3.5⭐️

The sequel to Boyfriend Material follows Luc as he contemplates his perfectly splendid life with his perfectly splendid boyfriend Oliver while faced with the prospect of marriage.

This book was much funnier compared to the previous one. There’s a significant decrease in the self deprecating humour; or the self deprecation in general. Luc has matured a bit and is trying to be less of an obnoxious snob but not enough.

This time the author has tried to tackle quite a number of nuanced social issues surrounding the LGBTQIA community. The question of identity and belonging in the community is discussed at length. There’s also a bit of the condemning the slut shaming from the first book.

But Luc as a written character remains vaguely unrelatable with excessive dialogue. The pretentious rambling clogs up large chunks of chapters. The ending though unique and bold, seems a bit weak and weird.

Some people may not like this because it’s not all fluff and high drama but I found it quite enjoyable as a breezy read with some delightful British slang.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for this ARC just a week before publication.

Alexis Hall continues to chart relationship ups and downs established in Boyfriend Material with the next book in the series Husband Material. Luc and Oliver are in a good place- they have both worked through a lot to make their relationship work, and start to think about what's next for them after attending multiple weddings (and a funeral). A lot of this book is about the societal pressures for relationships as well as about gay identity. Luc is the primary narrator here, and especially early on I was missing Oliver's side of things and he was a bit lost in the story, but about halfway through the focus turned more to the couple and I found the conversations and journey they go through together rewarding. Their flaws and assumptions still creep up, family is still a complicated factor, but I appreciated how they worked through their issues and the concept of "happy", and the ending of the book was an unexpected delight.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca via NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.

Boyfriend Material was one of my favorite books last year, so I had very high hopes for this one. The sequel is a bit heavier than the first installment and tackles some serious topics. While I enjoyed catching up with Luc and Oliver as they navigate their relationship and the many weddings they attend, it didn't have the same lighthearted feel that I loved in Boyfriend Material (which had me laughing outloud from cover to cover!). A few moments were just a bit too over the top (like the wedding dress debacle) for me. That said, I still enjoyed it and am hoping for more!

This book made me so happy, the love the witty banter the panics and all. I have loved the journey of Lucien and Oliver and this made it even more wonderful!

ah, where do I even start with reviewing this amazing, amazing book?
It gave me all I was expecting and then some more, a lot more.
I loved Boyfriend Material SO MUCH when I first read it so of course the news of a sequel had me very excited and I was crying with joy when my request for this e-ARC got accepted.
Alexi's writing style is not only smooth and flowing, but it is also full of witty remarks and humor. I genuinely adore the way he writes and will read the whole of his backlist now.
The characters are, of course, written very well with so much depth to them. Oliver and Luc's relationship and the dynamics give me so much joy. They shouldn't be so well and yet they do and I'll never not be mesmerized by this fact. I see so much of myself in both of them despite there not being anything in common between the three of us on the surface level.
So many parts of this book managed to hit right home, which was wholly unexpected. Especially Oliver's dynamic with this father and the speech, I'll go back to this again and again and again.
So yeah, highly highly recommend this amazing book to everyone!!!!! You need it in your life okay, just trust me and go read!!!!

I recently read Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall and immediately ran to NetGalley to request the sequel Husband Material, which hits shelves on August 2, 2022

It was so nice to be back with Luc and Oliver who are polar opposites, but somehow they just fit. Boyfriend Material began with fake dating which has benefits to each of the gentlemen, whereas Husband Material focuses on Luc and Oliver two years later during wedding season, and as they plan their own wedding and future.

I can’t get over how funny the side characters are, especially Luc’s coworkers at CRAPP, Rhys has me laughing out loud whenever he’s involved in the storyline, and I wish we had more from them throughout the story.

I really liked the growth between the two men from the first book to this one, and I really loved how far Oliver has come, and how much confidence he’s seemed to have gained.

The ending though, felt somewhat rushed to me, like I enjoyed the conflict, and I liked how everything played out, I just wish it wasn’t as rushed.

Charming and funny but serious look at two men who love each other struggling with following the norms of societies expectations or finding their own paths. The best part of this story is the ending. Touched my heart.

