Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!

Rating: 4.5 stars
Rep: gay mc, m/m relationship, queer side characters


If you want a mash-up between "Bridget Jone's Diary" and "Red, White and Royal Blue", look no further! "Boyrfriend Material" was a fun rom-com with the best bit of British Humour, I honestly couldn't stop laughing throughout and this has now taken a place in one on my favorite romance books of all time!

Oliver was literally Mark Darcy 2.0 and no one can convince me otherwise. I loved Lucien and Oliver's gradual relationship from slight enemies to fake dating to friends to lovers. I was rooting from them right from the get-go! All the side characters were so well written and absolutely hilarious! I liked Alex and Priya the best.

Another thing I loved was that this book wasn't all fun and games. There was angst and sad times too, both Oliver and Luc don't have the best family situations and the way they connected over that was very realistic and sweet. While this book is over 400 pages long, it was action-packed and I was never bored for a second!

Overall, I highly recommend this rom-com to everyone that likes banter, British humour and fake dating! I can't wait to read more by this author in the future.

5 hilarious and wonderfully entertaining stars!

Oh, I loved this book! A witty, intelligent, delightfully entertaining m/m opposites-attract romantic comedy with a fake relationship setup and a fantastic duo of flawed but fabulous heroes that you cannot help but cheer for. I read it in a day, absolutely captivated from start to finish, and enjoyed every moment!

Lucien (Luc) O’Donnell is an absolute hot mess. The son of now-almost-forgotten 80s rockstars, he is a sort-of-celebrity whose life is splashed across the tabloids, creating a self-perpetuating cycle of questionable behaviour as he gets closer and closer to rock bottom. He’s pretty much there when his work with a local charity tells him he needs to improve his public image by entering into a suitable, stable relationship.

He is set up by a friend with snooty, serious barrister, Oliver Blackwood. They have met before, but it didn’t really go well, and neither of them think too highly of the other. But a temporary fake relationship also suits Oliver’s needs, so they agree to spend time together – both in and out of the public eye – to make their relationship look as real as possible until they go their separate ways.

“Explain to me again,” said Oliver finally, “why you need a boyfriend?”
It was the least I owed him. “Mainly for this big fundraiser we’ve got coming up at the end of April. Our donors all think I’m a bad gay.”
He frowned. “What’s a good gay?”
“Someone like you.”
“I see.”

OMG, I love these two boys! They are so well developed, as different as can be, and watching them bicker, argue and tease is so much fun!

“You know you’re wearing pyjamas wrong, right?”
He didn’t look up. “Oh?”
“Yeah, you’re supposed to just wear the bottoms, and have them hanging low on your hips, displaying your perfectly chiselled V-cut.”
“Maybe next time.”
I thought about this for a moment. “Are you saying you have a perfectly chiselled v-cut?”
“I’m not sure that’s any of your business.”
“What if someone asks? I should know for verisimilitude.”
The corners of his mouth twitched slightly. “You can say I’m a gentleman and we haven’t got that far.”
“You” – I gave a thwarted sigh – “are a terrible fake boyfriend.”
“I’m building fake anticipation.”
“You’d better be fake worth it.”
“I am.”

I love their snappy dialogue and their text conversations are a real treat. But underneath it all, they both have their vulnerabilities, characterised by sweetly tender moments and adorably endearing awkwardness.

"I miss you.
Sorry. Was that too much?
I know it’s only been a few days.
Maybe this is why people don’t want to go out with me.
Not that you’re really going out with me anyway.
I hope I didn’t sound presumptuous.
I’m probably sounding really weird now.
I’m assuming you’re not texting back because you’re still asleep. Not because you think I’m disgustingly clingy.
If you’re awake and think I’m disgustingly clingy, could you at least tell me.
Right. You’re probably asleep.
And now you’re going to wake up and read all this and I’m going to die of embarrassment.
Sorry."

And as they get to know each other, they begin to understand each other, and of course things start to change. They form a connection which sparks change in both of their lives, and watching them slowly evolve was just gorgeous! There are, understandably, some anxieties there, but they just go with it, which I loved, and the slow burn of their relationship plays out beautifully!

“I don’t want fine. Fine isn’t enough. Isn’t not about the open fire or whatever other clichés you can conjure up, but yes, I want a connection. I want you to care as much as I care. I want you to need it and want it and mean it. I want it to matter.”

