This was more of 3.5 to 3.75 stars, i can't make up my mind. It was certainly a good read but Gemma's character did annoy me sometimes as she was so judgemental though I guess she redeemed herself at the end. I did really enjoy this book and Josh is a sweetheart, i really loved their relationship dynamic and how Josh has been showing his love to the world for years but Gemma has been so blind to it. This was a good read and I did love that Gemma decided to go through with starting a family without a partner because that is what she wanted and that is what she knew was gonna make her happy. I loved the friendships in this book as well along with gemma's family. I would recommend this book, it was a good read for sure!!

I read this book in one seating. I love how this book explores fertility issues. It is typically never mentioned in a book. This book was not what I expected but I loved every second of it. This book had me loving, cringing & wanting to scream at its characters.

Gemma is ready to be a mom, to have a baby. She has had a divorce and her previous relationships have been terrible. She is done waiting for the right guy and she wants to take this next step by herself. Because of her infertility diagnosis, she needs an IVF. Gemma doesn’t want a random donor, she wants Josh. He's attractive, nice, trustworthy, funny, and healthy. And, he’s her brother’s best friend. At first he says no and then he reconsiders and agrees.

Through this journey, Gemma learns more about Josh and realizes that he’s different from what she expected!

I loved this book so much. It was very entertaining and it kept me interested the whole time. I was also surprised at how funny it was. I couldn’t stop laughing at some of Josh and Gemma’s interactions and their banter!! I feel like I haven’t laughed this much in a while. There were also so many great scenes between these two in this book. I loved how their relationship progressed from beginning to end. Josh was so sweet, caring, and supportive towards Gemma. I loved his character so much. I had fun reading about their relationship.

It also touched some serious topics such as miscarriage, IVF, and infertility. The struggles Gemma went through as well as her support group when going through IVF. The author did a great job covering these topics. I need to reread this one again.

I recommend this to everyone!

Thank you NetGalley for approving me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

While it was funny and cute at times, Josh and Gemma Make a Baby did nothing to differentiate itself in a notable way. The characters were fine, and it was a nice, light-hearted book with deeper themes, but it definitely had its slow moments and still did not feel unique.

I was really looking forward to reading this book but was sorely disappointed. I felt like there were too many tropes that were the driving force of the book. Having the brothers best friend, plus a love triangle is just too much drama that is unnecessary. I felt like her boss was literally so unimportant that he really wasn’t necessary and the overall writing was not good at all.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really didn't enjoy this. Seldom have I met a main character in a romcom that I disliked so much. Gemma's belief in inspirational quotes as a solution to everything is nauseating. At 32, she acts like a teenager - she's self-centred, rash and mean. Don't even get me started on her worship of her boss, a self-proclaimed self-help "guru" with a koi pond and a putting green in his office, or her slightly disturbing obsession with all things lime. Even her 'tragic' backstory failed to elicit any sympathy in me.

I'm well aware that this is a romcom, so I didn't expect well-fleshed out, three-dimensional characters or elaborate story lines (spoiler alert: I didn't get any either). I did, however, expect to feel FOR my main character, not AGAINST her. I also expected chemistry between her and her love interest, of which there was none discernible. At the very least, I would have expected to feel ANYTHING while following the story along, yet the only feeling I got was annoyance and disgust at yet another inspirational quote. It also didn't help that the main character was rather sexually repressed, which precluded any sexual tension between her and her love interest, and ultimately made for a very stunted and boring sex scene.

Sadly, the story wasn't rescued by the slightly more likeable Josh either, nor by the way it was concluded. Unless you've just swallowed some poison and are desperate for something to induce vomiting, I really can't recommend this book.

This book really surprised me. I’ve read a few wishy washy pregnancy trope books. But this book had so much depth. I loved the two main characters. I read it all in one sitting. But please check the trigger warnings before reading. I would highly recommend

Thank you to @netgalley and Swift & Lewis for my eARC in exchange of my honest review!

This was such a cute book! It was such a quick read and full of laugh out loud moments as well as some that will have you teary-eyed!

Gemma is in her 30’s, divorced, and tired of waiting for Mr. Right. She is, however, not willing to continue waiting on having a baby. All she needs now is the perfect sperm donor. Enter Josh Lewenthal. He’s been her brother’s best friend since childhood and is an overall nice guy. But what happens when he agrees to her crazy scheme? Can they keep it strictly platonic?

This one gets 4⭐️’s from me!

