Full review to come in BookPage.
My very quick first take: Brilliant. Hilarious. A worthy literary millennial update to the screwball comedies of the 1930s even though most of the pandemonium is confined to Luc's head. I loved both the main characters and their friends and family. Even though this was a great comedic romance, the social observation and critique around socially acceptance and respectability politics in terms of sexuality was totally on point.

This book, overall was delicious.
The main character has a distinctive voice which takes self deprecation to a new level. He's neurotic as all get out, and while his unabashed ownership of personal issues can sometimes be frustrating, it gives him a great beginning place for his arc. He grows and matures and finds his way out of toxic patterns without resorting to being preachy or sounding like a self-help manual.
The match with Oliver is a classic case of the Odd Couple, but they're so stinking adorable.
Both leads bring a funny, quirky cast of side characters with them.
This isn't a dual POV novel, which sometimes left me longing to be in Oliver's head. However, the single POV is immersive and charming.
I'd definitely read this author again.

I loved this book! The exclamation point was because I'm surprised by that. Although I am gay, they deactivated my card years ago because of non-use. I normally read spy thrillers and mysteries, and classics when I'm feeling guilty about my preference for airport fiction. I stayed up until 1:30am in order to read this in a single sitting.

I was more than pleasantly surprised by how well-written this book is. The character development is superb, and most of them manage to be amusing as well as slightly poignant. The plot (and yes, there is quite a good one) is witty, fast-paced and romantic without being the least bit cheesy. I am not an immediate convert to the genre, but I am going to read more of Mr Hall's books to be certain this one isn't a fluke. I doubt that somehow.

I lived in London for many years and appreciate this sense of humor. It is much more subtle than, say, Joe Keenan is. While I was reading, I kept mentally seeing the film that needs to be made of this book. It's more Notting Hill than Love Actually. Elton John needs to play Jon Fleming.

From the moment I saw this cover I new that I HAD to read this book. A gay romance set in London? That’s a big yes please!!!!! Added bonus was that I got to read it during Pride. I don’t read a whole lot of fake dating trope books, I have nothing against them, they’re just not what I normally pick up, but this one blew me away.

Both Oliver and Luc were well developed and rounded. Both had unique personalities, insecurities, and well rounded arcs that made them feel like real people and not just perfect beings found in a book. In addition to Luc and Oliver I loved the side characters. I found Alex and his stupidity absolutely hilarious and ridiculous in the best possible way. I also love that two of Luc’s best friends were a gay couple with the same name. It’s the little things that make book thoroughly enjoyable.

My only struggle with this book was the first person POV. Having the perspective be Luc telling the story took a little getting used to, but once I adjusted to it it wasn’t distracting. I’ve seen a few reviews referring to this book as the new Red White & Royal Blue. I’m not sure that I would go that far, but it was really really good.

Thank you to Net Galley and the Publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Super impressed by the characterisations in this romance; this is how you write well-rounded characters with flaws and charms and give them room to grow. I love a good "fake relationship" plot, and this one-- Luc needs to get better occasional tabloid coverage or risk the donors at the dung beetle charity he's the fundraiser for withdrawing support completely-- was so weird and specific. Everything felt completely believable, and despite how extreme the side characters' lives and habits could have been, they slotted in nicely to Hall's world.

When I requested Boyfriend Material for review on Net Galley, I did so because it sounded like it could be an interesting and fun read plus I’d heard good feedback on other Alex Hall books though I hadn’t read any myself yet. I admit however, upon opening the book and seeing 1) it was written in 1st person & 2) it was over 400 pages long to letting out a grimaced “eek”. After all I’m not a big fan of 1st person storytelling and that’s a lot of story. But I went ahead and dived in. The first couple chapters were a little slow but after that the story pulled me in and I’m so happy I got the chance to enjoy this book. This may well be one of the best written 1st person POV books I’ve read. It doesn’t take long till it’s not so much a book as feeling as if you’re hanging with Luc as he tells you about how he and Oliver got together with & despite the help of his quirky friends & clueless coworkers, unusual family dynamics and their own fumbling around learning about each other and how to mesh.

