I LOVED IT ......

Sophie, a successful business oriented single mom to Lily (a jolly 5 year old) who's done with all things romance and Joe, a hot Irish widower, single father to Sidney who still believes in love, Both get into a fake dating contract for mutual benefits.

wait.. did i mention I loved it !
i enjoyed the plot, loved the characters, their conversations, their humor, and all emotions, very well captivated
It was a cute, fun and easy book to read
A solid 4 star for this one, anyone who's into fake dating troupe will definitely enjoy this one
only i wish we had more Joe and Sid's interaction, it would have been lovely to get snippets of them as well.

Thanks Net galley for sending me this Arc in exchange for an honest review, you can tell I'll be picking more of this author because i definitely need that energy again

The Pick Up focuses on Sophie, a single mum, whose sister, Poppy, is determined to find her a man to date following her divorce from Mark five years ago. Sophie isn't interested in dating anyone as she's focused on building her business and bringing up her daughter, Lila. Upon discovering that Lila hasn't been invited to the party of one of her classmates, Sophie begins to question how she could get herself in with the clique of school mums to make sure Lila doesn't get missed out from any more events.
Enter Joe - hot, single, recently widowed dad, whose son, Sidney, is Lila's BFF at school. Joe gains a lot of attention on "Thirsty Thursdays" (the day he's seen doing the school drop off/pick up) and is trying to find a way to get away from the overbearing mums in the playground.
When they find themselves helping out at the school bake sale, Joe proposes that he and Sophie start fake dating, which will stop the other mums harassing him and Sophie accepts as this will also give her an in with the "Barnaby Babes", the name the PTA group have given themselves.
Just as they start to question whether there might actually be something between them, a blast from the past re-enters the scene and miscommunication between Sophie and Joe might just equal the end of their budding relationship.
The characters are fabulous throughout, very relatable. Lila was hilarious - she reminded me of my own daughter when she was that age. The book was a fantastic rom-com which had me smiling as Sophie and Joe navigated their fake relationship in front of the other mums. I found myself rooting for Sophie and Joe throughout and was even invested in their other family members. It was a great, light-hearted read and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

HILARIOUS! I laughed my way through the whole book. The banter between Sophie and Joe was so great. I started highlighting so many funny lines but had to give up, there were too many! I hadn't heard of this author before and now I'll have to get started on her backlist. I love the way she writes. Loved everything about this story except the miscommunication (my absolute least favorite trope) which could easily have been avoided, and the quick resolution ending. I wanted more of Sophie and Joe together. Great representation of parenthood. Highly recommend.

"The pick up" is such a cute and realistic read. In the beginning I had some trouble with really getting into the story (but sidenote: I was in a huge reading slump, so I am not even gonna blame it on the book) but once I got into it, I literally flew trough it! I really enjoed reading about Sophie and Joe aswell as about their kids. Sophie and Joe are both single parents, each with their own history and bagage, however they decide to fake date eachother, each for their own benefits.

The writing style was absolutely amazing, this was the first book i've ever read by Hannah Doyle, but I know for a fact that I will dive into all her other works soon. The book literally did make me laugh out loud multiple times.
The only thing I actually missed was an epilogue, the ending happens pretty fast and in my opnion it would be cute if we would have had some extra content at the end. Maybe a POV from Joe would have been cool aswell, cause I am pretty curious how he experienced all of what happened.

This book will make a perfect fit if you like to read about:
- fake dating
- being a single parent
- reversed grumpy X sunshine
- one bed trope
- forced proximity

Fake romance? Check. He falls first? Check. My heart loving every minute of it? Double check!

Swoon! So so sweet. Sophie and Joe were exactly what each other needed. Him, trying to get away from being the 'man meat' of the school parents; her, trying to get her family off her back for matchmaking. It took Sophie too long to realize that Joe is perfect for her!

The side characters are so fun. Joe's mom is the sweetest and I love her. Sophie's sister is just as dense and lovable as Sophie, and she absolutely deserves her own book!

I thought it was a cute and funny book. As a parent myself I could relate more to the characters. On the other hand as a parent I couldn't understand their choices knowing it could negatively impact the kids so for that reason I struggled.

Title: The Pick Up By Hannah Doyle


Release date: May 9th, 2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Stars

I received this book in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley.

In "The Pick Up" by Hannah Doyle, readers are treated to a delightful romcom that is both funny and sweet. With its slow-burn romance, witty banter, and realistic portrayal of single parenthood, this novel offers a heartwarming and relatable story.

Single mom Sophie is juggling her daughter, job, and family circus when Joe, a fellow single parent from school, suggests a fake romance scheme to tackle life's hurdles. Reluctantly agreeing, Sophie dives into this charade. But as they waltz through their make-believe love story, Sophie gets caught up in Joe's Irish twinkle and the cozy closeness between them.

The plot thickens as Sophie starts to wonder if their pretend love story is becoming a real-life fairy tale, especially with others noticing Joe's "Hot Single Dad" status.

