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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
Julia is down of her luck and in big trouble. She’s turned to stripping to try to make ends meet but she’s still short. In her desperation she takes a big risk that almost costs her everything until a knight in shining armor saves the day. But it’s not really a knight. No, it’s Eric Hanson, college hockey superstar, big man on campus and the boy who ripped high school Julia’s once naive heart out and never looked back.
Julia is determined to ignore the still simmering chemistry between them and so is Eric but now that they’ve been thrown back into each other’s orbit, escaping the pull isn’t as easy the second time around. But with family obligations, hockey and frat drama in the way can they make it work the second time around? Or is history doomed to repeat itself?
One thing I always say about Ilsa’s books is I can never stop myself from binging them. I tore through this story in less than 12 hours with minimal breaks. I felt for Julia so deeply in my soul and I wanted nothing more than to protect her from any of the BS that was awaiting her. Ilsa has this way of getting you emotionally invested in the story to the point where you’re feeling the angst, the joy and the heartbreak right along with her MCs.
The only thing that kept this from being a 5 star read for me was one Eric Hansen. And I honestly don’t even think it’s his fault. The problem is Ilsa set the bar so high by giving us Knox Grayson & Dillion McQueen so when I get a hero that doesn’t treat his heroine like gold I don’t even know what to do with him. To be fair Eric did finally come around by the end but he fought against being loved so damn hard. Julia was truly his perfect match to have the patience and loving heart to rebound from his hurtful actions so many times and still have a place in her heart just for him.
If you’re looking for college sports romance with high angst and emotion then I think you’re going to love this one. Just don’t expect Eric to hit the same as Ilsa’s usual hero.
Thanks so much to Ilsa & social butterfly PR for allowing me to read this one early for review.
Julia is determined to ignore the still simmering chemistry between them and so is Eric but now that they’ve been thrown back into each other’s orbit, escaping the pull isn’t as easy the second time around. But with family obligations, hockey and frat drama in the way can they make it work the second time around? Or is history doomed to repeat itself?
One thing I always say about Ilsa’s books is I can never stop myself from binging them. I tore through this story in less than 12 hours with minimal breaks. I felt for Julia so deeply in my soul and I wanted nothing more than to protect her from any of the BS that was awaiting her. Ilsa has this way of getting you emotionally invested in the story to the point where you’re feeling the angst, the joy and the heartbreak right along with her MCs.
The only thing that kept this from being a 5 star read for me was one Eric Hansen. And I honestly don’t even think it’s his fault. The problem is Ilsa set the bar so high by giving us Knox Grayson & Dillion McQueen so when I get a hero that doesn’t treat his heroine like gold I don’t even know what to do with him. To be fair Eric did finally come around by the end but he fought against being loved so damn hard. Julia was truly his perfect match to have the patience and loving heart to rebound from his hurtful actions so many times and still have a place in her heart just for him.
If you’re looking for college sports romance with high angst and emotion then I think you’re going to love this one. Just don’t expect Eric to hit the same as Ilsa’s usual hero.
Thanks so much to Ilsa & social butterfly PR for allowing me to read this one early for review.
Boyfriend Material - story of Eric and Julia
I really liked this book. It’s was about Eric and Julia’s relationship journey.
Main characters storyline was good, secondary characters friends were supportive, Taylor was great!
Ps The epilogue had me laughing so loud!
I really liked this book. It’s was about Eric and Julia’s relationship journey.
Main characters storyline was good, secondary characters friends were supportive, Taylor was great!
Ps The epilogue had me laughing so loud!
Wow, Boyfriend Material will hit you with all the feels. Buckle up because this is one intense emotional journey that is full of heartbreak, insane chemistry, and a love that’s hard to deny. Julia has it hard and will do everything she can to survive, but after a sketchy situation her past steps back into her life. Eric loves hockey, but his family’s past and future have different plans. But when he tries to protect Julia, these two get caught up in each other again. Julia wants nothing to do with Eric and he wants to do everything he can to help her. After years of avoiding each on campus, now they are constantly in each other’s life. Eric and Julia take us on an emotional rollercoaster that will have you hooked and on the edge of your seat to see if Eric can prove he’s boyfriend material and Julia starting to except help and realizes she’s not alone. These two have an intense connection that gets harder and harder to ignore, what happens when they give in? Don’t miss out on Boyfriend Material, it’s beautifully written story.