This is a very British feeling book (which since takes place in London makes sense) by which I mean the much of the slang and terms are British (or so I am assuming since, again takes place in England) rather the more familiar (at least to me) American English terminology. I.e.: took a moment to realize that when Oliver was wearing a jumper it was a sweater. For me, the language just helps further add to the setting and atmosphere of the book and Luc’s story storytelling. While the sex is pretty much fade to black after some kisses, there is plenty of intimacy between the two as they communicate and open up to each other and learn to “fake” boyfriend together (and to be honest, do you really want to hear your friends tell you how they and their other half “got it on”, in detail? Yea, me neither so it wasn’t missed). There is plenty of humor and witty banter that had me laughing out loud as I read. While the story is being told via Luc, you still get a good sense of Oliver including his smarts, fears, sweet goodness and (of course) quirks. Together they make a great couple, bring out the best of each other. You can’t help but fall for them and root them on to their HEA.

Oh, and about that big page count – well, after the slowish start, it is a lot of story but is well paced, interesting and well told (did I mention, lots of laugh out loud moments?), you won’t notice or mind the pages turning as the clock fades away while you get happily entertained by Luc telling how his needing a “fake” boyfriend progressed into he and Oliver maybe just pretending to continue being “fake” boyfriends into the long term. It’s a story I am happy to recommend you take the time to check out.

Trigger warning: homophobia, anxiety, eating disorder, cancer

This is a story about Luc, whose father is a has-been rock and roll legend. When paparazzi keeps on targeting Luc and his embarrassing mishaps and turn them into crazy stories, he gets in trouble at his workplace. So to get out of it, he decides to get a fake boyfriend to let the paps no he's not all that bad.

Things I liked
- Luc and Oliver's first date was kinda awkward and it felt veresimilitude (they use that word a lot) because you can't hit it off with a person immediately.
- the fake dating trope
- the "there's only one bed" trope
- it made me laugh out loud quite a few times so the author nailed it with the comedy
- Oliver basically reminded me of a mix of Captain Holt and Amy Santiago from Brooklyn Nine Nine (a great TV show) and it was really cute. The most sophisticated cutie I've ever read.
- Luc's group of friends were really entertaining especially Bridgett
- Oliver making Luc feel better was the sweetest
- Luc and Oliver having inside jokes was adorable

Things I didn't like
- Luc being miserable about himself and his life was a bit too much
- Alex, who is Luc's colleague, is a character who is extremely dumb but I guess the author made him like that for comedy purposes but it ended up being kind of annoying. I constantly rolled my eyes during any conversation with this character. Thank God he was just a side character.
- excessive use of the f* word. I get it, it's adult fiction, but do you have to curse so often?
- the story got a little slow around the middle where I thought this book could've been shorter

Overall it was an entertaining read. It was one of those books where I liked the love interest more than the main character. If you want a great romantic comedy with more comedy than romance then this is the book for you.

Rating : 3.5/5 stars

When I read this description I knew I would love this book. Wonderful characters. Witty and smart. I highly recommend this book to everyone. It was a fun read that shows romance is still alive.