"Husband Material" has all the the things that made "Boyfriend Material" absolutely unforgettable: it's funny and quirky and angsty and romantic and complex and, just, plain lovely.
In some ways, in exceeded my expectations; in others, not so much, but we'll get there.

First things first, the good. The very, very good.

Hall's absolutely hilarious and snarky writing was, as usual, a treat: I've read several books by this author, and I don't think I'll ever get over how good he is at balancing quirkiness and silliness and deep, meaningful stuff about life and love and family. Alexis Hall's brand of humour, as usual, was a mixture of "I am dying from laughter" and "I am dying from all the fuzzy, cosy feels" and "I'm dying, because whoops, that really hits close to home, ha ha, I need therapy".

The other really great thing about this book (and my recent re-read of "Boyfriend Material" confirmed it) was the characters, both main and side. Luc was a lovable mess, a tad too dickish a times, but absolutely endearing nonetheless. He's such a relatable character, with his bone-deep insecurity about how he's not actually deserving of love and his many, many anxieties about trust and relationships. So, obviously, I loved him.

What surprised me the most (but actually, I already knew this thanks to my recent re-read of "Boyfriend Material") was how much I actually adore(d) Oliver: I think I might have underestimated him when I was first reading "Boyfriend Material", because not only did I love him to absolute bits, but actually, I think he might be my favourite character, in the "I'd die to keep you safe and healthy and happy, nobody deserves you and your wholesomeness and dorkiness, yes, that includes you too at times, Lucien" sense.
He's so funny, so dorky, so lovably uptight and anxious and sexy and charming and a tiny bit broken, and as relatable as Luc. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to jump into the book to hug him or cheer him on, and in particular, if you've read the book, his speech at you-know-who's you-know-what? I was so damn proud of him. I nearly cried.

I loved getting to see how his and Lucien's relationship has progressed since the, rather abrupt, ending of "Boyfriend Material" and I definitely underlined half of their swooniest interactions. And also the funnier ones too.

So why four stars? Well, what left me feeling a tad underwhelmed and yes, disappointed as well, was the amount of unnecessary (in my humble, personal opinion) "Luc's being needlessly mean" relationship angst. Yes, I get it, it wouldn't be realistic if a relationship didn't have any problems or issues, but well, I was expecting something more, or maybe, something less in that specific area: if Luc's insecure dickish behaviour was endearing in book one, here, three years into their relationship and him knowing full well that Oliver is as messy as he is, felt a bit too much. Yes, I know, realism, and I can appreciate that, but it was so frustrating seeing him rehash arguments and issues that should have definitely been resolved before, during the actual book, and not in the very last chapter.
And that brings me to the second issue I had with this novel: the, again, rather abrupt ending. I loved the hell out of the first four parts of the book, but that fifth part gave me anxiety, and not in the fun thriller/mystery-adjacent way. I literally skimmed some bits, I was just so angry and disappointed. Don't get me wrong, it was still a wonderful book and I'm so happy we got to have Oliver and Luc for another fabulous ride, but well, I was still expecting something *more* concrete, more HEA-esque.

But yes, these are minor complaints, because the rest of the book was truly fabulous and heartfelt and I'll miss the hell out of these characters and their hilarious and endearing found family of misfits and assholes. Alexis Hall is a master at what he does, and I'm so curious to read the next installment in this series, the mysterious "amnesia plot" book I'd literally sell my soul for. So yes, bring it on (and fingers crossed).

Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the advanced readers copy!

This book follows Luc and Oliver through 4 weddings and a funeral, 2 years after Boyfriend Material. I enjoyed Boyfriend Material so much and was expecting to really enjoy this sequel. It unfortunately missed the mark for me. Luc and Oliver's relationship felt brand new, not 2 years old. In the first book you couldn't help but root for these two to get together. In this book, I felt myself begging them to let the relationship go because they seem so wrong for each other. There were some great moments of banter and some other parts I found funny, but overall, I just thought the men would be better off apart.

Told through the premise of several weddings that the story follows Oliver and Luc as their relationship continues to develop and their feelings grow for one another before they too decide that marriage is the next step for them.

