Boyfriend Material

I can’t say I’ve given it much thought before, since I’ve never been in the situation myself, but it must be very strange to be the child of famous parents. Can you imagine being in that position? You may have access to everything, but with the public’s ravenous appetite for celebrity gossip, you would hardly have the chance to take advantage of it. Let alone be able to make the mistakes people make in their youth. That is the strange reality for Luc, one of the heroes and narrator of #BoyfriendMaterial by #AlexisHall. The son of two 80s rock legends, never really knowing his father, he is in the spotlight far more often than is good for him- personally or professionally- primarily because his parents were famous. And boy does he have some issues from it. Who can blame him really? But after one more bad write up in a tabloid, his job is at stake and he needs a new boyfriend ASAP. Enter Oliver, the gorgeous lawyer who is perfectly respectable and should help Luc clean up his image in time to save his job. Of course, fake dating ensues and, as tends to happen when people fake date, they have to make it look real. Funny thing about fake dating, it can be an awful lot like real dating. And real dating is a lot like friendship- a shoulder to cry on, listen to each other vent, learn about some of each other's… quirks, let’s call them quirks. In the way of romance novels, you can probably guess how things turn out in the end, but it’s a wild ride full of misunderstandings, aging rock stars, and plenty of self-sabotage. Told in the first, we get to know Luc and his personal flavors of sarcasm and neuroses best, but Hall has created a set of complex characters and tells a deliciously satirical story. He explores how, sometimes, you fall down an emotional and mental well that can be so hard to climb out when you feel alone, whether you really are or not. And how sometimes, it just takes someone new to come along to remind you it doesn’t have to be that way. If you haven’t yet, add Boyfriend Material to your #TBR and, while you’re at it, it’s probably worth pre-ordering the forthcoming sequel Husband Material to find out what’s next for Luc and Oliver. (#LIB for both.)