This one is a tough one to review. Good points, I loved the author's style. The humor was delicious. The pacing zipped right along. Most of the characters were complex (see below) and the guys were really well done. The hero was kind, the sort of hero I wish we saw more of in literature much less romance. The other guy was believable in his bewilderment and emotional swings, and I loved how he finally pulled himself together.

Points that I found not so good: the author's voice, as well as her heroine, are emphatically non-religious, which is fine, but in that case, why not even consider an abortion? Our heroine is shocked that a one-night stand with a random guy, while using protection, conceived. From the gitgo this rather self-involved young woman with a tentative job and emotional issues immediately is going to have the baby. Someone asks why, and she says quickly, "Not for religious reasons," and that's all we get. Okay. The prose was so fun and funny, the characters so heart-warming, I rolled with that. I knew she was going to go through with the pregnancy but I thought she could at least consider adopting the child out.

Still, this is a romance, which guarantees a happy ending. Except when it doesn't, in this case her bestie, who has been trying to get pregnant for her entire marriage. Leading to my second negative: readers who are trying to get pregnant should probably think twice about picking up this book, as Willa, the bestie, has to deal with emotional blow after emotional blow, but despite this being a romance, which promises HEA, there is no sign of her getting what she desires most by the end, despite her pulling herself together repeatedly to be supportive. Which shoves this story more toward women's fiction than romance.

Third negative: the characters are beautifully complex and thoughtfully written, most of them leading from the heart, kindness acknowledged and valued--and then a new character is briefly introduced who is wearing a crucifix. That is specifically Roman Catholic. No other Christian denominations wear crucifixes that I am aware of. Then this character makes a remark that is stereotypically judgmental, and vanishes from the book. Catholic-bashing, or just ignorance? Anyway, even if this was supposed to be fundamentalist-bashing instead of Catholic-bashing, stereotyping is still bigotry.

So I'd say, except for these issues, this book has a lot going for it: great style and adorable main characters. But CW for readers sensitive to stereotypes and who might be having conception difficulties.

I don’t usually love the unexpected pregnancy trope but I loved this one. As a parent, I felt every emotions Eve felt throughout the book. She was brave, charming, funny, and I felt that the situations were very realistic. I have loved every Cara Bastone book I have read so I was excited to read this one.

I highly recommend this book.

Thanks for the opportunity NetGalley.

This was one of the sweetest books I've read this year! I love the friends to lovers trope in this novel. It was a great contemporary look at unexpected friendship, pregnancy and love. I will be recommending this to my book clubs!

Ready or Not was a beautiful surprise! I haven’t read anything like this before but it was so well written and captivating. I truly felt almost every emotion that Eve felt throughout her journey in this book! I couldn’t help but get mad/frustrated at Ethan when he was so undecided. I was sad when Eve was telling those closest to her, especially Willa, about her pregnancy and no one was excited/happy for her (except Shep!). Love the best friends to lovers trope and always glad it’s a HEA!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

If you are a parent, you will likely tear up reading the final chapters, as Eve finally gets to meet her baby. It is beautiful as family and friends shower her with love and support.

However, before you get to the tears/sentimentality, you will experience Eve trying to come to terms with an unplanned pregnancy and impending motherhood. Complicating this process is that her best friend, Willa, struggles to be fully supportive (due to her own infertility issues). Eve is also facing possible changes at work, with an opportunity for a better paying position with the nonprofit organization where she works, but a position that will not help her reach the job within the organization that she most wants. The pregnancy was the result of a one-stand with a bartender named Ethan (who it turns out actually owns and manages the bar). However, in the weeks that pass between their one night of passion and the discovery that Eve is pregnant and the opportunity to share this news with him, Ethan has gotten back together with his on again off again girlfriend. Not surprisingly, his girlfriend does not react favorably to learning that her boyfriend has fathered a child with another woman. Ethan wants to be involved with his child, he thinks, but has no idea what kind of involvement he wants, and how to maintain his relationship with his girlfriend and be a father. This results in a lot of stress and uncertainty. Thankfully for Eve, she has Willa's brother, Shep, to support her. He is very other-centered, and if you are happy, then he is happy for you. Shep has long been harboring a crush on Eve, to which she has been blissfully ignorant, but he has never acted on his feelings. However, as they spend more time together as Eve experiences the ups and downs of pregnancy, she begins to view him in a different light.

