This was a delightful, heartfelt, and emotional romance! Eve and Shep's slow-burn, friends-to-lovers romance unfold all within Eve's surprise pregnancy from a one-night stand was amazing as well as Eve's coming to terms with her impending motherhood. I really liked this one and I'll have to look out for more from this author in the future.

I really enjoyed this book. Shep is seriously the best. We could all use a Shep in our lives. This book gave me all the feels and I cried the last couple chapters of it. Very light hearted and hilarious in some spots for that perfect comedic timing.

Thank you to NetGalley for the complimentary copy and all opinions are my own.

I was honestly surprised by how much I LOVED this book! I am not usually a fan of the surprise pregnancy trope, but this book did it perfectly.

A wonderful romance! I loved that this seemed like real life as she debated how to proceed with the baby’s father versus the man she really wanted. Has all the emotions!

Such a cute rom-com that really hits the highs and lows of pregnancy spot on. I loved the characters, I loved the friends to lovers and I loved how Eve grow to fully embrace becoming a mother. And NYC/Brooklyn, great setting!!

This was so cute! It's was a really charming, quick read that was full of unexpected, heartfelt moments. Eve gets pregnant after a one night stand and throughout her pregnancy journey, her BFF's brother Shep proves to be her biggest support system—especially as sparks start to fly. Cara did a really nice job setting up Eve's friendships with Willa and Shep, and how deep their bonds go. I thought her character dynamics, even and especially with the group and Ethan, the father of Eve's baby, was really well done. A really fun read for sure.

This is such a sweet story! Sweet can seem contrite at times, but this book is perfectly sweet! The story picks up immediately - which I love. There’s no build up, we jump right in. We get to watch Eve grow, physically and emotionally, as well as see her world grow and change around her. Watching how this unexpected event allows her to explore her past and how/why she got to that point was an unexpected journey, but one that was beautifully woven throughout the book. Also, to see how it determined her future and what she wanted for herself. 🩷

Plus, Shep is top tier! 🥰

"𝙱𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢. 𝙸𝚏 𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚘, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗... 𝚖𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚎, 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚎... 𝙸'𝚖 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚎."

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐢𝐬𝐭:
Eve's life takes an unexpected turn with an unplanned pregnancy, triggering a chain of life-altering revelations in a heartfelt friends-to-lovers romance. As she navigates her cozy Brooklyn apartment and strained relationships with her traditional Midwest family, Eve relies on her childhood friend Willa for support. However, it's Willa's brother Shep who steps in to help Eve during this challenging time, sparking feelings she never anticipated. With the baby's father also in the picture, Eve finds herself reevaluating her identity and relationships over the course of nine transformative months. Through this journey, she learns that love and family can come in unexpected forms when you least expect it.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬 & 𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬:
🤰🏼 Unplanned pregnancy
💕 Best friend’s brother
🔺 Love triangle (sort of)
🫂 Friendship & found family
🍍 Infertility awareness
😍 He falls first
❤️‍🩹 Caretaking
🔥 Slow burn

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖:
✳︎ Romcoms that feel authentic and don’t shy away from tough topics
✳︎ Golden retriever MMC
✳︎ New York City setting
✳︎ Single, first person POV

𝐌𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
As someone who has struggled with infertility and pregnancy loss, unplanned pregnancy trope books are usually a miss for me. However, I 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 this book. I feel like 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐍𝐨𝐭 handled multiple sensitive topics very well. Cara Bastone didn’t shy away from the less glamorous side of pregnancy. She also gave infertility a voice through Eve’s best friend, Willa. At times, their relationship was strained, and their conversations were uncomfortable and difficult, but I felt like that was such a respectful and relatable way to handle a challenging subject matter.

Eve was a very relatable main character. I’m really glad the story was told in first person because I loved getting so much of her inner thoughts and feelings. I also, obviously, adored Shep. He was such a golden retriever. Everyone deserves someone to love them the way Shep loves Eve.

This book had me giggling and kicking my feet, but it was also more complex than one might expect from your typical romcom. I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

Also, if you enjoy audiobooks, this narrator was INCREDIBLE- truly.

𝕄𝕪 ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (𝟺.𝟻/𝟻)

𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝:
🌶️ (𝟷/𝟻)

What I have read of Cara Bastone prior to these I absolutely loved. Unfortunately, this did not live up to my expectations. Regardless of my feelings though, the story of one woman’s journey is so important for people to read and relate to.

This is without a doubt in the top romances I read in 2023 (and I read a lot of romances)

Ready or Not gave me all those warm fuzzy feelings I get from watching Gilmore Girls in the fall, or 90s rom coms on a rainy day. There was something so magical and wholesome and special about this - I loved this book so so much.

Eve was funny, relatable, and so realistic - just an all around amazing character. One of the greats. To be honest I loved every single character, they were lovable, human, and all showed so much growth throughout the novel. This book dealt with some difficult topics and they were all handled with so much grace.

I don’t want to say too much, because I think this book speaks for itself - so please do yourself a favour and pick this up. This is one I want to keep on my forever shelves, and will certainly be purchasing a copy when it comes out on February 13th!

