I haven’t read many books with this plot so I was really intrigued when I read the description. After a divorce and struggles with dating, Gemma decides to take her future into her own hands and have a baby. She decides against anonymous donors and wants to ask her brother’s best friend, Josh. She figures the playboy staying with his dad that she has no attraction to would be perfect for a donor.

Except as she interacts more with Josh during their IVF process, she sees her previous impression of him is all wrong. She eventually sees him a good friend and great partner to co-parent a child. She continues to navigate her career and dating life while making new friendships with women also struggling with infertility. As Gemma gets to see the real Josh, she recognizes her feelings may be more than strictly co-parents and friends. She’s known Josh for years, but has never truly got to know him.

I loved Josh and Gemma’s personality’s. Gemma was always positive and independent. Josh was so caring and sweet. As he interacts with Gemma and his personal life is revealed, you can tell how much he cares for the people around him. Josh keeps his feelings pretty hidden and this is what kept me intrigued, as I didn’t know what his true feelings for Gemma were. It is always fun to me when the guy keeps his walls up till the end and we see how deeply he cares for the girl. This slowburn romance has a pretty interesting plot and I loved all the side characters as well. One of the ending scenes was a little cheesy/awkward for my taste, but it didn’t ruin the whole ending and important turning points in the story.

I adored this book. I adore Gemma. I’m obsessed with Josh. I laughed. I cried. I was won over by Gemma and her messy life.

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby is not the breezy romcom I was expecting. This story dives into some complicated and heavy topics, like infertility, IVF, infidelity, and emotional authenticity, with plenty of humor to balance things out. Gemma has a tendency to be a rather unlikable protagonist, which I actually enjoy. Her flaws make her relatable, in spite of her unfortunate habit of spewing motivational quotes in lieu of actual independent thoughts.

This was my first time reading Sarah Ready’s work, and I’m looking forward to more!

Many thanks to Swift & Lewis Publishing and NetGalley for the complimentary copy of this audiobook.

What if your person is right in front of you and you never sees him? Gemma is thirty three years old, divorced and sterile and her New Year’s purpose is to get pregnant. Can she ask her brother best friend to be the donor? Josh is been around all her life. Family gatherings, picnics, birthday’s Parties. He even took her virginity. But is he father material when he is not husband material and has not a real job? Or so she thinks. A sweet and funny life and love story about second chances, true love, friendship and never give up. The audiobook is great.

TW: infertility

Thanks to NetGalley, I listened to the ARC of this book narrated by Erin Mallon. As always, her narration is 5 ⭐️.

The story was well written, and I loved Josh. It was clearly a case of “it’s always been you” for Josh. What a sweetie.

Gemma. Bless her. For someone in her 30s, she was incredibly naive, both about the difficulties using IVF( that people can go through multiple cycles before conception), and the entire situation with dating her boss. How in this day and age it wouldn’t occur to her to be concerned with both the inappropriate power dynamic involved in dating her boss, but to also not be suspicious of his sudden interest in her AND in Josh- I took off a star for her being stupid. I cannot with her naïveté.

Gemma also went full on bitch with her fertility support group and I almost stopped reading the book. But, I do feel she grew in her maturity and am glad I continued reading.

In the end, this audiobook was a solid listen and gave me a lovely HEA epilogue.

I loved the audiobook it was nice to listen to and it had story line I loved that Josh and Gemma are the unlikely couple that shouldn't have gotten together but they are the cutest and I love that he went to all her appointments and sat with her no matter what

I don’t usually read this kind of book, but I thought I’d change it up a little.

I would compare this book to a lifetime movie or a Hallmark movie. You pretty much know what’s going to happen throughout the whole book, but it’s still a joy getting there. This was a perfectly pleasant book. I could’ve done without all the quotes, but that’s just me.

I read this book on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

With this title I honestly wasn't expecting to
love this book so much, I thought a solid 3
stars reads but still enjoyable. WRONG! This
book was so good, the MC were relatable and
had a great relationship development.
Nothing felt forced and all the conflicts were
believable. All the other characters were also
well written and hilarious (but the mom can
go and die with her misogynistic ideals)
I totally recommend this book if you are up
for a funny romance.
I got this audiobook from @netgalley and
@_swiftpress in exchange of my honest review

It's Amazing!!
Oh, my Heart🥺🥺
Loved this book so so much, I didn't expect to Relish it as much but I did but I'm so happy about it 😁

This is a story abt 2 beautiful souls Gemma and Josh who faced life's dirty struggles with hope and sunshine in them how much ever they were derailed sometimes...There's so much to deal with btw the...Will Gemma ever realize how much Josh loves her or will he be that just a playboy in her eyes forever...

