Josh and Gemma Make a Baby was a huge and delightful surprise to me. Gemma really wants a baby via IVF, and she wants her brother's best friend to be the donor for it. I expected the typical lighthearted romantic comedy, but with the heavy topics scattered throughout it definitely brought me to tears in so many moments. This is seriously such a wonderful story and while the infertility topic can be tough, this book handles it sensitively and accurately.

The way this book hit me emotionally really surprised me!
Gemma wants a baby via ivf and wants to use her brothers best friends sperm. I definitely thought this would be typical ROM com but had some really serious parts that left me sobbing!

As this book title suggests it touches on the subject of infertility and is serious when it needs to be but has some funny moments too.

Thank you to both the author and publisher for the privilege of reading an advanced copy of Josh and Gemma Make a Baby by Sarah Ready. I was nervous going in to this delightful little rom-com considering the subject would rest primarily on the plot point of infertility, but I was so pleasantly surprised with the writing. Ready handles a serious and delicate topic with care and nuance which, as someone who struggled for a solid couple of years to initially conceive in my early twenties, I greatly appreciated. Wanting a child and not being able to have one really does make you a bit psycho on the best days. My only real nitpick with the story was that everyone eventually did conceive which is not the way reality always goes and could potentially hurt a reader if they’re unknowingly hit with that tidy little ending. All in all, I felt it was an adorable book; lots of humor without turning a serious matter into a joke or dismissing the pain surrounding choices of whether or not to try whatever it takes to conceive a child, and when to know when to surrender the hope. I’m very fortunate enough to have not had to get all the way to IVF intervention and to have carried three of four pregnancies to full term with healthy children who are now basically grown, but I also have a healthy appreciation for what it feels like when bouncing babies are everywhere except in your womb or arms and the recognition that not everyone has that luxury, though, again, I feel the author handled that with the care it deserves in this writing. I will definitely recommend this one (with minor exceptions) to other readers.

THIS BOOK WAS 4 OUT OF 5 STARS FOR ME!
Basically, this book follows Gemma and she wants to have a baby at 32. She was also diagnosed with infertility (stage 4 endometriosis). So she needs a sperm donor for IVF. That donor will be Josh, her brother's best friend. But as it turns out there are more things between them, than Josh being ''just a donor''.

First, I should say that I really love the cover (the colors, cartoon design), I loved the description (that pulled me in), but I am not a fan of the title.

I will say that the story is very touching, sweet and it's fun to read!

There were, a few steamy scenes, but they weren't too spicey so everyone can read it!

There was one moment where one particular thing was overly repetitive and to be honest I did get on my nerves.

There were a bunch of moments where you could clearly see body and infertility shaming! I really liked that the author touched it!

Also, another unusual thing was the illustrations! (I loved the way they tied up together at the end)

AND THE TROPES :
-Childhood enemies to lovers!
-Guy falls first (I LOVE THIS)
-Pregnancy stories
-IVF journeys
-Brother's best friend (Another my favorite)
I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thanks, for the chance!

Gemma wants a family, although she’s divorced and has been told she’ll never be able to have children. She goes to a fertility doctor to discuss IVF, which is where Josh, her brother’s best friend, comes in. She wants him to be the donor.

This story was really cute overall. I liked that it didn’t waste time in the beginning getting to the point. There were a lot of times in the middle where I wanted to strangle almost all of the characters because they were being really annoying. But it does have a sweet ending.

It’s definitely an emotional book dealing with some serious topics. It goes between being very serious and cheesy, which does lighten the mood.

The title and description of this book originally got me interested, but once I started it, the characters really brought me in and held my focus. From the very start, I was rooting for Gemma and her drive to have a baby!

Having known numerous couples who have gone through the IVF process, it was extremely eye-opening, heart-wrenching, and an overall emotional roller coaster to see the details of the process in this story. I’ve always had a deep respect and admiration for couples pursuing IVF, but seeing this side of it gave me more perspective into what it’s like for the couples, while also keeping the tone light.

The book was funny, touching, awkward in the best ways, and is a unique spin on the traditional rom-com story.

There were a few steamy scenes, but they weren’t overly descriptive or over the top. Even readers who don’t like traditional open-door romance could enjoy these scenes!

One section in particular got on my nerves with overly repeated phrases…looking at you, BOY TOY…but other than that, the book flowed and transitioned well, and it was an overall fun read!

