Sophie is a single mom of a 4 years old girl. She lived in Bristol where she’s a business mum full time, taking care of her daughter Lila and organized all the moments of her life. Her sister insists on arranging dates for her convinced that she have to find the true love after a bad divorce but Sophie’s not in the same idea. So one day, after meeting Joe at school, the hot single dad of her daughter’s class, they mutual made a pact: they’ll fake a relationship so Sophie could’ve stop dating with strangers and be invited to the events of the chic moms of Lila’s class ad Joe doesn’t have to deal with the moms who’s always flirting with him. Sophie and Joe are such a good characters,two single parents who love their children and would do anything for them. This book was a pleasant read full of laughs, sweet moments and a lot of misunderstanding. The cliché finale still left me with a smile on my lips and I recommend this book that will be released on May 9th! Thanks Netgalley for send me this book💕
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/2

This was a funny cute rom com. This was supposed to be fake dating but it didn’t have the aspects of fake dating.

4 stars⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ Digital for the e-arc of this book. This was one of the most funniest Rom-com books I've ever read, the slow burn was the best bit. But also, I loved the fact that there was fake dating in there which made it even more funny

Unfortunately this book wasn’t for me, any book that contains the fake dating trope needs to be fake dating in public but only being out in public once or twice in my opinion does not class as fake dating. Other people may enjoy it however, I unfortunately did not.

This was a cute quick read, fake dating friends to lovers but I spent the whole book waiting for the chemistry and the feels to heat up and found thst aspect of the story to be a little lacking.

Both single parents, Sophie and Joe meet in the school pick up line, and wouldn't you know, he's the dad of her daughters best friend. He's also the eye candy of all the other mom's in line and in trying to figure out how to avoid their glances, Joe and Sophie decide to fake a relationship. Getting them of his back and to help her daughter fit in more in school.

As the story goes on, their friendship continues to grow. And it is so so sweet. They have amazing people in their corners and they were two characters that were easy to root for from the get go. But I was missing the feels, and the longing glances and the sneaking a moment or two when the kids weren't looking and the oh my gosh feelings realization that never came.

A beautiful setting, an amazing friendship and this was a quick afternoon read!


Thank you Netgalley and HQ | HQ Digital for the ARC in exchange for my review!

Thank you so much NetGalley for this arc!!!

This was unfortunately a DNF for me because I felt it was silly to do a fake dating romance where they don’t actually fake date in public!! What’s the point?

Apart from that I loved the characters and the humour sprinkled throughout. And the plot was fun just was a miss for me!

Thanks so much!

This is a sweet and fun fake dating love story. It was a very relaxed and easy read. I had a lot fun reading it.
Joe and Sophie are both single parents who meet at their kid's school during the Pick Up time, and to help each other they decide to star a fauxmance. All the other characters, the moms, are a lot of fun as well, and you can see how they all deal and manage their professional careers with parenthood or how they give up their own dreams for their families.
If you like cute love stories this is the book for you.

A very interesting concept of a single mother, her eccentric daughter and the mysterious single dad at pick up. Sophie is a a wonderful female lead and an inspiration to all women. She is the perfect example of a strong individual who can be a girl boss, while being a great mother. Her character was multi dimensional and her relationships with her sister and her family were wholesome.

The way that Joe and Sophie got together seed a little abrupt at first, with no well established chemistry. But as we read about their interactions and see them get comfortable around each other, their banter becomes that much more full of passion and chemistry.

The children were not written about and forgotten, as is common in such a trope. Rather, they had their fair share of page time and contributed to the story as well though out characters.

This was my first Hannah Doyle read, and I loved it!

Two single parents, Sophie and Joe, plot to fake date their way into the parent group at their children's school. Through the story and humorous banter, you fall in love with both main characters. It’s a refreshing twist on friends-to-lovers and fake dating with two mature, parents. As a parent in my 30s, I loved these characters, which are rarely highlighted in romcoms.

My only complaint was the ending felt a bit abrupt, and I would have loved a long epilogue. Regardless, this book comes highly recommended by me.

Thank you to Netgally and HarperCollins for the ARC!

