This book had the elements of a great romance, however there were some things that were lacking for me. I didn't enjoy the two main characters and they individually fell flat for me. The main female character was oddly weak, while also being judgmental and mean. I wasn't sure that this added anything to her development as a character or the progress of the overall plot. Also Josh was super insecure too. I didn't like that he waited the entire time for Gemma to make a move or make her feelings known. That felt odd, as if she was the only one to make any decisions in the relationship and he never shared how he felt until she did first. It felt one-sided at times in the worst way.

Thank-you to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for my eARC copy of Josh and Gemma Make a Baby, in exchange for my honest review.

Gemma has settled into her thirties and is largely killing it at life. She has a great (though small) apartment and the job of her dreams working as a social media coordinator for self-help guru, Ian Fortune. But what she wants more than anything is a baby. She's been through years of bad relationships, and due to a devastating infertility diagnosis, she's decided it's time to try IVF--which means she needs a sperm donor. Josh, her brother's childhood best friend, has been on the periphery of Gemma's life forever. He's attractive, smart, and a talented artist. He's too much of a flake to be Mr. Right, but it doesn't take much to donate some sperm, right? Still, when she asks him to be her donor, she's shocked that he says yes. But can it stay a firmly a business transaction?

This book was such a feel-good romance that had many laugh out loud moments. I read it in two sittings with the pages just flying by. At the time, it was just what I needed. What really drew me in was the discussions around infertility and Gemma's unwavering commitment to having a baby, regardless of what anyone thought about her going it alone. I really admired all of the decisions she made and I really felt for her as the people in her life didn't know how to support her. Even though her family clearly loved her, they just didn't get her, and when she finally stood up for herself, I was doing victory fist pumps in the air!.

Don't even get me started on Josh! I love an artistic character in a book, and he delivered that as a graphic novel writer. I'm also really into "nice guys"--I'll take that over a jerk every, single time. He was such a sweet and caring dude and Gemma really deserved that. I loved watching them go from misunderstandings to friends to more-than-friends. I really appreciate when a romcom can dive into a darker subject and Josh and Gemma Make a baby did that beautifully.

Out now!

rating- 3/5
{thank you to Netgalley, Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC and Sarah Ready for providing me an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review}

The title and the description didn't really appeal to me as much as the fact that this book was about infertility and IVF treatments. I found Josh and Gemma Make a Baby on one of my requesting sprees and didn't think too much before requesting it. I even procrastinated till pretty much right before the archive date to read it. Naturally, I didn't expect to like it.
So a three star read was definitely a surprise. The blurb makes the premise sound weirder than it is and the writing style took a while to get used to, but once you do you'll be amused to no end. The banter and the chaotic nature of the plot is top notch. I also like how the problems, and issues faced by infertile women are explored, with an equal balance of humour and romance.

Coming to the characters, Josh was an absolute sweetheart. I thought his character was more fleshed out than Gemma's which is weird because the entire story is in Gemma's pov. (maybe it was just me?). I also loved that he was a comic book writer. That's so cool. The whole Grim and Jewel (because GEM. sobbing brb) thing was super cute & different and made the nerd in me, happy.
I do think some of the side characters weren't written very well, like Gemma's mum and her family; but I absolutely loved the infertility support group. I would most definitely read a book about Carly, Brook or Hannah if the author decides to write one.
Although I loathe Ian; I'm not sure how I feel about all the quotes (there were too many).
The illustrations however, were the cutest:)

Certain plot points were pretty predictable [for instance, I knew the Ian conflict was coming, from almost a mile away.] and unrealistic (but then again its fiction. AND romance. So that's acceptable).

The plot mostly consists of a feel good romance except for one instance towards the end that could be triggering to some (make sure to look up trigger warnings. I've added a few below).
I like that Josh and Gemma didn't get pregnant on their very first try, because that would be way too unrealistic and ideal (hide spoiler)] The humour was silly and weird, (boy-toy? really?) but had me laughing anyway.

