Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book.
3.5 stars
I went half audio and half ebook with this one .
I often go through my romance books via audiobooks.
I usually avoid books with pregnency and infertility but when the main subject is that , i make an exception .
This book is basically a brother's bestfriend romance also dealing with serious stuff such as infertility,miscarriages,IVFs
In some parts I was annoyed with Gemma's reactions , her being ashamed of her infertility . This really is not something to be f**king ashamed of !
It was a predictable book but still i will recommand this to the audience it was meant to.
Would not in any ways recommand this to people dealing with those problems in real life

I really wanted to love this book. I did. The cover, description and title pulled me in. Once I started listening to the book though, I realized it wasn’t that great. The main character was shamed, mocked and belittled by everyone and anyone over her weight, looks and infertility. On what planet does that seem like the right thing to do in a rom com book? Like literally it doesn’t. Also add into the fact they treat the main male character like a boy toy/ stud. When that all wasn’t happening the author lacked the skill that is needed as a writer. The ability to show rather than tell parts of her story.

While this book wasn’t one I enjoyed, I might consider giving this author another chance in the future if the book is the right one.

Before I start my review many thanks to Netgalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for this audio ARC!

I really enjoyed this audio book! The narration was very refreshing which made it very engaging to listen to story. The very fresh and fun way the book has been written made me laugh at several occasions.
This book is about Gemma who wants to have a baby without being in a relationship. The journey to get there with Josh, the guy she just chose is truly a journey.

I don't want to put out any spoilers, just only let me say so much. You will really love the way this book is written, you will love the way this book is narrated and the story and development of this story is pretty typical for this kind of books and still new and very refreshing.

An absolute thumbs up and recommended whoever wants to experience a funny romance story. Truly a book you keep listening to and I am sure you also wouldn't want to put down.

This book . I laughed, I cried, I laughed some more! I have never loved an audiobook or the characters in one as much as this one! Highly reccommend!!

I laughed, I cried, but I would give it a 3.5.

I very much enjoyed the story and in a lot of ways this was comfort food to me. A tried and true rom-com formula and some of my favorite tropes including a love triangle, the siblings best friend, and a grand declaration of love.

Gemma Jacobs life hasn’t gone as planned and now she is taking charge to make her dreams of having a baby come true even if she has to do it on her own.

This felt a lot like Bridget Jones to me and I was drawn in instantly. Gemma is a quintessential main character diving head first into accomplishing what she wants without much thought and has an enormous amount of personal grow she must go through along the way.

Some things just missed the mark for me. The were a couple parts of the books that felt a little **too** familiar and aren’t we past fat shaming as a comedy trope by now? I also really did not like that euphemisms were used in place of curse words. I felt this could just be left out of the the conversations and it really bugged me every time I heard it. It makes no sense to me the have descriptions of sex scenes and the word breast used countless times to be in the same space as “heck” and “crap”.

This majority of this book takes place in Jan/Feb so a very seasonal read for this time which I needed and overall I enjoyed. I also loved the family’s New Years tradition and think I’ve been litfluenced to incorporate that into my own life next year!

I listed to the audiobook on this one and I think I would have preferred the physical copy. I want to lead with saying I am newer to audiobooks and have only listens to ones narrated by actors before. For me the narration on this sounded like a book being read by AI with over annunciation and a painstakingly slow pace. I had to listen to to it on 1.25x speed but once I got over that I did appreciate for different character voices.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the listening copy.

I loved this book it hit one some serious topics. It was witty and smart and just wonderful. I loved the book and the narration was top-notch.

I LOVED this book! Omg I couldn’t get enough I loved the love triangle and josh is my favorite ever!

I am just blow away about this book. It talks about infertility and finding a way to get her New Year wish, a baby. To be really honest, I was very hesitant to request this book but I just thought, this would be really good and close to my heart. And it is. The topic just hits home and I just want it close to me to motivate me in this PCOS journey.

FULL REVIEW: https://wandersbetweenpagess.wordpress.com/2022/02/10/book-review-josh-and-gemma-make-a-baby-by-sarah-ready/

Overall I enjoyed the narration of the audiobook and thought it was an enjoyable listen, the narrator did a wonderful job of helping me know changes in character easily with changes in the way the words were spoken…

Now, the actual story was wonderful. I loved that it tugged at my heart and discussed the difficult topic of infertility and brining awareness that there are many different reasons for infertility as shown through the support group and their different challenges affecting their ability to conceive. This is something we don’t talk enough about in society, as well as the emotional devastation that can come with the journey to conceive when there is some sort of diagnosis, or even if there isn’t and it is taking longer for unknown reasons. I also liked the discussion of miscarriages as well as statistically we all know someone who has had at least one miscarriage and may or may not have suffered that loss in silence without support as Gemma initially did.

