I hadn't read anything by Alexis Hall and didn't really know what to expect, but I don't think snort-laughing and texting clips to friends because they were too funny to keep to myself was on my list of expectations. This was, finally, a contemporary rom-com that delivered on both the rom (so good) and the com (laugh-out-loud funny)! [I know this is being compared to Red, White & Royal Blue, so yes — if you liked that one there's a good chance you'll like this one, BUT I liked Boyfriend Material better by a pretty large margin.]

I'm not sure I knew that hot-mess at rock-bottom trying to turn his life around (Luc) meets buttoned-up ethical vegetarian barrister trying to ignore some key blindspots (Oliver) was my jam, but it definitely is! (I should've known — David and Patrick from Schitt's Creek, Nick and Seth from The Extraordinaries, etc.) The dialogue, the friends groups, the co-workers, the text threads, the mutual support, the wacky parental, the token straight girl, the self-discovery, the brutal wipeouts and do-overs, the emotional courage... It's all just really good.

Content notes: strong language and frank discussion of sex and sex toys (but no graphic sex scenes — our boys are gentlemen), allusions to self-destructive behavior triggered by betrayal and childhood abandonment by a parent, papparazzi harassment, homophobic slurs and attitudes dressed as jokes (not portrayed as acceptable)