This was a well written slow burn romance! Eve unexpectedly finds herself pregnant after a one night stand. The father has some complications in his life and is of course initially stunned to find out he is going to be a parent. Eve’s best friend becomes distant after hearing the news. The person who Eve comes to rely on is Shep her best friend’s brother and someone she has known forever. As her pregnancy progresses it is interesting to see how each of the character’s matures and steps up to support Eve. I really liked the characters and loved their personal growth. This book is well written and I definitely enjoyed it. Now I need to check out what else this author has written to add to my TBR!

When a one night stand leads to an unplanned pregnancy, Eve is thrown for a loop. With two failed relationships behind her and stagnating in an unfulfilling job, parenthood wasn't exactly part of plan. Add to the mix Eve's best friend (Willa), who was dealing with fertility issues, and her decidedly lukewarm response to the news, plus the revelation that the baby's father (Ethan) had a serious girlfriend... and Eve was left feeling even more conflicted. Enter Shep, Willa's brother and Eve's lifelong friend. As Shep became her main source of emotional support, Eve navigated pregnancy, new career options, and an evolving relationship Ethan.

This was my first from Bastone and there was a lot to enjoy. Eve's conflicting feelings about impending motherhood felt realistic and made her all the more relatable. Ethan's struggle to accept his new reality while placating a jealous girlfriend and Willa's inability to fully support her friend due to her private challenges add layers that complicated matters, but never felt like unnecessary drama. But the shining star was Shep: the too-precious-for-this-world man who stocked Eve's refrigerator, gave foot rubs, bought a bicycle with a baby carrier, and provided unwavering support. While the middle of the story seemed to lag a bit and make the book feel overly long, it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the true-to-life characters created by Bastone. This is one I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.

Surprise pregnancy. The trope that everyone loves to hate. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a surprise pregnancy hater too, but I absolutely adored this book! This a sweet, friends to lovers romance that will pull on your heartstrings. If you are looking for a cute cozy romance with the most lovable characters and just a little bit of spice, definitely check out this book!

Eve Hatch is just living her life in NYC until one day she decides to take a pregnancy test. To her (not so) surprise, it comes back positive. Just a few weeks before she had a one night stand with bartender Ethan Rise. Neither Ethan nor Eve are ready for a baby to be brought into their lives and there are a lot of obstacles in the way. For one, Ethan has a girlfriend. But Eve is an independent young woman and decides she doesn’t need him to get through this pregnancy, especially when she has her best friend, Willa, and Willa’s brother, Shep, by her side. Through all the trials and tribulations, love stands the test of time and gets everyone to the other side. What started out as a horrifying thing growing in stomach turns into another person that Eve gets to let into her heart.

This was such a sweet book! Following Eve though all the changes that happen along her journey from finding out she's unexpectedly pregnant from a protected one night stand and all the ways that the baby helps heal her, change her, nudge her, allows her to see relationships in different ways, have compassion in different ways, and grow mentally emotionally and physically until baby is born. It's amazing all the ways and levels of changes that come about during pregnancy but she hits them all with a cute love story (stories!) and all the feels.

#arc
#netgalley
#readyornot

I’m going to admit that I wanted to read this book mainly for the cover. It’s adorable AF!!! So color me surprised when I realized this was mainly focused around the unplanned/surprise pregnancy trope. I normally don’t enjoy that but I think it’s starting to grow on me because I thought this book was so freakin cute!!! It was a very real and relatable perception of pregnancy…not that I’d know first-hand LOL but it really showed that it’s a scary, wonderful, crazy, exciting experience.

Eve gets pregnant off a one night stand and despite the challenges she’s facing she completely owns this plot twist in her life. She’s kind, funny, honest, a bit of a hot mess, and awkward but in an endearing way. Eve was going through so many changes and I’m so happy she had Shep to support and care for her along the way. Shep, while not our baby daddy, is a precious gem. He was pretty unassuming but once we see him start to be bolder with Eve…pleaseeee I’m swooning. He is so sweet.

