Celeste Varick has a simple find one of the last wormholes on earth and walk right in. The catch? She has no idea where she'll land, or that she's about to fall for the one stranger chasing the same impossible leap.
Everett Ludlow booked the same charter to the same island to find the same wormholes at the same exact moment. A kindhearted skeptic, he doesn't believe in fate but is desperate enough to leap into the future to save someone he loves.
Forced together in the wilderness, two lost souls start tempting fate, and each other. Neither came here looking for a partner; they came to fix the pasts and futures haunting them. But the longer they brave the wild together, the more the present starts to feel like the one timeline worth fighting for. And as the wormholes draw closer, the scariest leap isn't through time at it's taking a chance on happiness together, right here, right now.
A heartfelt, funny, and utterly swoony timeslip romance—a warm, closed-door love story that proves the biggest risk is the one you take with your heart. A standalone return to the world of Maybe This Time.
Performed in immersive Dolby Atmos by a full cast led by Emily Bader (People We Meet on Vacation) and Lewis Pullman (Remarkably Bright Creatures). Perfect for fans of Emily Henry and the time-bending romance of The Time Traveler's Wife
Cara Bastone is the author of Ready or Not. She lives and writes in Brooklyn with her husband, sons, and an almost-goldendoodle. Her goal with her work is to find the swoon in ordinary love stories. She's been a fan of the romance genre since she found a grocery bag filled with her grandmother's old Harlequin Romances when she was in high school. She's a fangirl for pretzel sticks, long walks through Prospect Park, and love stories featuring men who aren't hobbled by their own masculinity.
Petition to have Lewis Pullman narrate every audiobook in existence for ever and ever amen (and also for Cara Bastone to get a raise, she is a machine)
This audiobook was damn near close to perfection because of so many reasons. The narrators, the plot setup, the banter, THE CHEMISTRY??? My goodness I enjoyed the hell out of this one. I just have to point out that this was probably one of my favorite audiobooks I've ever listened to, and I will die on that hill.
Cara Bastone has got to be one of the most creative, genuine romance writers out there because not only was this such an amazing love story, it was a damn near MASTERPIECE of a performance! I was able to finish this in just 2 sittings given that it is really not that long, but also because I was so invested in the story and characters itself. I was immersed and I fucking loved it.
The chemistry and banter between the main characters was just *chefs kiss*. They were funny, they meshed well, and their personalities were of the utmost compatible. It was like these characters were meant for each other. The dialogue flowed smoothly and not a beat was missed between these two. The chemistry was immediate and made you sit up and go OH HELLO when they embarked on their journey. I'm not gonna lie, I was blushing damn near the entire book.
Not only was their chemistry so good, but I loved their passion and love for their family members. There was a lot of backstory for just under a 3 hour audiobook and I could feel the love coming from these narrators who were telling Celeste's and Everette's story.
The plot itself was probably one of my favorite parts too. The science fiction aspect of the worm-holes and the different realities threw me for a loop but it was done with a creative genius mindset. It's not your typical love story; it's one that will leave you feeling warm and safe while embarking on a wild adventure. I'm struggling to find the words that describe just how accurately I love this book.
I'll leave it at this: in Cara Bastone we trust.
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🎧 𝓟𝓻𝓮-𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭: 💜⏳
I think it's about time I get back into audiobooks so here we are, trying again 😭 I have the attention span of a rock and I get so bored so easily but I want something light and fluffy and funny and I know I can count on Cara Bastone 🙂↕️
Yeah I love Cara’s brain. I can usually expect for her audiobooks to be a short and fun-humorous time and this was no exception. Except, this one had more emotion to it? if I wasn’t laughing or relating, I was tearing up for a moment in day 4 as it unexpectedly hit for me 😭 Thankfully it was wrapped up in a hopeful feel good way
Both actors ate with the narration and I think Emily embodied Celeste’s bubbly side as she did her sensitive one well. And Everett, I loved how he indulged in her orange side but wanted to know her purple one (book reference) 🥹 basically wanting her to be comfortable being herself in general and with him
I enjoyed their depth filled conversations, just the intellectual honesty of it and the hint of nostalgia it gave me as they got to know one another—made going on this mini time travel adventure with them through the wormholes enjoyable when it didn’t feel meaningful (which btw, this closely mirrored Cara’s other audio “maybe this time” and i loved how we get an Easter egg from there). These two were just too cutee
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“I can handle a woman who has two sides to the coin.”
“Attractiveness is really mostly in the indefinables. The more you get to know someone, and the more you like them, the less the details matter, you just see the whole thing.”
“Celeste, sometimes the people who love us are better at telling us the story of who we are than we are at telling ourselves. Maybe for a little while, don’t fill in the silence, just listen. I think you might be surprised at what you hear.
“I’ll be careful with you, Celeste.”
