This was one of those books I could barely read because I was always so afraid of things turning badly for the characters, but at the end (and plenty of times in the middle) the narrative rewards the reader for the trust placed on it by everything turning out fine (even if not always how one expects it to). A great book and sequel. 4.75 stars out of 5

REZENSION (Achtung, Band 2) Wir steigen genau dort wieder ein, wo wir in Band 1 aufgehört haben: Witze, Schlagabtäusche, viel Drama und eine kleine Brise Chaos. Zwei Jahre nach ihrem dramatischen Beziehungsbeginn finden sich Luc und Oliver in einer gut laufenden Beziehung wieder, in der sie das Gefühl haben, nun den nächsten Schritt zu wagen. Doch beide sind sich unsicher über das Wie und vor allem das Ob. Auch die Freunde der beiden sind wieder mit am Start und runden das Ganze perfekt ab. Ihre Dynamik und Unterstützung sorgen für viele zusätzliche Lacher und herzerwärmende Momente, die die Geschichte noch lebendiger machen. In typischer Luc-und-Oliver-Manier versuchen sie, sich selbst darüber klar zu werden, was sie wollen. Ich fand es genial, wie das Buch auf das Thema Ehe eingeht und die verschiedenen Varianten der Eheschließung beleuchtet. Es greift die Frage auf, ob man heiraten sollte und was es für die beiden bedeutet. Meiner Meinung nach ein wichtiges Thema, das mit viel Charme, Witz und Tiefgang verpackt ist. Ebenso wie für Band 1 kann ich hier eine Leseempfehlung aussprechen. Tatsächlich aber nur dann, wenn man Band 1 bereits gelesen und im besten Fall sogar geliebt hat.

There's going to be spoilers in this review so this is your last warning to stop reading. I really loved "Boyfriend Material" It was hilarious and adorable. Luc acts way too immature for his age, and his "friend group" made me a little uncomfortable with their "banter" that felt more like being verbally abused, but the book was mainly about Luc and Oliver and I loved both of them. Luc was a problematic character because he's immature and selfish but he was trying to get his shit together and be a better person and I still rooted for him. I loved how Oliver made him a better person. However, that book really worked well as a standalone and really didn't need a sequel, nevermind a whole trilogy. This second book just... sucked. First of all, weddings are my most hated trope in romance books. This book spent 75% about other people. People who didn't even matter. Why the fuck did Luc decide to go to the wedding of his shitty ex-boyfriend who he dated a decade ago? Why? There was so little about Oliver and Luc in this book, and when they were in focus they were arguing about the same issues, over and over again. I swear if I have to hear about the "rainbow balloon arch" one more time I will lose it. This bullshit about Oliver not being "gay enough" and being closeted homophobic just because he doesn't like to scream his sexual identity off every proverbial rooftop with rainbow flags and other pride symbols. What the fuck? A lot of the conversations in this book felt like reading pointless arguments between a bunch of 12 year olds. It was really hard to believe these were grown adults in their 30s. Yet who seem incapable of having a normal, decent conversation. Especially the parts about Luc's shitty friend group just felt.. unbearable to listen to. Their idea of banter is to verbally abuse Luc and he seems okay with that, and I would be more upset about it if Luc wasn't acting like such a self-centered asshole for most of the book. Every problem is literally about him. Even when Oliver is grieving, Luc will turn it about him and have a whole emotional breakdown about how Oliver will leave him. (And frankly, Oliver should.) Yet Oliver is constantly trying to be the better person and turn Luc's selfish antics into a moment of self-doubt and personal growth. Plus there was the whole plot twist in the end where they eventually decide not to get married. It was resolved so quickly. Really? We spent the previous 10 chapters listening to Luc and Oliver argue about the same pointless things, and then you shove this conclusion in the least amount of page count possible? It felt so rushed and really could've been elaborated on. But I guess it was rushed for the sole purpose of "dramatic impact" the reader didn't see coming. (Spoiler, the reader saw it coming) When I was listening to it, I thought the book was "okay" probably because Joe Jameson was doing such an amazing job narrating it. But as I finished it, and wanted to review it, I started to realize how many things about it really truly bothered me. Infuriatingly so. Hence this long rant review.

