This book was very fun and cute. I really enjoyed it. However, there were a couple of scenarios that did not make sense to me which is why I couldn't give this story the full 5 stars. I don't want to give out spoilers so I won't be going into specifics but as I read/listen I am always seeing scenes play out in my head and the way some things were described made me question if I heard it correctly. Also, some of the situations that the characters go through made me scratch my head in bewilderment.

I will say that I quite enjoyed the audiobook and the narrator did a great job! She was easy to listen to and very engaging.

TW: infertility, miscarriage

“A percentage is just a percentage until it happens to you”

”In life, there’ll be times that you hurt no matter what. Whether you love or not”

First off, what a title. It’s not a title, really. More a one line summary of what the book is about. I guess that's alright.

Despite the title that is so comically unimaginative that I like it, I didn’t hate what I read even though I had very low expectations for it. It’s such an odd story that I found it entertaining. A light-hearted, laugh out loud read. Josh and Gemma’s interactions are cute, awkward and amusing. The characters are likeable enough. Apart from Ian. Ian, who forced a woman to finish a work presentation so it didn’t make him look bad despite the fact she was actively bleeding and miscarrying as she spoke. Disrespectful bastard.
This book turned out to be really heartwarming and I do like how all the emotions were conveyed (the proposal was the most awkward thing I’ve ever read though).

Thank you NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC for providing me with this audiobook in return for an honest review.

This is my first experience with Sarah Ready, and I will definitely be seeking out the rest of her catalog. This book is a gift to readers and listeners. It reads like a romantic comedy movie, that I could watch over and over. I plowed through this audiobook in a matter of days. It is everything an avid audiobook listeners loves. A headstrong female lead, who's head is very loud, with self doubt and yet determination to make her dream of having a baby come true. I loved the cast of characters in this book, and I felt that Gemma, really experienced a major character shift. I didn't really like her in the beginning, but as she works through her relationship with having a baby and having it with Josh, she redeemed herself. I loved the mystery surrounding Josh Lewenthal, we really aren't sure what he does for living until back half of the book, and what drove him to his career choice. He is the perfect book boyfriend, in my opinion. Erin Mallon does a great job, narrating this wonderful story.

I wanted to like this so badly.

But the characters are....MISERABLE. Our heroine is judgmental, naive, superficial, dramatic, and overall, annoying as the book continued. So many body image issues & weight bashing.

Josh deserved better.

There are oversights that the author either ignored or overlooked. I am not here for it.

I love this book!! Love love love it, it has some predictable parts but also the author makes you question if your right about the predictable moments. Just when I thought it was the end I had 3 more hours left on this audio book! Ugh I am just in love with this book perfect for anyone to pick up and read and get a little of the tear jerker, a little romance, and a good overall story. I have absolutely loved reading it and will recommend it to my friends.

3.5 stars
Bridget Jones Diary meets The Friendzone.

This book had me conflicted. I loved the development of the romance and the friendships Gemma made with the support group but found they way Gemma’s family treated her as toxic. I think it could have benefited from a duel perspective.

Parts were cheesy in the best way. And the slow burn romance was cute. Not a whole lot of smut. I thought the author covered the hard topic of infertility quite well.

I enjoyed the narration.

well k loved the book and i loved the audio book as well this author rocks
Josh and Gemma are a delicious as a couple and narrated as audio
Best new discover of 2022
Loved it a lot

I don’t read too many Rom Coms…THIS ONE could change me!

With an incredible narrator on the audiobook, I found myself laughing out loud on numerous occasions.
The writing was smart. Every character was necessary and well represented..
While listening, I could envision the screen version of this story. I’m hoping it happens.

You are single, with no real prospects in sight yet your New Year’s Resolution is to have a baby
I think I’ll ask Josh Lewenthal to father my child.
Here goes…

This is 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. Her life is fulfilled!
Oh, except one minor detail. She wants to have a baby

She’s experienced ten years of relationships gone wrong and an infertility diagnosis, so at this point she has no interest in the perfect guy, she just wants a baby.

How hard can it be, she just needs an egg, some sperm, and IVF.

