Another ARC I am so happy I read!

If I am being honest, I would not have been able to give this a proper review without finishing the book. All of the characters had their ups and downs for me. I really disliked Willa at times throughout the book, as well as Ethan, he was on my sh*t list for a bit… and about half way through, I was not sure I was going to give this a good rating. However… besides the fact that Shep is just WAY TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, this book was raw and real to life in Eve and Ethan’s situation.

Too many reviews of DNF, or how terrible some of the characters were, that didn’t get to complete the authors entire vision of the story, and I feel like that is not fair to the book… lol
After completing the WHOLE book, the authors reasoning for all of the dynamics and ups and downs really fell in to place and I loved this story. Tears flowed (happy tears) and there were moments where I caught myself smiling from ear to ear while reading!!

5 stars to this book and I recommend to everyone – and if you find yourself half way through, questioning, just please push through, you won’t regret it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Fair warning this is a slow burn, which is usually not my jam! But oh how I loved these characters and the growth that happens for them in this book! At it’s core it’s for sure a romance but it’s so much more than that, it was a great exploration of how friendships and relationships can change through different phases of life and the changes that come with them. I really loved watching Eve navigate her pregnancy and the big feelings she and the people around her had. None of the characters were bad people and they all gave each other the grace to figure things out at their own pace which often isn’t the case in a romance book. This whole story just felt really grounded and realistic and because of that it was a joy to read! I would love to spend more time in the world of these characters and see how life post the babies arrive moves on!

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing and the author Cara Bastone for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Ready or Not
By: Cara Bastone
Review Score: 3 1/2 Stars

Why Was This Book “Just Ok”?
I found the writing to be hard to follow in this story. There were a ton of really odd pauses that threw off the flow of the story. I also found myself constantly frustrated with Eve, the main character. I feel like she is too old to act the way she does towards a pregnancy.

Do I still recommend it?
Yes.


——

Ready or Not was kindly provided as an ARC by Netgalley and Random House Publishing. Thank you for allowing me to read this book!

Release Date: 2/13/24

Welcome back to another “Just Ok Wednesday”, where I discuss a book that has a lot of potential, and is still good, but isn’t the greatest book I have ever read.

I was a little bit skeptical of this book going in, as I don’t always love a pregnancy trope, but I still wanted to give this story a chance. While I didn’t hate this book, I didn’t like it either. I think some people will enjoy it, but it was just “meh” for me.

I still enjoyed the story, and wanted to see how the story ended, so I do think it is worth the read. But I think it could have been better overall.


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THIS BOOK, y'all. The feelings! The swoon! The sexual tension! OMG Cara Bastone is so good at this. Seriously, this woman was meant to write romance novels. *sigh*

I'm going to start by saying this: I normally HATE the surprise pregnancy trope. To me, it usually makes the MCs come off kinda--immature? Especially if the woman keeps the baby's existence from the dad. It just feels weird.
However, when I saw that Cara Bastone had a new book coming out and that it had this particular trope, I knew I would read it immediately. And I wasn't wrong to trust her--the book is absolutely perfect. *chef's kiss*

The twist on the surprise-pregnancy trope is that it happens off page, from the very beginning. Eve has previously had a one-night stand with a hot bar owner, Ethan. Even though they had used protection, the night still results in a pregnancy. This, naturally, surprises both of them. Once Eve decides to keep the baby and tells Ethan, things start off tentatively, but rocky, because Ethan has just gotten back to together with an on-again/off-again girlfriend, Eleni, and she is NOT happy. Totally valid feelings, of course, but she's never able to move past it. She ends up causing problems for Ethan and the entire situation.

And then Shep steps in. He's the older brother of her best friend, Willa. They've known each other all their lives. He's pined for her from the beginning. The things he says to Willa are at once erotic AND adorable, and I have no idea how that's possible, but there you are. It's wonderful.

AHHHH Himbo love of my life. Seriously. I have NEVER fell for a charming doofus so hard before. While Ethan is having problems at home, Shep takes care of Eve pretty much the entire pregnancy, which is the sweetest thing EVER. Food, foot massages, you name it. Ugh, my heart. It only beats for Shep now.

Not only does Bastone write a sexy AF MMC, she also nails the FMC, Eve. I have no idea how the author does it, but she writes the most unique and complex characters. Eve is a effing badass and I'm pretty sure she's been made my new girl-crush. Having had a kid myself, Eve's entire pregnancy is so relatable Like, every single bit. And her feelings about becoming a mother and what that means for herself and others is beautifully written.

