Book of the Month: Husband Material by Alexis Hall
Husband Material is the highly anticipated sequel to Alexis Hall’s incredibly popular Boyfriend Material, and our Book of the Month here in August. Released on August 2, 2022 devoted fans of Luc and Oliver waited over a year for this release. We had our copy pre-ordered and furiously started reading the very minute it went on sale.
The day before Husband Material was released to the world, Alexis Hall announced that there would, indeed, be another book about Luc and Oliver’s journey titled Father Material. This book is scheduled for release in October of 2023. Excitement at the Q+ Magazine offices redlined and our anticipation for this part of Luc and Oliver’s journey in Husband Material only increased with the news. Gosh, husband and father releases? *insert fan person screaming here*
Already having consumed all the promotional material possible, including the handful of chapters that were teased to fans a few months ago, we were bracing for impact as we turned the first page of Husband Material. Folks all around Luc and Oliver are getting married in this book, and it’s implied heavily that Luc and Oliver will also get married, but all indicators point to the fact that Luc and Oliver aren’t actually getting on so well.
Our feelings, fam. Our feelings were all over the place. We have many things to say about this story, so journey with us as we share our thoughts on Alexis Hall’s Husband Material.
Husband Material: Plot overview
Husband Material picks up two years after that fateful day when Luc sat on his front step in his underwear at the crack of dawn and then Luc and Oliver proceeded to tell each other they loved each other for the first time. As the second book opens, while they don’t technically live together, Luc spends almost every night at Oliver’s as they mosey through the ups and downs of everyday life together.
Tom looked more flustered than I’d ever seen him, which, to his credit, was a lot less flustered than I was in most situations. “I told you, it’s work. And she’s not from Harrow. That’s why we’re here.”
(Husband Material by Alexis Hall, 2022)
“That, Bridge said sharply, “makes no sense.”
His flusterance intensifying, Tom glanced around at the increasingly crowded platform. “Can we do somewhere else?”
“No.” Bridge, still brandishing, was now also bristling. “I have been trying to call you since yesterday, Tom. Since yesterday. Where have you been?”
They’re at that age where folks are settling down. Bridgette and Tom are getting married, however, they do take a minor stroll down Is-Tom-Cheating-On-Bridgette Lane before they actually get to the altar. Alex Twaddle and Miffy are also tying the knot, the James Royce-Royce’s have a baby (iconically, also named James), and Priya has taken up polyamory and is now in a thruple.
And Luc is doing really well. He loves Oliver, and he knows Oliver loves him, and he loves his life with Oliver. He is happy. So when he runs into Miles – the ex that sold the details of their sordid sex life to the tabloids for fifty grand before he dumped Luc – his rails are shaken just a little and Luc starts doing all the very Luc things.
Although he tries to let it go, it bothers Luc somewhat that Miles is getting married to someone much younger than they are, and Luc finds himself in the middle of a Luc-sized freak-out. He makes the irrational decision to go to Miles and Jojo’s wedding, and in the aftermath of that emotional rollercoaster, asks Oliver to marry him.
Oliver says yes, because duh – this is called Husband Material – and just like that there is yet another wedding being planned.
Except, this is where trouble meets paradise, and things between Luc and Oliver don’t go the way things are supposed to go when two people who love each other desperately are trying to plan a party to celebrate the rest of their lives together.
The expression on Oliver’s face as he looked down at me wasn’t quite disappointment and it wasn’t quite betrayal. How had we even got here from a joke about a balloon arch? “I do. Which is why I accepted your proposal. But what I don’t want is either of us to get married surrounded by garish Pride merch or to be made to feel that unless I get married surrounded by garish Pride merch, I am somehow a lesser member of this community you’re so proud of.”
(Husband Material by Alexis Hall, 2022)
The differences that have always existed between these two men are never more evident than they are during this time, and Luc and Oliver find themselves fighting about everything. Luc wants a rainbow balloon arch and Oliver doesn’t want any rainbow pride paraphernalia at all. Luc wants a DJ and Oliver is insistent on a band – it’s much more classy than a DJ. And suddenly all the minute details that really shouldn’t matter at all, matter a whole lot, and well, that’s never a good thing.
As Luc and Oliver stumble to reconcile the differences pooling between them, their future together seems on shaky ground. We’re not going to tell you how it ends, because some of y’all are mightY sensitive about spoilers, but …
SPOILER ALERT: we did NOT see it coming y’all. Not at all.
