An enjoyable book that deals with some hard topics.

I did feel that some of the infertility and IVF was glossed over a little but overall it was nice to read a book that dealt around a topic I didn't really know much about

a cute read I would recommend

3.5 stars

thanks Netgallery and Swift & Lewis Publishing for this eARC in exchange for an honest review

"Love is the best gift I’ve ever had the privilege to give."

Content Warning: This book includes references to miscarriage

Josh and Gemma make a baby is a must-read sweet romance story! Gemma is thirty old, curvy-bodied, hard-working woman. She made such an impression on me because I rarely read about women that look like me. From the moment I started reading, I couldn't put it down! The author takes you on a journey going through New York's delicious pizza shops. Even, iconic Central Park.

I enjoyed seeing the city through Josh and Gemma's comedic and awkward interactions. This story includes small illustrations that make you smile. Quotes you’ll never forget! During Josh and Gemma's new and exciting adventures; you’ll meet a loving family, crazy friends, and some unexpected enemies. I recommend adding this book to your list year if you're a lover of fast-paced romcoms!

I laughed. I cried. I loved it. Josh is the dreamy nerd we all want. Gemma made me angry a couple of times with her obliviousness, but I still loved her and felt all the feels with her.

I read this whole book in one sitting. Fans of Bridget Jones will love Gemma and her similar personality. I enjoyed that this book was about struggles with infertility and IVF rather than the accidental pregnancy trope. Josh is such a dreamy hero. You can’t help but root for him. I highly recommend reading rather than listening to this book because of the little illustrations “by Josh.”

I read the entire book in one sitting and found it to be quite enjoyable to read. The book resembled to a cute and light romcom. People who enjoy the pregnancy or brother's best friend trope would like reading the book. Overall, I would rate it a 4 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

I received this book compliments of NetGalley and W.W. Crown Books in exchange for my honest review. I was not sure how I felt about this book at first, in the first couple of chapters I was thinking to myself "okay, office romance, enemies turned lovers, he's going to donate" the whole thing. Although this book was predictable at times, it was a very good book. Kind of reminded me a little bit of The Hating Game. This Josh was great too. I am happy about the IVF conversation in this book and the realities of carrying a child. I do not know much about IVF but I did not feel as though the author was trying to dumb anything down through the book. I cried near the end. This was an unexpectedly very good book.

4.5 stars ⭐️.
I finished this book in one day so you can conclude how compelling it was.
Omg this book was everything! It made me pass through a roller coaster of emotions. There is hope, heartbreak, healing, family and most importantly selfless love.
And humour.. dear god the humour! I haven’t laughed this much recently. So much that my 6 year old started to give me the stink eye.

I would say this book is all about the growth of heroine Gemma. She wasn’t perfect infact at one stage in the book I got so mad at her behaviour. But she recognised it and made amends. Just like every one of us.
There were many many well developed secondary characters and snippets of their lives that I enjoyed. This book has it all, Superb writing, enjoyable and compelling plot, great characters, crazy family and friends and HEA.

Kudos to the author for dealing a topic like infertility with sensitivity and maturity.

I would definitely recommend this book to all.

P.s Safety is a little tricky.
(Minor spoiler ahead) I admit i got a little uncomfortable in the middle when heroine started to give OM attention. But thankfully it all resolved fast and the H/h wasn’t dating at the time.

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby was such a delightful surprise of a read! I started the book unsure how to feel but was quickly won over by the characters and story.

Gemma is a thirty-something divorcee who has so much in life: a successful job, a supportive family, and even a blossoming relationship with her influencer boss. There’s just one thing she wants but doesn’t have: a baby. Due to fertility issues, Gemma decides to begin IVF and in a stroke of cosmic genius names her brother’s best friend (and teenaged crush) as her partner. Once she does, Gemma just has to do the impossible: convince Josh to actually donate his sperm.

Over the course of two months, Josh and Gemma undergo an emotional ride that had everybody crying- me included. Sarah Ready’s novel is more than just an unconventional romantic comedy. It tackles issues like infertility and adult female friendships with grace and nuance, capturing small details that make both unique experiences. Yet, it is a true rom-com, as there were moments I could not stop giggling at the characters’ antics.