And the love story is so lovely. It’s sweet and funny with great chemistry, and these two guys genuinely care for each other. They are thoughtful and kind with each other, but still with this sense of fun and playfulness, and seeing them together seriously gave me happy tingles! There is intimacy, but there are no actual sex scenes, so if you’re new to the m/m genre, this is a pretty tame one to start with.

"These weren’t just yeah whatever kisses. They weren’t take it or leave it, get your coat you’ve pulled kisses. They were everything I thought I could never have, everything I’d been pretending I never wanted, telling me that I was worth it, that he’d be there for me and put up with me and wouldn’t let me drive him away.
Oliver Blackwood was giving all that to me, and I was giving it right back."

The book is written entirely from Luc’s perspective, and though we get a really good sense of Oliver (who I adore), I loved that we got to experience everything through Luc. He is such a disaster, and he has created a disaster of his life, and as much as this is a love story, he also has other issues that he needs to work through and I loved that we get to see him deal with his problems, work to get himself out of his funk and get his life back on track.

And then there’s the fantastic crew of supporting characters. Luc’s friends and colleagues are a fantastically developed group of weird and wonderful personalities – all very realistic (some of them scarily so) – that add so much to the story. From the bland and truly idiotic to the devastatingly selfish, the lovingly devoted and everything in between. Watching Luc’s interactions with the people in his life is a real highlight of the book.

"Mum patted him reassuringly. “Oh, Oliver … I am sure you are one of the best gays.”
I glanced back to find Oliver looking faintly flustered. “Mum, stop ranking homosexuals. It doesn’t work like that.”

If you’re a fan of wonderfully character-driven English comedy movies Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill, you’ll love this book. So many times while reading, I thought of those movies with their imperfect characters and diverse and quirky friend groups, and then all of those fantastic British-isms that add so much charm. This book is an experience that sucks you in and doesn’t let go until the final pages.

There is a bit of drama to bring the emotion, but mostly this is an angst-free read that made me smile, laugh out loud and fall in love, and I just adored it!

5 stars!

Before reading this, I'd seen someone, somewhere, compare Boyfriend Material to Red, White & Royal Blue and thought "pft, that seems like a stretch", but, and I'm saying this as someone who loved RWRB, the comparison holds. Sure it's a bit predictable, but it's such a sweet, romantic story sprinkled with heaps and heaps of humour, and exactly the kind of joy I needed to get me through lockdown, so we're letting it be predictable and sweet and delightful and we will still love it.

Luc is not necessarily your usual lovable MC, but he's real, and funny, and immature, and annoying, and exactly the right type for this story. Oliver is too mature and the complete opposite of Luc and exactly the right type for this story, too. It's definitely a character-driven story, and there's so much growth from both Luc and Oliver and I could gush about them forever but nobody's reading this anymore so I shan't. Know that they are delightful.

To round this off, I'd just like to mention that this book is utterly hilarious and had me actually cackling (and crying) in public. I'll just leave this bit from my initial "i-just-finished-reading-this pre-review review":

rtc (but i have 44 highlights, mostly of things that made me cackle (once or twice literally cry with laughter, don't judge me) and/or made me squeak with how precious it was, and i didn't realise i should be highlighting these things until around 22% in, so, that's a fifth of the book i haven't highlighted the funnies in and i'm still at 44 so in conclusion this is a hecking funny book (it is also the cutest thing and i have been given life))

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

‘I came to him like I thought I’d never come to anyone – forgetting to hold back in the need to make him feel as safe and cherished and as special as he made me. I held him, and he clung to me, and we moved together….’

We loved this book!! You know those cartoons where they have love hearts coming out of their eyes? Well, that’s how we felt reading Boyfriend Material! Our hearts were positively bursting! We laughed, we swooned, and we fell in love with two vastly different guys, Luc, and Oliver!

‘I’m not as strong as you think I am.”
“This isn’t about strength, it’s about who you’re choosing to make you happy.”

This is our first book by Alexis Hall and now we want more because we loved absolutely everything about this story! A fake relationship, two beautiful men, a sort of enemies to lovers thrown into the mix, and the writing! OMG! We relished Alexis Hall’s writing style. The flair, the wit, the warmth, passion and romance….ohhh, it was all exactly what the book doctor ordered! What a fabulous feelgood story! These two guys completely stole our hearts!

“You are many things, Lucien. But you could never be average.”

