“The apotheosis of the rom-com.” —Entertainment Weekly, A+ ReviewNamed a best book of the year by Oprah Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Goodreads, The Washington Post, and more!
WANTED:One (fake) boyfriendPractically 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 … 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.
Discover the LGBT romance about exact opposites falling in perfectly imperfect love that New York Times and USA Today bestselling author CHRISTINA LAUREN calls “hilarious, witty, tender, and stunning.”
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A story about how two imperfect people can be perfect together. It kept me
smiling and rooting for them. Five hearts!
This book is about a very insecure man named Lucien and his fake date that is a successful lawyer, Oliver.
Luc has issues, he can’t trust in love because he is the son of celebrities and is afraid that people he interacts with, will talk with the press about him. Until he has to take a chance, dating with someone in order to keep his job and improve his image.
This book was funny and romantic.
Such a funny romance! The heroes are a completely delightful Odd Couple-type pairing in a fake relationship that (of course) turns real. The book also carries powerful messages about found family, forgiveness, and dealing with people in your life who don’t treat you well.
My first Alexis Hall book was an overwhelming success! I listened to the audio version of this book and it was delightful. I probably looked like a fool grinning and giggling my face off while listening during my daily walks. I’m a sucker for a grumpy character — and even more so for TWO of them. I loved everything about this closed-door m/m romance.
“Fake it till you make it” romances are my catnip. I love them for so many reasons, but not the least of which is the fact the reader knows where things are headed far before the characters figure it out for themselves. It was impossible not to love Luc and Oliver. They were just so imperfectly perfect for each other. Opposites definitely attract — and gave a delightfully heartwarming slow burn romance — in Boyfriend Material.
Not only was Boyfriend Material perfect and swoony AND live up to my sky-high expectations, but it was also utterly AMAZING on audio. Joe Jameson did a fantastic job bringing Luc and Oliver to life. And his voice. Whoa. I could legit listen to him read the dictionary.
Phenomenal read from a great author. Witty, whimsical, wise, wonderful. I never wanted this book to end. The audiobook narration is a treat. Not to be missed.
Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall – if you have the chance to listen to the audio version, DO IT! It was amazing!
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This fake relationship story between Luc – the son of 80s rock stars who chaos seems to follow, with a camera and Oliver – the straight-laced, vegetarian barrister who seems too good to be true was fun, snarky, and thoroughly entertaining! The dialogue was amazing…not just the banter between Luc and Oliver but all of it! Funny, sarcastic, sometimes self-deprecating (because come on, clean your apartment!)u2063
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The underlying theme that we should be loved and accepted no matter what was incredibly well done. No one is perfect! We all have flaws and things others might not like about us. That doesn’t mean we aren’t deserving of being loved. Watching both of these characters find out how to accept not only each other but themselves for their flaws was at times, frustrating, but mostly just moving.u2063
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Luc and Oliver rank up there as one of my favorite couples!u2063
I love romances with characters who are vulnerable and flawed but still act like grown-ups. This was quirky and delightful and I would read anything else by this author.
Obscenely hilarious, sweetly grumpy and just all around lovely, this book was an absolute joy to read.
As a first experience with Alexis Hall, I have to say, this book was immensely enjoyable!
The characters are so well written, you can’t help but root for them, while simultaneously cracking jokes at their expense, as you would your closest friends.
Filled with witty banter, deadpan humor and knock knock jokes, this book will have you in stitches while falling head over heels for Luc, Oliver and the rest of their dysfunctional gang.
5 starts and an interrupting cow
This book had me in stitches. I really enjoy British humor, and this just completely tickled me. Both characters are so beautifully flawed, but not in a way that’s painful to read, if that makes sense. I wanted a little more wrap-up at the end, and I was surprised at the fade-to-black sex scenes, but you know? It still worked. I just can’t say enough good things about it. Most of the side characters were already paired off, but I’m still hoping for a series!
