Husband Material

The last fifteen minutes of the audiobook took me almost two hours to listen to because I kept pausing every two minutes to yell, but I’m happy to say that I’ve now calmed down, so I’ll simply calmly explain the reasons for my rating in bullet points. I regret to say that I did not enjoy reading this one very much, which surprised me. The first one’s protagonist occasionally irritated me, but overall I had a terrific time and appreciated the lads’ voyage. It was terrible to read this book. Overall, I feel that this book has no purpose, and the conclusion disappointed me and gave me the impression that I was being preached at. I did not like reading this book, and I feel much worse for having done so now that I have finished it. This book doesn’t produce the cogent narrative that readers were led to expect from the title and the blurb; rather, it reads more like a collection of disconnected short tales than a novel.

(Voluntarily reviewed an eARC of the book on For The Love of Fictional Worlds)The Boyfriend Material was a runaway favourite of mine - hilarious, awkward and oh so relatable, I was recommending to anyone who read that genre.•So when The Husband Material was released and on Netgalley, I just couldn’t NOT request it to review!•Oliver and Luc - are two years into their relationship and somehow surrounded by couples who are either married or getting married - no in between.•Okay. To be honest, this is a far more sedate sequel to The Boyfriend Material - less shenanigans, awkward interactions and more adult reactions.•I liked this about it - it showed what exactly happens after the HEA - more serious, more anxious mor adult-ier but somehow still worth understanding and reading.

