Thank you NetGalley and Casablanca books for this copy of Husband Material by Alexis Hall! I loved the relationship that Luc and Oliver built together in the previous book, even though they started as a fake couple. I was happy to see that they were happy after a couple years together. But this book took so many turns that I didn’t expect! I appreciated hearing about the difficulties couples go through leading up to their wedding, the stress of just that one day is outrageous and can be very hard on the couple and their families. It felt real, not just a happily ever after story. With that being said, I hope we hear more of Luc and Oliver’s story in the future!

I love this sequel, it keeps with theme of the original novel but somehow finds a way to grow. So rarely in romance novels do we get to see behind the "how they got together" phase of the relationship, it is delightful to see a relationship change and grow over time.

Although I did end up enjoying this story it took me a lot longer to become invested as I thought I would. I loved the first book in this series but this one at times felt unnecessary to me. I do however enjoy this authors writing style.

This book! It was super enjoyable to revisit Luc, Oliver, and their cast of friends. Luc always annoys me a little bit and the end of this was a premium example of why, but I loved the message around marriage and queerness, societal expectations about love and commitment and recreating the meaning of all that for yourself. It resonated a lot for me as a queer millenial who was coming of age during the fight for marriage equality. Hall is great at making me laugh out loud and I enjoyed this sequel thoroughly.

I wanted to love this as much as I did Boyfriend Material, but just couldn't. TBH more of my rating is probably for Luc-and-Oliver nostalgia and cuteness together (when I don't want to throttle them, at least) than for the story itself, because reading this was just very...frustrating. They have the same argument over and over and over and OVER again without ever really resolving it, and then with how close they let things get at the end I was about ready to scream. Luc is becoming a bit too much like Bex in the Shopaholic books, making the same (type of, at least) mistakes over and over again and not showing much, if any growth in the end.

I'm looking forward to the next book with equal parts dread and hope...

Rating: 3 1/2 stars / C+

Eu lembro bem de quando esse livro foi anunciado e meus olhos simplesmente brilharam de tanta alegria por poder encontrar mais uma vez personagens que eu adorei conhecer e que me entregaram uma das melhores leituras da vida, lógico que assim que tive oportunidade eu não perdi tempo e me agarrei a leitura.

A escrita de Alexis nesse livro se mostrou tão gostosa e fluida quanto eu esperava, me vi mais uma vez completamente envolvido na leitura, cada capítulo era um surto diferente se saber como as coisas iriam se desenrolar, eu dei boas risadas de algumas situações, que dar uns bons tapas em Luc e Oliver em outros. Eu adoro livros que me causam vários tipos de emoções e sensações e o autor acerta demais nesse quesito neste livro.

Foi muito bom reencontrar Luc e Oliver mais uma vez, é visível o crescimento dos dois como casal, principalmente depois de dois anos juntos. Luc para mim foi o que teve a maior evolução, se mostrou mais seguro, menos auto depreciativo, mas, claro, as recaídas estão lá porque nenhum personagem é perfeito né? Eu adorei o que vi de Oliver nesse livro, vi muito mais nuances dele nesse livro do que no primeiro, então ele parece um homão perfeito no primeiro livro nesse é possível ver de forma mais tangível as rachaduras na armadura dele e isso me fez gostar ainda mais dele, ainda que eu tenha tido vontade de dar uns dois tapas nele.

Adorei também rever os amigos de Luc e a mudança que esse dois anos trouxe para cada um deles, gosto bastante do plote dos amigos de Luc, porque eles não estão ali apenas para dar apoio ao protagonista, pelo menos não todos rsrs, também conheci um pouco sobre um personagem que foi muito falado no primeiro livro mas não havia aparecido.

Eu adorei a leitura desse livro, ele era tudo que eu estava precisando e esperando que fosse ser e isso me deixou muito feliz, o único ponto que não foi totalmente ok para mim foi o final do livro, eu entendi totalmente a mensagem que o autor quis passar, mas, nem por isso eu sou obrigado a gostar né? E pessoalmente eu não gostei rs, mas, isso não quer dizer que a leitura não valeu a pena, valeu muito e com certeza eu pretendo reencontrar Luc e Oliver mais uma vez numa releitura.

