Reviews with content warning for Cancer - Boyfriend Material

I love this book so much, I’ve put it off for a long time for like, no reason except to be a hipster and I didn’t own it 😂 but I loved it BEYOND, it was perfect to me and I am so excited to read the sequel!! The character growth, the love, the banter?!? So good, and the humor was everythingggg, a new fave, 10000%

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bzliz's review against another edition

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emotional funny slow-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

3.0

This was very close to being a DNF for me because the first 150 or so pages absolutely crawl by. I persevered and was rewarded with the cute, queer rom com I was looking for, complete with all the best tropes: fake dating, opposites attract, past family & relationship trauma that need to be overcome, and not one but two sets of quirky friends who equally love and tease their respective main character.

Readers beware: unless you are deeply steeped in British cultural references, there are many things that will go over your head but they are absolutely not relevant to the plot so it’s okay.

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ludmireads's review against another edition

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medium-paced

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

2.0

on contrary to what the title says, neither Luc nor Oliver is boyfriend material.

it looked so promising at the beginning (when you don’t question the fact that Luc might get fired for being „the wrong kind of gay“) but it gradually got worse and worse.

my main problem was the main character Luc, he was selfish and whiny and just not a good person in general. he was mean to everyone and didn’t respect anyone’s choices and opinions. i was gonna blame it on his trauma and was sure we would get a great character development but that somehow didn’t happen, even though he was trying to convince us otherwise. and don’t get me started on him boasting how mature he is literally ten seconds after he shouted at his fake boyfriend’s parents (they were shit and deserved it, but common) and forcing Oliver to eat a bacon sandwich even though he knew very well that he is a vegetarian. as a vegetarian myself i was so excited to finally read about a vegetarian character but Luc’s inconsiderateness to this matter and a slight shaming towards vegetarians and vegans made me sick and that bacon scene was honestly my last straw. suggesting that Oliver has an eating disorder was very insensitive and felt a bit too much (I'm definitely not one to judge if the claim is right or not, the problem is that it wasn't handled in a more gentle way and rather served as a punchline).

Oliver seemed like the mature one at the beginning but it turned out he’s was not mentally okay (which we didn’t really learn until the third act break up yay. i think that a dual pov would make the book a bit better). he’s unable to call out homophobes and speak out for himself on this matter. and on one hand, i get it. his friends weren't exactly treating him well and his parents are just awful homophobes who use his queerness as a joke and a way to make fun of him a bit.

both of them were emotionally unavailable and not in a right place mentally and they probably should’ve tried going to therapy:)

the two stars are for Luc’s mother because she’s an icon, she’s a legend and she is the moment. she was the only character who was bearable.

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_bobatea_'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective tense 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

4.75

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_bobatea_'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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eligru's review against another edition

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funny hopeful 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

4.25

So fun! I'm all here for Luc's sense of humor and extremely Bristish similes, the quirky friend groups and Bridget's bookish crises :D
Excited to see what they all get up to in the next book😁

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fridayoddity's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.0

I wasn't ready for the wreckage this book would do with my feelings. I really enjoyed reading it even though at first, I admit, I had doubt (first pages can be misleading).
The way the two main characters go through different kind of emotional trauma processing and how much relatable some it can be is front and center in the story even if it looks like a light hearted romantic comedy, it isn't exactly one and I truly appreciated that.

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