Wow - this book. I loved it so much!

Gemma has endometriosis and wants to have a baby, so she decides to try IVF. She isn’t comfortable choosing an anonymous donor so she enlists Josh, her childhood friend.

I love their relationship! With the childhood friends to lovers trope, I love the familiarity they have since they’ve known each other for years. They’ve even been together at some point when they were younger. There are some really entertaining antics in their moments together in present time too. Josh is the sweetest guy too!!

There’s also quite a few emotional moments towards the end. This book had me shedding some tears too.

I loved the narration by Erin Mallon as well! ALC was provided through Netgalley - thank you!

🔊Song Pairing: You Were Meant For Me - Jewel

💭What I thought would happen:

I was thinking Bridget Jones’s Baby where Gemma falls in love with a one night stand who knocks her up…nope! More sperm, less sex in the beginning translation 😂

📖What actually happens:

Gemma is in her thirties, divorced, the family’s black sheep and she wants to have a baby. After being diagnosed with a form of endometriosis making it difficult to conceive, Gemma sets out to find some sperm and IVF her way to pregnancy

Josh is Gemma’s brother’s long time best friend who Gemma has barely acknowledged since puberty but lo and behold when the 2 enter into an agreement that Josh will be her sperm donor. Just the beginning of their adventure.

🗯Thoughts:

I loved the way this book played out. The focus on infertility was realistic and felt raw, yet relatable. Gemma’s infertility support group adds colour and comedy. Women creating bonds and adding humour to their misfortunes. I’m here for that.

This was a super cutesy book and sometimes that makes me want to gag but I enjoyed it in the writing of this story. I wanted a cute love story for Gemma and Josh.

The “villain” in this book just made me 😂 and hate at the same time. Without saying, but oh what a wanker!

If you want a sweet tasty little romance, pick this gem up!

This was so so good! The burn was slow and my insides were getting all squirrelly wanting to jump out of themselves so they would just FALL IN LOVE ALREADY!!!! I could see pieces of the storyline falling into place and it just made me yearn to read faster and faster, all while never wanting it to end.

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby was a flawless combination of character growth and a heartwrenching and heartwarming plot. I felt a large range of emotions reading this book, and I'm thankful that every piece of this plot was there. Every character in this book was loveable for their own reasons. It's such a warm and wonderful read, even though there's pain and loss within the pages.

This was my first book by Sarah Ready, and I will absolutely pick up another.

Not only was this story laugh out loud funny but it also dealt with some very emotional and serious topics of Ivf as well.

I thought the narrator was amazing and really gave the story an edge that kept me wanting more and more, absolute perfection!

Sarah Ready is a new author to me but definitely one I will be on the look out for in the future!

DNF at 13%. I couldn’t even make it to the romance part of this “romance” book.

Wow. Woooowwwwww. Save me from rom-com books that think the only way for me to care about a character is for EVERYONE IN HER LIFE to treat her like garbage and Gemma not only allows it, but acts like it’s normal. Gemma needs therapy and boundaries stat.

Her mom fat shames her on the regular, calling her a “lumpy cucumber” in a green sweater dress. Her mother shares her infertility struggles with strange men and then attempts to set Gemma up with them, and tells her a 50 year old balding man who calls her “a dumpling” is the best she can do.

Gemma’s father shoos the mom’s bad behavior away with a “she means well and wants you to be happy” so no help on that front.

Her sister, who she has “always been close to” tells her to enjoy her bachelor, single life. Seeing as how Gemma is very publicly battling infertility, and the sister is a mom of four, this is incredibly insensitive.

If all of this was a set up for the most villainous family award and the book was an exploration of a woman going to therapy to heal from her toxic upbringing, maybe I’d be on board? And all of this trauma was just the first few chapters?? I’m gonna nope right on out of here.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book was absolutely hilarious! I laughed out loud so many times.

Erin Mallon is always perfect narration.

Sarah is a new author to me- cannot wait to find more!

Loved that this story showed the real sides of IVF and the struggles that come along with it. Love love love this story!

✨Book Review✨ Josh and Gemma Make a Baby 🍼 by Sarah Ready

Stars— ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

✨Things I liked about the book✨
💖 Hilarious! This book is so funny! 😂
💖 Friends… maybe? To Lovers 💕
💖 friendship, family, heartbreak, overrated positivity “quotes”
💖 Steamy Romance 🔥

✨Synopsis✨ Meet Gemma Jacobs. She’s driven, energetic, and a positive thinker. She has a great career working for famed self-help guru Ian Fortune, she lives in a cute studio apartment in Manhattan, and her family is supportive and loving (albeit a little kooky). Her life is perfect. Absolutely wonderful.

