Cara Bastone’s adult romance novel, “Ready or Not,” is a perfectly swoon-worthy read. I’ll admit that I’ve been in a romance reading slump, and haven’t found much substance in meet-cutes or overused tropes. But when I read the blurb for this book, I couldn’t help but ferociously gobble it up.
In essence, the protagonist Eve Hatch is immediately met with a life-changing surprise: she’s pregnant… from a one-night stand. The complications come when Ethan (the guy she hooked up with) is actually a decent person and wants to be a part of the child’s life. However, he is stuck in his own romantic conflict.
On the other hand, Eve finds herself falling for her best friend’s brother, Shep. She’s not sure if it’s heightened pregnancy hormones or if they have always had such stellar chemistry.
I thought the slow burn aspect of the romance was really well done. The only part of the romance that could have been improved would have been by giving Shep a flaw…he’s pretty much perfect.
What really made this book a five star read for me was Eve’s voice. I have never laughed out loud while reading as much as I did when reading this book. The author perfectly mixes humor into the novel, which gives the heavy topic of, well… life, some buoyancy.
The only detail of the plot that felt slightly incomplete was the fact that Eve never really reconciled with Willa (her best friend). Perhaps it was intentional and I’m just used to the formulaic composition of romance novels where tension between friends gets completely resolved and everyone is dandy and happy. From another perspective, maybe not being completely satisfied with how their relationship turned out is a sign that the story was more realistic.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a laugh or something to read in one weekend. This one won’t disappoint.
Macey Heys, Managing Editor
(Featured Image from Dial Press)