Reviews with content warning for Panic attacks/disorders - Boyfriend Material

Luc O'Donnell is kind of a hot mess, in every definition of the words. He's the son of a rockstar who won't talk to him or have a relationship with him, working at a dung beetle charity aptly named CRAP, and somehow still managing to wind up in the press every other weekend for his drinking benders. When his negative press starts to effect his work life, he decides he has to at least appear like he has his shit together by fake dating a handsome lawyer who might just hate him.

This was my first ever Alexis Hall book and I absolutely ADORED it. I was told multiple times by multiple friends that I had to pick this up in the audiobook version because it was just so enjoyable - and they were right. I did originally try the ebook version of Boyfriend Material and gave up pretty soon into chapter one because I wasn't connecting to Luc's internal monologue, that did a complete 180 with the narration in the audio version! I adored learning about Luc's life and difficult background, I've never seen a book handle the concept of celebrity kids who just want to exist and be normal as well as this one did.

Oliver Blackwood is easily one of my favorite messy male love interests in anything I've read this year. Both him and Luc are total disasters in their own way, but even with that and a lot of their interests being total opposites of each other - it somehow really made it work. I totally adored how loving and adorable Oliver was through a vast majority of this book, and really found myself laughing out loud multiple times a chapter from the hijinks and very British jokes.

The only thing I hated about this book - and hate is a strong word - was the way Luc finds himself agreeing to the fake dating. The entire thing hinges on his very asshole boss saying he needs to be a "better gay" and get his shit together. The rampant casual homophobia in this book was really hard to listen to, though it's easily the most realistic part of the entire plot. I wished there had been moments for Luc to actively fight back against it, though the smaller ways he and Oliver did were good. I'm really hoping this plot gets addressed in Husband Material when I finally get a chance to listen to it!

I will say, I wasn't on board with Luc's friends in the entire first part of the book. They seemed to hinge on the line of being the same level of casually terrible that Andi's friends are in The Devil Wears Prada - but they all really grew on me and if there's anything Alexis Hall can do, it's write a well and fully formed character that I both loathe and love.

I had a great time with this audiobook and would honestly listen to it again and again. It was completely worth picking up and I found myself wanting to just relax and savor how great the narration was as it pulled me along with the story!

Content Warnings: homophobia, panic attacks, and cursing are prevalent throughout. Mild warnings for cancer, fatphobia / eating disorders / body shaming, biphobia, and mentions of alcoholism and addiction.

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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

This book was a delight. It also made me realize I can listen to and enjoy audio books now, which has helped me incorporate fiction back into my life so I am grateful to it for that.

It was funny and sweet but the pacing was a bit odd and the final conflict could have neen set up more

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