“Maybe it’s the intensity from the last two days but it’s like I know you from somewhere.” “I think if I met you in line at the post office, I’d be scrambling trying to think of a way to talk to you.”
Another great story from Cara Bastone. This one had the usual elements like witty banter and cozy romance that I came to enjoy from her audiobooks with an unexpected time travel twist thrown in. I loved it, her books feel like a warm hug. They are heartwarming, they never fail to make me smile and this one was no exception.
“Maybe it’s the intensity of the last two days but it’s like I know you from somewhere. It’s like you were in a dream I had or something like that.”
I had the best time listening to Celeste and Everett slowly fall for each other while searching for these last remaining wormholes. The mix of adventure, hope, and romance just worked for me, and I loved how the alternate reality element never took away from the heart of the story.
And can we just talk about Emily Bader and Lewis Pullman narrating and how they absolutely crushed it? Their chemistry was SO good, and they made every bit of banter and everything else sound incredibly real. I could not stop listening. We need Hollywood to cast them in a romcom ASAP.
The ending felt a tiny bit rushed, so it didn't quite hit five stars for me, but this was such a swoony, hopeful listen and definitely one I'll listen to again.
AAA so good!! I need like a million more of these audiobooks 🙂↕️🙂↕️🙌 THANK YOU EMILY BADER AND LEWIS PULLMAN FOR BLESSING MY EARS. 😻😻😻❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
Absolutely five star amazing production and voice acting (Bill Pullman's son! So good!!! Read more books please) but probably a 2 or so for the plot. The time travel // worm holes was so shallowly explored that it bothered me, and everything was very neatly wrapped up in the end but SO quickly.
Also for what I was hoping would be a more fun romp on a Lake Michigan island (the size of this island also gave me pause hmmmm) there were some very heavy topics, grief and cancer being the main ones.
Also, as someone with dead dad issues (hello it is me),
This isn't PNR but I labeled it fated mates, and if you read it you'll get it. Cara Bastone is my absolutely favorite "Romcom Feel Good Books That Somehow Always Makes Me Cry At The End" author. I've loved everything she's written and this one is no exception. This is her latest that just came out.
I absolutely love this phenomenal audio rom-com. I have been in love with Cara Bastone’s books for a long time. Her stories are authentic, real, and wonderfully addictive.
The characters feel like people who would be my best friends in real life (wishful thinking). The story is funny, and the banter-filled discussions are hilarious. I love the atmosphere and vibe of this story. It is highly entertaining, wonderfully sweet, and swoon-worthy. The conversations the characters have are amazing.
I listened to the audiobook in one captivating sitting. If you need a break from emotional, dramatic, and overwhelming stories and just want to relax and unwind, this is the book for you. It is 4.5 hours of a beautiful, funny, and wonderful love story.
Cara Bastone’s books are the perfect embodiment of the ideal rom-com.
The narrators are phenomenal. I love how absolutely real and authentic their interactions are. This is not just an audiobook. It is like a movie playing in audio format. Bravo for this fantastic performance. I love this amazing audiobook.
I feel like the first half of this book should have focused more on the storyline rather than on inane talking between the two main characters. The talking had way too many references to things that are very relevant right now in culture, which will make this less relatable in years to come. But when the story actually got going in the second half, I started having fun. I would have liked to see more of the actual story, but I also realize this isn’t supposed to be a full-fledged, well-thought-out book, so I can’t be too disappointed. In all, this was a cute read that, at least in the second half, got fun.
Well shit. This was perfect. The narration and production? Perfect. The writing? Perfect. The banter? Perfect.
I'm not huge into SciFi--but Cara Bastone wrote a book that made me care about the time loop wormholes not only in this book but also in Maybe This Time. And while I wasn't the biggest fan of Better Luck Next Time, this non-series interconnected series was beautiful and so sweet.
"Sometimes the people who love us are better at telling us the story of who we are than we are at telling ourselves. Maybe, for a little while, don't fill in the silence, just listen. I think you might be surprised by what youll hear"
I love Cara Bastone's audio novellas. Her writing translates well to short form and audible always finds star narrators. Unfortunately, her sci fi stories don't work as well for me as her contemporary ones. Which is odd because I generally prefer sci-fi over contemporary.
I find Bastone's light-hearted banter between characters incongruous with the stakes she sets up. These two are hiking on a deserted island where they may fall into a mineshaft or a wormhole at any minute. And while traipsing about, they are talking about what movies they like and their pets. The first hour of this was dull and if it wasn't Bastone writing this, I might have DNFed.
Thankfully the last 2/3rds of this story had the Bastone charm - delightful characters, banter that made me laugh, and a twist at the end that surprised me and made me tear up.
I recommend listening to this with both headphones in - the audio production has an immersive, surround sound quality that is dulled with only one headphone.
