I was very happy to have access to the advanced copy. The book was great. I laughed throughout the book and my heart hurt at moments too. I feel this book could be a film/tv adaptation. I really enjoyed it! 4.5☆

✨ARC REVIEW✨

After some heartbreaking news and a divorce, Gemma has decided she doesn’t need to be in a relationship in order to fulfill her dream of having a baby. It may be crazy, but after weighing her options she decides to ask the man who has been around her entire life, Josh Lewenthal. Since he is her brothers best friend, they aren’t exactly close, but feels less awkward about asking him for help. Josh never saw himself wanting a baby, but with Gemma’s question looming in his mind, and a few changes in his life, he decides he would like to take the chance. Gemma never expects Josh to be so active and willing in the baby making process, but soon, she wants more than just a baby with Josh; She wants everything.

🍼M/F Relationship
🍼Brothers Best Friend, Childhood Friends, Pregnancy, Slow Burny
🍼Funny, Charming, Emotional
🍼Comic Book Writer Hero
🍼Heroine has PCOS and Fertility Issues

Don’t let this cartoon cover fool you, while it could fall into the Rom-Com category, it also will kick you in the feels. This had equally funny and charming moments as it did heartbreaking moments. Gemma is dealing with fertility issues and the challenges of having a baby when her body is working against her. I think I have read too many hate to love stories, because I kept waiting for them to have that kind of relationship haha, but they didn’t at all. Josh was all in, and super supportive for Gemma, along with her lady support group that I loved.

Although this is based around Gemma trying to have a baby, there were a few side plot points that kept the story moving and kept me engaged the whole way through. I listened to the audiobook, and Erin Mallon isn’t my favorite female narrator, but I know what to expect when listening to her and she does a solid job. The comic book aspect was fun, and their big come together moment was adorable. I really enjoyed this, but I cant stress enough that this could be particularly triggering for anyone who is sensitive to pregnancy/fertility.

⭐️4/5
🌶1/5

This one just made me really uncomfortable.

I enjoyed the narration but the plot itself was a bit off. The main character tells us that the guy she’s going to ask to help her make a baby is also the guy who she lost her virginity to at sixteen. Now, that would be fine but I feel like I need a little more context for that to have happened than some passing remark.

Anyway regardless I feel like it was pretty cool to see a book actually talk about endometriosis but at the same time we kind of just ignored a lot of the other side effects and that adopting is well…a thing? I kind of don’t understand the push to have biological children so maybe I should t have even picked this one up but I figured this was more a case of want a baby and lack the person than can’t have one. I think I made a mistake picking it up as it really wasn’t what I expected at all. I didn’t enjoy how people spoke to Gemma about her appearance either, especially her mum. No thank-you!

This was very cute, kind of weird -- but ultimately in a good way. Josh and Gemma Make a Baby follows Gemma, who has been told she can't get pregnant naturally, so she goes to see a fertility doctor for help. She ends up asking a childhood friend, Josh, to be her sperm donor for the baby and I think I can honestly say that I haven't read a book like this until now. Josh was adorable, and his love for Gemma was super sweet, if a bit predictable at times (but also, isn't that what you want from a book like this?). The secondary characters (Brooke, Hannah, Leah, etc) were very fun as well!

I wasn't really sure what I was getting into when I requested this book. I just wanted something fun to listen to while going about household chores. It definitely delivered on that front. While Gemma annoyed me at times, I would say that this would be an enjoyable read for anyone that likes fun, mostly light comedies! It would probably be quite relatable to adult women who are single and dealing with overbearing mothers setting them up on dates every month hahah.

I will say, the whole premise of Ian being famous for a bunch of cheesy inspirational quotes had me rolling my eyes sometimes, but I was definitely able to look past that. Also, the narrator for this one is definitely not for everybody -- her intonations feel quite weird at times, so it may be better for some readers to opt for a ebook/physical copy of this one.

Content warnings: death of a family member, miscarriage, difficulty getting pregnant

This book was surprising and refreshing. I expected just another rom com when I chose this book, boy was I wrong. This book game me all the feels. I laughed, cried, and laughed again. I loved how real the author kept it real about the struggle of infertility.. I enjoyed the different twists and turns of the plot. The narrator did a good job keeping me engaged by adjusting her voice for each character. Her voice as smooth and made it easy to follow along as I listened. There were parts of the book that I felt the author was reaching on and seemed a bit unrealistic to me,, but overall a great read.

