single parents AND fake dating trope? count me in! this was a cute, fun and easy book to read. the beginning was a bit slow which made it a little hard for me to get into the story but then it picked up when the characters starting their fauxmance.

i enjoyed the writing and i loved the characters, especially sophie and her inner monologue was a lot of fun to read throughout the book. it would’ve been interesting to read joe’s POV since we only get bits and pieces of him in the book. i didn’t really like the miscommunication in this but that’s only because i just dislike that trope in general.

i feel like the ending happened so fast and i wish we would’ve gotten an epilogue at the end that showed sophie and joe’s dynamic as a real couple. overall it was a very cute book and i’ll be sure to check out the author’s next work!

Thank you Netgalley for providing me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

i felt as if i wasn't the right target audience as im not a parent, but this was still witty and a fun, fast-paced romcom. i liked the characters and thought they had lots of depth to them, and they definitely felt very realistic. i would've loved to see some more empathy on the fmc's side, she was a little annoying at times with the miscommunication. but overall a fun read and would still recommend to anyone who loves single guardian and fake dating, the perfect romcom.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Pick Up is a fun, easy enjoyable read. I always enjoy a fake dating - romance read. The characters were funny and interesting and I really enjoyed the end of the novel.

In this review I am going to be 100% transparent with you all, I did DNF this book around the 30% mark but it is not because it was bad. ‘The Pick Up’ is a witty romantic comedy centred around two single parents, I have not DNFed this book based on its writing by any means, it did have funny moments and what I read was cute. However I DNFed due to the realisation that perhaps the merging of both single parent trope and a romantic comedy do not combine very easily in my eyes and I felt like the single parent trope is better suited in a book that perhaps is darker and meant to be more serious. However, if you do enjoy these two tropes together I urge you to pick this book up upon its release as this author has very easy-going writing and I am grateful that I was given the opportunity to read it and recommend it to a better suited audience, I hope you understand my reasoning and hope I am not coming across too critical as I truly believe that there is no such thing as a ‘bad book’, there are just books that are not for you.

A sweet romance with no real surprises but with a range of excellent characters (particularly the school gate clique) who create some very funny moments between them.
The idea of fake romance turning real is not a new concept but it is beautifully treated in this book and leaves you wanting to catch up with Sophie and Joe a couple of years down the line to see how things are going!
I think a trick was missed with Joe's perspective of the story-it would have been a nice counterbalance to the control Sophie exudes! However still a very readable and enjoyable book!

So so so cute! Sophie is a control freak raising her daughter on her own. To befriend the mums at school pickup, she and single dad Joe concoct a fake relationship. If you love fake relationship romances the way I do, you know what happens next. However it is a slow and witty burn, full of charming and quirky side characters. I've never read anything by Hannah Doyle before, but she'll be going onto my must-read list from now on.

I absolutely loved this book. The basic storyline is your classic “fake romance turns real” but has enough details of its own to keep the story fresh. I enjoyed all of the side characters and the struggle with school cliques. I loved the way the story turned out and would like to see a sequel to follow everyone!

I could not get into this book. I could not even finish it. The writing style is not for me. I don't relate to or care about the characters. Forcing myself to read this book is just something I can not do. I do hate writing negative reviews, but I want to be honest in saying this book was not for me.

Also looking into reviews, this book is a closed door book, and I am just not into it. I love the tropes with my whole heart and I know books do not need to have smut to be good. However, I am attached to my unnecessary smut and lose interest if it's not involved.

I want to personally thank NetGalley, as well as the author, publisher, and anyone else involved in providing copies, for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Reviews will also be submitted to Goodreads when possible.

Note to self check the spice level.

On every other level THIS BOOK IS PERFECT. I flipping loved it even tho it took me a minute. To get in to it, because the unintentional pop culture reference of the couples names. 4 stars... And a whole hearted thanks for getting me back in to reading after a week's long slump.

I enjoyed this funny rom-com. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book! Sophie is a capable and loving single mom whose family wants her to find love again after an ugly and painful divorce. Cue Joe, the single dad she meets at school pick up. All of the moms have big crushes on him. To help each other out, they decide to start fake dating to keep Sophia’s off her back and to help simmer down the other moms. You can guess the rest…

I give this book 4.25 stars!

