This was a romance where the mc was defining herself in the face of others defining her. Gemma has a strong family that feels overbearing at the beginning of the book, potentially nagging in the middle, but by the end steps back enough to let Gemma see her own life ahead of her, and tells their stories in a way that Gemma does not have to be the main character all the time. It was a great story of how off-handed comments can change the course of a relationship or a life, how entering middle age is straddling that time between caring for your children and caring for your parents, and seeing if you can find yourself in between. The little details of the love story sprinkled through the first half left me surprised but happy with the ending.

I love this plot. I feel like it was so unique and different, or maybe I just haven't discovered this trope. Either way I really loved it. My infertility issues were almost identical to Gemma's so I was instantly grabbed into the story and could relate extremely well to Gemma's feelings. I love how determined and independent she is to go out and get what she wants. Josh was pretty great, I just wish he would have communicated a little more. The mysterious side of him didn't really work for me. The quotes got a little cheesy at times but other than that it was a wonderfully written, fun and unique story. I definitely recommend for any romcom lover!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Huge thanks to @netgalley and #swift&lewis and @sarahreadyauthor for my #gifted copy. This amazing book is out now.

When everyone was planning to go away to school and knew exactly what course plan to take and what they wanted to do when they grew up, one thing was for certain. I wanted a family and to be a mom. None of the other things really mattered so much. Well I wanted to be Miss FSU , but the night before the auditions I threw my knee out doing a back flip my leg went the other direction..bam in crutches the next 3 months. No road to Miss Florida for me.

So I completely relate to Gemma. She got married it was a flop, dating life ..who really likes that ?
Cue in...Lets Skip To The Good Part
Gemma wants to complete her life and raise a child, and Josh well he is her brother's best friend, summa cum laude from an Ivy League school, sexy ..why wouldnt his sperm be perfect?

This is a Saturday Night Live Kristen Wiig or Maya Rudolph jumping out and playing the part of Gemma..shes quirky fun in a clumsy sort of way ..and she keeps on going after sending a boob shot in a zoom meeting .
Then her boss throws the word juicy a zillion times since her bra was Juicy brand..but she kept it rolling like a boss.

If you like a romcom in a 2011 fashion ..with Friends to lovers or sperm benefits 😂 this book is so for you.
IVF is a serious situation though, and all the people who go through the process it is expensive, heartbreaking and hard. But when the baby is the final goal that is the best gift the universe will ever give you. This book will make you laugh out loud , sneeze out your coffee, then make you cry for Gemma . I loved the characters walking and eating their way through NyC . You feel like you are an extra in this film production waiting to happen.. hello #Netflix ..we need this movie.

Wow this book was fantastic! It’s the first story in a long time that had me both laughing out loud and near tears within minutes. Josh and Gemma’s story is beautiful and at times frustrating- if you love a friends to lovers will they won’t they scenario this is definitely the book for you. I absolutely loved this book, and would highly recommend. One of the best romances I’ve ever read!

3.5
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.

tw: miscarriage, infertility
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after gemma's divorce and infertility diagnosis, she decided that she wants to have her own baby through IVF. she had to choose between an anonymous donor and her brother's best friend, josh. gemma literally knows josh because he's been in every family event. she then decided to make a business deal, but she got surprised when josh agreed to do it.
~
i am not a mom yet, but i know, based from what i'm reading, that infertility is very common. i know that some people refrain from talking about it because of some personal reasons, but i liked how this book shed light to some questions about it and how it enlightened its readers like me. people have to go through this process called "IVF" and some people are successful while some are not. i'm not sure how the whole process of IVF works, so i can't really tell you if the story is kinda realistic or not.
~
some parts made me laugh, some parts made me so sad, and some parts made me mad. overall, i enjoyed reading this book because there were heartwarming parts that made me feel all the feels. this is my first book by sarah ready and i couldn't wait to read more from her!