Gemma is divorced and when she learns she could get pregnant through IVF, she decides she wants her brother's best friend to be the donor. Gemma is not looking for a relationship, just a baby to love. When she approaches Josh, he says no but later changes his mind. Gemma works for a very popular self-help guru who takes Gemma's breath away. Ian starts to make advances towards Gemma and she is flattered. When Josh and Gemma share the moments of working toward making a baby, she sometimes feels guilty. This is a business agreement but what they experience sometimes feel more like a family. Josh has grown up with Gemma's family, they even had sex on her graduation night, yet she has not seen Josh as someone she would love. The characters in this book are great. The IVF support group adds lots of humor to the book. The experiences in the IVF doctor's office bring smiles and tears. This book shows that you may not know the person you have been around for years. Sometimes you have to share your thoughts and be brave.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
I must say I really enjoyed Josh and Gemma. Josh is such a sweet character who just has layers to him which was really nice to see. Gemma has been stuck with the expectations of her family and everyone thinks that since her divorce, she is almost spoilt goods.
I know Gemma's character was written in a certain way, but occasionally I did find her annoying and a bit selfish. Especially the way she treated her friends was uncalled for.
I would say this is a light-hearted fun romance to read, I did really enjoy it.

This book was absolutely funny, while hitting you in the heart, at all the right times.

Emma has the perfect career, cute little studio in Manhattan, friends, family and the ever growing crush on Josh. She's decided that she wants a baby, even though she has many health struggles getting pregnant.
She's divorced, after finding her ex dallying in another.

Josh, the subject of Emma's childhood crush, best friends with her brother, always around the family.
He's a popular comic book author/artist.

Emma convinces Josh that she needs his sperm and this won't change things between them, they'll still remain friends.

But pregnancy hormones start taking over and her feelings toward Josh spin out of control.

She needs him.... and she gets him

I really enjoyed this book, I hope to read others by this author!

I just reviewed Josh and Gemma Make a Baby by Sarah Ready. #JoshandGemmaMakeaBaby #NetGalley

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall this was a solid story. I laughed and I cried (i'm talking ugly cry) and I finished it over the course of one day! Gemma is a great protagonist who shows a realistic perspective on how relationships in our lives can effect us either negatively or positively long after the relationship is over. She decides at the beginning of the year to go through the process of IVF to have a baby and the author did a lovely job of showing as well as explaining how this is all Gemma has wanted for most of her adult life. She's got the job, she's got a great family, she just wants a baby of her own to love unconditionally. Josh, is an interesting love interest. He's definitely a type that pretends to take nothing seriously, but in reality only takes the important things seriously, the rest doesn't matter. Observing these two characters navigate through the process of producing a baby (along with the other side characters along for the ride) was very engaging. It says in the description that this is book 1, so i'm hoping we'll get more in this universe.

The narrator sounds amazing and I wish I could listen to this whole book but for whatever reason the Netgalley app is really difficult to listen on. There is a weird echo on the audiobooks for me. But I’m going to put five stars because I’m also reading the physical copy and it’s so good so far! Will give a physical copy review when done.

Well, I think this audiobook has somewhat solidified my dislike of romcoms. This entire book is wrapped up in the title. No need to read it. It’s a friend to lovers trope that involved vibrating cell phones and lots of green jello. Gemma wants a baby. Josh donates his sperm to the cause. Will they fall in love? Of course. The end. Hope I didn’t ruin it for anyone. If you like a totally predictable love story that didn’t have a lot of com in the rom com, this one is for you. On a positive note, the narrator did a great job.

Thank you to @netgalley for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby was a very enjoyable and well written romcom. What sets it apart from other books was how much it explored infertility and IVF. It was a very slow burn but the best part of the relationship between Josh and Gemma was their friendship and their banter. The park scene was hilarious. I laughed and cried throughout the book but loved the last quarter of the book the most. Some of the topics are hard to read/listen to so please keep the trigger warnings in mind.

One thing I did not like about the book was how Gemma was treated and portrayed. It was really frustrating at times to hear her family and friends call her things like overweight and frumpy. A huge theme of the book was Gemma’s appearance and never in a good way. It wasn’t just criticism, it was full blown mean and it came from almost all of the characters. I definitely think the book would’ve been just as good without all of judgement against Gemma.

I enjoyed the narration and the interaction between the characters. It was very easy to follow the dialogue in scenes with big groups which not all narrators do well.

TW: Infertility, miscarriage, IVF

*Thank you NetGalley for providing me with the audiobook.

