Husband Material
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-08-05 11:21:51
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Alexis Hall
- ISBN：1666610070
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Summary
Wanted:
One （very real） husband
Nowhere near perfect but desperately trying his best
In BOYFRIEND MATERIAL， Luc and Oliver met， pretended to fall in love， fell in love for real， dealt with heartbreak and disappointment and family and friends…and somehow figured out a way to make it work。 Now it seems like everyone around them is getting married， and Luc’s feeling the social pressure to propose。 But it’ll take more than four weddings， a funeral， and a bowl full of special curry to get these two from I don’t know what I’m doing to I do。
Good thing Oliver is such perfect HUSBAND MATERIAL。
This Summer 2022， you’re invited to the event（s） of the season。
One （very real） husband
Nowhere near perfect but desperately trying his best
In BOYFRIEND MATERIAL， Luc and Oliver met， pretended to fall in love， fell in love for real， dealt with heartbreak and disappointment and family and friends…and somehow figured out a way to make it work。 Now it seems like everyone around them is getting married， and Luc’s feeling the social pressure to propose。 But it’ll take more than four weddings， a funeral， and a bowl full of special curry to get these two from I don’t know what I’m doing to I do。
Good thing Oliver is such perfect HUSBAND MATERIAL。
This Summer 2022， you’re invited to the event（s） of the season。
Reviews
Dani K
，
August 2022 favorite
M Gregs
，
Frankly I have never seen an author torpedo their own work this magnificently。Why does Alexis Hall hate his most popular book？ Why does he hate his own characters？ Why does he hate his readers， who presumably loved the aforementioned book and characters enough that a publisher decided to green light a sequel？I cannot write anything more coherent than this。 I hate the way this story began and ended。 The only thing that kept it from being a 1-star read is the lingering love I have for the original Frankly I have never seen an author torpedo their own work this magnificently。Why does Alexis Hall hate his most popular book？ Why does he hate his own characters？ Why does he hate his readers， who presumably loved the aforementioned book and characters enough that a publisher decided to green light a sequel？I cannot write anything more coherent than this。 I hate the way this story began and ended。 The only thing that kept it from being a 1-star read is the lingering love I have for the original characters。 Nothing else in this hate-filled glorified fanfiction is worth mentioning。 。。。more
Jarka Alam
，
i just really love luc and oliver 🥺
Melissa F。
，
This is about as close to a perfect sequel as I could have hoped for。 I love Luc and Oliver so much， they are absurd and tragic and wonderful。 This book， much like the first， had plenty of laugh-out-loud moments perfectly entwined with the more serious moments that will leave you sad or uncomfortable or angry。 And I love that。 I love that these books touch on real issues and real complications （as someone with a rather fraught history and current relationship with my father， I really and sincere This is about as close to a perfect sequel as I could have hoped for。 I love Luc and Oliver so much， they are absurd and tragic and wonderful。 This book， much like the first， had plenty of laugh-out-loud moments perfectly entwined with the more serious moments that will leave you sad or uncomfortable or angry。 And I love that。 I love that these books touch on real issues and real complications （as someone with a rather fraught history and current relationship with my father， I really and sincerely felt for Oliver） but still feel like a glorious form of escapism with two guys you cannot help rooting for。This is very much a HFN book， much like the first one， and I'm so glad to know we will be getting a third installment in a couple years with an actual HEA for these lovable morons。 But for now。。。on the heels of what has been an utterly rotten couple of weeks。。。this was exactly what I needed。 <3 。。。more
Natalie B。
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Ugh I don't even know where to start。 I'm so sad about this one。Let me just start off by saying that I adored Luc and Oliver in Boyfriend Material and I have been eagerly waiting for this release since last summer。 So imagine my surprise when I ended up walking away from this book feeling disappointed and exhausted more than anything。 Here's the thing， everything that made Luc and Oliver's dynamic in the first book great was ruined in the sequel。 I always thought they were a great example of how Ugh I don't even know where to start。 I'm so sad about this one。Let me just start off by saying that I adored Luc and Oliver in Boyfriend Material and I have been eagerly waiting for this release since last summer。 So imagine my surprise when I ended up walking away from this book feeling disappointed and exhausted more than anything。 Here's the thing， everything that made Luc and Oliver's dynamic in the first book great was ruined in the sequel。 I always thought they were a great example of how two very different people can come together， have something great， and become stronger in the end。 But here， they spend more time arguing and going in circles over trivial shit than actually enjoying their time together in any capacity。 How exactly am I supposed to root for that？ Also， the author seems to imply that them compromising on anything （no matter how small） would require a monumental amount of self-sacrifice and I just。。。don't agree with that take at all。 