Overall, the book isn't groundbreaking or jaw-dropping but will leave you happy and content. It has a few tropes but they aren't blaringly in your face and are eased into the plot.
If you want to read a predictable, cheesy romance that'll make you smile then I would recommend Josh and Gemma make a baby !


tw // : infertility, IVF, miscarriage, instances of fat-shaming.

Josh and Gemma Make A Baby was a cute, fast read. If you love the romance genre, you will find this to be a delightful book.

I can honestly say that this book was predictable and at times corny, but being a sucker for both I loved it. I felt like I was watching a cute Romantic Comedy on one of my favorite streaming platforms.

This book may not be groundbreaking or mind blowing, but it will leave you satisfied. I loved the story of Josh and Gemma and could even have stayed in their world a bit longer. So Sarah Ready, if you want to write a sequel or give a secondary character their own book, I am in.

I have already added her previous books to my tbr!

Special thanks to NetGalley.com and Swift and Lewis Publishing for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest feedback!

I’ve had the pleasure of both listening via audiobook and reading via ebook this story by Sarah Ready. The audiobook is narrated by Erin Mallon, one of my favorite narrators, so it is an absolute delight to listen to.

The story starts out a little odd, I felt like it took me a few chapters to really get a feel for the author’s style and flow. But once I got it…. The book was fantastic!! Josh was so easy to love and he makes the reader yearn for his HEA. Gemma does a lot of growing in this story, pulling us along for her ride to her HEA. Josh and Gemma Make a Baby ends with a complete HEA!!! It wraps up nicely for all of the lovable characters. I can’t wait to read more from Sarah Ready!

I was super lucky to receive a copy of the ebook and listen to the audiobook free of charge from the publisher. This review is my honest opinion of the story.

This is a review of the ebook.

Josh and Gemma Make A Baby.

This story focuses on Gemma; a thirty something, social media operator. After her family's annual New Year's party, she comes to the realisation that she wants a family, aka a baby.

In enters Josh, her brothers best friend, good genes, been around since the dawn of time. Josh and Gemma aren't suited for romance, but they could make the perfect baby.

This story is fast paced, which I really liked, because although the story is canny long, I don't really notice it.

Character wise? There were parts where I loved and hated Gemma, like when she was completely oblivious to Josh's feelings for her, and when she lashed out on all of her friends. However, everyone is imperfect, and I'm glad I gor to see her imperfections were included into the story in such a seamless and well-written way.

I liked the plot of the story, and it's execution was fabulous.

Rated 3.5 stars

Thank you to netgallery for allowing me to read this story in exchange for an honest review.

There were parts that were rough - so many times Gemma’s friends and family tore her down in such a sad way. They just kept talking about her insecurities like it was no big deal when in fact it was a HUGE deal. They were also seemingly unaware of what they were doing? They just thought they were being useful, trying to encourage her?? It was weird and I didn’t care for it even though it SORT OF made sense for the story. I did like Gemma a lot though, even though she was having such a hard time with everything. She was a funny narrator, even though she was PAINFULLY awkward at times. I loved her and Josh so much! Even though they had such a hard time communicating throughout the whole thing. They were so serious about having a contract to make sure the baby part of their situation was taken care of, they didn’t give that same attention to their relationship. Josh was looking for a family, people to be there for him. The baby, and eventually Gemma, were perfect for him.

I got this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

3,5.

This was so freaking cute, I love a lighthearted rom-com.

In this story we meet Gemma, a single 32-year-old woman who's decided to have a baby. All she needs is a donor, and she decides the best one out there is Josh Lewenthan, childhood crush and family friend.
Yes, this story has all the clichés in the world. No, I do not care. Because even though the plot is very predictable from the beginning, you can't just stop reading! My mind was all about "will they finally make the baby?" "Please, kiss already this is painful" and "Gemma it's clear as day that your boss is an a-hole", and I knew what was going to happen and I couldn't stop reading because it was so addictive!!
Anyway, I really liked the characters, and that there were some illustrations here and there too. I would have liked to see more of the comic, actually both comics, because it felt not that important when they really are, and I would have loved to see Gemma’s feelings more clearly throughout the book, but in general, this was a lovely lighthearted emotional beautiful read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc.

