Love love this book.
Fake dating, check
Humor, check
Amazing circle of friends, check
Mother/Son close relationship, check
Loveable fun characters, check,
Drag Race references, check.

Many thanks to sourcebooks for the eARC for an honest review. Other than Lucien's low self esteem shenanigans, i loved and adored this book. Quick read and fun.

Coming 7/07/2020

I had some struggles getting into this book, I do take partly the blame for that as I didn't read the synopsis when I started this book so when a guy with instant chemistry was introduced in chapter one, I had already some set expectations. That's the reason I struggled through the first chapters, waiting for this character to show up again.

I did leave the book for a day or two, and when I got back to it the following day I read it entirely in one evening... I was so immersed in the story and these characters. Both Luc and Oliver are such complex characters with a interesting group of friends and family members. This definitely was not some superficial gay love story. It dealt with a lot of hardhitting issues every person might deal with at some point in their lives. Their insecurities and general disfunction in relationships was, sadly, very recognizable and that's a big part of what I loved about this book.

The chemistry and banter between the two lead characters was phenomenal. It made me all soft and gooey inside. I guess that's okay....

I received a free ecopy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

Actual rating: 4.5 (rounded up)

A thousand thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

You guys... yoU GUYS!!! I didn’t think I’d give a book a five star rating ever again (technically, this is 4.5, but who gives a good gosh darn?), but here came Alexis Hall’s Boyfriend Material to simultaneously rip me from my reading slump, and reinvigorate my literary LIFE!

This story was... I don’t really know—but it was exactly what I needed at the moment. It’s cute (but not so cute I died of diabetic shock), it’s funny (like, actually funny), decently angst-y, and overall charming. Does it makes sense that I enjoyed this immensely more because it was set in Britain, and not America? Actually, don’t answer that. I’m just going to go with: “Yes, Kyle. It makes perfect sense!”

This is what Red, White & Royal Blue SHOULD HAVE BEEN! The writing is LOADS better, the characters are LEAPS-AND-BOUNDS more interesting, fleshed-out, and far less ANNOYING AS HELL. The truth is, Boyfriend Material is actually realistically humorous, sincere, and endearing, whereas RW&RB is disingenuous, juvenile, and arrogant (yes, I say a book can be arrogant!).

Ya know, I generally cringe whenever someone says a book was “un-putdownable,” but here and now I’m going to straight up eat my words, because this book was 100% un-putdownable! I started reading around 1AM, and I literally had to force myself to put it down when I saw the light of Dawn blooming beyond my curtains (which—completely unrelated—were advertised as “blackout curtains,” and I dispiritingly discovered blacked zip nada zilch out).

I don’t often connect with—or even read, for that matter—“RomCom’s,” but this one just WORKS. Thank you, Alexis Hall! Thank you thank you thank you for this book.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I love Alexis Hall and his tendency to write all over the spectrum in terms of genre, so I was hyped for his take on the rom-com trend, especially since I don’t tend to associate humor with his books. But consider this yet another genre he’s conquered and made his own, because I love it.

For one, this romantic comedy is actually funny, but in that snarky British way that I love and was feeling the lack of in the romance genre as a whole. In her review; KJ Charles compared it to the style of Richard Curtis, but “more diverse,” and I have to agree.

The story is told solely through Luc’s perspective, and I love his commentary about all the shenanigans of the plot. And while Luc’s not objectively the most likable person (in fact, sometimes he can be insufferable), I liked following his growth as he navigated his complex emotions with the issues he was dealing with and became a better person through spending time with Oliver.

Oliver is really sweet. While it takes some time to get to know him, given that Luc is so wrapped in himself, I loved the revelations about what a good person he was and his true self. While I would have liked chapters from his perspective as well, I think the aspect of not knowing him until Luc did helped with the anticipation.

This book is a lot of fun, and serves as a much-needed mood-lifter in our state of continued uncertainty. If you love rom-coms, and have been looking for more featuring LGBTQ+ characters, I recommend this one highly.

Welcome to this ARC review,
Disclaimer (as per usual) I received an ARC of this book but it does not affect my opinion of this book.

Boyfriend material was exactly what I needed after dabbling in a couple fantasy worlds both in fanfictions, books, movies and video games. I really enjoy Alexis Hall's writing, as I had read another work by this author previously, so I went into this read pretty confident that I would enjoy it. And surprise, surprise, I did. It was everything I needed after hours of long exams, fluffy cute and romantic, not to say that it did not make my eyes water because I was laughing too loud (as this book was hilarious and filled with british humour) and because of all the FEELS I was feeling.
The story line in itself did not have much happening for it, which is why I cannot give this book 5 stars, however the chemestry between our two main characters and emotions you felt for these character made that not as much as an issue as I would've normally have had.
This is simply a perfect summer, or anytime really, read; I would highly recommend you pick this up for you and all your friends. This is not a steamy read, as some of his other works are, this is a more traditional, one could say, contemporary with a focus on romance (with some well handled angst).
I will be reading it physically sometime soon as it was a pre-order since it had been announced; this is how much I enjoyed this book.
Just aaaahhh all the feels and you just keep rooting for them all the way through this book.

