📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you @thedialpress for an early copy of Ready or Not by @carabastone. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/5
Release date: February 13th, 2024

Blurb: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

🛑Read on with caution; review may contain spoilers🛑

Who knew a surprise pregnancy could open up one’s eyes to more heartwarming love you’ve ever seen before? Ready or Not starts with Eve finding out she’s pregnant brought about by a one-night stand. She barely knows the father and how she’ll be able to raise the child with her finances. We see her going through all these new changes with her body, her hormones, and her feelings. It’s a good thing that she has all the support she needs from her best friend, Willa, who seemed quite off in the beginning learning about her pregnancy but has been supportive all the same, Willa’s brother and husband Shep and Isamu respectively, Nurse Louise from the clinic, and Eve’s other co-workers. It was also nice knowing that the baby’s father, Ethan, was willing to be in the baby’s life regardless of how much of a headache he was for most of the novel, juggling his jealous girlfriend and his baby mama; he was sure to make it up to Eve in the end though and I admire his willingness to be a part of Eve’s journey and the baby’s life.

Eve’s relationships with these characters were beautiful and I admire how they supported her through her pregnancy, regardless of how each took the news initially. It was great to see how much impact they had on her decisions and well-being, especially Shep, who is my favorite character. I admire him so much – he’s been in love with Eve for a long time and has always been present with her. It shows how much he loves her because he’s very caring, and attentive and admits to Eve that he’ll be with her no matter or whichever way she lets him be in her and her baby’s life, be it a friend, best friend’s brother, boyfriend, etc. He’s just there being happy and present for Eve. I have so much admiration for his character.

Another character I admire is Nurse Louise, who plays a small part in the novel, but makes the biggest impact on Eve’s pregnancy journey. She gave so much insight about pregnancy and how it is for the mother carrying the baby vs. the world/ Her words of comfort for Eve were an eye-opener, especially for someone like me who hasn’t gone through it yet.

This novel was difficult to put down. It had lots of happy and heartwarming moments, lots of laughter from Eve’s thoughts brought about by the pregnancy brain, and lots of anxiety as well. It made me ponder so much about pregnancy, especially at this point in my life (I won’t elaborate but it really scares me), and it is an eye-opener about an expecting mom’s experience. Pick this one up when it releases in February 2024 for a heartwarming story, sweet and admirable characters, and a beautiful pregnancy journey filled with self-discovery and growth.

hi, it's me, cara bastone's new biggest fan! ready or not, a story she clearly poured her soul into, blew my every expectation out of the water and then some, rocketing them into space.

coming from someone who has only given four other books five stars this year, I mean every word when I say, this was a dream of a book. my heart is still soaring, my mind still reeling from the perfection of it all. when a read remind you of all you love about reading, that is a gift.

outside of the unfortunate need for sleep, I devoured this in essentially one sitting, consumed by eve's journey and the messy and magical found family she discovered along the way. and shep, my god shep, was something like a real-life prince charming! he was the guy who waited, the guy who stayed, an acts of service guy through and through. not only did he offer friendship and care to eve during one of the most complicated times of her life, but he offered something more – belief. thanks his unwavering faith, eve learned to trust her desires, her strength. she settled into her power and he gave that to her without ever asking for something for return. shep was a beacon of light through it all, leading her home, perfectly content to be her champion. their connection was so tender and smart and intimate. it makes me emotional to even think about.

while ready or not is a soaring success from start to finish, its true shining moment comes in the third act, the third trimester if you will. in my mind, the final collection of chapters was essentially a masterpiece. finally, all of the most important relationships in eve's life merged in a heartwarming show of support and love. it was a special reminder of the fact that though there are times when we have to be our own fiercest soldiers, the people meant to love us will find a way. they find us and come to love and appreciate the people we value, forming a perfect little unit of comfort and home. those moments of connection are everything in a big scary world. eve, shep, ethan, willa, and isamu are an example of just that with a special mvp shoutout to nurse louise.

if this review was one giant ramble, I do apologize, but I didn't want to wait for this high to wear off to wrote a more eloquent one. remembering this feeling, this buzz of happy feelings is just what I hoped to capture.

thanks to netgalley, dial press and cara bastone for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was about the easy and the hard parts of friendship. I loved that it also was a friends to lovers book too. The transformation of both the main character and her relationships with her family, found and biological, were just as impactful as the story of her becoming a mother and the romantic plotline.