After one negative tabloid story too many, Lucien (Luc) O’Donnell, has to smarten up his act or risk his job at a fundraiser working alongside some eccentric and laugh out loud funny workmates for a charity that ensures the future of the dung beetle. Whilst it’s not the job of his dreams, it’s one he wants to hold onto, but with the negative press putting his donors and his boss offside, Luc needs to attract good publicity, and he’s been burned by people selling their stories about him to the press.

“It’s just easier to push people away than watch them leave.”

The chronicling of Luc’s indiscretions in the tabloids is courtesy of his rock star father, Jon Fleming who is on the cusp of making a comeback. Luc’s father walked out on him and his mother, who Luc has a fantastic and hilarious relationship with when Luc was 3, and he’s not too thrilled at to have his father reappear in his life. It’s decided Luc needs a fake boyfriend, one who will spin a good story, bringing the donors back into favour and loosening up their purse strings. But can he pull it off?

‘I’m a criminal barrister. Most people think we’re the scum of the earth.”
“- and I’m the disgraced son of a disgraced rock star. I’m unnecessarily mean. And make terrible decisions.”

Luc’s publicist friend Bridget has just the man! Enter Oliver Blackwood, a 30 year old hot, stable, single and a successful criminal barrister. Although Luc and Oliver’s path had unsuccessfully crossed in the past, they both agree to a fake relationship which will benefit them both.

“Are we really bad at this? I asked. “We’ve been fake dating for three days and we’ve already fake broken up once.”
“Yes, but we fake resolved our difficulties and fake got back together, and I’m hoping is made us fake stronger.”

That’s all rather simplifying the story because experiencing the emotions between Luc and Oliver will fill your heart, the banter between Luc, Oliver and their eccentric friends is a laugh out loud delight! The puns between Luc and his workmates Rhys and Alex will have you in stitches! The relationship between Luc and Mum is hilariously warm and yet, amongst an amusing, sweet and entertaining story, Alexis Hall manages to wonderfully explore the complexities of family relationships.

‘He smiled. Oliver Blackwood was smiling. At me. For me. Because of me…’

We dare, no, we double dare you to not be as swept up in this deliciously funny, heart-warmingly sweet and in its own way, meaningful and poignant story. The characteristics of Luc and Oliver were brought to life in a story of love, trust and taking chances, and a story we never wanted to end.

“He’s the best boyfriend I’ve ever had.”
“That,” offered Priya, “is because you’re a titanic romantic disaster with incredibly low standards.”

‘I came to him like I thought I’d never come to anyone – forgetting to hold back in the need to make him feel as safe and cherished and as special as he made me. I held him, and he clung to me, and we moved together….’

We loved this book!! You know those cartoons where they have love hearts coming out of their eyes? Well, that’s how we felt reading Boyfriend Material! Our hearts were positively bursting! We laughed, we swooned, and we fell in love with two vastly different guys, Luc, and Oliver!

‘I’m not as strong as you think I am.”
“This isn’t about strength, it’s about who you’re choosing to make you happy.”

This is our first book by Alexis Hall and now we want more because we loved absolutely everything about this story! A fake relationship, two beautiful men, a sort of enemies to lovers thrown into the mix, and the writing! OMG! We relished Alexis Hall’s writing style. The flair, the wit, the warmth, passion and romance….ohhh, it was all exactly what the book doctor ordered! What a fabulous feelgood story! These two guys completely stole our hearts!

“You are many things, Lucien. But you could never be average.”

After one negative tabloid story too many, Lucien (Luc) O’Donnell, has to smarten up his act or risk his job at a fundraiser working alongside some eccentric and laugh out loud funny workmates for a charity that ensures the future of the dung beetle. Whilst it’s not the job of his dreams, it’s one he wants to hold onto, but with the negative press putting his donors and his boss offside, Luc needs to attract good publicity, and he’s been burned by people selling their stories about him to the press.

“It’s just easier to push people away than watch them leave.”

The chronicling of Luc’s indiscretions in the tabloids is courtesy of his rock star father, Jon Fleming who is on the cusp of making a comeback. Luc’s father walked out on him and his mother, who Luc has a fantastic and hilarious relationship with when Luc was 3, and he’s not too thrilled at to have his father reappear in his life. It’s decided Luc needs a fake boyfriend, one who will spin a good story, bringing the donors back into favour and loosening up their purse strings. But can he pull it off?

‘I’m a criminal barrister. Most people think we’re the scum of the earth.”
“- and I’m the disgraced son of a disgraced rock star. I’m unnecessarily mean. And make terrible decisions.”