I can’t say that I’ve ever written a review of where I am proud of the heroine but y’all! I am so proud of Julia!! She has had such a rough time & she never quit!! She never quit believing in herself & when the time was right she stood up in the best way
emotional
hopeful
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
Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Trope: second chance romance
Angst:
Trope: second chance romance
Angst:
Ilsa Madden-Mills delights us again with another YA hockey romance. I was dying to read Eric’s story and it was every bit as delightful and angsty as Zack’s story!
We’d already met Julia and Eric in Boyfriend Bargain, Eric is Zack’s best friend and team winger in the HU hockey team and Julia was Sugar’s roommate. Zack and Sugar have already graduated and moved to Nashville where Zack is playing with the Nashville Predators. Julia is now living with Taylor and Poppy, who used to be Sugar’s besties and have now adopted her.
As is to be expected, it’s not all happy and unicorns with their lives. Julia’s mother is an addict, she got into debt with a loan shark, and now it’s Julia’s problem to pay it off. She got into stripping because the pay and tips are bigger. So she went from a nerd with hopes and dreams to a stripper who is in a spiral trying to survive. She’s still studying art but it gets more difficult every day.
Eric has family trauma. His big brother Kurt was the family golden boy, great athlete, great scholar, studying law in Harvard, but unknown to his family he’s doing heroin. He was shot during a deal and now his father expects Eric to step into Kurt’s place. Eric is trying to please his father but he doesn’t have the attitude nor the aptitude for what is expected of him. He’s dancing a crazy dance of doing his thing, pleasing his father and trying to find time to be with Julia.
I love how the author presents her young adults with all their family drama and their attempts to fulfill their destinies and also do their best by their families. Eric and Julia had a moment in high school that ended in heartbreak for Julia. Eric is doing the best he can, he wants to fix things and find a way for both of them but there are so many obstacles in their way. They have a strong chemistry and it feels so easy to be together. If feels they belong together if it weren’t for their family trauma.
There are other incidents regarding a fraternity that has deviated from the norm and is now a bastion for binges and sleaziness. Both Julia and Eric are affected by their proximity and I loved this plot twist because it added a ton of drama to the story, which would have been a little bland otherwise. There was a lot of back and forth between Eric and Julia and the story needed some fireworks.
I loved both Eric and Julia, and absolutely loved Reese and Booth and their puck game. I laughed a lot when Poppy and Taylor go with Julia to a hockey game and how clueless they were about the game. I love that these youngsters have hopes and dreams, they live and have fun, but also have direction. It’s not all booze and party, there are obligations and family love and they all turn up when they’re needed. Another great feel-good story!
We’d already met Julia and Eric in Boyfriend Bargain, Eric is Zack’s best friend and team winger in the HU hockey team and Julia was Sugar’s roommate. Zack and Sugar have already graduated and moved to Nashville where Zack is playing with the Nashville Predators. Julia is now living with Taylor and Poppy, who used to be Sugar’s besties and have now adopted her.
As is to be expected, it’s not all happy and unicorns with their lives. Julia’s mother is an addict, she got into debt with a loan shark, and now it’s Julia’s problem to pay it off. She got into stripping because the pay and tips are bigger. So she went from a nerd with hopes and dreams to a stripper who is in a spiral trying to survive. She’s still studying art but it gets more difficult every day.
Eric has family trauma. His big brother Kurt was the family golden boy, great athlete, great scholar, studying law in Harvard, but unknown to his family he’s doing heroin. He was shot during a deal and now his father expects Eric to step into Kurt’s place. Eric is trying to please his father but he doesn’t have the attitude nor the aptitude for what is expected of him. He’s dancing a crazy dance of doing his thing, pleasing his father and trying to find time to be with Julia.
I love how the author presents her young adults with all their family drama and their attempts to fulfill their destinies and also do their best by their families. Eric and Julia had a moment in high school that ended in heartbreak for Julia. Eric is doing the best he can, he wants to fix things and find a way for both of them but there are so many obstacles in their way. They have a strong chemistry and it feels so easy to be together. If feels they belong together if it weren’t for their family trauma.
