I had a really delightful time reading Pick-Up by Nora Dahlia.

Our leads, Sasha and Ethan, are so charming. Especially Sasha! I love how relatable is and tangible she feels. From her snarky bites, to her flustered runaway moments, to her fierce protectiveness over her loves one-- I adored and admired her.
Then there's Ethan with his hilarious to-do lists, I looked forward to them each and every time him POV showed up!

Individually they are fire crackers, and together? Total fireworks!

While Sasha and Ethan led this book gorgeously, there’s something else the narrative does with POVs that is quite intriguing. It’s not advertised in the blurb so I won’t mention it, but when it first happens I was a bit thrown back. I wondered: is this going to turn into a romance suspense?
No, it doesn’t— but what the POVs do is very, very clever. In fact, when a certain reveal is done, it feels so natural that I went ”of course!” rather than scratching my head in confusion. Because it made such perfect sense. I didn’t catch it as it was happened, but once it did— all the clues were so clearly and carefully placed throughout the story.

These are always my favorite type of reveals— even if it’s not in your face, if you turn around, you’ll find the breadcrumb path that led to it.

Overall, I loved this book for both showcasing personal journeys and building up a lovely romance.
I would have liked moments shared that included Sasha and Ethan’s respective children, but at the same time I appreciated how the narrative brought them forth not just as parents, but as people who their own evolving likes, dislikes, dream, and goals. This is their love story.

I also love how this book is led by characters close or over 40. How just because they're nearing what’s considered “middle age” doesn’t mean their personal lives are done. That they aren’t still learning lessons, finding love, embracing a new self, and so on. It doesn’t mean that just because you’re getting older, you’re done with life. There’s plenty left to learn— and so much left to live. We see that from each POV— there’s a life to be had, and it's one that still has growing pains, along with all the joy, excitement, thrills, and peace. If we so choose to claim it.

That message is one of such poignancy, and it’s what I walked away from after the last page was turned.

There is still life waiting for us, every year that comes and goes, there’s still personal happiness to be grab, hold on to, to cherish.

If you love romances and great personal journeys— and older leads! — be to sure pick up Pick Up (hehe)!

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for this complimentary copy, I leave this honest review voluntarily.