Reviews with content warning for Body shaming - Boyfriend Material

Oh my gosh, where to begin with this one! I'd been hearing nothing but great things about this book on Instagram, and after discovering it was free on Spotify, I figured I'd give it a shot. I wasn't sure I was going to make it though, as Lucien is such a pessimistic narrator, especially at the beginning. I figured I'd push on, since so many folks had such good things to say, I figured it had to get better. And it did!! Firstly, I give HUGE kudos to Joe Jameson as an audiobook narrator. Not only did every character have a distinct voice, so you knew who was talking at any given time, but he even used different enunciation to distinguish the James Royce-Royce's so you knew which anyone was referring to at any given time.

Now, on to our wonderful garbage fire of a narrator Luc. As I said, he was so unlikeable at first. He was so despondent that it was clear why he had such a hard time connecting with anyone, even his friends (the ever changing What's App group name was a hilarious running gag). I'm pretty sure I liked Oliver from the start, despite his prickly introduction. He came off as the kind of person who was "Always Right" and although he didn't rub it in your face, also couldn't stand to not correct an error or mistake, if only because he wouldn't want anyone to think he also thought that misinformation was correct. I wasn't expecting, however, for Oliver to also want in on the "fake relationship" deal.

It was clear from early on, Oliver was having real feelings for Luc pretty quickly and he was so panicky about it. He was trying to build up walls so hard and so fast because he clearly had a lot of big feelings, and Luc was being self-defeatist and caught up in his own shit for so long it took him forever to realize he had those big feelings too! I spent a lot of my listening time flapping about in the car to and from work, faux crying about how much they liked each other and they just didn't know it yet!!

I LOVED Luc's mother and she was just the right person to help Luc get out of his own way. I adored Oliver throwing himself at Luc after seeing he [Luc] cleaned his apartment for him [Oliver] and Luc feeling briefly clueless at that moment. But then my heart SHATTERED at seeing how Oliver's parents treated him at their anniversary party!!! I totally get Oliver's mindset of, "they supported me and loved me, and it may not have always been perfect, but they're my family" but BEBE THEY'RE ABUSIVE!! Oh my heart, my poor, sweet bean Oliver. Seeing him fall completely apart after the party and realize no one had ever been there to help him pick up those pieces after an event like that was so heart breaking. I wanted to crawl inside the book and just give him the biggest hug and tell him it was going to be OK.

I definitely wasn't expecting to fall so madly in love with these two adorable train wrecks, and I loved how wildly different they were and how different their issues were from each other. I am SO EXCITED to learn that the sequel is only a few months away and I can't wait to see these two numbskulls navigate their for-real relationship a bit more.

Content Warnings

ruthiedr89's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny inspiring lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

yvonne_cl's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

journeythroughthechapters's review against another edition

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emotional funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Thoughts
This was good but long. I was really getting into but by about 3/4 I was wondering when the book would wrap up.

This book tackled a lot of difficult topics. And might make a few people angry. Emotional abusive parents, homophobia so so many. It's sad and though I can't speak on behalf the LGBTQIA community but I can only imagine the things they go through.

I didn't love that the third act break up came so late and I don't know if I like the way it was done. But regardless it's a romance so you know there's going to be a happy ending.

Things I liked
- The characters: British charm you can't go wrong
- The relationships: particularly between Luc and his mum

Things I don't like
- The end: it could have been better developed
- The length: too long for a romance

Trigger Warning
Body shaming (one incident, side-character), Cancer, Disordered eating (discussed), Homophobia, Parental abuse (manipulative, emotional), Workplace discrimination

Representation
Gay (Main Character), POC (Side Character), Bisexual (Side Character), Lesbian (Side Character)

Content Warnings

the13thmagdalena's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

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