I loved the supporting characters as well… I loved their purpose and the growth of some of the characters we got to see.

As for Josh and Gemma, I loved the tension, love, and light between them. I thought that they had such a cute relationship and I loved the unraveling of the truth of their feelings at the end where we got to see more about the depth of Gemma and certainly Josh’s feelings.

Thank you NetGalley and Swift and Lewis Publishing for the ARC of this audiobook!

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby was an adorable title. It is hard to get into a business relationship with someone you adore, yet try to not involve feelings. That was unsuccessful for Josh and Gemma! While they entered into their relationship with business-like terms, slowly they began to go from friends to lovers, and the readers are along for their journey.

This book is one of those stories that you wish you could live in real life based on their banter, wit, and silly remarks. It also involved some steam - where can you go wrong with that?! Readers who love to witness all of this in a story cannot go wrong with this one as a choice to help bring back their love of reading romance novels. Readers are engrossed in the story right from the start, which makes reading it that much easier!

Reading this as an audiobook was definitely different than as a traditional paperback story, and I was not too fond of the audiobook narrator. Something about her voice made this story a lot less enjoyable to read, but the story itself helped keep me tied in as much as I could be.

Totally recommend for those looking for a fun, quick read in the romance genre!

Where to start...

I hated and loved Gemma throughout this book, but I feel like that is a good thing. She is most certainly a character that is in need of finding herself even though she thinks that she is there. The transition into a more powerful and aware woman is a journey and I was happy to be there for it!

And seriously where is the factory where they make Josh's?! At first, I was timid that it was just another brother's best friend gimmick, but while that applies there is sooo much more!

Additionally, the friends that Gemma makes in her fertility group are a hoot! They each have their own struggle and story that is beautiful. I love how the author shows the emotions that they are going through to become mothers. It builds such a true rawness to the story that it is not just "Gemma wants a baby. Josh looks at her sexily. She releases the breath she didn't know she was holding. They do a deed. Boom she's pregnant." There is a process and they do not arrive to the ending easily.

I also love Gemma's family. They are a hoot. I want to throw a NYE's party like her parents.

Do yourself a favor and read this book!

Thank you NetGalley for the privilege to read an advance copy of this book!

I loved this book, it was so much more than your typical RomCom. Touching on some very hard hitting subjects such as Infertility and miscarriage, I found this book to be an emotional rollercoaster.

I connect to Gemma on so many levels and I loved Josh but I found Gemma’s family to be very toxic and controlling. I would definitely recommend checking the trigger warnings before going into this.

Sarah Ready's latest novel, Josh and Gemma Make a Baby, follows a thirtysomething with one New Year's resolution: have a baby. The catch? after a brutal divorce in her early twenties, she's still single, left with trust issues, intimacy issues, and a general aversion to getting too close.

In walks, Josh Lewenthal, her older brother's best friend (a favorite trope of mine), family friend, and all-around good guy. Josh is also the keeper of a few of Gemma's firsts: her first kiss. Her first time.

What comes afterward is a fun, lighthearted view on the particularly trying topic of infertility and IVF. You feel for Gemma as she goes through the whole process while hiding it from her family, specifically her unhelpful but well-intentioned prodding mother.

The narrator does a great job with the characters, making it an engaging listen throughout and the story, slow in some parts, was never one that I was happy to put down. 

While navigating some solidly executed romance tropes, it might take you a bit to warm up to the central character, but Josh and Gemma will leave you in tears (in the best way).

I was pleasantly surprised by this one! I love romcoms and that's the majority of my reading, but I wasn't sure about the storyline with Gemma trying to have a baby.

BUT!

It was so good. Funny, smart, and relatable. It was a reminder that you make your own rules in life. If you want something, do it.

I will very quickly being adding more of Sarah Ready's books into my TBR now!

I was SOBBING while listening to the audiobook. Very cute. Very sweet. Check triggers but a must read!

Childhood friends to brother's best friend to sperm donor, to lovers. It's a wild ride full of laughs and fluff and heartaches.

This was a DNF for me. I was excited for this one, and I think it could have been good, but it went in the wrong direction.

I listened to the audiobook of this and I loved it!

