In Husband Material (predictably the sequel to Boyfriend Material; number three in the series, Father Material, is still pending), Luc and Oliver are still a happy couple. They are thirty-ish, and anyone who is thirty-ish will remember that that is the age at which one seems to have a matrimonial or matrimonially-adjacent activity seemingly every week. There are four in this book. There is also a funeral. The sequence of events naturally leads Luc to the question whether or not he should propose to Oliver. And why not? Oliver makes him happy, happier than anyone has ever made him, and it should be a logical conclusion. However, cold feet and hijinks ensue.
Husband Material is more of the same, and at the same time it isn’t. Where the first book saw Luc and Oliver find each other in spite of their differences, this book sees them drift apart and find each other again over the aforementioned four weddings and one funeral (the funeral is of a relatively minor character who won’t be missed). Predictably, things go askew both in the weddings and in Luc and Oliver’s relationship. There are missing wedding dresses, wedding venues burn down (somehow, it never occurs to these characters to postpone a wedding in time of need), and Luc has cold feet about… Something.
I enjoyed this book, but the problem for me was that I couldn’t relate to the relationship drama. I really enjoy both Luc and Oliver as characters and a romance novel wouldn’t be a romance novel without something at stake, but the whole I-love-him-but-do-I-want-to-marry-him dragged on, and felt hollow. I liked other parts better, such as Luc’s hapless workmates starting an OnlyFans (they think it’s just another social network) or getting arrested for accidentally breaking and entering (it’s a long story). And the book made me laugh out loud several times; Luc’s hesitancy doesn’t stop him from being flippant a lot of the time, and if that sounds like a bad thing, it’s not. The parts surrounding the funeral were genuinely touching, and probably the most realistic part of the entire book. But the last part dragged on, and I genuinely don’t understand the conclusion at all, even though I saw it coming from miles away.
Nevertheless, it’s a fun book, very witty and thoroughly enjoyable. It’s set in London, which is always a plus. It’s the kind of book you can finish within a day if you have the time.