Hannah Doyle's writing is engaging and witty. While the romance may be slow-burn and lacking in spice, the banter between the characters adds a delightful layer of humor and charm.

If you love romantic comedies or just want a heartwarming story, "The Pick Up" is an ideal pick for anyone seeking a feel-good read.

The Pick Up is a standalone (so far?) about Joe, aged 35 and Sophie,aged 33. Both single parents whose kids attend the same school clasl. Picking their kids from school is where their initial encounter takes place and due to individual circumstances, they strike a deal to pretend they're fake-dating. Peppered with forced proximity, which, as we can all guess from the very beginning, will lead to the fake relationship becoming more genuine than they initially expected. Navigating through this blossoming romance is the essence of the book, and it is worth every page.

What I liked
- The building up, the execution of the story and the banter these two characters have. I could not stop reading the book, I laughed histerically at numerous interactions they share throughout the book as well as those with the kids who equally cracked me up. Sophie's inner thoughts are witty and it felt like experiencing you best friend's firsthand experience fake-dating and it just brightened my day.

The story felt authentic and the slow-burn is exquisitely portrayed. I enjoyed reading how they were slowly falling in love with eachother and how neglected they were to admit it, all while everyone around them saw it coming due to the realistic portrayal of their fake relationship and the palpable chemistry between them.

- I typically don't come across romance books with a funny banter involving characters over their 20s,making this book a refreshing different read. A reminder that there is life after one's 20s!

This book is easy to read, comprehensible vocabulary (suitable even for non-native English speakers). Sweet, funny and entertaining.

I'd like to appreciate Net Galley and HQ for providing me with an eARC of this book and Hannah Doyle for writing such a cute romance. This review reflects my genuine opinion and was written voluntarily.

This was a fun and cute read, but I felt like it wasn't for me for a few reasons. I loved that this was not only a single parent romance, but BOTH the MMC and FMC are single parents. There were some really funny, laugh out loud moments and dialogue that was really good. Sophie and Joe are just so good together, and I love the idea of their blended family coming together. I do wish the book was dual POV and that the book had spicy scenes (it's closed door) but I thought it was a great book despite those missing elements for me. I also think that this was too lighthearted, given that you're merging two families and I feel like this would have been better as a different kind of book, rather than a rom com. Overall, I loved the premise and the concept, as well as the tropes, but it was lacking and could have some things changed and it would be SO good!

Thank you to NetGalley, Hannah Doyle, and HQ Digital for the eARC of this book!

Hannah Doyle is a new to me author but after reading The Pick Up, I'm a fan! She writes with wit, smart dialogue and emotional connection. I have already gone back to her previous books and added them to my books to read.
This book was a nice slow burn and I only took a star off because there wasn't any spicy scenes (would have loved to read that connection fully described behind closed doors). The two main characters are single parents of 5 year old kids and they meet at the Pick Up line at school. Sophie has an impression of Joe that he's a little full of himself because all of the other school moms at pick up act gaga about him when he shows up. Sophie is trying to get in the "clique" of moms so that her daughter is included in future playdates and birthday parties and Joe is tired of being the subject of the mom brigade trying to make him dinners and dote on him. They make a deal to be in a fake relationship (not one of my favorite tropes) but in this book they make me not hate it as much. You can see the friendship that is forming in their scenes together and you actually feel that their teasing has that undertone of playful flirtation (even if our FMC doesn't pick up on it right away).
I like that he fell for her hard first and she's still trying to resist.
There are some side characters (Joe's mom is delightful and Sophie's sister Poppy cracks me up!). I wish the author didn't give Poppy the nickname Pop because in some scenes I think she's referring to her dad as Pop and it caused some confusion for me.
Great book and would have been a full 5 stars with a little open door bedroom scenes.
Thanks NetGalley for the advance copy!

This book was exactly what I needed at the time! It was funny, easy to read, and contained some of my favorite tropes.

I always love reading about a single dad, but also including a single mom seemed to be a great choice! I loved Sophie's inner monologue during school pick-up. Her wanted to be included but also critiquing those in the "inner circle" is so me. Enter Joe, though! I loved how her thoughts about him changed throughout the book and how she found herself wanting to talk to him and to see him. It was extremely cute.

The banter was great - always bonus points for me. Like mentioned above, I felt like these characters, their inner monologues and their dialogue was so relatable, so real. I could see myself in Sophie, but also in Joe too.

I did wish this book had dual POV because Joe was definitely a character where I wanted to know every single one of his thoughts. That didn't take away from the book at all, though. What did get me a bit was a little bit of the miscommunication trope. I understand each of them was working out their feelings, but them being so open and honest about other aspects of their lives, I wished for them to be a little more open about their feelings/struggles with each other.

Overall, The Pick Up had great characters, both the MCs and the side characters (I loved Joe's mom and Frankie!!), that kept the book interesting, relatable, and most of all, fun. It was a great book read at a great time for me.

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

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.