This is Josh Lewenthal, laid back, relaxed, a love for humor in life kind of guy. This is the polar opposite of Gemma. To further complicate things, he is her brother’s best friend. For the past twenty years Josh has attended every family birthday, holiday, and event in their family. He’s always been around.
He’s nice enough, kinda funny, seems healthy and as far as she knows, and at least, he didn’t burn any ants with a magnifying glass as a kid. In Gemma’s mind, these facts make him the perfect option for a sperm donor.

Gemma approaches Josh with her proposal. She explains it would be a simple unemotional, businesslike arrangement. No commitments, just get her pregnant and he’s done.

Unbelievably, Josh agrees.

These two have nothing in common, except their agreement to make a baby and their desire to keep things businesslike.

But, you see two people trying to make a baby is hard to keep businesslike, and nearly impossible to keep it unemotional, and it’s definitely impossible to keep your heart out of the mix.

This book is definitely a lighthearted, humorous romantic comedy. I think you’ll really like Josh and Gemma as they carry out their unlikely adventure with surprising results.

It is a truly good audio per the narrator who has her voices down pat.

Well this was truly adorable. I listened tHe audio book and I quite liked the narrator, although when she went into the men's voices it was a little distracting.

Honestly, this should could with a trigger warning about some of the topics.

I think from the very beginning I knew which characters I liked and disliked. For example, Mr Fortune was an absolute douche and I was wanting to shake Gemma out of her infatuation.

I think this book covers a lot of serious topics conveying the difficulties of pregnancies, divorces, marriages and family but has a good balance with fun, humour and love.

Josh and Gemma make my heart swell and I truly think their journey was something so wholesome it really had me on the edge of my seat, waiting for what comes next.

This was well written and well executed I believe, I think maybe one coincidence too many for liking however it's in true rom com fashion.

In many ways, the title tells it all. But also, this is a book about recognizing past trauma and the impact that it can have on a person for years to come. Gemma really finds out who she is and makes some mistakes and friends along the way. Exploration of female infertility, specifically endometriosis is incredibly rare in novels, and I liked the way it was done in a way to make people understand and help stop the stigma. Incredibly well done narration - characters voices were exactly like I pictured the people

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
This book was so so funny. The interactions between the characters made me laugh out loud so many times. It’s a super cute story, but also with a very deep topic. Infertility. It takes you through the pain of the process and the friends you make along the way. I had a love-hate reaction to the self-help guru element, but it was lovely waved into the storyline. Well done, for making a difficult topic so light and enjoyable. This was a great audiobook to listen to and I loved the narrator.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Witty characters

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
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. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵.

𝘌𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘴, 𝘎𝘦𝘮𝘮𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢 𝘔𝘳. 𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵; 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘨𝘨, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘝𝘍.

𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘩 𝘓𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥-𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘶𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘦𝘮𝘮𝘢. 𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥.

𝘎𝘦𝘮𝘮𝘢 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 (𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩), 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘺 (𝘪𝘴𝘩) 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺 (𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘴). 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩, 𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘦𝘮𝘮𝘢’𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳. 𝘚𝘰 𝘎𝘦𝘮𝘮𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭. 𝘈𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘕𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺.

*TW: Infertility, miscarriage, fat shaming*

Gemma Jacobs is 32 and has decided that she isn’t going to wait for a man to have a baby. Knowing she has fertility problems anyway, she goes to a fertility clinic who confirms they can help her have a baby; all she needs to do is pick a donor. Turned off at the thought of picking a stranger to father her child, Gemma decides that her brother’s best friend, Josh Lewenthal, would be the perfect candidate. When Gemma asks him to make a baby with her, in a business-like transaction, she is surprised when he actually agrees. The more time Gemma spends with Josh, though, the less business-like it feels.

This romcom came along at the perfect time for me. I devoured the book in one day; it had a lot more depth to it than I was expecting. Gemma and Josh were both likeable characters with great chemistry. Erin Mallon did a phenomenal job with the audiobook. I loved Gemma’s family’s tradition of anonymously writing down their New Year’s resolutions, reading them out loud, and then burning them. If you love romcoms, I highly recommend checking out <i>Josh and Gemma Make a Baby</i>.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

This book is wonderful from beginning to end! The narrator, Erin Mallon, is a gem and I am so glad I chose to listen to this instead of reading it.