This was honestly not what I was expecting going into the book. I did a blind read so I didn’t read the description, BEST SURPRISE! This only made me feel all gooey inside, it was a fun, fast, enjoyable read!! Not a typical pregnancy trope!

3 stars
When i first read the synopsis of this book i was actually really intrigued because the brother's best-friend trope is one of my favorites. The story is told from the pov of Gemma, a quirky and optimistic, quote spouting heroine, who after a bad marriage and years of failed dating, decides to convince her brother's best friend, Josh, to donate his sperm, so that she could start her own family. One thing to know about this book is that it addresses heavy topics like infertility and loss/death, which i haven't seen a lot in books. At the same time, although I understand that this book is supposed to be a rom-com, the way the story goes at addressing the topic of infertility wasn't something I enjoyed. The jabs and jokes made by some of the characters toward Gemma's infertility made it seem like a light-hearted subject at many points in the book. Now, enter our hero Josh. There's nothing sweeter than a guy-falls-first trope and this book delivered on that. The amount of patience, pinning, kindness, and love we learn that he has for Gemma was really heart warming. My only complaint is that I wished to have seen his feelings toward Gemma communicated better throughout the book, so to better understand his relationship with Gemma, since they were said to have known each other for 24 year. I was really satisfied with how the ending tied up all loose ends.

I just love books that are like candy. This was such a sweet and funny read. Josh and Gemma were fun characters and it was different plot than most rom-coms so I enjoyed.

My what a book
I have no words and my heart is hollow as to how beautiful this book was. This is my first Sarah Ready read and it's safe to say she has a fan in me.
I love her writing and how she weaves an important subject that's not talked about or avoided into this book.
So if you're looking for something fluffy, something that will make your heart light then this is your book.

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby was a book that is perfect when wanting to have a quick and easy read. The book follows a 30 something year old who has been having a lot if many ups and downs in her life so she decides its time to take control of her own life and have a kind on her own. Well not completely alone she decides to ask her childhood friend/ brothers best-friend do be the male doner. The book goes to show the many ups and down with fertility issues and shows how it can be very different for every women. My favorite moments in the book was the women friend group because of just how supportive and encouraging they are for one another. Why the book was not a five star for me was at some moments I was a little board but overall I was I was entertained. If you like a quick, brothers bestfriend, childhood friends story this is the book for you.

To be 100% honest, I read this book in 5 hours and because of that I don’t feel like I wasted my time. There were some things I liked about this story and some things I really hated. I want to start by saying I thought the blurb sounded great! I expected a cute story full of emotion, humor and some romance. I hoped to connect with the main character and really feel for what she was going through. I feel terrible for parents, especially women who are unable to have children. I think the author did a great job tackling such a sensitive topic.

My main issue with this story was Gemma. Right from the start she was so judgemental of others and would think badly of others for their job or because they live with their parents. Even when she didn’t have the full story she still judged them and I didn’t care for that. She was way too obsessed with herself and what she wanted and didn’t care about how it affected others. At one point she goes off on a side character and doesn’t even feel remorse because what she said was true. I don’t care if what Gemma said was true or not, it's how she said it that wasn’t right. Josh’s character was okay. He was way too much of a pushover for me. He let Gemma walk all over him and he never actually sticks up for himself. I wish he said enough was enough and stood his ground but sadly he doesn’t. I also didn’t see the side conflict as being necessary to the overall story. I think if certain characters/events were left out then it would have given more time for Gemma to work on herself. One thing I did enjoy about this story was the bond Gemma and Josh were building from making this baby together. It made me think about how truly special it is to go through something like that with someone.

I’m not sure if I would recommend this one. If the synopsis sounds good to you and you don’t mind a character that might get on your nerves then I’d say give it a try. I know I would have enjoyed this way more if Gemma was written differently because I think this story has good bones.

*Received a copy from #Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own

I always have a hard time giving romance books a 5 star, since we know how they’re going to end, but this book is different.