I loved the sharp romcom wit of this book and Oliver was fabulous – he was Colin Firth at his Colin Firthiest. I did find myself at around the halfway mark worried about Luc. He’s meant to be a mess, but he was such a mess that I started thinking that rather than a relationship he needed therapy. However, the genuine emotions carried it through, along with the laugh out loud funny scenes. A great read!
This book was amazing. I started listening to it Friday morning. I generally only listen to books while working, or otherwise moving around. But this one had me sitting staring into space while listening to Luc and Oliver get out of their own way. And laughing, snorting, giggling, and talking to myself. And getting odd looks from my kid.
Luc and Oliver met thru a mutual friend some time ago, but didn’t seem to hit it off. Now they agree to be fake boyfriends to fix Luc’s reputation in the tabloids and give Oliver a date to an important function. But as they start spending time together, they get to know each other better. And wanting to spend more time together. As the designated end of their fake relationship comes closer, they need to face the truth that neither wants it to end.
The supporting characters in this book are hilarious. Luc’s mom is French, and perfect. Luc’s coworker shares intelligence with a raspberry pavlova. And Luc’s squad is what everyone needs.
I loved the emotion in this book. Luc is an emotional wreck as the book starts, due to his father’s history, and his own relationship history. Oliver seems to have it all together. Maybe a little too much.
The narrator, Joe Jameson, doesn’t seem to have done many romances, but he does an excellent job with character voices. And the voice he uses for Oliver is so posh, and sexy, and mmmmmm.
This gets one of my elusive 5 stars. I’ve been telling everyone for the last 48 hours that they NEEEEED TO READ THIS ASAP!!!
Perfection!
Fake dating
Opposites attract/Pride and Prejudice vibes
Crazy friend group
Truly excellent grovels – that’s right plural
I listened to the audio of this one and while it was just one narrator, every character had a distinct voice and their personality came through – even both halves of the couple with the same name! And Alex Twadlle was so great, he reminded me of one of my favorite the children’s book characters, Amelia Badelia!
Thank you Libro.fam for the ALC!
I couldn’t stop reading this delightful romance. I never laugh out loud at books but I did at this one. The dialogue is so British and so charming. The principal characters, Luc and Oliver, are delicious and show real growth. The supporting cast is quirky and hilarious. The feels are very real and wonderful. Thank you to Sonali Dev for recommending this! It’s terrific!
Thank you Librofm for gifting me a copy of this audiobook. This review is my own.
2/5 Steam Rating
LGBTQ+
Let me first start by saying that I’m not a big laugher. It takes a lot to even make me giggle (or some semblance of it). With that said, I had a permanent smile on my face for the majority of this book and there were some giggle like sounds that occurred every now and then.
In general, there is nothing too unexpected that happens in this story. For the most part, it’s pretty darn predictable… but that’s part of what I enjoyed about it. I enjoyed sitting back and watching Luc interact with Oliver and the supporting characters without having to think “what will happen next”. I could enjoy the humor in it (and there was a lot) and just love the simplicity of the story. Sometimes I need a story that is pure entertainment and doesn’t give me all of the complex deep feels. I fell in love with Luc & Oliver’s characters and often wanted to find my way into their circle of friends.
Since I did listen to this on audiobook, I wanted to take a second to talk about the narrator since that can make it break a book (in my opinion). I thoroughly enjoyed this narration, there were a lot of characters to go voice overs for (both male and female) and Joe Jameson did a fabulous job of bringing them to life in their own way.
The depth of the characters was amazing and I fell in love with them and their story
This book was a perfect rom-com. So delightfully funny and sweet, heart-breaking and sarcastic. Luc really grew throughout the book, which was necessary because he doesn’t even like himself in the beginning. I adored Oliver. I think I understood him on a personal level.
The first sex scene was incredibly hot (mitts and all!) and not graphic. It was full of surprise and emotion. So poignant.
As a side note, in my mind, Oliver looks like a certain author of spy books my husband reads whose pic fills the entire back cover. Or at least what he’ll look like in about 10-15 years. IMO 😉
I highly recommend this book. It’s in my top 5 of 2020.
