Husband Material (London Calling Book 2)

Product Information

Two talented chess players challenge each other on and off the board in bestselling author Hazelwood’s YA debut. I was truly not expecting to love it. I've had mixed experiences with Alexis Hall in the past, and I honestly didn't know he could be so funny. This book is hilarious, especially if you like kind of snarky, British humor, and I found myself laughing out loud to myself in bed, shoulders positively shaking (my husband did not appreciate this Someone else’s actions may affect you. But what other people choose to do is about them.” We were both quiet for a moment.. “Will it…will it ever stop hurting?” “Non.” Mum shook her head. “But it will stop mattering.”

and through it all, husband material is overwhelmingly filled with love, with luc and oliver holding my hand each step of the way. how loved we are, despite being flawed and messy. Boyfriend Material was written in the style of 90s romcoms, and this was Hall’s take specifically on Four Weddings and a Funeral. I know it was part of the style but I personally wish he would have toned down the ridiculousness of the antics in the early part of the book. There were mishaps and bad judgement calls being made merely to drive the plot but I didn’t appreciate the result of these bad calls because they almost invariably ended up hurting Oliver who is the last person who deserves to be hurt or taken for granted. 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] Reception [ edit ] Oliver: I don’t feel included in the queer community, as you define it, or represented by rainbows or other commonly used queer symbols. In fact, I feel excluded when the community is defined this way.I think I’m around a 1.5 out of 3 on those conditions? I’m often bored by wedding drama plots and prefer them to be minimal fuss in fiction and in life (my favourite on-screen wedding is Andy and April’s in Parks & Rec, lol). I do love those classic romcoms, problematic aspects notwithstanding. I liked the characters, though they didn’t leave a massive impression (which is why I reread the first book). I’d even recently (unrelatedly) rewatched Four Weddings and a Funeral, so I was about as ideally primed for the continuation of Luc & Oliver’s relationship journey and for a big queer FW&AF homage as someone who’s just not hugely bothered about weddings could ever be.

When I read Boyfriend Material almost two weeks ago for the first time, I fell in love with Luc and Oliver. I couldn't believe that I had waited so long to read such a gem. I was seriously missing out. The first book introduced me to Ollie and Luc and all the other interesting characters such as Bridge, Alex, James Royce-Royce and Priya. There was so much wit, humor and colorful characters that made the story not only hilariously funny but also worthwhile. My personal favourite was probably the Funeral part and the painful emotional fallout from that. In the midst of a book that was by its very nature full of Big Drama and manic exuberance, that part felt like a little oasis of breathing space where, in the midst of this confused, achey, angry, grieving sadness, the characters created this lovely, complex unity of mutual support, honesty, and tenderness. I loved that, and it felt like the most authentic moment in the book for both of them.So, I’m going to tell you the secrets to enjoying this book and not throwing your kindle at the wall: Now, for spoiler’s sake I can’t tell you what happens in the latter part of the book but I can tell you that there is an unexpected event that makes everything feel incredibly real to Luc and Oliver and it’s with this storyline that I absolutely fell in love with Husband Material. Here, you finally, finally get to see Hall’s prose shine as Luc and Oliver grapple with decisions, familial expectations and loss, as they try to reconcile their differing opinions and grow as individuals and together, learning to deal with life’s many obstacles and emerging stronger by holding on to each other instead of tearing the other apart. I loved how realistic the depiction of being in a long-term relationship was: the ups and downs, the good days and the bad ones, the messy times you say things you shouldn’t and the perfect ones that show that the moments that makes life great are often those you wouldn’t think of ever happening. I just wish that we would have had more of this kind of connection and realness of what love looks like and the utter relatability for the entirety of the novel instead of having to wait for over half of the book since this was—presumably—supposed to be about that all along. But that might just be me, so take this with a grain of salt. So, look. I’m not into romcom movies. It’s just never been my thing. This book, structurally at least, is based off of the romcom Four Weddings and a Funeral. Based on the wiki synopsis, I don’t think this book follows the events in that movie, but that’s just my impression. The book here is broken up into five parts, if you can guess by the movie title. They feel like very separated storylines that give off an individual short story feel, rather than brought together as a whole novel. If this book had been pitched more as a short story epilogue book of sorts, that would make more sense. I went into this book thinking that the story would be fun and games and anxiety about Luc proposing, the engagement, and eventual marriage to Oliver based on the title of this book. And, well, it is and it isn’t.