This book is all of my favorite things. I really enjoy the wittiness of British fiction, I love m/m romance, and one of my favorite tropes is a celebrity. This book checked all of my boxes and I LOVED it.

Luc is a charity worker and son of famous musicians. He was hurt very badly by a former partner and has spent the last 5 years in a spiral and being photographed while doing it. The most recent photo has his job in jeopardy so he decides to get a fake boyfriend to clean up his image.

Oliver is a criminal defense attorney and practically perfect. He's a vegetarian, is passionate about his job, and has oodles of self-respect. He has been attracted to Luc for a while and decides to go along with his fake relationship scheme.

In the end, the fake relationship creates real feelings and to my delight, they go with it (instead of freaking out). There was immense character development on both sides with a large cast of hilarious characters. Their friend Bridget cracked me up with every book publishing emergency. The angst is just right and the relationship ups and downs are believable. I loved this book and I can't wait to read more from this author.

This is just such a smart book. Laugh out loud funny, an open, honest and healthy window into toxic and healthy relationships, a great voice and a healthy dose of feels. I truly loved it.

From enemies to fake lovers.

Luc needs to improve his image or he'll lose his job. This makes him desperate enough to accept going on a date with goody-two-shoes Oliver, who has dismissed him already in the past. After the disaster that date proved to be, he finds out Oliver too needs to find a partner, even if it's a fake one. Quickly, the limits become blurry.

My first impression was that there were too many jokes and that the narration sidetracked too much, summing up to what is probably a longer book than necessary. However, the story and the characters made up to what looked like a surplus and eventually became a bonus, because I really needed to get more of this delightful book.

And wow, I'm not sure how Alexis Hall was so on point building Luc. He's unbearably cranky and can't hold his tongue, he's always suspecting everyone too—and he's not wrong to, unfortunately—, which doesn't help his mood. I think his was not a main character that was easy to create, control and show the readers while still getting our empathy. Oliver would be more what we're used to, but still very lovely. I'd totally marry him if I could and while it was well explained why he couldn't hold on to a boyfriend, I'd still be up for the challenge.

Just a warning (?). As you can infer from the cutesy cover (I love it!), this won't have many sex scenes. I'm not a fan of them, so I loved this fact even more, but I did observe this author tends to write other types of m/m books. I can't say if those few make up for it, because again it's not my thing. And for those who don't like sex scenes, as I said, there are some, but not many and definitely not the point of this story. I think it's worth giving it a try.

This is probably one of my favorite romcoms of this year and could even satisfy fans of romcoms outside of the LGBT niche. Looking forward to more books like this one!

Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

Luc works at a non-profit dedicated to saving the dung beetle. An awkward encounter leads to a terrible photo of him in the paper and his job says get your crap together or you're fired. His father is a rock star (who Luc hasn't seen or spoken to in years) and the rumor is like father, like son. So Luc and his friends decide he needs a fake relationship with a nice man to bring himself back up to par, at least in the charity's eyes. Enter Oliver.

Luc and Oliver make an agreement to fake a relationship so Oliver doesn't have to go to a family event alone and Luc can bolster his reputation. The two hate each other at first but over time, learn that the other isn't as bad as they seem. Both men are adorkable in their own way and awkward when it comes to relationships, talking, people, you name it.

I liked the influence you could see Luc and Oliver had on each other. I also loooved Luc's mom to pieces. Overall the book was a fun read but it had a couple of annoying spots for me.

1) I'm tired of this trend where there is conflict up until the last like 5 pages and then it's all magically resolved. It seems too quick to me. What can I say, I like a good epilogue?

2) The way Oliver's family treated him was absolutely disgraceful and I never felt like that got fully addressed or resolved.

I gave the book 3.5 stars out of 5. I liked it, it made me smile and laugh out loud a few times but those two sticking points took away a bit from it for me.

I have been a fan of Alexis Hall for awhile and was so excited when my wish for this new novel was granted! Then, I had a reading funk where I could only get through re-reads so I saved this for a time when I could appreciate it! I LOVED this book! I plan on buying it to support the author and to have my own physical copy! Luc and Oliver had me right from the start with their awkwardness and formality. The story had a great pace, keeping me entertained and literally unable to put the book down. I finished it in one sitting! I enjoyed meeting the friends of each and seeing the support they received through them. Their issues were dealt with together and in ways that were tough and sweet by turns. I hope everyone takes the time to read about this beautiful love that I hope to see in more books!