(This is quite long. Oops.)This was an amazing sequel to Boyfriend Material. I didn't read anything going into it - didn't read the blurb or any reviews, so I was surprised by all the weddings lol. Anyway, I was also really surprised by the relatively low ratings and poor reviews. After reading several of them, it seems like some people are disappointed by the "plot twist" at the end of the book. I wanted to argue against some of the things that were mentioned.First, not in regards to the plot twist, I wanted to talk about how some people felt like Luc and Oliver were arguing too much/not having enough lovey fuzzy moments for a two-year-old relationship. I totally see it. I love sweet and caring moments in romances and usually wish for there to be much more. I didn't have that thought this time though. I will say that the first argument (non-argument) in the book where Luc has to cancel (for very understandable reasons) was rather upsetting for me, but I found the rest of the book to be much better. I think maybe 90% of the arguments and non-arguments in this book are about the wedding or funeral, which means we're seeing a temporary rough time in their relationship, not how their relationship is on a regular basis. It doesn't mean they haven't grown since the first book, like one reviewer said. In fact, I noticed many moments throughout the book that show how much growth they've both had, how they acted differently than they would have in the first book, and it made me happy to see. I also did see many lovely couple moments between Oliver and Luc, some big and many small, that for me were enough to show me they were quite happy together and in a great relationship.Another thing before talking about the big plot twist (which I'm saving for the end because it'll have spoilers) is people saying the ending feels abrupt. Again I agree. But I'm on a Alexis Hall reading spree and have just finished Paris Daillencourt and Boyfriend Material, and they both have similarly abrupt endings. To me, they're great, and I couldn't think of a better ending. I do end up feeling rather bereft after I finish the book though. They're great books, which already makes it hard to move on from, and the sudden ending makes it worse. But it's such a movie-like, artistic ending. Hall doesn't do the gentle wind-down that many romance authors do, where after the climax, you're slowly glided down and are gently set on the ground by means of an epilogue and/or seeing how the characters live after the big moment and how the dust settles. Alexis Hall's style seems to be that you're sent soaring into sky as everything becomes bright and whites out in one glorious moment. You don't see the aftermath for a gentle landing (or see any of those nice cozy fuzzy couple moments) but to me this matches with the author's style. He's a great author in that you don't see anything superfluous. Every scene and moment has its purpose, whether it's major plot and character stuff or a funny or sweet moment. I wouldn't have been mad at a nice extra scene at the end (quite the contrary), but this was a beautiful, perfect ending to me.Finally, the "plot twist." Stop reading now if you don't want spoilers. Or keep reading if you like spoilers so you can enjoy the book more and read without fear.I understand why a lot of people had a hard time with this. What I'm surprised at is that some people were surprised. They decide not to get married. Looking back, it's clear it was always leading up to this. From the first unplanned proposal to the real proposal, and Oliver's reaction to the proposals, it's clear in hindsight that neither of them were super into the idea. Those first few proposal/wedding-related scenes, I thought it was just the author showing maybe a more realistic, chill proposal between people who already felt settled and that they were never going to leave each other, so they didn't have huge emotional reactions. Then when Luc's mother suggested marriage might not be for them, I immediately saw that was the direction the book was probably heading, and honestly, by the time they had their bachelor parties, I was surprised they hadn't had that conversation and called it off by then. At every point in the book when they talk about the wedding or do something for the wedding, they don't have any of the joy or excitement they should have. None of those moments are shown as particularly magical either. They're just kind of clomping along and doing what is expected. So for me, I don't think it was a big plot twist.As for people being upset that they don't get married, I get it. And Hall could've written a totally(ish) different book, where they go to different weddings (and a funeral) and in between they happily and excitedly get engaged and plan a wedding and get married, maybe with a few fights and twists along the way. And he's a great author, so it would've been great, I'm sure. But the whole point of this story, I think, is that although they're an amazing couple who love each other and fully feel they want to be together forever, they figure out that for some reason, marriage-marriage just doesn't feel right to their relationship. To be honest, it's a bit hard for me to empathize with them. BUT!This is a Thing. I've encountered in other places (books? online?) some LGBTQ+ people who, whether or not are in a serious, monogamous relationship, just don't feel like marriage is for them. It feels too much like a... straight institution. An institution that wasn't made for them, and to this day doesn't fully accept them. Queer people have their own history and culture, in which traditionally "marriage" was simply a lifelong, private commitment. For some people, marriage-marriage just feels too straight. It has too many straight cooties attached to it and it gives them the ick. I'll say now that I'm queer, but I only have medium license to talk about this because I'm not super well-informed about people who feel this way. I just mean to say that some reviewers seemed to feel that this is a big radical statement about heteronormativity, which I suppose it is, but it wasn't as radical an idea as they seemed to think. The author is a gay man (or queer? unsure exactly how he identifies), and if you've read his other books, it's clear he's very knowledgeable about the queer community and various subsets of the community, including the people who feel icky about marriage. This is an author writing authentically about his community.So I understand the shock and disappointment of the ending, especially if this was your first time hearing about queer people who feel uncomfy about Marriage. But what makes this story beautiful is that they love each other so much. The author shows the reader that several times throughout the book. And the book ends very happily for Oliver and Luc. The last scene is such a beautiful, joyous moment! It's just not how the average reader would expect it. I think the author does a great job carrying various themes throughout the book, and I loved the conversations about Oliver's relationship with his community and what it means to be a "good gay." And while there were a number of arguments and non-arguments between Oliver and Luc, I didn't feel like it was too much. Or at least, there were so many sweet and funny moments, and all of those arguments ended in a lovely way.It's not the most cozy, comforting book, but it's a very entertaining read, and the conflicts and unhappy parts are meaningful and well balanced with the funny and lovely parts.Maybe on the second read, when one knows what to expect (or if you've somehow managed to actually read this whole review), people will absorb more of the good bits and not be as weighed down by the bad.Lovely book, very entertaining and funny, great read, very meaningful and interesting. Great sequel. 5/5And 5 gold stars to you for reading this whole review. My god.