There are other incidents regarding a fraternity that has deviated from the norm and is now a bastion for binges and sleaziness. Both Julia and Eric are affected by their proximity and I loved this plot twist because it added a ton of drama to the story, which would have been a little bland otherwise. There was a lot of back and forth between Eric and Julia and the story needed some fireworks.
I loved both Eric and Julia, and absolutely loved Reese and Booth and their puck game. I laughed a lot when Poppy and Taylor go with Julia to a hockey game and how clueless they were about the game. I love that these youngsters have hopes and dreams, they live and have fun, but also have direction. It’s not all booze and party, there are obligations and family love and they all turn up when they’re needed. Another great feel-good story!
Really good! Great chataters. Would be grest to get Boone and zreeces storys...I so enjoyed this duet.
Loved these two!
Eric and Julia had such a twisted road with detours and alleys to get to their HEA. The way these two ultimately connect, protect, and care for one another warmed my heart. These Hawthorne U boys will certainly steal your heart!
Eric and Julia had such a twisted road with detours and alleys to get to their HEA. The way these two ultimately connect, protect, and care for one another warmed my heart. These Hawthorne U boys will certainly steal your heart!
Boyfriend Material is book #2 of the Hawtorne University series by Ilsa Madden-Mills. It's a standalone new adult romance, told from both points of view with a HEA.
Genre: Young Adult Romance.
Tropes:
➵enemies to lovers
➵tortured hero & heroine
➵second chance
➵sports/hockey
Julia and Eric, now seniors at Hawthorne University aren’t strangers. They met in prep school, went out. Julia fell in love and then Eric pushed her aside.
Back then Julia was ambitious and driven and then her mother got in a difficult situation that snowballed and caused Julia to lose her college scholarship and get a job as a stripper and in debt until Eric rescues her.
For years Eric had been burying his guilt and trying to live up to his father’s expectations and be the son his parents lost. His only solace was hockey and one of his greatest regrets was Julia. But when he gets the chance to help her, he doesn’t hesitate and gladly accepts her friendship.
As the two spend time together hanging out, they become more. But can the hockey player and the stripper workout their seemingly opposite life plans?
I really enjoyed this book’s plotline. It wasn’t overly dramatic like some NA books. The sweet, swoony and sexy was skillfully balanced by the angst and heart stopping moments.
I know I’m being vague, but where would be the fun in telling you what happened to make me gasp and grip my husband’s thigh is shock and anxiety?
Rest assured I enjoyed every minute of this story. I loved Julia’s strength and resilience, adored Eric’s caring heart and vulnerability. I enjoyed all the secondary characters who I hope get their own books and melted with the epilogue.
By the numbers quick review:
★ World building:
Genre: Young Adult Romance.
Tropes:
➵enemies to lovers
➵tortured hero & heroine
➵second chance
➵sports/hockey
Julia and Eric, now seniors at Hawthorne University aren’t strangers. They met in prep school, went out. Julia fell in love and then Eric pushed her aside.
Back then Julia was ambitious and driven and then her mother got in a difficult situation that snowballed and caused Julia to lose her college scholarship and get a job as a stripper and in debt until Eric rescues her.
For years Eric had been burying his guilt and trying to live up to his father’s expectations and be the son his parents lost. His only solace was hockey and one of his greatest regrets was Julia. But when he gets the chance to help her, he doesn’t hesitate and gladly accepts her friendship.
As the two spend time together hanging out, they become more. But can the hockey player and the stripper workout their seemingly opposite life plans?
I really enjoyed this book’s plotline. It wasn’t overly dramatic like some NA books. The sweet, swoony and sexy was skillfully balanced by the angst and heart stopping moments.
I know I’m being vague, but where would be the fun in telling you what happened to make me gasp and grip my husband’s thigh is shock and anxiety?
Rest assured I enjoyed every minute of this story. I loved Julia’s strength and resilience, adored Eric’s caring heart and vulnerability. I enjoyed all the secondary characters who I hope get their own books and melted with the epilogue.
By the numbers quick review:
★ World building: