Father Material

Father Material (2026) Alexis Hall (London Calling #3)

This is the conclusion to Luc and Oliver’s story, and unlike the previous two books, doesn’t follow the beats of any particular romantic comedy–or honestly, a romantic comedy.

That’s not to say it isn’t funny: there is a good deal of silliness.

“What do you want to be?”

“A shark,” replied the little girl more decisively than I’d ever replied to anything in my entire life. “Because my brother’s scared of sharks.”
…
What kind of shark do you want to be?”

“A ghost shark who lives under your bed and will bite your hand off if it sticks out of the covers in the night.”

“Are you actually trying to give your brother nightmares?” I asked.

“Yes,” Priya and the girl said simultaneously, with Priya adding, “Obviously.”

Oliver and Luc are getting ready to adopt a puppy, and Luc manages for freak out about it.

“you don’t not want a puppy. You want a puppy. You both want a puppy. You want a puppy so badly you didn’t get one over the pandemic so you could be sure you were getting it for the right reasons.”

In a typical Luc manner.

Riding the high of this positive moment, hoping it would eclipse the three different ways this was still all my fault, I unlocked my phone and googled my friend is in labour what do I do. “Bridge,” I said, “you’re fucked. This website is telling me the most important thing is for me to be kind and offer support.”

It’s clear that both Luc and Oliver have done a lot of work, and Luc’s fuck-ups are not because he hasn’t done the work, but because we all can revert at times.

We just have to own our mistakes.

So I took a deep breath, put on my waders, and tromped through my own bullshit.

In addition to that, Luc has to arrange a festival to try and save his job.

Rhys Jones Bowen shook his head. “I don’t know, Luc. There’s bad blood there—the last thing you want is for your festival to be caught in the middle of a male voice choir feud.”

I was about to ask how bad it could be, but…we were talking about a group of middle-aged British men with a hobby they took seriously. It could be very bad indeed.

There is, of course, a good deal of social commentary.

See, this was the problem with equality. Apparently, if you told a society it wasn’t okay to treat one group of people worse than another, it would consider the situation carefully, weigh up its options, and then start treating everyone equally badly.

Which I am always here for.

As it’s the last book, everyone we love makes an appearance.

I was about seventy percent certain that about seventy percent of Judy’s stories were made up on the spot, but if my maths was right, that made me four hundred and ninety percent certain that at least some of them were true.

But mostly, I just love spending time with Luc.

As I’d predicted, future Luc was now incredibly pissed off at past Luc for getting him into this mess.

If I wasn’t clear at the start, this isn’t really a rom com. There is a great deal of humor, but the story isn’t a comedy. It’s not not a comedy in the way Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble was not a comedy. There were times when the story started to make me anxious and I had to put it down for a bit, but it never spiraled in the way Paris did.

On a final note, please be aware the ending is bittersweet.

Characters: Luc O’Donnell, Oliver Blackwood, Spud, Odile O’Donnell, Judy, Bridget Welles Tom, Autumn, Jennifer, Peter, James Royce-Royce, James Royce-Royce, Baby J, Jasmine Johnson, Esther, Brian and Amanda, Rhys Jones Bowen, Alex Twaddle, Dr. Amelia Fairclough, Barbara Clench, Priya, Andi, Theresa Lang Ben, Sophie, Twin A, Twin B, Colin, Hilary Topwith St. John Edmonton Bloom de Lancy/Saint, Michael Giffard, Richard Smoddle, Miss Collins, Mr. Doug Lorimer, Jacqueline, Richard, Maisie Johnson, Bill Thomas, Alan Bowen

Cover by Elizabeth Turner Stokes

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Rating: 8.5/10

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