I wanted to give this novel 5 stars, and absolutely love it, but, I didn’t. I did like the storyline and the emotion vibes this book gives you, The ending was the best; such a cute way to end it!

this was such a silly book and sometimes that’s exactly what you need in life.

i loved sophie and joe as characters and i loved them together even more. their chemistry with each other was so clear from the start and it made the book that much more enjoyable. i loved every second of it.

fake dating and single parent are two of my favorite tropes and this one did both of them properly and i had so much fun reading it.

thank you to HQ and netgalley for the arc!

I loved this one so much! Fake dating is my absolute favourite trope and this one was done really well. I enjoyed all the characters and the storyline, I just wish it had been a dual pov.

I enjoy the fake dating trope and I thought it will be enough to help me through the story as I don’t like reading books that have even a slight form of reality in them. Having a child is a form or reality to me but unfortunately it wasn’t enough for me.

If you like books that have discussions that apply to real life then this book will be for you

I really enjoyed this book! Sophie, the main character, is simply incredible. She's strong, independent, and a wonderful mother. And let me tell you, Joe is swoon-worthy! He's absolutely perfect. The chemistry between Sophie and Joe is off the charts, but what really stood out to me was their amazing friendship and support for each other. The side characters, especially the other moms, had me laughing out loud. This book strikes the perfect balance between being lighthearted and fun, while also addressing the real challenges faced by working moms and societal pressures. I just finished it and I'm already itching to read it again!

Thank you to NetGallery, Hannah Doyle and HQ for giving me access to an eARC of this book.

Sophie Roger’s is a single working mum, trying to fit in with the other parents at her daughter’s school. And who better than the brooding single dad trying to avoid another sympathy casserole.

From the moment I picked this book up, it just screamed authentic. From the challenges of parenting, being a working mum, and the fears around letting people in - I loved reading about Sophie’s story, and seeing her growth throughout the novel.

And I absolutely loved her interactions with Joe - and how he came at her with good intentions and an open heart - even though he sometimes missed the read on the situation. And as far as miscommunication tropes go, I think this was really well done.

My only criticism was it felt hard at times to keep track of how much time had passed, so it made the pacing feel a little off.

But if you’re looking for a fake dating romance in a low stakes situation (read: becoming friends with the school mums), with a loveable (but up tight) lead, and a kind hearted, if not a bit awkward love interest, this book will be for you!

I want to give this book 100 stars!

Hannah wrote characters that felt so real, they had flaws, they had drama but they also had some SASS

I loved the fake dating in this, and all the awkward moments that came from maintaining this ‘relationship’ from posing on social media to actual ‘couple trips’

It’s a skill when an author writes some Characters to be utterly insufferable at the start of a book, but by the end they’re just as loveable as our main protagonists!


I adored everything about this, from the characters to the plot, I was obsessed.

I love a good fake dating trope and The Pick Up absolutely delivered! Lots of laugh out loud moments and devoured this in less than 24 hours.

Thank you to NetGallery and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

i think a fake dating trope can be super fun but it just didn’t feel like it had any stakes here, it’s usually due to heavy pressure from outside forces and the pressure here didn’t feel like enough, because of that i struggled to engage as much with the book and the characters

I am not normally someone who enjoys Rom Coms. However I could not put this down. Sophie and Joe are just perfect together. The fake dating and adoration they both have for their children coupled with the banter is just a perfect combination.

Whilst there is a bit of miscommunication trope thrown in (a personal pet peeve of mine) it is the first time I’ve seen it done well where I didn’t hate the characters for it. Also the resolution to this was well written.

Overall it’s an extremely easy and entertaining read and I will definitely be recommending this book to others.

Ahh fake dating and single parents romcom? Sign me up!

This book was hilarious with heartwarming feels.

Sophie is a single working Mom to cute almost 5 year old, Lila. She is worried that Lila is not fitting in and she isn't with her the other Moms.

Joe is the single Dad who is swooned over by every Mom, much to his dislike.

The two come up with a plan to fake date so Sophie can get some play dates for Lila and Joe can stop getting casseroles from the Moms.

Joe and Sophie start hitting it off, with some fine lines between the fake and real. Can these two just finally admit there is more to their story? Or will their pasts ruin that chance?

This book had me laughing out loud and I absolutely adored the secondary characters. It is the perfect romcom for a quick summer read!

Thank you Netgalley, publishers and author for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.