Overall, this book has a lot of things to love: found family, childhood friends to lovers, best friends brother, it was genuinely heartwarming. If I had to complain, it would be that it was a super slow burn, which I do not love in general. But it really made sense for this story so I can’t complain too much. Would definitely recommend for romance lovers!

Thank you NetGalley, Cara, and Random House for this eARC! I really enjoyed it!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Ready or Not follows newly pregnant Eve Hatch as her life turns on its head in the wake of her pregnancy.

This was a cute little romance, and I appreciated that, as far as romances with unexpected pregnancies go, this one did a good job avoiding excess cheesiness, and took the time to explore the emotional nuances of not just romance, but also new motherhood. I particularly enjoyed Bastone's writing, which felt generally accessible but also made the interior lives of our characters wonderfully rich and interesting, without feeling overdone.

In all, I thought this was an excellent, quick little romance that has definitely made me an instant Cara Bastone fan.

I thought to myself "I'm going to read this book." All the way through. Really enjoy it. But the doctor's visit? The "merp!"
I was immediately grossed out. Maybe that's just because I've never been pregnant and had to go through all this stuff, so it's not something I'm used to, but that was just a very nasty scene to kind of open up with. I really wanted to read it, though, because the main character's inner monologue was funny and witty, but I just couldn't do the pregnancy thing.

This book presents itself as a "surprise baby" book. But while it had that it didn't go in the way I thought it was going to go. I always find books that have the "oh I am having a baby " trope have characters that miraculously know how they everything, or if they just "marry/date/live with significant other things will be perfect. I kept kind of waiting for that to happen, but this was a more real and true story of Eve not knowing what she wanted in life including having a baby. It was a slow progression of her characters from baby, job and love.
This really was more a story of life book then a romance. It follows Eve as she has to make decisions about her baby daddy, her best friends and her issues with her pregnancy, the death of her BFF mom which was her only parental figure left, her relationship with her much older brothers and their family dynamic and in the background was always Shep.
Shep is one of the characters that I am never quite sure what to do with. His responses to everything almost seems over the top. I mean who doesn't get hurt or upset when the girl he has been in love with forever gets pregnant by someone else and is fine with everything Eve does. And the fact that Eve couldn't see how much Shep was in love with her was almost hard to watch. I kept banging the book saying...wake up girl.
This book brought me to tears in multiple places. It really had a vignette of life story which I really enjoy. I love when I can see growth of the characters. I loved that Eve figured her life out. It was such a hopefully and beautiful story if not idealistic.
I would recommend to fans that like good family life stories with a best friend brother, childhood friend, unrequited love story.

4.5 rounded up bc I laughed out loud and cried. This book is both funny and poignant. The reactions to Eve’s pregnancy are so spot on and I loved the friendship between Eve and Willa. Bastone got it just right in so many places.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy and a chance to read this early. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
I usually am not a huge fan of pregnancy in my reading, but the author did so well writing this book that it was not an "ick" for me! I really felt I was alongside Eve's journey with pregnancy,
her career, and her relationships. This book had so many great tropes of found family, second chance, unexpected pregnancy, slow burn, and friends to lovers! I absolutely loved to see Eve's and Shep's love grow and how well he treated her! He is such a golden retriever book boyfriend!

I did read an adorable book called Ready or Not this weekend. It is the story of a woman who ends up pregnant after a one-night stand and how she navigates such a drastic change to her single life. It was emotional, sweet, laugh out loud funny and had the best swoonworthy romance. It is really a story about moving forward, embracing the love and support of friends, learning how to communicate and realizing that you are stronger than you think you are. I just loved this heartwarming book.

What a wonderful book and a love letter to new moms. The romance was cute but the memories - fear and anticipation of having a baby are central in this book.

This was my first time Cara Bastone's books and it was a nice surprise. I'm a fan of pregnancy trope so when I first read the description of this book I knew I was going to like it. What I'm not a fan of is love triangle and I was really worried how Cara was going to work the relationships between Eve, Shep and Ethan so I really liked how she didn't make them to be a love triangle and found out a way to make all of them to have a nice relationship. It was a cute read overall.