‘Josh and Gemma Makes A Baby’ by Sarah Ready
Gemma Jacobs is an infertile divorcee, who
lives by quotes. Her experience with love isn't the best, her ex-husband
cheated on her and her mother keeps trying to match her with odd men.
Josh Lewenthal is a laid-back dude who
tries to find humor in everything, her opposite. He is also her brother’s best
friend and the dude that took her v card.
The story follows Gemma who decides she
wants to get a baby through IVF instead of waiting for the right person.
Instead of using a donor situation in the doctor's office caused her to ask
Josh to be her donor. They decided to make a business-like contract, no emotions, no commitment.
After a while of this Gemma realizes this isn’t what she wants, and that begins their love story. Along the way Gemma makes friends with the people in this IVF support group and a lot more goes on with her work life and family.
I enjoyed most of the books except for some scenes. The writing style was good, very descriptive but in those almost smut but not there yet scenes it just felt weird. The side characters didn’t feel flat although you know very little about them. The struggle each character goes through with infertility seems real like you are right there watching them struggle. The hurt Gemma went through with her divorce and her journey of knowing what love is, is kind of inspiring. The history between Gemma and Josh was nice and sweet but then after a while it was like just getting together already, it isn’t that hard. Gemma's self-help boss storyline really added to the strength, making it more interesting. The storyline itself was funny, at times I would just sit and laugh at the characters yet I never forgot it was romance. With this being said the book was enjoyable, funny, sweet and lighthearted.
Thanks net galley for the arc.

I understand why so many people liked it, its light hearted a bit funny and very relatable, Gemma is a thirty-something chubby girl tired of men and tired of her mom setups, I saw myself in her so much.
However as a infertile woman myself this story hits way too close to home and I couldn't really enjoy it, it was just painful when it was supposed to be funny, not all of us can have kids and its not all funny and dreamy.
Its a DNF for me but I don't think its a bad story its just not for me.

I simply adored this story.

Gemma has only one wish for the new year: she wants a baby. After hearing about her ex-husband's new baby over and over, and seeing how happy everyone else in her life is, it's time. Maybe it'll stop her mother from setting her up with another man in his fifties who only likes her because she's barren. So she's made up her mind to go for IVF in the new year. The only problem is where to get a sperm donor. Gemma doesn't want a stranger's sperm, and she can't exactly go on dates to find a donor either. Thankfully her brother's best friend Josh is around. Yes, he's living in his dad's basement and he doesn't have a real job, but that's okay, Gemma isn't looking for someone to parent with her, just someone to donate some sperm. So a no-strings-attached business agreement should work for both of them, right? They'll definitely not complicate matters with feelings of friendship or maybe even more, right?

I loved Gemma. She was a little bit naive at some points, and the constant inspirational quotes got a bit tiresome after a little while, but she was also very funny. Her and Josh's banter was perfect, and the progression from barely friends to friends to maybe something more was done at a good pace, not too slow that the story dragged and not so fast that it became unrealistic.

The side characters were a delight, especially the women from Gemma's fertility support group. I sometimes felt like yelling at Gemma's family though, because they came across as incredibly insensitive at times.

There is a lot of humour in this book, but also a lot of sadness. It's a story that deals with fertility issues, and for most people their IVF journey is one of a lot of heartbreak and loss. Just a little warning, don't go into this expecting a magically easy time for anyone going through the IVF process.

This had everything I was looking for from a romance with a heavy focus on fertility issues and I'm eager to read more from Sarah Ready.

This is a super cute book! It deals with real issues, but using comedy, which makes it even better. Well written, it really keeps your attention.
Thanks to netgalley, the publisher and the author for such a fun read!

This was a sweet romantic comedy. I don't usually like books that have pregnancy in it, however, it was done well in this book. I would rate it a four out of five stars.

Gemma Jacobs has a great career working for a famous self-help guru, is a happy go lucky person and lives in Manhattan. On the outside it looks like she leads the perfect life, right? After a decade of disastrous relationships and a devastating infertility diagnosis, Gemma yearns for a baby – but doesn’t want a relationship to complicate her new found plans of seeking IVF.

Josh Lewenthal is super laidback, find the humor in life kind of guy. The polar opposite of Gemma…AND he is also her brothers best friend. For the past twenty years, Josh has been invited to every Jacobs’ family function. Gemma knows Josh…he is nice (enough) he’s (kinda) funny and healthy (she guesses) He could be the perfect sperm donor!

Josh & Gemma make a deal – an unemtional, no commitments…a VERY businesslike arrangement. While Gemma and Josh have NOTHING in common, the more time they spend together makes Gemma realize what she always wanted, has always been right in front of her.

THIS BOOK GAVE ME ALLLL THE HEART EYES!!! Gemma is SO relatable and her commentary was hilarous! This book was SUCH a slooow burn! I found myself saying “KISS HER ALREADY” like a milion times lol.

The banter between Josh and Gemma was refreshing and oh so fun…and also gave an entirely new meaning to having “phone sex”

I highly recommend this super cute and very fun to read rom com!! <3

Such a different take on romance and so much attention to fertility struggles make this book a winner. It was great to read something that addresses fertility and taking control of what you want in life head on. I enjoyed the characters and loved how their relationship grew as friends (as always a little communication would ease so much of the tension) into more as they tried to make a baby.

Josh and Gemma's history growing up together and then watching each other from the sidelines for so many years set the perfect stage for Gemma to boldly request having a baby and catapulted them into a deeply intertwined and complex relationship. Navigating it all created moments that were at times laugh-out-loud funny and other times bringing me to tears. And thickening the plot with Gemma's self-help boss, Ian added just enough tension to want to shake her from time to time and make sure she knew what she was missing.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. I couldn't put it down (even though I should have been getting work done) and would have loved to follow along on their journey even longer.