The structural premise of this book, four weddings and a funeral, is spelled out in the blurb. Between that setup, genre expectations over how a second story about an established relationship will play out, and the title itself, we go in with a pretty good idea of how this book will go. But Luc is nothing if not predictably and unpredictable, and Hall manages plenty of delightful surprises along the way.I’m a sucker for weddings, so I was looking forward to all four even before I knew who they were for (though three are fairly evident, set up by characters introduced in the previous book). And the drama hits the fan from the very first one, in which Luc is the maid of honor for his best friend Bridge. Events from the bachelorette party to the ceremony itself are over the top and entertaining, and Hall incorporates much about these characters and the narrative style that I loved from the previous book without anything feeling stale or repetitive.Even while I felt a tiny bit bad for the travails Bridge and Tom experience in the final leadup to their big day, I also kind of hoped that we would enjoy this amount of ridiculous drama for every wedding in the book. Hall has a gift for throwing absurd yet completely realistic problems (AND solutions) at his characters. These external issues could have easily distracted from the heart of the story, but Hall also keeps the true focus on Luc, Oliver, and their connection throughout. After all, some of the truest tests of a relationship are vacationing together and attending other people’s weddings. These events provide some final closure for Luc regarding issues from the first book while also revealing potential new conflicts.One of the biggest problems Hall faced when writing this story is how to make the reader fear for the future of Luc and Oliver’s happily ever after since dragging them out of the sunset and returning them to real life for a sequel. A narrative about the wedding preparation killing the marriage before it begins is cliché enough that I doubted Hall would take that route, and I was pleased to be proven right. This is where the funeral comes in. I won’t spoil who it is for, but it is not for any of the characters I initially assumed. Derailing so many thematic beginnings with a solid ending brought depth to this novel and allowed Oliver to also confront actual character issues originally presented near the end of book 1 as more of a supporting plot element. My only significant quibble about this book is how we are limited to Luc’s narrative here. I also adore Oliver enough that I would have appreciated much of his character development from his point of view instead of filtered through Luc’s personality and biases.Every romance novel is at its core a story about a relationship. However, not many romance stories actually interrogate the point and true function of that relationship. Hall layers the multiple weddings in this book into an ongoing commentary between the heroes about the need for and meaning behind the various styles of pageantry, which is in turn a necessary discussion between any couple about what they want from their own “special day”—and want and need from their own relationship. In an amazing final twist, Luc and Oliver finally settle on their answers to both questions. In the style I’ve come to expect from this series and these characters, it is unexpectedly expected. And absolutely perfect.

I’ve given this story 4 stars because I loved book one and I also enjoyed book two - right up to the final few chapters.Luc’s determination to not be “heteronormative” and his overanalysing of emotions and thoughts and ideas (and Oliver) just went one step too far for me. He was uncompromising and unfortunately that meant Oliver seemed to cop more than his fair share of the blame and do most of the ‘giving in’ heavy lifting.I kept thinking ‘time to look internally, Luc’, ‘stop gaslighting Oliver, Luc’, ‘think about it from Oliver’s perspective, Luc’. But he continued to be himself, which, I guess, is fine.. except that I didn’t really like him much in them end - and I’m sure that wasn’t what the author had in mind for her hero.Anyway..I really didn’t want write a review that would give away spoilers to other readers so I’ll say this: go in with zero expectations, that way you won’t be bothered by the outcome, whatever it may be.

I enjoyed book one so much and was looking forward to the sequel. The ending was so disappointing. If there is a third, it's going to be titled Father Material and will feature Luc burning down an orphanage while Oliver debates with himself about whether he wants to be a parent. Had good moments but I wish I had stopped at the first book.

I was looking forward to reading it for so long, but the closer it got to its release date the more anxious I got I wouldn't like it. Because, ya know, I usually aren't a huge fan of sequels to romcoms. And I read reviews about people not liking it at all...BUT I LOVED IT.I loved everything about it. From the hilarious way some events are written to Luc's sarcasm/ silly jokes to Oliver's speech and obsessive cleaning (can he come to my house please), and from their sweet moments together to their perfectly unperfect relationship, which makes it absolutely perfect. I also love that they are each their own person, that they are different, but also support each other through everything.I read some reviews in which people said they (still) didn't like Luc because he supposedly treats Oliver badly. I honestly don't know where that's coming from. I have loved him since the beginning of Boyfriend Material, but I also think he's grown so much since then. And yes, he's still struggling and yes, he can still react badly at times (so does Oliver and the rest of the world), but he does take responsibility for his actions (mostly) and makes things right (and it usually doesn't even take him that long to realise he has too). Same with Oliver. So yep, I feel like I just jumped into PROTECT LUC AND OLIVER AT ALL COST mode, so I should probably skip to the end.That reminds me... THE ENDING... oh my goodness, the ending. I won't spoil anything, but I think it was perfect. And there's a certain moment very close to the ending where Oliver says something (I can't say what bc huge spoiler) and it made me feel so understood I kind of cried and smiled at the same time (think perfect 'one single film worthy tear slides down cheek while smiling like a fool' moment).I think the message of the book (or at least that's what I got from it) is that everyone is different, and it is OKAY to do things your own way, even if that means you are doing the exact opposite of what everyone else is doing. I think it came exactly at the right time, not so much because I didn't know this already, but because I've been thinking about stuff a lot lately, realising some things about myself, and it's so nice to somehow get that validation from one of your fav authors through two of your fav characters.So, to now really end my review, I loved Husband Material to bits and it made me so incredibly happy.