Okay. So.When I first saw the cover it was giving me major Red,White&Royal Blue vibes which I LOVED. Seriously... This cover is so gorgeous. After reading the synopsis I felt lie it resembled some kind of a Turkish TV show to be honest because this "fake lover" trope is used very widely in Turkish shows lol. Usually it's not something I enjoy that much because I feel like it's not done nicely and it's straight. (I obviously don't have anything against straight people lol but it sucks watching the same kind of plot with straight people every fucking time. WE NEED MORE REPRESENTATION Y'ALL. This book had so much rep. Bisexual , lesbian,gay and queer parents trying to adopt. Which made me jealous of Luc for having this many queer people to hang out with because I never get to do that lol. Although I kind of felt like the lesbian rep was a bit stereotypical in the beginning because she was a lesbian with multicolored hair and who wears Doc Martins... I know it's not a negative kind of stereotype but... still. Anyways just wanted to say that as a sidenote. So, another bonus is.... THIS BOOKS TAKES PLACE IN THE UK. I am a sucker for UK if you haven't figured it out. As for the characters ; I might have fallen in love with them. Oliver... He was such an amazing character to read. I expected him to be this kind of nerdy and soft ,innocent man. But he wasn't like that. Which made the story more interesting. HE IS A AlSO A BOOKWORM . Then there is Luc. I was expecting him to be a some kind of bad boy but he was actually sweet ,dealing with low-self esteem all the time. I actually related to his thoughts a lot in a way I wasn't expecting at all. And the fact that he is 28 and still hasn't gotten his shit together was kind of making me feel hopeful to be honest.Luc's mum is the cutest ,sweetest and funniest human being. There was also a Muslim character but I honestly get over sensitive about Muslim representation because it usually sucks. The story over all, made me
smile constantly. It was one of the most entertaining books I have ever read. And even though it was a rom-con there were many serious issues addressed and it was nice to see them explored. Racism,homophobia etc. It kind of felt like a queer version of To All The Boys I've Loved because of whole "fake boyfriend " thing. The last few chapters just left me wanting more and more and always excited about reading what was going to happen.I was so curious.Things got real heartbreaking real fast but I think that's because I am usually emotional The ending was so beautiful and honest and raw. I loved it.The only negative thing I have to say is : It felt a tad bit too long but I feel like it being long helped build up the story and the bond with the characters better.

This book is stunning i swear to god if you have read heartstopper then you will know why i love this. But just be aware at the begining it is a bit slow.
It shares 2 main character name Oliver and Luc their relationship was very sweet though they were suppose to fake it. They cared and adore each other from the beginning. There were many points in this book which showcased different moments of them suppoting one another which a normal couple will do. I found it so cute😍😍😍😍😍

Boyfriend Material was unbelievably cute. Luc and Oliver both need a fake boyfriend, and with time, the line between fake and boyfriend begin to fade. This is, granted, not a unique trope, but it was delivered beautifully.

Luc and Oliver are both precious, wonderful humans, and much more complex than rom-com characters usually are. It is their complexities that make them so endearing as you fall in love with their flaws and baggage as much as their witty banter.

Alexis Hall also did an incredible job with background characters, which I’ve found to be even more rare. Even beyond the best friends, family, and coworkers who are present throughout the book, the characters you only meet for a chapter are wonderfully three dimensional.

Thank you NetGalley, author, and publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I loved it and would definitely recommend!

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall was one of those reads I unsuspectingly picked up on a weekday evening thinking I would read for an hour or so before bed, only for me to finish the whole thing late into the night (morning?), leaving me to pay the consequences the next day at work. No regrets here.

Without revealing too much, Boyfriend Material is a M/M rom-com that centers on what is probably my favorite romance trope: FAKE DATING, and Hall plays with this trope perfectly in a subversive and refreshing way. I also recommend going into this one without reading the synopsis beforehand. It made for some added fun when trying to figure out who the love interest was going to be.

What really shined throughout for me were the hilarious interactions and banter between the two main characters. They're a lovable yet flawed and messy pair, and I just couldn't get enough of them. And while there is a lot of humor involved, there is also a lot of emotion, pain, and introspection for these two (both individually and as a pair) that rounds the story out.

Overall, this was an extremely fun read that I can see myself rereading for sure. Perfect as a beach read or if you're looking to escape into a cute story!

Cute and fun! It fit right in with other modern British romance stories I've read recently. This is a great read-alike in tone for books like the The Royal We and The Heir Affair, but with an LGBTQ+ slant. I really liked how relateable both characters were.

