Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

36 reviews

booksthatburn's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

BOYFRIEND MATERIAL is a fake-dating-turned-real-feelings story between two gay men who both need the appearance of a relationship long enough to get through some big upcoming events. A mutual friend pairs them up for their fake relationship, and somehow this fake boyfriend thing is one of the most stable relationships Luc has ever had. 

This is the first book in a series, which slightly hints at the direction of the ending. The ending fits their relationship very well, and I like their overall dynamic. The ongoing status of their relationship is established for future books, and several major plot points are resolved. There are secondary plots related to each of their relationships with their parents. Luc's father walked out of his life twenty-five years ago, and has walked back into it with no warning and a declaration that he has cancer and would like to get to know Luc better. Luc's mother, who was also abandoned by Luc's father (her husband and musical collaborator), is supportive of any decision Luc might make, all the way from reconciliation to telling his father to go fuck himself. I adore Luc's mother, she's written very well and I love the audiobook performance for her. Oliver's parents only appear briefly, during the event for which he needed Luc as a fake boyfriend, but they cast a long shadow which has implications for later books. 

The dung beetle charity and Luc's co-workers there are an endless source of exasperation and delight for me. Between his co-workers, his friends, and Oliver's friends, there are so many vibrant and specific people that it wasn't difficult for me to keep track of anyone. Normally I have trouble keeping track of characters (let alone their names) when the cast gets past five or so, but I had no issues here. 

Things I love, in no particular order: Luc telling jokes to Alex, everything dung-beetle-related, Oliver being pedantic about law, Luc's friends, Bridget's publishing fiascos.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Racism, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

levilore_'s review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The book legitimately had me laughing out loud during most of it, but still managed to focus on topics of homophobia, found family, mental illness, and what love truly means. I really loved the author took the traditional "fake dating" plot and added in a cast of characters that I genuinely really liked and somehow made me root for a main character who pretty much had zero self-esteem the whole book (which usually find very annoying). The ending was extremely satisfying and although their are 2 more books in the series, I feel as though you could really enjoy this one without reading the others. Only reason its not 5 stars is because sometimes I wanted to shake Luc and Oliver for being so dumb about their emotions, but at the same time its a faked relationship trope, so it comes with the topic.

I would highly recommend the audio book because the narrator was so incredible that I actually liked the book more than the last time I read it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Classism

adrienanthony's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Abandonment

Moderate: Cancer and Eating disorder

One character seems to briefly not understand consent, implications that the character may have been taken advantage of

mousmoulo's review against another edition

funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

between some of the cringiest sentences i've ever read, oliver speaking like he was ai generated, luc being sincerely insufferable in the first half and the worst 3rd-act breakup of all time—this was surprisingly enjoyable lol

also it was pretty fucking funny i won't lie (though i will say, it's a very british-sitcom-y type of humour that probably isn't everyone's cup of tea). still deeply unsure why, but the sentence "with his guitar cradled on his knee like it was a dying lamb" made me laugh so hard i cried and i still can't think about it without cracking up

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia

Moderate: Homophobia and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual content

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I enjoyed this book after about the 30% mark, before then Luc was annoying and pretty hard not to scream at in your head. But by the end, I loved him and Oliver even if I occasionally wanted to slap them upside your heads. I would have liked more spice! But I know if you wish to have a mainstream M/M romance you can't usually get too graphic with that. In the end, I enjoyed it and laughed a lot, as well as cried a bit too. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Eating disorder and Fatphobia

Minor: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

jodierose14's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Homophobia

ayoderable's review against another edition

funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Good character development. Very charming banter. Wonderful story arc

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment

Minor: Cancer, Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Death of parent

augustrogue's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Well, that was... fine. I enjoy the fake dating trope, especially with a heap of mutual pining, and this certainly has that. There were quite a few sweet and funny moments. But the ending fizzled a bit for me, and there were just a tad too many abrupt and unrealistically dramatic misunderstandings.  

Some other issues I had with it: 

* The James Royce-Royce thing was supposed to be funny I think, but there was no real way of differentiating between them so it kind of blobbed into one character.

* Several of the characters, especially Luc's coworkers, are very neurodivergent-coded and kind of bullied and made the butt of the joke a lot. Made me a bit uncomfortable.

The side-plot of the emotionally immature and neglectful parents was somewhat compelling (if frustrating), but I don't know if that pulls the rest of it up enough. So. Three stars it is? Doubtful that I'll read the sequel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Abandonment

Moderate: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Sexual content

Minor: Cancer

traceyanderson's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Classism

valpuri's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, and Racism