Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE: Boyfriend Material

AUTHOR: Alexis Hall

PUBLISHER: Sourcebooks Casablanca

LENGTH: 432 pages

RELEASE DATE: July 7, 2020

BLURB:

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.

REVIEW:

Boyfriend Material is another outstanding book by Alexis Hall, but it’s quite unlike his previous works. What remains the same is Hall’s expert writing style, character development, and world building. You’ll find you’re sympathetic toward these men and become invested, not just in their journey as a couple, but in their personal growth, as well. Luc has a tragic past he can’t seem to break free of, and Oliver is a lonely guy with a string of failed relationship, and serious parental issues. They both experience life changing growth through the help of the another.  

Luc, through whose eyes the story is told, is an endearing, pathetic, insecure, immature man with non-existent self-respect and negative self-worth. He always fears the worst because that’s usually what happens to him. He’s perpetually down on himself, and yes, with all that, he’s still endearing. Luc survives by pretending to be a worse person that he really is. That way, if he’s disliked, unwanted or let down, which has happened repeatedly, he can rationalize that it isn’t really him people are reacting to, it’s just a façade. He’s a third-rate celebrity because he’s the progeny of famous parents. He’s just famous enough to be gossip rag fodder, with the paparazzi following him and misconstruing his every action. When he trips on the sidewalk and falls face down, for example, the tabloid labels him a drunken, sex crazed, drug addict. When his boss (at the dung beetle preservation charity) threatens to fire him because of his unfair bad reputation, his best friend devises a plan for a respectable fake boyfriend to bolster Luc’s image. 

Enter fake boyfriend and eventual love interest, Oliver, a pompous, annoying barrister who, underneath it all, is a lovely, kind, and caring man. Luc and Oliver agree to a mutually beneficial arrangement to remain fake boyfriends through Luc’s charity fundraiser dinner, where Luc requires a decorous date, and Oliver’s parents’ fortieth wedding anniversary (which is utterly heartbreaking) where Oliver needs a buffer from his critical parents. 

The relationship between the two heroes flows gradually from adversaries, where they regard each other with disdain, to friends where they truly care for each other, and finally love one another. There’s no chemistry initially to grab you, although there certainly is tension. Instead, Hall uses acerbic wit, banter, and bickering as the basis of his humor and it’s very successful in hooking the reader’s attention. My favorite parts are the made-up words: He was Olivering at the stove…, I was unexpectedly de-sleeped…, we baconed for a while in silence (while eating their emotional support sandwiches), and His expression Wheel of Fortuned through hurt, relief, and anger, before finally settling on resignation. 

Now if that doesn’t give you a visual! It turns out, such writing produces impressive imagery. 

The two times the men become intimate, the scenes fade to black from kissing, which was a disappointment because Hall knows his way around a good sex scene. That said, he expresses the men’s affection for each other quite effectively and romantically with small, quiet gestures such as Luc placing a kiss on Oliver’s palm, and Oliver brushing Luc’s hair off his forehead. 

There’s a long slate of appealing secondary and tertiary characters including: Luc’s coworkers – particularly the dim-witted Alex who can’t comprehend knock-knock jokes and provides copious comedy; Luc’s mother and her friend Judy; and Oliver’s close friends whom we meet a birthday party. And then there are Luc’s ride-or-die friends. Bridget, Priya, the James Royce-Royces, and Tom are walk-on-hot-coals-for-you friends who provide plentiful banter and snark. The scene in the car near the end of the book is reminiscent of the car scene at the end of the movie Notting Hill. 

I can heartily recommend Boyfriend Material to any fans of rom-coms in the M/M genre. It has likable characters, loads of humor, and an interesting take on the fake boyfriend trope. At about eighty-five percent through the book, I found myself reading slower because I didn’t want the book to end. This is a lovely, funny story by a superb writer. Enjoy! 

RATING: 

BUY LINKS: 

Sourcebooks Casablanca

Amazon