Ready or Not is a beautiful story of motherhood, friendship, love, loss, and renewal. And the cover? Dreamy.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book reminded me of a show that I used to watch called ready or not which I loved just as much as I love this book.

I love this author’s previous works so naturally I pounced at the chance to read her newest novel!

My rating: 5 Stars
Spice: 1

Read this book for…
Found family
Best friend’s brother
Friends to lover
Slow burn
Surprise pregnancy

Thoughts:
Wow this book drew me in like no other book I have read in recent memory. Full disclosure I was drawn by the book cover and the author and dived into the tale with no knowledge of the blurb. My goodness was I in for a surprise.

There is something so lovable about the main female character, Eve, that makes you want to accompany her throughout her journey. This is her journey of self love, of finding one self, of coming to terms with the realities of one’s life. It’s poignant, it’s tear jerking, it’s magic. In a compelling narrative that seems to take inspiration from stream of consciousness, you are fully immersed into the world around Eve. I felt as if I was allowed in on her pregnancy journey. The first appointment, the fear of going through the pregnancy alone, the initial resistance to change, the first kick. You feel her fear, her joy, her growth. I love how realistic and imperfect the characters were. I also genuinely feel like each individual character’s storyline were handled wonderfully.

This was easily a one sitting read. I could not stop at just the first trimester…I wanted to see through the end. There were definitely multiple times I had to stop and wipe my eyes a little bit. The storytelling is beautiful and everything about this novel was phenomenal.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I want to start by saying thank you to NetGalley and Random Public House Publishing for accepting my request to read "Ready or Not" as an advanced copy!

SUMMARY:
This book is about Eve, a young woman living in Brooklyn, who is surprised to find out she is pregnant after a one-night stand. Seeking support from friends, she finds that her closest friend Willa isn't as supportive as she'd hope, but surprisingly her older brother Shep is. Throughout the pregnancy, Shep is attentive and there for Eve when she needs someone to be. To add to her situation, the biological father is unsure on the role he wishes to play in this unplanned pregnancy.


REVIEW:
I really enjoyed this book!! I'm usually not a huge fan of a one-night stand/pregnancy trope, but I think Cara Bastone did a wonderful job. I also really enjoyed the relationship that grew between Eve and her best friend's brother, a strong and supportive older man. Loved!

This book was funny but cute I enjoyed it ! Thank you so much for a advance copy. this is a book that made you smile well reading

If you enjoy Romance's with a Love Interest that is "ENTIRELY TOO GOOD FOR THIS WORLD", Cara Bastone's "Ready or Not" is absolutely for you. Given the subject matter and the possibility of a love triangle, I expected this to be considerably more angsty than it was, but there was so much humor, mostly thanks to Eve's inner monologue. Her thoughts and raging hormones during her third trimester were especially hilarious. Cara Bastone brought a lot of humor and heart given the complex subject matter and she tackles it all deftly! I look forward to more from her in the future!

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

In "Ready or Not" by Cara Bastone, the protagonist Eve Hatch finds herself caught in a series of unexpected events that shatter the predictability of her life. Accustomed to a comfortable routine in her cozy Brooklyn apartment, Eve never anticipated the whirlwind of emotions that accompany an unplanned pregnancy following a one-night stand. As the weight of her circumstances threatens to strain her relationships, Eve discovers that love and support can emerge from the most unexpected sources. Eve's once unwavering bond with her childhood friend Willa begins to waver under the strain of her pregnancy. Just when she needs her most, it is Willa's older brother, Shep, who steps forward to offer his unwavering support. Previously seen as a friendly presence in her life, Shep's sudden attentiveness surprises Eve, and she finds herself increasingly drawn to his unanticipated charm. Amidst the complexity of emotions, Eve also struggles with the involvement of the baby's father, who, though technically supportive, remains conflicted. The arrival of the unplanned pregnancy acts as a catalyst, propelling Eve out of her complacency and forcing her to reassess her desires in life. As she navigates the challenges of her expanding reality over the course of nine months, Eve begins to realize that her longing for more extends beyond her impending motherhood. The surge of hormones and Shep's unexpected presence awaken in her a yearning for fulfillment in every aspect of her life. Throughout the pages of "Ready or Not," Bastone skillfully weaves a tale of self-discovery, family, and love. Eve's journey serves as a testament to the idea that family, whether biological or chosen, can surpass expectations and surprise us when we least expect it. As Eve grapples with defining her next steps, she learns that life's greatest joys often emerge from the depths of uncertainty. In this captivating novel, Cara Bastone captures the essence of human emotions with poignancy and authenticity. "Ready or Not" invites readers to immerse themselves in Eve's world, empathizing with her struggles, and rejoicing in her triumphs. As the pages turn, Bastone effortlessly combines wit, heart, and a touch of romance, creating a literary experience that will leave readers contemplating the unpredictable nature of life and the power of love. "Ready or Not" is a beautifully crafted story that reminds us of the transformative power of unexpected love and the profound impact it can have on our lives. Through Eve's journey, we are reminded that even in the face of uncertainty, genuine connections and personal growth can flourish, leaving us forever changed.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC on this book in exchange for my honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It hit on so many real topics from the main character Eve's surprise pregnancy, work not being fulfilling, her friend Willa's fertility struggles, and many many more. There were some points of the book I just wanted to scream at Eve to wake up, but seeing things as an outsider always seems to be more obvious than the people living in it.

I love a followup to this book to see where all of these characters have gone in 5-10 years.

I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did and to feel so invested in these characters. Eve is almost 30 living in Brooklyn with a job in the area she loves and the perfect apartment for a single girl. After a one night stand she finds out she's pregnant and has to now begin to reorder her life and where it's headed. While figuring out how she feels and navigating telling all the important people in her life, including the one night stand, she comes to realize that one person in particular may mean more to her than she wants to admit. This is a really sweet friends to lovers that shows all the mixed emotions that lead up to falling for someone who has such an important part in your life already without mixing romance into it. I liked all the characters in the story and was hoping for all of them to find the right resolutions to what they were going through. I will definitely recommend this one and read more from Cara Bastone. Giving this one 4 stars. I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

📖 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.