Except for one tiny little thing. After a decade of disastrous relationships and an infertility diagnosis, Gemma doesn’t want a Mr. Right (or even a Mr. Right Now), she just wants a baby. And all she needs is an egg, some sperm, and IVF. So Gemma makes a New Year’s resolution: have a baby.

Josh Lewenthal is a laid back, relaxed, find-the-humor-in-life kind of guy. The polar opposite of Gemma. He’s also her brother’s best friend. For the past twenty years Josh has attended every Jacobs’ family birthday, holiday, and event – he’s always around.

Gemma knows him. He’s nice (enough), he’s funny (-ish), he’s healthy (she thinks) and he didn’t burn any ants with a magnifying glass as a kid. Which, in Gemma’s mind, makes him the perfect option for a sperm donor.

So Gemma and Josh make a deal. An unemotional, businesslike arrangement. No commitments, just a baby.

✨Review✨ I could not stop laughing while listening to this book. There were so many awkward hilarious moments, that made the emotional rollercoaster ride of IVF seem relatable and approachable (if you can believe making IVF funny, this book does it)! I loved the relationship between Gemma and Josh, and how it developed. Gemma was wrong on some many levels with her assumptions about Josh, but I loved how she owned her mistakes. Josh was lovable and complicated. I give this book 5/5 stars for the humor, banter, and hot romance.

I keep teetering on my rating of this book. I really enjoyed the story of Josh and Gemma, but I had some issues with the story as well.

My main problem was that Gemma just seemed so clueless. I kept wondering how she could not know certain things. This is partially explained later in the book, but not sufficiently.

My second issue was that there were a few parts that you really had to suspend your disbelief for. People just don't act the way they are portrayed in this story. I suppose my issue with the too tidy ending can be lumped in this category as well. It was just too much sunshine and rainbows to be believable. Don't get me wrong, I love a happy ending. This one was just a little too over the top for me in the way it was relayed. Fortunately, I expect some suspension of disbelief in contemporary romance, so I was mostly able to pretend those parts were realistic enough.

Aside from those two things, I really enjoyed the story. I loved the path it took and enjoyed the relationship building. It was easy to read (aside from the constant quotes... but, again, those tied into the story) and I really liked some of the characters.

Overall, I wish I could give this one 3.5★ and I'd like to read more of Sarah Ready's work in the future. Having only read one book by this author, it's difficult to tell if my issues with this book are solely with this story or if she tends to stick with these patterns. I enjoyed this one enough to find out with another story.

I listened to the audio of this book read by Erin Mallon. I thought she did an excellent job and was able to make the story come alive for me.

This book surprised me on a few different levels. Not only was it not quite what I was expecting, plot wise, but I enjoyed it a lot more than I had originally anticipated. My penchant for RomComs is slowly growing, and honestly this book had a lot to do with that. I can honestly say that I laughed out loud several times while listening to it. There were times that the improbability of events caused my laughter, but there were also some very good one liner type jokes that just made me giggle.

I am a total sucker for puns, but a whole book surrounding them was a little much for me at times. Though the bad jokes do end up playing a significant role in the story line, I found myself growing a little tired of them after a while. That wasn’t the oddest part to me though. I was very confused as to why Gemma lost her virginity to her brother’s best friend, only to end up asking him to be her sperm donor years later. This seemed like a very odd thing to include, because it really didn’t add anything to the plot. Other than them randomly referencing them doing it on the garage floor. Yeah. You read that right. The garage! I feel like him just being her childhood crush would have sufficed.


During the duration of this book, I had a felt like there were a few questionable moments, meaning that I felt like something was so random and out of place that it made me stop to be sure that I heard it right. The first being the whole losing it on the garage floor thing, but another was her relationship with Ian. He is her boss, so that would have been a big no no, but she had also worked for him for years, yet their relationship started so fast and just kept moving along, despite them never really defining things. Also, the descriptions of his office baffled me. That might seem like a really odd thing to get caught up on, but at one point she references a golfing set up, and I was just so confused. How big was it supposed to be?? The last one was the fact that the fertility clinic didn’t supply any material in the donation room. I feel like that is common practice, and therefore just not realistic. I know it was for the plot, but still. It kind of pulled me out of the story, because I just feel like that so would not be a thing.

The fact that this whole story surrounds the actual making of the baby was the biggest surprise to me. Though the plot surrounding the trials of IVF and infertility was honestly interesting, it just was not what I was expecting. I mean, she’s pregnant on the cover of the book, so I was thinking it was going to be more of a co-parenting type of story, or maybe just following them through the whole pregnancy together. But no, it really was about Josh and Gemma making a baby!