We have Sophie, a single mom to a sweet 4-year-old named Lila. Sophie and her husband divorced when she found out she was pregnant and he decided he didn't want to be a father. Turns out, he had also been cheating on her. They had opened a business together before getting married so it's fair to say that the divorce was messy. In the end, Sophie walked away from the company, from her marriage, and with full custody of her unborn child. She moved to Bristol to be close to her family and she eventually started a new company. Because Sophie is a single working mother, she relies on her family to help her with Lila, so she doesn't always make it to the school drop-off or pick-up and, therefore, couldn't make mom-friends from her daughter's school. Add to that, Sophie hasn't dated since her divorce, and her sister, Poppy, has taken it upon herself to play matchmaker with any single man in Bristol. Let's just say that her efforts are being wasted because Sophie is not interested in any of the potential suitors her sister has found.

Joe is a widowed father of a sweet 4-year-old named Sydney. He too lives in Bristol, near his parents, and is considered the "hot-dad" by all the mothers at his son's school. Although they are all married, they still take any and every opportunity to ogle over him and undress him in their minds. Joe, understandably, is starting to feel uncomfortable but he is such a nice guy, that he doesn't say anything.

Joe and Sophie meet at pick-up one day and start hanging out. Joe has the brilliant plan to fake-date to get all the other moms to leave him alone and Sophie can finally get her sister to stop meddling in her love life. As is customary in these tropes, they begin a beautiful friendship that starts to grow until they finally realize that they are in love with each other. It's a beautiful story.

This entire book is written from the POV of Sophie. Again, she is a single mother who owns a business. She is constantly on the move getting things done from her "To-do" list. Any mother out there can relate that we have a million thoughts and reminders going off in our heads at any given moment. Well, Sophie is the same and it is portrayed like that in the writing. I felt like I was inside the head of a fast-paced mom who had to bounce from one idea and action to the next quickly. Some of the internal dialogue is chaotic, frazzled...just like the brain of a woman and mother. She gets distracted, and she has to pull her focus back from daydreaming (sometimes sexy daydreams) to see reality, she needs to redirect her personality from professional businesswoman to mom, to woman constantly and it is all reflected in the writing. It's brilliant writing, although slightly confusing to read. Sophie's internal dialogue is also hilarious. She is constantly calling out the kids and other parents in her mind (in a lighthearted, teasing way).

With that said, I was expecting to see a bit more of Sophie's feelings grow over time since everything is from her POV. She would tell the reader occasionally that she started to find him attractive, that she saw him as her best friend and loved spending time with him, and that she loved his family. However, from those comments to the love she feels at the end of the book...I didn't feel it. I didn't feel her lusting over Joe. I didn't feel the build-up of the chemistry. The way that Sophie would sometimes describe Joe's actions, or his text messages, or the way she caught him looking at her, I would believe the lust and attraction more from him than from her. I wish we would have gotten to see Joe's POV as well.

Also, I want to say this book is very British. There were quite a few words or slang or sayings that are culturally used and understood by the English than the Americans. I found myself (American) either having to look up the meaning of some words or, knowing what they meant but I would never use the phrase in my own life/vocabulary.

I think there are a lot of feelings that Sophie has, especially at the beginning, about being a mother and bonding with the other school moms, that are relatable to any parent out there, not just single parents. Those of us who are introverts know what it's like to stand by the trash bins at the school pick-up, or go to a school function and fret over your child more than mingle with the other parents because you are intimidated or shy.

This book was really cute! I loved the concept of a single mom who doesn’t need anyone else! There were parts of this book that were frustrating. Although I loved Sophie’s character it took her way too long to understand her feelings. Every time she friend zoned Joe I wanted to scream! On the other hand it was nice to see the MMC fall first. Overall I enjoyed this book and would read other books by this author!

This was a laugh out loud, fake dating book about two single parents. Joe was the best (fake) book boyfriend and I loved Sophie. The other Class Moms brought a lot of humor. The tension, the banter, and the chemist between the two main characters was amazing! I loved all the British and Irish subtleties. I loved Sophie’s relationship with her daughter. There is a miscommunication trope near the end but they at least get called out on it!

