Hannah Doyle’s ‘The Pick-Up’ follows a single parent Sophie who, in order to get accepted into the parent clique in her daughter’s school, agrees to fake date a fellow single parent Joe.

I need to start off by say how much I adored Sophie as a character. She was fiercely independent, resilient and such an empowering picture of a working mother. The writing flows effortlessly, infused with humor so there is never a dull moment in the book. The parent group was hilarious and it reminded me a lot of BBC’s sitcom ‘Motherland’ (in the best possible way). And of course I loved Joe, he was such a perfect romantic lead and their banter reminded me a lot of Lia Louis’s books (this is the highest possible praise). All in all, it was a lighthearted and utterly enjoyable read.

Thanks to HQ and NetGalley for this ARC.

This was a cute book with a fake dating theme. I enjoyed the writing and the characters in this fun and quick story.


Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very funny and sweet book. I went back to my notes to write this review and I noticed that the two words I wrote down the most were “funny” and “sweet”.

I have to admit that it took a bit of time for this book to pull me in. For the first part of the book I just felt it was a bit slow. But after our MCs started their fauxmance, things started picking up.

What I really enjoyed in this book was how the relationships between the characters were described and presented. Mainly the relationship between the FMC and her sister and the relationship between the MMC and his parents. Through them we get to see caring and loving relationships, and we are shown the support system the MCs have as single parents.

I enjoyed the author’s writing very much and the funny banter between the characters, but I felt that the main issue in the book was resolved too quickly on the female main character’s side.

I gave this book 🌟🌟🌟.5️⃣/5️⃣

This was a really cute, funny book that is about two single parents who start fake dating each for their own reasons. Sophie is trying to get in with the mom clique, and Joe is trying to get the mom clique to leave him alone. I really liked both Sophie and Joe, and I liked their interactions and their friendship. I actually laughed a few times throughout the book, which is always a plus. I found their shift to a real relationship super slow and that was the part that wasn't entirely enjoyable to me. Maybe because they didn't get together until the very end of the book, so we didn't get to experience their actual developing relationship. Overall it is a cute, quick read but not one I would reach for again. Works great for a palette cleanser in between more daunting reads. Three stars!

Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

British rom-com/chick lit story about two single parents and a fake relationship. Nothing ground breaking, but still enjoyable. Hannah Doyle writes cute and relatable characters that are easy to read and love.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

This was a really fun read and I enjoyed it enormously. Sophie was a very likeable character- I admired her tenacity and determination to be a great mum and to do it all singlehandledly. Her family, particularly her sister, were lovely to read about as well- it takes a village to raise a Lila! I thought Joe was a great character and the Barnaby babes were unfortunately quite recognisable, though amusingly caricatured! There was lovely flow to the story, good variety, felt invested in them realising their feelings for each other! Throughly enjoyable.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!


This story of a strong and independent single mom, who does the most, including fake relationship with another single parent, in order to improve her daughter’s school life, is really lovely and sweet. Sophie and Joe are fun, interesting and very relatable, they are written in a way you want to learn more. Their banter and dialogues are hilarious, their relationship is engaging, their love and affection for each other and their kids just makes my heart swoon.

While the story itself is well thought through, and Sophie’s personality and character development is really admirable, the Joe’s arc could get some improvement, especially with the communication between him and Sophie after her ex wanted to meet. This kind of misunderstanding is not uncommon in rom coms, but the lack of communication about it felt odd and wrong for Joe’s character.

Fortunately, the book is brilliantly written and the story and characters are amazing. It’s also very funny and clever. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Hey you! Yes you! Are you interested in reading a book about two single parents? And would you be even more interested in reading about their fake dating? If so, well this is the story for you! This is the real,funny and cute story of Joe and Sophie our two main characters who make a simple agreement to make their lives simpler but moving forward feelings will come into play...so it was always all fake or the chemistry between Joe and Sophie was always been there?

If you ask me yes the chemistry was there and it was a mix of a lot of good ingredients!

I can't help but add a mention of the other characters who are perfect for the atmosphere of the story.

So if you're in the mood for reading a light and cute story well this one's for you!

Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed the first half of this book. I liked Sophie and Joe together (especially their banter) but it would have been great to read things from Joe's POV as well. I loved the extended family dynamics and the school mum group. Sophie's character started to annoy me towards the end of the book and the miscommunication unfortunately decreased the rating for me. The ending also felt a bit rushed.

Both Sophie and Joe are incredibly likable characters. I loved how they became co-conspirators against the other Karens in the group of parents.

They very clearly had chemistry from the beginning, and were understandably hesitant about pursuing an actual romantic relationship.