In 'Josh and Gemma Make a Baby', Sarah Ready tackles the weighty subject of infertility.

Gemma is 32 and single, working in digital marketing for a positivity life coach. After learning her ex-husband - who cheated on her with his now wife - is about to have his third child, Gemma decides she can't wait for a Mr Right and become a solo parent. Instead of going to a donor clinic, she decides to ask her brother's best friend, the boy she had a major crush on and lost her virginity to, Josh. Josh, at first is insulted by her request, but later, changes his mind.

This is a sweet story with a lovely book boyfriend. Josh was known as an 'underwear stealer' in his teens, bedding most of the girls in their town. But adult Josh, whom Gemma begins to know is sensitive and caring as he supports her through the emotional rollercoaster of IVF.

Disappointingly this book just doesn't quite land. Ready sets up the story well, but then the resolutions fizzle out.

For instance, Gemma's longstanding anger at Josh stems from him ghosting her for six years after she lost her virginity to him. Yet in no time towards the end does she communicate why she has longstanding emnity towards him, even towards the end when she's learnt she needs to fix her issues and make amends. Why didn't she say anything so he understood where she was coming from better?

I also did not like the plot with her boss. It just seemed out of the blue that he wanted to date her after she accidently flashed her bra during a video meeting. Even worse was his connection to Josh. When that was revealed I hated that nothing was done about his deception. Why is it just casually brushed off for him to keep being deceitful?!

The weakest bits were her insufferable mother, harping on her weight and setting up with completely inappropriate men and forcing her to wear horrific dress. Also, attempts at slaptstick humour in the IVF clinic with the couple who assault Josh on twice were cringeworthy. I can understand perhaps the first time for comic relief, but really, would a clinic allow them back for treatment after bashing a painting on Josh's head? (And to make Josh pay for the damage?!)

However that is not to say I hated this book. The strengths were the fertility support group Gemma joins. I loved her friends. However Gemma behaves appaulingly and almost ruins that experience which was a copy of her first book 'The Fall in Love Checklist' where the heroine of that also behaves appaulingly at her new friends undergoing chemotherapy together.

Overall, this was an enjoyable and sweet romance. I enjoyed Gemma's journey to undoing her old thought patterns and also stand up for herself with her mother (though I wish that one wasn't resolved so quickly, her mother should've been made to work for that). I't got me interested in this author and I am slowly going through her back catalogue and I look forward to her next book.

I really wanted to love this book. I came into this book expecting a cute romance about childhood friends who re-connect and try to have a baby. Instead, our lead Gemma spent much of the book dating someone else when I felt like the story should have focused more on Gemma and Josh. At some parts, mainly the first half of the book, I was unsure if these two even really liked each other or why they had agreed to have a baby together. I came close multiple times to DNF but kept on reading. I do have to say that I enjoyed the last 25% of the book the most.

One of my issues with the book was that Gemma came across as too young, naive and also extremely selfish and judgemental. I had trouble liking her. I felt like so much of the conflict in the book could have been resolved if Gemma was more self aware and did more critical thinking. There was a lot of miscommunication in the book that could have been solved by her asking more questions and having conversations with Josh. I did really like Josh, and I'm sad we didn't get to know him better.

I don't often read books with a pregnancy trope and I do think others who enjoy it and other similar romances will enjoy this read more than I did. The books was well written and a quick read, once I got into the story, which I enjoyed.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a first time read for me by Ms. Ready and I found it to be quite a fun and entertaining story. Gemma is a positive, upbeat girl with a great career and generally great life, but she is missing something. She desperately wants a baby, but she hasn't had much luck in the relationship department. Her solution? Recruit her brother's best friend Josh. She's known him forever, and has a generally good opinion of him, so why not? Believe it or not, Josh agrees to be Gemma's donor and they come to an agreement. No attachments, nothing emotional, they just agree to make a baby together. Simple, right?
Of course it all looks good on paper, but real life tends to throw zingers your way and nothing seems to go as planned.
This was a delightfully fun and cute romcom that gave me plenty of chuckles, as well as emotion and heart. A really adorable, entertaining, and heartwarming story that left me with a smile on my face, and I am glad to have had the opportunity to read it.

I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

The book follows the story of a woman who desperately wants to have a baby that wouldn't be a problem if her husband did not dump her ten years prior because she was diagnosed with some fertility issues.On New year's day she decided to have a baby with the help of IVF.
Gemma then turned Josh her brother's best friend and asked him to be her sperm donor to which he surprisingly agreed. No commitments just have a baby seems easy enough, except things did not go as they planned.
The book tackled infertility which is one of the most important issues today. I loved how the author presented the possible consequences of being infertile and also the importance of having a support group to understand that you are not alone.
I am not an expert on contemporary romances, but I feel like there could have more to the story like explaining what happened to some of the side characters of the story.

Thank you, NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I had not heard of the author but I took a chance and I really enjoyed this book! I will be looking at her other books.