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diana_raquel's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
“I am yours, more truly than I have ever been anyone’s. Because when I’m with you, I’m me. Not someone I think I should be. And I’ll be with you, however you want, for as long as you’ll have me.”
So, I really liked Boyfriend Material. It was a cute rom-com. And because I liked it, I decided to read Husband Material, which continues the story of Luc and Oliver. And I liked it. It's another cute rom-com. However, I didn't like it as much as the first book.
What won me over Boyfriend Material, was the character development. Although I didn't like Luc at first, I kept rooting for him and Oliver. And, with time, I started to like him. But when I started reading this book, I already know Luc and his character development. And, although this book also has strong character development, it wasn't as impactful as the character development of the first book. So, the book ended up falling a bit short, for me. However, on a positive point, this book was able to surprise me since some plot twists were completely unexpected.
Overall, this is a cute rom-com that I would recommend to fans of Luc and Oliver.
So, I really liked Boyfriend Material. It was a cute rom-com. And because I liked it, I decided to read Husband Material, which continues the story of Luc and Oliver. And I liked it. It's another cute rom-com. However, I didn't like it as much as the first book.
What won me over Boyfriend Material, was the character development. Although I didn't like Luc at first, I kept rooting for him and Oliver. And, with time, I started to like him. But when I started reading this book, I already know Luc and his character development. And, although this book also has strong character development, it wasn't as impactful as the character development of the first book. So, the book ended up falling a bit short, for me. However, on a positive point, this book was able to surprise me since some plot twists were completely unexpected.
Overall, this is a cute rom-com that I would recommend to fans of Luc and Oliver.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Death, Vomit, Homophobia, and Cursing
Moderate: Classism and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual content and Eating disorder
bedtimesandbooks's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Homophobia, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Classism
sarahna's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Death of parent, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Body shaming, Classism, Eating disorder, Cancer, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
junovverse'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Not as good as the first one in my opinion. I did enjoy the ending, though from the blurb, I can see why so many people were disappointed with it. I also feel like, just with book 1, the ending felt quite rushed? Both in book 1 and in 2, I feel like I'd benefit from some kind of epilogue, instead of the story just. Stopping.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Homophobia
Moderate: Classism
nickoliver's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
4.0
I went into "Husband Material" with a very cautious mind. I'd been excited for it from the moment I'd heard that "Boyfriend Material" was getting a sequel, so when I suddenly got some Tik Toks talking about how much they hated the ending, I started getting scared. And I also remembered that I usually hated romance sequels that followed the same couple, because a lot of the ones that I've read before ended in break-ups. Which made me even more worried.
Thankfully, I actually kind of liked the ending! Yes, the direction Hall took was a bit unexpected and abrupt, but since I expected this precise thing would happen (I refused to believe Hall would break them up, so I chose to hope for this exact outcome instead), I wasn't thrown off. It also helped that I'm not big into wedding and marriages, anyway (child of divorce + living in a country that only legalized same-sex marriage less than two months ago will do that to you), so I wasn't looking forward for anything spectacular in the first place.
I do have to say I do overall prefer "Boyfriend Material," mainly because this sequel felt like it didn't have a clear plot line that it followed. Especially the beginning was more Luc's friends (and exes) getting married and him going to those weddings and the hijinks that sometimes ensued. Which was fun to read about, but I often didn't know what the point of writing a sequel was if it was just this? It could've just as easily been like a novella that followed Luc and Oliver a bit after the events of "Boyfriend Material". Only after Luc and Oliver decided to also get married did it start to have a red thread in the story.
Luc was also really frustrating sometimes, especially that he had a problem with Oliver not liking your typical "gay" stuff (for example, rainbow-coloured things) and had to have that fight several times in the book. He did end up understanding him, but it took him quite a lot of time to get there. And as a queer person who, like Oliver, doesn't feel so comfortable with overtly queer things on himself, it got a bit too personal for me. Though Hall did also show the progress they went through as individuals and as a couple as well, so that was nice.
