Josh and Gemma Make a Baby is Sarah Ready’s latest romantic comedy. Gemma is a 32-year-old divorcee who realizes that it’s now or never if she wants to try to have a baby. Her marriage fell apart 10 years earlier after she had surgery for endometriosis and the surgeon said she would be unable to get pregnant. For seven years she has had a crush on her boss, Ian Fortune, a self-help guru. Ian seems unaware of her attraction until she accidentally exposes her breasts on a Zoom call and then he starts pursing her. Gemma’s interactions with her irritating co-worker, Lavinia, are funny.

Gemma hasn’t had a boyfriend since her divorce. She let herself go by gaining weight and wearing bulky sweaters and unattractive clothes. Her mother tries to set her up with older bald men, and even they reject her. Gemma’s family antics are funny.

Enter Josh Lewenthal, Gemma’s childhood neighbor and her brother’s best friend, who is a cartoonist. Gemma lost her virginity to him at Josh’s high school graduation party and then she didn’t see him for six years. She refers to him as the panty-stealer. He has been at the periphery of her life for at least 25 years and is a regular at family gatherings. Since Josh is single and living in his father’s basement, Gemma asks him to donate sperm so she can pursue in vitro fertilization (IVF).

This story gives many details on the IVF process and quite a few scenes occur in the reproductive specialist’s office. Dr. Ingraham recommends a Fertility Support Group for Gemma, and she becomes friends with the other three attendees. The fertility clinic and support group scenes are humorous.

Ultimately Gemma must decide if she wants to pursue a relationship with Ian, Josh, or remain single. I won’t reveal any more so as not to spoil the story. The author sets out many clues so that the reader can predict what will happen well before Gemma figures things out. Overall Josh and Gemma Make a Baby is a great story. Although this is a romantic comedy, there is a serious theme of infertility experienced by four women.

Given that I am only 23 years old, one would not think that the idea of two friends falling in love while making a baby via IVF would appeal to me in both a romantic and a comedic way but it did.

I loved that the author decided to shine a spotlight on infertility, the challenges of the process and how it can affect either current relationships or the potential for new relationships. I also love that the main character decided to move forward with the process of having a child while still single. I have a few female role models in my life who have gone about having kids this way so I was cool to read about.

The characters were fun, I had a little bit of trouble relating to the main character but I am young, very single and not at all trying to have a child so I think that is definitely a me thing and not due to lack of relatability.
Also loved how the book highlighted success in more "modern" job settings? I feel like I read a lot about cooperate jobs and sometimes it feels like that's the only path to success for happiness and fulfillment so it was a nice change to read about.

I would have liked to see more character development on Gemma's part and actually see her falling in love with Josh a bit more. When I read about romance in books, I always try to pinpoint the moment when the character falls in love with their love interest but doesn't know it yet (even though there are usually multiple of these moments). Their relationship was still cute but from Gemma's POV it felt like her and Josh were friends until they weren't and I think I would have just liked to see her struggle with understanding her feelings a bit more.

There were also a few moments that just felt very unrealistic to me. Obviously, situations like this are unlikely to happen in the first place (which I think is why we all love to read about them), but there were a few things that just felt so over the top ridiculous and sorta ended up ruining the magic of the moment.

Overall, the plot to this was really intriguing and the book definitely had some fun characters and some great moments. The flow didn't always flow for me, but I found it didn't take away from the story at all.

If you like a cheesy, friends to lovers romance with some ridiculous comedic points or are a very plot-centered reader, I think this is for sure a story you would enjoy.

This was a fun and swooney romance that incorporates heavy subject matter ( infertility/miscarriage) overall it was an interesting and entertaining read. Josh was a great character, the chemistry was on point.

Gemma is basically a 32 year old loser who wants to have a baby but has to do it through IVF. She has her brothers best friend Josh be the donor while simultaneously starting a romantic relationship with her boss. This book was intriguing enough that I kept wanting to come back and I really liked the characters. There was a depth to the story that I didn't know was going to be there, but was so glad it was.

Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of “Josh and Gemma Make a Baby” by Sarah Ready. All opinions are my own.

Where do I even begin with this book? Josh Lewenthal has stolen my heart. 😫

This book was such a cute rom-com and I can already imagine it as a movie in the future. The story was well developed and I loved the ending!!

4.25⭐️
1🌶

This was my first book by Sarah Ready and I honestly thought it was adorable.

It's a Rom Com about a woman in her 30s experiencing problems with infertility. She decides to undergo IVF… with her brother's best friend and her childhood crush who
she's barely spoken to since high school.

Were there parts that were a little over the top and cheesy? Yes. Did I still think it was both funny and swoony? Also yes. I love a romance with some pining. This book was sweet, fun, and thankfully leaves you with a HEA.

I would recommend this if you're looking for something cutesy but not as sickly sweet as a Hallmark-style story.