Luc’s publicist friend Bridget has just the man! Enter Oliver Blackwood, a 30 year old hot, stable, single and a successful criminal barrister. Although Luc and Oliver’s path had unsuccessfully crossed in the past, they both agree to a fake relationship which will benefit them both.

“Are we really bad at this? I asked. “We’ve been fake dating for three days and we’ve already fake broken up once.”
“Yes, but we fake resolved our difficulties and fake got back together, and I’m hoping is made us fake stronger.”

That’s all rather simplifying the story because experiencing the emotions between Luc and Oliver will fill your heart, the banter between Luc, Oliver and their eccentric friends is a laugh out loud delight! The puns between Luc and his workmates Rhys and Alex will have you in stitches! The relationship between Luc and Mum is hilariously warm and yet, amongst an amusing, sweet and entertaining story, Alexis Hall manages to wonderfully explore the complexities of family relationships.

‘He smiled. Oliver Blackwood was smiling. At me. For me. Because of me…’

We dare, no, we double dare you to not be as swept up in this deliciously funny, heart-warmingly sweet and in its own way, meaningful and poignant story. The characteristics of Luc and Oliver were brought to life in a story of love, trust and taking chances, and a story we never wanted to end.

“He’s the best boyfriend I’ve ever had.”
“That,” offered Priya, “is because you’re a titanic romantic disaster with incredibly low standards.”

Alexis Hall’s Boyfriend Material is quite possibly the best romantic comedy I’ve ever read. Almost every page produced a smile, a grin, a snort or a full-out belly-laugh – and I honestly can’t remember the last time I read a book that produced full on giggling of the sort that made my family members give me funny looks.

I love a good fake-relationship story and this is a VERY good one. The premise is nothing new; our PoV character Lucien – Luc – O’Donnell has appeared in one-too-many embarrassing photos in the press and is told to clean up his image or be fired from his job. But Alexis Hall turns this commonly used plotline into something special; yes, it’s frequently hilarious, but it’s also charming, touching, awkward, sharply observant and refreshingly self-deprecating, as is evident right from the start in the way the author pokes fun at the premise itself by having Luc working for a charity dedicated to the preservation of the dung-beetle, whose name, in acronym form, is CRAPP.

Turns out, the one thing worse than having a famous father who blew up his career like a champagne supernova is having a famous father who’s making a fucking comeback.

Twenty-eight year-old Luc is the son of a famous rock-star couple whose dad abandoned both Luc and his mother when Luc was just three years old. For much of his life he’s been constantly compared to his reckless, self- destructive absentee father in the media, the slightest infraction or cock-up on his part inevitably leading to smug ‘like father, like son’ pronouncements, but he learned to live with it (mostly). Five years before the book opens, Luc’s long-term boyfriend sold his story to the tabloids for fifty grand, which sent him into a downward spiral that, for a while, served only to reinforce people’s worst assumptions about him. Now, he’s a mass of insecurities, a cagey, grumpy, paranoid mess with serious trust and self-esteem issues who has made an art form out of pushing people away.

Because somewhere along the line, I’d turned getting ahead of the story into a lifestyle.

With his father making a comeback as a judge on a reality TV show, Luc is once again fair game as far as the paparazzi is concerned. So when a perfectly innocuous photo of him appears in a tabloid complete with sensationalist byline, Luc’s stuffy boss at the Coleoptera Research and Protection Project (CRAPP), worried about losing donors over his reported antics, gives him an ultimatum. Repair his reputation or he’s out of a job. Luc has no idea how to do this – until a colleague (with the wonderfully unlikely name of Alex Twaddle – seriously, many of the names in this book are Dickensian in their ridiculousness!) suggests he should get himself an appropriate boyfriend to be seen around with and then take to the upcoming CRAPP fundraiser.

Which is how come Luc ends up agreeing to go on a not-date with the terribly proper, uptight barrister Oliver Blackwood. They have absolutely nothing in common other than the need to have a plus-one to take to an upcoming event – Luc’s fundraiser and Oliver’s parents’ anniversary – so they agree to be publicity-friendly fake-boyfriends for a few weeks, then have a fake-break-up and pretend it never happened. No problem.

Well, it should be no problem, but as their fake-relationship progresses and Luc starts to get to know Oliver, he begins to realise that behind the serious, fussy, perfectly-presented exterior is a man he could come to like very much – for real.