Now adding Cara Bastone to my list of must-read authors!

📖 The Details:
Ready or Not by Cara Bastone

⏱️ Quick Summary:
After an (uncharacteristic) one-night-stand, Eve finds herself pregnant and has to navigate what that means on her own - with her job, friends, and baby daddy.

💁‍♀️ My Take:
Ok I really LOVED this one. I don't usually like the surprise pregnancy storyline, but this one was so well done - probably because the whole story revolved around it. All of the characters were so real and relatable. And the BANTER! Between the baby daddy and her best friend's brother, I was SWOONING. It was a really cute read with some great perspective and deeper plots.

Recommend to pretty much anyone!

This was a very sincere portrayal of motherhood, as well as sweet slow-burn romance. The characters were very well developed and felt so authentic! The author did a fantastic job of weaving together different relationships between all the characters, developing them, and also writing about their conflicts. It felt natural, like air you breathe, to read this story. The relationship between the fmc and her best friend especially was absolutely heart warming ❤️ easily a 5 star read!

I loooved this story. It was so well done, I could not put it down. It’s definitely a book that I would purchase (and will!) in paperback… I’d recommend to any of my friends. It was so relatable as a mom. Nothing happens on the “right” time line and as a mom you truly learn true love and putting them above all else. I felt this story was just so beautifully done and so special.
Thank you so much for the ARC!

This is so different from the vibe of Bastone's previous releases and yet I love love LOVED it as much as I did her previous books. Oh man, this invents romance. I hate pregnancy novels (lived it) and LOVED this. So good. So so good.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me access to the e-arc.

This book was incredible! I loved all the characters in this book. I love the realistic situations that come up. I can’t wait to own it when it comes out.

I highly recommend this book. Especially, if you love unexpected pregnancies and a strong female main character.

Many thanks to Netgalley for this novel.

At the beginning of this novel we meet Eve who has just found out that she is expecting her first child after a drunken one night stand. Her best friend Willa and her brother Shep convince her to tell the father, Ethan. Eve goes to Ethan's bar, Good Boy, with Shep to tell Ethan that they are having a child together. That's when Ethan tells Eve that he has a girlfriend that he broke up with the night of their one night stand. Shep and Willa help her through her pregnancy. Willa and her husband are trying to also have a child so it's kind of difficult for her at first. Shep starts doing little things for her and one day the baby kicks when he touches her stomach. Ethan eventually decides he wants to be in the baby's life but he does ghost her for a week after her twenty week 3d ultrasound. Shep and Eve get together and he dotes on her and makes sure she eats and is there for the birth. Ethan breaks up with his girlfriend and drunkenly interupts Eve and Shep when they confess their feelings. Eve and Shep move in together and when everyone is helping them move in she goes into labor. Ethan and Shep both help her out and she has a daughter named Miriam. This book was so sweet and cute and just what I needed.

Well this was lovely and exactly what I needed in this moment. Fellow Cannonballer LB was asking in another group we share what to call a surprise pregnancy trope. I realized that I also had an arc of the book they were asking about, and that I desperately wanted to read a surprise pregnancy book. For reasons, I had been thinking a lot about two recent deaths that I hadn’t allowed myself to mourn because my relationships with both people were so complicated and thorny. A book about falling in love while about to bring a new person into the world sounded like a lifeline for my soul. Further, I have read enough of Cara Bastone’s books to know that while there would be emotional complexity, no tragedy would befall the main characters during the book.