My critiques of the book were few and the main one has to do with the mysterious beef surround Gemma’s boss and Josh. While the narrative was pushing this tension to be a big deal that Gemma could not understand, I guessed the entire plot line a few sentences after it was introduced. For a book that did so well subverting cliches, it was disheartening to see the ones she did use as expected with less skill.

However, at the end of the day, I loved just about everything about Josh and Gemma Make a Baby. I’ll be buying my own copy to keep after this ARC kept me up all night, eager to read what would happen next.

book was hilarious and heartfelt, i liked and sympathized a lot with gemma and fell in love with josh
it was an easy read and i'm hoping to see more of this author

As someone who suffers from fertility issues, this book made me so happy. The characters were likeable and I loved the writing style, overall this was such a cute story - definitely recommend.

Wow! This book gets five ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!

**TW: if you have gone or are going through infertility, this book might not be for you.

The book was modern and relevant to what so many couples go through with infertility. As someone who hasn’t walked that path, it was insightful to see behind the curtains of those families. It told perspectives from more than just the main characters’ journey.

Gemma is a character you can’t help but love with her quirk and honesty. Josh is reserved and kind, but someone you will love reading about.

This story follows Josh and Gemma through heartbreaks and setbacks with twists of sadness and little bit of steam.

I was expecting this book to be another cutesy light-hearted romance based on the title and cover, but there is so much more to it that just that. This book tackles a number of heavy points including infertility, IVF & miscarriage (I personally do not know a lot on IVF so can not speak of the accuracy this book portrays).
Josh and Gemma were adorable together and Gemma was a good character in her own right with her quirkiness and realness being relatable. I do wish we got to know Josh a little bit more because I felt like there was so many unknowns even at the end of the book.
I really enjoyed the introduction of the IVF group and how all different kinds of people going through similar difficult situations can come to rely on each other. I always love when they show the importance of friendship in a romance book and that in the end they all got a bit of a happy ending.
I found that the book had a bit too many tropes for my liking from brothers’ best friend, love triangle, pregnancy and second chance but overall, I enjoyed reading this book. It was a quick, enjoyable read that also dug a bit deeper.
TW: infertility, IVF & miscarriage
Thank you Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I stayed up entirely too late finishing this. What an engaging, funny (I laughed out loud at some parts), and sweet book. This book takes on a serious topic (infertility) and approaches it in a way that only someone who has been through those trenches, can truly appreciate. Thank you for that, Sarah!

100% worth picking up!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4509178543

What a wonderful surprise this book is! The cartoonish cover and cutesy title give the false impression that it’s just another light-hearted romance, but there’s so much more depth than that. Yes, it’s a mash-up of several tropes including brother’s best friend, second chance, and love triangle, but it’s also a thoughtful portrayal of infertility and the way in which fellow sufferers bond over their struggles to conceive and give birth and a scathing indictment of the self-help, inspirational charlatans who prey on people at their weakest moments. In this case, Ian Fortune, Gemma’s boss and long-time crush, is nothing more than a snake oil salesman whose stock in trade are meme-worthy quotations. One minor criticism of the story is the heavy sprinkling of these trite sayings throughout, both as chapter headings and as a way for Gemma to engage with friends and family without being open and honest about who she is and how she feels.

Josh is a charming, somewhat nerdy book boyfriend who, as far as Gemma knows, writes comics, lives in his dad’s basement, and collects panties as sexual trophies. In other words, he’s not boyfriend-worthy, but as former high school valedictorian, football captain, and homecoming king as well as her brother’s best friend who’s spent countless hours with her family, he’s the perfect candidate for a sperm donor once Gemma decides she’s not going to miss the chance to have a baby while waiting for “The One.” However, as Josh fully commits to making a baby with Gemma, she slowly realizes that she knows very little about him and the life he’s led in the 14 years since he went off to college. His reason for agreeing to be her baby daddy is very touching, and his love and care for his terminally ill father is heartwarming.