Highlights
Despite the fact that the entire book is a sheer delight, there were definitely some moments that we loved more than others. Oliver’s complicated relationship with his family continues in Husband Material, but as the story picks up, our beloved Oliver has been seeing a therapist to help him work through his family trauma.
Luc and Oliver pay another terse and uncomfortable visit to the Blackwoods in this installment, and it’s as eventful as the last. Oliver refuses to allow his parents to treat him like a doormat anymore, and he stands up for Luc and their relationship when they try to stomp all over it.
But Oliver cut me off. “With respect, you’ve barely met Lucien. You know nothing about our relationship and, frankly, you know nothing about me. If we’re going to talk about snide comments, then you have a thirty-year head start on everybody at this table. And as for Mother” – his gaze flickered to Miriam – “I’m sorry, but you were being homophobic. You’re both quite homophobic people.”
(Husband Material by Alexis Hall, 2022)
Oliver has a particularly impressive Luc O’Donnell moment of his own when calling his father out on some of his bullsh*t. Oliver is still clearly struggling with a lot of the same issues that he experienced in Boyfriend Material, but honestly, Oliver’s refusal to give up on himself, and his desire to continuously grow and be better for himself and those around him, is definitely one of our favorite things about this dude.
If we had a dad like Oliver’s, we’d tell him to go f*ck himself too.
We are also rather fond of the fact that Luc asked Priya to be his best person at his wedding. Priya is without a doubt the best person in their circle of friends for the job and it gave us all the warm fuzzies that Luc didn’t ask Bridgette just because he was hers.
The gay tension
It’s not a secret that Oliver and Luc are two very different types of gay men. Actually, their polar differences are one of the things we love the most about this story: gayness is represented in a wide variety of ways, therefore subverting mainstream queer stereotypes about gay men.
While Husband Material is clearly a rom-com type of story, Hall does manage to expertly weave in an examination of queer culture. Before meeting Oliver, Luc was very much a walking gay stereotype. He navigated the party life, he slept around, booty shorts were not out of the question, his life was full of queer people, and he openly embraced all aspects of the gay pride identity. It suits Luc; it’s perfect for him, and it adds to his charm.
Oliver isn’t like that though. Most of his friends are straight, he finds almost all aspects of gay pride culture to be tacky and uncomfortable, he does not participate in the party life, and booty shorts are definitely not in his wardrobe.
Okay, this was difficult. Because the reason I needed to date someone like him to begin with was that I’d needed to distance myself from the parts of queer culture that looked bad to a certain kind of rich straight person. And while I’d come to realize that Oliver was more than a respectable job and a wholesome jumper, it still weirded me out that he found so little value in what I’d always instinctively thought was our community.”
(Husband Material by Alexis Hall, 2022)
As Husband Material unfolds, Luc really struggles with the fact that Oliver seems to wholeheartedly reject LGBTQ culture and the community. This is not a new point of tension for them, and it definitely came up in Boyfriend Material, but Luc really picks at it in this story.
Through these characters, Hall is able to force the reader to think: is there a right, or wrong, way to be gay? Is Oliver a bad gay because he doesn’t live the prescribed life? Does it make him any less legitimate? As both of them struggle with their feelings on this issue, we also ruminated over the same questions. Despite the fact that we found ourselves laughing a lot in Husband Material, we really appreciated and enjoyed these intellectual and introspective moments throughout the story as well.
The queer community in general is under the microscope in society right now, and conversations about what is perceived by others to be acceptable are important for all the varied and diverse LGBTQ community members. Queerness looks different on different people, and despite whatever projections and stereotypes exist in public spaces, there is no one right way to be gay.
So thank you, Alexis Hall, for providing space for discussions to evolve about what queer identity looks like on different people.
Looking forward
There is nothing conventional about Luc and Oliver. Not the way they got together, and certainly not in the way they choose to move forward into their future together. We thought we had it figured out; we thought we knew exactly where this was headed when we began reading – especially because of the title and the title of the next book.
But baby, we were wrong. We gasped loudly, got to our feet, and yelled expletives into the room around us as the ending unfolded before our eyes. We are not ashamed to admit that we, clearly, have no idea where this story is headed, despite the bombshell titles, which we thought were exceptionally revealing of its directionality.
But in Husband Material, nothing is as it seems. Don’t be fooled by conventionality, like we were.
Five stars and two very big thumbs up from us. We loved every second of reading this book.
Now comes the hard part… the waiting. But wait, we will. We can’t get enough of these characters and this world.
Husband Material is available from all reputable booksellers. Father Material is scheduled for release in October 2023. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for all queer stuff!