5 stars

After a disaster of a first marriage and an endometriosis diagnosis, Gemma decides to take things into her own hands and seek fertility treatment. She believes her brother’s best friend Josh would be an ideal sperm donor but perhaps not for the reasons you may think…

Josh and Gemma make a baby was an absolute gem of a book. This felt like Bridget Jones with a little more depth. I had never heard of Sarah Ready but will definitely check out her other releases.

Not many books make my 5 star favourites shelf but this has got to be one of them. It’s also the first time an audiobook has hit the top spot for me.

Brilliantly written characters and narrative, told with laugh out loud humour and gut wrenching emotion combine to make this a perfect read.

I have to say the love scene was one of the most original ones I’ve read purely because it felt so real to me.

Ready was adept at showing the flaws of all her characters and it made it more realistic than your run of the mill romance. Several circumstances in this book were deeply personal to me and Ready handled the sensitive topics like endometriosis, fertility and death expertly.

Many thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced audio copy of this book

This was a great slow burn romance that I enjoyed listening to.

The book starts off in a way that makes the main character seem very likable from the beginning. I was already intrigued after just the first chapter and could not wait to continue listening.

I really liked the representation of the topic of infertility and the struggles a person might face due to it. It is always great to broaden representation and this book is a step into the right direction. The topic was explained for the reader and at the same time the author managed to focus on the character development and the romance.

The characters chemistry was great and I liked how they got to know each other better. It is so true that people often evaluate others very fast and often do not take the time to get to know the other one better. So I really loved that the book was filled with those thoughtful messages.

However, I have to admit that the main character Gemma started to annoy me at some point since I had the feeling her character development not only stopped but went backwards. This changed again later when she evaluates her own behavior and seeks forgiveness from the people she hurt. And even though this part wasn’t my favorite, I think that it represents reality because we often do things we know we shouldn’t do.

So all in all this was a great audiobook and I enjoyed listening to it. It made me laugh out loud and the story was filled with cute messages about life for the reader. The narrator read the story perfectly and it was easy to listen to.

Bless my nerd loving heart this book is perfection!

“I have never regretted the doing (Josh)” and I will never regret reading this book!

Josh and Gemma Make A Baby starts off a little shaky and I wasn’t too sure what to make of Gemma but once things get rolling oh boy you are in for a treat!

Gemma is a hot mess of a woman but with good reason! She’s stuck in her life and feels she’s at a good place but learns soon enough that couldn’t be further from the truth! Through new friendships and some family blow ups Gemma realizes she’s been wrong. Through her discovery she realizes that everything she had needed has been right in front of her!

I loved how Josh and Gemmas relationship grows! They start off as acquaintances and quickly grow to more! More importantly though was Gemmas growth! Her amazing pink uterus friends and hilarious family really help her to see the error of her ways!

I was fortunate enough to read or rather listen to an early copy thanks to NetGalley! The narrator Erin Mallon did an amazing job reading the story and switching from one character to another. The authors beautiful descriptions really came to life!

This was such a fun read until it wasn't. When it wasn't, it made me cry.

If you're looking for a slow burn romance, spicy (2/5 chillies spice meter), funny but also has sad moments book, this is it! Like most romance books, you might predict how it ends but boy, oh boy, are you in for a treat.

Sarah Ready definitely knows how to write a book that will pull you in and leave you wanting more. I listened to it in a day, and whenever I wasn't listening to it, I was thinking about it.

I liked Gemma. I loved how she was written as this woman who is lovely, but also a little bit annoying at times. It was sometimes hard to like her and root for her. I guess what I'm trying to say is she was a realistic character, flaws and all. Some of her choices were aloof; completely, and they didn't make sense, but some of them lead her to the path that she wanted. She goes through one particularly difficult event, and honestly, I wish the author delved into it a little bit deeper since we were in the throws of sadness anyway. But I would have loved for that topic to be explored more

Josh. Oh Josh, he was so funny. Argh, so so funny. I loved that. There were some conversations in this book that literally had me bending over laughing. But, I have to say, part of his storyline was some of the saddest in the book. I found myself throwing him a pity party in my head, but somehow I knew he would come out alright.

More than that, this story is also about community. The different ways people show up for each other, family or chosen family. Josh and Gemma truly had fostered communities to shoulder some of the shit that they went through, and made it a little bit lighter. I loved that.

So, if you're looking for a book that will get you out of a reading slump, I would highly suggest this, but please for the love of all good things in the world, read the trigger warnings.

