I received a ARC of the AudioBook for this book on NetGalley! Thanks for the opporunity to listen early in return for my honest review.

Sarah Ready has hit it out of the park. This is a follows Sarah, who is ready to start a family, with or without a significant other. She knows what she wants and she's going to go after it.

I love Josh in this book. He's such a sweet sweet character and the whole time you could feel there was so much more to him.

I have loved Mallon reading other books (By Abby Jimenez specifically), but this one, the audio felt very monotone to me. It seemed to be lacking the proper inflection/excitement at some parts of the book

4.8 for the book
2 for the audio in this case.

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing and NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for my honest review 💛

Gemma, 32 and recently divorced, makes a startling New Year’s resolution- she wants to have a baby. The thought of using a random donor doesn’t sit well with her, so she decides to ask her brother’s best friend, Josh (who she incidentally had a one-time tryst with a lifetime ago) to be the father of her child in what can only be described as a business-deal. Insert a budding romance with her millionaire boss and surprising friendships with the women in her infertility support group, and you have a hilarious and heartwarming journey towards the greatest gift one can ever give: love.

I was so not (sarah) ready for this book 😩 I requested it on a whim from NetGalley when I was looking for something light and fun to read and I got so much more from this than I could have ever imagined. When I tell you that I have *never* laughed as much while reading as I did during this novel. EVER. I’ll never think of phone sex the same way again (IYKYK).

My favorite part of this book was honestly the ancillary characters. Gemma’s doctor: amazing. The scheduler at the doctor’s office: perfection. The three women in her support group: five stars. The whole time, I kept thinking, this would be absolutely perfect for a movie. Netflix, do your thing!

Important Note: This book, while incredibly heartwarming and hilarious, touches on serious, potentially triggering issues, including infertility, pregnancy loss, endometriosis, death of a loved one, grief, etc. Feel free to message me for more information on potential triggers, happy to talk through specifics.

You Should Totally Read This:

• If you love slow burns and brother’s best friend tropes
• If you’ve ever had an unfortunate zoom meeting wardrobe malfunction
• If you think comic book nerds are hot

**please note due to low rating I will not be leaving a public review for this book as I have not paid for it.**

Narrator 1 Star
I hated the Narrator. Not necessarily her voice but more her speech pattern. I instantly wanted to stop because she made my ears angry.

Story 1 Star
So I ended up calling it quits at about 30% mark because the way Gemma is spoken about/to/treated was so unnecessary an harmed the book more than helped it

I needed an easy read with comedic moments and this fit the bill. It's irreverent and heartwarming with a fun cast of characters.
Gemma wants a family but the men in her life are not up to standards and she has fertility issues. Rather than rely on a partner to give her what she wants, she decides to pursue IVF and her brother's best friend is an ideal candidate to be her baby daddy. He's clearly not looking for a relationship, so why not?
The narration is done by Erin Mallon and she's one of the most familiar voices for me with a romance. Maybe it was that they share the same narrator and the heroes are both called Josh, but this book put me in mind of The Friend Zone. I definitely think fans of Abby's will enjoy this book.
Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC and NetGalley for the alc. All thoughts in this review are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

4 stars for Josh and Gemma Make a Baby
4 stars for narrator

Meet Gemma...focused, driven, successful, single and ready for a baby!

Meet Josh...artisitc, not driven, handsome and Gemma's first!

Gemma realizes she wants a baby, doesn't need a partner to do this..thanks IVF...but finds herself forced to nearly fake a partner to avoid a 6 month wait!

Josh is happy to help Gemma, but can they do this without developing feelings for one another?

This romance covers some pretty sensitive stuff. I loved the characters together and enjoyed listening to this audiobook. It was a great start to my 2022 reading.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for providing this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book first caught my eye in a Goodreads giveaway, and from there I couldn’t *not* see it anytime it came across my feed. And I was glad to see I could request the audiobook through NetGalley.

This is my first Sarah Ready book. And while it was entertaining enough, I found some pieces of this story unbelievable and a bit dragged out.

My biggest issue is this is labeled as a New Adult novel. That’s the main reason I was drawn to it. But the main character is in her early thirties, which isn’t exactly what I’d label as “New Adult” age. And the point of New Adult is really bridging the gap between YA and Adult, where the MC has hit some milestones but not every milestone. And I would say Gemma’s only missing milestone is having a baby.

The narrator was clear, easy to understand, and distinguished characters well. One of the stars on this book is for Erin Mallon alone. I wish I could have liked it more, but ultimately I don’t think this one was for me.