Despite the fact that I sometimes get hung up on small details, like the Mary Poppin’s bag of an office, I really did enjoy this book. It dealt with a real issue in a very real way, while also being funny. Infertility is a huge issue, and I feel like this book could make all types of mothers feel seen and represented. Gemma was tired of waiting, so she took matters into her own hands. The women in her fertility support group weren’t doing it alone like Gemma, but they all represented such real women going through IVF. Motherhood is something that everyone views differently, and I loved how this book dealt with that.

In the end, though I saw the “twists” in the story from a mile away, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was sweet, a little heartbreaking, and just cheesy enough to make me laugh. I am always down for a quick read, and this really felt like a great palette cleanser between my darker, spicier romance books.

Narration
Since I had started using audiobooks as my main source of book consumption, I have become fairly nitpicky when it comes to my narrators. I have listened to some amazing ones, as well as some who are less than stellar. For me, Erin Mallon’s narration of this book was one of those I just didn’t love. I like to listen to my audiobooks a little fast (or maybe a lot fast, depending on who you ask), but I always start out slow in order to get to know the person’s voice. I want to be sure I get a feel for their style or narration before I step up the pace. With this one, I found myself speeding things up faster than usual, not in the sense that I listened to it faster than normal but meaning that I didn’t need long to realize that this reading was not going to be my favorite. Erin Mallon sounds like cheesy a newscaster, and all I could think is that no one sounds like that. I didn’t feel like the book came across as someone talking to me, but more someone very professionally reading it off. The emotions were there. The voices were there. But it just didn’t sound natural to me.

Absolutely loved this title! The cute romance and realistic view of infertility was so well done. Highly recommend!

This was a super cute book and unlike any story/romance that I have read lately! It was very refreshing. I thought the unique take on a "romantic comedy" was pretty fun and easy to get sucked into. I enjoyed both of the main characters and was happy to go along with their IVF/romantic journey.

Gemma is the type of character I always root for, struggling to understand herself, not always making the best decisions, but comes out on top. Also hilarious, I loved her inner dialogs.

This is the first book I have read that touched based on IVF and I enjoyed following that process with Gemma and Josh.

The audio was great and this is an author I will look forward to reading more of in the future.

I stumbled upon the 'listen now' audio ARC thanks to #netgalley literally the day before it released. I am so happy that I did too. As a big thriller and WW2 Historical fiction fan, these lighter rom coms are hit or miss for me. This one did not disappoint. The narration was spot on in my opinion. Gemma deals with an issue of fertility that many people shun from discussing in 'polite' society yet still today. I enjoyed the banter between her and her family, Josh and the "pink room' gals. Any audio that makes me chuckle out loud is a plus and I did so a few times. I wish there had been a little more in depth about Josh's dad and the Ian thing perhaps but overall a quick witty story that makes you think a bit as well.

Full of heart and humor

And triggers. Please take care and read with caution. It was an enjoyable book but it also deals with some very heavy issues!!!

TW: Infertility, Miscarriage , Pregnancy, Death of parent, Infidelity, Sexual content, Vomit, Fatphobia, Blood

Her mom sucked and I'm surprised Gemma didn't stick up for herself sooner.

Josh was swoony and awesome and I thought he was awesome with every turn of the story.

I laughed. I cried. Then laughed some more. And now I have a craving for lime jello!

Gemma’s only dream is to become a mother. As a new divorcee at 32 and no children because of her infertility, Gemma doesn’t think she will ever have kids. That’s when she decides she will just have a baby with IVF. Gemma decides to ask her first love Josh, to be her donor. He checks all the boxes on her “what do I want my baby to be like” list and he agrees. They keep it a strictly friends, only for the baby sort of relationship but as they move forward in a enduring, emotional process, will old feelings come back? Or what if those feelings never went away at all? This book is the perfect little rom com with such a unique plot.

This book was such a fun, quick read but it was also engaging with a unique plot. I really enjoyed how Gemma’s character developed and I LOVE how Josh’s character was written, if felt different to other rom com men. Sarah Ready did such a great job developing the side character and giving everyone a role. With the love triangle trope and the past conflict with Ian and Josh I felt that all the characters were connected which was great. The romance was super sweet and sexy and I love the first love, second chance trope as well. Overall this was a really great read and I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a flirty rom com read!

This is the first audio book I’ve ever listened to, so it’s possible that it may impacted my thoughts and opinions on this one. Josh and Gemma Make a Baby is about an infertile, divorced woman in her early 30s who decides to go through IVF because she wants to start a family and is tired of looking around for Mr. Right. She ends up asking her brother’s best and oldest friend to be her donor.