The book had a lot of funny moments, hence how I managed to read it in two days. And it genuinely felt quick, too. I remember when I first read "Boyfriend Material," I was annoyed towards the end because it felt so drawn out, but that wasn't the case here. So overall, I definitely enjoyed this!
Thankfully, I actually kind of liked the ending! Yes, the direction Hall took was a bit unexpected and abrupt, but since I expected this precise thing would happen (I refused to believe Hall would break them up, so I chose to hope for this exact outcome instead), I wasn't thrown off. It also helped that I'm not big into wedding and marriages, anyway (child of divorce + living in a country that only legalized same-sex marriage less than two months ago will do that to you), so I wasn't looking forward for anything spectacular in the first place.
I do have to say I do overall prefer "Boyfriend Material," mainly because this sequel felt like it didn't have a clear plot line that it followed. Especially the beginning was more Luc's friends (and exes) getting married and him going to those weddings and the hijinks that sometimes ensued. Which was fun to read about, but I often didn't know what the point of writing a sequel was if it was just this? It could've just as easily been like a novella that followed Luc and Oliver a bit after the events of "Boyfriend Material". Only after Luc and Oliver decided to also get married did it start to have a red thread in the story.
Luc was also really frustrating sometimes, especially that he had a problem with Oliver not liking your typical "gay" stuff (for example, rainbow-coloured things) and had to have that fight several times in the book. He did end up understanding him, but it took him quite a lot of time to get there. And as a queer person who, like Oliver, doesn't feel so comfortable with overtly queer things on himself, it got a bit too personal for me. Though Hall did also show the progress they went through as individuals and as a couple as well, so that was nice.
The book had a lot of funny moments, hence how I managed to read it in two days. And it genuinely felt quick, too. I remember when I first read "Boyfriend Material," I was annoyed towards the end because it felt so drawn out, but that wasn't the case here. So overall, I definitely enjoyed this!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Classism, Body shaming, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Cancer, Sexual content, and Vomit
botanicalprofanity's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Classism, Cursing, Death of parent, Eating disorder, and Vomit
spookieboogie's review
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Homophobia, Alcohol, Classism, and Eating disorder
claracavanaugh's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Homophobia and Vomit
Minor: Classism
caseythereader's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
Thanks to Sourcebooks for the free advance copy of this book.
- There's no reason for HUSBAND MATERIAL to exist, it's about 100 pages too long, and it's and absolute joy.
- I was so happy to sink back into this world: Alex misunderstanding jokes, Luc fumbling every important conversation, Bridget being a hopeless romantic.
- Plus, I didn't see the ending coming until we were upon it; I'll be interested to see what everyone thinks of it!
- There's no reason for HUSBAND MATERIAL to exist, it's about 100 pages too long, and it's and absolute joy.
- I was so happy to sink back into this world: Alex misunderstanding jokes, Luc fumbling every important conversation, Bridget being a hopeless romantic.
- Plus, I didn't see the ending coming until we were upon it; I'll be interested to see what everyone thinks of it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Cursing, Homophobia, Classism, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Sexual content
casreads's review against another edition
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Luc's friends and coworkers were just as delightfully and hilariously eccentric as in book one, but this one was less sexy and more angsty. It seemed like all Luc and Oliver did was fight. They kept talking about how they made each other better people and worked as a couple even though they didn't make sense on paper, but that wasn't really supported by the story. It was all tell, not show. They're both still wildly insecure. Oliver at least is in therapy and is making some progress, but Luc desperately needs to be in therapy because he's still constantly self-flagellating, and who can blame him when everyone is constantly calling him an asshole. This just wasn't really what I expected or wanted from the sequel for their relationship, but I do love the secondary cast and enjoy the fluid way Hall uses language - like "despanielled" and "unhugged".
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Homophobia
Minor: Classism
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