Contemporary Romance Review: Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

bought on Audible

Synopsis from Goodreads

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.

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8.5/10

I am a big fan of Arden St.Ives series by Alexis Hall, and Boyfriend Material is just as good. It's so snarky, funny, and unapologetically British, I was giggling from the get-go. And please, guys, get it on audio! The accents are to die for and make the whole experience so much juicier.

Luc has spent his life up to date growing under the shadow of his delightfully eccentric French mom and resenting his famous has-been rock star father. It left him exposed to tabloids and unable to trust men in his relationship for fear they would sell him to the papers. He is a paranoid mess and now even his job is in danger after an unfortunate article in the paper.

Get this, he is a charity fundraiser for the society for dung beetles preservation. It's super obscure and super posh, so he is surrounded by pompous clueless baffoons which made for ridiculously funny dialogues. He also has a motley crew of wonderful friends who try to help him out of his situation by introducing him to a potential fake respectable boyfriend.

Oliver is super rigid and stilted and defensive, and they clash badly from the first date, but he is also a sweetheart who just needs to loosen up a bit. Seeing them both trying to accept and understand each other was wonderful.  There was so much good stuff here, peeps, that I've listened to it all in one go.

Major recommend, cozy and hilarious, fabulous on audio!

* * * 

Я большой фанат серии "Арден Сент-Ивс" от Алексис Холл, и её "Бойфренд Материал" ничуть не хуже. Смешное, язвительное и без извинений британское чтиво. Особенно хорошо на аудио, там акценты просто шикарные! Я начала смеяться с первой главы.

Люк провёл свою жизнь в тени своей экцентричной француженки матери, пытаясь забыть своего никчемного рокера отца. Только тот вернулся на реалити тв, и теперь таблоиды не дают Люку покоя и портят его и так тошнотворную жизнь.

Когда очередная статья ставит его под угрозу потери работы, Люк просит свою очаровательную группу сумасшедших друзей помочь ему найти фальшивого респектабельного бойфренда, чтобы подчистить его имидж. Он, кстати работает фандрэйзером на никому не известную кроме очень богатых клиентов благотворительность "Общество  по Сохранению Навозных Жуков". Ну прелесть, да? И он постоянно общается с помпозными идиотами аристократами, которые выдают такие перлы, что это какой-то получается сплошной Монти Пайтон.

Оливер - это его полная противоположность. Зажатый, скованный, с очень правильным поведением, он кажется Люку очень скучным и действует ему ужасно на нервы. Но понемногу, чем больше они друг друга узнают, тем больше их друг к другу тянет. И под конец оказывается, что не такие уж они и разные. Оливер и его друзья были вообще милашки, и мне понравилось его чувство юмора.

Очень рекомендую, книга уютная и поднимает настроение, особенно на аудио.