*Novel given in exchange for an honest review, NetGalley.*

What an absolutely perfect book to read in a pandemic. Laugh out loud funny with a sweet romance involving two deeply-flawed, but extremely lovable men. Throw in two enviable friend groups and you've got the perfect book to devour in a weekend and distract you from the world around you.

A cute “fake” romance that was and easy read and would make a great read. Luc and Oliver are the romantic old couple of MM romance. Never pretend to fall for your fake love because you will fall for real.

Two men with relationship baggage enter into a fake relationship: What could go wrong? Boyfriend Material tells the (longish) tale of Oliver, a barrister, and Lucien (Luc), who works for a nonprofit trying to save the dung beetle (yeah, the bug that...eats poop). Luc's also the son of rock star parents; his dad abandoned him when he was young (but his mom is downright wonderful).

Oftentimes Boyfriend Material felt like it verged on more contemporary fiction than romance, as family issues and work challenges took center stage. There were a few cute moments, but overall this felt like a real depiction of all the messiness adult romantic relationships might entail. I do think it could have been edited down a bit, but if you're taken with these two, you'll probably appreciate the book's length.

I'd recommend to anyone who's a fan of romance that's more slow burn, books set in London, and characters figuring out how to be adults (I'm not sure if it's categorized as new adult, but it generally felt that way to me)

CW for homophobia - including judgment about what's a "bad gay"

I absolutely adored this novel. I felt for Luc right from the start, and even though he can be a jerk, the author did a great job of showing the reader where he was coming from. It was often funny, sometimes tragic, and the writing kept me so engrossed that I stayed up WAY past my bedtime to finish reading. There's something about the story that kept having me say "just one more chapter."

Luc's character growth throughout the novel was steady and realistic. He does experience setbacks as he grows, and he hurts people along the way, but at his core he's simply trying to protect himself from getting hurt again. Oliver was equally endearing. I loved him so much. I would like my own Oliver, please and thank you. I even loved the antics of Luc's coworkers even though you might have to suspend disbelief here.

What kept it from being a five-star read was the cast of zany characters that make up Luc's friends. I liked some more than others, and found some to be offensive and OTT. And a second thing is the ending. It felt a touch rushed. I needed a little more to show me that Luc and Oliver are happy, whether that was an extra chapter or an epilogue.

Overall, this was a fun novel full of British humour that I'll admit, I didn't always understand, quirky characters, a sympathetic MC, and a swoon-worthy love interest. Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC.

I’m not sure what I was expecting for Alexis Hall’s new Sourcebooks Casablanca release, Boyfriend Material, but it definitely wasn’t a hilarious rom-com narrated by Luc, a neurotic, paparazzi-averse twenty-something. His parents are rock-star famous but his dad walked out when he was three. Luc accidentally gets some (more) bad tabloid press, which affects his fund-raising job at a coleoptera charity – hilariously acronymed CRAPP – and must acquire a respectable, “proper” boyfriend ASAP. He gets set-up with Oliver, a very, very respectable, upstanding barrister with a stable, very staid, acceptable, non-paparazzi-bait lifestyle (incidentally, Oliver is also incredibly hot in his three-piece suits). So they agree to fake date – Oliver will appear in some “good” paparazzi photos and attend the Beetle Drive as Luc’s plus-one and Luc will come to Oliver’s parents’ ruby wedding anniversary do. (FAKE DATING, WHEE!!!!) So when does fake dating – involving sweet dinners at vegan pop-up restaurants, glass sculpture exhibits, quick lunches by the Gladstone statue, and meeting Luc’s batty-but-sweet mom Odile and her “special” curry and her mad-as-pants bestie Judy – become real dating with vulnerability and feelings and OMG PANIC??

Much of Boyfriend Material is Luc freaking out about feelings and learning to have feelings and be an adult and then maybe learning that Oliver isn’t quite as put-together as he thought. The entirety of the book is narrated from Luc’s perspective which makes his journey from panicked, emotionally-fraught bellend back to functional-ish adult feel very intimate and personal. You are 100% in Luc’s corner as the reader even if you want to bonk him over the head for being such a twerp on occasion. It also helps some of the tension in the plot, since it keeps Oliver’s point-of-view off the table throughout the book. When you hit the point-of-no return in this plot, when Oliver also to meet Luc halfway emotionally, it is delicious in the resolution.

