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plumpaperbacks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
4.0
I was eager to read this because I’d seen multiple comparisons between it and Red, White and Royal Blue, my favorite romance novel. While Boyfriend Material does feature a similar relationship dynamic and equally hilarious banter, it wasn’t quite as amazing as I’d hoped it would be.
I wasn’t expecting such a focus on Luc’s and Oliver’s complicated family dynamics. The former’s father has been diagnosed with cancer and wants to fix their poor relationship, whereas the latter has emotionally abusive parents. I sympathize with both guys—I wanna give Oliver a hug—and I can especially relate to Luc’s situation, as sans cancer, I have a similar relationship with my own father. However, some of Luc’s comments regarding his father’s diagnosis seemed insensitive, and it rubbed me the wrong way. That is, untilit was revealed that the asshole never had cancer. Are you kidding me??? This discovery had me angry at the character and unsure what to think of the author. I’m sure Hall is great, but I question why he made this choice.
The way Luc and Oliver supported each other warmed my heart. Theirs was a bit of a messy romance, since both of them are the epitome of gay disasters, but I loved it nonetheless. Recently I’ve realized that fake dating is one of my favorite tropes because I love seeing characters’ dynamics shift from an arrangement to real affection, so of course I loved these two, loved their story. And, as an added bonus, they teased each other frequently, which was quite amusing.
This would’ve been a five star read if not for the events of the last hundred pages. Everything seemed to be going well. I was grinning and laughing at almost every page. And then everything went so wildly wrong.I honestly thought the scene after Luc and Oliver had sex, where Oliver broke up with Luc, was just Luc’s bad dream. I thought he’d wake up, panicking, but find Oliver asleep next to him, cuddled up beside him, and all would be well. All was not well. They really did break up the following morning, and I was *this close* to throwing my book across the room. If not for the fact that I read the scene at four in the morning, thus didn’t want to wake anyone up and also didn’t want to damage my paperback, I might’ve. They didn’t make up until the last few pages, and I was genuinely concerned the book would end with them going their own separate ways. Thank every god it didn’t, because I can’t properly describe how much I would’ve hated that. While things ultimately worked out, I found the ending to be sadly unsatisfying.
Overall, this wasn’t a bad book. It was mostly enjoyable, and quite entertaining. I’d recommend to those looking for a quick romance read, so long as you don’t go in with extremely high expectations.
Representation
I wasn’t expecting such a focus on Luc’s and Oliver’s complicated family dynamics. The former’s father has been diagnosed with cancer and wants to fix their poor relationship, whereas the latter has emotionally abusive parents. I sympathize with both guys—I wanna give Oliver a hug—and I can especially relate to Luc’s situation, as sans cancer, I have a similar relationship with my own father. However, some of Luc’s comments regarding his father’s diagnosis seemed insensitive, and it rubbed me the wrong way. That is, until
The way Luc and Oliver supported each other warmed my heart. Theirs was a bit of a messy romance, since both of them are the epitome of gay disasters, but I loved it nonetheless. Recently I’ve realized that fake dating is one of my favorite tropes because I love seeing characters’ dynamics shift from an arrangement to real affection, so of course I loved these two, loved their story. And, as an added bonus, they teased each other frequently, which was quite amusing.
This would’ve been a five star read if not for the events of the last hundred pages. Everything seemed to be going well. I was grinning and laughing at almost every page. And then everything went so wildly wrong.
Overall, this wasn’t a bad book. It was mostly enjoyable, and quite entertaining. I’d recommend to those looking for a quick romance read, so long as you don’t go in with extremely high expectations.
Representation
- gay protagonist and love interest
- achillean romance (m/m)
- queer side characters (includes gay, bisexual, and lesbian rep; one achillean couple and one sapphic couple (f/f))
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Eating disorder, and Body shaming
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Drug abuse, Cancer, Terminal illness, and Grief
melizto's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
hmmm yesss give me that fake dating, kinda dislike eachother-to lovers trope.
there was a lot of drama due to miscommunication and the relationship was a little toxic but overall i really liked it, also the writing was too british for me haha so i only understood like 75% of the book. ALSO i didnt like that everything got resolved at the end, i wish we could have seen more of their future relationship :(
there was a lot of drama due to miscommunication and the relationship was a little toxic but overall i really liked it, also the writing was too british for me haha so i only understood like 75% of the book. ALSO i didnt like that everything got resolved at the end, i wish we could have seen more of their future relationship :(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, and Eating disorder
violet_pages's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Drug use, Sexual content, and Vomit
meganelise's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Fun romance. I found the writing just okay, but it didn’t get in the way of enjoying the story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia
alisonvh's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
I found the main character/narrator, Luc, annoying to start because he had a tendency to turn even the most innocuous statements into personal attacks, but he got better about that as the book went on. It was clearly a symptom of his low self-esteem and I liked getting to see him mature throughout the course of the book.
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism and Emotional abuse
sentcinematic's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia
Minor: Eating disorder
water_violin's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Eating disorder, and Body shaming
Minor: Homophobia, Alcoholism, and Emotional abuse
ramunepocky's review against another edition
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
1/3 — I listened to the audiobook again whilst working b/c I felt super shitty and ah yes, again, I rlly love this book, the audiobook is absolutely fantastic, the book itself is hilarious and it’s super sweet and best trope,,, would not at all surprise me if I end up listening to it again soon
I listened to the audio book of this whilst working, and oh my god, the audiobook is amazing !!!
also, I really just genuinely thoroughly enjoyed this book; it was hilarious, the fake-dating trope is my literal favourite, and it was handled incredible well, the slow burn pining and the “oh god, I have genuine feelings but don’t want to admit it was”👌🏻👌🏻 I loved so many of the characters, especially Oliver, Lucien’s mum and Alex!! Obviously, it generally focuses the most on Luc and Oliver, but there were a plethora of other LGBT characters too!!
I listened to the audio book of this whilst working, and oh my god, the audiobook is amazing !!!
also, I really just genuinely thoroughly enjoyed this book; it was hilarious, the fake-dating trope is my literal favourite, and it was handled incredible well, the slow burn pining and the “oh god, I have genuine feelings but don’t want to admit it was”👌🏻👌🏻 I loved so many of the characters, especially Oliver, Lucien’s mum and Alex!! Obviously, it generally focuses the most on Luc and Oliver, but there were a plethora of other LGBT characters too!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Sexual content
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug abuse, and Eating disorder
a lot of the minor warnings are more mentioned rather than detailedcovermore's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book makes me want to re-calibrate all my rom-com ratings because it was just...so well done. All of it—the witty banter, perfectly balanced with vulnerable exchanges; the humor and Hall's impeccable sense of comedic timing; the lovably flawed characters and their diverse, well-developed (and mostly well-intentioned) supporting characters; Luc's vivid, relatable narration, which was so full of life and compelling that I felt like I was reading a diary or an autobiography. *chef's kiss*
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Eating disorder, and Homophobia
joyeousness's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Lots of toxic masculinity, lots of manpain.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Alcoholism