[ARC Review] Husband Material by Alexis Hall
In Boyfriend Material, Luc and Oliver met, pretended to fall in love, fell in love for real, dealt with heartbreak and disappointment and family and friends...and somehow figured out a way to make it work. Now it seems like everyone around them is getting married, and Luc's feeling the social pressure to propose. But it'll take more than four weddings, a funeral, and a hotly contested rainbow balloon arch to get these two from "I don't know what I'm doing" to "I do".
Good thing Oliver is such perfect Husband Material.
My thoughts: I loved Luc and Oliver's fake dating turned real dating in Boyfriend Material, so of course I needed to see where their relationship went. Everything I loved about the first book - Luc's messy life, Oliver's strict and clean way of living, Luc's wild friends, and both their families - returned for this second book, and Hall managed to pack so many different adventures and issues into this one story.
So much is changing around Luc; his friends are getting married and having kids, his uncool coworker has even managed to find someone to settle down with, and Luc is just trudging along. He has Oliver, but he never really understands how Oliver could still be with him even after two years. I loved that aspect of their relationship; it just seemed like the most realistic part of their lives together. Who hasn't spent time in a relationship wondering why the other person is still with them, especially when the other person seems to have their life together and you don't?
Luc and Oliver really had their ups and downs throughout this book; for several nail-biting chapters, I actually thought this rom-com wasn't going to give us a HEA. But just like in Boyfriend Material, Luc and Oliver do things their way and in their own time. Was the ending what I was expecting? Definitely not. But does it make sense for Luc and Oliver? Very much so.
Hall put Luc and Oliver through the ringer by featuring several weddings throughout this book, each one seemingly harder to witness for our main characters. From best friends to exes to co-workers, I loved how each wedding was described. Simultaneously quintessentially British yet globally relatable, I could feel Luc and Oliver's anguish and complete lack of wanting to be there for each wedding they attended. And when Luc watches his best friend, his ex, and his coworker all get married, the pressure mounts for his relationship with Oliver to move to the next stage as well.
It's strange to say, but I think my favorite parts of this rom-com were the serious conversations that Oliver managed to have with Luc. Just like any couple thinking of settling down, Luc and Oliver had a lot to discuss before they could even think about tying the knot. Some of these were heavier topics, like dealing with grief, finding your place in a family that doesn't accept you for who you are, and finding a balance between a religious wedding and an LGBTQ+ identity.
I loved this continuation of Luc and Oliver's story. It was fun, with plenty of moments of Luc trying ever so hard to be serious. I related to Luc, and felt bad for Oliver having to deal with Luc's antics. There was a whole cast of fabulous (and sometimes not so fabulous) characters, and I spent the entire book alternately laughing and shaking my head and their ridiculousness.
I received an advanced review copy from Sourcebooks Casablanca in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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Release date: 8/2/22
Format: eARC
eARC provided via: NetGalley and Edelweiss
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