getting what you deserve

Sasha Rubenstein is a single mom of two great kids. Her ex-husband is a screenwriter/director who has left Brooklyn for L.A. and basically never came back. He makes sure that the Sasha and the kids get his monthly checks, but otherwise he is too busy with Hollywood meetings and kale smoothies to worry about them. So Sasha takes care of the morning school drop-offs and the afternoon pick-ups and everything in between, including her freelance video production. She is trying her hardest to keep all the plates spinning, but it’s like the universe is working against her.

Sasha never got the reminder her son’s Silly Sock Day, and when they showed up at school and realized, he was distraught. When she needed a school hoodie for her daughter for the upcoming Spirit Day, she was just a minute too late to get the last medium. And she signed her daughter up for Friday afternoon drama class, but somehow she was unenrolled and a dad—that same Demon Dad—had snagged it for his daughter.

But he does kind of make up for some of that when he jumps in to help her at the Monster’s Ball. Sasha had signed up for the photo booth with her friend Celeste, but somehow that had gotten lost and she’d been assigned to work the worst booth—the cotton candy. She’d been working the booth alone, taking the tickets and fighting the cotton candy machine, while having the longest lines. But Demon Dad had taken over the machine so Sasha could take the tickets and get less cotton candy in her hair. Sasha has to admit that Demon Dad, Ethan, as it turns out, is maybe not as bad as she’d first thought.

And then, when Sasha gets a call about a freelance job, she finds out it would be a great opportunity for her. She’ll be producing a video shoot on a remote island of a new resort that is preparing to open. They will be the first group of visitors to the pristine resort, and if the shoot goes well, this assignment could mean a permanent job for her. She’d have a steady income and benefits, and it would make life easier for her and her kids. But once she gets to the island, she meets the one member of the team she hadn’t met back in New York, the editor-in-chief of the magazine she’s shooting for. Ethan.

As Sasha and Ethan get to know each other better, in a tropical paradise, no less, they can’t deny the chemistry that is swirling around them. But Sasha really wants the full-time job and doesn’t want to do anything that might blow her chances. She’s left her kids in Brooklyn with a good friend, but Sasha can tell that her friend is having some issues in her own life. Sasha’s mother has been having memory problems, and she can no longer deny that something is wrong there. And while Sasha was surprised to find out that Ethan was part of the video team she’d been hired for, she is absolutely blindsided to learn who his ex-wife is. And yet, Sasha is still drawn to the man.

With how complicated life is as a single mom, is it possible to still find love and joy? Can flirting with your boss ever be a good idea? Sasha can’t help but wonder if life will always be hard and filled with impossible problems, or will she finally get what it is she most deserves?

Pick-Up is a sweet, amazing novel about life after divorce. It’s complicated and warm, flirtatious and funny, with characters who seem very real and compelling. It’s a rom com for grownups, like a good Nancy Meyers film, where you can hunker down on the sofa with a soft blanker and a tasty beverage and lose yourself in a story for hours. It’s told in three alternating viewpoints, showing the school drop-offs and pick-ups as a bit of a soap opera, in all the best ways.

I adored Pick-Ups. It was exactly the book I was looking for when I picked it up. It has laugh-out-loud moments as well as moments of peace on a tranquil remote island. There is flirting and awkwardness, imperfections and impulsiveness, and a whole lot of love for family. If you’re a fan of Annabel Monaghan, then you will love Nora Dahlia too, as these rom coms for parents will warm your heart and rock your hammocks.

Egalleys for Pick-Up were provided by Gallery Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.