I also feel that I should mention something in case you've never read any of Bastone's books: She writes the BEST secondary characters, and that is reeeeally tricky for an author to pull off. I mean, how many times have you ever read a romance, and afterwards, could actually remember a secondary character or their backstory? It doesn't happen often for me, but I know to trust Bastone because she writes such memorable ones. I loved Willa and Isamu. Knowing how bad Willa has wanted a baby of her own, we see her struggle with the news at first. Of course, it doesn't take her long to fully support her best friend, but the relatable way she comes to terms with it means everything.

And the spice? This is a slow-burn romance, and there are only 2-3 (I think?) sex scenes and they're about 80% of the way through the book. And while I normally like my books a good bit spicier than this, Bastone's are the perfect fit for the story. It was a really good balance. The sexual tension, though, is SO THICK YOU HAVE TO CUT IT WITH A CLEAVER. Uggghhhh the sexual tension is *chef's kiss," Shep is hot as HELL.

Anyway, as you can tell, I reeeeally liked this book. Cara Bastone is an auto-buy author for me now. Five huge stars.


**Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for a copy of this book to read and review!**

I've never really read books like this with this trope, but God did I love this one. I loved being brung along with eve for her complicated but interesting journey. Would definitely recommend for the ones that are interested 👌🏾

For me, this was less of a romance and more a story of a woman facing an unexpected challenge and rising to the occasion with the help of some people who stepped up for her. I obviously loved Shep, who was my favorite kind of man, and I really enjoyed the way the slow burn romance was written, even though it didn’t seem like the most important part of the book. The best word I can use to describe the story is realistic, which, let’s be honest, is hard to come by in this genre! This is my first book by Cara Bastone and I’m a new fan.

Eve Hatch is thrown life’s ultimate curve ball when she finds that she is pregnant from her one and only one night stand. Her growing belly is not the only thing that begins to change. Every relationship in her life seems a little extra complicated. Her best friend, Willa, is struggling to be there for her while she fights her own demons. Her baby daddy, Ethan, is supportive but struggling to decide what role he wants to play with all this. Then there is Shep, her childhood friend who is suddenly doing things like surprising her with lunch and buying her groceries. Eve has to decide whether her new-found feelings for Shep are pregnancy hormones or the real deal.

Ready or Not is a standalone, friends to lovers, slow burn romance.

I absolutely LOVED this book. Eve is an absolute doll. She’s quirky and cute and facing life’s challenges in a way that makes you want nothing but the best for her. Both Ethan and Shep are book boyfriend GOALS. The trio makes a great team. I love their little newly found family. Eve and Shep’s relationship developed so naturally throughout the story. It was so well written.

I would 10/10 recommend this book. Thank you Net Galley, Cara Bastone, and the publisher for this ARC. This was the perfect first read of 2024!

Going into Ready or Not I knew it was the surprise pregnancy trope, which I'm not usually a fan of BUT this took me by complete surprise!! It was so heart warming, and emotional I did not expect to cry. Also I'm a complete sucker for friends to lovers and Shep was everything. Even though the surprise pregnancy trope isn't that well loved, Cara Bastone did it SO well.

This read had me all over my emotions! I love how it was so heart warming and the romance was so touching. Cara Bastone has the perfect combo of love, tears, emotions, and so much more! I love the unexpected intense of this book.

I'm not usually a fan of the surprise pregnancy trope, but I actually rather enjoyed Ready or Not! It did take me a minute to connect to the story and the characters, but overall I really enjoyed this!

This was definitely 4.5 stars for me. It was funny and heartwarming and made me laugh and cry. I loved that it wasn’t just a love story, but that Eve really grew to stand up for herself and what she wanted out of her life, even though it wasn’t turning out how she’d always imagined it. This was a great way to start the year!

When I saw the cover of this book, I was immediately drawn it. I’m such a sucker for pretty artwork on books (yes, I know it has nothing to do with the quality of the book, but I can’t help I’m attracted to pretty things 🤷🏼‍♀️). When I read the description I was fully on board with a friends to lovers pregnancy story with the twist that the father isn’t the love interest. Honestly, I loved it. It has just the right amount of conflict to keep the story engaging and pull at my emotions.