Die Geschichte zwischen Oliver und Luc ist immer noch schön und witzig zu lesen, aber wie gesagt, für mich war ein Folgeband nicht wirklich essentiell... Das Ende von Boyfriend Material hätte gereicht, meiner Meinung nach. Ich habe es trotzdem genossen die Geschichte weiter zu lesen, auch wenn es für mich ein paar Mal zu viel "Drama" gab und zwanghaft versucht wurde, die Beziehung so zu leben, wie andere: Heiraten. Dafür war das Ende dann wirklich passend.

Die Geschichte zwischen Oliver und Luc ist immer noch schön und witzig zu lesen, aber wie gesagt, für mich war ein Folgeband nicht wirklich essentiell... Das Ende von Boyfriend Material hätte gereicht, meiner Meinung nach. Ich habe es trotzdem genossen die Geschichte weiter zu lesen, auch wenn es für mich ein paar Mal zu viel "Drama" gab und zwanghaft versucht wurde, die Beziehung so zu leben, wie andere: Heiraten. Dafür war das Ende dann wirklich passend.

2.5 stars. Maybe. I don't know. Disclaimer: I first read Boyfriend Material in 2020 when everything was a total mess, and it was one of the few good things that distracted myself from reality. I dug it up again in 2021 in form of the audio book when everything still/again was a total mess, and I'm not even exagerrating here when I say it was sometimes the only thing that kept me sane. I once listened to it twice in a row, and I've come back to it more often than I'd probably like to admit since then. I love these characters and how they work together, and they have a very special place in my heart. That said: What the fuck did I just read? Do you ever feel like a book punched you right in the face? Because I'm pretty sure that's what I'm feeling right now. Longer, spoiler-y version: The thing is. As much as I read these kinds of books for the somewhat predictable, clichéd endings, I don't necessarily disagree with the message at the end here that marriage is not the go-all for everyone, especially with the reasons Oliver brings in. If it had actually felt like a message and the right thing for the two of them to do and not like the rushed decision of two people who apparently never talked about any of this when for about 80% of the book, they are either attending or planing weddings. I know their main conflict, i.e. them disagreeing on integral as well as trivial parts of their wedding, was meant to lead up to this, but somehow it feels almost completely disconnected from it all? (Also, from reading the first parts of the book and the emphasis that was put on Luc focusing on other people and putting them before Oliver, I thought the conflict would be something else entirely, tbh.) They talk/argue about it so much, but somehow never get past the absolute surface of the issue. Like. Maybe it's because I'm somewhere in the middle on the rainbow images/community issue and somehow cans see where both of them are coming from, but I feel like this could have been such a good and important discussion if they'd actually, you know, discussed it, instead of saying „that's who I am“ and „I've always felt excluded from that“ over and over again, without ever going into detail. Otherwise I knew pretty quickly I wouldn't love this book as much as the first part, but still loved seeing the characters again. I've seen a few people say there's been zero growth in neither the characters nor their relationship, but I truly felt like that both Luc and Oliver on their own and their relationship has come pretty far (at least until part 5 of the book) while still feeling like the characters and the dynamic I fell in love with, so I did enjoy it a lot, over-the-top wedding tropes aside. My favourite section by far was the funeral part, partly because it finally felt like real problems (and feelings) instead of wedding drama for wedding drama's sake, but also it gave Oliver the chance for some growth (that we actually got to see). Also, I did not see the Uncle Jim thing coming, but I somehow really liked it? Like so much else in this book, I just wished we'd seen a bit more of it and how it relates to Oliver's own story. And, oddly enough, I also really enjoyed the very brief conversation Luc has with his coworker Barbara, in which they both agree on that just because you work together, that doesn't automatically mean you should be, or even want to be, involved in each other's personal lives (and then he invites all of them to his wedding anyways, because, idk, social expectations we never really talked about?). I don't know, I feel a bit let down right now, so I'm going to let it all sink in and maybe come back to it then.