Luc is pretty self-absorbed, but given his circumstances, it’s not too surprising; he’s famous-by-association and has lived under some sort of spotlight for much of his life. When other kids were getting drunk or stoned at parties nobody batted an eyelid, but when he did it, it made its way into the papers with copy about his being a ‘wild child’ or ‘his father’s son’. He’s short-tempered, sharp-tongued and has a talent for saying the wrong thing, but he’s endearing and vulnerable, despite his outward prickliness, and I loved watching him gradually coming to accept that he was worth loving and deserved to have good things in his life.

And Oliver, while seemingly Luc’s total opposite is absolutely perfect for him. He’s a bit stuffy – although as Luc discovers, has a very dry sense of humour – and is sometimes a bit preachy, but it all comes from a good place and there’s something about him that is completely and utterly charming. He’s had lots of boyfriends, but no relationship has lasted, something Oliver himself puts down to his being boring. To start with, Luc is inclined to agree, but soon starts to wonder. Oliver may be a bit uptight, but he’s also kind, considerate and intuitive (plus, he’s seriously hot) – so how come he’s never had a relationship last more than six months?

Luc and Oliver’s romance is beautifully written and well-paced, and is full of snark, tenderness and genuine affection. From their very first fake-date, the chemistry between them sings, and their gradual progression from fake boyfriends to ‘um… this doesn’t feel fake any more’ is extremely well done. The story is related entirely from Luc’s PoV, but Mr. Hall does a great job of bringing Oliver to life through his eyes, and showing the reader things that Luc sees but doesn’t SEE. Luc is so caught up in his own problems that he fails to see that Oliver is just as screwed up and insecure in many ways as he is – and I appreciated that part of Luc’s journey towards being a little less hard on himself was in learning to recognise when others – notably Oliver – were struggling, too.

He’d helped me see that my life was better than I’d thought it was… that I was better than I’d thought I was.

The sub-plot concerning Luc’s conflicting emotions about his father – who has discovered he has cancer – is really well done, and Luc’s circle of friends – their WhatsApp group variously titled “Queer Comes the Sun”, “One Gay More” and “All About That Ace” – are a bonkers, quirky bunch who clearly adore each other and wouldn’t be out of place in a Richard Curtis film.

Luc and Oliver light up the pages whenever they’re together and while Mr. Hall’s trademark humour and love of pop-culture are very much present throughout, there’s a more serious, emotional side to the book, too, a story about self-worth and acceptance and the need to be true to oneself. Romantic, funny, silly, messy, tropey and completely wonderful, Boyfriend Material is easily one of the best books I’ve read this year. I was captivated from start to finish and I’m sure you will be, too.

This book just gives you ALL the happy, gleeful smiles and we were living for it.

Also, I don't know if this reflects badly on my sleeping habits but I did stay up until 4.30am reading because I was so enchanted by this book.

First of all, I ADORED the audiobook narration and it's what honestly made the experience for me. I loved all the voices the narrator did for each character and the way they brought Luc's character to life. I read along with my ebook for a little while and I loved doing it like that. It literally was like watching a movie and I was just living my best life

The writing was so really great and is PACKED with witty lines. We all know how I'm a sucker for banter and it didn't disappoint. I loved the setting and how I was transported to London. Very nostalgic.

But the best part was the characters. They're all so well-written and three-dimensional. Luc was, I think, my favourite. He's the literal definition and embodiment of disaster gay™ and,,, needs protection at all costs. And also a slap across the face. He just word vomits everywhere and can't control his emotions and I ADORED him. Oliver was also a sweetheart. But also needed a slap across the face. He's an anxious bean with posh family issues. They're the best kind if we're being honest.

The side-characters were also just a TREAT. Luc's mother was my favourite, especially her voice. (Pssst listen to the audiobook). But his friends and Oliver's friends as well.

The family dynamics... oof so complicated. But made the story so complex and, frankly, interesting. Even though they suck. Truly. We're talking about Luc's father as well as Oliver's parents. The freaking WORST. Honestly.

And that romance. All the giddy feels. I loved their inside jokes and just the way they interacted and... worked. As I mentioned, both these idiots are messed up but they're messed up together, you know? They were a tad dramatic near the end, but that was expected tbh, it's an adult romance.

My only complaint is that I think the story was missing something. I'm not entirely sure what yet, just an element to perhaps add more tension or maybe the tension could've been heightened? So it did drag a bit at times. Still nonetheless enjoyed but there was just that one thing, you know?