Let me just say that I was a bit skeptical of how much I was going to like this book at first.
Our main character, Luc, was a bit pessimistic, some of the characters felt like a stereotype, and there was some British slang/knowledge that went a bit over my head.
However, I loved it.
Oliver was perfect 'boyfriend material,' Luc grew so much over the course of the book, there were lines that packed so much emotion, but also lines that were very funny, and the author did not resort to 'miscommunication' between the main characters to cause drama.
I know that I will be purchasing a hard copy for myself once this book it out. It is one of my new favorites.

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

I'll be honest, I skimmed over half of this book. The first 20ish percent of it was ok, but it went downhill very quickly after that. I just wanted a nice, quick and cheesy read. I don't want to read about a terrible psychologically abusive relationship and rape jokes.

I JUST FINISHED THIS AND I’M FEELING SO MANY FEELINGS.

First of all oh my god this was so freaking SO FREAKING GOOD. It was light hearted and romantic and comedic and it had banter, it had angst, it had ALL THE ROMANCE. I genuinely laughed out loud I gasped I felt their love and their angst and their friendships and their sadness AND THEIR HAPPINESS. I fell in love with Luc and Oliver and their friends and Luc’s mom and JUDY hahaha. This was so good so good. It showed a ‘relationship’ from the very beginning and the messiness of it and the emotional baggage people hold onto and how to fix themselves. But we saw tender moments between Luc and Oliver but their individual friendships as well. I absolutely love Alexis Hall’s writing because it was so funny and just easy to read. She transported me into Luc’s and Oliver’s lives. And reading this from Luc’s point of view was just *chefs kiss.* Everything absolutely everything worked. And I can’t wait to reread and post all the spoilers later.

GOD THIS MADE MY HEART SO FULL!!!

I absolutely cannot wait to get my physical copy.

This book was pure magic. The dynamic between Luc and Oliver, the writing style, the wonderful humour. All of it came together to make a book I will be reading again in the future. I loved the fragility of each man and how they were both ultimately their own worst enemy when it came to committing to a relationship and I thoroughly enjoyed that there wasn't a big happy ending with Luc's father. Overall just a brilliant story.

I was very excited about this book when I first read the description. I couldn't wait to venture into the queer rom-com book world. The fake boyfriend trope was decently executed even if, at times, it did feel a bit stereotypical. I will say that it took me a while to get into the book. I think it was Luc and Oliver that made it difficult. At first, I couldn't relate or admittedly like either character, but as the I swam deeper into their stories, I started to get the feels and appreciate what each character had to offer, and I was able to get emotionally involved in their lives. I think that is where Alexis Hall really succeeded. The entire book was a journey into both characters. I got to learn more about their personalities, emotional baggage, faults, strengths, sense of humor, etc., which made the characters come alive.

This book is A++++++++++++++++++++++!!!!!!!!!!!! I want to sing the praises of this book to the heavens! I've been telling everyone I know about it and it's not even out yet! It's the perfect romance. Funny, sweet romantic with plenty of pathos and realism thrown in. I loved its mix of plausibility and utterly ruthless send up of British upper classes. All the characters are well done. I could immediately picture Luc and Oliver. They way they looked and talked. Their accents and mannerisms...the author has done a great job in creating realistic characters, keeping them grounded but also keeping them within a classic setting and set-up of a British rom com ala Sophie Kinsella and Jenny Colgan. Lets start with that trope. The fake relationship trope, in my opinion, can never be over used or trite. Its always my favorite. Especially when the two people are so helpless and ridiculous. Next, the dialogie, this is Gilmore Girls level of conversations quips, jabs and timing. It moved so quickly that i found myself going back to reread it and savor it. Lastly, the supporting characters are so superb. Luc's mother, his friends but especially his co--workers: Alex Twaddle, his girlfriend Miffy and the very Welsh Rhys Bowen Jones are instantly iconic. I found myself slowly down my reading of the book just to enjoy the scenes of Luc at work. I only have two criticisms: I wish the love scenes had been more graphic - I wanted more details. Who's the top and who's the bottom. who is doing what to who! Definitely not enough of that and I know that those missing details will also disappoint readers. Lastly, it's not long enough! I need more so much more! I need Luc and Oliver to tell their families to uck off, I need them to get married and have kids. So unless this authoe wants lots of subpar fanfic continuing her story out there she better be writing sequels and can we get Netflix to make this a movie?????

