READY OR NOT

Release Date : 2024-02-13

Duration : 10 Hours 50 Mins

Publisher : Random House Audio

SYNOPSIS

This is the latest novel from Cara Bastone, a full time writer living and writing in Brooklyn with her family. She writes about the swoon in ordinary love stories and features men who aren’t hobbled by their own masculinity.

Eve Hatch expects 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 meals, and listening to all her complaints, and she suddenly feels an intense attraction for him. 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, 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 their forms, can sneak up on you when you least expect them.

REVIEW

This is a fast-paced, funny, entertaining, and heartfelt novel. Although the book is centred around an unplanned pregnancy, the story is multi-layered, involving great characters and their authentic intrapersonal conflicts. This novel features several popular tropes: surprise pregnancy, friends to lovers, unexpected love, love triangles, and the best friend’s brother.

The story follows Eve’s three trimesters, and in each she learns more about herself, love, and the realities of bringing a child into the world. Eve and Shep have an undeniable, wholesome chemistry that heats up as the story progresses. Although the overall story is fast-paced, it should be noted that Eve and Shep’s relationship is a slow-burn romance. Shep is a gentleman not hobbled by his own masculinity, easily making him very likeable. Eve’s story shows us that life happens whether we’re ready or not. Since she has a great support system, she is able to work through her unexpected problems and make them into something meaningful. Some of the discussions about motherhood and pregnancy in the book are blatant and borderline aggressive in nature and may be difficult to read or listen to for individuals who are on their own fertility journey.

Narrator Alex Finke provides a well-paced, enthusiastic, and entertaining narration. Finke’s portrayal of Eve is very authentic and emotional, and she uses her talented voice to accurately convey all of Eve’s quirks, humour, and anxieties. Finke also does a great job presenting the strong chemistry between Eve and Shep, making for a very compelling love story. If you’re looking for a romance novel featuring a storyline with substance, emotional dialogue, and loveable characters, then you’ll definitely enjoy this one!