4.5/5 🌠
Everybody knows, love is the best gift, the best gift in the whole wide world 🤞 Ohhh, this book.. It was amazing! I loved it from the get go. I honnestly couldn't put it down🙈 I didn't expect to love this so much. Josh.. He's amazing. He really loved her for years and that was enough for my heart. I laughed, cried and fell in love. I really liked the book.

Çok sevdim gerçekten Josh o kadar güzel bir karakterdi ki.. Kitabın çoğunda güldüm ama son kısımlara doğru beni ağlattı da o yüzden başarılı sayarım kdkdkd Gemma'yı bazen bi sarsmak istedim ama yine de bi şeyleri kaybetmesi gerekiyordu farkına varması için. Ian salağından nefret ettim. Tatlı bir romcomdu ve iki gün boyunca beni mutlu hissettirdi resmen. Ayrıca Gemma'nın mükemmel arkadaşlar bulmasına da ayrıca aşık oldum. Üç kadına da bayıldımm hüü çok sevmişim valla.

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby is a feel-good, childhood friends to lovers romance. Gemma wants to have a baby, but hasn't found the right man and situation so she sets off on a quest to find a fetility doctor to help her. At the appointment, she accidentally says that she has someone to donate sperm: Josh.

What follows is a rollercoaster of emotions, mirroring the ups and downs that Gemma herself is going through at attempting to make a baby with Josh. I enjoyed most of it, as a lot of my ideas about becoming a mother align with Gemma's. There were moments where I wished the two of them would just realize their feelings and get together, but those moments remained frustrating. The ending was sweet and matched the overall tone of the story, but it felt anticlimactic.

I do recommend this cute and lovely romance, especially to those looking for an introduction into romance. It's light and fluffy, with a brief foray into a heavy topic (trigger warning for loss of pregnancy in this novel). It's handled very well, however, and doesn't take away from the overall tone of hope.

🤍 Book Review 🤍

🤍 Josh and Gemma Make a Baby by Sarah Read.
⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

❕No Spoilers.
❕Trigger Warnings: IVF, Infertility, Miscarriage, and some body shaming.

Your classic friends to lovers trope but with a surprise ending, had me flipping through the pages and wanting more. There were a few twists and turns towards the end making it hard for me to put the book down.

This is the first book I've read by Sarah Ready, and I absolutely adored it! I could have read the entire book in one sitting if it weren’t for that annoying thing called “sleep.”

This is a cute romantic comedy about two lifelong acquaintances turned friends, who get together unconventionally to make a baby.

I feel like the author, Sarah Ready, did a good job in connecting various parts of the book, and really bringing everything together at the end.

Everything was explained very nicely, with lots of description and detail. I never felt I had any difficulty in following along, or had any question as to why anything was happening. The level of detail was just right as I also didn't feel like the descriptions or detail slowed or took away from the story being told.

I thoroughly enjoyed all of the characters, though I must admit to being annoyed with Gemma's mother at first. I did, however, come to realize that she did and said the things that she did out of love.

Things I liked:
        ⁃       Being able to really connect with the main characters
        ⁃       The storyline/premise
        ⁃       The level of detail and attention, while being able to staying on point
        ⁃       The inside look on infertility; the process women and couples face with miscarriage, IVF treatments, and loss.

Things I felt could have been better:
        ⁃       I was a little disenchanted with Gemma reciting quotes at random. If I were to participate in a conversation using quotes in that manner, I would be looked at weirdly, as it isn’t what is deemed as “normal” social interaction. It felt a little weird during times of conversation, but not so weird during other times of the story.

Many thanks to NetGalley for making this available as a read now download, in exchange for an honest review.

I AM CRYING. I AM LITERALLY CRYING WHILE I WRITE THIS REVIEW.

I'm just so overwhelmed with emotions right now. I'm so happy for Josh. I'm so happy for Gemma. I'm so happy for Carly. I'm so happy for Brook. I'm so happy for Hannah. My heart is happy. *sobs some more*

This book was a delight to read. It's filled with many interesting and lovable characters—those who seemed weird then turns into great friends, those who seemed annoying then turns into people of support, those who seemed like a daily life villain then turns into an ally, and those who seemed crap from the start who was actually real crap. Spoiler alert: oh yes, Ian, I'm looking at you. And then there are those who seemed not to care, but cared deeply, and those that seemed to care, but actually didn't allow themselves to care enough—and had to realize it the hard way.

