Review: Husband Material (London Calling, #2) by Alexis Hall

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Blurb

“Our favourite chaos demon & stern brunch daddy return in this delicious, ridiculous, and often poignant romcom about all the ways love can grow.” —Talia Hibbert, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author

WANTED: One (very real) husband, nowhere near perfect but desperately trying his best

In BOYFRIEND MATERIAL, Luc and Oliver met, pretended to fall in love, fell in love for real, dealt with heartbreak and disappointment and family and friends…and somehow figured out a way to make it work. Now it seems like everyone around them is getting married, and Luc’s feeling the social pressure to propose. But it’ll take more than four weddings, a funeral, and a hotly contested rainbow balloon arch to get these two from “I don’t know what I’m doing” to “I do”.

Good thing Oliver is such perfect HUSBAND MATERIAL.

 

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Review

3.5 stars!

This book is a follow up to the fabulous Boyfriend Material, and is a fun, slightly awkward and very real revisit with a couple (and their friend group) who completely captured my heart when they met, fake dated and fell in love.

Beginning two years after the ending of the first book, Luc and Oliver have been together for two years, and despite being complete opposites with little in common, they are still happy and committed, and still delightfully and entertainingly awkward.

“You still make me happy, Lucien. You are still everything I want, and a lot of things I couldn’t have imagined wanting.”

There’s not a distinct plotline to this book, we’re just following Luc (as the book is written entirely from his POV) through life as he and Oliver attend the weddings of friends, enemies and bizarre work colleagues, and do life together. There are sweet moments, poignant moments, painfully awkward moments and laugh-out-loud funny moments as they navigate a series of random situations amongst a bizarre and eclectic group of characters.

The storyline does develop towards the end of the book as Luc and Oliver are forced to confront their differences and figure out whether they still belong together, and what their future looks like. It’s sweetly and honestly written, with all of the awkwardness, mistakes and pain of real life, but with the humour and fun that I expect from this author and these unique characters.

Luc is still a bit of a mess. He’s trying hard, but life is all a bit overwhelming for him. His insecurities are frustrating at times, but he grows throughout the book, and I liked watching him find his way. Oliver may be deadly serious and more formal than his kitsch-loving boyfriend, but there’s just enough playfulness in him to make his almost-smiles and witty comments really special. He, too, is looking at his life and examining things, and his journey is painful, but satisfying to watch.

These two men seemingly have nothing in common, but somehow they make it work. The love between them is honestly a it confusing at times (seriously… why?), but those little moments when they are on the same page, open and honest with each other, are so sweet.

“I am yours, more truly than I have ever been anyone’s. Because when I’m with you, I’m me. Not someone I think I should be. And I’ll be with you, however you want, for as long as you’ll have me.”

I enjoyed being back in this world with this quirky group of characters. Despite all of the laughs, there are some truly deep messages in this book, and I appreciated the way they were raised, examined and dealt with by the characters. It brings a sense of realness to the story, and added a lot of heart to the journey.

I enjoyed this book. You’ll definitely appreciate it more if you’ve read the first book rather than reading this one as a standalone, and I enjoyed being back in this world.

3.5 stars.

 

London Calling

 

Boyfriend Material (#1)
Review
Buy:  Amazon  |  Paperback  |  Audio

Husband Material (#2)
Review
Buy:  Amazon  |  Paperback  |  Audio

 

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