Boyfriend Material
-
-
4.3 • 89 Ratings
-
-
- $21.99
Publisher Description
A feel-good queer romantic comedy that New York Times and USA Today bestselling author CHRISTINA LAUREN calls "hilarious, witty, tender, and stunning."
Luc needs a fake boyfriend. Oliver needs a date. It’s the perfect plan… until real feelings get involved.
Luc O’Donnell is a certified disaster. Tabloid drama, a wayward rock-star dad, and a trail of messy relationships have left his public image in ruins. The fix? A staged romance with the most respectable man he knows: Oliver Blackwood—uptight, principled, and infuriatingly perfect.
It’s supposed to be fake. Neither of them expects the awkward photo ops and staged brunches to turn into something that feels real. But as the lines blur, and secrets slip through carefully built walls, Luc must face the question he’s always avoided: what if someone could love him—exactly as he is?
You’ll love its brilliantly British rom-com voice, full of sharp humor and emotional vulnerability and authentic LGBTQIA+ representation. It’s perfect for fans of Red, White & Royal Blue and The Charm Offensive, with its grumpy/sunshine dynamics and slow-burn chemistry.
"It's a fun, frothy quintessentially British romcom about a certified chaos demon and a stern brunch daddy with a heart of gold faking a relationship."—New York Times bestselling author Talia Hibbert
AMAZON BEST BOOK OF THE MONTH
Named a best book of the year by Oprah Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Goodreads, The Washington Post, and more!
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
With his wry, self-deprecating humor and unflinching vulnerability, Luc O’Donnell—the hero and narrator of Boyfriend Material—is the kind of guy we’d like to call our friend. Luc is also the son of two 1980s rockstars, and his fame by association means the tabloids will sensationalize his actions whenever they’re short a story. That’s why Luc needs levelheaded lawyer Oliver Blackwood to pose as his boyfriend and help reform his image. But, you guessed it, while the relationship is fake, the feelings these friends have for each other are very real. Alexis Hall’s rom-com is genuinely, gut-bustingly funny, but he perfectly balances the silliness with the depth of Luc’s and Oliver’s hang-ups over commitment. We loved this lighthearted, emotional read.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hall (Fire & Water) breathes new life into the fake-dating trope with this effervescent queer rom-com. Luc O'Donnell, the hapless son of an aging British rock star, is tired of being a tabloid headline. When his employers at the small environmental charity where he works raise concerns about his public image and prompt him to find a stable relationship, Luc lets his friends set him up with Oliver Blackwood, a stuffy but sexy criminal barrister. Though their first date is a disaster, after Luc confesses his true motives, Oliver agrees to pose as his boyfriend at work events if Luc will return the favor at Oliver's parents' anniversary party. Their ruse gets its first test during a fancy work lunch in a hilarious, standout scene reminiscent of P.G. Wodehouse. Oliver proves to be "Annoying. And thoughtful. And protective. And secretly kind of funny" as he inspires Luc to take control of his life, supports Luc through his absentee father's cancer diagnosis, and teaches him sex can be meaningful. But Luc's efforts to help Oliver cope with his hypercritical parents backfire, leading to a delightfully comedic take on the inevitable grand romantic gesture. The writing is witty, and Luc and Oliver's chemistry is irresistible, but it's Hall's insights about trust and self-worth that set the story apart. This is a triumph.
Customer Reviews
Luc and Oliver, funny, flawed feel-good.
I LOVED this book and I loved that this book has been written in the first person... and that is something that I rarely EVER say, but Alexis has written this book in a way that Luc’s voice is meant to be the voice telling the story. His voice positively springs out of the pages. The book is so easy to read with the words all skipping along as though they were overjoyed at being chosen.
The story is told with a lot of humour with Luc’s voice actually adding to the storyline. It is funny but it also has moments of genuine emotion, making me laugh out loud one minute, and feeling anger on Luc’s behalf the next
*cough*d!€kdad*cough*
There are some serious issues that affect Luc and Oliver making this book more than just a feel good, fluffy rom-com, and that, of course, is Alex Hall’s talent as an intelligent story teller. It’s such a roller coaster.
I love Luc and Oliver, with their humour and banter and they couldn’t be more right for each other. Of course, there are hiccups along the way for them, but they do get resolved with a HFN with book two (Husband Material) out there ready to be read.
There are so many other aspects that I enjoyed, amongst them, the surnames of some of the characters, Luc’s take on his dad’s music talent show in how the contestants are portrayed (so true), Alex and Miffy and Luc’s friends, the couple with the same name.
I loved being in Luc and Oliver’s world and am ready to dive straight back in to find out what happens next.
5 stars
Outstanding
Both author Alexis Hall and narrator Joe Jameson are new to me and when I saw a recommendation from an author whose audio books I adore, I immediately one clicked.
This was a well written, steamy, fast paced MM story with characters you cannot help but fall for, hook, line and sinker. Joe Jameson did an outstanding job bringing these characters to life and he nailed the characters in my opinion.
Luc O'Donnell and Oliver Blackwood are total opposites and yet for me they really are a perfect match. What starts out as an agreement between them to pretend to be one another’s boyfriends, the relationship quickly becomes complicated.
This was at times an emotional story and my heart almost broke at times for Luc. From the moment they met you just know that you are in for a fabulous roller coaster of a listen.
The chemistry between them is intense and you could feel the sparks ignite between them. The banter is witty and there were so many fabulous moments throughout this book. The path to happiness will not be smooth and some of the twists and turns Alexis Hall wrote had me praying that all would turn out.