Husband Material

Couldn't take it anymore. They don't even like each other 😭

I feel compelled to write a review for this one because my response is complicated.

The Four Weddings and a Funeral structure was cute, but distracted from the relationship development, which is what I wanted to read about. It's a structure that works well for an initial romance, rather than the development of a complex relationship between two people who both have big huge issues.

I don't know whether it says more about me, Alexis Hall, or what, that I found the most engaging and satisfying section of the book to be the funeral, and I think that might just be because it was the only section of the book where Luc actually focused on Oliver. So much of the rest of the book was very angsty, which, unless they're working through it, as Luc did in the first book, is not something I enjoy in my MCs in first person narratives.

The humour, the banter, the irreverence were all there. The secondary characters were fabulous - I adore the quirky wisdom of Luc's mom, the ott and more mature best-friending, the co-workers...

The thing is that through each wedding, Luc's pov grated even more, as did his absolute certainty that the vast majority of the conflict was "Oliver problems, not me problems," which felt deliberately delusional. It felt like all the character development took place in the last bit of the book, and it took place far too quickly for me to be convinced, especially since there seemed to be so little in the two years between the last book and this one.

What saved the book for me was the actual ending - it brought together what I felt were the themes that kind of popped up throughout the book but I couldn't really see through all the angst. And they are themes I absolutely love: Self-differentiation, self-exploration, authenticity...

And SPOILER now:

I just really really wish there had been more exploration of alternatives to weddings/marriage than the brief conversations with Pryia and her partners, the mother, and the very last couple of pages. I also wish there was more room for Lucien to face that the "Oliver problems, not me problems" were actually his own damned problems all along. If it had, this book could have been a brilliant satire about heteronormativity and convention. The entire discussion over the rainbow arch could have become a truly enlightening exploration on the conventions of the performance of queerness.

I do however, love that they walked out on their own wedding. Like, really really love it.

I was overjoyed to read a book that ends with a clear hea that doesn't require a formal commitment ceremony - this is something that is very counter-genre, and unlike many readers who freaked out about it, I am so very much here for the subversion.

So yeah... complicated response to this one.

Well...this was...idek. It was still entertaining (partially because Joe Jameson is an incredible narrator) but the story was a bit all over the place. It felt like they kept having the same issues recycled over and over...like Luc would reassure Oliver of something and the next minute be having a mental breakdown over the same thing...it didn't make much sense to me. Also the ending felt a bit abrupt. I'll probably still read (listen to?) the sequel when it comes out though

3.5 stars

Cute, and I was happy to see more of Luc and Oliver, but ultimately felt like it didn't go anywhere. I did enjoy every scene with Odile and Judy though...I'd read a whole book about them!

i can't remember what the first book was like, and can't tell if i've matured, or if this book just didn't deserve a sequel. found it hard, slow and a bit boring to read. there was some decent storyline points. but it felt way too fluffed up, and overly long. feel the first book would have stood better as a standalone

Audiobook once again super-charming, extremely well done. 4.5 stars, especially for making the “will they won't they” believable right up to the end.

This is my public apology to my girl Alex since I totally lied about planning to finish this 2 weeks ago.

I don't feel that bad though because I've since stalked your Goodreads and you have it listed as “Currently Reading”.

Anywho. Delightful read, but I did prefer the first book.

That was certainly a book. A lot of other reviewers cover most of the bases so I'll keep this short. It kinda feels the author came a with a title and a general idea ( They got to weddings AND a funeral like that one famous romcom. ) but then couldn't figure how to move the pieces around? The supposed central relationship just feels like arguments + sexy times with very little growth or momentum. And then the ending is one step removed from “ It was all a dream.” If you are a completionist or really enjoy the side characters of this series like Luc's mom, go ahead and read this book. If you want to read this book for Luc and Oliver, re-read boyfriend material or skim. I'm not necessarily angry with this book, just disappointed.