I get that you don't want to completely lose yourself in a relationship， but dear lord， your life will not be upended if you end up going with a DJ for your wedding instead of a band。 Additionally， Luc's inability to even TRY to understand where Oliver was coming from was beyond annoying and made me feel quite bad for Oliver。 Like dude， he's likely never going to want to express his gayness in the exact same ways that you do or be into big parties， please just respect that and move on。Another thing， I don't remember feeling this way about the last book， but the banter in this one was excessive。 To be fair， I find this to be the case in a lot of romance books， but this one in particular felt like it was trying really hard to have punchy back-and-forth dialogue， and it just missed the mark for me。 In most cases， the dialogue either felt like a dragged out joke or way too dramatic and over the top。 Like， is there no room for a middle ground where characters can have normal human conversations？I might lose a few people with this part， but I feel like the author was trying too hard to prove how socially conscious and ethical they are throughout this book， and it came across as disingenuous。 I 100% agree that it is extremely important to be cognizant of how language affects others， and that there is always room to become more politically aware and ethical。 However， this book took every possible opportunity to make a point about these things， and it honestly took away from the story and felt extremely unrealistic and nit picky at times。 For example， in one scene an older male character said he "wished he had the balls" to do something and Luc got mad that he was associating genitals with emotional capacity or something along those lines。 Like really？ Could you not have let that one slide？ Not to mention， I would argue that most readers of this book are likely queer and already on the left politically， so this book is essentially preaching to the choir most of the time。 Lastly， the ending of this book felt extremely rushed and gave me emotional whiplash。 One second， you're expecting them to breakup at the last minute， and the next， they decide to run off in the rain together without getting married。 I feel like if the author wanted to do the whole "marriage just isn't for us" thing， then they should have had Luc and Oliver figure that out earlier on in the plot rather than at the very tail end of the book。 Or， alternatively， another chapter or two could've been added to the end to show the fallout of their decision because when you reach the end， you're left feeling like their relationship is on incredibly shaky ground， despite them still being together。 Also， I hope this review doesn't come across as being too mean， as that is sincerely not my intention。 I would have loved to love this book just as much， if not more， than Boyfriend Material， and I'm crushed that that's not the case。 In addition， I don't think Alexis Hall is a bad writer at all！ I just think this book was trying to say too much at once and ultimately lost all of the qualities that made Luc and Oliver's relationship so endearing to begin with。 。。。more
Miriam
，
Adorable
erraticdemon
，
First off， I loved Boyfriend Material。 I thought it was cute， funny， and both characters seemed ready and willing for personal and romantic growth。 I also love romcom movies especially 90s and early 00s British romcom movies。 I even re-watched Four Weddings and a Funeral before reading Husband Material （highly recommend - the movie really holds up well）！ So now that we have established my credentials as the target audience for Husband Material， I can say with absolute conviction， this book was a First off， I loved Boyfriend Material。 I thought it was cute， funny， and both characters seemed ready and willing for personal and romantic growth。 I also love romcom movies especially 90s and early 00s British romcom movies。 I even re-watched Four Weddings and a Funeral before reading Husband Material （highly recommend - the movie really holds up well）！ So now that we have established my credentials as the target audience for Husband Material， I can say with absolute conviction， this book was a massive dumpster fire of betrayal。In short， Husband Material fails to capture even one ounce of the wit or charm or even hope of the movie it ripped off from。 Every single wedding and the funeral were portrayals of how to be an exhaustively self-loathing narcissistic dick to everyone you know including your own boyfriend。 In between the self-loathing there was shoe-horned in social commentary that came out of nowhere and led to nothing。 I have yet to figure out what the point of all this was。 If we can say Boyfriend Material is a book about two people in bad places finding hope and love in each other， we can say Husband Material is over 400 pages of pointless drivel。 For example， Luc （who is the point of view narrator again）， continuously talks about heteronormative weddings and marriage as if they are the same thing and has approximately 100 different positions on them and ultimately lands on none of them。 What， then， was the point of the constantly insulting Oliver and his lack of interest in balloon arch-filled parties and implying Oliver is the wrong sort of gay for not liking rainbow balloons when the conclusion for Luc is the balloon arches don't matter and don't mean anything？？？ Why did we go through this？ How did we end up here？ ？？？？I could write a million more words on this but I will instead limit myself to one （1） item per part of the book so I can go to sleep and forget I ever read this but still allow a glimpse of the hot garbage mess。 If you want more you can read the book （do not recommend this path） or you can scroll through my highlights。 