A review by literaryweaponry
Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

fast-paced

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

3.0

I honestly don’t have a lot to say about this book. Contemporary romance usually isn’t my thing but I wanted something fluffy as I’ve been in a bad brain space. 

The romance itself in this book is nice. It isn’t perfect and there are issues and troubles and drama at every turn. I appreciated that aspect. In so many adult romance novels there is the slow start, falling in love, a Big Thing that causes a problem, and then everything is reconciled. This felt more like a real relationship with little troubles peppered throughout. 

My problem was with the main character, Luc, himself. His self-loathing and self-destructive behavior took on a level I’ve only seen in soap operas. It made him feel like little more than a selfish child which, honestly, may have been the point but that doesn’t make it grind my gears any less. Actually, both Luc and Oliver just felt like excessively dramatic caricatures of their respective archetypes. 

Overall, I did appreciate the character development in the end and I really enjoyed Luc’s dysfunctional friend-group. I was looking for a bit of fluffy escapism and this book provided exactly that.