Very much love them

60% DNF

NO NO NO,

This sequel is very different from the first book—less comedy and romance. I liked it, but not nearly as much as the first book.

This book felt less like a follow up to Boyfriend Material and more like a spin-off about Luc and Luc's friends' weddings where Oliver was just a background character for the majority of it. It was a drag to get through if I'm being honest. I was hoping the sole focus would have been on Luc and Oliver and their wedding planning with sweet and chaotic moments thrown in but this just wasn't it.

The only saving grace, in my opinion, was the end which was a bit unconventional but it felt the most like the old Luc and Oliver from Boyfriend Material so I was happy to see it end the way that it did.

Less a sequel, more of the same plot as the first book rehashed. Luc was sooooo annoying in this, and not in a good way.

3,75

okay, i was looking forward to this book a lot. like, boyfriend material was such a joy to read and genuinely funny, i laughed out loud so many times - and i truly only wanted the same reading experience one more time with husband material.

well. i got the opposite of that. i must admit, most of the time i just felt bored. not entertained at all. i think there were like 3 or 4 small moments in the entire book that actually made me laugh. and then i had moments of actual frustration while reading it. mainly because i kept thinking “what happened to the characters from the first book and why do i suddenly dislike them a lot?” - and yeah. that's exactly what kind of happened to me. i started to hate the characters. especially the protagonists. and the side characters who were mostly there to be funny in book 1 and then once more in book 2 were just starting to annoy me because it was the same thing again and again and again.

i also must admit that i personally don't care about wedding stories at all. but i was still in it for the boys (luc and oliver). but man, i think even if you like wedding stories, i don't think you would get much out of this book. i honestly wanted this book to have an open conversation about marriage and how not everyone has to get married or how you sometimes just aren't ready for it yet and that's okay. and i wanted it to end with luc and oliver deciding that they shouldnt get married (yet). in THEORY i got what i wanted. but it felt super rushed and kind of out of nowhere? like you can't just throw in the towel in the last 5% of the book. give me some proper foreshadowing. the conclusion just wasn't satisfying at all, i'm genuinely sad about this.

i wonder why this book is as long as it is because so much of its content just feels like filler. maybe filler that turns into a backdrop for luc and oliver's arguments but still. this could have happened anywhere and wasn't exciting at all. i think this book was missing some of the “high stakes” of book 1 that led to a proper plot and a red thread. sure we couldn't have had fake dating again but i'm sure one can come up with smth that isn't just “watch this established couple fight during weddings and then resolve the fights only to fight again”? this leads back to me being bored for most of the book.

as a conclusion, i just want to throw one question into the void: Did we really need this sequel?
- my answer would be a resounding NO. boyfriend material was fine where it ended. it was a very nice standalone book and i felt like the characters got their time to shine and grow. the sequel didn't give me any of that. especially when it comes to character development. and i think it didn't help that a lot of the issues that luc and oliver had got resolved in boyfriend material. there wasn't a lot to work with for a sequel. so maybe, the concept of “two 30 year olds don't know if getting married is the right next step” could have worked better with a fresh new couple. it could have even taken place in the same universe with luc and oliver as a power couple in the background who are like "nah, marriage just isn't for us, but it's good, we love each other"

i am wary about the third book that's gonna come out at some point. i will probably read it too just out of curiosity but i am just kind of disappointed and done right now

I enjoyed Boyfriend Material, but I absolutely loved Husband Material! I laughed out loud throughout the book and enjoyed all of characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing an ARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

DNFing at 32%. There's nothing really WRONG with the book – it's perfectly fine. The writing is good, just like Alexis Hall's writing always is. It's the characters, for me, that I just cannot get past. I feel like we're just rehashing basically everything from the first book. I seriously can't think of a good reason why we needed a second book in this series. Luc, especially seems to have backtracked on all his character growth. I can't connect to any of the characters because I just don't care. There's no real reason to. I'm sure someone out there will really like this book, but I feel like I've been struggling to get even a LITTLE into the book, so I'm stopping. Thank you for the opportunity to read this one.