It was clear that Joe was open to the idea a lot sooner than Sophie was, and I loved when they finally pseudo-admitted how they were feeling about the other.

However, the miscommunication part of the story is what tanked the story for me. It was also implausible that Joe would make such a life-changing decision that significantly impacted his son, solely based on his feelings for Sophie. It made no sense considering how great of a parent he was portrayed to be early on in the story.

3 ⭐️

Single parents are my kryptonite with rom com books. I loved the plot and the depth of the characters. From the funny and charming dialogue to the fake dating, it got me turning the pages as fast as I could.

The Pick Up by Hannah Doyle
I love a good Romance, and this one checked all the boxes - interesting \ believable characters, unique setup, not too predictable, not too "trashy", and just fun! And sometimes you just need a light, happy read.
Yep, it started with a " fake relationship" between two single parents, but their reasons made for a fun, funny and heartwarming story. A quick read ... because I couldn't put it down. I was invested in what would happen at each turn, and how things would turn out.
This was my first read by Hannah Doyle, but I will be looking for more from this author.

this was a very cute single parent romcom! a super easy and fun read with lots of banter and fake dating. i’m not typically a fade-to-black/closed door reader - but i honestly didn’t even mind it with this book. this was overall a very fun read!

This was such a fun story with a unique plot. The chemistry was immediate between Sophie and Joe. There were plenty of fun side characters (we love women supporting women!) and their family relationships were very sweet and well written. I think the book could’ve done with a little more polishing potentially. Some things felt a bit clunky to me.

This was absolutely adorable, fake dating done right! Sophie and Joe had real chemistry from the beginning and the ending was perfect.

NetGalley Arc: The Pick Up was an adorable premise and light hearted read. The relationship between Sophie and Joe was cute, but the ending felt a little rushed and the side characters’ development seemed surface level. While the character development and pacing weren’t my favorite it was still an enjoyable read

Joe is a hot single dad and all the mom’s at his son’s school are vying for his attention, very unwanted attention. Sophie is a single mom desperate to help her daughter make friends and she knows getting in with the Barnaby Babes clique is the way to do it. So what’s the most logic plan? Fake dating! The moms will back off of Joe and he will lead them right to Sophie. But then things start to feel a little too real and Sophie needs to reinforce those walls she has put up to avoid history from repeating itself?
This book sounded great. A fake dating, single parent romance. Add an hot Irishman who is a literary professor and you have officially found my kryptonite. Only problem… I didn’t feel any chemistry between Joe and Sophie. Sophie was irritating to me. The book was from her POV and I did not feel like she had any feelings for him until the very end. By that point I was not invested in them as a couple. I wish I would have gotten a little of the unrequited love from Joe’s POV.
The secondary characters were very entertaining to read about. I actually was more invested in Sophie’s sister’s side romance than the main characters. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this book unless you are looking for a very clean slow burn romance. I was in the latter half of the book before anything even happened. And when I say happened I mean an almost kiss. Which brings me to clean… This is not a smutty book. There are no bases being rounded. They barely get to first base and then at the end of the book it’s just mentioned that they got to home plate.

Thank you Net Galley & the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Pick Up is story about the two single parents at the school gates having a ‘fauxmance’ to get the other mums off his back and on her side.

For a fake romance, this one had chemistry from the start and I’m really surprised sophie & joe didn’t feel their dates were just like real ones sooner! They bounced off each other with ease and was a lovely read of them falling for each other.

It actually reminded me of how I got with my now fiancé 11years ago, we didn’t have a fake romance but he became my best friend before he wormed his way into my heart and I had those same feelings of doubt about taking it further and the possibility of ruining our friendship as I didn’t want to lose my best friend, just like Sophie felt about Joe.

The miscommunication was for once very believable on both sides, Sophie because of the above and Joe the family man, not wanting to get in the way of her family’s potential future.

Overall, a lovely book, great characters, funny inner-thoughts, good chemistry, realistic storytelling! What’s not to love!
I also read it in one sitting and may have gone to bed at 3am… 4 stars!
Would have loved an epilogue of the future to tie it all up nicely!

This was such a cute romance! I enjoyed the story immensely and I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a cute romance

Really enjoyed this one. Funny and heartwarming. Sophie wants to join the Mum's circle at school pick up but is finding it tricky to find a way in., until she puts a brave face on and plunges in. Enter Joe...the single Dad heart throb. Joe & Sophie are both single parents finding it hard to fit in..they hit on a plan to start a "fauxmance" & voila they become part of the clan.. Hilarious characters, romance, fun and drama make this a great read, a slightly predictable ending but I'd enjoyed the read so much I didn't mind. The second book by Hannah Doyle that I've thoroughly enjoyed. A great holiday read. Highly recommend.