For me, the downfall of this book is it’s pacing. It felt slow and clunky in some areas and since I haven’t read the first in the series I do feel as though I was missing bits of context that perhaps would’ve made me drawn to the couple more. I also thought there were far too many secondary characters whose descriptions weren’t fleshed out and that often left me feeling confused as to who was who and why they were relevant to this specific part of the story but then would disappear later on. I thought this would be funnier in places too but the jokes fell a little flat for me - they seemed to be targeted at a younger audience even though I fit the target readership.

*Thank you to the publisher for the copy via Netgalley in exchange for my review

I was such a fan of 'Boyfriend Material', and jumping back in to the story here was like reuniting with old friends - they were just as fun and loveable as in book 1, and I loved the framing of the story being about different weddings. I'm not sure if there'll be a book 3 but I would 1000% read one if there was!

Absolutely could not wait for this book to come out and Alexis Hall did not disappoint. This book takes you on a journey with Oliver and Luc that hits close to home in so many ways. With different perspectives on relationships to the myriad of emotions that come with love and loss, this story delves deeply into what friendships and relationships are all about. From attending weddings of people you can barely tolerate to supporting your friends with late night emotional support visits, this book is the essence of love and belonging, even if it may look unconventional to others. I truly hope there is another book in this series, I can’t wait to read more about Luc and Oliver!!

3.5
As one of our most anticipated reads of 2022 we honestly felt let down.

The parts just didn’t add up to a great whole with a consistent plot. More like little short stories. This was a riff off 4 weddings and a funeral.

This book takes place two years after book one and both of our characters apparently have grown up a bit as have the friends.

Part 1 - was Tom and Bridget’s wedding along with everyone going to see Tom because they think he’s cheating.

Part 2 - was Miles’s wedding (Luc’s backstabbing ex boyfriend). This wedding brings up a lot of emotions in Luc who wants to prove to Miles that he’s over him and better off without him and that he’s happy. It’s a very fun, gay wedding which causes another fight because Oliver doesn’t really like stereotypical gay things and Luc does.

Part 3 — this is a co-worker of Alex’s wedding, in the middle of nowhere with super homophobic classist people. Luc proposes to Oliver who says yes. They meet up with his parents who still don’t like Luc or that Oliver is gay. Oliver finally stands up for himself and they leave but Oliver’s Dad dies soon after.

Part 4 — Oliver makes an awesome eulogy that is so vulnerable and honest about how his father was flawed and mean and he’ll never know if they could have repaired their relationship. Then Luc and Oliver end up fighting even more about their own wedding. They’re both so different and want different things: one traditional heterosexual wedding stuff and one lgbtq rainbow stuff.

Part 5 — They call off the wedding which is a huge disappointment after spending so much time talking about it and getting so many other weddings in this book.

We needed more of Luc and Oliver instead of other peoples lives. We needed more on Luc planning Bridge’s wedding and more of Luc and Oliver planning their own wedding. We have them doing lots of weddings but where is the character development!

The ending just crushed all Oliver’s character development from these moments, bringing him right back to where he was. We went through so much to have Oliver right back in his internalized homophobia not wanting to get married! It made us so mad on his behalf. Luc also backslid into his anxiety, self loathing emotions where he’s now freaking out and also not wanting to marry Oliver. So they call it off and run down the aisle together and that’s it. We would have been ok with their bickering and sad choices if their last conversation was about let’s have a celebration of our love, date and discuss marriage more in the future maybe even have Luc go see Oliver’s therapist with him to work through their relationship issues together. The LGBTQ community worked very hard for equality and there were ways to keep that triumph and blend traditional and flamboyant.

This is a story about commitment.  When Luc O'Donnell and Oliver Blackwood first met two years ago, they did not seem to have much in common, other than each needing, for their own reasons, to seem to have a public relationship.  Following many challenges, including public scrutiny and difficult family dynamics, their fake relationship turned into real feelings -- and a real relationship.  They have been dating ever since and, despite (or maybe because of) being opposites in many ways, they are quite happy.  

But now it seems like everyone in their lives, from best friends to exes, are getting married -- and Luc is feeling the pressure to do the same thing.  After all, who could be husband material more than Oliver?  As Luc and Oliver navigate four weddings and a funeral, complete with man-of-honor duties, destination ceremonies, and wrenching family interactions, they both perceive that society -- and even each other -- expects them to go from boyfriends to husbands.  But things are rarely a direct line for this couple -- and they must confront how they fit in with their community, with their family, and even with each other as they consider what is next and what they want for their happily ever after.