Also, I wanted to touch on the humour in this book. The author is genderqueer, but a lot of the side characters that were never taken as acceptable, did make some offensive homophobic jokes, which could be triggering. Just wanted to warn everyone. Whilst we're on the topic, trigger warnings for emotional abuse, cancer and possible eating disorder.

This book was *clenches fists* just so lovely.

I need an epilogue. Please and thank you. Akjhjsgad I LOVED THIS BOOK!! ALL THE HAPPY, GIDDY, GRINNING FEELS!!!!

This book was highly entertaining. Luc and Oliver are genuinely hilarious in their interactions. Luc is so dramatic, but sometimes I like the over dramatic characters. And in Luc’s defense he’s aware of this characteristic and he does get better over the course of the book. I love when we can see a character grow and develop and Luc’s development felt so realistic. Boyfriend Material touched on quite a few other things: friends, families, work place shenanigans. I loved each of their friend groups and the scenes with them in it were so funny.

Oliver and Luc were such a great pair to read. They were fun, flirty, and I really liked seeing their relationship go from fake to real after quite a few pit stops. They each see the worst parts of each other and of each other’s families and still want to be with each other. Which really hit the great romance nail on the head.

My only issues are that for a long minute there at the end I thought we weren’t going to get a happy ending and that was stressful for me. And that I wish desperately that this was written in dual POV. There were SO MANY scenes where I really wanted inside Oliver’s head.

Overall, this was a lot of fun and I definitely recommend to romance readers.

This book had me laughing out loud from the very start! I can’t remember a book that I have read (not a comedy) that had me laughing as much as Luc’s and Oliver had me laughing. Their back and forth conversations, Luc;s inner dialogue and the comical situations he gets himself into made this romance an absolute riot to read.

I have been over stressed with life and dramatic love stories for a while now, so Boyfriend Material was a welcome change.

This story sets up with Luc, the abandoned son of a British rock legend trying to reform his image after another unflattering run-in with the paps. Solution: a squeaky clean boyfriend to redeem with tarnished image. Insteps Oliver. He’s a barrister and almost OCD with his cleanliness and professionalism. If anyone can shine a light on Luc, its Oliver. They go on a disastrous first date, but since they both need this relationship to prove a point in the future, they decide to fake date. Hilarity ensues.

These two don’t know how to be in a real relationship, so obviously their fake relationships has just as many ups and downs… until they can’t tell if the feelings they are feeling are real.

Luc and Oliver were an adorable odd couple and their pairing had the same comedic genius. Their going attachment and love was fun to watch develop and root for.

Right now we can all use a little fun in our romance and this book definitely was fun. I highly recommend this book!

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall is scheduled to be released July 7th, 2020.

I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from Sourcebooks Casablanca through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a DNF for me. I loved the premise of this book was not engaged at all. At about 45%, I stopped. Luc was an incredibly unlikeable character and I felt like I was supposed to feel sorry for him, but I just couldn’t. I was also quite confused during large chunks that I just could not follow. On top of ghat, luc and Oliver did not seem to have any chemistry to me so I was not rooting for them.

I loved this book so much. It was funny and cute and quirky and I could not put it down.

Luc is the son of a has-been rockstar, making him slightly famous and a favourite of the London paparazzi. When Luc resurfaces in the tabloids as an out of control druggy party boy, he becomes in danger of losing his job. There’s only one thing that can be done, find a fake boyfriend who is perfect in every way and can help clean up Luc’s party boy image. Olivier is perfect boyfriend material, he’s an ethical vegetarian and Barrister and most importantly is willing to pretend to be Luc’s boyfriend as long as he joins him at his parents ruby anniversary. The problem is, when you’re pretending to be in love with someone how do you stop from actually falling in love with them?
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This was a 4.5 star read for me. The writing is excellent, the humour is hilarious, the romance is steamy and the characters were perfect. I can not recommend this book enough and is definitely one of my new favourite rom-coms!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for this review arc.

Luc and Oliver were wonderful characters and I just loved seeing their fake relationship evolve into something all too real. I enjoyed the humor and banter between them, this was a very fun story with one of my favorite tropes and I enjoyed every page.

*I voluntarily reviewed an copy of this book provided by NetGalley*

This is my kind of guilty pleasure read/audio. Humor, connection and a good bit of quirky to round it out. This is my first Alexis Hall book and he did not disappoint. Even though this is more on the fun, flirty and typical plot progress of a romance read there are some well-rounded topics of family acceptance, love and personal growth.