This was a delightful romcom that had me smiling to myself and at times laughing out loud. Gemma was super relatable and Josh had me swooning. It was everything I could want in a romcom, but what made it stand out to me was the focus on having a baby which most other romcoms don’t do!

I hope to read more from this author in the future!

I was sent a free book and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Swift & Lewis Publishing, and Sarah Ready for a free ARC of this book.

Dnf at 37%
Sorry but this whole Ian thing just wasn’t it for me. Josh’s name is in the title for a reason and I swear it was like I was getting way more Ian than Josh. I really enjoyed it up until it seemed like Ian was never going to go away. I’d still say maybe give it a try if you’re really interested because I know a lot of people did enjoy this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I’m DNFing this one. I’m barely through chapter 3 and I am sick of Gemma and her haughty judgmental attitude toward everyone who she deems is not good enough for her. (Which is most people.) She and her mother both are awful, constantly making snide comments about people’s appearances and writing them off because of their age, their name, their clothing. I’m not reading any further.

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby was a rollercoaster from start to finish, with (admittedly predictable, but still decidedly entertaining) twists and turns. The premise of the book was unique and promising, and I was looking forward to a fluffy romance with two people navigating pregnancy and parenthood and managing the unexpected feelings that came along with it. Parenthood and infertility is very uncommon to find in the romance genre, and I was really looking forward to seeing how the book managed to balance romance and co-parenthood— unfortunately, very few of these expectations were fully realized. I am normally quite good at managing and adjusting my expectations for a book when I realize that I am going into it with a mindset that puts it at a disadvantage, however the synopsis, title, cover, and much of the marketing all seemed to allude to not only the process of IVF and the struggles of infertility, but properly seeing Josh and Gemma have and raise their baby. I was hoping for some cute pregnancy fluff!! For a book with so much focus on the MC’s desire to conceive and love a child, there was very little of the latter, which was what I was looking forward to. So, should this be a title that interests you, go into it with that in mind. While the romance was undeniably cute when it was given the spotlight, this was far from fluffy and took on an unexpectedly serious tone with some mild humour strewn about that sometimes missed the landing. Don’t get me wrong— I don’t mind a more serious romance. However, I do want a good balance, and unfortunately I didn’t personally find there was enough focus on the development of their relationship for it to feel all that believable, let alone make me invested in it. In fact, for the vast majority of the book, Gemma is in an increasingly serious relationship with someone else.
I did love most of the more dramatic, confrontational scenes, although they did sometimes border into absurd and difficult to take seriously. That being said, the author wrote dramatic tension very well when humour was not attempted to be brought in, and this was definitely a book that I had fun with despite my complaints.
While the book did have sexual scenes, I would decidedly not go into the book for said scenes. Again, they did occasionally feel a bit ridiculous and it took away from the experience.
This book was a slowburn in all areas. Romance, character development, and the titular plot point— having a baby— all felt like minor and slow moving side plots that were cast aside for other matters. Which, again, I likely would not have minded had I known that that was what the book was about. I think what it comes down to is a large issue here is that the book is not what it is trying to be, or rather claiming to be, and while what it is is not terrible by any means it just isn’t enough for me to want to make excuses for it. It had all the makings of a good romance, even if it did lay a little heavy into some cliches. Despite not being the most creative set up and execution, these characters and plot points were not done poorly, they just weren’t anything special. I don’t think I could see myself rereading this one, but I’m glad to have read it. Josh was a fun and complex character who I really loved as a male lead and it was frustrating to see him be so misunderstood and disregarded because I really did feel for him as a character. Many of the side characters had interesting storylines of their own (Carly and Theo novella when?? I would read tf out of their romance) and others brought in some enjoyable humour (Brook supremacy) and I rejoiced when there were some (mostly.. iykyk) supportive female friendships brought into the mix!
I did hope for more representation. There were no queer characters, and any mention of POC was either brief enough for me to have forgotten it or nonexistent, but according to the author’s instagram there side characters were black or mixed. 🤷‍♀️ I digress. Relatedly, there is mention that Gemma is plus sized (or “chubby”) however this is often/always brought up in a negative context, and there is no sign of her being even remotely plus sized on the cover, so there is little reference point for that fact despite the best consistent shaming she receives, which is a shame.
The narrator of this audiobook expressed the emotions of the scenes and the book overall incredibly well, and her commendable performance made for a very immersive experience that elevated my enjoyment throughly.
Overall, this book earned a 3/5 ⭐️ from me, but while I may not have been the biggest fan of it for my own reasons, I am still intrigued by the author and am curious about her other published and upcoming books!