Reviews with content warning for Cancer - Boyfriend Material

Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

208 reviews

booksthatburn's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

BOYFRIEND MATERIAL is a fake-dating-turned-real-feelings story between two gay men who both need the appearance of a relationship long enough to get through some big upcoming events. A mutual friend pairs them up for their fake relationship, and somehow this fake boyfriend thing is one of the most stable relationships Luc has ever had.

This is the first book in a series, which slightly hints at the direction of the ending. The ending fits their relationship very well, and I like their overall dynamic. The ongoing status of their relationship is established for future books, and several major plot points are resolved. There are secondary plots related to each of their relationships with their parents. Luc's father walked out of his life twenty-five years ago, and has walked back into it with no warning and a declaration that he has cancer and would like to get to know Luc better. Luc's mother, who was also abandoned by Luc's father (her husband and musical collaborator), is supportive of any decision Luc might make, all the way from reconciliation to telling his father to go fuck himself. I adore Luc's mother, she's written very well and I love the audiobook performance for her. Oliver's parents only appear briefly, during the event for which he needed Luc as a fake boyfriend, but they cast a long shadow which has implications for later books.

The dung beetle charity and Luc's co-workers there are an endless source of exasperation and delight for me. Between his co-workers, his friends, and Oliver's friends, there are so many vibrant and specific people that it wasn't difficult for me to keep track of anyone. Normally I have trouble keeping track of characters (let alone their names) when the cast gets past five or so, but I had no issues here.

Things I love, in no particular order: Luc telling jokes to Alex, everything dung-beetle-related, Oliver being pedantic about law, Luc's friends, Bridget's publishing fiascos.

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levilore_'s review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

4.5

The book legitimately had me laughing out loud during most of it, but still managed to focus on topics of homophobia, found family, mental illness, and what love truly means. I really loved the author took the traditional "fake dating" plot and added in a cast of characters that I genuinely really liked and somehow made me root for a main character who pretty much had zero self-esteem the whole book (which usually find very annoying). The ending was extremely satisfying and although their are 2 more books in the series, I feel as though you could really enjoy this one without reading the others. Only reason its not 5 stars is because sometimes I wanted to shake Luc and Oliver for being so dumb about their emotions, but at the same time its a faked relationship trope, so it comes with the topic.

I would highly recommend the audio book because the narrator was so incredible that I actually liked the book more than the last time I read it.

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its_vendetta's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

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

4.0

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brenna1127's review

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funny lighthearted 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

3.0

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abbie_eibba's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective 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

3.75

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lanie2024's review

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.25

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jadehusdanhicks's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.75

Cheesy, with fanfic-esque writing, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. It reminded me of red white and royal blue in the haters to lovers with need for fake dating that that book had.

I won’t critique the writing because honestly it was overdone and compensating for something and I could go on for ages about it.

-the charities name was stupid
- Oliver’s parents were assholes
-homophobia never adds anything to the plot
- token straight or gay friends being a highlight/plot point is stupid.

Overall I’m glad luc and Oliver ended happy and I’m interested to see how the next book goes.

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kirstencholewa's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

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adrienanthony's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

5.0

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folkofthebook's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.25

“You”—I gave a thwarted sigh—“are a terrible fake boyfriend.”
“I’m building fake anticipation.”
“You’d better be fake worth it.”
“I am.”

this had no right being as adorable & sweet & funny & clever as it was!

i loved watching their relationship develop. i thought both characters were really lovable. luc constantly sticking his foot in his mouth is literally me 😭 and oliver was so adorable as the stern on the outside, sweet on the inside LI (and vegetarian king 👑). watching them learn to open up to each other and be each other's support was a delight.

“I don’t want fine. Fine isn’t enough. It’s not about the open fire or whatever other clichés you can conjure up, but yes, I want a connection. I want you to care as much as I care. I want you to need it and want it and mean it. I want it to matter.”

alexis has very clever writing and makes scenes with all the eclectic side characters really fun, it adds a lot of charm to an already quite enjoyable story. also shout out to the 10 things i hate about you reference 💖

the narrator was excellent. i already have a harder time w processing audio vs reading, and accents typically make it all the more difficult, but i didn't really have an issue with this one and i thought he captured all the characters' essences very well!

i will definitely be reading the next book and checking out more of alexis hall's books!

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