No, don't tell me I didn't write anything about this book! It seems to me I remember where I was when I was talking on Library Thing about Luc and Oliver, the heroes of this book! I'm not going to write everything I wrote before as I'm hoping it will turn up somewhere.

Here's the summary from Audible so I don't forget the story:
"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 20 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 someone who has never inspired a moment of scandal in his life. In other words, he’s 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 settles. 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.''

It took me ages and ages to finally read this book, even though I knew it was on many must read lists. "Named a best book of the year by Oprah Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Goodreads, The Washington Post, and more!

I'm glad I finally did read it. Some of it was superb writing that wowed me with its ability to elucidate the complexities of being human, and relationships.

One review I spotted somewhere puts it better than me: The writing is witty, and Luc and Oliver's chemistry is irresistible, but it's Hall's insights about trust and self-worth that set the story apart. This is a triumph.

Oh, I must add that at first Joe Jameson's narration caused me to pause, but before long he had won me over - he did a great job of capturing Luc.

And speaking of Luc, one of the impressive things about Boyfriend Material is Luc - never met anyone quite like him.

A British hero in this sub-genre is a nice change - his sarcastic wit is delectable, though a bit of a shock at first as nothing like it has crossed my path. He's kind of too smart for his own good.

That sarcasm, cynicism and self-effacement is very British, and even more Australian. ( )

Overall this was a very enjoyable read. If not for a number of other priorities I had at the time, I would have finished this in a couple days. But I devoured about 89% of it very quickly. It is funny, sweet, angsty, and a great ride in a lot of ways, and one of the better interpretations of what it means to be a lawyer than I've read elsewhere. There are some unfortunate quibbles I have with it that stop me from giving it five stars, but overall it truly is a wonderful book.

I love the whole cast in this. Everyone is well-written and funny and/or angsty and has a great backstory and their relationships with Lucien in particular are great. The narrative also takes a lot of time to lampoon rich British people in particular in a way that, to my knowledge, is quite painfully accurate. I don't hate it or anything, it's just uncomfortable to read at times and remember this is how absolutely horrible rich British people are.

I really did love how lawyers are depicted in this. Really it was quite enjoyable and was one of the more accurate and enjoyable to read depictions I've seen. Then again I don't have a ton of experience with English lawyers, so maybe it just reads right from a US lawyer looking towards the British system.

Minor quibble, but a lot of the story seemed to be coming from outsider's view to what it's like to be British. I'm not sure if that's intentional, but it often seemed like Lucien was confused about what seemed to me very basic British things? Which I found kind of... odd.

I'm also of two ways about the obsession with veganism and vegetarianism. I think the story does a good job of straddling a non-proselytizing point of view on the subject, but it got kind of annoying. I've been preached at by vegans before, and I am constantly leery of seeing the topic come up in fiction because it's fiction and if I wanted to get weird vibes from a vegan/vegetarian I'd just watch a PETA commercial.

I got I think all the literary references (at least the name drops and a number of others), but at times I felt like that was a bit much? Particularly since Bridget, the character who works for a publishing company, isn't the protagonist (and the protagonist self-avowedly doesn't read). It's also incredibly painful how a lot of the references have already aged rather poorly, particularly since this released in 2020, which really makes me question why a lot of them were in there, for instance, I know this takes place in Britain, so I imagine things are just Different over there, but the number of Harry Potter references was incredibly uncomfortable. We've known Rowling is a transphobe since like 2012, let alone when she started going off spectacularly as a TERF in in the past few years. It's weird how she appeared so much in a queer book that was published in 2020. It kind of makes me think that for all this book is clearly well-researched in a lot of ways, like most things, it comes against moments that clearly weren't, such as when Lucien thinks about not having drunk his father's Kool-Aid to be fooled by him. The phrase predates it, and maybe Hall meant the nonfiction reference, but this is most often used as a reference to the Jonestown massacre. It was kind of disturbing to read this.

