Aaah, I so wanted to love this book that it’s super frustrating that I didn’t! I read it because of a wonderful review of one of my fellow bookstagrammers and because the blurb sounded right up my alley. But sadly, I didn’t really like any of the main characters and there were some other issues as well that made Glitterland quite a letdown for me.

I loved Alexis Hall’s Boyfriend Material and was so glad when I saw the high praise for Glitterland as well, even though the topic for this one was a bit more difficult. Glitterland follows the clinically depressed and bipolar author Ash, who hides from the world due to his anxiety disorder and has given up completely on happiness and love, just trying to survive another day. So I know it wouldn’t be an easy, light beach read… but I did expect to root for the characters and be completely invested in their wellbeing and romance, but sadly I wasn’t.

The premise of this book reminded me quite a lot of There Is A Light by Ban Gilmartin with the raw descriptions of mental illness, the way depression affects the daily life and the people around you, and the chance romantic meeting. But whereas There Is A Light had wonderful characters that completely stole my heart, Glitterland had the opposite – characters that I genuinely disliked.

The main character Ash had type 1 bipolar disorder and suffered from depression, panic attacks and had been hospitalized during his manic episodes, as well as for trying to commit suicide. But he was also kind or a jerk, to be honest. Some of his bad actions could definitely be blamed on the illness, but some were just because of his unlikable and selfish personality. The description of his mental health issues was done very well, and as readers we could completely understand hos his mental issues truly made it hard or impossible for him to do certain things, or interact with other people. But it was also quite clear that he sometimes used his mental health to manipulate his friends or for selfish gains. And speaking of his friends, Ash mostly avoided them or treated them badly, which made it difficult to understand why the put up with him, even though I have to admit that at times he was quite funny with his witty sarcasm.

At one of the rare occasions when Ash did leave his house, he met the ‘orange glitter pirate’ Darian from Essex and a one night stands turned into something else. Darian was a true sweetheart, but the way he was described also made him very shallow and more of a cliché with the sexy but stupid model. On top of that, all his dialogue were written phonetically in a thick lower class Essex accent. I know from many of the reviews that a lot of readers had an issue with this writing style. But the use of accent as a writing style was actually quite alright for me as such. My main problem was hos the use of a lower class accent was used as a way to make Darian seem stupid and naïve, and to make Ash superior to him.

Then there was Ash’s best friend and former lover Niall, who outed his mental health and was being a mean jerk in other ways all through the book, but who Ash in return guilt tripped for selfish gains (like being picked up from a one night stand in the middle of the night). I just couldn’t like or understand Niall or his and Ash’s toxic relationship at all. But there was definitely an interesting story behind Niall’s characters and how he’d fallen in love with two guys who never felt the same way about him. I wished we would have gotten to see more of the backstory there; I feel like I probably would have rooted for his character more if we had.

The plotline was a bit aimless, with no clear start or ending, and a lot of things that were mentioned but never fully explored. Not only Niall’s backstory, but for example the process of the new book that Ash was writing (where its ‘research’ played a major role for the story) or Darian’s ex who now seemed to be his coworker (?) and how and when their relationship had ended. All this made it a bit hard to stay invested. And when things seemed to be going a bit better for Ash, of course his self-destructiveness had to ruin it all again…

I did however truly love the side characters Chloe and Amy, and their loyalty and support for their friends and their sharpness and humor! Overall, I also loved the humor and banter throughout this book. It was so British and so witty, elegant and full of sarcasm, which is my favorite kind of humor!

I also appreciated how Alexis Hall didn’t make mental health into something that could be cured by love. Even though the romance with Darian made Ash happier, it didn’t make his mental issues magically disappear, which made the story so much more real and relatable. I also appreciated Ash’s character growth in the end, but wished for it to have come sooner.

So all in all, this book was a bit of a letdown, but it definitely had a lot of great parts and Alexis Hall definitely is a talented writer. And extra kudos for the raw and real descriptions of mental health problems and the British humor. I just wished that the characters would have been a little more likable…

(In the latest edition of Glitterland, the short story Aftermath has been added, which I enjoyed so much more! That one was so much sweeter and really showed Ash’s character growth and gave us a true cinnamon roll moment.)

Rating:
2.5 stars for Glitterland (4 stars for Aftermath)

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Alexis Hall

Boyfriend Material is the perfect mix of humor and misery, quirky friends, heartbreak and a sweet fake-dating plot. I loved the snarky, British humor and I immediately rooted for the two main characters. And I loved all the emotions. Behind the humor and the somewhat thin plot there were so many feels. So much angst, self-loathing and fear of getting hurt.

This story truly proves that opposites attracts and that love works in mysterious ways. Luc and Oliver are literally complete opposites of each other and have absolutely nothing in common. At least on the surface… Luc is the son of a famous rock star, who abandoned him when he was just a kid, but that doesn’t mean he’s spared the gossip tabloids or the fake friends trying to take advantage of his fame. Disillusioned and miserable he constantly screws things up. Finally, a compromising photo threatens to make him loose his job. So he needs a very reputable and cultured fake boyfriend to show he’s reformed… and Oliver is as nice and normal as can be; a barrister and an ethical vegetarian who’s never inspired a moment of scandal in his life. When he’s in need of a partner for a big family even, the fake-dating scheme is on. At first, it’s as awkward as could be expected as they have no common ground and pretty much have no clue why the other acts like they do. But soon the fake-dating scheme starts to feel dangerously much like real-dating...

This story is so sweet and funny, I absolutely adored the British humor with all sarcasms, bantering and the stiff upper class and dung beetles fund raising jokes. There are some truly amazing secondary characters, like Luc’s mother and her lady friend, the posh and completely clueless co-workers, the groups of friends and the great queer representation. But what makes this story so special are the two main characters and all the feelings behind the humor.

Luc and Oliver are so multilayered that they feel like real people, with all their flaws, baggage and shortcomings. I rooted so much for them both from the start and loved the two of them together. They are both struggling with low self-esteem, trust issues and angst. Even though this story on the surface seems like a cute, fluffy read, there’s also so much angst going on. Luc and Oliver are both lonely and miserable in their own way, but they both make such a journey and learn so much from each other. Especially Luc’s character development is nothing but amazing.

All in all, this is a cute and hilarious story that also gives you all the feels. Highly recommended!

Rating:
4.5 snarky stars rounding up to 5

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​Author info:
Alexis Hall