I'm in the minority on this one. I just didn't connect with the characters in this one. However, I loved the New York setting, relationships between some of the characters, and appreciated the realness of the story. However, some of the relationships felt awkward or forced.
A solid 3 star story that isn't all that memorable

I usually do not love the unexpected pregnancy trope. This was done well. The story revolves around the pregnancy but in a way that doesn't feel forced. I enjoy the setting and the relationships throughout.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Where to start with this review? Throughout the story, I wasn't sure how I would feel about it at the end. Although I've never been in the position of an unexpected pregnancy while single, it felt like many parts of it were unrealistic. It seemed to gloss over the freak-out stage, but it did depict a disconnection to the pregnancy for quite a while. The way things worked out with both Ethan and Shep felt a little too good to be true, but at the end of the day it gave me lots of warm-fuzzies and a happy ending. I think this one was 3.5 stars, rounding up to 4 for me.

Ready or Not by Cara Bastone follows the story of Eve Hatch, a woman who is content with life, her job, her relationships with friends and family and isn't looking to rock the proverbial boat. She lives in Brooklyn with BFF Willa nearby and her family comfortably in the Midwest. That is until she has a out of the ordinary one night stand and ends up pregnant.

The pregnancy changes all of Eve's relationships - from fighting with Willa to developing a new friend in Willa's big brother Shep, to realizing that maybe it's ok if her family isn't so far away.

Shep ends up stepping up and helping Eve during her pregnancy by ordering her food, checking in, listening to her complaints, and Eve decides that he is kinda hot! Yet another complication- the baby’s father, who is technically supportive.

As Eve's pregnancy progresses she find herself wanting more in life, including Shep. She spends her time trying to figure out what she wants, but does she find it? And what is it?

Ready or Not is a great story of how an unexpected change in ones life can change your way of thinking and your desires. The storyline is different enough from other unexpected pregnancy romances that it's interesting and engaging. The characters are well rounded, deep enough for us to care about them and their situation. This a great (spring/summer) read!

A charming, heartfelt story!

An unexpected pregnancy brings a change to Eve's life, but also to everyone else in her life. As we follow Eve and see the way everything changes for her, we also see how the news affects Ethan, the baby's father, Eve's best friend Willa and her brother Shep. The 3 of them have been friends since childhood and the pregnancy changes some things.

This is also a slow-burn romance, it's about friendship and change and moving on from things in the past. I liked the NYC setting and Eve's pregnancy brought memories of my own pregnancies.
I'd have liked to see an epilogue jumping to a year later at the baby's first birthday for an update on the characters.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

This book has a slow burn to end all slow-burns! I am usually not a fan of the surprise pregnancy trope, but both of the leads stole my heart in this one.

This book has:
•Accidental pregnancy
•Childhood friends to lovers and best friends brother trope
•He falls first and harder!!!
•A cinnamon roll hero who is sweet, supportive, and an overall gem! Shep is my new book boyfriend fr 📖

This book was such a soft, fluffy, and heartfelt read. Thank you to Dial Press and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

4.5 stars! I loved these characters so much. They were portrayed as three-dimensional and mature, but they were realistically flawed and made some not-so-great decisions, like we all do at times. The main character, Eve, finds out she's pregnant after a one-night stand, and we get to see the progression of her thoughts about all that it entails, which were very relatable. We also see how she navigates her relationship with the baby's father, her family, and her childhood friends, who are the most steadfast and protective of her circle. There are emotional ups and downs. The romance goes hot and cold, will they or won't they. It's heartwarming and humerous, with some great one-liners. Eve was an endearing character, and, throughout the book, I was rooting for her to find contentment and fulfillment in her life, whatever that might look like. This book was a feel-good read without being syrupy or ditzy. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Dial Press for an early reader e-book.

I am in love with this story and will never stop recommending it! Everyone needs a Shep in their life, I am serious to the bone!

I highly recommend reading this book, even if you are a reader who does not enjoy surprise pregnancy trope. Because READY OR NOT is more than this trope. Although yes, pregnancy takes the lead in this story, it is not overwhelming or inaccurately portrayed.
The main character, Eve is such a loveable person, with flaws, insecurities, dreams that are hard to grab, with a messy family, with a new life just about to begin. After she finds out she is in fact pregnant, after a one night stand, which was a suprise to them both, she fights to have the dad involved, while also navigating her relationship with her best friends and all the things happening in her life and body that are new. And scarry.

I giggled and cried my way through this book, an absolute joy and warm hug. It had so many life-altering moments, truths I will hold dear to me. I think what made this book this beautiful, was the honesty and simplicity. A perfect mirror of what life is and could be.

Read it for:
slow burn romance
surprise pregnancy
friends to lovers
he falls first
my best friend's brother
dog friendly pub
hilarious banter

Thank you so much PRH Intl for the e-ar, I loved every moment! #partner

Very much enjoyed this fun book about a girl who gets pregnant from a one night stand the tries to navigate her life after finding out that news. Along the way Eve tries to navigate life with possibility of the baby’s fathers involvement and her best friends brother being her true love that she’s been denial about since they were young. I loved how the book was broken up into the three trimesters of pregnancy to outline Eve’s journey through this time. This is a perfect spring book that light hearted but yet has its moments that get you in all the feels!

This book was so cute! I loved watching Eve evolve over the course of her pregnancy. I also loved seeing her not only discover who she truly is but who truly means the most in her life. The love connection between her and Shep was perfect!! And seeing Ethan’s character evolve too was the added bonus. Definitely a palate cleanser if you are looking for a light hearted read.