Like so many, I loved Boyfriend Material, so I was beyond excited to read this book.  It was terrific to be back in Luc and Oliver's world, seeing what their relationship and lives are like following their happy ending at the conclusion of Boyfriend Material. The author did an excellent job of depicting the realities of a long-term relationship, complete with communication challenges, work pressures, and balancing friends and significant others.  Like the last book, the book excels at depicting family relationships and the powerful force that parents continue to have over their children, even as adults.  I also really appreciated how the book explores the different relationships that Luc and Oliver have to the queer community and the ways that impacts their views of each other and the future they want.  Most of all, it was a delight to spend more time with Luc and Oliver.

Highly recommended!

I lucked out in that I had not gotten around to Boyfriend Material until earlier this summer on a road trip. I instantly fell in love with Luc and Oliver, their growth and how the relationship progressed was really refreshing. I also love Alexis Hall's ability to have diverse and dynamic side characters that you care just as much about. It was really great to see the whole gang back and see what they had been up to for the past 2 years.
When I first heard about this book I assumed it might focus on Oliver's development since I felt we only barely touched on his issues at the end of the last book. Boyfriend material felt a lot like Luc maturing and really working on himself. Oliver was presented as this perfect person that we learned has his own issues to work on. I realized this probably wouldn't be all about Oliver since we were still getting it from Luc's point of view. I found it nice to think that even though 2 years had passed they both had things to work on, kind of exploring there is no happily ever after. I did find it frustrating that they would approach very serious discussions from the start of an argument and then never really resolve that issue, just kind of move on and continue to be happy. I can't criticize it too much because I know it can be easier to avoid a scary conversation, but since they are pondering their relationship and their future it stressed me out that there were blatant future issues they would sweep under the rug.
This book had 4 clear parts, but they flowed really well and the plot never stalled. I kept thinking about this book when I wasn't reading it and always wanted to get back to it. There are definitely some serious plot points in this, it's a thought provoking romance, rather than a everything is great because romance. The only main issue I had was that the end was so abrupt. It did make me think and I liked that it wasn't what you were expecting but I really wanted some more time to digest it, it was just kind of dumped there and the book was over. I still loved reading it and still adore these characters, so I hope we'll see more of them in the future!

Luc and Oliver have been making things work ever since they were honest about their feelings for each other. Now, it seems everyone around them is getting married and Luc’s feeling the pressure to propose to Oliver. However, it’s a long road to “I do” for our beloved boys.

The boys are back! 😍😍😍

Diving into this one felt like visiting old friends! This book was filled with Luc’s failed jokes of the day at work, Luc’s mom’s obsession with Drag Race, Oliver’s dry humor, and the fun friendship dynamics I fell in love with in Boyfriend Material. For me, it also provided a more realistic representation of a relationship filled with happy times, banter, disagreements, compromise, and apologies.

I do think this book is going to hit people differently, depending on their own relationship status and feelings towards marriage. I think I’m still digesting my feelings about that last chapter (no spoilers, but IYKYK 🙃). The lack of steam was the only real disappointment for me because I did love reading about Luc and Olivier’s steamy side of their relationship. Hopefully this won’t be last we see of Luc and Oliver’s love for one another! 👀

From the get go this book was filled with all the delightful characters I came to know and love in Boyfriend Material. If there’s one thing Alexis Hall (besides just being a very talented writer/storyteller) is great at, it’s writing really endearing side characters I actually can get invested in (the only other person who I find does this as well is Casey McQuiston). He’s able to depict them with enough depth to be whole people without shifting focus too much from the main characters.

Husband Marerial starts out with Bridge and Tom getting married and Lucien being Bridge’s maid of honor. Without giving too much away but this plot seems to follow a popular 1994 British Rom Com movie, which is entertaining in and of itself and even better with an Alexis Hall twist which includes lots of queer love and also relevant social commentary that I’ve come to expect in his writing (capitalism, the wedding industrial complex, heteronormativity, etc.).

This book is broken up into four distinct acts. I can tell in the first few acts that Luc and Oliver’s relationship has matured (as it should over a two year span), by how Oliver handles bad news and is an understanding partner, though even I thought he had the right to be upset/irritated at a certain point. Even Lucien at a point of contention, his inner dialogue instructs him that things are going to be okay, and that’s growth he definitely see from him from Boyfriend Material.

