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maggies's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
So here’s the thing: I basically knew I was going to give this book 5⭐️ even before I started reading(listening). I adore these characters, in spite of how frustrating I would find them if they were actually in my real life, and I have been anxiously awaiting the sequel. It was only let down by one thing imo, and that’s the repetition and rehashing of particular petty conflicts throughout the story, which just got old after a while. Joe Jameson’s narration was marvelous as usual, so I almost didn’t mind!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Grief
cpilar's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.5
Writing a sequel to a romcom is a challenge without undoing to HEA of the first book, but Alexis Hall pulls it off beautifully and gives us the discussion of commitment and marriage in queer relationships that I have felt the most represented by in any book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Death of parent, and Grief
jennikreads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Homophobia, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
kcbatts'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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Vomit and Alcohol
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
white_lotus7's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Eating disorder
meganpbennett's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Husband Material is one of those books that's really hard to rate, because I'm not sure what I thought about it. I adored Boyfriend Material, and was thrilled when I heard Husband Material was coming out, clicking every single "request now" link I could on NetGalley. And I got it! And parts of it were amazing and wonderful, and even better than other parts (the chapters set at Luc's work? Even better than the last book). But what made Boyfriend Material so good is.... well, it's missing from Husband Material. And then there's the ending. Yeah, no.
Luc and Oliver are fighting over what feels like everything they can, and they're trying to decide if they want to move in together (they really shouldn't, not until Oliver can learn to live with the fact that Luc is a total mess and Luc can learn to start picking up his laundry instead of leaving it on the floor like a toddler). They're having the sort of fights where, were you their friend, you'd tell them not to do any major relationship milestones together. No moving in together, not adopting a dog (or a kid), and certainly, no getting married. They're having the sort of fights where you can't help but wonder if the relationship is toxic. The sort of relationship where it's clear that they both want the other to change to be more like them.
Once the proposal happens (which was pretty darn funny, and very much in character), things, somehow, go downhill, and they fight over everything. There's a subplot about identity and who one is, mixed in with blow up arguments about.... balloon arches, napkin folding, and DJ vs live band/orchestra. While they seem more or less serious, they all represent something - Oliver's unwillingness to be out of control and his unwillingness to bend, and Luc's entire personality in a nutshell is represented by the rainbow balloon arch.
Some of the weddings in the book are wonderful, though I now dislike Tom more than I did in the previous book, we do get some closure with Miles, and Alex's wedding is very Alex. But Luc and Oliver's wedding.... Well, to be completely honest, it's a total let down. Not their reasoning, not their decision, but the fact that they dragged the arguments and thefact that the neither one of them actually wants to get married to the very last page of the book. I felt the last few chapters were a let down. I don't read romance novels for reality, I read them for the romance, and that ending..... wasn't romantic. With everything happening at the end of Husband Material, and how everything plays out, I'm not looking forward to Father Material, either, which is perhaps more of a let down than the ending of Husband Material.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablana for the free eARC.
Luc and Oliver are fighting over what feels like everything they can, and they're trying to decide if they want to move in together (they really shouldn't, not until Oliver can learn to live with the fact that Luc is a total mess and Luc can learn to start picking up his laundry instead of leaving it on the floor like a toddler). They're having the sort of fights where, were you their friend, you'd tell them not to do any major relationship milestones together. No moving in together, not adopting a dog (or a kid), and certainly, no getting married. They're having the sort of fights where you can't help but wonder if the relationship is toxic. The sort of relationship where it's clear that they both want the other to change to be more like them.
Once the proposal happens (which was pretty darn funny, and very much in character), things, somehow, go downhill, and they fight over everything. There's a subplot about identity and who one is, mixed in with blow up arguments about.... balloon arches, napkin folding, and DJ vs live band/orchestra. While they seem more or less serious, they all represent something - Oliver's unwillingness to be out of control and his unwillingness to bend, and Luc's entire personality in a nutshell is represented by the rainbow balloon arch.
Some of the weddings in the book are wonderful, though I now dislike Tom more than I did in the previous book, we do get some closure with Miles, and Alex's wedding is very Alex. But Luc and Oliver's wedding.... Well, to be completely honest, it's a total let down. Not their reasoning, not their decision, but the fact that they dragged the arguments and the
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablana for the free eARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Mental illness
caseythereader's review against another edition
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
romanceschmomance's review against another edition
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Definitely want to start this review off by saying that I didn’t quite love Boyfriend Material as many others have, but I really wanted to give this story another go in their sequel, Husband Material. From beginning to end, all the thoughts were just stacking on top of each other and not in the best way, so here we go. I’ll do my best to keep this spoiler-free.
I think the biggest advice I’d share for this one is that if you were completely happy with the way things were in Boyfriend Material, I’d skip out on this one. The tone in Husband Material is not an all-around happy one and sadly, there wasn’t a lot of focus on the romance. The focus, to me, seemed to be on outside parties instead of their own.
When you start this one, Oliver and Luc have been together for over two years and maybe it was a bad assumption on my part, but I figured their relationship would be more solid. But instead, we get what felt like they’ve taken major steps backward and struggled to communicate. And it’s persistent throughout most of the book.
Around halfway through, there were some heavier topics that I didn’t quite seem coming and that threw things off a bit for me, and couldn’t recover from it.
