I loved reading The A to Z of Us. So I was very excited for the chance to read and review The Pick Up by Hannah Doyle.
This was such a fun slow-burn romance that had me hooked from the first page.
The characters felt so real and it all tied up so well.
It was warm, fun, light & fluffy, funny and comforting all in one.

Thank You NetGalley and Publisher for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I received this as an arc from NetGalley and I’m voluntarily leaving my honest review.

This was a really good fake relationship romance. The story follows Sophie and Joe, two single parents whose children are in the same class. It
was told exclusively from Sophie’s POV and sometimes I would have liked to see things from Joe’s POV. But I really enjoyed Sophie’s inner monologues and also her banter with Joe. The story was well written and I could definitely see myself picking up another book by this author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hannah Doyle for this eARC.

This was a cute and easy read about something as hard as parenthood and ones own expectations to oneself.
And while a lot of the tropes made me swoon (golden retriever energy/ fake dating/ single parents) the ending was quite disappointing and with a miscommunication trope added into the pile, this book won’t get more than 3 stars from me. Thank you for letting me read this book

The beginning of this book was a snooze. It got significantly better when we met Joe. There are moments in this that are laugh out loud funny. Honestly the main character’s humor and internal dialogue is good throughout, but the banter between her and Joe is the best part. I wanted to see more of their relationship rather than some of the other plot points, as I felt I was being told the emotion of the conflict rather than feeling it. The ending was a tad too insta love to be believable.

I received an advance review copy for free via Netgalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Hannah Doyle does top notch banter and low spice. I love that the characters in this one are in their thirties—a nice change from reading about those finding love in their early twenties, which isn’t relatable for me. Great little single mom x single dad fake dating read!

4⭐️ what a beautiful fun read! I love that this wasn’t the traditional romance and love to add it aspect of having some older main characters who were single parents. The banter in this book was so good and I was dying for more constantly. This is going to be one of those great romances that I’m going to all my friends!

I totally enjoyed this book. This was such a cute book and the slow burn kept me waiting, but it was so worth it. Fake dating is always a favorite trope of mine and this did not disappoint. Joe and Sophie were both so likable, they had me rooting for them very quickly!
Thank you netgalley for the ARC;

This book had its good moments and qualities. The children behaving like actual children instead of emotional support dogs for their parents. The messiness of friend groups. It just didn’t hit quite right for me. Some of the banter was funny, but this was a fake dating romance I just felt annoyed by. They had the absolute worst communication skills and very limited self awareness. I also felt like I read the whole book and barely knew Joe as a person. Like…. he’s a dad that’s a lit professor that doesn’t know how to extricate himself from flirty situations he has no interest in. That’s about all I’ve got. Sophie had some potential and some personal growth that I appreciated, although she had the most abysmal communication skills.
I don’t think the book is bad per se, it just wasn’t amazing.

spice: closed door

Triggers: cheating (previous spouse, off page), divorce (off page), spouse death (off page), drinking

Thank you, NetGalley and HQ!
I absolutely loved this witty, laugh out loud, swoon worthy romance, between two single parents who just want people to leave them alone and out of the romance arena. I was totally rooting for Sophie and Joe the entire time!

Ended up DNFing this the writing is really good but the story line just wasn’t for me to be honest but if this is your kind of book it would be perfect, I think because the characters were a lot older than myself I couldn’t fully connect with them and the storyline

Such a funny romcom! I love the idea of two single parents ganging up against the cool kids! Does anyone ever grow up when playground friendship groups are involved ?

This was a cute book! It was a bit of a slow burn but stick with it as it is worth it in the end! Parts of it were a little boring and the ending did feel a little rushed but overall it was a fun romcom book to read. I did find myself laughing a lot in this book which made it even more fun to read as well! Fake dating and single parent? You can’t go wrong with either!

Thank you NetGalley and HQ for the ARC.

I had the pleasure of immersing myself into the story by reading The Pick Up while waiting for my kids at the pick up line from school. The story was so well written and just makes you laugh at the right times. “Since she started at St Barnaby's last September I've learned that any kind of 'day' requires parental input. Bloody days. As if we don't have enough on our plates. I don't remember reading about this one, though. I try my best to keep up with the sheer amount of school admin but the emails are so very long and then there's the app,the text message system and the class WhatsApp to monitor too. Sometimes, at the end of the day, I pour myself a glass of wine simply to celebrate not developing a stomach ulcer from the pressure of it all.”
Can I get an amen in the back! I loved the main characters Sophie and Joe and watching their friendship take flight. As a mother of four children who has been given the great privilege to be awoken from my peaceful slumber by one of my four kids so they could insistently show me their Lego/ Duplo creations, it was deeply refreshing to read Sophie’s motherhood struggle. We are in this together my friend! Sophie is a single mother who just wants the best for her daughter and for her daughter to fit in and to be accepted with her preschool classmates. So how does she try to help? By taking matters into her own hands, of course! Sophie forms a friendship with the swoony, Irish single/ widower dad named Joe who is basically eye candy for all the other moms at the pick up line. Together they form a fake dating pack to help Joe get those mommas off of his back and for Sophie to be a part of the parent committee which is a golden ticket for playdates!
It was so heartwarming to see Sophie learn to trust and open her stone gated heart to a kind hearted friend who quickly fell in love with her. Joe was just the perfect listener, sweet father, respectful to his family and just overall a good guy, so it's not hard not to root for their fake relationship to take a turn for the good. This was also a clean romance novel with some firework kisses, so you felt the emotional pull on from page to page.
I also loved the friendship that Sophie made with the quirky mothers from the school pick up line. They just reminded me of the bride tribe from Bridesmaids and it just added to that comedy layer. The story had so many sweet lessons that both characters and readers can learn from. I hope you will pick up The Pick Up by Hannah Doyle at your local bookstore, online retailer, or library.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HQ Digital for the ARC in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed reading this book! Such a great palette cleanser after a heavier read. Both the MMC and FMC are single parents and I loved that they were in their 30’s. This is definitely a slow burn, but I was so invested in their relationship the entire time, just waiting for when they were finally going to give into their feelings. This was such a sweet story, and I loved that while it was closed door, it didn’t need the spice. Definitely recommend!

I absolutely loved this book and read it within 2 days! I loved the banter from the beginning between soph and joe. I know some people say it’s enemies to lovers, but I would say more strangers to friends to lovers! Definitely give it a 5 star!

I adored this book. It was so full of tension, and had some truly laugh-out-loud moments because of the two adorable kids and the other mums. I loved the dynamic between Sophie and Joe, and how it went from immediate dislike, to friends, to more. The way they reassure each other they’re doing the right thing with their kids as they’re both single parents was so sweet. This book was slow burn at its finest; the tension, the angst, the pining were all fantastic.

The writing at first was a bit hard to get into because of the language, but as Sophie opened herself up to love and friendship I noticed that language changed and it became much more casual.

Overall I really enjoyed this book.

This was such a cute book and the slow burn kept me waiting, but it was so worth it. Fake dating is always a favorite trope of mine and this did not disappoint. Joe and Sophie were both so likable, they had me rooting for them very quickly!

Such a cute book! Really liked the fake dating romance, Joe was very funny and sweet. It was a slow burner but was worth it in the end! Found the FMC Sophie a bit frustrating at times but I liked her dynamic with Joe, Lila and Poppy. Was a feel good read that made me laugh out loud. Thank you for this ARC read HQ and netgalley, really appreciate it.

The Pick Up was a slow burn that kept me waiting and curious. Joe and Sophie are single parent's whose kids go to the same school. They get a brilliant idea to start a fake dating relationship that will benefit both of them. As the relationship progresses I was going 'Awe!' when Joe would speak up with little facts about Sophie, things someone wouldn't have noticed unless they were paying attention.

This was cute! I really enjoyed the fake dating and the single parents. However this was a little forgettable to me but it was still a good time! I also think the ending was a bit rushed and would've loved to see it more drawn out but overall very cute rom com.