Overall, this book was super cute and had a lot of funny moments. I very much enjoyed the entire book! If you’re looking for a clean romcom that is sweet and heartfelt, this is for you!

The Pick Up was a delightful read that had me smiling throughout. The story centers around Sophie, a divorced career woman, and Joe, a widower, who decide to fake date each other to deal with the other parents at their kids' school. Their agreement turns them into friends, which eventually turns into more though only one of them can see it at first. We get a strong dose of romance while also getting a peek into what single parenting can look like. The story has quality secondary characters such as Sophie's sister who was pushing her into bad blind dates and Joe's mother who bakes the best gluten-free desserts. Not to mention all of the school moms that have their own unique personalities. The dialogue was flirty and fun and the problems that popped up were high stakes, but navigated excellently.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you’re in the mood for a light, easy, clean rom-com, then give this a go!

Single parents, Sophie and Joe, meet at the school pick-up, and decide to fake-date each other. Sophie wants an ‘in’ with the cool mums at the gates, and Joe just wants to be left alone from the mums fussing over him. Even though they are complete opposites they become friends, and eventually fall for each other.

They are very cute with each other, the banter is just fun to read, and you could feel the chemistry between the two of them.

I wish this had Joe’s POV though, as I loveeeee when you see the MMC realise when he’s falling. We just got to hear this from his Mum. And it is a slow-burn, and a clean romance, so no spice or open door scenes, but this was a very enjoyable read!

4.5 stars!

I loved this book and got through it so quick! First of all fake dating is one of my favourite tropes so I knew I would like it but this book made me feel everything it should have done. When the characters were happy, I was happy. When they were angry or annoyed, I felt angry and annoyed. And I absolutely fell in love with these characters.
I loved Sophie and Joe and found myself smiling so much at this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hannah Doyle for providing me with an ARC copy of The Pick Up!

I received an ARC copy of this novel for an honest review

I have enjoyed fake romance tropes in the past and liked the different approach to this - a mum wanting an in with the parents at the school gates, but this just didn’t work for me.

With regard to Barnaby’s Babes it was nice to see development of the relationship between Sophie and Frankie, and Sophie opening herself up to this more. I think the change in Celeste’s character was a complete 180 and this may be a case of feeling that under every questionable character must be some redeeming factor or reason for their behaviour. This reminded me of a particular character in the BBC series Motherhood, but the attempt to give the reader an insight into Celeste’s behaviour fell a bit flat for me.

Poppy as a supporting character was fun but her story arc felt rushed - especially the end.

Sophie often reflects on the difficulties faced with being a single parent but neither she nor Joe seemed to ever face any real challenges in day to day life - both with successful highflying careers that they balance with being a single parent to wonderful children, and both with very involved support networks.

This was an easy read but it just wasn’t for me - I definitely think others will enjoy it though.

Fun, quick read about two single parents who eventually start a fake relationship. Joe and Sophie had an instant friendship that aided in one of the more realistic fake relationship stories that I have read. Hannah Doyle does a great job of not only developing the main characters in the story but all of the side characters as well that made me feel connected to the story.

Two single parents.
Fake dating.
Grumpy x sunshine.
The cutest little kids.
Gossip moms.
And lots of fun.
This is how I can describe this book.
loved every second of it. Thank you NetGalley❣️

What do you do when your well meaning little sister won’t stop setting you up on dates? What do you do when the bombs at pick up won’t stop drooling over you? Fake date of course!

Sophie is a single mom who is just trying to do her best. She wants her daughter to have play dates and be invited to parties. Joe is a single dad who just wants to be able to move on as more than the sad dad. But the moms at school swarm him at every chance they get. These two decide to fake date to make both of their goals happen. I really enjoyed this one. As a parent when Joe asked Sophie if she needed a ride to the party that Lila wasn’t invited to, my heart absolutely sunk. I could understand how Sophie would be willing to do fake date to get her invited to things. I loved the banter between Sophie and Joe. I appreciated the ending of who went after who to declare their love. Definitely check this one out!