Ready or Not by Cara Bastone is an unique take on the romantic comedy trope of whether or not to fall in love with one of your best friends. Only this time, the story is complicated by the fact that the main character is not only asking that question, but also is unexpectedly pregnant.
The main character Eve Hatch, is navigating what it means to be dealing with an unexpected pregnancy while being single. Her situation is complicated by the fact that her best friend has been trying without success to have a child, and that the father of the child was a one night stand who is in a relationship with another women. Hatch is one of Eve's oldest friends, and the brother of her best friend. He is there, but should Eve explore what their relationship is?
This story is an interesting take on what it means to be pregnant, and how a woman handles moving through different stages of life. It was a quick and enjoyable read that I would recommend for those looking for a romantic comedy story. I read it over the course of a couple of days and was invested in the characters enough to care about where the story ends.
Thank you to #NetGalley and Dial Press Trade Paperback for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book snuck up on me. I wasn’t sure how much I liked it until the very end when I was sobbing. A really engaging and lovely tale of an accidental pregnancy and a found family, and a lovely meditation on grief. I am sure as someone contemplating motherhood in her own life this book hit different, but I imagine I would have loved it no matter what. This is easily Cara Bastones best and most richest work. Characters are given the space to react in human and not always likable ways while remaining lovable good characters. Everyone in this book is a full character even with relatively small page time. That’s a true skill. I’ve liked Cara Bastone but she’s never been a must read for me. This book changed that.

I loved absolutely everything about this novel. I listened to the audiobook, and I think that impacted my review as well. The narrator was fabulous. It made me feel like I was friends with the main character. While the situation was stressful for the main character (she gets pregnant after a one night stand) I found the entire book to be delightful. And while her best friend was annoying and I kind of disliked her early on, the author made me feel empathy for her and I completely understood her by the end.

Thank you so much to Dial Press, Penguin Random House and Net Galley for a copy of this ebook.

This was a sweet read but it lacked some depth. There wasn't a lot of character development and parts felt unrealistic.

This book is so funny and cute. The book will have you hanging in your seat for what is about to happen next. Two unlikely people wind up falling in love and having a baby. A really fun read

Charming, funny, and loved! Five star read. Was entranced by the story of these two and did not read like a straight forward romance- of which I’m so sick of. Found it funny and kept my attention the whole way to through.

As someone who doesn’t necessarily like books with a pregnancy trope in it, I am thoroughly surprised this book was so much more than just the FMC, Eve, being pregnant. This story is about growth and learning to find the balance between being self centered and them-centered (other people). Eve takes her situation in such a way, it’s admirable. She grows to accept her decisions as they are, and in my opinion, she grows into who she was meant to be. Her relationship with the baby’s father is not how I thought it would be was very sweet. Her relationship with Shep is cute and wonderful and I think he’s the best thing to come out of her pregnancy besides the baby. Shep takes care of Eve and she deserves it since she always took care of the others in their times of need.

Overall, my first Cara Bastone and certainly not my last!

I absolutely adored this book. Was it a little predictable? Maybe. But it was also pure and raw and real It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me feel all of the things. I loved all of the characters despite their flaws. Even the supporting characters - I’m looking at you Nurse Louise - were endearing. And can we take a hot minute to talk about how gorgeous the cover is????

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

This review is entirely my own thoughts and opinions.

This book had me tearing up in so many places, I felt like a pregnant woman. Eve has discovered that she's pregnant from a one-night stand and throughout the book we watch her go through the up's and downs of pregnancy, the relationships around her, complicated and sweet and discovering a new part of herself. As she navigates this new chapter in her life, her childhood best friends Willa and Shep come to her side, Shep does everything he can to make sure Eve has absolutely everything she needs to get through this, emotionally and physically (cue the spiciness). This was definitely a slow burn romance, but the tension was high and the wait was so worth it.

As someone who has had someone close to them navigate a pregnancy and motherhood as a single parent, this really hit home for me. Ready or Not was so well executed and the relationships that Eve had around her were incredibly sweet and realistic. I rate it a 4 because some of Eve's lingo wasn't my favourite in the sense that it came across as kind of immature at times. I would recommend this book to absolutely anyone, you get the slow burn, the complicated relationships, a love triangle perhaps? I found myself wanting to continue reading after every chapter and when I wasn't reading, I was thinking about Eve and Shep. This is a book that I'll be thinking about for awhile. I LOVED IT!

