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levilore_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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
4.0
I really enjoyed this book! It had a lot of great moments, but be aware that it is very different in vibes from the first book. Rather than Boyfriend Material which was much more "fanfic trope" this book deals with what it is actually like being in an adult relationship, what queer love means, marriage as an institution, and grief. It had a lot of amazing moments, but didn't have the iron grip on my heart like the first book, which honestly worked well for the plot/themes. Had some moments that genuinely made me yell out loud from excitement and other times I fully started crying. I only knocked it down a few points because the beginning was a bit slow for my taste.
Now the ending.I saw other reviews saying they hated this book because the ending was so disappointing and frustrating. I see where people are coming from, the whole build up to the wedding and then for them to not even get married was somewhat disappointing plus the last chapter felt a bit rushed. However, I do not think the ending didn't make sense and I believe many people missed the point of this story.
Throughout the different weddings, Luc and Oliver obviously have different opinions about what marriage means and in Oliver's case, he is still figuring out what being queer means for him. The other weddings celebrate the joy of marriage and how individualized the experience is for each couple. My main takeaway from the book was that for Luc and Oliver, the act of marriage isn't, well, that important. For them, not being married is more important because it's an act of protest. Neither of them really talk about why they want to be married, rather they are both focused on the expectations that they should want to get married. They already do all the things that a life partner does for each other. Luc shows this when he supports Oliver through his dad's death. Oliver supports Luc when they go to Miles' wedding. The only time their communication fully breaks down is when they are trying to plan an event neither of them want. For the characters, the ending makes sense. Is it extremely dramatic and surprising? Absolutely. But through that act, through their complete honesty with each other, they are able to have their version of what love means, which is them bailing on their own wedding, running into the rain, and making out. (I really enjoyed the sweet touch of the rainbow umbrellas)
In a larger context, I enjoyed this book because it explores the complexity of queerness and marriage. They talk about how marriage is an important right for queer people, but there is no right way to be queer. Having that conventional expression of love, for a relationship that started and continues to be unconventional, just doesn't work for them. And that's the point of the ending. Did it annoy me that they wasted all that time and money just to not get married? Yes, it did. Do I think they could have just had a big party and skipped the ceremony? Absolutely. But I think that's the whole point. From the outside, them running off looks absolutely ridiculous and stupid, but character wise it makes sense because honestly they are both kind of ridiculous and stupid. People want everything to be wrapped up in this beautiful bow of marriage = happiness but I think Alexis Hall uses this book to show how true queerness is about accepting that not being married, not having the flashy rainbow ceremony, should be just as beautiful as all those things. The idea of "love is love" should not just be "love is love if you follow the traditional normative conventions of how love should be expressed", but rather "love is complex and weird and that is beautiful too". And I personally think that is more impactful than them getting married in the first place.
Now the ending.
Throughout the different weddings, Luc and Oliver obviously have different opinions about what marriage means and in Oliver's case, he is still figuring out what being queer means for him. The other weddings celebrate the joy of marriage and how individualized the experience is for each couple. My main takeaway from the book was that for Luc and Oliver, the act of marriage isn't, well, that important. For them, not being married is more important because it's an act of protest. Neither of them really talk about why they want to be married, rather they are both focused on the expectations that they should want to get married. They already do all the things that a life partner does for each other. Luc shows this when he supports Oliver through his dad's death. Oliver supports Luc when they go to Miles' wedding. The only time their communication fully breaks down is when they are trying to plan an event neither of them want. For the characters, the ending makes sense. Is it extremely dramatic and surprising? Absolutely. But through that act, through their complete honesty with each other, they are able to have their version of what love means, which is them bailing on their own wedding, running into the rain, and making out. (I really enjoyed the sweet touch of the rainbow umbrellas)
In a larger context, I enjoyed this book because it explores the complexity of queerness and marriage. They talk about how marriage is an important right for queer people, but there is no right way to be queer. Having that conventional expression of love, for a relationship that started and continues to be unconventional, just doesn't work for them. And that's the point of the ending. Did it annoy me that they wasted all that time and money just to not get married? Yes, it did. Do I think they could have just had a big party and skipped the ceremony? Absolutely. But I think that's the whole point. From the outside, them running off looks absolutely ridiculous and stupid, but character wise it makes sense because honestly they are both kind of ridiculous and stupid. People want everything to be wrapped up in this beautiful bow of marriage = happiness but I think Alexis Hall uses this book to show how true queerness is about accepting that not being married, not having the flashy rainbow ceremony, should be just as beautiful as all those things. The idea of "love is love" should not just be "love is love if you follow the traditional normative conventions of how love should be expressed", but rather "love is complex and weird and that is beautiful too". And I personally think that is more impactful than them getting married in the first place.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Cursing, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Sexism, Grief, Homophobia, Classism, Abandonment, Alcohol, Fatphobia, and Sexual content
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Transphobia, Vomit, Cancer, Infidelity, and Excrement
its_vendetta's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
liked the first one better but this was still cute! LOVED the ending
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Homophobia
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Emotional abuse
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Eating disorder
londonbridget98's review against another edition
emotional
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
a waste of my time. read boyfriend material as a standalone.
