TBH, I’ve been taking a step back from blogging recently because I’m still adjusting to working full-time again. I didn’t have any Five Star Reads in September so I didn’t post last month but in October 2025 I was lucky enough to get an ARC from NetGalley by an author, who’s quickly become one of my favourites (Cara Bastone). I’ve read three of her books so far and all of them have been Five Star Reads so even though No Matter What is not published until March next year, I’m excited to talk about it.

(1) No Matter What by Cara Bastone (17 March 2026) (NetGalley)

Roz and Vin can’t look each other in the eyes anymore, let alone share a bed. It’s been a year since they survived a traumatic car accident and their marriage hasn’t been the same.

But Roz has held out hope that they can fix things . . . until she discovers that Vin has signed a new lease.

So she does what any soon-to-be-divorced Manhattanite would do: she signs up for figure drawing class.

Ignoring Vin’s impending move-out date would be a lot easier if he wasn’t her best-friends brother – and if he hadn’t just offered to let her draw him. After all, that’s known to make a separation easier, right? Focus on every detail of your estranged spouse’s body while drawing them in the nude?

But after the year they’ve spent avoiding each other, it feels good to see and be seen by one another again. As Roz works to capture the wholeness of the person she fell in love with, will they both be able to draw upon the feelings they buried deep inside to finally heal together?

Tags: ARC / Best Friend’s Brother / Foodies / Marriages on the Rocks / Mental Health Rep (PTSD)

My Thoughts: ARC received via NetGalley. No Matter What is the 3rd book I’ve read by Cara Bastone and it’s my 3rd Five Star Read. I loved Promise Me Sunshine because it perfectly encapsulated how I feel on my own grief journey. It was a book that could only have been written by somebody who’d experienced that type of tragic loss. No Matter What is exactly the same. After a traumatic bereavement at the end of last year, I was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and again, it makes me emotional how authentically the author has captured what it’s like to try and live with PTSD. I’m in awe of how the author can take all these messy, contradictory emotions and capture them on paper. My heart ached for Roz, Vin and Raff.

I’ve always had a soft spot for a strong, silent hero and Vin is just *chef’s kiss.* He’s been protecting his family since his father passed away when he was just a child and it’s so sweet how when he falls in love with Roz, his brother, Raff’s friend, they become a trio and Vin feels like he can relax because if anything happens to him, he knows Roz will take care of Raff like he would. He might not be able to put into words how much he loves Roz but it’s blatantly obvious that she’s everything for him. Who wouldn’t want to be loved with such quiet ferocity like that?

After an accident which left both Roz and Vin with scars and a difficult recovery for Raff, which meant he moved in with them for almost a year. The struggles of caring for Raff, having no privacy and their experiences with PTSD have pulled Roz and Vin apart but you can feel the love they still have for each other radiating off the page. It’s interesting how Roz stumbles into a figure drawing class and it ends up bringing her and Vin closer together. I’ve never really thought about drawing like that, rather than just replicating what’s in front of you, it’s about understanding yourself.

The side characters are really interesting and I’d love to read more about Raff, St. Michel, Lauro and Em. The cameo from characters from Ready or Not was an unexpected bonus.

I cannot wait to read what this author writes next.

My Month in Books (September 2025)

[image error] 0 (Hated It)

[image error] [image error] 0 (Didn’t Like It)

[image error] [image error] [image error] 3 (It Was OK)

[image error] [image error] [image error] [image error] 5 (Liked It)

[image error] [image error] [image error] [image error] [image error] 0 (Loved It)

ARCs: 3

New-to-Me Authors (Excluding Non-Fiction): Hayley Krischer.

My Month in Books (October 2025)

[image error] 0 (Hated It)

[image error] [image error] 0 (Didn’t Like It)

[image error] [image error] [image error] 1 (It Was OK)

[image error] [image error] [image error] [image error] 3 (Liked It)

[image error] [image error] [image error] [image error] [image error] 1 (Loved It)

ARCs: 1

New-to-Me Authors (Excluding Non-Fiction): Erin Connor.

If you want to check out the full list on Goodreads, click here.

Until next month, Louise x