Will Gemma ever get the family she dreams of, will ppl stop criticizing her or judging her...will she know how much beauty she adds to the world
Will her struggling heart failing hope lift back up??

Ah! Gemma, you're so beautiful inside out.
I'm so glad I got to read these amazing characters.
How much Josh loved Gemma stole my breath
The way the plot was crafted, twisted, unfolded, and presented was just enchanting
This book gave me all the feels and vibes..so full of pure content, story, love, romance, and comedy
It has so many worthy characters and issues that were dawning and touching
We all struggle so much and hide it..we are not perfect but it's okay, it only matters we try, and with hope and love, we can defeat them!

The audiobook was 1000x incredible, I listened to it in one freaking day!😁

This story touched my heart so much 💗
Can't wait to read more from the author

I have so many favorite quotes from this book but I'll say only one :
LOVE IS THE GREATEST GIFT I EVER HAD THE PRIVILEGE TO GIVE

* CW: Deals with Infertility issues
Spice:one open door romance

Okay okay okay. I have mixed feelings about this book. I loved the premise, and it was very cute, but there were some times that I just wanted to shake Gemma!! She was insufferable at some times with the quotes. She was an admirable character however, following through with IVF alone and willing to raise a child by herself. She had good qualities.
Now for where I struggled - the audio narrator almost made me DNF this 2% in. It was not what I imagined the characters voice to be as, and the tone was …. Not good. I’m glad I stuck through, as it was a cute read, but man oh man the narration was rough. Over all, 3.4 stars from me!

The editors blurb drew me in. Then I started listening and thought I'd made a mistake and stopped listening. Gemma started out selfish, unaware of anything or anyone other than herself and clueless to reality, her mother was a nightmare and her siblings acted like they were so much better than she was and treated her like a child because she was living a different life than they thought she should be. And don’t get me started at the horrible men her mother kept trying to set her up with because “she wasn’t getting any younger, couldn’t have a baby, was not a thin gorgeous woman so her choices were limited and she was running out of time and her mothers friends and their sons, well just say EWWWW. I went back to it and am glad I did. Once she made up her mind to take her life back and make her own decisions it was a truly fun journey to her happily ever after. Listening as she finally got out of her own way, let go of what she thought and let herself live life in reality was fun, humorous, a little sad and real. If you’re going through any type of fertility issues, this might trigger some issues for you, but otherwise, this was a fun and entertaining listen with a delightful happily ever after that she so wanted.

I am now a fan of Audiobooks because the narrator managed to capture my attention.

Trigger warning : infertility/miscarriage

Book tells the story of Gemma whose new year's resolution is to have a happy . She is a successful driven woman who then asks her brothers best friend to be the baby daddy. I laughed ,cried ,rooted for the characters. If you need a book that will capture you and never let go.This is it !

3.5 ⭐️ The premise of Josh and Gemma Make a Baby was promising and full of potential for a cringey, funny story. Your brother’s best friend is your sperm donor? What could possibly go wrong!

Below, including the following content warnings, include spoilers -

Content warnings: infertility, IVF, false pregnancy, miscarriage, endometriosis, infidelity and death of a loved one.

Overall, I raced through this on audio, laughed a few times and enjoyed how it all wrapped up.

I had issues with Gemma in the beginning, as I felt she was lacking any awareness. In the end, she says “I had a lot of growing to do” so I suppose that was the point, but the drama that unfolded was not what I expected. I thought since she was trying to use the sperm of her brother’s long time best friend, that’s where the drama would stem.

Instead, a lot of the early drama came from the fact that her mom was an interfering matchmaker, and the available men in her life were terrible. The whole plot point that she was a “chubby” divorcee and that her own mother literally commented on her appearance made me feel really bad and awkward. Especially when the mother pulls a 180 at the end and is supposed to have had “good intentions” all along. It was taken too far for my taste.

Gemma also makes a lot of assumptions, especially around Josh. She didn’t really seem to think through how using his sperm would affect anyone. He often is included in family events, so it seemed inevitable he would be a part of their child’s life. I think because of how this book concluded, this issue wasn’t really explored.

I enjoyed how it came to light that Josh had been in love with her for awhile, and that he was a good guy. The comic was a really cute idea. I understand that in order for Gemma and Josh to connect at this point of their lives, Gemma did have to make inaccurate assumptions at the beginning in order to finally see who Josh truly was.

Thank you NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for the audiobook.

Gemma needs to use IVF to have a baby due to various reproductive issues, and she has found the perfect sperm donor in Josh, her brother's best friend. Gemma doesn't know Josh very well personally, but he agrees to help Gemma.