Ugh, this was not what the book wanted it to be. I loved Book 1, but this was just... not it. Luk was so insecure and had not really grown into the character that we left within the first. I was hoping for more growth, but it felt like we went backward.

Thank you to #NetGalley and publishers for the ARC of #HusbandMaterial.

DNF. Boyfriend Material did not need a sequel. Luc is too annoying and insecure and I just did not care enough to try to finish it. And honestly, Oliver can do better.

I loved Alexis Hall's earlier works and I had high expectations for this one, but unfortunately it just left me disappointed.

When you reach the age Luc and Oliver are in the book I appreciate that you are often caught up in the kind of situations they experience. Having got married at 21 I really don't get the focus on weddings, but I appreciate that it can force you to feel certain responses.
Luc hasn't moved on much - he would be exhausting to live with, and yet he brings a certain charm to his reactions. This time round we get to see them go through a number of weddings, some of which are more entertaining than others, and how it impacts their relationship.
Luc and Oliver continue to feel they have to behave a certain way, and I was pleased that they were given the opportunity to really have the chance to think about who they were/what was important to them. The scene following Oliver's speech really did hurt - sometimes fanily are the ones who find it easiest to hurt you.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this before publication.

After trying to read this more than once I just can't bring myself to get further in after hearing so many bad things. I don't want to ruin book 1 for myself.

Full of just as many witty dialogue exchanges and zany antics as the first book, Husband Material is also just as heartfelt. I really enjoyed this one and hope we keep seeing more adult m/m books releasing from traditional publishers in the years to come.

I missed these boys more than I realized! Their relationship is just so fun and the dynamics of all the characters was just really excellent. The ending was delightful and sweet. It was lovely to catch up with this cast of characters.

Wow! Thank you so much. ajh perfection per usual.. I love luc and oliver. this book is.an amazing extension of their love affair and the whole bm universe. I love what ajh chooses to do with these characters soooo much. the rainbow flag debate resonates with me as a queer woman. this was an excellent choice for the queer new adult book club/support group I facilitate.

I thought this book was okay but I much preferred the first book. I loved the first one a lot and it felt like this book tried to stretch the story farther than was necessary.

love the first book, boyfriend material and this book continues on with the great characters. I was a little confused about the rush to marriage based on the two charaters we got to know so well in the first book but Hall did a great job.

I thought this was a great follow-up to Boyfriend Material, though I didn't love it quite as much. It was a slower read for me, and I admittedly put it down for long time before I started reading again. That said, I found the ending extremely satisfying, and I love the main characters.

I'VE BEEN BAMBOOZLED IN THE BEST WAY. If you've been through a few of the stories I posted on Instagram while I was reading this book, you know how dear to my heart this story is. I loved "Boyfriend Material" with a capital L and I want to say "Husband Material" is just as good as its predecessor, if not better even! I usually have a hard time reading first-person narrative romances because there's just something that feels a little cringey often. This has never been the case with anything I've read from Alexis Hall (which, fair enough, only encompasses the London Calling and Winner Bakes All series, but I'm only at the beginning of my beautiful journey). Luc & Oliver remain as heartwarmingly sweet as ever and the banter inside this book was mad and I was genuinely laughing out loud (or giggling when convention dictated I keep it to myself) during several chapters. This is a great sequel, full of feel-good feelings and character development, and I was so sad to have read it so quickly... until Alexis Hall decided to bless us again yesterday with another sequel (insert pterodactyl screeches). Mind you, we'll have to wait until October 2024, but I know it will all be worth it. Many thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for letting me read an ARC. It's been a treat and a privilege, honestly.

Cute and hilarious. Maybe not quite as great as Boyfriend Material, but it's definitely up there. I love Luc and Oliver, both are great characters. And I love the friend group as well, they feel real.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book! I love Alexis Hall’s work and was looking forward to read this based on the first book