Ready does a wonderful job of developing her romantic leads and creating scenarios that allow secondary characters to shine, whether it’s the seemingly mismatched support group or Gemma’s mother with her well-meaning yet misguided and casually cruel attempts to find a man who will deign to marry her barren, divorced and “chubby” daughter. This thoughtful and entertaining romance is highly recommended for romance fans, anime cosplayers, and anyone looking for a delightful distraction from our troubling times.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Swift & Lewis Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Gemma’s only dream is to become a mother. As a new divorcee at 32 and no children because of her infertility, Gemma doesn’t think she will ever have kids. That’s when she decides she will just have a baby with IVF. Gemma decides to ask her first love Josh, to be her donor. He checks all the boxes on her “what do I want my baby to be like” list and he agrees. They keep it a strictly friends, only for the baby sort of relationship but as they move forward in a enduring, emotional process, will old feelings come back? Or what if those feelings never went away at all? This book is the perfect little rom com with such a unique plot.

This book was such a fun, quick read but it was also engaging with a unique plot. I really enjoyed how Gemma’s character developed and I LOVE how Josh’s character was written, if felt different to other rom com men. Sarah Ready did such a great job developing the side character and giving everyone a role. With the love triangle trope and the past conflict with Ian and Josh I felt that all the characters were connected which was great. The romance was super sweet and sexy and I love the first love, second chance trope as well. Overall this was a really great read and I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a flirty rom com read!

This book was bad.

I hardly ever give books less than 3 stars but unfortunately this was just very very bad.

From start to finish the book was over the top and full of cliches. There was not a bit of reality sprinkled in and for some people that’s probably ok! There are probably people out there who will love this book.

It was probably one of the worst books I have ever read.

The fat shaming and infertility shaming that happens at the beginning was enough to make me not want to finish it. I realize it was supposed to make us sympathize with our main character but as someone with endometriosis I found it extremely triggering.

I would say the best way to describe this book would be a caricature of a rom com.

I enjoyed this book very much. It’s fun and entertaining, and it was a quick, enjoyable read.
Gemma works for a well known self-help guru who has a saying for every occasion. She and her family are closed, and she’s happy with her life, except for one thing - she wants to have a baby. After several failed relationships, she’s ready to do it on her own.

Josh is a guy Gemma and her family have known for years. He’s spent holidays and celebrations with them. He’s a laidback kind of guy, good looking and smart, but Gemma thinks he’s not very career oriented like she is.

Gemma was going to use a sperm donor when she decides to ask Josh first. Initially he’s not excited about the idea, but eventually agrees. He’s all in on the appointments etc., and as time goes on they get very close and what started out as a business transaction starts turning into something more.

I loved the characters in this book, especially the ladies in Gemma’s IVF group. I see that this is book 1 and I’m looking forward the next book! highly recommend this book, 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thankyou netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.


This book was terrific and I totally enjoyed it. The last few pages were bit slow but I would still give it 4 stars because of concept and writing style .This book deals with the important issue of infertility which lot of people deal with.

Josh and Gemma ❤

Thanks to NetGalley for the ebook!

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby is about a woman named Gemma who wants desperately to have a baby. She's a divorcee, not in a relationship, and has health issues. She decides to go through IVF by herself but doesn't want to use an anonymous sperm donor so she has the idea to ask her brother's best friend, Josh, to be her donor.

I'm sad to say there wasn't a lot about this I liked or enjoyed.

I liked the general idea of the book, which is why I requested it on Netgalley. I thought it could be fun and romantic. It wasn't really either of those things. None of the characters were very likable, which normally might work for me if the writing is good. Unfortunately, the writing wasn't good enough to make up for it.

There was a point in the book when things turned and started to feel like an altogether different book, and that I liked because the writing seemed better and it wasn't as annoying to me. This is the reason I gave it two stars instead of just one.

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby is about an infertile, divorced woman in her early 30s who decides to go through IVF because she wants to start a family and is tired of looking around for Mr. Right. She ends up asking her brother’s best and oldest friend to be her donor.

There are some funny parts, romantic parts, and ultimately some very serious parts as well as Josh and Gemma navigate through their IVF journey and also their feelings for each other.

As far as the audiobook goes, I’m sure the narrator was just fine. But hearing a man’s voice read by a woman who was faking that man’s voice just didn’t do it for me. Is that how most audiobooks are?

Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.