Gemma is a thirty-something career woman who has a job she loves and a supportive family. She is single again because her husband cheated on her, and she is keen to have a baby. While she has infertility issues due to endometriosis, there is IVF. All she needs is a donor.

Josh is her brother's best friend. He is a permanent presence in her family, like the plant you know is on the corner, that you don't pay attention to. He is a super nice guy, dependable, funny, and laid-back. Instead of picking an anonymous donor for her IVF procedure, Gemma asked Josh and he said yes!

I love how Gemma and Josh interact. They have a lot of funny banter that I find myself laughing out loud. The funniest bit for me was when they were in the park just before Gemma's egg retrieval. Watch out for that and I'm sure you will laugh aloud too.

Aside from Gemma and Josh, there are funny supporting characters, like Gemma's fertility support group and office mates. They have their own moments that would stand out if this were a film.

While this is a fun read, the story touches on serious issues like infertility and miscarriage. It may be a trigger to some. The story is also guilty of fat-shaming and judging people based on their looks. Some may also find it triggering the way Gemma's mother keeps on setting her up on blind dates because somehow there is something wrong with you if you're single.

Join Gemma and Josh on their journey. I'm fairly sure that like me, you will root for them.

I got the audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This audiobook was fun and easy to hear for a non-native speaker like me. I used to not really enjoy listening to audiobooks but this one was different. I enjoy the narration and the story too. I found myself laughing out loud in some parts and there was also an awkward moment too in this book that made me think I hear it wrong.

Both main characters are funny and sweet. Will there be "Josh and Gemma Raise a Baby" for the sequel?

As someone who could relate to Gemma on numerous fronts, I really liked this book! It touched on a serious topic in a fun way. It was both entertaining and heartwarming. It was a bit predictable which is why I gave it 4 stars. I typically gravitate towards historical fiction and thrillers but this book made me want to read more rom coms!

I recommend this book to anyone wanting a lighter read and look forward to reading more by this author. Thank you #NetGalley #SwiftandLewisPublishing for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Went into this with a rom com mindset as the cover makes you believe it will be light and fun. Topic and heart of the book is actually not a light topic and a little heavier than I was expecting.
If you are wanting a typical rom com this is not that but it is a good book and will recommend to customers. But with the warning that it is not a light reading as the cover leads you to believe.

I just finished the audiobook of Josh and Gemma Make a Baby. I enjoyed it so much. It reminded me of Christina Lauren books with a bit of a serious subject (infertility) sprinkled in. Was it award winning? No! Did it have some goofy eye rolling moments? Yes! But all in all, really enjoyable. The narrator was great. I feel it may lose something if you read it instead of listening. I’d absolutely recommend it.

I received an Audio ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Let me preface this one by saying that I personally do not wish to make new humans, so the whole premise of this book was out of my normal preferences, that said I actually thoroughly this book. This second chance, brothers best childhood friend,

Erin Mallon is one of my favorite narrators and she always does a great job with the adorkable characters, and Josh and Gemma are definitely that. Awkward and dorky and adorable, they have a long, complicated history. One Gemma doesn’t think much of when she asks Josh to be her sperm donor. As they go on this baby making journey together it becomes very obvious that Josh wants more than to just help Gemma out. Gemma also has some rethinking to do cause Josh is not the laid back, lazy, playboy she has always thought him to be.

There’s a nice slow burn and one spicy scene, but lots of a swoony Josh moments. I had a hard time connecting with Gemma, she was such a positive thinking person but she can also be down right mean to those closest to her. I enjoyed that Female friendships that Gemma builds and the Secondary characters are interesting and well developed.

This book tackled some serious, tough topics and I think they were handled very well and with sensitivity.

This was my first book by Ready and I look forward to reading more from her.

For fans of Christina Lauren, Emily Henry, etc

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I really enjoyed it. I actually read it in 2 days and listened to the audiobook and read the book going back and forth. It was a clever, fun read and even though think you know what’s going to happen it keeps you guessing. I plan to go and read the rest of her collection.