For fans of:
-Childhood friends to lovers
-Guy falls first
-Mild open-door romance
-Second chance romance
-Pregnancy stories
-IVF journeys
-Motivational quotes
-Wieners and wine
-Limes

This was such a fun, sweet story. Josh and Gemma make more than a baby. They also make quite the couple. With the foundation of years of friendship, Josh and Gemma reconnect at a time when both of their lives are changing. A New Year’s party brings them back together just when Gemma makes a decision that will change her life forever. And she asks Josh to help her make a baby. Gemma’s journey with infertility is heartfelt. Their relationship is filled with the tenderness of childhood unrequited love, the comfort of old friends, and the steaminess of rekindled love. This was my first book by Sarah Ready and I loved it.

I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book was delightful, emotional and funny. I couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to go through the heartbreak these women did to have a baby but the author did an amazing job getting through to me.
Those bloody quotes haha. I can definitely imagine every one being exasperated getting a quote every time they open up about their feelings. Made Gemma a tad bit annoying until I got used to it. Josh was a sweetheart right from the get go and I couldn’t believe how blind she was about him.
The characters were brought alive for me and I enjoyed the ride of their lives. My favourite character was Brooke. She had a story for everything to make you shudder and her wise cracks made me laugh out loud.
Can’t wait to read more from this author.

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know both Josh and Gemma. Josh with his easy laid back attitude and Gemma with her willingness to take life by the horns. I thought that the ease with which Sarah Ready talked about women and men's fertility was so well done. I myself really loathe self-help gurus and self-help books as a whole so I was absolutely delighted by Ian's storyline. The balance of fun, sexy, and emotional was absolutely perfect!

Overall, I enjoyed this cute, funny rom com. What I loved:
1) Josh! He was so sweet and lovable. He was the perfect character in this brothers best friend trope.
2) It tailed more meaningful topics. You don’t often see deep issues discussed in a romance but I love the addition. It adds depth to a sometimes fluffy genre.

What I didn’t love:
1) It was a little cheesy. The humor and the inspirational quotes were a little much sometimes.
2) Gemma wasn’t always likable. She was immature and kind of a mess. She turns it around at the end but she was kind of annoying at times.
3) Body shaming

Overall, it was a fun read that covered new ground for a romance.

Such a rom-com that deals with a sensitive topic for all those who want to be parents but can’t. Gemma, divorced for 7 years and 32, is seen as a lost hope when it comes to romantic choices according to her family. Gemma decides to take control of her life and grab the dream she’s always wanted, to be a mom. It’s not easy as she is thought to be infertile, but then is given hope by her doctor to undergo IVF. But Gemma needs a sperm donor and asks her brother’s best friend, whom she has avoided since she was 16. Surprised he agrees, Gemma comes to find that Josh is more than the “FF” or donor as their friendship blossoms and she discovers he is more than she thought him to be. Lots of touching moments and lots of humor made this an enjoyable read. While some predictability in the plot and all the positivity quotes, that was okay with me to celebrate with Gemma and Josh on their journey.

Many thanks to #netgalley #joshandgemmamakeababy #sarahready for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was a very quick and enjoyable read! I loved the banter between the two characters and found the writing style to be funny and refreshing. "No commitments, just a baby." And we all know how that goes. I'm personally very fond of these kind of tropes if well executed and I'm happy to say that this did not disappoint!

I admit it. When I started the book I wasn’t quite liking it a lot. But I kept reading and I COULD NOT STOP. I finished it like 5 minutes ago and I reaaally enjoyed this read! Especially because he’s been in love with her for years and she doesn’t know❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

For some reason my brain fancasted Josh as Justin Baldoni lol but he’s such a cutie!! Of course the Ian thing was very predictable but still, i loved how the ivf pregnancy was the main storyline; how he went with her to every appointment, his love for pizza❤️🍕 and the toy boy scenes (that were hilarious!)

Would definitely recommend if you are looking for a fun, light romance read!

Gemma wants to have a baby. At 32, she’s been divorced for 7 years after an infertility diagnosis (she has stage 4 endometriosis). But first, she needs a sperm donor for IVF. In comes Josh, her brother’s lifelong best friend. Gemma asks Josh to be her donor and they quickly find out there is more to things than Josh being “just” a donor.

I have gone through 8 cycles of IVF to have a baby. I have my daughter from one round and the other 7 were failures. I usually get very scared when IVF is brought up in a book because it’s never written well - the character goes to the doctor and is impregnated a week later. And of course it worked and everything is perfect. I absolutely LOVED how IVF was written in this story. *SPOILERS* from Gemma’s chemical pregnancy (which I also experienced) to the fertility group ladies’ repeated trials and failures, to actual terms being used (I had flashbacks when the doctor described how he was inserting the catheter - it must be pretty standard!). I was frustrated with Gemma, though - she was not a good friend and she needed to gain confidence. I was also frustrated with Josh, who did this because he *SPOILER* was in love with Gemma but couldn’t tell her. Also I think this book has one of the most annoying characters ever written in Gemma’s boss!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for this ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really wanted to like this book based on the premise, but the combination of flat characters and boring, repetitive storytelling made it a drag to get through. I'll start with the positive: I am always happy when endometriosis and fertility issues are addressed, as this is something so many women and families experience and it's great for those topics to get more coverage. I also liked Gemma's friends who she meets through her fertility support group; women supporting other women is also something I can always get behind.