Luc is your wayward, just making it through type character and Oliver is the picturesque success who appears to have it all together. The beautiful trope of opposites attracting. I adored the character banter and even the side characters (Luc’s mother is just hilarious perfection). This was the perfect change of pace from the more serious novels I have been reading lately. If you haven’t found the joy of romcom yet I definitely recommend giving it a go.

I had the ability to listen to and read this novel. I highly recommend either version. The narration was well done and I appreciated the cadence and changes in voice that stayed true throughout the novel for each character. Thank you to Alexis Hall, Libro.fm, NetGalley, Dreamscape Media LLC. and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the opportunity to listen to and read this novel. All thoughts are solely my own.

Just when I'd thought the fake dating trope had been beaten to death, here comes Alexis Hall to breathe a fresh and charming breath of life into it.
It's amazing how not being afraid to really go into the emotions of a character can have such a positive effect on making the development of characters and the plot flow in such an organic way.
Luc O'Donnell is, at first, not a very likable guy. Then you get to know more about him and the sad situation he finds himself in and you just have to root for him to have a happy ending. Oliver Blackwood seems to be the ideal stiff-upper-lip, middle-class English lawyer of everyone dreams-- and he mostly is, but one thing that Hall excels at is depth and Oliver is one of the best-developed romance heroes I've read in a while. The time they're together results in some of the loveliest, most charming scenes I've read in ages.
Add in a host of unique characters and some very British snark and sarcasm and you have all the ingredients one needs to make romance magic.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for granting my wish to read it early.

Listen, I am always ALWAYS game for a posh British boy with repressed emotional issues from a lifetime of dealing with tactless and emotionally stunted parents, who uses fancy words and habitually wears suits, being slapped together with someone who is a hot mess in every way and barely has their life together enough to dress themselves in the morning, and the insane amounts of sexual chemistry that always stirs up. Naturally, this book checked all of those boxes.

I had issues with the pacing of this book, and while I loved Oliver and Luc, there were times when their reactions and interactions didn't feel appropriate to where they were in their relationship. I thought that it would have been beneficial to introduce more of Oliver's personality and issues earlier in the story to help really build his character. And the ending was a bit too abrupt for me. But honestly, my picky little issues with the book were far overshadowed by the sweet love story and most of all, the humour.

The writing is the best part of this book - its fresh, funny, and really authentic. I mean, how many authors can throw in a Rupert Bear reference (yes, I am still obsessed with the Rupert Bear reference) and have it make complete sense. And I think some of my favourite parts were Alex the work colleague being completely and utterly oblivious to the punchlines of Luc's jokes and Luc just being like, how can someone be so clueless and why do I bother but you know I'm going to have a new joke tomorrow anyway. Classic.

Basically, I can picture this exact movie in my head in 90s rom-com style with Hugh Grant and Colin Firth playing the leads and probably a weird ass cameo by Bill Nighy (Rhys, perhaps?) and that's really the highest compliment I can pay.

Thank you Source Books Casablanca and Netgalley for the gifted copy.

We've all read this trope before - fake dating turns into real love. But I bet you never read it quite like this. Luc is the son of rock stars, a hot mess, and needs to improve his image to keep his job. Oliver is an ethical vegetarian lawyer that needs a date for a family party. They don't like each other, but between Luc's sass and Oliver's seriousness, something clicks and they end up being the most adorable pair ever.

The best thing about this book? Or I guess the two best things? 1) It's LGBTQIA+ and 2) the English humor is on point. I snort laughed several times while reading.

Both characters are flawed which offers plenty of opportunities for a bit of angst and personal growth.

I definitely recommend this one to any fans of rom coms!

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

British contemporary M-M romantic comedy. New adult attitudes.
Lucien: Late 20’s, moody, insecure and still dealing with abandonment issues.
“You’ve been through a lot today,” he [friend] said. “There’s no need to diminish it.”
“Yeah but if I don’t diminish things I have to face them at their normal size, and that’s horrible.”

Oliver: a barrister, and fit vegetarian. Smart but failing at long term relationships.

A mutual friend puts the two together and they agree to have a fake romance for specific professional reasons. They soon find themselves enamored with each other but finding their way slowly as they get to know each other.

Some great humor via texting between Lucien, Oliver and Bridget.
The enjoyment was in the friends being supportive multiple times throughout the story. And of course, it’s a romance so we know it ends well. But it’s torture until it happens although Lucien surprised me with his maturity at the end.

