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Author | Alexis Hall |
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Language | English |
Series | London's Calling |
Genre | |
Publication date | 7 July 2020 [1] |
ISBN | 1728206146 |
Followed by | Husband Material |
Boyfriend Material is a 2020 contemporary romance novel by Alexis Hall. It centers on the character of Luc O'Donnell, the only child of two 1980s rock stars, and his romantic relationship with Oliver Blackwood, a barrister.
Hall has stated that the novel was directly inspired by the Richard Curtis rom-coms of the 1990s and early 2000s, such as Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and Love Actually. [2]
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.
Entertainment Weekly, Business Insider, and Bustle all named Boyfriend Material one of the Best Romance Novels of 2020. [3] [4] [5] The novel was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance, coming in fifth place. [6]
A Publishers Weekly review called it "a triumph" and said that "Hall breathes new life into the fake dating trope with this effervescent queer rom-com." [7]
Olivia Waite, from The New York Times, called the series, "...terrifically funny. Not just tonally upbeat in the way of many so-called rom-coms, but text-your-friends, chortle-'til-you-cry funny." [8]
The novel's sequel, titled Husband Material, was released in August 2022. [9] [10] A third novel, entitled Father Material, will be released in 2024, completing the trilogy. [11]
10 Things That Never Happened, a spin-off novel following different characters, including one who was introduced in Husband Material, was released in October 2023. [12]