Luc has a turn-of-phrase that had me snort-laughing in many places. For serious. On Luc’s and Oliver’s first “date” Oliver, who is a criminal defense attorney, says Luc can ask him that question that people always ask. Luc panics and asks if Oliver ever has sex in the wig….I died. Because that definitely isn’t the question Oliver is thinking of. Hall also absolutely shreds upper-class posh manners. One of his work colleagues is a posh twit, with an even posher, twittier girlfriend, who is a walking punchline about the declining mental acuity of the British landed aristocracy. There is a running joke about “dick pics” that includes the deepest deep cut from The Slipper and the Rose, a Cinderella musical from the 1970s (I screamed in delight, I love that movie). There’s a birthday party with Oliver’s friends that is delightful and then there is Luc’s friend group who are the absolute best, loveable friends who are there for him throughout the book despite said bellend-ness (and they’re hilarious).

I’m going to give a content warning, delightful though this book is. Both Luc and Oliver experience some really garbage casual homophobia – that very casual upper-class British kind that approves of being a Good Gay and not a Bad Gay. There is also an instance of really, really shitty casual homophobia (look, three out of four of Luc’s and Oliver’s parents are garbage, two of them because of said homophobia among other things). Given that this is an #ownvoices novel from Alexis Hall, I think this experience is probably fairly true to life, unfortunate as it is. I trust how Hall has shown how these situations play out. But it doesn’t make it any easier to read especially since Luc and Oliver are so likeable.

The steam level is low-boil/fade-to-black but definitely not G-rated. It definitely fits with this couple. Oliver is a character who doesn’t have casual sex and Luc is trying to turn his relationship-status around. A more descriptive type of sex scene would feel intrusive in this book. (For reference, the only other Alexis Hall book I’ve read is For Real which is SO HOT that I was sure my face was going to catch on fire during one scene, the pie scene. You know the one.)

I am blown away. This book was great. I one-clicked through Netgalley on a whim and was very surprised. I've never read anything by Alexis Hall before, but I can guarantee that I will be reading her stories from now on.

Luc has been having a hard time for the last five years. After his ex-boyfriend sold his story to the tabloids for money Luc's life has been on a downward spiral. When a night out leads to him tripping and landing on his face, his job security comes into question and he comes up with the plan for a fake boyfriend. This leads him to Oliver.

Luc and Oliver were so cute. I enjoyed their relationship. Alexis Hall did an amazing job of having us see Oliver through Luc's eyes. The more Luc started to warm to him, the more I started to warm to him. They were so cute together and I just had a great time reading about them. They felt like real people and their relationship felt real. Their reactions weren't over the top of over-exaggerated. It was just nice and friendly and cute.

If I had any complaints it would be that I wish I could have read some of the story through Olivers' perspective as well. But I always have a soft spot for dual POV.

Boyfriend Material has great writing, an amazing plot, a unique cast of characters, and phenomenal pacing.

I loved this story. I loved Luc and Oliver. I had such a great time reading this. I had a great time laughing, chuckling, and crying throughout this story. I had my in-laws and husband looking at me all weird when I started laughing randomly. Such a great story. An absolute must-read.

Would recommend this title to readers looking for m/m romance that is tongue-in-cheek funny and banter-filled. Somewhat similar tone to Bridget Jones' diary with British slang and references. I found the strongest part of the book was the relationship between Luc and Oliver. Definitely lots of larger-than-life secondary characters as well.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sending me a complementary e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

'Boyfriend Material' by Alexis Hall is the best rom-com I have read this year so far. Luc O'Dennell is a hot mess. Being the son of two famous 80s rockstar, he is always under brutal public scrutiny and to fix his image he needs a "reputable" date. Oliver Blackwood, a barristar with high ethical values, seems to fit Luc's requirements for 'reputable fake boyfriend' perfectly, albeit having nothing in common with Luc.

This books is extremely funny, adorable, charming and heartwarming. I love Luc and Oliver - they might have made their way into my list of top 10 favourite couples. Their relationship is absolutely swoon worthy and made made my heart explode!! I honestly teared up so many time and I also laughed so much!! The dialogues were extremely funny and the characters are very well written. I also adored the supporting characters - honestly Luc and Oliver's friends are goals!!! Luc and Oliver might be highly flawed but they are perfect for each other. It was beautiful to see both of them deal with their past baggage and learn to trust each other despite of their fears. And most importantly, both characters not only fall in love with each other, but also with themselves. They learn to accept their flaws, deal with their issues, and learn to be vulnerable and communicate instead of pushing people away.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book. It was absolutely perfect right from the beginning to the end. It made me laugh and swoon and cry at the same time!!! Hands down, one of my most favourite reads of the year.

this book was charming and amazing. felt a lot like a soap opera with how much drama and deceit! i audibly gasped and genuinely loved it.