Luc is in need of a fake boyfriend. He’s just a tiny bit famous – being that his mom and dad are famous rockstars and he can’t really go out without getting recognized.
After a recent pic paints him in an unfavorable light, Luc’s work has recently informed him that he needs to get his act together or risk of getting fired. This is where Luc meets Oliver. Where Luc is a bit spontaneous, Oliver is the exact opposite. But both are in need of a fake boyfriend and so their fake relationship begins.
I love a great fake relationship trope and Oliver and Luc were so damn cute together! I loved that Oliver immediately calls Luc by his full name whenever they are together. These two clearly have feelings for one another and yet they are also vulnerable and their relationship felt real. They had some miscommunication, moments when they weren’t their best and also times when they were there to support one another no matter what.
I really enjoyed the writing by Alexis Hall and this M/M romantic comedy. I listened to the audiobook and it reminded me a lot of Gilmore Girls with the fast dialogue and pop culture references thrown in. This was my first book by Alexis Hall, but I’m looking forward to reading more by this talented author!
Audiobook
Story: 4
Narration: 5
Overall: 4
I enjoyed listening to the audiobook of Boyfriend Material. The narration by Joe Jameson was so good! I loved the various characters that he narrated. Anytime Luc’s mom was being narrated I was just cracking up because the voices were just narrated so well!! I wouldn’t hesitate to listen to another audiobook narrated by Joe Jameson.
I received a complimentary audiobook from the publisher and Libo.fm.
A complete triumph. This book needs to by hyped and hyped hard.
Honestly, it’s one of the best romance novels I’ve ever read. It’s raw and genuine and side-splitting hilarious.
Luc’s narrative is absolute perfection. Seriously, so perfect I can’t even put it into words. He is on the top of the list when it comes to first person narrators.
To put it plainly… I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH!!! At this point I’m hoping it’ll be optioned to become a movie because the population of world needs this story in their lives.
Can’t remember the last time when I wanted something this bad like this book. And if you want something, then you have expectations. And this book was way more then enough to satisfy my expectations.
First, the cover. It’s effing perfect. It’s enough for me to one-click it. It’s written by Alexis Hall? Hell to the yes, give it to me and I won’t hurt anyone.
The book was long but not long enough – I mean, come on, I could read Luc&Oliver forever and I wouldn’t be bored at all. There is something in Alexis Hall’s writing style that hooks you to the story and won’t let go. The characters, the background, the side characters/ friends/ parents, everything is real. Make you believe that you can totally meet them on the street, you can hug them and you can be friends with them. Their life is like yours – minus the rockstar parents.
I fell in love with Oliver and Luc too, both were adorable, loveable and really good characters. Loved the way how Oliver called Luc Lucien, it was swoon worthy. So sweet.
Loved how they fell slowly for each other but were really blind for the other’s feelings. The fake boyfriend trope is really good, I love reading this kind of stories, and Oliver&Lucien were really, really a good couple.
And Alex was hilarious, I liked him and the jokes between him and Luc.
The romance was perfect. I was hot for them. This is the perfect romance book ever. I just want to throw this book in few author’s face’ to read it and learn from it, because this is the way how you write romance without erotica while the reader is totally hot and bothered. When the kiss scene or just a simply touch can make you sweat – it’s just PERFECT! You don’t have to write full on sex scenes with all the details – Alexis Hall can make your heart beat faster with the simple of touches between the main characters. And this is right here what makes this book beautiful and perfect.
Oliver&Lucien were perfectly imperfect, and I loved how they relationship worked. Their first kiss, their first date, their first sex (OMG that was so GOOD! How Oliver lost his politeness and got HOT. That scene was everything. E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G.)
I can’t tell you how very much I loved this book. I need it on my shelf in paperback. And I need a real life Oliver to be friends with because he is so cute, I just want to hug him.
HIGHLY recommend this to everyone who needs romance. Perfect romance.
I just want to be able to forget this book and read it for the first time again. And again. And again. Oliver&Lucien are everything
A quick, hilarious, and romantic read about deeply flawed but still utterly lovable characters.