Godspeed。 Part One Luc， as "maid of honour"， wears a crocheted vulva hat to his best friend Bridget's bachelorette party/hen do or as it was called in the book "non-gender specific bird do" because he， and I quote "thought having only penis hats would be heteronormative and/ or transphobic"。 This was an attempt to subvert the stereotypical bachelorette party by including vulva iconography。 The problem with this is a fundamental lack of understanding of what subversion is。 According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary， subvert means to overturn or overthrow from the foundation （ruin） or to pervert or corrupt by an undermining of morals， allegiance， or faith。 Instead， the book reinforces the foundation of society。 A gay man wearing a vulva hat to be a "non-gender-specific bird do" does not allow space for genders not on the binary nor does it make it non-gender-specific。 One would not immediately know Luc is gay and has zero interest in vulva。 Indeed， one would assume it's a reinforcement of the heteronormative ideals of hen dos and bachelorette parties because the cis man， as it were， does not wear a penis hat。 The book made it "no homo" instead of "subverted gender specifics"。 Part Two Part two has so many problematic things it was hard to narrow them down but as I already touched on Luc being a narcissist and accusing Oliver of being the wrong kind of gay， I will focus on the absolute horrendous behavior Luc exhibits towards everyone he comes across。 He is written as a bumbling zany idiot who is only clear and direct when he is being cruel。 The best example of this is when Luc goes to buy Oliver an engagement ring at a jewelry shoppe。Luc， who is written as a bumbling zany idiot， says “I guess，” I tried。 “Um。 A ring？” when asked what he is in the shop for。 The customer service associate then tries to help Luc specify what kind of ring and offers a selection of them， to which Luc asks for something cheaper。 Then this exchange happens:“The first tray was in the middle， sir。” I tried to remember that working in customer service was unrewarding and people had to take their entertainment where they could。 “Okay， something just under the middle， then。 Something below average。 Because I am a below-average person， as you have so clearly implied。”“I beg your pardon， sir？” said the gaslighting fuck on the other side of the counter。In what universe did the employee， or as Luc so charitably described him， the "gaslighting fuck"， imply Luc was below-average？ This and approximately one million other instances are what Luc is like in this book。 He is rude， mean， self-centered， and constantly makes other people feel bad for no reason。 Are we meant to find this funny or charming？ Because it really， really isn't。 Part Three Ah， yes， the classic tale of a privileged white person hating on a different version of privileged white people while refusing to reflect on himself。 Or， Luc is a huge butthead at his coworker's wedding who did nothing to deserve his scorn。 I could talk about the huge fight he and Oliver had about Oliver being polite at this wedding and it meaning Oliver wants a religious heteronormative ceremony （something Oliver has never said）， or the zany accidental breaking and entering of someone else's home， or Luc making Oliver's body image issues about himself again， or how every apology Luc offers isn't an apology and instead is a deflection wrapped in self-loathing in an attempt to manipulate the recipient of Luc's non-apology into apologizing to and reassuring Luc， or any other number of things。What I want to talk about is Luc's spoiled brat baby response to his co-worker Alex Twaddle telling Luc a joke for once and Luc not getting it immediately: “I don’t know， Alex。” I thought it only fair that I go through the full joke-recipient routine。 “What does a Roman pirate say？” “Summus。” Everybody laughed except me。 Because I went to a state school。 The annoying thing was I could probably work out why it was supposed to be funny from context。 I mean it was a pirate joke。 There’s only two endings to a pirate joke， and one of them is just an attempt to subvert the original ending。[。。。]Fuck， why did every conversation with Alex end with me feeling like I was the one with the problem？Because you are the one with the problem， Luc。 Which is proven later when he says this to his boyfriend， Oliver， who dared to disagree with him about something:“And now it seems like you’re going to want our wedding to be this mega-traditional bells-and-incense thing with no queer iconography because you’re so insecure in yourself that rainbows make you uncomfortable。”Like， what is this？ What are we meant to take from this？？？ What is happening。 I thought I was reading a romantic comedy。 Part Four Part Four is the funeral in the Four Weddings and a Funeral setup in which Oliver's dad dies from a heart attack。 The first several chapters of this part are dedicated to Luc making Oliver's grieving and helping out his family about himself。 Because of course。 And this book completely missed the point of the funeral in Four Weddings and a Funeral。 The movie scene， while incredibly sad， still had a lot of hope。 This has Luc being a self-absorbed buttwipe to everyone yet again。 And the funeral was for Oliver's dad， a man who had very little page time in either book， and frankly， this lacked the emotional punch of the movie the book stole from。 I did enjoy Oliver making his long overdue speech at the funeral and it was nice growth from him but he still gave Luc， an undeserving child， all of the credit。 Part Five Finally， the end。 Luc and Oliver getting married。 oR aRe ThEy？？ （spoiler alert: they don't get married and run away from their own wedding because of Heteronormative Societial Expectations， etc。） This could have been a rather sweet realization they worked together better as a non-married couple because external pressure wasn't healthy for them or they had long conversations about what marriage would look like for them。 Instead， I get the feeling these two have never spoken in their lives。 The first time either of them brings up maybe they don't want a wedding or to be married is right beforehand？ For Luc， it was the middle of the night before the wedding and he tells his best friend Bridget and not Oliver at all and then decides to go through with the wedding anyway and never once considers talking to Oliver。 For Oliver， it's right before their wedding ceremony is meant to start but he， at least， has the decency to tell Luc to his face。 Unfortunately， this is regressive Luc we are talking about， so Luc gets incredibly butthurt and throws garbage at Oliver who is crying and makes Oliver explain why he doesn't want to get married to Luc when Luc had come to the same realization only hours before！ What IS THIS？？？ It isn't romance and it isn't making me look forward to their next book。ConclusionNo。Read this review and more on my blog: https://horsetalkreviews。blogspot。com/ 。。。more
Susan Peterson
，
Funny， poignant， perfectionI’m so in love with Luc and Oliver， and I just want to hang out in their world every once in a while。 I want to laugh with them， I want to see Oliver softly smile， I want to be with these two whose love defies reason。 I want to watch them navigate their feelings， which are raw and complicated and messy， and yet somehow they always get back to how much they love each other。
Kiara
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I went into this book thinking the plot was different than it was and was VERY confused but I loved my Luc and Oliver all the same <3 also having my view on marriage completely rearranged and considered 🤔
Gemma
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book was a 3/4 until the end。 The ending though just made my rating plummet to a two。 It’s not that they didn’t get married。 Nothing wrong with that， it’s the fact that they cannot communicate with each other and it is such a cliche to make this decision 10 minutes before their wedding。 Just made a lot of the story feel pointless。 Married doesn’t have to be happy ever after， I often complain about this trope， but it just felt preachy almost。 There is already enough political correctness and This book was a 3/4 until the end。 The ending though just made my rating plummet to a two。 It’s not that they didn’t get married。 Nothing wrong with that， it’s the fact that they cannot communicate with each other and it is such a cliche to make this decision 10 minutes before their wedding。 Just made a lot of the story feel pointless。 Married doesn’t have to be happy ever after， I often complain about this trope， but it just felt preachy almost。 There is already enough political correctness and it just nullified half the freaking book making it a complete and utter waste of time to read 。。。more
Melanie
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So， yeah。 I still love Luc and Oliver so much。 however I will be talking about all the issues I had with this book here and it will feel like a lot but in all honesty， all together they are still very minimal so I want to make it clear that I freaking loved this book and even with a few nitpicks I would recommend it， read it again and own it with pride。 So here are my nitpicks: 1。 I wish we had been in Oliver's pov instead of back in Luc's - I think， especially in the first two parts， Oliver doe So， yeah。 I still love Luc and Oliver so much。 however I will be talking about all the issues I had with this book here and it will feel like a lot but in all honesty， all together they are still very minimal so I want to make it clear that I freaking loved this book and even with a few nitpicks I would recommend it， read it again and own it with pride。 So here are my nitpicks: 1。 I wish we had been in Oliver's pov instead of back in Luc's - I think， especially in the first two parts， Oliver doesn't get enough page time， and given how the third act gets resolved I really would have liked an Oliver POV for this one。 2。 This felt a little less genre romance than I had anticipated - maybe because of the direct sequel thing or maybe because of the already a couple thing， this didn't actually feel like a genre romance to me even though it had plenty of romantic moments。 I mean， I kinda liked that feeling， but also didn't in moments。 I dunno。。。 it's complicated。 3。 without spoilers - the resolution of the third act problem felt。。。 well more like a ted talk than a romantic gesture。 It's not that I minded the decision made just there was a lot of expositioning that felt a little preaching to the audience rather than how people actually talk and interact。 I would have preferred a less dramatic way to get to the same conclusion。 Overall， I still loved all the characters and wanted more， I would read another novel with Luc and Oliver tomorrow！ 。。。more
D A
，
