Cara Bastone

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.

A Novel

Ready or Not

Sophia

His eyes are dark and searching me, his short hair mussed. He’s wearing his jeans and an undershirt. And then he does the thing. The one thing that’s hotter than a fresh haircut. He rests his elbow on the doorframe over his head and lets his wrist hang down around forehead level. I can see armpit hair and the scaffolding of his rib cage.

It’s like I’ve been focusing on a tiny script for years, the words all repeating me, myself, I, me, myself, I, me, myself, I, but now I’m sitting back and letting my eyes relax and luxuriating as I sink down into the blissful blur. This isn’t all about me. It isn’t all about Ethan, or Willa, or Shep, or even the baby. It’s a web and—God, what a perfect system because—each of us is somebody’s favorite.

karina

“It hurts to realize that the world is so much bigger and more complicated than you thought it was. It’ll always hurt. … And all you can really do is be there. And wipe your kid’s face. And try. And learn from your mistakes. And once a year, there’s an absolutely perfect day, where you get to buy them boots that you know, you know will keep all ten of their perfect little toes warm and dry. And that’s the good stuff. It truly doesn’t get better than that.”

Ready or Not quotes

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