W: infertility, miscarriage

Gemma's professional life is going swimmingly. She has a job she loves working for a man she idolizes- self-help guru Ian. But her personal life... well, she's divorced and considered undateable by all of the men in her hometown. After yet another disastrous set-up by her mother, Gemma decides that she doesn't need a husband to get what she wants most- a baby. So she turns to Josh, her brother's best friend who has been a presence in her life since childhood. He seems like a safe option for a sperm donor, even if she once had a major crush on him and they slept together before he left for college. Making a baby may bring them closer then ever, and rekindle some feelings she hasn't felt in a while.

This is a slow burn romance. Gemma is dating someone else for a good first half of the book. But the friendship between Gemma and Josh during this time is cute and definitely flirty. And while I loved the relationship between Gemma and Josh, I loved Gemma's relationships with the other characters just as much, if not more. This book is about Gemma figuring out who she is and what she wants just as much as it is about making a baby with her brother's best friend. The friends she makes on her journey are great.

One aspect of Gemma's journey is her infertility. After having surgery in her twenties, Gemma is unable to naturally conceive a baby and is undergoing IVF during the book. So if infertility is a trigger for you, I would definitely avoid this book. The author treats the topic appropriately, and posts necessary trigger warnings at the beginning of the book.

I really struggled with this book on many levels, but instead of going into detail on all of the things that didn't sit well with me (fat shaming, infertility shaming, only loving a guy once you realize he's rich and famous basically) I'd really like to talk about the one thing that I loved about this book: the way this book handled fertility treatments.

I appreciated the level of detail and attention that was given to this aspect of the story. And while there were some things that did not sit well with me (Gemma's fear of being turned on by the painful and not even remotely sexy ultra sound probe, for one) there were lots of aspects of Gemma's fertility journey that I did appreciate. I appreciated that things were hard, that Gemma was afraid, even though it was what she wanted, that she felt the joy of a successful implant and felt the pain of losing that child, because that is a very real part of fertility. I really wish the author hadn't taken Josh out of the picture during Gemma's loss. I think the moments that they could have shared together could have been really beautiful and given their relationship arc something to cling to that wasn't so surface-level. Josh could have supported Gemma and that could have been what made her fall for him, and maybe that was the case, but with the way the story presented it, it just kind of felt like Gemma was only falling for Josh after she found out he wasn't a loser like she (unfairly) thought he was and it really didn't have anything to do with the emotional connection they shared.

Stories like this one are important. But this one tried to do too much and the truly beautiful aspects suffered as a result.

3/5 fast read, I love the friends before romance aspect of this novel and the support that Josh showed.
I did think it took too long but than all of sudden sped up the at I had no clue I was already at the end of the book. Also I could do without the graphics between paragraphs.

This was a heartwarming romance that tackled a sensitive subject (endometriosis, IVF and miscarriages). It had funny moments but also some pretty heartbreaking ones too. Josh was the real star of this book however! Overall I found this to be a sweet and charming read!

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was looking for a quick read, a frilly story and some light humour and got ... some of it. I also got basically a repeat of the entire Bridget Jones plot and, do we need to tell Helen Fielding?

This was ... not the one. In essence, the story was fun and had the light rom com approach I was looking for: Gemma is divorced and alone and decides she wants a baby, so starts researching IVF and can't think of anyone better than her brother's best friend to become her sperm donor. Gentle romance and misunderstandings ensue in Gemma's quest to become pregnant.

However, alongside this, Gemma also works for a self-help guru (whose entire ethos appears to be cheesey and uncomfortable one liners that go on posters with kittens - are we supposed to admire this man??). She has been obsessed with him for years, and he's finally begun to notice her - can she have her brother's best friend as her sperm donor and her perfect office romance?

Of course not. And there are multiple reasons why Gemma should not. For one, after a miserable family Christmas party (a la Bridget Jones Turkey Curry party), she decides she wants a baby, and awkwardly approaches the only decent single man in the room about it, whom she had sex with years before. Are we really allowing a woman who is trying to fill a lonely void in her life with a baby to go through with this?

Gemma also knows nothing about IVF (or its expense, and can get an appoint at a clinic the same day). And apparently has no friends until she starts going to an IVF support group, where all of her new friends have been struggling for years to have a baby (guess how long it takes Gemma ...). I know it's light and frilly, and it touches somewhat about the challenges of IVF and the potential toll on relationships - but it's all on Gemma's group, and a lot less on Gemma. The main thing that was piled on Gemma was that apparently her entire town knew that she is now infertile and seems to think it's appropriate to bring it up in casual conversation.

It's really not a positive story about a woman finding her own version of family (and romance alongside it) when the woman in question is being shamed for being infertile.

The story is one thing, I can let a lot slide for the genre. But it was also a literal rehashing of Bridget Jones' Diary. Including the body-shaming family, strange outfits, themed dinners, childhood vs workplace romantic interest, men being cads, the cheating ex (although this time it was Gemma who walked in on her husband "at it like rabbits"), fisticuffs, inappropriate office flirting after seeing Gemma in a bra (rather than the see-through blouse and short skirt), a carbon-copy of posh and snippy office-mate Perpetua, guess-what-the-boss-is-an-ass, and the classic cheating followed by "I thought you said she was thin."