A major qualm I had while reading was Gemma, our narrator and protagonist, beating the reader over the head with information — repeating Sarah's status as her sister over and over, for example, or passages like this:

"'Okay, of course, Mr. Berners-Lee. Thanks for calling, I'll talk to you soon,' I said, attempting to cut my mom short."

I get that Gemma is trying to cut off her mom here. As the reader, I don't need that spelled out for me — it's taking an opportunity for "showing" and cramming it into a box of "telling," and this happens countless times throughout the story. Another example: "My sister claims that Ian is about as real as the mannequin. Meaning, he's as fake as they come." That second sentence is completely unnecessary, and it quickly became tiring to read this style.

Regarding the flat characterization of pretty much everyone Gemma interacts with, this was the biggest aspect that made me want to DNF this book. Gemma's mom, for instance, is constantly criticizing her looks and relationship status, and while she sort of redeems herself, this relationship is clearly used to show how mean everyone around Gemma is to her (in a frankly overblown way) and doesn't have much depth in its resolution.

The dialogue, in particular, was not realistic — take this diatribe from one-dimensional jerk "Greg Butkis" (even the name tells me right away that I'm never supposed to root for this character):

'"I already told you, the last thing I want to do is go out with Dimmy Gimmy. Jimmy told me the surgeon said the inside of her abdomen looks like a grenade went off. Apparently, the medical resident fainted when he saw that. Plus, Gimmy dresses like a slob, eats like a hoover, and has no self-respect. The divorce wrecked her. She's second-hand goods.'"

No one talks like this! Even aside from the overdone cruelty, the dialogue is stilted and fails to accomplish what I assume is its goal of building sympathy for Gemma.

Finally, the inspirational quotes — cheesy, unoriginal, and made me lose respect for Gemma for being so into them.

If you're looking for a lighthearted read without too much thinking involved, this book is not a bad option, but it was not for me.

I loved this book – but it made me cry ... and I don't tend to cry from books I read. This story was sweet and eye-opening, teaching readers (and characters) how important it is not to judge people based on assumptions and stereotypes, but rather to take the time to get to know others. As much as I loved this one, please be aware of the trigger warnings: infertility, miscarriages, cheating.

This was so fun! I love that Josh and Gemma did not have any unnecessary drama, and I loved Gemma's infertility support group. I immediately looked into Sarah Ready's backlist after I finished this book and bought and read Hero Ever After. I'm definitely a new fan!

This was my first read from this author and I enjoyed it. I went in expecting a light read due to the blurb and cute cover but it was more than that.

It’s a slow burn romance with great characters, dealing with some difficult issues who both change over the course of the story. Josh and Gemma made me want to hug them and shake them in equal parts.

"I was judging based on the tiniest glimpse of a person, not what was inside."

Gemma wants to have a child, but with relationships seeming hopeless she seeks to have a child through the process of IVF. The topic of IVF in a romance book and the discussion of infertility issues was something that seemed interesting. Infertility is a struggle for some women that might feel isolating to deal with. Josh decides to help Gemma in her journey of IVF and along the way they become closer.

The use of inspirational quotes was a cute aspect of the novel at the beginning of each chapter. Although as it went on it and continually became used, the enjoyment of it waned.

Spoiler:
I did not enjoy the inclusion of Ian and I found the romance between him and Gemma was uncompelling. The romance between them felt stale and her fascination with him ruined it for me.

Towards the end, I was glad about the romance between John and Gemma, but I wish there had been more between them throughout the book and not concentrated more towards the end. It dealt with some tough subject matter such as going through the process of IVF and miscarriage which made it feel like a more realistic story. People struggle with relationships, fertility, and other issues which can be glazed over for the sake of having a purely happy story.

It was a good romance with some things that I didn't like such as a particular scene in the park, but besides that, I quickly read through it and ultimately enjoyed it.

This book was read thanks to NetGalley.

I really liked this book, I liked how collected the character were because they always knew themselves and what where their goals, so i enjoyed that and I really liked their story,. Highly recommended for those who enjoy the baby by a pact.