Overuse of sometimes questionable books, turns of phrase, those are just minor quibbles. What bugged me more was some of the random plot turns that felt kind of like Hall had given up at certain points in the writing and done whatever just to keep the narrative going. They're abrupt and weird and the narrative explanation doesn't make a ton of sense. I'm not sure if the issue is that this needed a better editor or this is just some weird part of relationships I've never experienced and thus just don't understand properly. The first is when Lucien sees the article and dumps Oliver. It's such a stark, sudden, jarring, going overboard thing that it just feels silly. In a way it feels human, because I look at some of the ways people I know act in their relationships and this kind of seems to fit, but the entire time it just seemed dumb and out of character and designed for cheap drama, and like Hall didn't know how else to get Lucien to talk about certain things in his background. That's understandable, but it's neither a fun read - and this is from someone who likes angst and whump and characters saying things they don't want - nor does it feel well-written.

The second was when Oliver dumps Lucien after his parent's anniversary, and is honestly what I think will stop me from reading the sequel. At this point it felt like Oliver stopped being a character, and this entire ending plot was made to add one last dramatic scene to the story. Yes, it ends well, and they did talk, but it felt empty. It felt just like chapter filler. And I've written filler in my time, I get it. But this was not fun to read. I get that Oliver was dealing with A Lot, which Lucien points out, and Oliver points out, and they talk and that's fine. Again, in a way this felt like weird relationship things I've seen from other people. But it also just felt like bad writing. I don't mind if the characters dump each other for reasons that make sense - or don't make sense to me as a reader but are at least enjoyable to read, which, yes, IS possible - but this is not it. What this does is creates a situation where I don't trust the author and I feel twisted around in silly ways.

Before I read this, I saw a note about how it cuts to black a lot, and yeah, it really does. Early on I didn't have such an issue with that, it's really only in the second half that it becomes a problem (if you find that a problem). If you don't find that a problem, well, it's not a problem. But for me it's just more... confusing writing. The book likes leaving you confused and feeling like you've been tugged in a lot of places without room for a proper landing, and this is just one of them.

But I do think this book deserves four stars (or maybe 3.5, I'm not sure). When it's funny, it's hilarious, when it's angsty (at least the good angsty parts), it's some of the best in the business. The writing is mostly quite good and the story universe is well-developed. I was struggling with books for a while and this was a breath of fresh air I needed.

I don't know if I'll continue to the next book. Much as I enjoyed this, the ending in particular really soured me on giving another entry in the series a shot, because I find I'm leery of more of this style of writing in a sequel. ( )

I liked everything about this story except that it was Fade to Black and I know how well Hall can write explicit sex scenes, and that just made me incredibly sad overall to not get the joy of reading those scenes from Hall.

If you prefer Fade to Black or like that kind of thing, you'll love it. I sadly had my expectations set too high on that front. I don't know if this is an issue with the publisher, or just something Hall is trying out and enjoying (because FtB sells better overall, which you know, respect to wanting to get paid), but it's made me feel a bit cooler on the rest of the series as a result. I wish I was someone who liked FtB a lot more! ( )

Boyfriend Material is a rom-com about Luc, the son of two famous 80s musicians, and Oliver, a barrister. When they pretend to be in a relationship to help Luc keep his job, both end up getting a little more than they'd expected.

There is a lot to like in this book. Luc and Oliver are great characters, and the supporting cast are great, too. Some of them seem to veer into caricature territory at times, but Hall brings them back into reality with certain quips or observances that make them feel more like actual people. The story performs the fake relationship trope well, and manages to actually make it believable in this case.

The main thing I wished for was less dialogue. The book is incredibly dialogue-heavy, and while it's understandable at some points, there were times that it just felt excessive. That being said, I tend to be easier on romance in many regards as the point isn't to be high literature but to instead be like candy - not entirely filling, but sweet and satisfying of a craving. While I wouldn't be happy reading literary fiction with this much dialogue, I found it more acceptable, albeit not ideal, here.

Overall, this was a fun read that I'd recommend for fans of queer romance (although really, fans of queer romance have probably already read it). I plan on picking up the next in the series when I need something lighthearted to read. ( )

I DEVOURED this book. I picked it up for the February #LansingReads22 prompt -- a book with a queer love story. I was sold the second I realized it was based on the fake dating trope. I started reading while waiting to pick up my kid from school on a Tuesday, stayed up WAY too late reading because OLIVER IS SO OBVIOUSLY INTO YOU, LUC, BUT TRAGICALLY THERE HAS BEEN NO KISSING ABOUT IT YET -- and then the next day was a snow day, so I decided to ask off all obligations and do nothing but finish this book.

The ending was a tiny bit less satisfying than I expected, but then I found out there will be a sequel and I immediately pre-ordered it. ( )