Shep is the perfect dorky, but insanely sweet guy I could not get enough of. I loved their silly conversations and his clear adoration of Eve and how he showed he could be there for her when she needed him most. He was such a perfect character (maybe too perfect, but I don’t care). I liked that the romance wasn’t just about lust, but about the emotional connection between Eve and Shep.

I also really appreciated how realistic this story felt. I felt like it captured all of the hard parts of being pregnant, especially with the confusion of the baby being the product of a one night stand and not knowing how to feel about anything. This story just felt very believable to me, which is always something I’m looking for in a romcom.

I’m so happy I picked this book up because I really enjoyed it, it was a perfect first read for 2024! My only complaint was no epilogue - I wanted more!

Thank you NetGalley and Dial Trade Press for proving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Crying all the tears because this book was so good! Beautifully written and heart-warming, this was a perfect romance. I didn’t think I’d love it as much as I do but I’m about to rave to all my friends who read. Highly recommend this book!

Cara Bastone is the QUEEN of heated glances, subtle touches, and sizzling tension in a swoony slow burn! Her writing is always so smart and engaging and this book was just that. The way she wrote about Eve adjusting to pregnancy and learning to connect with this growing human was so beautiful. I adored Shep and the way he was so stable and constantly subtly flirting with Eve. The progression of their relationship was so sweet and satisfying and if you think a romance happening over the course of a pregnancy can’t be sexy wellllll THINK AGAIN😮‍💨

Thank you NetGalley for an arc


I’m not usually one who reads the surprise, pregnancy trope but I adored this. It took me a little bit to get into it but it’s a perfect mix of heartwarming, funny and emotional.

For an accidental pregnancy book, this one slapped. There are so many things to love about this book. Besides having one of the worst tropes, it also had some of the best:
- childhood friends to lovers
- slow burn
- best friend’s brother
Even better was the community that came up around Eve when she got pregnant. It was a slow start with her feeling very alone, but overtime things changed, more people supported her, and she also developed the courage to pursue what she actually wanted. It was really heartwarming.

Shep was the perfect book boyfriend who did no wrong. If I met a guy like him in person, I’d be very suspicious of why he was so perfect, but it really did work for this story. The way he was so patient and caring had me a little weepy inside at times.

Ready or Not is a slow burn friends to lovers romance that follows Eve after her entire life is impacted by a surprise pregnancy. It strains everything in her life from her job to her relationship with her best friend Willa. Willa's brother, someone Eve has known her whole life along with Willa, is the slow burn romance in the book. I don't think it's that big of a spoiler. While it is a slow burn, yes, it is quite obvious that they've both caught feelings. I thought the arc of the relationship was great. In a lot of romance books, it happens too fast. When it doesn't, it makes the big moments that much more impactful. I also think the pregnancy itself was very well portrayed.

The one thing that got me about this book was that Eve behaved so much like a hot mess teenager that I often forgot I wasn't reading a YA contemporary romance instead. It does feel like that a lot of the time.

I would recommend it if you like romance!

Oh I adored this book, it was unexpected in the best kind of way. Heartwarming, funny, emotional.

Cara Bastone writes the best banter, her female characters always have the best sense of humour and the men are beyond loveable, and this one served up my new favourite book boyfriend.

When a romance is centred around pregnancy I am a bit weary but this one, I’m telling you, works and beyond the seamless way Bastone plots this it is also full of insights about becoming a first time mother and is told with reverence and charm. I loved the characters in this book, they grew so much and were as likeable as Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks and it gave major rom com vibes, I’d love to see this made into a movie.

This is a swoony, delightful love story, that I highly recommend, look for it February 13.

The cover of this really drew me in and piqued my interest! Overall, this was a great read and really focused on the development of the main character.

I think this trope can be difficult, but I liked the way in which it was portrayed. The romance was sweet, but was not the main focus for me. The writing was beautiful and I will definitely be checking out more by Bastone!

For the most part, I really liked this book. The story of a surprise pregnancy that results in a friendship turning into love was endearing and humorous. I really enjoyed the story's found family element, and the characters were likeable and authentic. The hero, Shep, was compassionate and encouraging, while the heroine, Eve, was realistic and quirky. Their relationship developed slowly but in a nice way. My one complaint is that I would have liked more development and depth in the relationship between Eve and Shep, and more exploration of their personal growth and challenges. Other than that I absolutely enjoyed this book.