Here’s the TLDR version of my review: I liked Boyfriend Material so much that as soon as I finished, I pre-ordered a paperback copy, and I intend to get the Audible edition too. In the interest of full disclosure, I pre-ordered the Kindle edition back in December, but buying all three versions of a book is a rarity for me and something I only do for my most favorite books.

If you want an actual review, here you go:

Luc O’Donnell is a bit of a hot mess. He’s always been vaguely famous because his parents are famous, but now that his estranged rock star dad is back in the spotlight, that means there’s more of an interest in what Luc is doing.

And that’s a problem because Luc is a bit of a hot mess. He needs a boyfriend to help give him the appearance of normalcy. His friend sets him up with Oliver, who is super super normal and the complete opposite of a hot mess.

Fortunately for Luc, Oliver also needs a boyfriend to take to a big event, so they agree to be fake boyfriends until both of their big events are over, and then they’ll “break up” and go their separate ways.

But OMG, guess what? Over the course of pretending to be fake boyfriends, Luc begins to develop real feelings, and maybe—just maybe—Oliver might feel the same way, which is completely ridiculous because they have almost nothing in common other than being gay.

Romances tend to be dual-perspective, but in Boyfriend Material, the story unfolds from Luc’s first-person perspective. Hall does this a lot with his romances, and this device always works to strengthen the narrative. Knowing what the love interest is thinking would take away from some of the mystery; the reader only knows what the protagonist knows.

In this specific instance, it works out especially well because Luc is super funny and Oliver is boring. I don’t mean that in a negative sense—I absolutely love Oliver—but he has his life together and his life is a series of predictable routines, until Luc comes along of course. I think having Oliver’s perspective would make him seem like less of the Ideal that he’s presented as being,

On that note, there’s some interesting discourse on Good Gay vs. Bad Gay. It’s kind of like Goofus and Gallant from Highlights Magazine: Good Gays work as barristers and Bad Gays are photographed drunk in the gutter. To be more specific, Oliver’s homosexuality is tolerated more by society because he blends in and doesn’t do anything scandalous, whereas Luc is Scandal Personified and a cause for concern for the donors to the charitable organization he works at.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that this book employs the “sunshine vs grump” trope because Luc has too much baggage to be a sunshine, although he is a lot of fun and I loved his sense of humor. Oliver, however, is definitely a bit of a grump, so it was simply delightful seeing these two opposites being forced to work together.

Hall always does such a good job with secondary characters, and this book is no exception. From Luc’s French mum who has developed an affinity for Drag Race to Luc’s frightfully dim ex-public schoolboy Alex Twaddle, the secondary characters not only served as excellent foils for giving the reader insight into Luc’s personality, but they also stood well on their own, even when they weren’t interacting with Luc.

I would absolutely recommend Boyfriend Material. I love all of Hall’s books, but this is probably one of my most favorites. As I mentioned at the beginning, I will soon be the proud owner of three different versions of the same book, and if that’s not a sign of a good book, I don’t know what is.

I received a copy of this book from Sourcebooks Casablanca/NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've been in a contemporary romance mood lately (which is definitely not normal for me), so I was really pleased to get my hands on this ARC. I've heard it compared to Red, White & Royal Blue, which was easily one of my favourite reads of last year.

That said, I couldn't quite get into the story. As a first-person narrator, Luc always sounded a bit off to me. There was something off about his voice that kept pulling me out of his head. I also honestly didn't care much for why he had to find a fake boyfriend, or his interactions with Oliver. It all fell a bit flat with me, unfortunately.

A promising premise, but a pass from me.

What a sweet adult queer romance! And if you’re thinking to yourself that the look of this book reminds you of RW&RB, you would be correct! There were enough similarities that I would recommend reading this one if you liked that one, but enough differences that it really is it’s own story.

Luc and Oliver were so loveable! I honestly gave this book 4 stars just for them. The fake relationship, the snarky British humor, and the idea of coming to terms with your own flaws and lack of perfection, just worked so well here. Luc is initially a dumpster fire, and Oliver is a very put together lawyer. But as the story unfolds we find that nobody is what they may seem on the outside. Hall was able to weave heavy topics into an easy to read format using well places banter and humor. Just as a side note, the bedroom scenes are of the fade to black variety.

