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rowanelise's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Homophobia, Transphobia, and Death of parent
Minor: Vomit
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I especially like how this deals with grief, and the complex emotions of losing someone who has been a major force in one's life, especially when they've mostly been a negative influence. Someone can be terrible and important, and that's often hard to deal with. The shape of their absence can leave an enormous wound, even if their presence was slow suffering.
HUSBAND MATERIAL could kind of make sense for someone who hadn't read BOYFRIEND MATERIAL, but the emotional roller coaster of the first book means that a lot of processing and establishing of various relationship dynamics took place in BOYFRIEND MATERIAL, with the characters moving forward here after a time jump and a new status quo to be disrupted by all these weddings.
I like the ending, it fits Oliver and Luc as individuals and as a couple. They are figuring out their relationship, not anyone else's, but it takes a while for them to understand what they actually want from the socially proscribed steps and ceremonies on the relationship escalator.
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Excrement
levilore_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Now the ending.
Throughout the different weddings, Luc and Oliver obviously have different opinions about what marriage means and in Oliver's case, he is still figuring out what being queer means for him. The other weddings celebrate the joy of marriage and how individualized the experience is for each couple. My main takeaway from the book was that for Luc and Oliver, the act of marriage isn't, well, that important. For them, not being married is more important because it's an act of protest. Neither of them really talk about why they want to be married, rather they are both focused on the expectations that they should want to get married. They already do all the things that a life partner does for each other. Luc shows this when he supports Oliver through his dad's death. Oliver supports Luc when they go to Miles' wedding. The only time their communication fully breaks down is when they are trying to plan an event neither of them want. For the characters, the ending makes sense. Is it extremely dramatic and surprising? Absolutely. But through that act, through their complete honesty with each other, they are able to have their version of what love means, which is them bailing on their own wedding, running into the rain, and making out. (I really enjoyed the sweet touch of the rainbow umbrellas)
In a larger context, I enjoyed this book because it explores the complexity of queerness and marriage. They talk about how marriage is an important right for queer people, but there is no right way to be queer. Having that conventional expression of love, for a relationship that started and continues to be unconventional, just doesn't work for them. And that's the point of the ending. Did it annoy me that they wasted all that time and money just to not get married? Yes, it did. Do I think they could have just had a big party and skipped the ceremony? Absolutely. But I think that's the whole point. From the outside, them running off looks absolutely ridiculous and stupid, but character wise it makes sense because honestly they are both kind of ridiculous and stupid. People want everything to be wrapped up in this beautiful bow of marriage = happiness but I think Alexis Hall uses this book to show how true queerness is about accepting that not being married, not having the flashy rainbow ceremony, should be just as beautiful as all those things. The idea of "love is love" should not just be "love is love if you follow the traditional normative conventions of how love should be expressed", but rather "love is complex and weird and that is beautiful too". And I personally think that is more impactful than them getting married in the first place.
Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Cancer, Infidelity, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Excrement, Vomit, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
headinthepages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicide
sefkhet's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Homophobia and Transphobia
bookwormbi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, and Death of parent
Minor: Mental illness and Transphobia
megelizabeth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
I enjoyed Boyfriend Material, but felt frustrated by the rushed ending, and so I loved getting to experience these characters again and to see how things have developed for them. I still didn't totally love the ending of this one, because it again felt slightly rushed and clunkily-done, but I appreciated the overall message and came away feeling much more satisfied than I did at the end of the first book.
This book is a great combination of lighthearted and serious, with so many laugh-out-loud moments and equally as many important conversations. There's a brilliant cast of characters, and I particularly liked that the two James' felt much more distinct in this book.
I don't usually enjoy sequels more than their predecessors, so kudos to Alexis Hall for doing such a good job with this one!
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, and Death of parent
Minor: Transphobia
alyxinthestars's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Eating disorder, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Transphobia, Vomit, and Alcohol
josieruby1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Death of parent
Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Vomit
tahsintries's review against another edition
3.75
Moderate: Homophobia and Death of parent
Minor: Transphobia