Infidelity, IVF, and death are not topics you expect to see at the forefront of a romance book, but Josh and Gemma (plus that plastic Ken doll Ian) humanize the story by facing these hardships. Like so many women today, Gemma wants a family, but is unwilling to wait for a man to come her way to do it. In Gemma fashion, instead of a random donor, she proposes the idea of having her brothers best friend, who she loves to hate, to be the donor. What could go wrong??

One POV, love triangles, slow burn, this book has it all!

Thanks to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for the ARC!

I absolutely loved this book. Thank you to the publisher for offering me a free copy in exchange of an honest review.

TW: infertility, fertility issues, loss

This is definitely my favorite romance of 2022 so far. I loved every part of it. Josh and Gemma have such a great chemistry. Gemma and Josh grew up together because Josh is her brother's best friend. She also lost her virginity to him and he is known as a huge playboy. She hasn't really seen him in years and they're not close. Gemma is suffering from infertility due to endometriosis and cannot conceive naturally so she looks into IVF. She is tired of waiting for a man and her mom's horrible setups so she is setting out to do it on her own. She just needs some sperm to help her and she chooses's Josh's.

This journey, for Gemma, becomes one of growth, self-love, friendship, love, heartbreak and a chance to find her own happily ever after, maybe even one that has been written for years. I loved Ready's way of writing and the way she build Josh and Gemma up with their chemistry and own issues. There were parts that I was cracking up at and I will NEVER look at lime jello the same way again.

This book was fun! It's by no means a bad book but it was just short of being great.

I think I really was rooting for the characters and I really did enjoy watching Josh and Gemma have a baby while both pretending that they aren't completely and utterly in love with each other. I think this book was slightly lacking in depth of characterisation and certain things that were so fun and interesting needed padding out ever so slightly.

I think the chemistry between Gemma and Josh was obvious and palpable which was fun but the Ian plot was really jarring and the coincidence of it all was just a bit too convenient and rich for my tastes. I think certain things that could have had a more emotional impact were almost skirted over which again calls back to the fact that this book could have been helped with just a bit more depth. I also think some plot points were weird to me but had to be present for the book to work? Certain things Gemma doesn't know about Josh just had me very ???.

This book was fun though and it was enjoyable, the flaws mentioned earlier did stop it from a 4 or 5-star rating but it did not stop my enjoyment of the book. Bright parts were Josh and Gemma's baby Dr appointment (how every single one managed to be outrageously hilarious I do not know) and Gemma's support group members ( I personally think the book would have been a whole lot better if there was a whole lot more of them in the book!)
I would actually recommend this book. I think for the right person this could be the perfect 5 star read, and I also think this would be the perfect book companion for a spring city break.. While it's not perfect, its not terrible and was still a fun read! I'm unlikely to add it into any Best of ... lists or re-read but it was fun!

My first Netgalley ARC read -- and it was amaaaazing!

Honestly, I haven't laughed so much from a book before. There were plenty of funny scenes that left me feeling happy and giggling inside. I was smiling from ear to ear while enjoying this book, even though it dealt with a serious topic -- infertility & IVF. IVF affects many couples and it does not ring pleasant experiences. Ms. Sarah Ready did a phenomenal job bringing light to this topic and making it a fun, enjoyable experience.

Even though I thought I would easily predict the ending, I was in for a surprise!

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.

adorable read! i was rooting for josh the whole time. it was a bit predictable but also had me second-guessing my predictions. i would definitely re-read this one!

This was a do-not-finish for me. The author, right off the bat, begins by describing each character in the worst, most stereotypical fashion. The main character's ex-husband's new wife? She had many children and must have saggy breasts. The doctor she is consulting for IVF? He's 5'2" and is as wide as he is round. I thought it was misogynistic but it's actually just terrible to everyone. I was too offended to continue.

This was a cute book, but it took a little longer than usual to get invested. Josh and Gemma were both relatable characters