Husband Material Teaser: Five chapters of glory (and torture)
Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall is one of our fave queer reads ever. Oliver and Luc positively stole our hearts, so when we learned that Hall was writing a sequel, we couldn’t contain our excitement. Husband Material is scheduled for release on August 2, 2022, and we can’t wait. But first, we have a Husband Material teaser!
Very recently, Alexis Hall released a five-chapter Husband Material teaser of the upcoming novel through his Instagram account. Fans were able to download the first five chapters through NetGalley and check out what Luc and Oliver have been up to. So, of course, we did!
Luc and Oliver have always made us feel many things, but we’ve got to say, we weren’t expecting this. If you’re not big on spoilers, I’d close this article now and come back when the book is out because we’re about to dish out everything we can about the first five chapters of Husband Material.
Weddings, weddings, weddings
The title, Husband Material, implies that a wedding is imminent, and as the novel opens we learn pretty quickly that there are not one, but two weddings being planned in Husband Material.
In the first couple of chapters of the Husband Material teaser, Luc is hosting a hen’s party for Bridgette because she and Tom are finally getting hitched. It’s quite an elaborate affair and the whole gang is there. Oliver is late and sending Luc all kinds of very Oliver-like stressed-out text messages and honestly, we didn’t know how much we missed these two idiots until we started reading.
Oliver’s lateness isn’t what has Luc spinning though. While at the venue where the hen party is being held, Luc runs into Miles. Yes, that Miles. The one who he used to date, the one who sold his story to the tabloids and dumped him for fifty grand. The Miles.
Miles acts like he is happy to see Luc, while Luc definitely goes into a state of shock at their reunion. Luc acts like, well… Luc, and politely stumbles through the encounter before running off to find a quiet place to be on his own so he can come mildly unstuck.
During the reunion, Luc meets Jojo, who is Miles’ latest squeeze. Jojo knows exactly who Luc is and seems genuinely excited to meet him. Which is slightly odd, but we’ll take it. We figure there is a back story there that we just haven’t gotten into yet.
Jojo excitedly informs Luc that he and Miles are getting married. So Miles is apparently husband material, after all.
Letting it all out Husband Material Teaser style
We were pretty surprised to see how amicable Luc is with Miles when they run into each other. Miles definitely doesn’t deserve such hospitality from Luc, in our opinion. So when Miles shows up at Luc’s workplace (like, who does that?) to invite Luc and Oliver to his wedding, we were pretty happy when Luc gives him a piece of his mind.
Miles acts like everything is hunky dory between them and honestly, we have no idea what Luc ever saw in this douchebag. Luc lands a few solid verbal punches, but it doesn’t seem like Miles understands that what he did was supremely wrong at all.
Worst of all, Luc seems to be considering the idea of actually attending the wedding. Why Luc, just why?
Cheating
After the hen party, a picture of Tom and another woman surfaces, and Bridgette can’t get in contact with Tom. It’s a pretty incriminating picture and Bridgette thinks that Tom is cheating on her. After inspecting the evidence, it’s clear Luc doesn’t think it looks good.
He runs to Bridgette’s side to support her through this moment, but in doing so he has to cancel plans with Oliver. Oliver does an absolutely rubbish job of hiding his disappointment and says some pretty messed up things to Luc in the heat of the moment. While they’re not technically fighting, this moment definitely seems to foreshadow some kind of trouble on the horizon for our favorite British gays.
Tom seems to be cheating, there is tension between Oliver and Luc and honestly, everything is pretty terrible!
We were only privy to five short chapters of the Husband Material teaser and there is already so much angst. We are waiting for the official release now more than ever because we have this horrible, sinking feeling that our gaybies are not okay. Is Luc really going to go to that idiot’s wedding? Is Tom really cheating on Bridgette? Is Oliver going to overreact at every little thing all the way through the story because my god, we just want that beautiful man to be happy.
WHY AREN’T LUC AND OLIVER THE ONES TALKING ABOUT MARRIAGE? Everyone else seems to be getting married except them.
Alexis Hall, how on Earth could you do this to us? Where is the breakfast in bed? Where are the goofballs cuddling and smooching on the couch? Where are our sweet moments of domesticity we are craving so terribly!? The next few months of waiting for the rest of Husband Material is going to be complete torture. We are in hell. Send us a lifeline, please!
Husband Material is available for pre-order through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Indigo, Bookshop, and Books-A-Million now. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for all queer stuff!
