Protagonists

Luc O’Donnell

I didn’t like that being the thing people told each other about me. But then again, what was the alternative? That’s Luc, his career’s in the toilet? That’s Luc, he’s not had a stable relationship in five years? That’s Luc, where did it all go wrong?

Quite simply, Luc is an adorably anxiety-riddled, self-deprecating, hot mess.

He is famous-adjacent in that he’s the only child of two rock stars from the 80s. So while he’s not famous for any accomplishments of his own, he still can’t quite lead a normal life away from the press because they seem to like writing about him and taking his picture anyway. 

This life in the semi-spotlight has led to some trust issues, and he’s inherently suspicious of new people coming into his life. The trust issues sort of meld and go hand-in-hand with his abandonment/daddy issues because his famous father seemingly wants nothing to do with him. And you know what? That’s valid of Luc, because that’s pretty shit.

Now in his late twenties, he’s a reformed party boy who is just trying to make his way in the world without being splashed across the tabloids. He works a boring, but altruistic, job. He mostly spends time with his close group of friends and his reclusive mother. And he generally has poor taste in romantic partners.

Luc has poor impulse control in that he tends to blurt out things without much thought for a filter, landing him in some awkward situations. His defense mechanism is to be a bit of a prick and lash out at people. Oh, and he’s definitely a bit selfish and self-absorbed. 

Having said that, he’s also very endearing. At least, I thought so. Luc can be a jerk, certainly, but he also cares a lot more than he lets on. He goes to bat for the people that matter in his life. He tries to be a good friend and partner in the best way he knows how. And most importantly, he grows as a person throughout the book. Aw.

Oliver Blackwood

Oliver was much as I remembered him: a cool, clean, modern-art piece of a man entitled Disapproval in Pinstripes. And handsome enough to annoy me.

Oliver is initially the classic uptight, affluent, and pretentious white-collar type. He’s a barrister (lawyer for non-Brits), vegetarian, and overall holier-than-thou sorta dude who looks down his nose at everyone who isn’t doing everything they can to be a better person for the world, the environment, society, etc. 

In contrast to Luc, Oliver is just a well-adjusted person. He’s got his life together: stable career, a house, friends who have dinner parties. This guy knows how to adult. But just like Luc, he seems to be incapable of finding a partner who will stick around.

He is a bit of a control freak and a people-pleaser, meaning that he sometimes tries a little too hard. He claims not to force his ideals on to others, but gets judgey when they do something he deems to be unethical. 

Under the polish and private school attitude, Oliver is actually very sweet and thoughtful. He has more patience and understanding than a lot of people would have when dealing with someone as turbulent as Hurricane Luc. He’s a nervous texter, who digs himself into a bigger hole with every word typed, and prone to panic rambling. Most of the time he’s just trying to do the right thing, even if that means his choices are unpopular. Also, he has a surprisingly well-timed and sarcastic sense of humour.

Review/Thoughts (spoilers ahead)

This book reads like a romantic comedy put to page, so I wasn’t surprised to learn that they’re planning on turning it into a show/movie? (I'm not really clear on which it will be, but I’m greatly looking forward to it either way). It definitely has a Pride & Prejudice vibe to it in that if the characters could just get out of their own way they would probably be a lot happier.

It has got the whole meet-cute setup: they both need a boyfriend for future events so they don’t look pathetic, so why not date each other? It has the back-and-forth of will-they won’t-they figure out that they stopped “fake dating” like 100 pages ago. It has the whole temporary breakup (because feelings are scary), twice, that makes you briefly wonder if this might not have a happy ending after all. And then, of course, it has the grand romantic declaration (à la Bridget Jones Diary) where the protagonist shows up at their love interest’s door to demand a second chance. Or in this case, a go at the real thing.

Some people have called this a rivals/enemies to lovers, but I don’t feel like they’re quite at that level of hate at the beginning of the book. Dislike, sure, but hate? I don’t see it. Luc had a bad initial impression of Oliver (mostly because he was drunk), and then held onto this opinion of Oliver without ever seeking to see if it could be changed. Though I did actually snort a very ugly laugh reading:

I’d met Oliver Blackwood exactly twice. The first time, we’d been the only two gay men at one of Bridget’s work parties. Someone had come up to us and asked if we were a couple, and Oliver had looked utterly disgusted, and replied, “No, this is just another homosexual I’m standing next to.”

The spice mainly comes from the dialogue and banter and yearning, so if you’re expecting to find anything explicit you will be disappointed. There is exactly one non-explicit smut scene, and then it’s all fade-to-black, closed-door intimacy scenes. I gave it a 2 out of 5 for spice simply because I love banter as flirting and I enjoyed the sexual tension between these two fools. And that one scene was still hot. Like, finally. Luc’s been trying to get in this man’s pants for ages.

What I loved most about this book was the humour. Alexis Hall gives great banter. Luc is a funny narrator, whether he means to be or not sometimes. His sense of humour is a little dry (in that British way), occasionally mean-spirited, and (as said before) often self-deprecating. I’ve read that some people found him annoying, but I just found his dedication to putting himself into awkward situations charming. Then again, it might just be because I love broken characters the most. Sue me.

Also, the dick pics. Fucking hilarious.

Luc telling Oliver’s family to go fuck themselves? Gold.

I love how they both made a point of standing up for each other to their respective shitty families (Odile excluded, ofc). Like “yeah, we’re fake dating, but you can’t talk to my man like that.” I wanted to pump my fist in the air in celebration, because toxic people should really be put in their place more often. Gotta love a supportive partner, and these two are all in for their man.

Shout out to the supporting cast of characters, because I found them all to be enjoyable in their individual ways. Priya and Alex Twaddle in particular, and in complete opposite ways. 

Naturally, there are some problematic aspects to the book, as there are in pretty much any novel. The whole idea of Luc needing to check this “right type of gay” box for his boss and their donors is sorta insane. He does threaten litigation, but like... what the actual fuck? He’s definitely offended, but there’s not much push back. You could argue he keeps mostly quiet because he wants to keep his job and seems to be under the impression that no one else will hire him, but I’m sure there would be something out there for him, where he didn’t have to deal with homophobic fuckwits. And I know this is mainly used as a plot device to make him desperate enough to take on this crazy scheme of fake dating to retain his job, but it’s definitely a stretch. Having said that, this is fiction and a romance and we’re not really here for realism, are we?

I feel that I’ve rambled long enough. So simply put, if you’re looking for a fluffy, funny, romantic comedy that will give you a smile, I think this is the book for you. It’s a great comfort read, and (while the whole situation is not the most plausible) it’s just fun, alright? Hopefully, you will fall in love with Luc and Oliver, and all their flaws, the way I did.

Happy Reading!

❤️ GG

Note that this book could be read as a standalone as it ties up the story nicely, but there are two sequels that are definitely worth exploring (reviews to come eventually on those).

Other Spoiler-y Things

Happy Ending?: Yes

Content Warnings:

Abandonment (by a parent)

Dysfunctional Family/Difficult Family Relationships

Emotional Abuse/Manipulation (by a parent)

Family Illness (discussion about cancer)

Homophobic Remarks (by coworkers, parents)

Mental Health (anxiety, depression)

Additional Tags: 

Banter As Flirting

Closed-Door/Fade-To-Black 

Comfort Read

Fluff

Found Family

Hurt/Comfort

Made Me Laugh

Non-Explicit Smut

Slice-Of-Life

Slow Burn