In the third act there is a monumentally impactful situation causing unparalleled levels of grief to Oliver, and I found his behavior regarding it refreshingly realistic. Grieving people aren’t rational, they’re angry, they’re sad, they act out of character and because grief isn’t linear it comes and goes in waves and you truly see that represented.

I think the biggest point of contention with this book is going to be the final act and the choices made within it. I did find that Luc and Oliver seemed to be regressing in terms of maturity in this act. For Oliver I could once again bring up how grief can effect those going through it all over the place but this really didn’t feel like that. In the end there are people who love each other and are proud to be with one another, and while there was an explanation for the head-scratcher of an ending choice I really think this needed more page time/explanation of Luc and Oliver’s feelings to be flushed out to not seem a tad bit bonkers and abrupt.

Overall, this book delivered everything I’ve come to expect from Alexis Hall and I quite enjoyed the ride. I do think this one is going to be very divided but for me this was a 4 star read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank You to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Cassablanca for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm so sad. This was one of my most anticipated sequels but after finishing it, I wish I hadn't read it.

Boyfriend Material is one of my favourite books. I've read it 4 times already, one of those times right before starting the sequel, and I still love it immensely especially Luc and Oliver's interactions. Did I find the ending very abrupt and rushed on my first read? Yes, but once we found out about the sequel that didn't bother me anymore.

Well, turns out the author still can't write endings because he managed to ruin a well enough book for me in two chapters.

I can honestly say I mostly enjoyed this book up until the last part and especially these last two chapters. It was a solid 4 star read for me, maybe leaning a bit towards 3.5. I saw some mediocre star ratings before starting to read so I went into this book with the expectation that I wouldn't love it as much as BM. I was fine with that because I know it probably wasn't able to meet my high expectations anyway and I generally just wanted to spend some fun times with my favourite characters. But I wouldn't have thought that reading those last chapters would make me feel more and more anxious as I read on and looked at the remaining page count in horror. When I finished I was kind of speechless and didn't want to look at the book anymore, I felt so blindsided. So yeah, of course now that I finished, I can't help but focus on all the little flaws throughout the entire book.

Let's start from the beginning. This book is divided into 5 parts and I guess that's also how it felt like... 5 separate short stories/novellas with the overall theme of marriage. I also quickly realised it was not what I was expecting at all from this book, which was Luc realising he wants to marry Oliver and stressing about it while trying to figure out how to propose (that part was actually pretty brushed over). While reading part 4, I found out that this book is based on the movie Four Weddings and a Funeral which I've never watched but it still made a lot of sense to me. Because it definitely felt like Luc and Oliver's story was fitted to some already existing format.

MINOR SPOILERS ahead so stop reading if you want to know nothing about specific plot points

Part 1: This was mostly about Bridget and her wedding and some ridiculous things that went wrong. Definitely felt like a romcom but sometimes it was a bit too much. It didn't bother me that much because hey this is only the beginning of the book but I mostly kept wondering where Oliver (one of the MCs on the cover!!) was since he's barely present at the beginning and there were moments I felt bad for him. But it was only part 1 and I was expecting some kind of conflict so this was fine.

Part 2 was mostly about Luc's ex and what he did to Luc and Luc deciding if he wanted to forgive him or not. I wasn't a huge fan of Miles showing up but I focused on Luc and Oliver who are mostly happy together but they start to question their different ways of 'being gay', or mostly Luc questions Oliver's attitude towards the queer community. (Now I keep thinking...they have been together for 2 years, how is this still a conflict between them? But whatever)

Part 3 had more ridiculous adventures with Luc's colleagues but we get some more time with Luc and Oliver being alone together, I guess this was one of my favourite parts since they actually felt like a solid established couple here. Some more conflicts arise while discussing traditional (and heteronormative) church weddings because their views are also completely different on that one.

Part 4 is what's probably most surprising if you don't know the title of the movie this story is based on and haven't read the synopsis properly like me. Because this part is about a funeral which kind of feels weird in a romance novel?? Other than that I think I did enjoy this part somewhat? Luc and especially Oliver had to go through some stuff but they talked it out after all and got through it together.

