Husband Material

I enjoyed so much about this book (the protagonist’s mom being a particular delight) and was cruising along to a five-star review until I got to the last few chapters and experienced Game of Thrones final-seasons-levels of confusion and disappointment. I hate, hate, hate the ending.

Two of the most self hating whiny characters.

husband material is definitely different vibes than boyfriend material, and i am here for it! this was such a great exploration of luc and oliver’s relationship and how they go through life and its big events together. they find their own version of love and it’s amazingly queer and lovely and perfect for them! so excited for the next in the series!

While I absolutely adored “Boyfriend Material,” and had issues dissociating from the characters for about a week after I finished it (that’s how invested I got), this book deeply disappointed any expectations. Each part, with the exception of the last two, was a pointless and quite frankly plotless attempt at advancing Luc’s & Oliver’s relationship into… I’m not certain what. The couple had little “page time” together and when they did it was an incessant string of self-doubt, lack of awareness, and tearing down any growth the characters have gone through in the first book. While I appreciate Hall throwing Luc and Olie at different situations that perhaps meant to show them different versions of relationships, and by extension - what their relationship was or wasn’t, but it would be a much stronger delivery if there was actually a self-reflection at the end of each part that lead to the final conclusion. I may be in the minority here, but I didn’t have the problem with the ending if only Hall actually took us down the journey to arrive there. Instead, it was loosely stitched in the last two chapters of the book with a very thin thread. The only good thing that came out of this book was Oliver’s further character advancement that came out of a tragedy, while Luc spent his time sliding into a void of constantly gaslighting his man. Overall, very light two stars and tempered expectations for the third book.

I loved “Boyfriend Material,” so naturally I was looking forward to the sequel to learn more of Luc and Oliver’s story. When the first book had a charming opposites attract plot line going for it with its we shouldn’t work but let’s fake date and take it from there, this book sees both main characters two years later, in a “four weddings and a funeral” inspiration. Unfortunately, while both characters are still charming and endearing, the book’s plot is lacking, the bickering is non-ending, and the ending is terrible. Instead of boy meets boy, boy falls for boy, this book is of boy quarreling with boy to the backdrop of, well, 4 weddings, and one funeral, as they navigate their relationship. That’s all good in itself, but the payoff isn’t there. Not only does the ending not make sense for the arc that was set for one of the two main characters in regards to his perception of his sexuality and the politics of it, but it also felt abrupt. A sequel is coming in two years, but I’ve tempered my expectations.