Thank you to PRHAudio for my complimentary audiobook, and to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for my complimentary eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Ready or Not was a heartfelt ode to pregnancy.
Cara perfectly captures all the highs, lows and in betweens of those precious 9 months of anticipation.

I absolutely adored the dynamic between Eve and Shep. Every woman needs a strong dependable partner to help navigate all the ups and downs of those crazy pregnancy months. I’m so glad she had him ! The baby daddy just had to many issues going on to be fully present.

I binged this one in a day as Alex Finke has a very pleasant voice. I enjoyed all her character voices.

[Review to be shared socially on Goodreads, Amazon, and in my Facebook reading group, Coffee & a Good Book on 14 February.]

I downloaded this book yesterday, and I'm here ready to review it today. It's a quick read that I couldn't put down.

Eve is a single girl in her early 30s who finds herself unexpectedly pregnant after a one night stand. Even though she is confused and scared, she chooses to continue with the pregnancy. In making that choice, we get to see what it means for the future father, his life, her career, and her best friend, who is experiencing infertility. As we follow Eve's pregnancy, we get all of her ups and downs, including super steamy scenes. It's an enjoyable read, and we see Eve mature from a self centered young adult into a fully aware, soon to be mother.

There is absolutely no pro-choice/pro-life debate or theme. If there had been, I would have chucked this book entirely. However, if infertility, loss and pregnancy are your triggers, it's best to put this one on hold until you are ready to read about those themes.

Thank you to the publisher, Random House Publishing Group for the complimentary ebook via NetGalley, in exchange for a review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

this book does have a really sweet romance story, but it’s so much more than that. i really loved seeing eve’s journey through pregnancy & motherhood. i think the author wrote all of her relationships with other characters really well. they all seemed so genuine, and this wasn’t a book where i felt like i needed to have other characters povs because i could feel what they were feeling from eve’s pov. shep my sweet boy <3 i love him so much, this is a case where you can just tell how much he genuinely cares and loves her and i felt so lucky to read their journey. also enjoyed that there is no third-act breakup!

this is the cutest book i have ever read!!! eve + shep have my whole heart. this book was witty, emotional, and real. i felt like i was experiencing everything along with Eve as I read. i appreciated how real the inner dialogue was, as if I was experiencing all her thoughts with her. I loved Shep so, so much! He’s a childhood best friend and a true gentleman who constantly goes out of his way to try to make Eve’s pregnancy just a tiny bit easier. I also appreciated the growth Ethan showed towards the end of the book and the little found family the 4 of them now have. All in all, this was an extremely cute and emotional romance read for those who love or are okay with best friends brother and pregnancy tropes.

Eve’s life takes an unexpected turn when a one-night stand leads to an unplanned pregnancy. Her best friend’s brother, Shep, becomes her support system and sparks a new attraction. The baby’s father is torn, adding complications. Over nine months, Eve discovers that family and love can surprise you.

This funny, heartwarming novel is fast-paced with well-developed and likable characters. The emotion is deep and real. Eve and Shep are adorable together.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

THIS. BOOK. Was a freaking delight!!!

I giddy devoured this book in just a few days & alwaaaaaays looked forward to picking it up again. I know that the plot of accidental pregnancy scares some readers, but this was done right! The plot is gave us everything we needed. From a hilarious laugh out loud MFC, to a jealous baby daddy, friend to lovers, New York vibes, slow burn, & a golden retriever best guy friend. 🥹 I would 100% recommend this to anyone & everyone!! This heartfelt romance will fill your cracks & crevices by the end. Cara knocked it out of the park & I can’t wait to see what she has up her sleeve in the future.

Oh. My. God.

The prettiest cover.
The gentlest story.
Eve was a surprise baby who is having a surprise baby. She's so unassuming until she finally shines.
Shep is The Best.
Filled with gorgeous, funny, heartwarming, emotional, romantic moments.
Love is sometimes found in the ordinary, right by your side.

So so so good. I'm gonna need a moment. I literally want to turn to the first page and start all over again.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.