Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Husband Material

Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Husband Material by Alexis Hall

149 reviews

kathis_wonderland's review against another edition

emotional funny 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

Husband Material by Alexis Hall is the second book in the London Calling series. Luc and Oliver are in a relationship of over two years now and everything seems quite perfect. But people all around them are getting married and Luc feels he should propose too. But things happen and the perfect happy ending seems far away.

After absolutely loving the first book in this series, I was equally excited to read this one. Right at the beginning I have to say that the first book was so much better than the second book, but I am a sucker for the fake-dating trope. Still, I really enjoyed this book. It was good the read about their relationship going quite well (most of the times). Luc is still quite immature, which already annoyed me in the first book.

Throughout the book I was quite scared of the ending.

I honestly did not want them to get married. If I were in Oliver's position and someone proposed to me the way Luc proposed, I would have been quite heartbroken. It does not have to be super romantic, but it should be something one thought about and did not do as a knee-jerk reaction. Both of them weren't ready to get married. I hoped that they would properly talk about marriage at some point in the book and call of the wedding. I was ready to not really like this book if they actually got married.

But the ending was perfect (for me)! Couldn't have wished for anything else.

Now I am quite excited to read the third and last book in this series. I don't have the highest of hopes for the next book, but I enjoy these books. The writing style is different to those that I am used to and I like that. I still am a massive fan of the first book and will recommend that one whenever someone asks of my opinion.

Content Warnings

amyteurhour's review against another edition

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4.75

Content warning: homophobia, death of a parent, disordered eating, cheating

characters think it's possible cheating

I enjoyed that Luc continued to grow and develop as a character in this book. I also think his friend group is fleshed out and less frustrating to read about. The ending, similar to Book 1, seemed a bit rushed and uneven.

I found Luc to be incredibly hypocritical, and it was frustrating that he acknowledged that and continued to give Oliver crap about doing exactly what he was planning on doing. It just felt very petty, as though he was upset Oliver stole his call-off-the-wedding thunder, and for me it didn't feel fair to Oliver that the book ended on such a note. Although, I guess I had similar feelings but flipped about the ending of Book 1 so perhaps it evens out??? lol

Content Warnings

sam_gartley91's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful 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

4.25

Cute, the ending stressed me out but the last page or so resolution did turn out well. They just really need to learn to communicate!

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gracetiblem's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

So, major spoilers ahead, but I unfortunately hated this book, which sucked because I really enjoyed Boyfriend Material!

While I was ultimately relieved that Oliver and Luc did not get married, I felt that it was a bad idea from the moment Luc first proposed. They spent the entire book fighting and arguing. There was heavy implication that Oliver really needed to be in therapy while Luc also obviously has a traumatic past himself that he hasn't properly addressed either, but never any acknowledgement that maybe he needed to do some personal growth himself. I understand that Luc is supposed to be an unreliable narrator, but So Much of the book was spent fighting, it made me resent them both entirely. The entire first half of the book is all about how Luc is completely neglecting his relationship with Oliver in order to support his friends. While having strong relationships outside of romantic ones is crucial, the way he completely ignored Oliver for weeks was never really resolved. Finally, the fact that Luc was so upset at Oliver for calling off the wedding when he had had the same thought a mere week before felt incredibly frustrating. As I mentioned earlier, I felt it was best that they didn't get married, but it was also disappointing to me there wasn't more time spent exploring the ways that marriage enforces heteronormative ideas and was just a solution reached within the last seconds of the book.

I must add, the eulogy was a wonderful moment, and a loved the line about avoiding being "allonormative."

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kal517's review against another edition

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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

3.5

Content Warnings

mels_reading_log's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed the continuation of Luc and Oliver’s love story. This book starts 2 years from where the last one ended and everyone around the couple are getting married. The guys have very different ideas of what a wedding should look like, traditional, super rainbows and loud music, parents invited… there is a lot to work out. I did like the first book better, but I will always love a fake dating trope better than just a normal relationship story.

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just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

4.0

Look, I cannot lie, I wasn't planning to read this. I loved Boyfriend Material, but I was also happy with where it ended and didn't know if I needed/wanted more from the story. And then. And then the RWARB movie came out and I watched it daily for a week and I was struggling with some *real* emotions because I needed more like it...like I needed everything I read/watched to be exactly that, over and over. It's been awhile since I've had feelings like that about something I've read/watched. The hangover feels were (are) SO big. Googling read-alikes brought me quickly to Alexis Hall's work, which makes sense (I actually should have gotten there on my own, tbh)...it's all similarly snarky and steamy and wonderful. But the issue was that I have already read quite a few of his novels (at least the ones my library has, which is where I am financially at in my book-life), because, let's be honest, I already knew I loved his work. And thus, I found myself picking up this sequel in the hopes that it would ease my heart a bit.

