this was a cute and easy read. a bit boring at times but overall it was okay!

˗ˋˏ ୨୧ thank you to NetGalley and Hannah Doyle for the digital arc in exchange for an honest review! ୨୧ ˎˊ˗

Special thanks to NetGalley, Hannah Doyle and HQ Digital for an advance reader copy of “The Pick Up.”

I laughed out loud reading this book! Although I am not usually a fan of a “fauxmance” this book made me eat my words. Hannah Doyle is a highly entertaining writer. She writes women, mothers, professionals with expertise and levity that is both relatable and fun.

I want to be friends with Sophie, the main character. She is a single mom who has been through it and thinks she can’t rely on anyone else because she has been let down big time. Can anyone else relate? 🙋‍♀️

Sophie is strong, funny, but worries about her daughter making friends in her first year of school. Joe, the “hot single dad” who is lusted over by the married yummy mummy group, is tired of unwanted advances. Sophie also has her sister trying to pair her off with abhorrent (but hilarious) blind dates and a dating app. They agree to have a fauxmance to solve their combined issues. And you know by the end, in any good romance, there will be a HEA.

However, the road to get to that HEA is a circuitous one, filled with friendship, humorous dialogue, misunderstandings, awkward kisses, and an awful ex. The kids in the book, Lila and Sid are written so well. The words and sentences they come up with are classic precocious four and five year olds.

I loved this story and every single character. I am looking forward to order Hannah Doyle’s other books-I am a fan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

This looked cute, the cover was appealing and it was a new to me author but unfortunately I got bored pretty quickly listening to this single parent British romcom. The main characters didn't seem to have much of a spark and there also wasn't a compelling conflict to carry along the plot. Okay on audio but this was a DNF for me around 40%. Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a chance to read an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review. Recommended for fans of authors like Porita MacIntosh.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!
Love Hannah’s writing, and this didn’t disappoint as a quick and fun read. I wish it had been fleshed out a little bit more, but I would recommend to a friend.

3.5, rounded down.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

I liked the story, I enjoyed the British humor and reading a story about characters in their 30s and navigating a new romance when there are kids and trauma involved. That said, the pay off for the slow burn fell flat. The resolution at the end felt rushed and a little bit like a sudden 180 on Sophie’s character. And I would’ve liked to see a little more fight from Joe.

This was a fake dating, slow romance, romcom book.
I loved the concept of this book and really enjoyed the banter and the characters. The mums were hilarious but annoying at some parts.
This is a proper slow burn romance. I think Sophie look way to long to have her aha moment, I like Joe. It was the end of the book by the time they got together and just felt too long to me, I wanted to see their proper relationship flourish more.
I loved Joe as a character and felt he was the best book boyfriend but Sophie didn't realise what she was missing out on due to her past, her guard was constantly up which I found kind of annoying.

Oh my goodness. This was a delight of a romance book.

Joe was everything you could want in a partner.
He was definitely a golden retriever man.

Sophie was a pretty badass single mom, who wanted to fit in with the other moms.
Enter Joe's plan -- fake dating. {one of my FAVE tropes, btw.}

These two were adorable throughout the whole book.
Joe was so selfless and Sophie was letting her walls down, little by little.

Cute HEA ✨

I could not put this book down, It is a cute, quirky, heartwarming, clean closed door, single parent romcom that was super easy and fun to read with lots of british banter and fake dating angst that comes with battling the other PTA parents at their kids’ school. This was the first book I've ever read by Hannah Doyle and her writing style was absolutely great and the story is fast paced and flows well, If you are looking for a clean, funny, lighthearted and fast read this book is for you.

I adored this heartwarming story of two single parents who fake date 🤭 (i LOVE fake dating) joe and sophie’s chemistry and their banter was sooo good and kept me engaged. joe was attentive, supportive and a great listener which really made me fall in love with him and the story.
Despite a miscommunication trope near the end, it was refreshing to see them actually tackle it head on. Overall, this laugh-out-loud romcom was such a fun and cute read. this book would be good for anyone who is looking for a wholesome and charming read with no spice!

fake dating
single mom
single dad
romcom
one bed
grumpy x sunshine

thank you hannah and hq digital for the earc in exchange for my honest review!

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Pickup was such a cute read and I really enjoyed it. The main characters, Sophie and Joe, were very relatable and I really loved how they get to know each other throughout the book by fake dating each other. Sophie is such a strong female and I definitely connected with how independent she is and that she struggles asking for help. I liked that our first impression of Joe is that he is this care free ladies man but he is much more deeper and sensitive, especially about the things and people he loves. The story and writing was great and I never felt like there was a lull or boring parts while reading. I also actually liked that this was not an open door romance. Overall, this was a great story and I will definitely be recommending this to others! Thank you again NetGalley and the publisher.

I was happy to read another Hannah Double E-ARC since I loved the A to Z of us. This was a quirky and fun fake dating romance with single parents. Miscommunication galore, sarcasm, wit, banter, complicated life and as a new parent myself I feel represented by some of the statements and life experiences these two have. If you like witty, sweet romantic comedies with an enemies to lovers/fake dating esk vibe be sure to check this book out when it releases.