Oooooh I loved this one! A seriously witty M/M read that punched me in the feels. It’s packed with dry humour, fantastic characters and a plot that had me flipping through the pages to see what would happen next. It was my first read from this author and definitely won’t be my last.

Luc is a hot mess. The tangentially famous son of two 80's rockers, the tabloids have put his job in danger. Oliver is a buttoned up barrister in need of a date. If they pretend to date, they'll both gain what they need.

I super enjoyed this book. It's billed as a rom-com and *gasp* it's actually funny! But it's also two men confronting their issues and learning how to be better because of the other. So also very poignant. It was a book I didn't want to put down.

Many of the secondary characters are drawn quite broadly and a lot of the humor comes from the MCs bouncing off of them. It wouldn't surprise me if this has been optioned for a movie, because it reads very much like a good old romantic comedy. It's also PG-13 - while it's clear there's lust, the love scenes are not explicit and are mostly cut away from.

There's a single POV - Luc's - and at times I wanted to read from Oliver's POV, because I like a buttoned up character warring with himself over what he wants.

This is a great read, and a fun one.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If this doesn't overtake A.C. Rosen's Camp as the book of the summer, I'm going to be so mad (but not really surprised). I honestly can't even remember where I came across this, but when I did I immediately requested a copy from the publisher.* And boy, am I glad I did—it was so good.
I first read Hall's work five years ago with Waiting for the Flood and could see the potential, but never followed up on my hunch only to be blindsided by this one! I could've been reading his work this whole time and growing with him. Needless to say, I will be going back through his back catalog in the near future.
Boyfriend Material is a fake boyfriend MM romance, but written more like a young adult/teen romance/RomCom story, rather than an explicit full-on sexy romance. Protagonists Luc, the child of a c-list celebrity with a baggage cart of emotional damage, and Oliver, an on the up barrister with his own hidden issues, strike a deal to fake-date each other until after an event, and of course eventually fall madly in love with each other.
"And, as a fund-raiser, it's my job to convince people that they're better off giving their money to bugs that eat poo instead of pandas, orphans, or—God help us—comic Relief." (Chapter 3)
Clearly, I was pre-disposed to like this book because it's a MM romance set in London, but that was further solidified when I found out Luc works in nonprofit fundraising. I mean come on, if I ever write a novel nonprofits and fundraisers will be involved because that's basically my non-book life. Add in that he has no filter and is constantly beating himself up and the only place you have to go is down. And Hall somehow kept going up. It took me a while but when I finally noticed that all the What's App group conversations names were puns I just threw another star on my rating (we're at like 20 already), because they just made me laugh!
• "Queer Comes the Sun"
• "Don't Wanna Be All Bi Myself"
• "One Gay More"
• "All About That Ace"
• "'Don't Luc Back in Anger"
• "You Can Luc (But You Better Not Touch)"
• "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" (even better b/c one of Luc's friends is Bridget)
Early in the book, I was wary when Hall described each of Luc's friends individually since it came across as checking diversity boxes, but thankfully it was only once and the few things he highlighted all came back later in the novel reiterating why he mentioned them (a minor character's religion or profession). The same thing can be said when both Luc and Oliver explain what is wrong with the other one at various points in their relationship. I was like why are we writing everything out (show don't tell), but then at some point it clicked and/or Hall made it explicitly clear that they had to specifically say everything because they were learning to communicate.
"There should really be a word for the feeling you get when you do a thing you don't particularly want to do to support somebody else but then realise they didn't actually need you and nobody would have noticed if you'd stayed home in your pyjamas eating Nutella straight from the jar." (Chapter 1)
If this novel is about anything, it's about communication. Like so many other romance novels, the protagonists either don't communicate. In this instance, they don't know how because of each of their respective histories and they have to navigate the unknown (oh hey every relationship) while in the guise of making their fake relationship look real. Their communication is brutally honest at various points, and yes there is a scene in the rain with love being confessed (so. much. swoon), and in the end they obviously sort it out but not without a lot of growth on both sides.
For me, the icing on the cake for the book was the lack of sex. It's been a few days since I read it, but I'm fairly certain there was only one full on sex scene actually on the page. There were quite a few fade away to curtains floating in the window moments and frankly, it was perfect. The more of these books I read, the more I realize I want the sweet/clean romances just as much as I want the down and dirty ones. One incredibly well written encounter in a book can carry be as rewarding as one a chapter, if the characters and story are strong enough, and in Hall's case they were.
Seriously though, I kept getting echoes of McQuiston's Red, White & Royal Blue rather than any of the dozens of MM romance (tag link) novels I've read this summer. McQuiston's may have had more sex in it, but they had similar OMG why is this so perfect I HAVE TO KEEP READING moments throughout that it would be doing Hall a disservice not to compare his work to that darling of the book blogger world.
Recommendation: My response is a mess, but suffice to say this is a wonderful book and I will absolutely be reading it again in the future. Hall's writing has vastly improved since I last read his work and Luc and Oliver's story, everything about it even the family drama which is so often overdone, just worked. As I was going back to grab pull quotes for my response, my heart fluttered. And if the few pull quotes I included was enough to get my heart fluttering at the story, there's clearly something wonderful here and I can't wait to revisit it and explore the rest of Hall's work.
*I received a copy of Boyfriend Material via NetGalley in return for my honest opinion. No goods or money were exchanged.