TW: infertility, pregnancy loss, death of a parent

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby is an emotional ride that packs a pretty good sucker punch to the heart. There's so much squeezed into this story and I loved it all. It's funny and heartbreaking and swoony and a super delicious slow burn. Told entirely from Gemma's pov, the bread crumbs we see piecing together Josh's feelings are perfection. A couple of the comical scenes felt a little over the top, but they do bring a great balance to the more weighty aspects. Everything comes together so beautifully, and honestly, I want my own Josh Lewenthal.

I was fortunate enough to snag an audio copy narrated by Erin Mallon. I do not have enough words for how much I adore her. If she's narrating it, I'm listening to it. She's a phenomenal narrator who brings so much life to this story and all of the characters. Highly recommend!

The sweetest thing I’ve listened to in quite some time!

MV Rating: 7/10 so cheesy it makes a four cheese pizza look light.
•Gemma has a successful life, and all that’s missing is love. After fruitless dating & setups, she finally decides to have a baby on her own…. With Josh.
•Josh is her brother’s very hot, very low key best friend who is anything but boyfriend or marriage material, or so she thinks.
•Josh and Gemma will go on an emotional roller coaster to find what they’ve always been missing, but can they overcome it all and finally understand each other?
•Classic enemies to lovers. Classic Jerk foil for the main male character, who facilitates Gemma’s recognition of her own power. It’s sweet, it’s a little predictable, but it’s so so funny and so well written.
•For fans of The Spanish Love Deception, The Wedding Date, and Hallmark. You will not want to miss this perfect rom-com!


Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC access!

#JoshandGemmaMakeaBaby #NetGalley. My first perception of this book was that I wasn’t going to like it but BOY WAS I WRONG and I will tell you why. I didn’t like all the nasty comments people were making about Gemma and her weight, her overbearing mother always trying to set her up with losers because she didn’t see her daughter deserved better but I slowly learned that these things I didn’t like were how Gemma perceived herself and she went along way in this book towards self discovery, open mindedness and growth. I did feel the book was a bit predictable but that didn’t change how well written it was. This book was funny, sweet and endearing. I can’t wait to read more books by Sarah Ready. I flew through this book in a day not wanting to put it down. I’m desperately hoping for a second!

Make a baby first. Fall in love second.
Gemma is single and well... she wants a baby. She cant have a baby due to her endometriosis though but decides to have one with the help of her fertility doctor... but she needs a donor. Rather than using a strangers, she decides to ask one of her oldest friends and the guy she lost her virginity to many years ago.. Josh. After a bit of convincing Josh agrees and this story follows Gemma and Josh as they try to make a baby. And yes... feelings develop 🥰

I requested this book on Netgalley on a whim. It was on audio and it looked a like a cute story I could listen to while cleaning etc. Well damn... did it ever surprise me! This story was so freaking adorable! The characters were loveable and the banter was so funny... some of the scenes had me laughing out loud. Yet it also dealt with the pretty heavy issue of infertility and delves deep into the world of IVF.... but in an entertaining way. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a fun adorable rom com. I'm definitely going to look into this authors other books and purchase a hard copy of this for my library.

Read if you like:

Brothers best friend trope
Childhood friends to lovers trope
Cheesy quotes
Infertility subjects
Hilarious steam scenes
Single POV
Romantic gestures
Funny teasing banter
HEA


TW: infertility and IVF

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
Some steam and some hilarious steamy scenes too

I loved this book so much! From a family friend to friendship, to lovers. Very heartfelt and funny too!

Boy-toys, heels, and lemons- these were the ingredients chosen to create a memorable friends to lovers romance.

Plot centered around pregnancy isn't my typical cup of tea so I didn't have high expectations at the beginning. But I am so glad I picked this up. This was such a quick and delightful read. The dynamic between Josh and Gemma was raw and honest. Josh served as a pillar of strength for Gemma, combatting her insecurities and self doubts with understanding and acceptance. Best part is, the "I don't want to ruin what we have by saying I love you" wasn't dragged out excruciatingly. The conflict and the romantic reveal at the end, albeit predictable, didn't diminish my enjoyment because they were satisfying and exactly how I wanted the story to progress.

Going in, I expected the trademark romcom humor and some spicy moments. Ready delivers on this angle but also created fleshed out characters that are worth caring about. I'd really like to read more about Gemma's friends from her Thursday fertility group and I hope this turns into a series. On another note, heavier topics such as miscarriage and infertility were discussed in lengths. These were done tastefully in my opinion but do avoid this book if you find such topics triggering.