Spoiler alert: Be prepared for a lot of pining and I think we can all agree Ian is a douchebag who deserves to be pooped on by a bird every time he leaves the house.

I got this book in advance from Netgalley, and this is not a sponsored post. However, many thanks to Netgalley, and my inner spidey senses for choosing a wonderful book based of off the cover. Happy Reading :)

cute romcom with older MCs (30s). a unique premise. started a bit slow, but picked up the pace pretty quickly. a fun read. CW for infertility/miscarriage

Laugh out loud funny, in all the right places. Heart-breaking and tender, right where you need it. And sweetly romantic throughout the whole darn thing.

Sarah Ready's Josh and Gemma Make a Baby blew me away with just how perfect it is. Gemma is real and quirky, and easy to identify with. And Josh is just about the sweetest thing ever.

It’s a super adorable, sorta second chance, romance, and 100% beautiful. This is a couple you really want to cheer for!

The audio version is flawlessly performed by Erin Mallon. She gets Gemma just right, and infuses so much humor into this supporting cast! Absolutely wonderful.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for sending me an advanced readers digital copy and audiobook in exchange of a honest review.

This book should be read by every romcom fan (specially by Christina Lauren fans), it's amazing and it's a story that I haven't seen (or read) before.

In this story we follow Gemma, a 32 year-old woman that is divorced and has been diagnosed with infertility, but she knows she wants to be a mother, she doesn't want another husband or a boyfriend, she wants a child, so she decides going on IVF.

This is where Josh appears at scene, he's her brother's best friend, has always been there and Gemma knows he's a pretty decent guy, perfect to have a child with.

To her surprise Josh accepts and they start to go to IVF, they're not in love, not a couple, not nothing. It's a business thing. He gives her sperm, they have a child and Josh can decide if he's going to be a parent or not.

But having a baby is not a business, is forming a family, so Gemma gets backfired with her plan when she can no longer ignore her feelings for Josh, what is she going to do?

Starting here there are going to be some spoilers:

First of all, I absolutely loved Josh, and let me tell you, if the guy you like doesn't show his love for you by writing a webcomic that is basically he screaming everyone how much he loves you, he ain't worth it.

Josh was my favorite character, definitely, and even though we don't have Josh's point of view we can still get to know him at the same time Gemma gets to know him.

The character I disliked the most was without a doubt, Ian, Gemma's boss, also I didn't quite like Gemma's mother, but I usually don't like anyone's mother at most of romcoms so it's more of a me problem.

It's fast-paced, it's funny, we have great character development and this has officially become one of my favorite books of the year.

NetGalley provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Josh and Gemma make a baby - audiobook

I have to tell you I recently found a passion for audiobooks, and I grab every opportunity for a free one (judge me, but I'm a student and can't afford it right now). So when I saw one in NetGalley, and romance one, what did I do? I grabbed it. And I listened to it for two days.

This book is amazing - so heartwarming, and funny, and lovely, and cute! I loved all of it. I genuinely laughed out loud with Gemma's friends and felt the love of Josh. They were just such a cute couple.

But let's give you a short synopsis.

Gemma is a 32-year-old single woman, whose dream is to have a baby. One sweet, little girl. The problem is that she doesn't have a boyfriend and doesn't want a random man to inseminate her, so when on 1st January she asks her brother's best friend Josh about it, and he declines, she feels desperate.

Luckily, or not so much for Josh, his dad is sick and he decides he wants to make a baby, so he can leave something after.

And there starts the IVF procedure and here starts their connection.

Gemma - yes, she was selfish and blind for the people around her, but she was not mean (except once) and was really enjoyable to read about her. Her adventures as a single woman who likes her career, but wants a child felt cute and lovely, and when I put my headphones in, I couldn't stop listening.

Josh was the best - kind, and funny, but also thoughtful and caring, and his smile was just brightening the world. He felt human, and I loved that he wasn't envious (of certain things). He just wanted to make the earth a better place.

There wasn't much spice or steaminess, but the whole book felt so wonderful and complete, I didn't need it. The characters were realistic and definitely rippled a few laughs from me.

The writing was amazing, and the story was excellent. So if you are looking for a sweet, heartwarming, and funny romance, this book is perfect for you.

Erin Mallon also did a fantastic job putting voices behind the characters, and her impressions in the book were genuinely terrific! I would listen more of her if I could.

So in the end I do recommend this book and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.