I really enjoyed book one in the series， Boyfriend Material （somewhat to my surprise as it isn't my normal cup of tea）。 When I saw book 2 was coming out to continue Luc & Oliver's story， I was curious & interested so requested it on Net Galley。 After being approved， I was both a bit excited and cautious。 After all， sequels are always a risk （will it be as good as the 1st book or was that a fluke） as can continuing a story about a couple that has already found "happy" （there's a limit to how much I really enjoyed book one in the series， Boyfriend Material （somewhat to my surprise as it isn't my normal cup of tea）。 When I saw book 2 was coming out to continue Luc & Oliver's story， I was curious & interested so requested it on Net Galley。 After being approved， I was both a bit excited and cautious。 After all， sequels are always a risk （will it be as good as the 1st book or was that a fluke） as can continuing a story about a couple that has already found "happy" （there's a limit to how much angst or torment one couple should have to go through but don't want "boring" either）。 I'm happy to say this book didn't disappoint。 While I may not have enjoyed it quite as much as the first， it was pretty close （no fluke here） and while there was angst （after all it is Luc & Oliver & crew）， there wasn’t too much （not bored）。 It had many of the qualities of the prior story – quirky friends & clueless coworkers， humor & a bit of snark， some angst & sweet moments as Luc and Oliver still fumble a little even after 2years together as they navigate relationship expectations – both their own， those around them & society in general。Also similar to the prior book， it is long （over 400 pages） and occasionally a little slow （particularly to start） but is well written， overall nicely paced and interesting。 It’s much like hanging out with a friend， sitting with a drink after a cookout， or gathered around a dinner party table， or sitting on the front stoop watching the world go by as you chat and listen to them tell you （in an occasionally slightly meandering but still entertaining way） what’s been going on in their life since you last got together。 Luc’s telling made me laugh， occasionally want to smack him， made me think a couple of times and always entertained and provided a good sense of the other characters in the story。 The physical relationship continues to be “behind close doors”， the intimacy of their relationship isn’t missing at all。All in all， Husband Material is a story I can happily recommend you take the time to check out。 You don’t need to read the 1st book to enjoy this one， but you should since you’ll probably want too afterwards anyway。Arc courtesy of net galley in exchange for a fair and honest review 。。。more
Secret Alter-Ego
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It's not you， Alexis， it's me。It's time I admit it: I'm not as much of an Alexis Hall fan as I thought I was。 Don't get me wrong， his writing is amazing and I'll always be in awe of that。 But when I look at the full range of his books， most of them are not for me。I fell in love first with For Real， and continued to be impressed with the rest of the Spires books and even the deceptively absurd Billionaire books。 Then I read Boyfriend Material and thought， "well this is different， but It's not you， Alexis， it's me。It's time I admit it: I'm not as much of an Alexis Hall fan as I thought I was。 Don't get me wrong， his writing is amazing and I'll always be in awe of that。 But when I look at the full range of his books， most of them are not for me。I fell in love first with For Real， and continued to be impressed with the rest of the Spires books and even the deceptively absurd Billionaire books。 Then I read Boyfriend Material and thought， "well this is different， but it's hilarious and I'm having a whale of a good time！" And then 。 。 。 everything I've read since has disappointed me。 Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake， A Lady for a Duke， and now Husband Material。 （I've instinctively avoided Kate Kane， Murder Most Actual， and Something Fabulous， which maybe should tell me something。） I think one romcom was my limit for this author， but it turns out romcom is kind of his thing。 I also wonder， though， what suddenly needing to fulfill three book contracts in a year may have done to Hall's carefulness as a writer。 What felt refreshingly ridiculous in Boyfriend Material felt kind of flat and cardboard-y here， despite some scream-out-loud funny moments。 Though some people are unhappy with the ending， I didn't mind the ending itself （or rather the end-point that the characters arrived at）， but I did mind how they got there。 It felt like the characters were being pushed towards the author's desired message-y ending。 For example， （view spoiler）[we are tipped off that Luc deep down doesn't want to get married because his Very Insightful Mom says so， not because of anything we've learned about Luc， this relationship， or how the characters feel about commitment。 （hide spoiler）] And it happened way way too suddenly， after months of terrible communication， in a moment when both characters are unbelievably stressed and not in their right minds， just to shoe-horn it into the story beats of a romcom。 Sigh。 I'm happy for everyone who loves romcoms， loves Alexis Hall unconditionally， or loves Alexis Hall writing romcoms。 Given the constraints of the genre， this is some quality product。 It's just not for me。 。。。more
Amanda
，