Thank you NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for the ARC!

I enjoyed this cute little romance immensely. I am admittedly very picky when it comes to audiobook narrators. This narrator is absolutely perfect and so easy to listen to. This is a beautifully written story of Gemma's life as she navigates infertility and dating while undergoing IVF. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC copy of this wonderful audiobook.

3.5 stars ⭐️

This was my first novel by Sarah Ready and I really enjoyed it! I was really captivated by the blurb and the cover and decided to give this one a chance and I’m glad I did cause this was a sweet predictable rom-com which is how I wanted my first read of 2022 to be.

I listened to the audiobook and I really loved the way the book was narrated.

I loved Josh. I loved how he was so caring and thoughtful and his relationship with his dad. I also loved how his job was to write web comics which was something new I’ve read in books. I also adored the fact that he remembered small things about Gemma which happened like 25 years back😭😭

Gemma umm well, I’m not sure how I feel about her. There were moments when I felt sad for her buttttt there were moments where she annoyed the fuck out of me. I know it was her character which was supposed to be shown like this but I really didn’t like her and she got on my nerves.

Although there were some stuff I wished were done different like gemma’s character, I still loved how the writing was so captivating and addicting! I’ll surely check out her other books too when I’m in mood for a sweet book.

Thankyou to netgalley for providing me with an eArc and audiobook..

This is a super cute romance that still manages to cover deep issues. It does a remarkable job at blending heavier topics with humor that allows the story to flow nicely and it’s written in a way that makes the entire experience enjoyable. Josh was and absolute sweetheart and Gemma showed a bunch of growth throughout the novel.

I loved this story! Awesome writing. I loved all the characters. Highly recommend. Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to review this advance copy.

Thank you Net Galley for providing me an audio copy of Josh and Gemma Make a Baby. The best kind of book is one that will stick to you, whether it be a sense of happiness or love or whatever else you treasure. This one hit me, maybe it was the shared infertility, maybe it was the love. No, it was definitely the love, and the happiness. This one gets all the stars. The author and the narrator did a fantastic job with this book!

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy.

My first issue - ALL netgalley audio books sound like a robot is stuck inside of a tin and the tin insists on echoing around. WHY?! It truly ruins the listening experience.

This story was ok - it felt predictable and played out, but sometimes there is comfort in knowing exactly where you are going.

I didn't love this and I didn't hate it either, but it was a fairly unforgettable story.

I loved this so much!!! I'm always a bit wary trying new authors but I'm so glad I stepped out of my comfort zone for this one, I devoured it! Listened to the entire thing in one day and I have zero regrets tbh. Josh is such a simp for Gemma holy shit (and I am a simp for Josh if I'm being honest). I really loved the pacing of this book and I loved the level of detail that was put into Gemma's experience with IVF, plus the beautiful friendships that were made! Really so many things I love about this book I couldn't even list them all! Only fault for me was the inspirational quotes felt a bit overdone but I can see why they were necessary and it didn't effect how much I loved this overall! 10/1o will recommend!

Thanks to Net Galley for providing me with an ebook ARC and audio copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

*contains spoilers*

Josh and Gemma Make A Baby was a genuinely entertaining and heartwarming read that I inhaled within a matter of hours. It covered deep and emotional issues such as infertility, IVF, divorce and miscarriage yet in a light and humourous way that didn't bring the fluffy tone of the book down too much.

There were quite a few conversations and events that happened throughout the story that felt very reminiscent of the first Bridget Jones film (and possibly the book too but I've not read it...) which I wasn't overly fussed on; some moments were almost identical! The comments about Gemmas appearance and the wording of her resolutions at the New Years party, the whole affair with the playboy boss thing, loving someone "just as they are" and also the misunderstanding about the Josh/Ian conflict were just a few similarities that really stood out to me.

It was because of these similarities and Gemma's character as a whole that this book didn't quite reach the 4☆ mark for me. Gemma was so unlikeable looking back. She was actually pretty selfish and judgmental, especially when it came to Josh's job and living situation, and she didn't make any effort to really get to know him as an adult or even take an interest in his life. I really felt for Josh and how he was treated by Gemma because he was such a loveable, charming character that was being seriously looked down upon because of who he was when he was a teenager. Gemma did change her attitude towards the end (thank god) but I still felt that Josh deserved better.

In terms of the audiobook, I really didn't like the narrator so opted to read the ebook version myself as the narration felt too robotic for my liking.