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.

Firstly, thank you NetGalley for the ARC. The Pick Up was a super cute, clean, laugh out loud, fake dating romcom about two single parents trying to survive and make an in with the other mums from their children’s school. I LOVED that the main characters were in their 30s and had children, I found this book highly relatable, in that sense. There was so much banter in this book & it wasn’t just from the main characters, the other mums in the school pick up clique brought so much humour. Good looking Irish Joe was such a great (fake) boyfriend. He was kind, caring, thoughtful and so so sweet. I’m not going to lie, Sophie took some warming up, she wasn’t my favourite but by the end of it, I really liked her. Between the two of them they had banter & tension, which is a match made in heaven if you ask me!

The Pick Up is the perfect romcom—funny, charming, and packed with chemistry. Sophie and Joe’s fake dating arrangement is full of laugh-out-loud moments and slow-burn romantic tension. No dark drama, no spice—just pure feel-good fun with great side characters and a heartwarming romance. Highly recommend!

This book has fake dating, single parents, funny banter, and grumpy x sunshine where he is the sunshine! Oh! And I can’t forget that he is Irish! The Pick Up is a first person POV told by Sophie, a 33-year-old single mom who wants to desperately get along with the other moms so her daughter can get invited to social events and not feel left out in school. Joe is a single dad who is LOVED by the other moms, and they are getting a little too smothering for comfort. So Joe proposes the idea they start a fake relationship so they can both get what they want. This launches them into a romantic comedy love story that had me laughing out loud and eating this book up. It is heartwarming and sweet, and you get to see their relationship grow slowly until it boils over and they both need to make a decision. The family dynamics were so perfect here, you not only fall in love with the main characters, but also with all those they hold dear to them. Yet, the only thing that kept this book from being a 5 star read was… YOU GUESSED IT… There was a lot of miscommunication that led to following assumptions and misunderstandings.

The Pick Up shows Fake Dating isn't just for the singletons and broken-hearted protagonists of fiction – even single mums and dads might need a bit of fake dating armour. Hannah Doyle's writing style is simple, engaging, and charmingly cute. She has written a fun, slow-burn, feel-good read full of cosy, heartwarming vibes and a good sense of humour. The plot is a nice twist: a fake dating story with some clever Bad Mom movie vibes, especially with the hot single dad all the mums have crushes on and being their eye candy. The characters are likable and well-developed. I loved the dynamic between Sophie and Joe – they were opposites of personalities. Joe is warm and kind and a massive cinnamon roll type. Sophie was more controlled, closed off, and focused on keeping life together than going with the flow. The chemistry and banter between them were cute and funny. I love the portrayal of their kids most – the relationship between Sophie and her daughter made my heart melt. She is the best type of mum. Part of me wonders if books should come with warnings about 3 Act break ups and miscommunication. Massive trope ick for me – I hold my hands up and will say it cost the review a star from me – it was a little cliché in the handling and, to be honest, could have been avoided to get the same outcome for the story plot and character development for Sophie and Joe. The Pick Up is a cute, light-hearted read full of feel-good rom-com vibes without any dash of spice, just extra sprinklings of sweetness and warm, witty, and fun banter.