Has Bridget Jones just fallen out of pop culture enough that no one is picking up on this? I almost fell off my spin bike in shock.

To be honest, I kept reading to see how close the story could get. And I didn't entirely hate reading it. But let's just say Helen Fielding should be getting some royalties.

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby is an enjoyable rom-com with a unique premise. I found myself really rooting for the couple by the end of the book.

A few things kept me from fully enjoying this book:
-The motivational quotes were pretty insufferable. That was maybe the point, but made one of the later twists in the book fall a bit flat
-Although Gemma grows during the book, it’s quite hard to watch the way she treats her friends and family and then still be invested in her happiness.
-A few grammatical and spelling errors that were distracting.

I think this book would have worked better as a dual pov. It was clear to the reader that Gemma wasn't really paying attention or was choosing not to understand. Her lack of self awareness made me cringe so many times and she was aggravating in her internal monologue. I think it was supposed to be maddening to read about her before her realization, but it wasn't done in a satisfying way and was just angry inducing even at the end.

Characters 6
Atmosphere 5
Writing style 6
Plot 5
Intrigue 4
Logic 6
Enjoyment 6

I've not come across very many stories dealing so heavily with the topic of infertility, so I think more representation is important and needed regarding this topic as it affects so many women but stills seems to be very taboo and not something that is openly and honestly discussed.

I'll be honest. The romantic side of this story was very predictable. Josh was giving out strong lovey-dovey vibes from very early on while Ian put off major red flag energy throughout.

Meanwhile, Gemma was so oblivious (and slightly insufferable) it wasn't even funny. She went around thinking and speaking at people in super corny motivational quotes. She could also be really dumb. And a moronic, prejudiced, self-centered, hurtful jerk. To make a long story short, she was an major asshole for a big part of the book, but thankfully her redemption arc was satisfying enough that all her unlikable-ness ended up being worth it (apart from the fact that it was necessary for plot reasons).

So, in the end, the book was predictable but still very sweet (mainly thanks to Josh, he was adorable and I loved him).

I also thought the women from the infertility support group were a nice addition to showcase a little of how different people struggle with infertility, plus they provided some great comedic relief. But they too were crucial and vital in their role as a sounding board for Gemma to realize she was being a horrible person and needed to course-correct.

All in all, I'd say this was a cute contemporary romance, perfect to enjoy during a lazy afternoon.

**I received an e-copy of this book from Swift and Lewis Publishing LLC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own**

I listened to the audiobook in one day. I couldn’t stop. It started a little rough in the first 2 chapters with the way some of the characters were so judgmental about Gemma’s life, but it quickly got so much better! I really liked both Josh and Gemma and really hope this isn’t the last we hear of them because a part 2 would be amazing! Definitely would recommend this!

First things first: I'm in love with Josh Lewenthal (and Gemma, because we love a strong female character). I think I'm a huge sucker for a trope of any kind, but secret pining?? Unrequited love?? Friends to lovers?? Last to know?? I'm obsessed. There's a lot of laughs in this book, a lot of swooning, and a lot of moments where I wanted to cry. I think that having that journey of emotions is truly what makes a book worth reading, and Sarah Ready really nailed that perfect balance. It was endearing, surprising, and all-around is definitely worth a read!

For fans of Christina Lauren, Emily Henry, etc
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2022
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.

The rom-com I never knew I needed in my life! Absolutely devastating and so true to life, Gemma feels like she has it all until faced with a diagnosis that could change her future forever. Deciding to take life into her own hands and not wait for the future to determine whether she is able to have a child, Gemma plans a very business-like deal with Josh. Josh isn't exactly the kind of guy Gemma would normally go for, but he doesn't have to be. This isn't a relationship, it's just a business deal leading to a child. The set-up to the story was absolutely perfect and the emotional connections make this book all the better.

5/5 Stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC, for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun book. I really enjoyed Josh and it was nice to get a singular POV romance novel. I don’t see those as much. This was your run of the mill romance comedy with a quirky heroine and antics involved. The characters were a bit stereotypical with the known playboy, the hippie character, the rich and beautiful but unhappy socialite and so on. However, It was interesting learning new things about IVF. Moreover, this novel shows a great range of tone changes from light hearted to heart breaking. I was overall satisfied with the ending.The story was almost cheesy at times when it came to Josh’s capabilities when it comes to Gemma, but if you don’t mind cheese, then I think this is the story for you.

I saw this book everywhere and I needed to get a hold of it! I loved this book with my whole heart, Josh is a sweetheart and literally I need him in my life (sorry Gemma!!) and the plot of the book was expertly laid out! I connected with Gemma and absolutely loved her personality from the first page, and the banter between her and Josh was addicting!! I am always a little bit nervous going into books with IVF/sperm donation mentioned because it is something close to my heart, but this book did not disappoint. It is heartwarming and at times hilarious! Definitely recommended and I'm looking forward to reading more from Sarah Ready!!