Vielleicht eher 3,75 Sterne Zugegebener maßen, ich bin nicht unbedingt jemand die gerne von Paaren liest, nach dem sie zusammen gekommen sind. Ich mochte an "Boyfriend Material" ja gerade, wie die beiden zueinander gefunden haben und das es diese Konstellation Fakedating plus sie mögen sich nicht besonders war. Trotzdem war klar, ich würde eine Fortsetzung lesen. Ich mag die Charaktere so sehr, das ich mich sofort wieder ganz zu Hause in eine weiche Decke eingekuschelt fühlte. Gleichzeitig fand ich es etwas merkwürdig, wie das Buch aufgebaut wurde. Es ist teilweise sehr Episodenhaft erzählt und daran musste ich mich erst gewöhnen. Dafür ist der Humor genauso wie in Band 1und ich musste sehr oft laut lachen. Vor allem Lucs Kollegen und Kolleginnen sind einfach der Knaller. Luc ist hm sehr er selbst und trotzdem ist es schön, das sowohl er als auch Oliver sich sichtbar weiterentwickelt haben und das auch gemeinsam als Paar. Ich finde das es Hall sehr gut gelungen ist, das glaubwürdig darzustellen. Man hat wirklich das Gefühl hier ist nun ein Pärchen das eine Weile zusammen ist. Gleichzeitig zeigt Alexis Hall das eben Beziehung auch Arbeit bedeutet. An einer Stelle hat es sich aber irgendwie auch gezogen. Es gab hier ehrlicherweise auch Aspekte und Szenen die mich absolut nicht interessiert haben. (Stichwort wie viele Hochzeiten denn noch...).

Habt ihr eine Vorstellung von eurer Traumhochzeit? In diesem zweiten Teil um Lucien und Oliver dreht sich alles um Hochzeiten. Zuerst heiratet Lucs beste Freundin Bridget und Luc ist als Maid of honor mit den Vorbereitungen ziemlich überfordert. Gleichzeitig bringt ihn das aber auch dazu, über eine eigene Hochzeit nachzudenken - und Oliver spontan einen Antrag zu machen. Anschließend heiraten noch Lucs Ex und sein Arbeitskollege, was beides für einiges an Drama sorgt. Es war zwar wieder eine amüsante Geschichte, doch vor allem Lucien ging mir im Verlauf immer mehr auf die Nerven. Nicht nur, weil er wahnsinnig unreif ist, sondern sich auch ständig ultra dämlich verhält. Oliver hat dafür relativ wenig Raum bekommen, obwohl ihm die wirklich schlimmen Sachen widerfahren. Das Ende konnte mich allerdings zugegeben sehr überraschen 🙃

60% DNF NO NO NO, 😩that was so unexpected for me. I loved Boyfriend material so much and Oliver and Luc were endgame BUT This book was just Bad. First of all I don’t get the necessity of the Book, the first 60% nothing happened in the relationship of the both. No character development and bad bad storyline. I’m really sad because I was so excited and wanted to love, but n NO can’t finnisch it

Husband Material is a lot of the things Boyfriend Material was but make it a little bit crazier and make it all about weddings😂 I mean Boyfriend Material had its "crazy, over the top moments" too but not as much as we have them here, I think🤔 However, the 2nd books is still a lot of fun to read. But I wonder...was it at all necessary? I'm not exactly sure about that🤷🏼‍♀️ If you like the characters in book 1 I can recommend to read this one. I listened to the audiobook and I enjoyed it, enjoyed the time I had with it. It addresses some topics that can be taken more seriously but overall it's a book that made me laugh, role my eyes and let me have a good time. 3/5⭐