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A review by half_bloodreader
Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall
emotional
funny
lighthearted
- 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
Luc O'Donnell is the child of rock stars, which has unfortunately always kept him in the eye of the press. Having ditched his family when Luc was a kid, his absent father lived the stereotypical life of sex & rock'n'roll: addiction & scandals, until his return to TV with a rehabilitated image. This comeback leads to new attention from bloodthirsty paparazzi who publish a compromising out of context photo of Luc, putting his job at risk.
To clean up his image, Luc has to find a nice, normal relationship, and vegetarian barrister Oliver Blackwood is perfect boyfriend material. Yet they don't have much in common (or so they think). So they agree to fake date for the benefit of these big events they both have, at which point they'll separate. Stupid of them to think they won't catch the feels!
I absolutely loved this rom-com! I haven't felt so much enjoyment and fuzzy feelings, or laughed out loud so often due to a book for a long time now 💜 I love fake dating and it was done right!
Written in 1st person, past tense.
The cast of characters will absolutely endear you to them, with their worries, banter, self destructive ways, hidden tenderness, needs; their humanity.
Luc felt very real from the start: insecure, with low self esteem, and paranoid for good reason, as you'll find out. He narrates with self awareness and matter-of-factly. Fortunately he has a very loyal group of friends and a loving family: his mother & her friend Judy.
Since the story wasn't told through Oliver's pov, he was not as quickly understood. But his earnestness and passion about doing what's right were clear from the start. There are subjects he avoids and I won't spoil, which indicate some of his own personal issues. He likes Welcome to Night Vale, which gave him a bunch of cookie points from me!
If this book is anything to go by, I think Alexis Hall is really good at this genre. This is the kind of romance I enjoy, balancing humour, emotion, heartbreak, candor, vulnerability.
There is social commentary woven in seamlessly with the mc's entertaining internal thoughts and moments. The pop culture intertwines with the narrative, in a way that, if you don't know it, either you'll get by the context or won't affect your enjoyment and understanding of the story.
In lots of American fiction, I find the works are saturated with references that are overkill and will lose their contemporary value soon (unless one's culture is just knowing all of USA's pop culture and not much else). Not the case here.
If we were using ao3 tags:
- Fake dating / relationship
- Slow burn
- Only one bed
- Disaster mc
- Found family
- Eccentric mother
- Oblivious coworkers
- Ferrero Rocher
To clean up his image, Luc has to find a nice, normal relationship, and vegetarian barrister Oliver Blackwood is perfect boyfriend material. Yet they don't have much in common (or so they think). So they agree to fake date for the benefit of these big events they both have, at which point they'll separate. Stupid of them to think they won't catch the feels!
I absolutely loved this rom-com! I haven't felt so much enjoyment and fuzzy feelings, or laughed out loud so often due to a book for a long time now 💜 I love fake dating and it was done right!
Written in 1st person, past tense.
The cast of characters will absolutely endear you to them, with their worries, banter, self destructive ways, hidden tenderness, needs; their humanity.
Luc felt very real from the start: insecure, with low self esteem, and paranoid for good reason, as you'll find out. He narrates with self awareness and matter-of-factly. Fortunately he has a very loyal group of friends and a loving family: his mother & her friend Judy.
Since the story wasn't told through Oliver's pov, he was not as quickly understood. But his earnestness and passion about doing what's right were clear from the start. There are subjects he avoids and I won't spoil, which indicate some of his own personal issues. He likes Welcome to Night Vale, which gave him a bunch of cookie points from me!
If this book is anything to go by, I think Alexis Hall is really good at this genre. This is the kind of romance I enjoy, balancing humour, emotion, heartbreak, candor, vulnerability.
There is social commentary woven in seamlessly with the mc's entertaining internal thoughts and moments. The pop culture intertwines with the narrative, in a way that, if you don't know it, either you'll get by the context or won't affect your enjoyment and understanding of the story.
In lots of American fiction, I find the works are saturated with references that are overkill and will lose their contemporary value soon (unless one's culture is just knowing all of USA's pop culture and not much else). Not the case here.
If we were using ao3 tags:
- Fake dating / relationship
- Slow burn
- Only one bed
- Disaster mc
- Found family
- Eccentric mother
- Oblivious coworkers
- Ferrero Rocher
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Fatphobia