Monday, June 29, 2020

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall: British RomCom Perfection

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall
Published: July 7th, 2020
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Romantic Comedy/LGBTQ+
Tropes: Enemies to lovers, opposites attract, fake dating
Heat level: ðŸ”¥ðŸ”¥
My rating: 5 stars
Acquired this book: From the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for honest consideration
Add to Goodreads
Buy: Amazon Canada || Amazon US || Indigo

Wanted:
One (fake) boyfriend
Practically perfect in every way

Luc O'Donnell is tangentially--and reluctantly--famous. His rock star parents split when he was young, and the father he's never met spent the next twenty years cruising in and out of rehab. Now that his dad's making a comeback, Luc's back in the public eye, and one compromising photo is enough to ruin everything.

To clean up his image, Luc has to find a nice, normal relationship...and Oliver Blackwood is as nice and normal as they come. He's a barrister, an ethical vegetarian, and he's never inspired a moment of scandal in his life. In other words: perfect boyfriend material. Unfortunately apart from being gay, single, and really, really in need of a date for a big event, Luc and Oliver have nothing in common. So they strike a deal to be publicity-friendly (fake) boyfriends until the dust has settled. Then they can go their separate ways and pretend it never happened.

But the thing about fake-dating is that it can feel a lot like real-dating. And that's when you get used to someone. Start falling for them. Don't ever want to let them go.


Boyfriend Material is one of those books I’m finding difficult to review because I basically just want to gush and squee and scream, ‘I loved everything about this book!’ It was hilarious (I had actual tears of mirth running down my face at times), romantic, and full of unexpected feels. It had the perfect balance of hilarity and ridiculousness and also depth and real emotion. Add in a fantastic cast of memorable characters, and Boyfriend Material is easily one of the best books I’ve read in 2020.

Luc was a screwup and he knew it, but he wanted to do better. He’d been trying to fill an emotional void with all the wrong things - casual sex, booze, complete avoidance of his problems. He and Oliver were both so wonderfully, realistically flawed. They didn’t like each other at first, but they needed one another, and they ended up being so good for each other and integral to each other’s growth. Their banter was hilarious and they had such great chemistry (just for the record, all sex scenes are fade-to-black). I rooted for them throughout the book and I swooned hard on several occasions. I also really felt their pain, their insecurities, the self-destructive tendencies that stemmed largely from a lack of self-worth on both their parts. They were so different and yet so similar, and I adored them.

Luc and Oliver weren’t the only fantastic characters in Boyfriend Material. I loved Luc’s zany friend group, his ridiculous co-workers, and his eccentric mother. I’m actually sitting here giggling as I think of all the antics this group of characters got up to. I feel like I’d fit right in with Luc’s quirky group of friends, and I desperately wish they were real so I could be part of it.

Charming, hilarious, heartfelt, and full of British wit, Boyfriend Material is the perfect escape from the hellscape that is 2020. It was an instant new favourite, and one I know I’ll recommend constantly. Also, this would make such a fun, funny movie...who do we have to talk to to make that happen??


Have you read Boyfriend Material? What's the last book you read that you'd love to see turned into a movie?




*Please note I'm an Amazon affiliate, and some of the links in this review are affiliate links. All income made through affiliate sales goes directly back into maintaining Ramblings of a Daydreamer. Thank you for your support!

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~Marie

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