Ready or Not opens with Eve Hatch at the gynecologist confirming that she is, in fact pregnant. We learn quickly that: she is single, this pregnancy defeated contraceptives, she doesn’t want to get an abortion (but not for religious reasons), and her best friend, Willa, is not as excited as she hoped she would be, but Willa’s brother, Shep, who is temporarily living with Willa, is excited for her. Eve, Willa and Shep grew up together in the midwest, but are all building lives in Brooklyn.

I am blessedly past any danger of pregnancy, but the tense dynamic between Eve, who is unexpectedly pregnant, and Willa, who has been trying to become pregnant, is familiar to me. Willa is doing her best to be the friend Eve needs while Eve is doing her best to understand that this is an emotionally fraught time. I love that Bastone shows the tension, but makes it a part of their friendship evolving rather than ending. With only a couple of exceptions, everyone on page is a fundamentally good person.

I do love a well done pregnancy book. Pregnancy can be a time when a person reassesses the foundations of their life. Being a parent requires a fundamental shift in priorities. There are so many lovely, tender, and funny moments in Ready or Not. Reading as Eve becomes braver about her life, falls in love with Shep, and lets herself ask for more from the people around her was like a hug.

I’ve been talking about the fantasy aspects of romance in conversation in a way I haven’t been in my reviews, so I’m going to try something – I’m going to write a little bit about where I see the fantasy. And to clarify, I think fantasy is great – it can help us imagine a better world. Imagination is a necessary ingredient in making positive change in our lives in small ways and big. One of the most obvious elements of fantasy here is that Eve can afford pre-natal healthcare and an apartment in Brooklyn on the salary of a low level administrator at a non-profit. But the world is not so different from our own reality because she stresses about how she will afford childcare, or a larger apartment. The emotional fantasy though is finding the love that’s been there all this time. Becoming pregnant forces Eve to widen her circle and she finds so many people who are willing to be part of her community. Becoming a mother isn’t going to leave her isolated, but surrounded by love and care.

CW: Unplanned pregnancy, infertility struggles, pregnancy loss in past, death of parents in past, fear of job insecurity.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Random House and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest opinions.

Publication: February 13, 2024

Rating: 4 stars

Oh my heart! I did not realize how much love I would have for this book! This was my first book by Bastone and won't be my last.
Firstly, Shep is my new book boyfriend but also so is Ethan. The first thing that grabbed me to this book was the vibrant cover.
Next, I was a little nervous about the pregnancy trope ( think of the scene where Buddy the Elf is testing out the jack in the boxes). However, this book had me rooting for Eve and I loved her support system/side characters!
Overall, I enjoyed this emotional read that plucked at my heart strings and had a writing style that let me fall right in!

Perfect for fans:
- Best friend's brother
- Friends to lovers
- Slow burn
- Pregnancy trope
- FMC who's a little messy/trying to get it all together
- Found family
- Growth of FMC
- Emotional read similar to K.A. Tucker's "Simple Wild"

I really enjoy Cara Bastone’s stories and humor, so though pregnancy stories aren’t usually something I gravitate towards I was excited to read Ready or Not. This is so obviously a book full of love and care and I love the chosen family and community that Eve has along her journey. This was a really fun book and I loved the blend of humor and serious feelings and experiences.

To be perfectly honest, I requested this book because the cover was so cute that I couldn’t resist — I’m so glad that I did! To me, this story reads like a conversation; it flows naturally and is (charmingly) quirky, with all of the moments of daily life beautifully portrayed (from the inspiring revelatory ones to the most mundane awkward ones).

In a very raw and real way, Ready or Not tells a modern day story of a woman who gets unexpectedly pregnant after a one-night stand. In a way, it’s a coming-of-age story because through Eve’s pregnancy, she discovers herself and navigates the intricacies of a variety of a relationships, as well as the typical life experiences of many (especially at that age), like figuring out what she wants out of life, making career decisions, facing grief, and more.