In the last book, Luc and Oliver met, fake dated, fell in love for realsies and fought through a number of family issues with the help of each other and their friends. Now, as seems to be the natural progression of aging and relationships, everyone around them is getting married and the pressure to follow suit is intense. But are they ready? And is that even what they want for themselves? Told in the well-loved format of "four weddings and a funeral," Luc and Oliver work through the difficulties of attending and planning weddings as their relationship develops in depth and they try to figure out what their HEA actually looks like.

Let me just start by saying that picking this up was the right call. I was one chapter in and had already laughed out loud a couple times. Alexis Hall success! I mean, don't get me wrong, it's mostly fluff and filler. There's not really a plot, per se, just a lot of time spent with characters you already know and love and you're just watching them live their lives. Like, look, I realize this may not be everyone’s cup of tea (British jokes!) but I loved this long-term-committed-relationship banter. It’s honestly not something you get a lot of in romance, the snark and love and (borderline ridiculously inane) arguments, without the tension and drama of "will they, won’t they" because they already have. And I get that that tension is part of what makes romances great to read, but sometimes, and in this case as a person in a similar-sounding committed relationship, seeing it on page it’s really heartwarming and enjoyable! Kudos to Hall for keeping it real in this way. (And also, what a perfect book vibe to read to start a ten-year anniversary trip). So basically, it's fluff, but it's exactly the fluff I wanted.

In other news, Hall's writing remains unmatched, in my opinion. It's hilarious and creative (he uses words like "flummoxosity" and how can you not love that?) and real and so easy to read. Plus, there is one moment, during the funeral part of the novel, where Oliver gives a eulogy that is just...stunning. It’s a literary masterpiece of writing and Hall is a genius of humanity complexity and that sweet-authentic-messy-funny that is the hallmark of being a person. So good.

Despite there not being much of a plot, I could not put this down. The growth that Luc and Oliver experience separately and as a couple here is everything. Perhaps it's not as break-neck or groundbreaking, but it felt so genuine and there are so many times that, as a reader, I could recognize myself in their feelings and choices and even if mine were different, the conflict remains so relatable, while also retaining enough of a comic edge that it doesn't overwhelm and keeps the reading experience on the lighter side. The side characters mostly help with that as well - all our favs are back, with some new or bigger roles from previous bit characters - and as always, that supporting cast added a lot of fun and movement to the overall novel, even though the focus remained largely on Luc and Oliver.

A final note, I've seen a ton of reviews of people hating on the ending. Honestly, I loved it. It was the right choice for the characters and the way it played out, and when, was so in line with who they each were.And it's both because of their growth and because of how much more growing they have left that it happened like that. Everyone's HEA is different and they got the one they wanted and isn't that what we all deserve? Yes, it is. And I was here for it.

A delightfully entertaining read that filled the exact hole I needed it to, I acknowledge that my original reaction of not wanting to read more about Luc and Oliver was misguided and I'm thrilled to have been proven wrong.

“You had a bad experience once, and you’re afraid it’ll happen again. But past performance is no guarantee of future results.”

"Even after two years. When surely it should have stopped feeling this way: all, you know, intense and stuff."

"...it’s for those of us left behind to pick over ourselves and ask, ‘Am I this way in spite of this person or because of them?’ And so often the answer is simply yes."

"How could something that objectively did not matter become the hill you were most determined to die on?"

"Lucien,” he said softly. “You know you are the truest thing I have ever dared choose for myself. And we are the only thing I’ve ever had that I haven’t let other people define for me."

Content Warnings

teresateza's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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seacrowe's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

i loved boyfriend material and i was enjoying this book a lot until the last couple pages.

the ending felt very out of left field, not to mention very rushed. even though they were fighting and going through conflict it read to me more like character development to create and stronger relationship not actually we dont want to get married at all? it definitely couldve been alluded to more than just luc’s mom going randomly “idk maybe you shoudn’t get married at all” and then luc never thinks about it again. not even when he suddenly doesnt want to get married! his entire reason is that it “feels wrong”, what?? oliver’s reason as well feels to come out of thin air. i was left feeling confused and a bit disappointed.

Content Warnings

evelynyle_88's review against another edition

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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

Content Warnings

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