Okay， I was 50/50 on getting a sequel to a romance book I loved and I approached this with some trepidation but ultimately。。。 I loved it。 And look， I'm telling you right now， up front， that it doesn't follow the standard romance beat sheet （thank god） and I think Alexis Hall is going to catch a lot of flack for this because romance readers DO NOT LIKE DEVIATION FROM THE SCRIPT。 But I personally just loved the hell out of this story。 Luc and Oliver make such a great pair and I genuinely enjoyed s Okay， I was 50/50 on getting a sequel to a romance book I loved and I approached this with some trepidation but ultimately。。。 I loved it。 And look， I'm telling you right now， up front， that it doesn't follow the standard romance beat sheet （thank god） and I think Alexis Hall is going to catch a lot of flack for this because romance readers DO NOT LIKE DEVIATION FROM THE SCRIPT。 But I personally just loved the hell out of this story。 Luc and Oliver make such a great pair and I genuinely enjoyed seeing the way Hall deliberately chose to upend the status quo so that he could portray a *healthy* long term relationship （because let's face it， if you're two years in and still doing the break up/get back together dance， you're not in a healthy relationship）。 I honestly feel like this is borderline literary fiction rather than romance and I'm here for it。And sure， the people complaining that the characters didn't have much growth from the beginning to the end of the story are kind of right， but also they're kind of not because this isn't a new relationship and the characters dont have as far to travel as they did when they first met。 I felt like they both had an appropriate amount of growth for the length of their relationship （although I confess I was hoping for Oliver's point of view in this novel because I think this was his turn for more growth and I would have liked to share that with him）。 But honestly maybe all those people are just jealous that Luc and Oliver have nearly perfected the art of arguing as a couple because that is a really forking hard thing to do and shows a considerable amount of growth on its own。 But I digress。Boyfriend Material has been a comfort read for me ever since I got my hands on it and Husband Material hits me exactly the same way: a warm， funny， sweet story about two slightly flawed but ultimately wonderful characters who feel very， very real。 Looking forward to seeing where the third book takes us！ 。。。more
Caitlyn Woods
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I was a little annoyed at the lack of communication between Luc and Oliver during this book， but overall I really enjoyed it and was very happy to see a sequel to Boyfriend Material， which I have read three times。。。 oops
iivalexandra
，
four weddings and a funeral but every character sounds like someone who has been to therapy professionally slash attended one psychology class。。。 it's so weird to me that a take away i support so strongly can be presented in such a way that i don't like。 i mean i guess there's talent to that four weddings and a funeral but every character sounds like someone who has been to therapy professionally slash attended one psychology class。。。 it's so weird to me that a take away i support so strongly can be presented in such a way that i don't like。 i mean i guess there's talent to that 。。。more
Becca Boland
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I didn't love this one as much as Boyfriend Material but I did really like it。 I feel like there has to be a third book in this series called Daddy Material or something because I was left a little concerned that HEA might not be in the cards for our protagonists - and I need to know they'll be okay。 Genre: Romantic comediesThemes: Opposites attractCharacter: LGBTQIA Storyline: Character-drivenTone: UpbeatWriting Style: Banter-filled; Witty I didn't love this one as much as Boyfriend Material but I did really like it。 I feel like there has to be a third book in this series called Daddy Material or something because I was left a little concerned that HEA might not be in the cards for our protagonists - and I need to know they'll be okay。 Genre: Romantic comediesThemes: Opposites attractCharacter: LGBTQIA Storyline: Character-drivenTone: UpbeatWriting Style: Banter-filled; Witty 。。。more
Allie
，
this is everything I wanted and more
Ria
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i’m starting this by saying boyfriend material is in my top 3 favourite books of all time unsurprisingly this book wasn’t better than boyfriend material but was still very good love oliver forever xxxxxi loved the ending despite seeing ppl not like itbiggest complaint is i want more oliver
Kayla Martin | kaykaysbookshelf
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You know the movie "Four Weddings and a Funeral"？ There's a reason it's a movie and not a book。Like the first one， this book was too long， and overall boring。 I like Luc & Oliver， but Luc is such a mess I was rolling my eyes at his inner dialogue so much。 Oliver is also a mess。 This book was fine until the last two chapters。 No bueno。Spice: closed door like the first one You know the movie "Four Weddings and a Funeral"？ There's a reason it's a movie and not a book。Like the first one， this book was too long， and overall boring。 I like Luc & Oliver， but Luc is such a mess I was rolling my eyes at his inner dialogue so much。 Oliver is also a mess。 This book was fine until the last two chapters。 No bueno。Spice: closed door like the first one 。。。more
Fizzy
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When I read Boyfriend Material I thought to myself， oh I'm such a Luc！ And now， reading Husband Material， my brain is having tiny sparks coming out of it because I AM such a Luc！Husband Material follows Oliver and Lucien after some bitter， but mostly sweet events of Boyfriend Material。 We get to meet with our favourite gang - Priya， Bridge， James Royce - Royce， Alex Twaddle （my personal favourite！😂） and more。This book had some very interesting ups and downs going on but none without the classic When I read Boyfriend Material I thought to myself， oh I'm such a Luc！ And now， reading Husband Material， my brain is having tiny sparks coming out of it because I AM such a Luc！Husband Material follows Oliver and Lucien after some bitter， but mostly sweet events of Boyfriend Material。 We get to meet with our favourite gang - Priya， Bridge， James Royce - Royce， Alex Twaddle （my personal favourite！😂） and more。