I’ve read work by Hannnah Doyle before and enjoyed it so I was excited to get started on The Pick Up.

The book centres around Sophie - a single mum with an ‘I don’t need a man’ outlook, and Joe - the hot, Irish, single dad all the school mums swoon over.

Sophie and Joe agree to fake-date and what follows is a series of interactions where the two develop feelings for each other.

The lack of communication between the two characters and stubbornness of Sophie means that the romance doesn’t get going until the very end. But it is nice to see Sophie’s dislike of Joe turn into friendship and then love.

The supporting characters in this book were great. The villainous leader of the school mums is well written, and Joe’s mum is perfect!!

I like that the story included the children. I’ve read a few books where the mc has a child and the child is kind of a side note rather than an integral part of the main character’s life. In this story, Lila is included throughout and the interactions are realistic and very relatable.

The only part of this book that I struggled with was why on earth Sophie felt she needed to be a part of that group of mums. It was written that it was to secure party invites etc for Lila, but there would’ve been 20+ other parents from Lila’s class in that playground to befriend. I understand that it had to be that group of mums for the story to work, but I think a better reason could’ve been used.

Overall, a good book that I enjoyed reading.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for my advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review 📚

What a cute romance. Two single parents decide to fake date so the other mom's will leave Joe alone and Sophie can make new friends.

Sophie did kind of annoy me with her insecurity. She hurt Joe more than she had to.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

I loved this book! I love fake dating AND the single-parent trope. I did think there were some super cliche moments that weren't my favorite but it was still so cute!

This was a cute fast read with fake dating and laugh out loud moments. I really enjoyed the two main characters. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it was dual POV though. 3.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

3.75 ⭐️

This was very sweet! I loved Sophie and Joe so much that I didn’t even mind the built in “do they ~really~ like me?” conflict that comes with fake dating.

I thought the children in this were well written as well. Sophie was so funny and I loved being inside her head. Just a delightful, easy read.

Thank you to NetGalley & HQ for the eARC.

sophie and joe are soooo cute, i loved how understanding joe was of soph's traumas and insecurities, the selfless way he dealt with that was enchanting to witness. i also loved the side characters and the funny moments that brought lightness into the story! hannah did a great jod, because this is a good book I LOVE IT!!!

thank you netgalley for the ARC <3

The Pick Up is a beautifully written book about two single parents who fake a relationship for their own personal reasons. There's no spice but a lot of humorous moments and sweet romance.

I've never heard of Hannah Doyle before and that's an absolute shame because her writing is gorgeous, and the way she can also add humour into it is amazing because surprisingly it's a very hard thing to do.

The thing I loved most about this book is the realism. Although I do not have a child, it was so nice for the storyline and plot to be realistic whereas some romance books start to go array and fall into scenarios that are hard to imagine in reality.

The one thing that I didn't like was that the ending felt a bit rushed, I would've liked a couple more chapters of Sophie and Joe whether that was building up to their ending or a few weeks, months or years after.

I adored this book. Wonderful lead characters with funny and likeable family in addition to a wholesome and amusing plot meant I was unable to put this book down and read it in two sittings. It was wonderful to see a strong female who doesn’t need a man to complete her life find someone who can enhance it. I will definitely be searching out more from this author.

3 stars

This is one of those books that I really wanted to love. The premise is absolutely fantastic. Two single parents fake dating? Bristol? A fun crew of side characters? Banter? What’s not to love?
But this book is single POV, and the MFC can be frustrating and a bit stubborn. There was so much miscommunication and it made it hard to see the chemistry between the two leads. Despite the perfect ending, I struggled to enjoy it.
But it was a quick, breezy read and may be great for someone else!
Thank you to NetGalley and HQ Digital for the ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

A romance set in Bristol, someplace I haven't read about. The change of scenery was nice, and the change in vocabulary wasn't as hard as I had expected.

The hard thing for me to do was relate to these characters, who are both single parents. But, I could see their struggles and feel really empathetic for them. They were really easy to love, just like their children.

What I love most about this book is that they always keep their love for each other second to the love for their children.

Also, the schoolgate group is super fun, because they show a lot of different approaches to parenting and the mothers actually learn from each other. Even the mother who is set up as the "bad guy" in the beginning. Because no mother is a bad guy if she is doing everything out of love for her child.

Such a different style of romance that I'm used to, but I'll browse the genre after this one. It really was that good.

Unfortunately, this fell a little flat for me. It’s just Sophie’s POV and I really prefer a dual POV to get the guy’s perspective.

Sophie was stubborn and SO slow to recognize her feelings.

That said,it wasn’t all bad, and I don’t regret reading it.

Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️: 0️⃣

Cute idea but oh so frustrating!. One thing I don’t like in a book is when the female or male character self sabotage. This could have been an adorable romcom, but instead, I found myself groaning out of frustration because of the decisions and actions of the female character. I found her to be slightly annoying. Lots of eye rolling throughout this book.

Cute and sweet fake dating but personally, I’d prefer more steam/spice and less miscommunication. That’s just my preference though!

A very funny and enjoyable read.
Sophie and Joe are just an amazing team.
I love fake dating and they did it perfect and the kids are so incredibly sweet, I normally don’t like books with kids but this was so
good.
I am excited to recommend it when it’s available



I will post my reviews when its released

This was really cute! Single parent love stories are some of my fav! I would’ve loved the story if the lack of communication between the 2 main characters wasn’t so apparent.

I loved this book so much!!
It was such a beautiful story and so warm.
I loved the dynamics between side characters, especially the hilarious mums at school pickups.
Sophie was such a strong FMC and I rooted for her the whole way through. Joe was perfect for her and I love how their romance blossomed at what felt like the perfect pace!

Easy entertaining read about two single parents pretending to date. While the storyline proved to be an easy read, it didn't leave a lasting impression. The characters, although interesting, lacked that extra spark to make them truly memorable. There's a palpable chemistry between them, yet I found myself not fully invested in their story. Nevertheless, for those seeking a light and uncomplicated read, I'd recommend giving it a try.

Sophie, a single mother desperate to befriend the other school moms, finds herself in a fake dating situationship with the hottie single dad, Joe. And lo, the fake dating turns into big real feelings.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🚫

The good: Sophie and Joe’s banter was a DELIGHT. I was super excited about how this would land until we got to the third act…

The bad: the third act was just frustrating as all get out. The whole “I don’t need no man” and miscommunication and dodging each other went on WAY too long. This quote sums it up well:

“You pair of daft bats. Now why don’t you head off? All of this time spent not really communicating with each other . . . you must have a lot of catching up to do.”

Also could not figure out why Sophie needed to befriend this group of yummy mummies who were pretty much all awful except for Frankie. It seemed incongruent with her character. I guess I’ll accept the argument that she wanted Lila to be included but, meh, I think there were other avenues to solve a problem that Lila didn’t even know existed.

Thanks, NetGalley and HQ Digital, for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy. This book’s pub date is May 9, 2024.

This book was laugh out loud funny and a super sweet easy ready. I really enjoyed the two characters and think the story was reallly lovely and the ending made me smile like a kid. I do think for a rom com a few spicy scenes would have added a little bit of passion to the story but it was still a fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ Digital for the ARC of this book in exchange for a review. I was hoping for a lighthearted romance and this one was cute, cute, cute! As a thirty something, I enjoy when the characters in the book fall on that same age range . The love story between Joe and Sophie is as relatable and seemed realistic despite the fake dating trope that the book was based around. You could see how their insecurities played into the decisions that they made and it was truly enjoyable to read. I would absolutely recommend this one and would be interested to read others by this author. Thanks for the chance to review.