I just adored a ton of characters here and I'm just really really happy for them. I loved every interaction Josh and Gemma had right from the start. Josh was extremely funny. He was flirty, soft, and lovable in every way. There was so so much more about him than he cares to let on and he's probably my favorite character here among many characters that I adored. Gemma was an independent woman who had her own strengths but she said and did things that annoyed me to the core and had me hurting for others, but these things also made her realize how much she's holding back from her life and hiding beneath facades, forced positivity, all while keeping everyone at arm's length. Though she still did not top Josh as my favorite character, I liked how she learned from her mistakes and grew from them. She is somehow a realistic character because here in real life? We're not always sunshine heroines oozing with love and kindness, sometimes we're also full of crap and we must learn to own it, apologize for it, and choose to change for the better. (I think this book made me philosophical—LMAO IT'S THOSE QUOTES!)

What I didn't like about it were the Ian scenes at the start. I am extremely uncomfortable with them because I hated him right from the beginning and I had to read really fast over those for him not to completely put me away from the book. Lol. I was also a bit put-off at some scenes which had me slapping a palm to my face.

But all in all, I can say I liked this book. It was so funny and sometimes in really crazy ways which made me laugh so much. I liked the tension between Josh and Gemma that was slowly burning right from the start and the friendship that was strengthened between them. I liked the ending enough but I would really love it if I got to see more of their future.

A big thanks to NetGalley, the author, Sarah Ready, and publisher, Swift and Lewis Publishing LLC for a copy of this book.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆(4.25)
Steam Level: 🔥🔥.5

I love this book! So lighthearted yet serious! There were some really funny scenes too! I love that the author based the book around infertility and IVF! It's something that a lot of women go through and struggle with and it needs to be talked about more.







1

Gemma is driven and independent, is sick of waiting for a man. Being in her early thirties, she feels its time to build a family. She suffers from a long term condition called endometriosis which makes it difficult for her to get pregnant. That's where IVF comes in and her pursuit of enlisting Josh, her brother's best friend. Gemma doesn't really know Josh, but she starts to realise he's the opposite of what she thought.

This book was very insightful in the whole IVF process and the complications of it. I really liked Josh's character, he's so supportive of Gemma, always there for despite what goes on in his life. He knows how to lighten the mood. I also liked the inclusion of a support group and seeing the journeys of different women.

Without wanting to give away spoilers, Gemma's character irked me a little, how she was oblivious to obvious things around her.

Seeing the ups and downs these women go through was very heartbreaking, it was a tearjerker but it was equally light and comical. Overall, I quite enjoyed this.

Josh and Gemma have a history together, and it is a little predictable. I still enjoyed the funnies that made this an easy read. I would recommend this if you need to get out of reading slump. Enjoy!

I stumbled across this book while scrolling through Netgalley. The cover caught my attention, followed by the blurb. I went in with no expectations and I was pleasantly surprised. The book is a sweet rom com, that managed to hook me from the start.

Gemma is a quirky, driven character which I liked for the most part but it did become annoying at times. I did enjoy Josh’s character, but wish he had been a little more developed. However the chemistry between the two was perfect. I did also enjoy this book covers the topic of Infertility and IVF, and overall seemed to be accurate. The plot was well written and managed to keep my attention throughout. I really enjoyed this book, and would definitely recommend giving it a read. I will be sure to check out more of Sarah Ready’s books.

A perfect fluffy read for when I’m in the mood for romance. Unlike most romance books I read, this one was surprisingly not as annoying. The characters are fun to read about and the romance itself was convincing.

Where to start with this book? My gosh.

I loved 90% of this book. It was hilarious, Gemma as a narrator has the quirky, sarcastic voice down to a T in the first half, and Josh is completely yum. I absolutely loved every scene with him.