The Pick Up is such a cute single parent fake dating romance! I loved this book because while also following the romance between Joe and Sophie it also followed Sophie’s path as she is reinventing herself post-divorce and dealing with being the “new mom” at her daughter’s school (parents are cliquey too!)

If you have ever felt like an outcast, wanted to be accepted, made sacrifices for others, or enjoy entrepreneurship and romance (duhhh!!!!) then this book is for you 🫶🏻
I also would like to note that a lot of sayings did not translate over the same to American - but I generally got the gist of most references. A few went over my head haha.

⭐️rating: 4/5

I loved this! The banter and humor were on point and I was laughing so much! Such a fun and light story that I breezed through in the best way. It’s an ideal rom-com with just enough heart.

I very much enjoyed the fake dating and the growth Sophie and Joe went through during the book. I was so happy when they finally made their various realizations and came back to each other🩷

Also, the side characters were great as well! Not only are their children great, the other school moms were so entertaining to read about, Poppy (Sophie’s sister) was fun, and I loved Joe’s mom! Now I want to see Poppy and Adam’s story unfold, it sounds so fun!

I absolutely recommend The Pick Up! It’s light, it’s a joy to read, and it has just enough depth to really connect you to the characters. I can’t wait to read more by Hannah Doyle!

Thank you to HQ and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A fake dating, single parents that made a fun read. Sophie doesn’t want to be set up anymore, and Joe needs the moms to back off. I love Joe! He is so real and sweet. Sophie is also a great character but she’s a little more closed off. Overall I was here for the slow burn romance between them.

Usually i don't like single dad/single mom trope, but maaaan this book was amazing!!! 💖

"The Pick Up" tells the story of Sophie and Joe. Sophie is a single mother who wants to be accepted by the mom's group, and Joe is THE hot single dad at the school. They both decide to pretend they're dating so that 1) Sophie can be more integrated into the mom's group and 2) so that the other mothers stop bothering Joe. A real win-win. 😌

Did I imagine Joe Jonas with an Irish accent as Joe? Guilty. 😅🫣☘️

The book is very funny and easy to read. Once you start reading, you can't stop.

I love Sophie so so much. She is an intelligent, strong and empowered woman that it is impossible not to love her 👑

I really liked the message that it's never too late to follow your dreams, start a career or a business. 🫶🏻

I don't have kids, but definitely I want a daughter like Lila, she is so adorable 🥰

This book was great fun! I was a little hesitant because I'm not that big on si gle parent romances, but this was really fun!
The main character was really obtuse sometimes, which got on my nerves, but all together a great read for a sunny day!

This was a super cute read that had me laughing out loud, I love the fake dating trope and this one was *chefs kiss* 🤌🏼
I loved that the main characters were older, single parents and that they had overcome struggles. Extremely relatable!
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Thank you NetGalley and HQ for the opportunity to review this book.

Sophie has always felt like an outsider, and she is seeing the effects on her kid. She wants to be active and to see her daughter develop friendships. A significant and important aspect of the story is the found family, which I also truly loved. Together with Joe and his family, she discovered a family, as well as the one she created with the school mothers. The idea that first impressions are not always accurate is another difficult concept that this book explores. Making her understand how her perception of Joe and the Moms has changed from the beginning to the end was a whole different experience.

This is the perfect romantic comedy for anyone searching for a sweet emotional, and clean romance story!

**Thank you so much to NetGalley and HQ Digital for the ARC in exchange for a review.**

Nothing captures my millennial heart than a Sum 41 road trip singalong, so imagine how much I loved this book. Joe and Sophie are both so charming. Her resistance to falling in love makes sense, even when I want to shake her by the shoulders and scream that she’s fake dating the perfect man. I loved them together, the way they fall into friendship before it becomes something more. I couldn’t stop reading this book and finished it in a day, I liked them so much. Cannot recommend enough.

And hannah Doyle does what is so hard to do - captures kids as they really are, and not the odd, unrealistic version we see so often in fiction. Sophie’s daughter adds so much to the book, and I liked seeing Joe with her and his son.

I enjoyed the premise of this book of two single parents meeting in the pick-up line at their children’s pre-school. They agree to fake a relationship for rather unbelievable reasons, but hey! It’s hard to come up with a plausible reason for fake relationships in contemporary life. What makes the book enjoyable is the sweet relationship each has with their children. Both kids are super cute, and I’m a sucker for male heroes who are so invested in their child.

The MFC was a bit irritating in how she was so very positive that she never wanted to have a romantic relationship ever again after a painful divorce. She meets this wonderful guy with whom she enjoys spending time and their kids become great friends. She thinks of him as her best friend. She’s super attracted to him and we get a bit too much interior monologue about how sexy she finds him. He clearly is interested in her and is straight-forward about wanting to explore a more serious relationship. So after a while, the reader is just hanging around waiting for the lightbulb to go off for her.

The dialog between the two main characters and the amusing side characters help save the book from just being a standard fake relationship story.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.