4 stars for Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall
Synopsis:
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 was the November choice for my romcom book club. Granted, while there are 30 members in the group, it's really just my friend Emily and I right now but that's not the point. The point is that this was our November book and I'm glad that it was.
While the amount of drama in this book was a little high for me at times, I really enjoyed this book's wide range of characters. From Luc's friends to his mom and Judy to his unusual group of coworkers, Boyfriend Material does not lack personality. There were several times where I laughed out loud because I could hardly believe the level of offensive poshness. I thought, "Certainly this is an exaggeration for the sake of the book." Turns out the answer is...not necessarily. I have a friend who has worked for several different charities, and she said that she loved this book because she could relate so strongly to Luc's workplace. When we sat and chatted about the book, she laid out all the similarities and told me some hilarious stories of their own. Mind you, some were also horrific stories because some rich people think they can get away with doing and saying whatever they want, but in general, I was flabbergasted by how much in common Emily's job had with Luc's.
Luc is a mess and after having someone he loved destroy his trust (and his privacy), you can hardly blame him. Plus his dad is a "reformed" rocker, which really just means he's a total prick. But this did nothing to diminish his personality, at least in my opinion. Luc goes through some really hard times. He's discriminated against at work. The tabloids make him out to be someone he's not, but still...he shows up with a new joke for his dense coworker every day. Luc is the type of person that probably has more than his fair share of selfish moments, but you still love him because you know he's trying to work on himself and frankly he'd do just about anything for the people he loves. There were several times in the story where I thought "wow, you and Oliver should really not be together," but in the end, I think Boyfriend Material is a great example of showing grace. You never know what someone else is going through and you can't force someone to change, but by setting healthy boundaries and speaking truths in love, you can give someone the space and time to work on themselves. That is ultimately what I think makes Luc and Oliver work. Because they were both willing to work on themselves, they were able to overcome the hurdles in their relationship.
Throughout the book, Oliver is constantly doing sweet things that Luc cannot believe and at times, probably doesn't deserve. When Oliver made French toast for Luc, I knew that was what I wanted to make in honor of this book. Let's be honest, Oliver's French toast sounded delicious and mine...did not turn out as planned. I had it in my head that I really wanted to make brioche French toast, but when I wandered down to the corner shop, all they had was brioche burger buns. But in my determination, I thought "well brioche is brioche, right?" Wrong. The puffiness of the top bun meant it soaked up too much of the egg mixture and the curve of the bun meant it didn't lie flat on the pan to cook evenly. Hence this very smooshed version. But...my husband still graciously ate it and the bacon was perfect. With enough syrup and bacon, any breakfast is delicious. :)
Thanks for stopping by!
-Kim
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