Now part 5.... by this point I noticed the major theme of this book. Which wasn't marriages but actually arguments. Luc and Oliver were arguing soo much about such unnecessary things and they kept going in circles. They never resolved their issues and just kept discussing again and again without coming to a conclusion. Two years into a relationship and you have to argue this much about a wedding and criticising each other?

Luc has definitely grown since book 1 but what I did not like was how much he analysed and criticised Oliver. He was acting like his therapist and psychoanalysing him and somehow Oliver was always the one who needed to work on himself. At one part Luc actually thinks it's a good thing that the problem why they're arguing is actually Oliver and not himself?? Uhm what??

As the story came to its conclusions and the wedding drew nearer I felt like instead of issues resolving...they just kept coming? Third to last chapter I was actually concerned Oliver was about to break up with Luc??? And then the last two chapters...I'm honestly so mad still. This book is 400 pages long, full of ridiculous unnecessary plot points, the book was actually quite long for no reason (one speech is several pages long and 4 times I thought it was over but it just kept on going) but somehow you have to shove a major realisation and decision into the last two chapters???

Do I share Luc and Oliver's beliefs? No but I realise that's a me thing. But was I given any time to process, understand and accept their ultimate decision?? NO. I know what the author was trying to do and he has every right to do it but I don't appreciate major plot twists in the last chapter with an abrupt ending. I don't know why so many authors are doing this?? The way this book was presented and promoted made me expect something totally different and I felt like a fool when I finished the book.

I hate how the ending tainted the entire reading experience and I especially hate how it tainted my love for Luc and Oliver as a couple. Because yes they are different but that's what makes them so good together. But apparently after two years they still argue about not wanting the same things??? Instead of focusing on how they balance each other out. They felt kind of toxic in this book and this is not the relationship I got to know in Boyfriend Material.

Another thing I noticed overall and wasn't a fan of: I know Luc and Oliver are aware of a lot of social and political stuff and of course they try to be correct about everything. But here it felt like they were correct about every single thing and it didn't feel natural anymore, it honestly felt like the author was showing off his awareness or something. And in the last chapters, it definitely felt like he was forcing some views. But honestly if you feel this way about marriage maybe don't write a book that's focused on the marriage of a beloved couple??

I keep on ranting and I'm still questioning my 2 star rating and if I'm too harsh. Because this doesn't feel fair to the Luc and Oliver from BM and the Luc and Oliver they could've been in HM. I love these characters, really enjoyed the writing and interactions between various characters and there were some parts I chuckled to myself. But the fact that I'm still so mad about this book and had to cancel my preorder because I didn't want to have to look at a physical copy of this book says a lot. I want to reread BM in the future and not think about what happens after that. From now on BM is a standalone to me. I thought maybe I could accept the first 4 parts of the book and just ignore part 5 ever happened but the ending left such a bitter taste in my mouth that in hindsight this sequel shouldn't have been written. I was looking forward to listening to the audiobook but not even Joe Jameson can save this one.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for letting me read this arc!

I honestly regret reading this book. It added absolutely nothing to Luc and Oliver’s story, and the ending here just makes this entire book feel pointless. Yes, there’s a lesson at the end, but paired with an abrupt ending and trying too hard to hammer a point home to readers? The characters just lost their magic for me with this book. Book three isn’t even about Luc and Oliver, so the ending here feels even less satisfying than the ending we got in Boyfriend Material.

I will say the book started solidly, like in aggressively fine territory with a fun shenanigans 4-stars, but it drops to 3-stars with part four, and then the ending drop kicks it into a very generous 2-stars book for me.

If you loved Boyfriend Material but you’re already not a fan of continuation books and sequels after a couple finds their HEA? Skip this book. Seriously.

I generally LOVE sequel books even when most people don’t, and I just don’t recommend it. Re-read Boyfriend Material instead and you’ll be happier for it.

Content notes (taken from the author’s website): homophobia (challenged), internalised homophobia (challenged), bigoted language spoken by a minor character (presented very much as a bad thing), references (though not graphic) to an eating disorder, mentions of past emotional parental neglect, death of a parent (heart attack; happens off page), grief, and on-page funeral service.

