyfriend, my ex-boyfriend’s fiancé I’d met once, and a bunch of strangers that I was free and happy and over it and moving on with my new, infinitely better boyfriend. And if I did that well enough, maybe my own brain would believe me." - this is a bad reason to go, he should be happy in general not trying to make it seem that he's happy

i feel that Luc & Oliver's relationship could have been more developed, they seem to get into arguments due to miscommunications. however in the end the do make up.

Everyone around Luc & Oliver are getting married, having kids, buying houses and so the two of them have to really look into their life on how they are going to move forward and be adults. However it seems to be difficult for Luc & Oliver to plan a wedding since they have different styles and different ways to express themselves.

book was a little slow at times however it was still cute, they are trying to find out where they are at in the stage of their relationship, feeling the pressure of those around them. I received this arc from NG & this is my voluntary review.

3.5 stars
Somehow I didn't like this one as much as the first book. The biggest problem that I have with this book that apparently a lot of different people have too, is that after 2 years of being in a relationship they still didn't o through any real development. Most of the problems they had could've just been solved if they communicated with each other. Also, what's with all the weddings?

What a follow-up to Boyfriend Material! Luc & Oliver are back, figuring out how to navigate this next stage of their relationship - and as with any relationship, there are some bumps along the way. I think Hall did a great job of portraying the way that individual growth has to be worked into a couple's growth, and emotional volaltiity is difficult for everyone. I will admit that there were certainly times in this novel that felt too much like Harry's fifth year in OotP - too much whining over silly things, like...balloon arches??
The banter was great, as it was in BM, but sometimes the characters just didn't seem to fit.
Overall, I enjoyed, but would have preferred less arguing over the "correct" way to perform homosexuality and love.

Setting this one down for now. I just cannot relate to going to an exs wedding for any reason at all.

Well this second book just didn’t give me the same feel as book 1. I wanted to enjoy but it was just a little to predictable and not as lovable.

DNF

I really tried to finish, but I couldn't.

I would not say that the first book is one of my favorites but I really enjoyed reading it, I have very nice memories of it that this new book completely crushed.

I don't understand how it is that after two years of relationship there is no real development between the dynamics of the characters. They spend their time arguing over misunderstandings that could have been avoided if they communicated, something they don't do despite having a two-year relationship.

There are very nice moments but they are overshadowed by all the meaningless drama of the story.

Anyway thanks to Netgally for giving me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review