Ready or Not: A Hearts of New York Novel
A surprise pregnancy leads to even more life-changing revelations in this “absolutely buoyant read” (Elle).
“Bastone delivers on this truly heartwarming, funny, and real story. Come for the dog bar, stay for the special, slow-burn romcom.”—Abby Jimenez, New York Times bestselling author
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, NPR, Elle
Eve Hatch lives for surprises! Just kidding. She expects every tomorrow to be pretty much the same as today. She loves her cozy apartment in Brooklyn that’s close to her childhood best friend Willa, and far from her midwestern, traditional family who has never really understood her. While her job is only dream-adjacent, it’s comfortable and steady. She always knows what to expect from her life . . . until she finds herself expecting after an uncharacteristic one-night stand.
The unplanned pregnancy cracks open all the relationships in her life. Eve’s loyal friendship with Willa is feeling tense, right when she needs her the most. And it’s actually Willa’s steadfast older brother, Shep, who steps up to help Eve. He has always been friendly, but now he’s checking in, ordering her surprise lunches, listening to all her complaints, and is . . . suddenly kinda hot? Then, as if she needs one more complication, there’s the baby’s father, who is (technically) supportive but (majorly) conflicted.
Up until this point, Eve’s been content to coast through life. Now, though—maybe it’s the hormones, maybe it’s the way Shep’s shoulders look in a T-shirt—Eve starts to wonder if she has been secretly desiring more from every aspect of her life.
Over the course of nine months, as Eve struggles to figure out the next right step in her expanding reality, she begins to realize that family and love, in all forms, can sneak up on you when you least expect it.
“Bastone delivers on this truly heartwarming, funny, and real story. Come for the dog bar, stay for the special, slow-burn romcom.”—Abby Jimenez, New York Times bestselling author
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, NPR, Elle
Eve Hatch lives for surprises! Just kidding. She expects every tomorrow to be pretty much the same as today. She loves her cozy apartment in Brooklyn that’s close to her childhood best friend Willa, and far from her midwestern, traditional family who has never really understood her. While her job is only dream-adjacent, it’s comfortable and steady. She always knows what to expect from her life . . . until she finds herself expecting after an uncharacteristic one-night stand.
The unplanned pregnancy cracks open all the relationships in her life. Eve’s loyal friendship with Willa is feeling tense, right when she needs her the most. And it’s actually Willa’s steadfast older brother, Shep, who steps up to help Eve. He has always been friendly, but now he’s checking in, ordering her surprise lunches, listening to all her complaints, and is . . . suddenly kinda hot? Then, as if she needs one more complication, there’s the baby’s father, who is (technically) supportive but (majorly) conflicted.
Up until this point, Eve’s been content to coast through life. Now, though—maybe it’s the hormones, maybe it’s the way Shep’s shoulders look in a T-shirt—Eve starts to wonder if she has been secretly desiring more from every aspect of her life.
Over the course of nine months, as Eve struggles to figure out the next right step in her expanding reality, she begins to realize that family and love, in all forms, can sneak up on you when you least expect it.
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Community Reviews
What Bookclubbers are saying about this book
✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI
Readers say *Ready or Not* by Cara Bastone offers a light, engaging romance with strong, caring characters—especially Shep, who many praise as an idea...
I'm not really big on the romance genre, but I find it "soothing" at times. It's sort of a "comfort" read. I decided on this book when attempting to reignite my reading passion that has been dormant for five years while recovering from a heinous period in my life.
This book is a very easy read. I’m a very slow reader, but I found myself breezing through it effortlessly. It’s not a deep-think, but a lazy Sunday read. And that's what I needed right now as I ease back into reading. The author has a very informal writing style that feels like a conversation between girlfriends, writing with a bit of a dry wit, a little tongue-in-cheek.
Some things felt over-simplified or required a fair bit of suspension of disbelief, but I think that is the nature of romance novels in general and probably why I don't read them a great deal, but what I needed right now.
Five words: funny, restrained, engaging, predictable, uncomplicated
My final word: I found this novel to be a lighthearted and fun read. Eve is dealing with her own internal turmoil and confusion, coming to terms with an unplanned pregnancy. But at the heart of it, this is a love story in every sense of the word. Not only a love story between a man and a woman, but a story of a woman falling in love with the child she carries and the life she lives. If you are a fan of contemporary romance, this is one for you! Or if, like me, you just like to dabble in a little romance every now and again, this is a light read to just get your feet wet. Despite the fact that the story was a bit on the predictable side, I still found it enjoyable.
This book is a very easy read. I’m a very slow reader, but I found myself breezing through it effortlessly. It’s not a deep-think, but a lazy Sunday read. And that's what I needed right now as I ease back into reading. The author has a very informal writing style that feels like a conversation between girlfriends, writing with a bit of a dry wit, a little tongue-in-cheek.
Some things felt over-simplified or required a fair bit of suspension of disbelief, but I think that is the nature of romance novels in general and probably why I don't read them a great deal, but what I needed right now.
Five words: funny, restrained, engaging, predictable, uncomplicated
My final word: I found this novel to be a lighthearted and fun read. Eve is dealing with her own internal turmoil and confusion, coming to terms with an unplanned pregnancy. But at the heart of it, this is a love story in every sense of the word. Not only a love story between a man and a woman, but a story of a woman falling in love with the child she carries and the life she lives. If you are a fan of contemporary romance, this is one for you! Or if, like me, you just like to dabble in a little romance every now and again, this is a light read to just get your feet wet. Despite the fact that the story was a bit on the predictable side, I still found it enjoyable.
A cute story unfortunately plagued by how dumb, delusional, and in denial the female main character is- highly recommend listening via audiobook to make up for some of that because I would have liked this marginally less if I was reading this in a physical copy. Shoutout to narrator Alex Finke!
Lastly, this book paired with the timely release of Sabrina Carpenter's "Juno" has given me the sudden urge to become pregnant even though I am in the throes of my grad school education!!! Which has been a welcome daydream because all these homework articles are driving me crazy!!! So this book gets some points for that.
3.5 stars
Lastly, this book paired with the timely release of Sabrina Carpenter's "Juno" has given me the sudden urge to become pregnant even though I am in the throes of my grad school education!!! Which has been a welcome daydream because all these homework articles are driving me crazy!!! So this book gets some points for that.
3.5 stars
More like 4.5 Stars. This book was great. This is the type of pregnancy book I want and can enjoy. It was light and cute but also had this serious nature to it that allowed me to kind of think. Shep is like top 5 book boyfriends ever. If my partner does not treat me like Shep did if I get pregnant, there's gonna be a problem. Eve was someone that I could kinda relate to. Someone who is just kind of coasting through life until something comes along that makes you think "what do you really want" and getting to see her go through that was beautiful.
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