This book has all my favorite tropes!! -- fake dating, enemies-to friends-to lovers, one bed, he falls first -- it’s so cute!!!! Sophie longs for her daughter Lila to have all the best experiences in life and that includes making friends with her classmates so if that means that Sophie has to join the mom’s group at school then so be it! Joe wants these things for his son too but unfortunately some of the moms like Joe a little too much! Cue the perfect plan, Joe and Sophie will pretend to date so that Sophie can ride Joe’s coattails into the heart of the “Barnaby Babes” and Joe can get a break from the constant flirting! I’m sure you can guess what happens next!

The romance between Sophie and Joe is a slow burn but you can tell that they are destined for one another from the first few pages. I love a story where the characters are genuine and kind and Sophie and Joe are both. The Pick Up is both funny and incredibly sweet and I am so very glad to have read it!

If you are looking for a sweet and sunny romance full of chemistry, then The Pick Up is for you!

From the moment Sophie met Joe I was rooting for them to get together. They both seemed like such lovely people. Some of the yummy mummies were annoying but that’s real life for you! This book had wonderfully written characters that I genuinely wanted to be friends with. I read this on a train journey and was disappointed when I reached my destination as I wanted to carry on reading!

I want to extend a huge thank you to NetGalley for granting me access to an ARC of “The Pick Up” by Hannah Doyle ahead of its official release. It was an absolute delight to immerse myself in this captivating story.

Now, onto the story itself. Set in the city of Bristol, United Kingdom, “The Pick Up” follows the journey of a 33-year-old single mom grappling with a ton of emotional baggage. As she navigates the complexities of romance, her past traumas threaten to overshadow any chance of real happiness.

One of the standout aspects of this novel is the protagonist’s stubbornness, which is both exasperating and endearing. Despite her undeniable feelings for Joe, she struggles to let go of her past hurts and fears, leading her to push away those closest to her. Doyle expertly explores the protagonist’s internal conflict, shedding light on her desperate need to prove her independence, even at the cost of her own happiness.

Throughout the story, I found myself empathizing with the protagonist’s struggles and cheering her on as she slowly learns to listen to her heart. Doyle’s writing effortlessly draws you into the narrative, making it difficult to put the book down. I can’t wait to read everyone’s thoughts once this book officially releases!

The Pick Up by Hannah Doyle
POV: First Person POV
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tropes: Slow Burn, Fake Dating, Widower/Divorcee, Oblivious to Love, Last to Know, Sworn off a Relationship.

I absolutely loved this book from beginning to end. What an easy read.

Sophie and Joe concoct an idiotic plan (come on we all know how these end) and decide to start fake dating in order to please the playground mums. Needless to say we were taken on many twists and turns and were finally awarded with a wonderful HEA. I also want to add that the side characters to this novel were absolutely chef’s kiss. Tally, Poppy, and Frankie were everything!!

Hannah Doyle you did a wonderful job with this story and it without a doubt deserves a round of applause!

I would highly recommend The Pick Up if you’re a fan of easy clean romance and wanting a fun quick read.

This book was a lovely read - it's always good to read other people's opinions of the school moms!!

I really liked Joe and Sophie and enjoyed the friendship that built between them. All of the side characters were interesting and well developed too.

I will definitely be reading this author again.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked both the characters of Joe and Sophie, however If I had a sister like Sophie does I think we would have fallen out long ago. I found all of the secondary characters engaging, especially the school mums. A well written, entertaining book that I would definitely recommend.

I really enjoyed this novel. While I don't normally gravitate towards single-parent romance, I had such a fun time with this book. The author did an amazing job of portraying two loving, dedicated parents who put their children first in life and just happen to fall in love with each other. My only complaint is that the formatting of the document I was sent made the book difficult to read at times.

—Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the chance to review an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A fake romance that turns into real love.
If you love Elena Armas’ novels, you’ll love this one quite a lot.
I loved it! It was amazing. I found a new fav author.

Sophie & Joe are single parents who decide to start a fake relationship. Sophie is sick of the disastrous dates her sister keeps setting up for her, and also needs a way into the mom group at her daughter’s school. Joe wants the moms at school to leave him alone, so to solve all their problems they agree that a fake relationship is their best bet.
Sophie was such a fun fmc. Her relationship with her daughter is lovely, she is seriously funny, and she has confidence in the career she is building. I loved her budding friendships with the mom group- especially Frankie.
I wish we would have gotten a POV from Joe, as I felt he was a mystery for a good chunk of the book. We get pieces of him from their conversations, but he never got to the point where I was rooting for him. And to be so wishy-washy with such a big decision about his job didn’t help either.
I enjoyed the build up to their relationship, but once her ex-husband popped up and Joe decided distancing himself with no communication was the way to handle it, things went down hill from there.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and HQ for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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.