This book this book this book this book this booooooooooooooook.

We know I love a good fake dating trope, so that was immediately alluring. By the end of the book, I was absolutely obsessed with this story and the characters. It was funny, it was heartwarming, and it just honestly had everything I ever look for in a good romance read.

Alexis Hall is a funny freaking writer and I absolutely fell in love with Luc and Oliver. By page 2 I was laughing my a** off, and couldn't stop flipping through the story. Luc, self-deprecating and sarcastic grumpy Luc, was so endearing, and his relationship with Oliver was the stuff of dreams: real, hard, and full of warmth and honesty, with a dash of sarcasm and playful joking. Luc learns to love himself through loving Oliver, and Oliver learns his worth through his relationship with Luc, and it just 100% brought me to tears. These characters were real, and I don't say that lightly. They were absolutely realistic, and raw, and it brought me so much joy (even when I was crying) to navigate this weird pseudo-relationship with them.

I would also absolutely die for Oliver Blackwood. I want to protect that boy at all costs. He had me SOBBING by the end, and while I should hate him for that, I love him too much to consider it.

Long story short: this book is hella funny, and also brought me to tears about 10 times. Read it. Fall in love with Luc and Oliver and come out the other side a better person like they both did.

⭐⭐⭐

Boyfriend Material
Alexis Hall
432 pages | Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca

Publish Date: July 7, 2020

The estranged son of a famous rock legend, Luc occasionally finds himself in the tabloids. After an unfortunate photo effects his reputation at work, he needs to prove that he can clean up his act and settle down with a responsible man. Enter fake boyfriend Oliver. Both agreeing that a fake relationship would be beneficial for their own reasons. But even though the relationship is just for appearances, things begin to feel very real, very fast.

Why is fake-dating just like, the cutest romance trope out there? It never gets old and this was no exception. Luc and Oliver were adorable and I thought they balanced each other so well.

Luc was a loveable and relatable human disaster and I was super impressed by his growth in the story. I wish we got to see more of that from Oliver too (I'm totally smitten with Oliver, I just wish we got to know him a bit earlier).

I want to be a part of Luc's friend group - they sound fab, if not a tad over the top. They, along with the various high society characters, tended to take me out of the story a bit. It as like they were all mostly caricatures of themselves. A character can just be posh - you don't need to constantly remind me what they are by over-exaggerating.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 stars!

This was a very cute rom-com. It was incredibly funny. I absolutely adored every single character and how witty they all were. Alex Twaddle KILLED me. His reactions to Luc's jokes every single day were hilariously frustrating. The characters were, for the most part, incredibly well rounded and SO personable - they literally jumped right off of the pages.

The witty banter between Luc and Oliver, Luc and Bridget, Luc and Priya, and on was other-worldly. It was funny and clever and well-thought-out, without being over the top and annoying. I found myself laughing along. Listening to this book (I did a hybrid of reading and listening) was hilarious and the narrator had awesome voices for each character.

Super small detail, but I loved how Hall included some misspellings in text messages. So insignificant and not important to the plot whatsoever, but it was a quirky little detail that made the book feel that much more real.

My only complaints with this book were that it was incredibly predictable with no "new" plotlines. I also felt like it was a little all over the place - a lot of seemingly random plot lines were started and the abruptly ended and took some of my focus away from the meat of the story.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed this one! Thanks to Netgalley, Libro.Fm, and the publisher for the ARCs of this book.