This book had some very interesting ups and downs going on but none without the classic alexis hall found family perfection and a great deal of humour。 When I was not swooning， I was cracking up。 Reading this book felt a lot like eating cotton candy under a balloon arch！ （see what I did there？）The thing that always keeps me on tip toes is the dynamic between Luc and Oliver。 On one hand， we have this extremely collected， i-have-my-shit-figured- out Oliver and on the other hand， we have am-i-even-a-whole-person Luc。 The two of them put together should follow the typical sunshine/grumpy dynamic， right？ But， no。 These two somehow manage to defy that as well to have their own myriads of problems and then solve them in their own way。 And I really enjoyed this take！ Because relationships， of any nature， are hard。 This is one of the most interesting non-fairytale fairytale books I have ever read。I found Luc's anxiety and tendency to spiral very much relatable。 Like， how are you so on point？ And thanks for the hope， I guess？Anyways， happy pub day to this beautiful book！ Have you read it？ What do you think of it？Thank you @netgalley and @sourcebookscasa for an arc！ ❤️💙 。。。more
Noa Duvekot
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okay well， the ending was something i def didnt expect at the start， but i thought it was better that way。 i grinned a lot because i simply love lucien and oliver since bfm is still one of my fav books。 the reason why i have given it one star off is because of the bickering and arguing， trying to impose the correct way to express being gay。
Sarahcophagus
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I'm going to write up a real review once I decompress a bit， but mostly I'm just shocked and confused that this seems universally hated by all of my reading buddies so far。 Sure， some elements fall flat， and it didn't have the magic spark of Boyfriend Material， but I feel like I'm on island for not aggressively despising this。 I'm going to write up a real review once I decompress a bit， but mostly I'm just shocked and confused that this seems universally hated by all of my reading buddies so far。 Sure， some elements fall flat， and it didn't have the magic spark of Boyfriend Material， but I feel like I'm on island for not aggressively despising this。 。。。more
Alexandra
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I liked this book and returning to all the characters。 There was a lot of fun moments in this story and I laughed a lot。 I definitely understand the reviews that feel this book was a bit incoherent， it has 5 parts， each with a distinctive plot focus which makes it a bit episodically in nature。As far as the ending I did find it strange with Oliver’s stance on marriage， mainly because of the legal benefits of being married。 Considering his career I thought he would see the benefits of marriage fro I liked this book and returning to all the characters。 There was a lot of fun moments in this story and I laughed a lot。 I definitely understand the reviews that feel this book was a bit incoherent， it has 5 parts， each with a distinctive plot focus which makes it a bit episodically in nature。As far as the ending I did find it strange with Oliver’s stance on marriage， mainly because of the legal benefits of being married。 Considering his career I thought he would see the benefits of marriage from a practical point of view whether he is actually interested in it for any other reason。 I also agree that the ending where they decide neither of them actually wanted to get married at all was a bit abrupt and last minute。 It would have worked better for me if this had been foreshadowed for a longer time， for example Luc panicking and realising he doesn’t want to get married right away after proposing and then spending the rest of the book agonising over what to do， only to find out at the end that Oliver feels the same。 However what we do get is two characters repeatedly saying how happy they are about getting married until they realise at the last minute that they can’t go through with it for reasons that are not really explored？I had a lot of fun reading this but I understand why some people are disappointed by the sequel， especially considering the promotions leading up to publication。 。。。more
Dana
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This rating is subject to change as I continue to process that ending。。。。I am honestly torn 😂 I love the banter both with the romantic couples and the platonic friendships， I love Luc and Oliver。 The journey they go on as an established couple is important and not seen in a lot of rom coms。 I liked seeing the side to their relationship after the initial flirting and dating in the first book。 Also I would read an entire book about Priya and another about Luc's mom and her friend。 The ending took This rating is subject to change as I continue to process that ending。。。。I am honestly torn 😂 I love the banter both with the romantic couples and the platonic friendships， I love Luc and Oliver。 The journey they go on as an established couple is important and not seen in a lot of rom coms。 I liked seeing the side to their relationship after the initial flirting and dating in the first book。 Also I would read an entire book about Priya and another about Luc's mom and her friend。 The ending took me by surprise and it felt very abrupt。 But I think I still loved it？ So this is going to sit at like a 4。5 for now。 。。。more
Kristen
