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claudiamacpherson'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Lucien's father is a famous rockstar, so despite never having met him, Lucien has suffered the consequences: paparazzi catching him at his lowest points. In desperate need of a nice, normal boyfriend to show that he is a respectable adult, Lucien allows his friend to set him up on a date with the most boring, uptight guy imaginable.
4.5 stars
This book was recommended to me as similar to Red, White, and Royal Blue, and it did not disappoint! It was delightfully trope-y (fake dating! one bed! showing up on a doorstep in the middle of the night!) and the banter made me genuinely laugh out loud. The only moments I didn't like were when Lucien apologized or felt guilty about saying something that was completely reasonable. I picked up this book to get out of my recent reading slump and absolutely flew trough it, but now I have a book hangover, so...if anyone has similar recommendations, please send them my way!
Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just my judgement of how happy the ending is because I always wish someone would tell me that before I read books):Predictably, very happy!!
4.5 stars
This book was recommended to me as similar to Red, White, and Royal Blue, and it did not disappoint! It was delightfully trope-y (fake dating! one bed! showing up on a doorstep in the middle of the night!) and the banter made me genuinely laugh out loud. The only moments I didn't like were when Lucien apologized or felt guilty about saying something that was completely reasonable. I picked up this book to get out of my recent reading slump and absolutely flew trough it, but now I have a book hangover, so...if anyone has similar recommendations, please send them my way!
Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just my judgement of how happy the ending is because I always wish someone would tell me that before I read books):
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Abandonment, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Sexual content
Minor: Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Cancer, Classism, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Homophobia
cluckieduck's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-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
4.75
Everything I want in a rom-com
Boyfriend Material is sweet, funny, charming, angsty, poignant, adorable, snarky, heartbreaking...how many more adjectives can I throw at it?? It's a warm mug of tea on a foggy day. I loved everything about it (outside of the fade-to-blank sexy times, but I can overlook that ;) ).
Told only from Luc's POV, the book deftly follows his character growth as he comes to terms with how his childhood, as the famous-adjacent son of an absentee rock-star father, has affected his life and relationships. He's been in a bit of a rough patch the last few years and needs to present a more suitable face ahead of a major fundraising gig or else he'll be fired, so along comes clean-cut barrister Oliver to provide a grounding presence as Luc's fake boyfriend.
This is my first fake-dating trope in the romance genre and I loved it, especially because Luc & Oliver already had a bit of history.
Boyfriend Material is sweet, funny, charming, angsty, poignant, adorable, snarky, heartbreaking...how many more adjectives can I throw at it?? It's a warm mug of tea on a foggy day. I loved everything about it (outside of the fade-to-blank sexy times, but I can overlook that ;) ).
Told only from Luc's POV, the book deftly follows his character growth as he comes to terms with how his childhood, as the famous-adjacent son of an absentee rock-star father, has affected his life and relationships. He's been in a bit of a rough patch the last few years and needs to present a more suitable face ahead of a major fundraising gig or else he'll be fired, so along comes clean-cut barrister Oliver to provide a grounding presence as Luc's fake boyfriend.
This is my first fake-dating trope in the romance genre and I loved it, especially because Luc & Oliver already had a bit of history.
Someone had come up to us and asked if we were a couple, and Oliver had looked utterly disgusted, and replied "No, this is just another homosexual I'm standing next to.”
Neither are each others' type, but as they spend more time being fake-boyfriends, the lines begin to blur as they each work through their own struggles & flaws, and finally begin to realize how good they are for one another.
"Are we really bad at this?" I asked. "We've been fake dating for three days and we've already fake broken up once."
"Yes, but we fake resolved our difficulties and fake got back together, and I'm hoping it's made us fake stronger."
Anyways, fake relationship aside, there is so much more to this story, including a wonderful cast of supporting characters, some really funny inside jokes (in particular, one revolving around some Dick pics), and working through some ingrained abandonment issues. I can't wait to see where Luc & Oliver's story goes in the next one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Cursing
Moderate: Classism, Homophobia, Abandonment, and Cancer
Minor: Eating disorder
beckx's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Cancer and Alcohol
marylinaris'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was recommended to me based on my love for the Bridget Jones movies and they were 100% right and I love this book to pieces. I can’t really say too much about this book except gush about the characters, the love story and the fun I had with it.
Luc was fun, relatable and a overall great protagonist. Oliver was a perfect love interest and I really related to some of the things he was struggling with. Their romance, even though it was a agreed upon fake dating scheme in the beginning, did not feel forced. It was fun and they really worked together. (A bitchy part of me always looks at the couples in romance novels and estimates how long they will stay together ... so for these two I’d like invitations to the wedding, the gold anniversary and their shared funeral in advance please!)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
arthisthoe's review against another edition
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
I just... wow. absolutely hilarious but also a lil too real... just i just yeah this book fucking hits
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing and Sexual content
Minor: Abandonment and Alcohol
veronicantonsen's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Cursing
Moderate: Homophobia, Alcohol, Cancer, Drug use, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Eating disorder, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse
carodonahue's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Cancer, Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
foamyrobin's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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: Abandonment, Cancer, and Cursing
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Minor: Body shaming and Eating disorder
dododenise's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book was really cute. It was deliciously tropey, using the fake-dating trope which I absolutely adore. I laughed, cried and smiled while reading this and I now all I want to do is give Oliver and Luc a big hug and tell them I'm proud of them.
This book isn't only a lighthearted and adorable romance, but also a journey through the character's insecurities and issues. They felt so real, slowly unraveling their past and current emotions. They should clash and not work, but yet they bring out the best in each other. Seeing them grow and learn to accept that was such a wonderful journey.
I did have a problem 100% enjoying this, because sometimes characters would get a bit much. While yes, imperfection certainly is a part of what made the characters in this book so compelling, at times it became a too much, especially in the beginning.
It was all wrapped up beautifully, so I'm not sure whether I would like to read the next books, as I feel like this works really well as a stand-alone. We'll see how I feel next year when the second part comes out and whether I feel like I want to revisit Luc and Oliver.
This book isn't only a lighthearted and adorable romance, but also a journey through the character's insecurities and issues. They felt so real, slowly unraveling their past and current emotions. They should clash and not work, but yet they bring out the best in each other. Seeing them grow and learn to accept that was such a wonderful journey.
I did have a problem 100% enjoying this, because sometimes characters would get a bit much. While yes, imperfection certainly is a part of what made the characters in this book so compelling, at times it became a too much, especially in the beginning.
It was all wrapped up beautifully, so I'm not sure whether I would like to read the next books, as I feel like this works really well as a stand-alone. We'll see how I feel next year when the second part comes out and whether I feel like I want to revisit Luc and Oliver.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Cancer, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Homophobia
Minor: Eating disorder and Sexual content
hayleyvem's review against another edition
funny
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Drug use, and Gaslighting