Saturday 27 June 2020

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall


Wanted:
One (fake) boyfriend
Practically 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 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.



I enjoyed this gentle romance story. I felt bad for Luc, in trouble at his job because of his mostly absent father, and several times over the course of the story I was very angry at said father. The odd couple antics of Oliver and Luc were fun to watch. I would have loved to get Oliver's perspective on some of it; we only saw him through Luc's eyes, which is quite limiting, especially as he was very judgey at the start.

I loved Luc's group of friends, as well (One Gay More, definitely the best group name) and there were strong shades of Notting Hill at the end. I would read a whole book about James Royce Royce and James Royce Royce and their adventures.

I'd have liked a few more twists and turns, but overall I did enjoy this book very much.

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