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savvyrosereads'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
5.0
Rating: 5/5 stars
Luc O’Donnell is the mildly famous son of an aging rock star, in need of serious reputation rehabilitation in order to save his job. Enter perfect (fake) boyfriend Oliver Blackwood.
This book was made for me and that is all. I genuinely can’t remember the last time I felt like a book was so utterly and perfectly *me* in terms of sense of humor and writing style, but this one landed in every possible way. I also craved French toast a lot. The romance is adorable and sweet and genuine, every page is more hilarious than the next, and the plot is simple but with a lot of depth and heart.
I want to have more eloquent words to explain in detail why this book is such a delight, but I honestly don’t—I just adored it. One of my toxic reader traits is that I don’t always love a book when I’m in it—I’d rather “have read” a book than “be reading it.” But with this book I loved every moment I spent with it, and never wanted it to end, and honestly that’s the highest praise I can give. Alexis Hall can have all my money because his books have my entire heart.
Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: LGBTQ rom-coms; British humor; French toast.
CW: Homophobia; emotional abuse; cancer; abandonment; brief discussion of eating disorder.
Luc O’Donnell is the mildly famous son of an aging rock star, in need of serious reputation rehabilitation in order to save his job. Enter perfect (fake) boyfriend Oliver Blackwood.
This book was made for me and that is all. I genuinely can’t remember the last time I felt like a book was so utterly and perfectly *me* in terms of sense of humor and writing style, but this one landed in every possible way. I also craved French toast a lot. The romance is adorable and sweet and genuine, every page is more hilarious than the next, and the plot is simple but with a lot of depth and heart.
I want to have more eloquent words to explain in detail why this book is such a delight, but I honestly don’t—I just adored it. One of my toxic reader traits is that I don’t always love a book when I’m in it—I’d rather “have read” a book than “be reading it.” But with this book I loved every moment I spent with it, and never wanted it to end, and honestly that’s the highest praise I can give. Alexis Hall can have all my money because his books have my entire heart.
Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: LGBTQ rom-coms; British humor; French toast.
CW: Homophobia; emotional abuse; cancer; abandonment; brief discussion of eating disorder.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Drug use, Homophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
ttumbletree's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
kirsten_marie's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I listened to Boyfriend Material as an audiobook. It had some funny bits and it was sometimes romantic and cute and all that, but I couldn't help but find the whole plot of the romance a bit underwhelming. And some chapters were just straight up boring. The book was not at all bad though. It was just not my type of book.
Would recommend for someone often in the mood for a romcom or for lighthearted, not too dramatic romance stories.
Would recommend for someone often in the mood for a romcom or for lighthearted, not too dramatic romance stories.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Sexual content
Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Vomit, Death of parent, and Alcohol
annsfictworld's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Abandonment
Moderate: Cancer and Cursing
saffyre's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Grief, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Minor: Eating disorder
amberinpieces's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Homophobia
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Alcohol
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Eating disorder, and Mental illness
yolie's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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
Graphic: Cursing and Homophobia
Moderate: Bullying and Abandonment
Minor: Cancer
I listened to the audiobook on Spotify and what a treat! The narrator was able to transform into each character and added distinct vocal characteristics to each character to set them apart. The characters are mischievous and loveable and the unfolding of Luc and Oliver’s relationship is sweet.beccaand'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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia
Moderate: Cancer, Eating disorder, and Abandonment
Minor: Body shaming
duchess_fayte'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
4.75
Lucien: I unlocked my phone and pinged a message to Oliver: "do fake boyfriends fake text?"
Oliver: "Sorry to keep you waiting. I've thought about it and we probably should text each other for the sake of verisimilitude"
Lucien: "No wonder you're single if the second text you send a guy includes the word verisimilitude"
This is the first rom-com I've ever read, and I tend to stay away from the romance genre in general because I'm just not a big fan, but omg. "Boyfriend Material" is so funny! It has the perfect blend of actual relationship drama, pure comedic gold, and words that I had to google multiple times because I kept forgetting the meanings.
The conversations between the two main characters, Luc and Oliver, were so much fun and I found myself almost tearing the pages while laughing out loud. Of course, not everything in this book is hilarious, (in a book it rarely is) and Alexis Hall tackles plenty of serious topics as well. The author always does it with a little bit of humour though and this made this a really enjoyable and entertaining read.
The good thing about those moments is that they were all either called out or challenged by some of the characters (mainly ahem... Luc) and I really appreciated this approach. Alexis Hall deals with prejudices, bias and a good dose of discrimination but the author does it in a healthy kind of way.
ALSO; Luc and Oliver were such a great couple! Yes, they might have started fake dating because at that point in their lives they both needed it to save their reputation, but they were always honest and forthright! And this was extremely refreshing!!! And, most of the conflicts in this book didn’t actually come into being because of some miscommunication between the MCs but because the characters were so used to dealing with their problems on their own. They were stuck in their habits and problems and had a tough time letting anyone in, which considering both of their backstories was relatable.
There's only one thing I don't like much about the book, and that would be Luc's father. It's not even the character himself because of course he's a complete and utter asshole, but it's the way he was introduced into the story, the writing was kinda wack, and the way he just disappeared in the end? I feel like it was a loose end the author was desperately trying to tie up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Homophobia, and Abandonment
Minor: Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Stalking, and Lesbophobia
lilycallowhy's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
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
The beginning was a little slow, but once I got into it, I was hooked.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Minor: Eating disorder