The reason I took off a star was because of the side characters. They all just seemed entirely one dimensional, and we’re only reminded of them when they’re needed fo further the plot. I just wish we had more time with them because they were great characters who I think could have enhanced the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and the author for a review copy! This book comes out July 7th, 2020.

This book was so fun to read, but at the same time it manages to talk about very important themes in a "easy" way.
I wanted to read something for pride month and this definitely perfect, if you love the 'fake relationship' trope this is the one for you.
The romance is cute and both the protagonist are cinnamon rolls. The secondary cast is great, it's really various and funny.
As I already wrote it has great romance but also talks about important themes like parent's issues and insecurity. Also I really appreciated that the protagonist is the son of a famous singer so it talks about the media and how much they influence famous people's lives, it's something I almost never see I'm a book.
I think that's it, I know it's not much but these were my general thoughts and I'm not very good at writing reviews of contemporaries.

For the biggest part of this book it felt a lot like a 4 star book but that ending ruined a lot for me. First of all, I already started getting the feeling like we were dragging things out too much and then on top of that the author just needed to add in an unncecary conflict that came absolutely out of nowhere (so uch so that initially I thought it was like a bad dream sequence). For the rest I quite enjoyed this book.. It wasn't perfect but it was a fun, mindless read with a romance that had great chemistry and well developed main characters. The side characters felt a bit more like one dimensional archetypes only remembered when the plot needed them to be there. Now that I say it like that it doesn't sound 4 star worthy does it? Anyway, I did have a great time reading this overall. I was really pulled into the story and liked the dynamics between the main character and his love interest. I love a fake dating trope and the excecution on this on was pretty good. The only thiny complaint I have about it is that it obvious from the beginning to me that they did actually have feelings for each other, especially the main character. There isn't anything wrong with that. It's just my personal prefference when the fake dating doesn't already start with them obviously having feelings for each other.

Boyfriend Material is a tasteful romantic comedy. It is a book that people who loved R,W&RB might get excited about, and I really expected to love it, but in my opinion there aren’t too many similarities outside of ‘genre’ for these two.

Luc is the son of two rock stars, who has spent a lot of his life under media attention, this was made worse when his last boyfriend sold him out to the press. Oliver is a criminal defence lawyer, who takes good care of himself, is well put together and is a bit posh and stuffy. For one reason or another they have both been unlucky in love and have quite a few issues with self-worth and trust.

‘Our donors think I’m a bad gay.’
He frowned. ‘What’s a good gay?’
’Someone like you.’
‘I see.’

When Luc’s image is in dire need of repair a mutual friend sets these two up under the guise of a fake relationship, which despite a few good ‘fake-dating’ jokes, was never really fake at all.

There was quite a lot happening outside of the relationship in this and I can’t say any plot point did it any favours (except Luc’s mum), the best bits were by far when the leads were interacting.

I’m surprised at how it all turned out for me, because I found this really cute and full of good banter in the beginning, but the chemistry just sort of died out before it really began. The angst aspect that you need in fake dating was sort of missing, it almost lacked miscommunication in some parts for the sake of the getting together impact.

Don’t get me wrong I was obsessed with Luc, he was such a beautiful boy, I loved their sleepovers, the whole opposites attract thing. It just sort of all fell flat at/after their first kiss and in the entire last third in general was boring. The sex was private and while that really suits me, I didn’t feel it or connect before the fade away so I found that disappointing.

I am so excited by Hall in general, this is my first book of his and I loved the writing style and characterisation. I am glad I read this and hope to find a favourite amongst his backlist.

(ARC kindly provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review)

Very sweet new adult queer romance. Always a fan of the fake dating trope which worked fabulously here. Liked the portrayal of two anxious young men learning how to trust and love each other. Loved the English banter/slang which added lots of humor and strong character setting.