Book Review: Boyfriend Material By Alexis Hall

Synopsis:

This book takes place in England. Luc O’Donnell has always been in the limelight, being the son of two famous rockstars. His dad, who he hasn’t seen in two decades, finally wants to reconnect with him. Luc’s still deciding if he wants to trust his absent father. At the same time, Luc is looking for a fake boyfriend to clean up his image. He meets Oliver Blackwood, his opposite in every way: a normal, organized, vegan lawyer. The two decide to publicly act like a couple. As you may have guessed, they start to realize their feelings for one another aren’t exactly fake.

Things I liked:

The humor! I would say the humor is the best strength of this book. We get to read a LOT of Luc’s inner monologue. Let me tell you: his sarcasm is unbeatable and rivaled only by his “fake” boyfriend Oliver’s. Oliver and Luc’s banter and dialogue is some of the funniest I’ve read. It reminds me a lot of Alex and Henry from Red, White, and Royal Blue. Also, there are many side characters who seem to be added solely for additional comic relief, but I’m not complaining at all!
The diversity is awesome! Especially within Luc’s friend group, there is a lot of LGBTQ+ representation and a Muslim who’s lesbian, which I have never seen in books.
The romance is very cute and slow-burn. I especially love how Luc and Oliver show so much interest in the other’s career and family. Both Luc and Oliver help each other become better people and overcome personal challenges. This leads to a ton of character development for both of them.

Things I didn’t like:

My main issue is that the writing isn’t anything special. Throughout the book, we mostly just get a ton of inner monologue from Luc and a bunch of dialogue between characters. I would have liked more description of the setting, characters, and their actions; this would have made the romance between Oliver and Luc much better and swoon-worthy.