3-3.5 stars. It was cute, but it took me a while to get through. I love a fake dating scenario, but as far as they go, this one was pretty tame, as they decided they were "real" dating quite quickly into the fake dating anyway. Oliver and Luc were adorable together, but they were the only characters who really felt fleshed out, and even then, I'm not sure that I really feel like I KNOW Oliver after reading the entire book. The concept of Luc as the child of two rock stars who peaked in the 80s was a good one and a different twist for a rom com, but that story line, as well as anything involving Luc's coworkers, fell a bit flat by the end. The best parts of this were the little pop culture references sprinkled in (props to the author for leaving breadcrumbs for the Made in Chelsea stans in the room) and I laughed out loud when Oliver introduced us to CRAPP, but as whole book, it didn't quite come together.

LOVED THIS BOOK! This was my first read by Alexis Hall and it definitely will not be my last. The characters were so vividly depicted and the writing was so scathing and fun. I enjoyed it immensely. Plus the main characters were flawed in totally normal ways, if that makes sense. They were people you felt like you knew instead of tropes out of a romance novel. I also LOVE a good "we have to pretend to date because of x, y, z reason" plot so this book checked all of the boxes for me! 10/10 would recommend to EVERYONE.

This book was rather delightful. I started out dubious, but it really changed my mind when Oliver (the love interest) showed up. The development of their relationship was so compelling, and readers will stay up past their bedtime to find out what happens next. The negatives, for me, were that most of the side characters seemed like unbelievable caricatures; Luc and Oliver's relationship seemed to become a bit uneven as the story went on; and Oliver made some choices at the end that seemed more for plot than actual fit for his character. But overall, this was a great, fun, sparkly read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Oh, man. Where do I start? Luc and Oliver are polar opposites. Luc is a self-proclaimed loser, while Oliver is a put-together lawyer/vegetarian/dream guy. Luc needs to clean up his image a bit... hello, fake dating! The feelings get too feel-y and everyone freaks out and how will this end???

I really enjoyed Luc and Oliver’s relationship, and I SCREAMED when they finally kissed for the first time. Minus one star for all the break-up/make-up shenanigans. Everyone knows I’m too old for that shit.

“‘It is my curry, and I will make it the way I fucking well want to. And that is the way Oliver should live his life. Because the people who matter will love you anyway.’”

Included as a top pick in bimonthly July New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached).

Screwed-up E-list celebrity Luc needs a fake boyfriend to rejuvenate his reputation with the press and keep his job. Uptight control freak lawyer Oliver needs a fake boyfriend to accompany him to family gatherings. It sounds like a match made in all-your-favorite-romance-tropes heaven. And boy, is it ever (even down to the good ol’ “only one bed” moment).

Boyfriend Material is a good enough book that I forgave the times when it wasn’t actually that great a book. If that sounds self-contradictory, well, I’m okay with that. Because this story is romantic, it is moving, it is fun, it is deliciously goofy, it is laugh-out-loud funny (legitimately, I giggled through the whole thing), and it is sincerely, earnestly, squee-worthy. And all of that somehow totally overrides the fact that nearly every major plot point feels more than a bit contrived (why can’t you just tell him you had a family emergency? Why does everyone seem to agree that a fake bougie boyfriend is somehow the right and only solution to Luc’s initial problem?? Why can’t anyone just talk to people???). So the story beats mostly rely on the kind of stretch that requires some serious yoga practice - but so what? Honestly, less than halfway into Boyfriend Material, I really didn’t mind. Because I was too busy laughing at Luc’s snarky oneliners and Alex Twaddle’s surprisingly appealing nincompoopishness, feeling legitimately peeved at Jon Fleming’s faux-enlightened jerk moves, and muttering under my breath “oh my god just say I love you and kiss him already!” So if that sounds like your cup of tea (an extremely British cuppa, mind), as it turned out to be mine, then enjoy Boyfriend Material.

This was my choice of book for PRIDE month and I am so not disappointed. The book starts in the most hilarious way and I realized immediately that Luc was going to be my fluff ball. Alexis Hall has done a commendable job at creating his character because he is the most real character I have read about recently. Luc is not an ordinary gay boy - he's the son of a rockstar who might have cancer. He is also the evidence of what the paparazzi can make of you for not fault of yours. Luc is vulnerable, sarcastic, rude, mean and cries without being ashamed which is something men are always ridiculed for.