If I hadn’t made a commitment to read this, I would have quit at 25%. Several times over. But so many people said how much they loved the book, so I continued.
I don’t know why anyone likes Lucien, much less his friends. He’s mean, rude and self centered.
So saying, he eventually does straighten up and eventually Lucien and Oliver make an adorable couple.
In the end it was too much angst for me and not enough charm.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.

This was one of the best books I’ve read this year so far. Totally adorable, sweet when it needed to be, heart wrenching at times, and often absolutely hilarious.

This is the story of Luc O’Donnell, who is the son of a famous rock star from the 80s who spent much of the time between the 80s and the present in and out of rehab. Luc’s never met his father, but now that his dad is making an epic comeback on reality television, Luc is getting more and more press, and his public image is starting to go down the toilet. If he doesn’t find a nice, respectable boyfriend to bring to a work event to prove that he’s not the disaster that the press paints him as, he’s going to lose his job.

Cue Oliver Blackwood. He’s handsome, single, a lawyer, a vegetarian, and is also in need of a plus one to an important event. So, they make a deal. They’ll be fake boyfriends until each event is over, and then they can go their separate ways.

These guys are adorable idiots and I would fight a feral tiger for them. We get this story from Luc’s point of view, and so we get to know him a bit better than Oliver. Luc is a bit of a dick (okay, more than a bit) but he’s been through some rough stuff over the last few years, and being dickish seems to be a shield he uses. Because it’s told in the first person, we see Luc during a lot of his more vulnerable moments, and so it was very easy to latch on and want all the best for him.

The relationship between Luc and Oliver was a nice slow burn, and reached levels of adorableness that may yet be unmeasurable. As I said though, these guys are adorable idiots, and so there is plenty of idiocy from both sides when it comes to how a healthy relationship (fake or otherwise) works. Enter the heart-wrenching bits. But despite idiocy on both sides, both characters grow in wonderful ways due to the influence of the other. The last 15% or so of this one did me a solid kick in the feels, in a way that made the ending itself even better.

All told, a lot of this book reminded me of Bridget Jones’ Diary, only gayer, and I was all the way here for it. There’s even a character named Bridget, and I want to believe that was on purpose. I loved every second of it.

This was everything I could've wanted from a m/m romance this summer! The characters were equal parts silly and stuck-up, funny and heartrending. I especially relished the slight twist on the fake dating trope, because it wasn't what I wasn't expecting. I'd definitely recommend this one to other romance lovers, to fans of Red, White, and Royal Blue, especially.

3.5 stars

(Full review on Goodreads and my blog)

When I saw the cover of this book I fell in love with it because it hassuch a beautiful cover and there is this super suggestive title, it was inevitable I needed to read it, when I read the synopsis I just confirmed that I would definitely read this book no matter what. How happy I fell when I got an ARC from Netgalley. I loved getting to know Alexis' writing, this was my first contact with her work and I loved how the whole development of the book is very well written, making the reading fluid, fun and engaging. I couldn't have been more satisfied with what I found in that book.

Luc went through strong disappointments in his life and sometimes it is very difficult to deal with them, he ended up becoming a resentful person who doesn’t easily trust people, self-destructive, self-deprecating and lonely, all for fear of suffering again. I loved Lucien, he is the type of character that we want to caring and say to him how wonderful he is, that he isn't a fucked up, that bad things happen, but he isn't just what happened bad in his life. Oliver is supportive, handsome, intelligent, with an established career and loves what he does, understanding and has many other adjectives that I could quote, but what cost to him to be so perfect? Oliver is a charm, he is really a boyfriend material, but, he is a person like any other and like the others he has his difficulties and problems, I loved Oliver for his qualities, but also for his difficulties and problems.

I liked the way the book shows that we all have problems, but we don't have to deal with them alone, that we can and should accept help. The importance of having good and true friendships and how they will always be your rock and that regardless of the experience family isn’t perfect, and relationships are difficult but they are worthwhile regardless of the duration.

I really loved this book, I laughed out loud, got anxious about what was going to happen, got happy when something went right, got upset when something went wrong and let's not mention how much I loved the secondary characters, but more than anything, I wished too much for Lucien and Oliver happen because the chemistry that they has was palpable and very intense, even though they are totally different people. I finished the reading and felt a little sad, the truth is that I didn't want the book to end, I wanted to keep reading more and more about Luc and Oliver, I don't know if I'll be able to get over this book anytime soon, I didn't read anything so good a while.