It’s laugh-out-loud funny at times, with a touch of spice and heartwarming moments throughout. Such a fun and light read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Dial Press Trade Paperback, and Cara Bastone for providing me with this free e-ARC in exchange for a review!

This book was a surprise in the best way. The whole story spans Eve's pregnancy, which I didn't think I'd enjoy, but actually really did.
I loved how the author wrote Eve's self-deprecating humor. I really, really loved Shep. He was a constant, a solid, a quiet strength. These two gravitated towards each other like they were meant to be.
I was skeptical about Eve being pregnant from another man, and ending up with someone else, but the story actually worked. Ethan (baby daddy)'s struggles were understandable, and it was great to see how he pulled through and showed up.
Willa's struggles to get pregnant were heart-wrenching to read about: her navigating that while her best friend accidentally gets pregnant.
Overall this was a very enjoyable and entertaining read, with heartwarming moments that make the reader root for all the characters.

Trigger warning for people who struggle to conceive.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I truly loved this authors writing style and character-building. Love a dog bar, love a narrator who makes dark awkward jokes, and love strong, complex female friendships.

That said, I slogged through this book. I don’t know why. Maybe because I really don’t want to relive nine months of pregnancy during my only alone time?

Will gladly read her next book but this one wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early copy!

this book was cute! it’s suprised pregnancy and friends to lovers, also slow burn as well! i loved the characters and the storyline. this is the first book i’ve read by this author and wouldn’t be my last. the only thing i would have to say about this book is that i’m not a big fan of slow burn and also it was in first person and usually i enjoy dual pov or past and present chapters. overall this was a good book!

I enjoyed this engaging story that unfolds unexpected twists in Eve's life during her unexpected pregnancy. The characters, especially Shep's surprising role, added depth to the narrative. The exploration of family, love, and personal growth made it a compelling read.

Ready or Not this title is perfect for this book.
I went into this not reading the synopsis, no expectations, no preconception or knowledge. It was the best thing I ever did.

WOW. How did I not know I need this book. This book is something different and warm and just a lovely tale of an accidentally pregnancy that does not follow any cliche or trope of pregnancy theme books.

Eve is such a character. Understanding but yes knows her boundaries and needs. Actually understanding is an understatement, she has the mindset of a saint. How gracious she is to the father of her baby, her friends, and just people in her life that react differently and less supportive or are ambiguous. It’s the kind of person you would want to be when face with such a hurdle with an unexpected pregnancy as a single mom.

But I love the epiphany she is faced with. That a lot of times people are self centered in their view point and that motherhood changes that perspective. I find that such a kernel of wisdom.

I also found it super ENDEARING Sheps looong crush to Eve. How supportive he is with her. How caring he is and how because he loves Eve more than anything he is willing to get along with the father of her baby.

This story was perfect that I felt no major crisis or apprehension while reading this.
The ending was perfect.

Would definitely recommend this to everyone!!

Thank you netgalley for this earc for an honest review. I cannot wait to get a physical copy of this.

An accidental pregnancy turns Eve’s world upside down as she grapples with her new life and a world of decisions and changes. It’s a genuinely slow burn but with really well-drawn characters and, ultimately, a hard-earned emotional punch. I haven’t read a book quite like it in a long time.

I was not ready for Ready or Not to steal my heart as wholly and completely as it did. I was laughing, crying, smiling like an idiot. Cara hit the pregnancy nail on the head with this one, capturing all the complex emotions that come with realizing the world is so much bigger than just yourself.

Eve was me in a nutshell. Struggling to make the big decisions, wanting life to happen instead of making it happen. I loved her, I loved her arc, her fun spirit. All of it.

Shep became the love of my life the moment he stepped on the page, the perfect book boy, and exactly what Eve needed. He wasn't an over the top PERFECT man, he was real, and goofy, and perfect in his imperfections.

Ten out of ten.