I was never one to like the accidental pregnancy trope until I read a few last year that completely changed my perspective. This was another one that solidified my new admiration for it! This book was perfection, filled with so many soft and sweet moments, and multiple instances of healthy, mature, and honest conversations. The character development from Eve was so lovely to watch as we see her go through her pregnancy journey and changing relationships in her life. Watching Eve and Shep turn from friends to lovers was absolutely adorable - and I appreciated how the men in her life stepped up to support her in every way imaginable. I could read about Eve and Shep forever, they're so cute - they know how to joke with each other and also enjoy the silent moments together; those relationships are the special ones.

I highly recommend this for anyone who's a fan of the accidental pregnancy trope - whether you're new to it or have always been a fan! I adored this so much and I've already told so many people about it.

This was my first Cara Bastone read and it definitely won't be the last. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed the realism of these characters. The wit and sharp dialogue had me completely invested in these people. So many great instances of what would I do if I were in this situation? A fast, engaging read.

I loved this book. While it is my biggest fear to get pregnant off a one night stand, this book made it seem less scary that there is life after and during hard and life changing events.

4 stars!

i'm not going to lie, i am not the biggest fan of the surprise pregnancy trope butttt i did enjoy this one! ive read a couple of books with this trope before but i feel like this one was unique in it's own way. i LOVEEE shep!! literally bless than man; i wish all men were as great as he was. ethan had me feeling like i was on seesaw with my feelings for him on the other side. sometimes i liked him and sometimes i didn't. i liked eve and i enjoyed seeing her pregnancy journey. overall this was a super cute and warm read!

thank you netgalley and cara bastone for the arc!

i’m a sucker for the accidental
pregnancy trope in books! and although i enjoyed Shep, he was the star of the book, i didn’t find myself really connecting to their romance or the story. Willa felt too happy and at ease when life was anything but that.

Ahhh this was such a swoon worthy book!

When Eve falls pregnant with her one night stand, her life quickly changes… literally over night.

I’m not usually a huge fan of accidental pregnancy or slow burn BUT this author makes it work! There were parts of this book where Eve was just hilarious. Shep was so unassuming at first but the way he went above and beyond for Eve? What a heartthrob. We love a MMC that is funny, quirky, and goes above and beyond for our FMC. This is a super slow burn but the end is so worth it!!

The characters in this book were all so lovable. This is truly a great book for all romance lovers!

Ready or Not by Cara Bastone held my interest throughout, I found the story to be interesting and real. It is about a girl that gets pregnant from a one-night stand and (obviously) has a lot of changes ahead to deal with in the pregnancy and once the baby is born, one being that she doesn't know the father pretty much at all. A couple of characters that stood out to me include her best friend Willa and Willa's brother, Shep. Honestly, Shep could be a role model for how men treat women, he's amazing. My issue with this book is at about halfway through the author decided to throw in the oddest conversation between the main character, the baby's father, and an ultrasound technician. She gave a short (what seemed to me) lecture about the baby's sex and how it would decide it's gender. This was completely out of place and seemed odd. I've said it in reviews before, I don't read fiction to be lectured regardless of whether or not I agree with what is being said. I read fiction as a treat, not a lesson. There were a couple of other things soon after the gender situation that I found off-putting, but they were minor and only lasted about a chapter, then the story went back to being good.

This was such a sweet book. I loved how pregnancy brought such a different feel to this story. It made the relationships and the drama feel more real and the romance was not cringey like I often feel in contemporary romances. The dialogue felt really authentic to me and I definitely smiled a lot and even cried a little. I’m not normally a fan of contemporary romances, but this one was really a delight to read. Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for this ARC.

I was really surprised how much I liked this book even though it was totally different from what I was expecting. It's definitely still a romance novel, but there's also a very raw and honest experience with coming to terms with an unplanned pregnancy. I love that it wasn't the confetti and flowers experience that most women portray on social media. There was conflicting emotions and inner turmoil and fear and it was a beautiful process to go through with Eve. Definitely a great read.

Cara Bastone hit me right in the feels for this one, and I have no regrets. There is so much to like about Ready or Not. Eve is amazing, and felt very real as she deals with her surprise pregnancy. The father of the baby has his own struggles, which complicate matters for Eve, but she allows him the time and space he needs to process this as well. And then there is Willa, Eve's BFF who is struggling with some issues of her own that complicate her relationship with Eve. Eve and Willa's relationship was my favorite in the book, they had a lot of ups and downs regarding Eve being pregnant, and it all felt real. And then there is Shep, Willa's brother and ultimate nice guy (who is almost too perfect, but it's a book so I'm all in).

If you like surprise pregnancy books I highly recommend this one. It's an absolute delight.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with a review copy of this title. I loved this book! This is a unique story - we follow the main character as she experiences an unplanned pregnancy. Through the writing, we experience her emotional and physical "symptoms" of pregnancy, something that is rare in works of fiction. I loved the characters in this story and appreciated the pacing.