Loved the narrators. The dual narration really helped me with this story because I could feel the anguish Celeste was experiencing as she wanted to go back in time through a wormhole. Everett is on the same island looking for his own wormhole, but he’s looking to jump forward in time to save someone he loves.
As they trek together across the island, Everett’s dog, Guy, decides to throw all of Everett’s camping equipment off into an abyss, forcing these two to navigate the island and jump into the wormholes together.
Serendipity is definitely at play because they eventually wind up looking for the same person.
This rom com is laced with sci fi. I must admit, this isn’t my preferred genre, and I downloaded it without knowing the premise beforehand. I couldn’t really get into the wormhole stuff, but the banter between these two characters was pretty adorable. I absolutely loved their interactions.
The dog, Guy, was a bit much for me, though, as he would just take things and create one chaotic situation after another. I’m a cat lover, so I’m definitely not loving the mayhem Guy caused. Give me a cat any day!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I missed this Cara Bastone audiobook format and I listened to it because of Emily Bader!!!! But as a time travel book addict I feel like this fell short on the scifi aspect.
4.25 ⭐️. Loved this audible original!! The narration was excellent and the story was so cute! If Lewis Pullman could narrate more books, that would be great.
Adorable story about wormholes and connections through space and time ❤️
All dialogue based, perfect for a long drive (the 🎧audiobook🎧 - only form available - is about 4 1/2 hours long at normal speed), absolutely perfect narration 😩🫶
While the beginning was a bit slow and awkward (due to the characters' fairly demure nature), the second half, and especially the last hour - when they got comfortable and opened up to one another - were truly special. I even shed a few tears 🥹.
I adored these 2, they were all rainbows and unicorns and cotton candy 🌈 🍭💖 and my silly heart hopes that they are somewhere out there in some alternate universe loving each other for real 🥰
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"It's like I know you from somewhere. It's like you were in a dream I had, or something like that..." "And uhm... you don't think it's just because we're on this adventure together...?" "I think if I met you in line at the post office, I'd be scrambling trying to think of a way to talk to you."
"Sometimes the people who love us are better at telling us the story of who we are, than we are at telling ourselves. Maybe, for a little while, don't fill in the silence. Just listen. I think you might be surprised at what you hear..."
Wormholes, time traveling, and a meant-to-be love story, Cara Bastone does it again. 💜 This was absolutely perfect!
‧₊ ᵎᵎ 🕳️ ⋅ ˚✮
I don’t know how Cara Bastone writes the perfect romance story each time, but this audiobook joins the list of five-star Cara Bastone books, which includes pretty much every book of hers I’ve read so far. 😭 I loved this so much! It was the perfect amount of funny, heartwarming, and emotional. I was laughing out loud, swooning, and rooting so strongly for these two characters. Of course, it goes without saying that I ADORED the narration. Emily Bader and Lewis Pullman delivered an incredible performance and I hope to hear them narrate another audiobook again. Their chemistry was incredible and I could picture this like a movie playing before my eyes. 🥹
Celeste and Everett were so beautiful together! I loved their banter, how instantly comfortable they were with each other, how vulnerable they chose to be, and how they communicated. This was peak romance banter by the way. 🤭 Honestly, it’s like you dragged it out of a 2000s romcom. Bring this energy back for all romance stories please! 😮💨💜 I didn’t expect to get that emotional but near the end of the story, I was a crying mess. But it’s okay because we love expressing feelings and emotions here as well as feeling things deeply. 😤
This is such a quick listen; I’m so glad to have started a new reading month with it! I’d definitely recommend it if you love a classic romcom story and appreciate or enjoy a bit of a sci-fi twist in it. 🥰💜
Are you kidding me right now??? How in the world does Cara Bastone pack so much humor and feeling into a little 5 hr novella??? I am not kidding when I tell you I laughed out loud and cried too! Set in a post super nova apocalyptic world Everett and Celeste both take a trip to an island with some of the only remaining wormholes left on Earth after the super nova apocalypse. Everett wants to travel to the future and Celeste wants to go into the past but as they hike together they find out it might not be a coincidence they ended up here at the same time and their goals might actually be related!!
The voice acting was seriously some of the best I’ve ever heard. I would genuinely listen to anything the two MC narrators did now. And all the special sound effects made it such an immersive experience!! This was just SO great!! Absolutely recommend!!
This story highlights a moment that makes me smile every time: that moment when you meet someone that lights your spark. The conversation and banter were top tier and left me smiling the whole way. And then the special sci-fi twists and turns made it unique. And what’s better? The narrators selected brought this to life so beautifully !! Adding to that greatness were the ambient noises that created such a cool atmosphere. Definitely a “headphones in BOTH ears” listen. Short, sweet and thoroughly enjoyable.
As close to perfect as an audiobook novella can get. The story was genuinely so interesting and their chemistry was absolutely darling. I need them both to ramp up their audiobook career ASAP. 5/5 ⭐️