***SOME SPOILERS AHEAD***

So, look. I’m not into romcom movies. It’s just never been my thing. This book, structurally at least, is based off of the romcom Four Weddings and a Funeral. Based on the wiki synopsis, I don’t think this book follows the events in that movie, but that’s just my impression. The book here is broken up into five parts, if you can guess by the movie title. They feel like very separated storylines that give off an individual short story feel, rather than brought together as a whole novel. If this book had been pitched more as a short story epilogue book of sorts, that would make more sense. I went into this book thinking that the story would be fun and games and anxiety about Luc proposing, the engagement, and eventual marriage to Oliver based on the title of this book. And, well, it is and it isn’t.

This book is also still all from Luc’s first-person POV. Unfortunately, we get nothing from Oliver’s POV. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve read a single POV book, and sometimes it works. But probably less so with this sequel than the first book by keeping it to only one perspective. You really lose out on connecting with Oliver’s character.

There’s just a lot of odd, unnecessary plotlines that feels like we’re rehashing stuff from book one - like driving all over the UK looking for someone due to a misunderstanding. Is there a point to be made? I don’t know. This is only book two. It’s not like we’re at the end of an epically long book series where it feels like it would be nice to return back to events in the first book to bring everything back full circle. But you know what? The stories and first 2/3 of this book was really aggressively fine. Not brilliant, but I could accept them as fun add-on stories without really dwelling on any MAJOR complaints up through this point.

Really, the biggest error is something nobody else would even care about unless you’re a weirdly theatre obsessed person who keeps tabs on events in the West End even when you live across the Atlantic. Hi, it’s me. This book (not sure about the final edition, but the ARC) does date the story by saying it’s 2021 at one point. We’re two years past the ending of Boyfriend Material and we’re ignoring life changing events that are happening in real life during this time. And I’m fine with that. HOWEVER. This book specifically mentions that Luc and Oliver have planned a formal date night where they chose between Oliver’s choice of seeing the Death of a Salesmen play specifically at the Young Vic theatre, or Luc’s choice of Pretty Woman the musical. And as far as I’m aware these two shows were never on at the West End at the same time. Ever. Death of a Salesman was at the Young Vic until October 2019 (I am only more keenly aware because I was in London while this was running and the Young Vic is not a West End theatre venue), before transferring with a limited engagement through January 2020 at the Piccadilly Theatre (which is a West End venue). Pretty Woman didn’t even start previews until February 2020. Even if you take out a global pandemic that forced theatres to shut down, Death of a Salesman would’ve already ended its run.

All that aside timeline-wise, I think this book suggesting that Luc and Oliver go see the Pretty Woman musical (which received mixed reviews at BEST) over the Death of a Salesman play is also not a good look if you know anything about the most recent London production. It’s the first time a Black cast played the titular family in Death of a Salesman. It was a very highly regarded production. So, it just rubs me the wrong way how the play was so easily dismissed in the text like it was your run of the mill revival? Especially when the choice of musical they decide to go see (not that they actually did due to conflicts) is very, very white and contains a plot that has, by all accounts, aged badly.

This book would’ve been better off making up productions that weren’t actively playing at the time of this story. But that’s just theatre nerd in me raising an eyebrow at that entire sequence of events. You might say, “it’s not that deep!!” and maybe it isn’t. But this book takes a very hard stance on many topics (which I normally wouldn’t mind, but this book really tries to hit you over the head with them at every turn where it starts sounding like you’re being condescended to after a certain point)…well, then I’m going to start pointing stuff out that this book might want to sit down and reflect on too.

And that was the worst of it until we hit part four. Part four took me entirely by surprise because it hadn’t even occurred to me to look up the warnings for this book. Like I said, I thought the book was going to be FUN. But I suppose the word funeral does have the word fun in it? *queue up the “Come to the Fun Home” song*

The entirety of part four is about grief and how do you mourn or sort out your feelings towards someone if they’ve never quite loved you for being YOU? I wouldn’t say this was an absolutely devastating section of the book to read, but I did feel like I didn’t get proper warning for it. And then the story just DRAGS. There is a very long speech at the funeral itself that seems to go on forever, and I’m sorry but I just started skimming. It felt like it was never, ever going to end. There are no breaks in the speech, so it’s just one very long Shakespearean monologue I’m afraid. I’m sure this would’ve been better in audio? Maybe? But I read this in text, and I was over it.