There are some funny parts, romantic parts, and ultimately some very serious parts as well as Josh and Gemma navigate through their IVF journey and also their feelings for each other.

As far as the audiobook goes, I’m sure the narrator was just fine. But hearing a man’s voice read by a woman who was faking that man’s voice just didn’t do it for me. Is that how most audiobooks are?

Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Book: Josh and Gemma Make A Baby
Author: Sarah Ready
Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Publication Date: 25th Jan’ 2022

TRIGGER WARNINGS: IVF, Infertility, Misscarriage

My first audiobook of 2022 and I loved it! Josh and Gemma Make A Baby was such an easy listen and I tended to want to tune in to it at every opportunity I could find!

We follow Gemma Jacobs whose New Years resolution is to have a baby!! Only problem is she is a single pringle and unable to conceive without the help of IVF! She is on the search for a sperm donor or in Gemma’s case someone she knows and trusts but wants a no strings attached arrangement! This is when her long time family friend Josh comes into the equation!

The narrator Erin Mallon was a joy to listen to and she really made the story come to life which is what I love about a good audiobook! This book is charming, heartwarming and full of fun, I highly recommend it! It’s out now, go check it out!!

Thanks so much to @netgalley and Sarah Ready for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this fantastic book!

4 ⭐️
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Thank you so much to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for the e-ARC and audio-ARC copies of this book! I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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Well this wound up being a fun, heartfelt surprise! I started this as an audiobook just to shake things up, and while it was a bit of a rocky beginning, this turned out to be a very sweet story.

"Josh and Gemma Make a Baby" is a pretty straightforward story when you first think about it: Gemma is a 32-year-old infertile divorcée whose life is pretty average at first glance, but after years of family treating her like the single black sheep, she wants to start a family of her own and have a baby - without a husband. Gemma takes matters into her own hands and decides that even though she had endometriosis and was told it would never happen for her, she wants to try for a baby. When she's asked if she has a sperm donor, her brother's best friend (and coincidentally the man who took her virginity before going off to college), Josh, seems like a great option. What follows is a story of seeing past your initial judgements, fertility struggles, new friendships, and maybe finding the person you were always meant to be with but needed a second chance to see clearly.

To tell the truth, I wasn't a fan of this book at first. The opening didn't start as strong as I expected and the characters just didn't grasp me. I didn't love the narrator's tone, but I'm glad I stuck with it because of how I warmed up to her as well as the characters themselves. I don't want to give away too much, but I will say that characters who seemed extremely one-dimensional at the beginning just needed the time to become fully fleshed-out and well-rounded - just like the process of having a baby itself. I'd give this one a solid 4 stars because it was a rough beginning, but ended up having such a big heart.

Definitely interested to see what else this author brings to the table for her next book!

Josh and Gemma make a baby was a pleasant surprise. When I requested this book, I didn't really expect to like it anywhere near as much as I did.

3.5 Stars
It was such a cute romantic comedy that tackled the tough topic of infertility. Gemma is a relatable, but VERY flawed protagonist. I hated how it took her way too long to learn anything about Josh and how she waited to read his comics. HOW THE HELL DID SHE NOT KNOW HE WAS FAMOUS ? Josh... I love him. He writes comic books. I loved the chemistry and witty banter between the two. I also liked how they had bumps into he road of their IVF journey and it wasn't just instababy. It was predictable, but still enjoyable.

The main complaints I have were that Gemma being clueless annoyed me, the convention scene and the problematic couple at the doctors office felt unnecessary .

HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE AUDIOBOOK. The narrator was EXCELLENT. Erin Mallon seriously made the book so much better. I'm also looking forward to reading more from the author Sarah Ready as well.

Thank you to Netgalley and Swift and Lewis, LLC for allowing me access to the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️3.5/5

I really really enjoyed this. I thought it was funny, and entertaining. Of course the ending is expected, but I didn't mind. I liked the story and the romance. Josh being a simp was awesome.

I didn't like the convention scene, it felt very stupid, especially considering how stupid most rom-com scenes are. I hated Ian sooooo much from the beginning, wish him all the worst.

I'm not sure I would have enjoyed the book so much if I hadn't been listening to the audiobook, because some of the cringe and cheesiness was not too bad since I listened to it.

The family and friends are just awesome. Gemma's fertility group friends are all deserving of their own books.

Overall very cute, even though sometimes I couldn't stand the MC. There's not many complaints, therefore my 3.5 is rounded to a 4. :))