Will Shep reveal his feelings? Will Eve figure out what she wants in life both in terms of career and relationships and will she take the necessary steps to achieve those goals? Will Ethan be involved in his child's life and on what terms? You will have to read the book to find out.

They say don’t judge a book by it’s cover, but that is what I did and this adorable cover matches the story perfectly. 💕

I enjoyed everything about this story from the fantastic relatable characters to the wonderful portrayal of motherhood and a slow burning friends-to-lovers romance.

It was heartwarming to see Eve’s character evolve and really go after what she wants. Shep’s optimism and positivity was very enduring too, but I think Nurse Blank was my favorite character. Sometimes the person that helps you the most is someone you don’t even know yet. Her theory about self-centered vs other centered people was so spot-on in describing motherhood.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishering Group - Random House for granting me access to this book.

Mark your calendars and snag this book on 2/13/2024!

A beautiful and exciting story! I loved the characters and was rooting for them the whole time. A must read!

I was sent this book as an arc and decided to give it a try because the cover was so beautiful. I put off reading it for months because I hadn’t ever read anything from the author before and wasn’t sure if I’d like it. I made the mistake of starting the book at 10:00pm and promptly read until 1am before forcing myself to put the book down and go to sleep. It immediately captivated me and I couldn’t put it down!
In this book, Eve finds out she’s unexpectedly pregnant from a one night stand and has to navigate a best friend dealing with infertility who is struggling with her situation, a baby daddy who isn’t sure what he wants his role to be, and a family that isn’t super involved in her life. She finds help and comfort in her best friend’s brother, who ends up navigating pregnancy with her and showing up for her in unexpected ways. Shep is the ultimate golden retriever, sweet, loveable MMC and I adored him (I mean, his name is SHEP for goodness sake). The way he takes care of Eve and is also lighthearted and fun had me in a puddle. I love a good friends to lovers story and this was so well done. I also was so impressed with how realistic the characters were. They reacted the way a real human would react, and the whole thing was completely believable while also being interesting and compelling. Even when characters behaved unfavorably there are really no villains in the story because it’s such a tough situation that you feel empathetic towards them. This book also made me laugh out loud and smile like a goon most of the time I was reading. It has the perfect amount of humor, angst, drama, sweetness, and is so heart felt. It describes pregnancy really well and you can tell the author has actual first-hand experience with the subject. I’m so glad this book dropped into my lap and I can’t wait to read more from this author!
Read if you love:
•friends to lovers
•”it was always you”
•slow burn
•sunshine MMC
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review of the book.

Normally, I am not one to enjoy a pregnancy trope book. However, this book, while involving pregnancy, wasn't your typical pregnancy trope book. There was an actual story outside of that and the pregnancy wasn't described in an "all important" "world ending" type of way if that makes any sense. The entire time I was reading this book, I kept picturing Eve as Zoey Deutch, Willa as Anna Camp, Shep as Freddie Stroma, and Ethan as Ben Hardy. So if there's anyone out there considering making this wonderfully witty book into a movie, please consider my casting suggestions. This book would've gotten a 5/5 stars for me but I felt like the ending was a little rushed. Fantastic book and a really great read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This one was kind of cute, but I am not a huge fan of the tropes that the plot was based on. It felt like the characters would never have gotten together if the FMC didn’t get pregnant. The FMC finds herself in a very stressful situation, but decides to go with the flow and see what happens. I also thought the friends to lovers did not have enough chemistry for it to make sense that they got together even though the guy was not involved in the pregnancy.

Oh I just adored this book! Eve's journey as she walks through an unplanned pregnancy was moving and sweet to watch. I love stories of friends to lovers, and found family, and Eve and Shep's story didn't disappoint.

I really enjoyed this book! Eve is a great protagonist. Events felt planned well. No, rushing through things. Shep is an absolute gem! This was my first book by Cara, but won't be my last.

