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katialena's review against another edition
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? Yes
5.0
natalie_is_reading's review against another edition
4.0
Obsessed, read it in 3 days, might have even liked it better than the first probably because they had both like grown as people and were better at communicating and didn’t stress me out as much
volmn's review against another edition
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
callmejillian's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
izedriftwood's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Less fun than its predecessor, but still a fun romp.
kellymarcella'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
3.25
ashjreads's review against another edition
2.0
This review contains spoilers
As someone who LOVED Boyfriend Material, I was excited to read this initially. I feel really disappointed and let down by this sequel and personally I wish I would’ve never read it.
My major issue with Husband Material are the amount of “hijinks” that ensue. No romance novel is intended to be realistic but the structure that this novel seems to follow is desiring realism; meanwhile these shenanigans are often (frankly) annoying things occurring throughout. Forgotten wedding dress, arrested for breaking/entering, etc.
Not only this but Luc turns from what I would define as a “lovable” jerk into just a jerk. He continues to prod at Oliver about not feeling represented by stereotypical pride symbols and presents it as if Oliver is wrong for not connecting to it. This is fought about a total of 3 times, making it repetitive and obnoxious. He also makes Oliver’s clear body dysmorphia all about him. I personally think this novel ruined Luc’s character for me.
The only reason(s) this isn’t a 1 star for me is because of Oliver telling his father to (finally) “go fuck himself”. That alone was satisfying enough to make me glad I finished the book. Additionally, his speech at his father’s funeral was fantastic.
The ending is not very satisfying at all to read but makes sense for the characters. It’s obvious throughout that Luc was not ready/did not want to be married, I just wish it hadn’t gone on as far as it did before being called off.
Alexis Hall is a great author but I feel as if this novel was unnecessary. It almost feels as if Hall didn’t want to write this book at all, and it shows. I hope other works of his are better than this unsatisfactory work.
As someone who LOVED Boyfriend Material, I was excited to read this initially. I feel really disappointed and let down by this sequel and personally I wish I would’ve never read it.
My major issue with Husband Material are the amount of “hijinks” that ensue. No romance novel is intended to be realistic but the structure that this novel seems to follow is desiring realism; meanwhile these shenanigans are often (frankly) annoying things occurring throughout. Forgotten wedding dress, arrested for breaking/entering, etc.
Not only this but Luc turns from what I would define as a “lovable” jerk into just a jerk. He continues to prod at Oliver about not feeling represented by stereotypical pride symbols and presents it as if Oliver is wrong for not connecting to it. This is fought about a total of 3 times, making it repetitive and obnoxious. He also makes Oliver’s clear body dysmorphia all about him. I personally think this novel ruined Luc’s character for me.
The only reason(s) this isn’t a 1 star for me is because of Oliver telling his father to (finally) “go fuck himself”. That alone was satisfying enough to make me glad I finished the book. Additionally, his speech at his father’s funeral was fantastic.
The ending is not very satisfying at all to read but makes sense for the characters. It’s obvious throughout that Luc was not ready/did not want to be married, I just wish it hadn’t gone on as far as it did before being called off.
Alexis Hall is a great author but I feel as if this novel was unnecessary. It almost feels as if Hall didn’t want to write this book at all, and it shows. I hope other works of his are better than this unsatisfactory work.
kelly_shea's review against another edition
1.0
A few minor spoilers below, but honestly it's hard to spoil much because not much happened. TW for eating disorders and this book's harmful portrayal of them.
This book was hard to get through for me - I kept putting it down and ended up skimming through almost the last half of it. Not even because of the lack of plot, but rather because Luc was such an awful, unsympathetic, and mean-spirited person throughout.
To start, there is a lot of social commentary woven throughout this story, some with merit but most... not so much. Specifically, Luc consistently complains about the privilege of white men from wealthy families... when he himself is a white man from a wealthy family. Not a bad thing if he were simply being self-aware and reflective of his own advantages and position in society, but it came across as though he's NOT a part of the extremely privileged class that he's criticizing. Oliver makes this point just once during an argument, but is immediately brushed off and there is no self-reflection whatsoever on Luc's part. One scene that I found very, very odd was when Luc went to pick out an engagement ring. He was immediately standoffish and claimed that the clerk was looking down on him and judging him as a "below-average person." Meanwhile, Luc had literally entered the store and repeatedly just said "Um," and didn't state a price range or even what he was looking for properly. Poor man was just doing his job and Luc was such an asshole. Also, not sure that the clerk at a jewelery shop is the right target for Luc's hang-ups and prejudice regarding class/wealth issues.
There was also a character, Ana, who Luc constantly referred to as "Ana with one n." I honestly have no idea what that was about, as it's not an uncommon spelling? But it was one of many instances where Luc was a jerk to everyone around him for absolutely no reason.
His treatment was probably the worst towards Oliver. You would think that after two years together Luc would be less insecure and commitment-phobic, but he hadn't developed as a character at all. Almost all of their problems were of Luc's own making and unwillingness to communicate properly. He also spent a lot of time arguing with Oliver about the "right" way to be gay, and invalidating Oliver's experiences and relationship with and to the LGBT community and symbols.