I will say i love Alexis Hall’s writing. The side characters were fun and interesting and well-fleshed out, and the humor was really on point. I just felt like we kept going in circles and circles and circles with the same arguments and zero resolutions. I wish I’d never read it and could have just stayed in my happy boyfriend material bubble.
I will say i love Alexis Hall’s writing. The side characters were fun and interesting and well-fleshed out, and the humor was really on point. I just felt like we kept going in circles and circles and circles with the same arguments and zero resolutions. I wish I’d never read it and could have just stayed in my happy boyfriend material bubble.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Homophobia
Moderate: Vomit and Grief
escsmith's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
I wish I hadn't read this, the first one was enough.
I dislike a lot of this book to be honest. Luc is insufferable, so whiney and immature throughout.
I like the characters less now that I did before. I felt like everything was handled poorly, from the 'am I gay enough' conversation that happened repeatedly, the grief, and everything about the wedding.I am so glad they didn' get married, because every moment during the tedious arguing I was thinking they should not be marrying one another.
The redeeming qualities of this book were the side characters.
I dislike a lot of this book to be honest. Luc is insufferable, so whiney and immature throughout.
I like the characters less now that I did before. I felt like everything was handled poorly, from the 'am I gay enough' conversation that happened repeatedly, the grief, and everything about the wedding.
The redeeming qualities of this book were the side characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Grief, and Death of parent
mnerd63's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Death of parent
jadehusdanhicks's review
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I honestly don’t think I’ve ever read such an underwhelming sequel. If written well I think I’d really enjoy Luc and Oliver’s dynamic but this just didn’t hit the spot for me. It dragged out unnecessary arguments, had predictable plot if a bunch of weddings and a funeral .
Although arguing is part of even then healthiest relationships, the amount in this book was downright unhealthy. It really put a downer on where live and made this a drag for me to finish. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this duology to anyone wanting a well written realistic queer romance reccomendations.
Although arguing is part of even then healthiest relationships, the amount in this book was downright unhealthy. It really put a downer on where live and made this a drag for me to finish. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this duology to anyone wanting a well written realistic queer romance reccomendations.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, Death, Homophobia, Alcohol, Classism, and Death of parent
bimblebop's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I have even less to say about this book than the first.
The main character stayed equally insufferable (which retroactively made him more bearable with the time to adjust), but the male lead went from polite to a little stuffy. Which is all intentional, so there's that.
It was okay. It felt like one big LGBTQ+ party (I'm saying this as a lesbian) and in those ways it's always nice. But I don't feel like this book had anything special for me. It was more like catching up on my friends' and their friends' lives but I don't actually know them so I don't really care.
The main character stayed equally insufferable (which retroactively made him more bearable with the time to adjust), but the male lead went from polite to a little stuffy. Which is all intentional, so there's that.
It was okay. It felt like one big LGBTQ+ party (I'm saying this as a lesbian) and in those ways it's always nice. But I don't feel like this book had anything special for me. It was more like catching up on my friends' and their friends' lives but I don't actually know them so I don't really care.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Eating disorder
yasidiaz's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
4.5
Just like Boyfriend Material, I found this book hilarious and the characters hilarious, but I was still left wanting more. This time I cared about the side characters a bit more than I did in the first book, but it wasn't much of a difference. I don't hate many of the characters (the exception being Oliver's parents, and that stupid judge), but the only ones I found myself loving and actually caring about were Luc and Oliver.
Now getting that out of the way, I found this book even funnier than the first at times. I also feel that Boyfriend Material was a book where we mostly saw Luc grow, while Husband Material focuses more on Oliver's. There was growth for both of them, but I enjoyed seeing Oliver confront his relationship with his family and that he might harbor internalized homophobia.
I'm not going to spoil the finale but it was the biggest highlight for me. It's so them and I loved it.
If you love Boyfriend Material or already love Alexis Hall, I highly recommend this book.
Now getting that out of the way, I found this book even funnier than the first at times. I also feel that Boyfriend Material was a book where we mostly saw Luc grow, while Husband Material focuses more on Oliver's. There was growth for both of them, but I enjoyed seeing Oliver confront his relationship with his family and that he might harbor internalized homophobia.
I'm not going to spoil the finale but it was the biggest highlight for me. It's so them and I loved it.
If you love Boyfriend Material or already love Alexis Hall, I highly recommend this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Death of parent
ruththereader96's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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
A great sequel to boyfriend material
. Lighthearted and funny, great to see the main characters and explore their friends a bit more as well
. Lighthearted and funny, great to see the main characters and explore their friends a bit more as well
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Eating disorder
lonelylooper's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Cursing, and Homophobia