When a one-night stand leaves her pregnant, Eve decides to take on motherhood on her own. She has a job that has potential for advancement, she thinks. She loves her home, and she will be ok. She meets a guy and they become friends, then reality steps in, and not all as it seems. Will she have to compromise to make things work? Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with an ARC ebook to read and review. My opinions are all my own.

I have quickly become a huge fan of this author. I found out about her from her audible originals. This book did not disappoint. A one night stand leaves Eve with a surprise pregnancy. While we have a friends to lovers romance between Eve and her best friend’s brother Shep, The growth in the relationship between Eve and the baby’s father, Ethan, was a pleasant surprise. Ethan had his own journey to go through after finding out about the baby. The relationship that grows between Shep, Eve, and Ethan was not without it’s complications but we are given a resolution that wasn’t easy to come to. Highly recommend this book and others by Cara.

This is a really cool story with some great tropes! Accidental pregnancy obviously, but then also best friends brother, kind of love triangle, kind of not. It really kept me guessing where the story was going to land re: the love interest.
I think the author depicted the emotions and experience of a single woman in a surprise pregnancy situation. Nothing was sugar coated but it still wasn’t too heavy. The humour was great! There were times I found the plot to be moving a little slow but the laughs kept me interested even during those times!
I recommend this book if you’re looking for a quick read that is light and funny!

I was gifted an ARC of this book by Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

With an unexpected pregnancy on her hands, this story follows Eva as she navigates impending motherhood, friendship dynamics and an unexpected romance. I really enjoyed Cara Bastone’s writing style— it was charismatic, easy to read and quickly sucked me into the charm and atmosphere of this NYC based story. I loved Eva as a character and found myself rooting for her from the off and wanting to see her succeed. Cara did a great job cultivating her voice and it was very easy to slip into her head. I loved her relationship with Willa and found their dynamic to be a foundational part of the novel and one that was handled with great delicacy and skill. As a friend, Shep was sweet and attentive and I enjoyed his particular brand of ‘golden retriever’ love interest. The romance didn’t feel very connected to me, chemistry wise, especially next to the more developed aspects of their friendship. I think as this was marketed as a romance I went in with very different expectations, which leads me to believe that it might find its readership easier if it was labelled as women’s fiction.

When Eve finds out she is pregnant as the result of a one night stand, she knows her life is about to change. She has to come to terms with being a single mom, figure out the role the father is going to play and see how her best friends and family will react. What follows is a story about motherhood, unexpected love and growth.

The unplanned pregnancy trope is tricky one for many readers, but I feel like Bastone knew exactly how to navigate it with great character development and an emotionally rich plot. I was also pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed the love triangle trope with the baby’s father and her best friend’s brother. I honestly had no idea who Eve would choose, and I loved the unpredictability of that. However, I felt like the book was just too long, which made me feel less invested in Eve’s journey and love story than I hoped for.

Read if you like:
-Surprise pregnancy
-Friends to lovers
-Slow burn
-Complex relationships
-Found family
-NYC setting

Thank you Dial for the ARC! Pub date. 2/13/24

Let me star by saying that pregnancy tropes aren’t my go-to, but I LOVED this one. There weren’t any cringe-moments, and I genuinely had a great time the whole way through. Maybe I was judging a book by it’s cover before, but this changed my outlook!

I usually am one to not pick up the pregnancy trope, especially because it can become quite cheesy, annoying, etc. But this book has proven me wrong. This book was a little frustrating at the beginning, especially given the stubbornness of both Ethan and the BFF Willa’s characters. But of course over time you see why they are that way. As someone who has never been pregnant, I unfortunately cannot connect deeply with the emotions the main character experiences, but I can only imagine that I will look back on this book in the future when/if I ever am pregnant. Overall, I think the true message of found family and loving others for who they are is something I found truly wonderful about this book.

This book touched my heart, broke it, then wrapped it a warm blanket to heal.

Pregnancy and all that comes with it is overwhelming. Having an unexpected pregnancy, a best friend with fertility is and feeling the guilt of having gotten pregnant so easily gutted me for Eve.

Navigating wanting to have a connection to your child’s father but wanting to have a really partner of your own is a lot. Then falling in love with your best friend during all of that, I felt so broken for Eve.

I absolutely loved this book.