But then we came to the middle of the book and … everything I liked about her quickly fizzled out.

Her quirkiness became unbearable in the middle of the book, she was condescending to everyone around her and to poor Josh, who was incredible from the start and didn’t deserve her judgmental attitude, nor did her friends. Only with Josh did she actually have any sort of… umph about her. She didn’t act like a 30-something-year-old woman, she acted like she was a teenager, overthought everything and made up scenarios that didn’t make any sense and had me rolling my eyes half the time.

I wish the book focused more on the process of IVF in detail and her relationship with Josh and we got to see their development of their friendship more outside of doctors appointment. However, IVF was beautifully developed and explained without feeling chunky or overwhelming. I didn’t know much about the process and I loved reading about it. The Dr. was hilarious, as was the fertility group.

But the best part? Josh. Have I already explained how much I love him? Literally so much care and detail and love was put into his character that I fell for him hard. He’s amazing. He’s everything.

The ending gave all the warm fuzzy feels I desired and then some. It was the best way to end the book and I’ll read it again and would recommend for those who love cosy reads, even with frustrating unreliable female MC, but a hot male MC that makes up for it all, and gives you all the fluffy feels.

This story is about Gemma who has sadly unable to have a baby in previous relationships. She decides to get a sperm donor make a family her way - ideally with her brother's best friend and childhood crush, Josh Lewenthal.

Gemma and Josh's chemistry is great, and seeing the relationship grow from family friend/acquaintance to more is rewarding. The themes of infertility and isolation were relatable.

Although the premise is great and there are lots of classic rom-com moments, unfortunately I feel that the characters were poorly drawn out. While we hear a lot about Gemma, there is very little explanation about Josh's development and how he got to where he is (no spoilers so it's hard to explain this further).

I also felt the way in which Gemma was treated and perceived by her family and those around her was all a bit much - she's single, hasn't been able to have a baby and as a consequence appears to be thought of as tragic or useless. Not only that, but there was a lot of fat-shaming and casual venom about Gemma's looks. Surely this is cruel, and unnecessary to for the reader to sympathise with Gemma's character. While rom-coms often stretch the bounds of realism, I felt that the cruelty with which Gemma was treated by others was quite unbelievable. It felt a bit retrograde - perhaps a bit like similar parts of Bridget Jones' Diary.

In turn, Gemma seemed to treat the people in her life very poorly. She obviously has very low self-esteem, and while the character grows and changes as the book goes on, unfortunately the sympathetic moments were outweighed by the unsympathetic ones for me.

All in all, I did enjoy the basic storyline and the slow-burn romance aspect. The pain and stress of infertility treatments was communicated with the help of the introduction of the infertility group characters - although again you needed to suspend belief a bit with how quickly Gemma was able to get booked in for her appointments.

If you are able to look past the character/shaming issues and want a light romantic read this might be a good book for you.

“Josh and Gemma Make a Baby”

Josh Lewenthal.

Gemma has almost everything she wants; a job she loves-working for a famous self-help guru, awesome siblings that include a sister who gave her a niece and nephew to babysit, and a well-meaning (if a tad irritating) mother (who keeps trying to set up Gemma with an eligible bachelor). What she doesn’t have, though, is a baby. Enter the perfect FF (future father aka sperm donor) Josh Lewenthal. Josh has been her brother’s best friend since they were kids. Smart, good-looking, and athletic, Josh fits the bill for Gemma’s goal donor. Can Gemma convince Josh to donate? How well do we know others, even if you have grown up with them?

Ready has taken a subject that effects so many around the world and used it as part of a plot line of a well-written romance novel. While this book contains stage 4 endometriosis, miscarriage, and IVF it doesn’t have the dramatic weight another author might have afforded it. Rather, Ready has made it part of the journey of Gemma’s life. This book is ultimately a romance novel that just happens to contain subjects that end up making Gemma a well-rounded character who learns a lot about herself along the way. That isn’t to say that Ready didn’t treat these issues seriously. The characters respond to them the way that we would expect someone to respond to them. I may or may not have cried in places, but you can’t prove it!

Five stars