The plot line is fairly good but nothing out of the world. However, for those of you who absolutely love the 'fake-dating' trope, this is the best you will get. Also, apart from Luc, other characters are equally QUIRKY. I adore Luc's group of friends - Bridge, Priya, Tom, James Royce and James Royce-Royce. I would kill to have friends like these. Can someone get me friends like these?

It's been a long time since I brought my puppy eyes on for people to read this, but this book most definitely made me do this on my bookstagram account. Another subplot that I really enjoyed was "crappy parents". This book is a collection of crappy/eccentric parents. Luc's mother is the only exception and she is the most adorable person who calls her son 'mon chere'. But the rest of them were horrible! Satans, if I might say. Despite that, I really enjoyed these relationships.

Luc is the son of rock stars who split when he was young. He never really knew his Dad but has a great relationship with his Mom. Because of his famous parents he is often in the public eye, especially now that his Dad is making a comeback. Luc works for a charity and he has been getting some bad publicity recently due to some photos taken of him. He decides he needs a respectable boyfriend to change the way people think about him.

Oliver is a barrister who is not Luc’s normal type. He’s nice, a good person, and a vegetarian. They don’t have anything in common except both needing a date to important events. So they decide to publicly fake date, that way Luc will get some good publicity and they will both have the dates they need. Once their events are over they plan to go their separate ways but of course, feelings change and it isn’t that easy.

I loved this book! Luc and Oliver are amazing characters who are perfect for each other. In the beginning they don’t like each other, but as their fake relationship goes on they start to fall for each other and you realize how good they are together. They both grow as people throughout the story, especially Luc, and it’s so nice to see.

Luc has such good friends and a great support system with them and his Mom. I loved each of them so much! Anytime they were all together you couldn’t help but laugh at what they were saying or doing.

I also loved the conversations Luc had with his coworker Alex and how goofy they were. I laughed out loud everytime Luc told him a joke and Alex didn’t get it or tried to explain a part of it. This was such a funny book which I didn’t expect at all.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Alexis Hall is the author who managed to make me read a wholeass trilogy with a billionaire as a love interest, and enjoy the hell out of it. I was beyond excited to see what he could do with tropes I *do* like. Opposites attract fake dating ? Sign. Me. Up.

Boyfriend Material managed to exceed my already sky-high expectations. Luc and Oliver’s story was this magical mix of rom-com-y over-the-top goodness and more than a few Real & Raw Feelings that punch you right in the guts.

Luc is...a mess. As the child of a has-been rock star who’s making his come-back as a reality TV coach, his life is tabloid fodder. His trust has been betrayed before, so he’s this prickly, commitment-phobic hedgehog. And when he ends up, yet again, as a tabloid story, he has to “clean up his act” so he won’t lose his job at a charity for beetles preservation (yes you read that correctly).

I say “clean up his act” between quotation marks because Luc did absolutely nothing wrong. But since rank homophobia comes in all shapes and forms, a few donors want him to be “the right kind of gay” (presumably the kind that goes to art galleries and knows how to pair Italian cheeses with French wines, I suppose?). So to save his job, he has to find a Good Man (™) whose aura of respectability is gonna rub on Luc.

Oliver is the perfect man for the job. He’s a friend of a friend and they have history: a very short one, consisting mainly Luc feeling constantly judged and found lacking by Oliver. Their past encounters were very Pride and Prejudice-y, with misunderstandings that grew into dislike and mistrust (or at least, from Luc’s part. We only have his point of view, after all). And, surprisingly, Oliver is ready to play along with the fake relationship plan.

They couldn’t be more different if they tried. Oliver is a straight-laced vegetarian barrister, who boycotts Uber for his conscience and avoids sweets for his health. He’s also a mess. Because, unsurprisingly, when you scratch the surface of his perfection, what’s beneath is all the shit that he sacrifices, and deeper still, all the bigger, messed-up shit that motivates him to be this Ideal Human Person.

Luc and Oliver hit it off right aw...nah just kidding. Their first encounters as fake boyfriends are a disaster of misunderstandings and prickliness. They are both TERRIBLE at relationships, even at faking one, albeit for different reasons. However, they do try. And while they’re trying, we see the cracks in Oliver’s mask of perfection, the sense of humour beneath, the sense of fairness, the love he has to give if only he was a little less hard on himself. And we see the goodness in Luc, the empathy he tried to squash as a self-preservation measure, the fierce protectiveness. And it’s absolutely lovely.

The supporting (and supportive) “cast” of characters is another highlight of a book already full of highlights. Luc’s friends, Luc’s mother, Luc’s coworkers, Oliver’s friends...They manage to completely steal the show and bring a touch of bantery, sometimes absurd, romcom vibes.

Writing this review makes me want to read it again, for the third time, which might give you a hint about just how much I loved it.