And then there’s the ending, usually when I read a romance I tend to have a happier feeling and we’re usually left in a good place about the couple we’re reading about. But I felt like they would have been better off apart. Wasn’t the ending I hoped for and wished we got a different story overall.
My favorite parts were when Oliver and Luc could just BE together, in their own moments. It was really sweet and I was eager for more of that.
Listening to the audiobook really helped me get through this one, I loved the narration and was so happy they kept Joe Jameson on from Boyfriend Material. I’ll definitely be going to their backlist and listening to more.
This didn’t quite hit the mark with me, but you definitely might have a different experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Homophobia
Moderate: Death of parent
theespressoedition's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
In September 2021, I listened to the audiobook for Boyfriend Material and completely fell in love with the story. It was clever, witty, and adorable. Not long after reading that novel, I learned that there would be a sequel and I immediately added it to my TBR. I was so excited when I was approved for the audio ARC of Husband Material.
To start with, let me just say that the narration was fantastic! Just like the first, this one was performed by Joe Jameson who is absolutely ideal for the characters of Oliver and Luc. Truly, I don't think anyone could portray them as well as Joe does. Not only that, but Joe performs the other characters magnificently - no matter their sexual identity. That's not something that every voice actor can do well, so, major props!
The way that the plot was set up for Husband Material was much more predictable than its predecessor, in my opinion. From the weddings at the beginning, to the lack of confidence on Luc's part, to the desire to conform to a social construct and get married. Unfortunately, for me, it lacked the emotional depth that I was hoping for. That's not to say that there was a lack of emotion in general, but when things got challenging and conflict began to arise, rather than it being handled in a mature way, all of the characters took an almost comically immature and selfish approach. This threw me off just a little bit.
There was a very, very heavy storyline in the middle of the book and while there were elements of it that were navigated really well, so much of it made me feel like it wasn't serious enough? Obviously, that's a very personal feeling and I'm quite sure that others would've handled similar situations with the same approach that Luc and Oliver (and the rest of the gang) did. But for me, it seemed like some of the depth was missing.
For the majority of Husband Material, I felt as though the primary focus was the "miscommunication trope." Now, this is quite possibly the most disliked trope across the board for bookworms. It's frustrating and the whole time, you're pulling your hair, wishing that the characters would just talk with each other, already! So, I wrestled with the story as a whole.
As with the first book, I loved the characters. I appreciate the growth that some of them went through, and there were many excellent discussions about sexuality that I really have no business touching on because it would not be OwnVoices. However, I appreciated the way that they were brought up because it provided more information to keep in my own back pocket. The CRAPP gang was especially hilarious with their ridiculous hijinks, and I absolutely loved learning more about Priya, Bridget, and the James Royce Royces. These characters were what kept me invested in the book more than anything else.
The ending is a HFN (happily-for-now). To some, that would be frustrating, but I found it to be more realistic. While the last few chapters seemed a bit rushed, I did like the very end much more than I expected to, considering my slightly frustrated feelings throughout the majority of the book.
This sequel isn't one that I would find myself reading again, but I did like finding out what was going on in the lives of the London Calling gang!
To start with, let me just say that the narration was fantastic! Just like the first, this one was performed by Joe Jameson who is absolutely ideal for the characters of Oliver and Luc. Truly, I don't think anyone could portray them as well as Joe does. Not only that, but Joe performs the other characters magnificently - no matter their sexual identity. That's not something that every voice actor can do well, so, major props!
The way that the plot was set up for Husband Material was much more predictable than its predecessor, in my opinion. From the weddings at the beginning, to the lack of confidence on Luc's part, to the desire to conform to a social construct and get married. Unfortunately, for me, it lacked the emotional depth that I was hoping for. That's not to say that there was a lack of emotion in general, but when things got challenging and conflict began to arise, rather than it being handled in a mature way, all of the characters took an almost comically immature and selfish approach. This threw me off just a little bit.
There was a very, very heavy storyline in the middle of the book and while there were elements of it that were navigated really well, so much of it made me feel like it wasn't serious enough? Obviously, that's a very personal feeling and I'm quite sure that others would've handled similar situations with the same approach that Luc and Oliver (and the rest of the gang) did. But for me, it seemed like some of the depth was missing.
For the majority of Husband Material, I felt as though the primary focus was the "miscommunication trope." Now, this is quite possibly the most disliked trope across the board for bookworms. It's frustrating and the whole time, you're pulling your hair, wishing that the characters would just talk with each other, already! So, I wrestled with the story as a whole.
As with the first book, I loved the characters. I appreciate the growth that some of them went through, and there were many excellent discussions about sexuality that I really have no business touching on because it would not be OwnVoices. However, I appreciated the way that they were brought up because it provided more information to keep in my own back pocket. The CRAPP gang was especially hilarious with their ridiculous hijinks, and I absolutely loved learning more about Priya, Bridget, and the James Royce Royces. These characters were what kept me invested in the book more than anything else.
The ending is a HFN (happily-for-now). To some, that would be frustrating, but I found it to be more realistic. While the last few chapters seemed a bit rushed, I did like the very end much more than I expected to, considering my slightly frustrated feelings throughout the majority of the book.
This sequel isn't one that I would find myself reading again, but I did like finding out what was going on in the lives of the London Calling gang!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Misogyny, Homophobia, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcohol, Religious bigotry, and Vomit