You would think part five would bring everything around and end on a happier note, but it feels quite at odds with the rest of the book. After the funeral, I guess we’re all dragged down with it like a sinking ship situation. There’s a brief lighthearted moment between Luc and Oliver returning back to the restaurant of their first date, but that’s about the only highlight in the last bit of the book that was truly enjoyable. Everything is fights and angst, and it feels like we’re being lectured to about heteronormative expectations and weddings and the overall concept of marriage. Did I come into a romance book named HUSBAND Material to be lectured to about how much weddings and marriage suck? No? I did not? Is this the author telling us all to fuck off about wanting characters to get a wedding and getting married? Bucking the traditional expectations of romance books where the characters have a lovely wedding and ride off into the sunset? If that’s the case, why write a sequel to Luc and Oliver’s story in the first place?? There’s literally three weddings preceding part five, so I’m extremely taken aback.

I really just feel duped, swindled, and bamboozled by the ending and where we’re left at the end of all this. It feels like reading this book was a huge waste of time just to drive a point home about throwing out societal expectations, and I am honestly so upset. I went into this with such high expectations since I loved Boyfriend Material and this is what we’re left with??? We are worse off than where we started.

Other notes from this book I guess I’ll point out before I end this review. I thought the trans character we meet near the end would be our MC for the next book, but turns out he’s just a random character who appears out of nowhere and just as quickly disappears with no rhyme or reason and his purpose is that we now have a trans character appear in this book. He really has no other reason for being in this story. It’s not really an organic introduction or exit. Just feels really random.

Based on hints from the author, the next MC is a college acquaintance of Luc’s and apparently it’s a guy named Jonathan we meet earlier in the book who everyone hates. So, I feel bad for him already. His characterization so far feels like early Boyfriend Material Oliver.

Boyfriend Material was closed door when it came to sex scenes. This is no different. I went into this book expecting it to also be closed door, so no surprises there even if I felt a tinge of disappointment. It’s really not like this book had anything else going for it. It feels like you barely even see Luc and Oliver on good terms.

It was nice seeing Luc’s group of friends and learning more about them in this book because I didn’t find them all that remarkable in the first book, but I feel like I like them and know them a lot more here. Luc’s coworkers at his dung beetle charity CRAPP are still a dysfunctional group of people who all somehow still manage to bring in money for their charity? I don’t know. The technicalities of their jobs is still murky. But they disappear from the storyline with no explanation in the end, even though I thought they were invited to Luc and Oliver’s wedding. It’s very odd how they appear for an entire section of the book and then disappear with no mention of them again.

Finding out more about Luc’s mom’s friend, Judy, was the most enjoyable and fascinating part of this book I suppose. Although we see less of the dogs in this book? They’re still around, but rarely. Luc’s mom is a delight and unchanged from the first book. But I guess I can say the same for Luc’s absentee rock star dad (the unchanged part).

Oliver finally being able to air out his frustrations about his family was nice in that he got to start making amends with his brother. And the chat with his uncle was oddly touching, despite the strangeness of the situation where it seems to have come out of left field.

Overall, I feel like there’s no point to this book and the ending left me disappointed and a feeling of being lectured to. After putting the book down, I do not feel happy that I have read this, and it left me feeling quite worse for having read it. This book feels more like short stories of disjointed thoughts mashed into a novel length production, but still fails to deliver the coherent story readers were led to believe from the title and the blurb.

I guess this book is for readers who don’t normally read romance books and only want romance that throws out the expected, as if it could bring something new to the table.

For those of us who ARE avid romance readers though, I feel like this is a disappointing sequel that went out of its way to ruin my favorite characters in what I had considered one of my favorite books.

***Thanks to the publisher for approving me for this e-ARC on NetGalley***

Diving back into the love and lives of Luc and Oliver was like getting back together with my best friends. I loved getting to witness them navigate “big days” in the lives of their friends, coworkers and families. And although I wanted to chuck my kindle across the room in the final chapters, the fact that I had such an emotional response is a tribute to Alexis Hall’s writing. I love these characters. And I LOVE that they don’t need to be defined by any one else’s definition of love or “rightness” to be right. Perfection.