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 i'm a solid three stars on this book。 truly just damn fine with it。 it wasn't bad， i read the whole thing in just a couple sittings， but it just wasn't the SAME as boyfriend material。 the vibes of the book were a fucking rollercoaster ride。 the twist not-getting-married ending makes sense because their proposal was the least grand thing in the entire world， but that's not what i wanted for them or felt they deserved。there was WAY too much bickering over how different they are and not enough unde i'm a solid three stars on this book。 truly just damn fine with it。 it wasn't bad， i read the whole thing in just a couple sittings， but it just wasn't the SAME as boyfriend material。 the vibes of the book were a fucking rollercoaster ride。 the twist not-getting-married ending makes sense because their proposal was the least grand thing in the entire world， but that's not what i wanted for them or felt they deserved。there was WAY too much bickering over how different they are and not enough understanding from anyone and that didn't feel authentic to the couple we left at the end of the book。 luc and oliver were both way too determined to hate themselves yet simultaneously way too stubborn that they were rightthe father-dying storyline WAS done very well and i appreciated that part of the book。i loved the writing， because i always love the writing。 the humour and style of this book overall is fantastic。some aspects of the book felt completely pointless。 what was the point of luc's dad at all？ neither conversation with him had any impact on the plot。 i get we're trying to set up a spin-off here but shoving tyler in at the end felt really random and forced。i love the characters of luc and oliver and i love their dynamic but i think this book focused way too much on the bad side of it then the good， happy， domestic side。the plot should've gone all in on the "marriage isn't for us" aspect or all in them actually getting married because the leaving it until literally the last second was just confusing and abrupt。i feel fine about this book， i'm glad i read it and i'm glad we're getting more of luc and oliver。 but all in all， it's another sequel falling to the curse of sequels that don't quite live up to what the first book was。 。。。more
Annarella
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I have a love/meh relationship with Alexis Hall stories but this one is in the LOVE sector。 It's a gripping page turner that made me laugh but also think。There's a lot of humour， laugh out loud moments， but there's also some very serious issue and I like how the author deals with them。A well plotted and well told story that I strongly recommend。Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC， all opinions are mine I have a love/meh relationship with Alexis Hall stories but this one is in the LOVE sector。 It's a gripping page turner that made me laugh but also think。There's a lot of humour， laugh out loud moments， but there's also some very serious issue and I like how the author deals with them。A well plotted and well told story that I strongly recommend。Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC， all opinions are mine 。。。more
Annine
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Thanks to the publisher and to netgalley for an eARC of this in exchange for an honest review。 Really enjoyed this sequel to Boyfriend Material。 It takes place about two years later， and as you can tell from the title， it focuses on marriage。 Not just Luc and Oliver's potential marriage， however。 There are three weddings and a funeral they have to deal with before their own。 Luc and Oliver have to deal with balancing being good friends and sons with being good partners。 Like the previous book， i Thanks to the publisher and to netgalley for an eARC of this in exchange for an honest review。 Really enjoyed this sequel to Boyfriend Material。 It takes place about two years later， and as you can tell from the title， it focuses on marriage。 Not just Luc and Oliver's potential marriage， however。 There are three weddings and a funeral they have to deal with before their own。 Luc and Oliver have to deal with balancing being good friends and sons with being good partners。 Like the previous book， it focuses on relationship challenges and insecurities， exploring anxieties and issues that probably feels familiar to a lot of people。 This book is sweet and funny and real。 It's got more depth than your average romcom， which I think Alexis Hall is great at portraying。CW: death of a parent， homophobia 。。。more
Cayley
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I absolutely love Luc and Oliver， and reading about more of their life together was amazing。 There were so many adulthood struggles， relationship problems and insecurities explored that I related to。 Would strongly recommend Alexis Hall's writing to anyone！ I absolutely love Luc and Oliver， and reading about more of their life together was amazing。 There were so many adulthood struggles， relationship problems and insecurities explored that I related to。 Would strongly recommend Alexis Hall's writing to anyone！ 。。。more
Evan
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Not as good as the original but not bad。 Certain scenes really drag on and even though it’s fiction parts of the plot can be very far fetched （a bride forgot to pack her wedding dress？ Really？） It’s a blatant copy and paste of the formula from the movie Four Weddings and a Funeral。 The main protagonist Luc is way less likable than the first and almost every chapter I found myself saying “why is Oliver putting up with his shit？” Still it’s a quick cute harmless read
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Husband Material
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Husband Material&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Husband Material&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0