The worst offense to me was probably the scene about Oliver's eating disorder. The author's portrayal of eating disorders was extremely harmful and triggering. Beyond being another instance of Luc making everything about himself - he somehow twists Oliver's ED into a pity party about his own body insecurites - it's just a totally misinformed portrayal. Luc/the author* seems to think that there's a direct correlation between someone having an eating disorder and fitting into beauty standards. He literally says that Oliver's eating disorder and "ideal beauty standard" body can only exist together ("if you got rid of one, you got rid of the other"). Rather than treating it as the serious illness that it is, Luc treats Oliver's ED almost as a "sacrifice" that he's made for having the "ideal" body. Also, aside from the fact that people with eating disorders do not have one single standard body type - those who overexercise and restrict their diets like Oliver, whether they are thin or heavy, should not be described as the "fittest person I'd ever seen in real life," as Luc puts it. EDs do not make someone fit or healthy, regardless of body type. It is not and should not be described as a means to achieve the "ideal" body.
*I don't usually like equating characters' views with the author's, but this was an instance where Luc's harmful viewpoint was not challenged at all, and thus it felt the author was treating it as truth or fact. Even if it was not intentional malice on Hall's part, a serious topic such as this warrants extra care. Better not to touch on it at all if it's going to be handled so improperly. Since it was portrayed so poorly I'm glad that the author barely touched on it, but the fact is that EDs also tend to be all-consuming - with the rest of the misguided social commentary embedded in this book, it almost felt like another issue just thrown in there to be checked off the list.
This book was hard to get through for me - I kept putting it down and ended up skimming through almost the last half of it. Not even because of the lack of plot, but rather because Luc was such an awful, unsympathetic, and mean-spirited person throughout.
To start, there is a lot of social commentary woven throughout this story, some with merit but most... not so much. Specifically, Luc consistently complains about the privilege of white men from wealthy families... when he himself is a white man from a wealthy family. Not a bad thing if he were simply being self-aware and reflective of his own advantages and position in society, but it came across as though he's NOT a part of the extremely privileged class that he's criticizing. Oliver makes this point just once during an argument, but is immediately brushed off and there is no self-reflection whatsoever on Luc's part. One scene that I found very, very odd was when Luc went to pick out an engagement ring. He was immediately standoffish and claimed that the clerk was looking down on him and judging him as a "below-average person." Meanwhile, Luc had literally entered the store and repeatedly just said "Um," and didn't state a price range or even what he was looking for properly. Poor man was just doing his job and Luc was such an asshole. Also, not sure that the clerk at a jewelery shop is the right target for Luc's hang-ups and prejudice regarding class/wealth issues.
There was also a character, Ana, who Luc constantly referred to as "Ana with one n." I honestly have no idea what that was about, as it's not an uncommon spelling? But it was one of many instances where Luc was a jerk to everyone around him for absolutely no reason.
His treatment was probably the worst towards Oliver. You would think that after two years together Luc would be less insecure and commitment-phobic, but he hadn't developed as a character at all. Almost all of their problems were of Luc's own making and unwillingness to communicate properly. He also spent a lot of time arguing with Oliver about the "right" way to be gay, and invalidating Oliver's experiences and relationship with and to the LGBT community and symbols.
The worst offense to me was probably the scene about Oliver's eating disorder. The author's portrayal of eating disorders was extremely harmful and triggering. Beyond being another instance of Luc making everything about himself - he somehow twists Oliver's ED into a pity party about his own body insecurites - it's just a totally misinformed portrayal. Luc/the author* seems to think that there's a direct correlation between someone having an eating disorder and fitting into beauty standards. He literally says that Oliver's eating disorder and "ideal beauty standard" body can only exist together ("if you got rid of one, you got rid of the other"). Rather than treating it as the serious illness that it is, Luc treats Oliver's ED almost as a "sacrifice" that he's made for having the "ideal" body. Also, aside from the fact that people with eating disorders do not have one single standard body type - those who overexercise and restrict their diets like Oliver, whether they are thin or heavy, should not be described as the "fittest person I'd ever seen in real life," as Luc puts it. EDs do not make someone fit or healthy, regardless of body type. It is not and should not be described as a means to achieve the "ideal" body.
*I don't usually like equating characters' views with the author's, but this was an instance where Luc's harmful viewpoint was not challenged at all, and thus it felt the author was treating it as truth or fact. Even if it was not intentional malice on Hall's part, a serious topic such as this warrants extra care. Better not to touch on it at all if it's going to be handled so improperly. Since it was portrayed so poorly I'm glad that the author barely touched on it, but the fact is that EDs also tend to be all-consuming - with the rest of the misguided social commentary embedded in this book, it almost felt like another issue just thrown in there to be checked off the list.
msolo18's review against another edition
medium-paced
3.25
I felt like this was a little bit of a letdown from Boyfriend Material.
jacbom17's review against another edition
4.0
Not as good as boyfriend material, it was way less about luc and oliver until like halfway. I wish some parts had more detail. I'll miss luc and oliver :/