Of course Husband Material is good, it's Alexis Hall, but it's not my favorite book of his, or even my favorite book he released this year (that would be [b:Something Fabulous 58377135 Something Fabulous (Something Fabulous, #1) Alexis Hall https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1629130515l/58377135.SY75.jpg 91133409]). It's lovely to see Luc and Oliver finally together together, both in the tender moments when they are affectionate or supportive, and the tense moments when their emotional baggage threatens to derail them. But the episodic structure of the book (Hall readily admits that he based it on Four Weddings and a Funeral) means there is not much forward momentum, and too much attention paid to the secondary characters (how many times can Luc try to tell a joke to his posh, humorless colleague Alex only to have it be completely misunderstood? how many times do we need to be reminded that James Royce-Royce's husband is also named James Royce-Royce?). I feel ghoulish saying this, but my favorite part of the book is the “and a Funeral” because it shows both MCs dealing with strong feelings and realizing that a good partner can help you get through a horrible experience. The twist ending of the book makes for a poignant, hilarious finale, but it seemed out of character for one of our boys (After spending the whole book saying that he doesn't want to follow the dictates of queer culture just because he's queer, Oliver suddenly realizes that marriage is too much of a heteronormative relationship for him?).I'm not saying that it was a bad idea to write a sequel to Hall's breakout [b:Boyfriend Material 50225678 Boyfriend Material (London Calling, #1) Alexis Hall https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575987260l/50225678.SX50.jpg 73590298], but maybe the bar was set too high. Apparently there will be a third book about Luc and Oliver ([b:Father Material 61854803 Father Material (London Calling, #4) Alexis Hall https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png 97514775], coming October 2024) and I'm sure I will among the first to pre-order it, but I will moderate my expectations from “perfectly amazing” to “highly entertaining.”

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the E-Arc in exchange for a fair review

Husband Material picks up two years after the first novel in the series. Returning to the lovable duo Luc and Oliver as they explore their relationship through vignettes that feature a different friend's wedding and eventually their own.

Overall this novel is a great continuation to one of my favorite books from last year. The reason this gets knocked down to 3 stars is the back half of the novel turned me off a bit. There were far too many streams of consciousness circular rants from Luc, which fits his character but are really not fun to read after the first. I had to skip ahead through a couple of them as they really not fun to get through. My other complaint is the lack of character growth, it feels like when a character would take a step forward they would then take a huge step back a few pages later. 

The ending was a major letdown as well. it just seemed off. It felt very rushed and there wasn't really any closure to it. It had a TV show getting canceled at the last-second vibes. I was just a bit disappointed with it. 

If you enjoyed the first entry I think you would like this as well, but the vibe is completely different than the first entry to the series to go in with that in mind.

I was so excited to receive this ARC from Sourcebooks! Opening my mail that day was free serotonin. Many thanks to them!

When we last left Luc and Oliver, they were transitioning from fake relationship to real relationship, with a lot of bumps along the way. This story picks up two years later, and we find out what they (and their group of friends) have been up to. Luc and Oliver are happy and stable, with Luc essentially moved into Oliver's house, and their friends are making big life steps like adopting a child and getting married. With everyone around them moving forward, they (especially Luc) feel like they need to be following suit and get to their “I dos” already.

But this being a rom-com, there will be of course be a lot of hijinks along the way.

I didn't like this one quite as much as its predecessor, and felt like it had some pacing issues, but overall it was charming and made me laugh a lot. Luc and Oliver have fantastic banter and feel like realistically flawed people, and their friend group, while occasionally less nuanced, is still great (especially Priya, my beloved). I'd recommend this for fans of the first one who wanted a bit more closure on Luc and Oliver's relationship. 3.5 rainbow balloon arches out of 5, rounded up.