Fake Dating Shenanigans: My Review of Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

Hello Patrons! 🙂

Omg! Omg! Omg!

I finished Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall last night, and it’s wonderful. I stand by my rating of it not being very steamy, more romantic. Let’s get into it!

Synopsis:

Luc O’Donnell is the son of 80’s pop-stars, one day after leaving a club he is pictured sprawled out on the ground outside a club. To repair his image, Luc enlists a friend of a friend to be his fake boyfriend. The only problem is it that it starts to not feel fake.

What I Liked:

Oliver and Luc’s banter was top-notch. They didn’t like each other at first and so they are initially very snarky toward each other. Later it’s just their dynamic.

The side characters made me laugh until I cried. Alex Twaddle, one of Luc’s coworkers, is a bit ditzy and hoity-toity. He was so endearing. There’s a running gag in the book where Luc tries to tell Alex jokes and Alex doesn’t understand the joke. Luc also has a band of friends that are queer that support him and understand him. (My favorite character of that group was Bridget, who was the lone straight friend who worked in publishing, who always seemed to be on the brink of being fired.) Dr. Fairclough, Luc’s boss, is an anti-social dung beetle scientist who is utterly wacky.

Luc’s mom is so enigmatic and kooky. I want a short story or novella about her and her best friend Judy (along with Judy’s many dogs) watching Rupaul’s Drag Race on a Tuesday evening.

The book is set in neighborhoods around London. I thought the descriptions were written well. (Not that I’ve been to London but I am giving Hall the benefit of the doubt!)

I liked that both Luc and Oliver had their own issues to deal with. I feel like with some romance books only one person has issues and the other person needs to “fix” them. The book felt very real for that reason. Luc has trust issues from a previous relationship. Oliver has issues with food and exercise. Neither is perfect which made me like them more.

What I Didn’t Like:

Luc’s dad and that story arc was just annoying. Luc’s dad walked out on Luc and his mom when Luc was very young. Shortly after the book opens Luc’s dad wants to be back in Luc’s life because he is sick. Luc’s dad constantly reminds Luc that he doesn’t regret leaving Luc for his career. I thought that was just gross. Granted it felt realistic that Luc’s dad (John) didn’t stick around based on his character.

Oliver’s parents (who are very rich and stuck up) are incredibly homo-phobic. Oliver’s father calls him a gay slur at a party in front of everyone. They have belittled Oliver for years for not being like his older brother Christopher, who is a doctor. (Oliver is a lawyer, which is looked down on for some reason by his parents. *hand flip gesture*).

The book took about 5 or 6 chapters to get into. Luc has a very different narration style which took some getting used to. Also it was a lot of set up. Thankfully the chapters were really short, so it didn’t take a super long time to get into the plot.

I thought the ending was okay. Not a super tear jerker, but I liked that it ended well.

I’m conscious this could be rather burdensome to hear, but you remain the thing I have most chosen for myself. The thing that is exclusively mine. The one thing that brings me the deepest joy. ”

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

My Rating And Overall Thoughts:

I gave Boyfriend Material 5/5 stars on Goodreads. I found it just grounded enough in serious issues, but light enough to escape into. If you liked Red White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston or Heart Stopper by Alice Oseman, I say pick this up.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Reading Update:

I decided to pick up Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast. This is a graphic memoir about a woman trying to care for her aging parents. I heard about this from the book Ex-Libris by Michiko Kakutani. (I am still reading Ex-Libris and am still liking it as well.) Kakutani raves about Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? so I decided to pick it up. Right now I don’t have a ton of thoughts about it.

I have just under 2 hours left of Capital Dames by Cokie Roberts. I am still liking it. I am looking forward to finishing it tomorrow.

I have about 6 hours left of The Dead Are Arising by Les Payne. I think this is a complimentary book to The Autobiography of Malcolm X and learn about Malcolm’s life from his prospective, and then read his biography from an outside prospective.

I am going to start Eat A Peach either tomorrow or Friday. This all depends on the progress I make with Capital Dames.

I just got my copy of Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas today in the mail. That’s going to be my next read. Concrete Rose follow’s Maverick, a teen dad. Readers first saw Mav in The Hate U Give as Starr’s father. This is how Maverick got to the place we see him in THUG. I am so ready!

As always; take care of yourselves, wash your hands, wear a mask in public, practice some self care, and…

Stay Golden! 🙂

-Leila