This was a really sweet love story with a slow burn, and I really enjoyed the slow transition that Gemman and Josh made into friendship, and then into something more. There are very funny moments in this book, and there are quite a few moments that anyone who has suffered from infertility will resonate with.

Thank you to Swift and Lewis Publushing LLC for supplying me with an ARC of this audio book in exchange for my honest review.

I can't finish this book. The audio is very good, the narrator does a food job.

I'm not interested in reading a romcom about a self-deprecating "fat" girl (who clearly isn't actually fat) whose family treats her like garbage and sets her up with trash humans because they "want what's best for her" but also don't think she deserves better.

Her husband cheated on her when she found out she was sterile. That is not some character flaw on her part that needs overcoming. I don't want to spend time with these people. I don't know about the male lead because 3 chapters in we haven't even met him yet. He's half the title of the book and still hasn't shown up.

I dive into this book knowing nothing except the summary and the title. I expect this to be a rom-com typical novel that is light to read, but boy am I wrong. It is more than I expected it to be. Josh and Gemma make a baby that tackles contemporary woman issues nowadays that just fits the context perfectly. Although watch out for the content warnings as it talks about heavy stuff such as miscarriage, infertility, and death of a loved one as far as I read.

There are times where I laugh because the scene is so random yet realistic that can happen in real life. The main issue that is raised about being a woman in her 30s and not finding the right partner, yet wanting a baby hits deep because this book really portrays the judgemental society that we live in. We explore the main character, Gemma, as she finds herself struggling with who she really is and what she wants.

One thing that bugs me is that Gemma is not that likable and does unlikely stuff. Which is great to the context of the story. But I think it could be more realistic by telling the backstory of Gemma and why she is like that with her previous relationship.

Overall, this is a lovely story that is relatable to modern times. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a wonderful job to make the story more lively. Thank you, NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for the advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange of an honest review.

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby is a wonderful romance that’s both heartwarming and humorous while also tackling the difficult topic of infertility. And Erin Mallon is one of my favorite narrators - she’s voiced so many books by my favorite authors, including Christina Lauren and Abby Jimenez. She has wonderful inflection and pacing, as well as great intonation when switching between multiple characters.

Gemma is a thirty-something who’s divorced but desperately wants to become a mother. She’s struggled with infertility after endometriosis and was never able to conceive. After hearing that her ex is about to become a father for the third time, she decides to make having a baby her New Year resolution. She undertakes the nerve wracking journey of IVF, but doesn’t wasn’t to have to use a sperm donor. Enter Josh, her older brother’s best friend. Despite his constant presence in her life since she was a child, they e never been close. But she considers him a decent human being and would like his donation to the cause. They intend to keep it strictly professional but as they spend more time together throughout the IVF process, she is drawn closer and closer to Josh, realizing that maybe a baby isn’t the only thing she’s been missing.

This story was so wonderful, I didn’t want it to end after the HEA. I wanted more of everyone - Gemma and Josh, her family, and her support group friends. I relate so hard to Gemma and totally fell in love with Josh (what is it with love interests named Josh?) The very sensitive topic of infertility was handled so well, even when things got heavy, there was still humor to be found while no making light of it. If you love books by Abby Jimenez (especially if you’ve listened to the audiobook versions!), you’ll love this one!

This is such a cute rom-com, I actually laughed out loud! This is my first Sarah Ready novel and I absolutely loved her style of writing. So entertaining… you won’t want to put it down.

Thank you NetGalley for providing the audio in exchange for my honest review. 🤍

This book tackles some heavy subject matter - including grief, loss, infertility, miscarriage. But it contains a huge amount of love and hope, as well. I loved the way Josh and Gemma grew during this story, as well as the way they realized that they needed each other more than they even could imagine. I also liked the story of Gemma's family and how she finally has the courage to tell them how she feels and stand up for herself. Such a well-written story.

There were so many funny moments in this book, moments that I laughed out loud. There were also so many poignant moments, especially for someone who has experienced infertility. So many of the emotions that Gemma felt were emotions I felt as I tried to get pregnant. From that standpoint, I felt the story was realistic and well done. However, Gemma, as a character, really bothered me. Clueless, oh so judgmental and sometimes quite selfish, I have to admit, I didn’t like her. I adored Josh and eventually (and I mean towards the end), I started to like her more. But I still don’t think she was good enough for Josh. Be prepared for a slow burn romance and Gemma waffling in terms of whether to be with Josh. I give this book 3.5 stars.

I listened to the audiobook, an advanced copy from NetGalley, and Erin Mallon is the narrator. She is unparalleled in playing multiple roles and I absolutely enjoyed her narration. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the early copy.