“Explain to me again,” said Oliver finally, “why you need a boyfriend?”
It was the least I owed him. “Mainly for this big fundraiser we’ve got coming up at the end of April. Our donors all think I’m a bad gay.”
He frowned. “What’s a good gay?”
“Someone like you.”
“I see.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material“You” – I gave a thwarted sigh – “are a terrible fake boyfriend.”
“I’m building fake anticipation.”
“You’d better be fake worth it.”
“I am.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material
Luc is the son of famous rockstars. Raised by his mom after his dad walked out on them when Luc was three, Luc exists in the precarious position of having a mega-famous father who wants nothing to do with him. In summary, Luc gets all of the scrutiny with none of the perks. After being papped facedown in a puddle outside of a club, presumably drunk or high out of his mind, Luc receives an ultimatum from his employer: fix your public reputation or you’re fired. The fastest way to do this is to find himself a “respectable” boyfriend to parade in front of the press so, that by the time Luc’s employer’s big annual fundraiser comes around in a couple of months, all of the high-profile donors will be reassured that they are not putting their money in the hands of, in their minds a “complete degenerate.”
Luc’s best friend Bridget sets him up with her “other gay friend,” Oliver. Oliver is an uptight, seemingly humorless attorney. However, he needs a temporary fake relationship for his own purposes. Luc has harbored a bit of a crush on Oliver after meeting him previously, but was turned off by Oliver’s obvious dislike of him.
This book is well-reviewed for good reason. The banter is fantastic, as is typical for Alexis Hall novels, and the supporting cast of characters is on par if not better than the two leads. The fake relationship trope is one of my favorites and this book somehow manages to make it fresh.
