Husband Material

Husband Material (2022) Alexis Hall (London Calling)

Although the characters are the same, this is a very different book from Boyfriend Material. Which I utterly adored.

That doesn’t mean this book wasn’t excellent, just that you need to go into it with different expectations.

First and foremost, Alexis Hall said he wanted to write a gay Four Weddings and a Funeral. So it’s not a romance, in that the couple were already together, but there is a HEA (in case you were worried). But knowing the overall plot of the movie will give you an idea of where he is going with the story.

Which is perfectly fine.

The … theme? I’m not sure that’s the correct term, but it’s closest I have right now, is how much Luc and Oliver and changed in the intervening two years.

Primarily that they think and talk about try to rein themselves in when their thoughts go to the worst possible place.

“But what if knowing it’ll make him feel better makes me feel worse?”

“Then maybe you need to revisit the does-he-have-power-over-you question.”

Oh. Right. My shoulders drooped. I was supposed to be… not like this anymore. “Why do people keep having power over me?”

I think that’s one of the things I loved most. How one of the two would start to put themselves in a bad place, and then (try at least to) stop themselves.

I miss you, I sent.

I didn’t get anything back, which I knew rationally meant Oliver was in court, but which I felt emotionally meant I’d destroyed my relationship by being insufficiently committed to Pretty Woman.

That’s the thing about anxiety and insecurity and all that. It doesn’t go away, you just learn tools for dealing with it. And I really love how we see Luc (and Oliver) starting to spiral, and then catching themselves. Eventually.

Oliver took a deep breath. “You are not that kind of person. You just worry you might be every time somebody likes you.” That was at once reassuring and embarrassing.

“Stop knowing me,” I whined.

Also, we get to see Oliver’s issues and how he is dealing with them.

(H)e’d got to the point where he was no longer obsessively going to the gym every day and treating food like the enemy, but worrying less about his body ninety percent of the time had made him more self-conscious the other ten percent.

Plus, it’s romantic in a very Oliver & Luc way.

“Oliver. It’s not your job to make being with you convenient for me. Just like it’s not my job to make being with me convenient for you.

The only weak spot for me was the ending. I mean, being familiar with Four Weddings and a Funeral, I knew how it was supposed to end. But it was difficult to see both Luc and Oliver get so completely wrapped around their own heads.

All in all, it was good, and I loved it–but I don’t think I love it quite as much as the first book.

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Rating: 8/10

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