Book Review | The Pick Up

 If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I LIVE for the fake dating romance trope. There’s just something about the undeniable tension that grows between two characters over time that grips my heart strings and gives me butterflies. So knowing that, is it strange that I loved this book?

Synopsis - The Pick Up by Hannah Doyle

Commiting to a fake romance is east. It’s keeping it fake that’s the problem…

Sophie Rogers finds it easy to commit to the important things in life. Like her daughter, her job and her family.

So when Joe, another single parent at school suggests they fake a romance to help them both out of a fix, she throws herself in.

But then Sophie starts to look forward to seeing Joe. In fact, she’s thinking about his floppy hair, Irish accent and the way his lips felt when they grazed hers (her commitment to this is exceptional) more than their synced calendars and staged socials. And there is a reason the yummy mummies called him Hot Single Dad.

Sophie Rogers isn’t silly enough to fall in love with her fake boyfriend. Is she?

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Please know that this book review contains spoilers or details that could potentially spoil the story for you. If you’d like to avoid them, please stop reading here!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶-rating: 0 (closed door, just a kiss or two)

I was able to read this book through Netgalley, so many thanks to the author, HQ and HarperCollins UK for allowing me to read this book before its publication.

Now, I’m not usually someone who enjoys a single parent romance. I don’t know why, because they usually provide adorable scenes with little kids that make me smile, but in this book, it definitely worked for me!

I think it was the premise that really sold me on this book. Two outsiders single parents decide to fake date to gain membership to the inner sanctum that is the school mothers group. Because there’s obviously no other way to casually insert yourself into a pre-established group existing of cool, mostly stay-at-home moms.

Reading this book felt like watching a rom-com movie. The writing definitely helped with that! It had well rounded characters you can’t help but love seriously, where can I find me a Joe?, great banter and a well-paced plot that continuously frustrates because you’re just rooting for these characters sooo much! At a certain point in the book, you just want Sophie and Joe to kiss already and admit their feelings and I love it when a book can make you want this for the characters.

Not only do Joe and Sophie and their kids steal the absolute show, the side characters and the school moms really make this book so addictive. The school clique was the perfect blend of Sophie & Joe supporters and cringe-worthy.

The one thing I couldn’t get on board with, was how stubborn and blind Sophie was to her own feelings. Now, I have not yet experienced a romantic relationship nor do I have kids, so I have no clue what I would do if I were in her shoes, but she pushed everyone away and continued to tell herself she loved her friendship with Joe when she full well KNEW she had romantic feelings for him. And Joe was so sweet in giving her space to let her figure her feelings out, even though it was SO CLEAR he was ready to wife her up.

Absolutely loved this book! Can’t wait to read more by Hannah Doyle!

(I’m not a literary reviewer and most of my reviews will include my gushing about what I loved. So, if you’re looking for literary shit, you’ve definitely come to the wrong place!)