Josh and Gemma Make a Baby by Sarah Ready

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Format:
Genre: Romance

Publisher: Swift & Lewis Publishing
Publication Date: 1/25/2022

I loved this book so much. This was the first book in a long time to make me laugh and cry. I couldn’t put this book down and when I had to I kept thinking about it. This book was just what I needed after a number of intense and complicated plots. It was lighthearted, funny, and had just the right amount of ups and downs emotionally.

Gemma and Josh are possibly some of my favorite characters, mostly Josh. I was just the right amount of frustrated about the back and forth in their relationship. I usually find it annoying when two characters just aren’t honest and upfront with one another or if they’re in denial. With Gemma and Josh, it really was just the right amount for me. It didn’t take away from the book for me.

The whole we grew up together and my brother's best friend is definitely becoming one of my favorite tropes. I l also loved the whole concept of Gemma just going for what she wanted.

The book also had just a smidge of spiciness to it. I love a good spicy book and this had a good amount, without making it too much for a contemporary romance novel. Sarah Ready is a new author to me and I will definitely be reading more of her books.

I received an advanced reader's copy of this book on Netgalley and I am giving my honest review.

I thought this was such a sweet book. I read the entire book in one evening. It tackles issues with infertility when Gemma decides to have a baby through IVF and turns to family friend Josh to be the donor. The two of them quickly develop a really sweet friendship. I really loved the tie in at the end of the book with Josh’s comic strip, I thought it was a really fun touch.

I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When 32-year-old divorcee Gemma Jacobs decides she’s ready to have a baby via IVF, she enlists the one person she feels not only comfortable with, but no possible romantic attachment to, Josh Lewenthal. Her brother’s best friend and the boy who “took her virginity”, Josh’s current situation in life (lives in his dad’s basement) makes him the perfect candidate to help her make a baby - or so she thinks. But what happens when Gemma realizes there is more to Josh and her feelings for him than meet the eye?

This was a much cuter book and with more depth than I had anticipated going in. To be completely honest, reading books about IVF can sometimes be difficult for me. Having gone through it myself, I’m extremely critical of the way it’s portrayed down to the minuscule details surrounding each and every part of the process. I’ve read some books that have driven me crazy with the inaccuracies, so much so, that even if it was a good book otherwise, I usually wind up not recommending it, nor rating it very highly.

This book, however, was nothing like that. I do not know if the author herself has been through IVF or if she has a close relative that has, but the details in this book were pretty spot on which was very refreshing. The story felt original and the pace of the plot kept me engaged from start to finish.

The characters were extremely relatable and well developed. There were times I felt like I was going through the process right along with them, which again made me very happy that the IVF process was described accurately. And Josh and Gemma, well they just made my romantic heart so happy.

TW: IVF process and miscarriage described in detail.

This book releases tomorrow! Be sure to check it out for something charming and unexpected. I for one will definitely reading more books by this author.

This book was hilarious, devourable, quirky & fictitious, and also felt light in spite of dealing with serious topics..
Having known a handful of people who find humor and feel light during the most serious times of their lives - which enabled them to move on and take the grief in stride, this book felt really well written.
There are laugh out loud moments, dramatic moments, tingle in the heart moments, feel heavy moments and other emotional moments.

"Josh & Gemma sitting in a tree. K-i-s-s-i-n-g........" Read out to know if the baby comes in a carriage...

PS: I would like to know Josh's pov (please Ms. Sarah Ready ;) ) and an extennnnnnded epilogue would be even more welcome (pretty pleaseeee...)

Divorced, struggling with infertility and in her 30’s, Gemma decides she’s done waiting for Mr Right to come along.. she’s going to have a baby on her own. Instead of going down the anonymous donor route, she decides to ask her brother’s best friend Josh.

Well for a start, this book had a couple of tropes that I like:

Brother’s best friend ✔️
Second chance romance (kind of) ✔️

It was funny, sweet but also quite sad in places.
I haven’t had any experience with infertility or IVF but I think the author did a good job.

There were two stars of this book- Josh (absolute cinnamon roll!) and the women at the IVF support group. Together, they totally made the book for me. I liked Gemma a lot less, in fact at times I found her quite annoying and frustrating sometimes.

It’s my first time reading anything by Sarah Ready but I’ll definitely read more from her in the future. The writing flowed really well most of the time and it was easy to read. It dragged a little bit in a couple of places after the 50% mark but it wasn’t a huge issue.

Overall a sweet, entertaining read that I would definitely recommend.

3.75 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

REALLY ENJOYED this book! 5 stars! Flew through the book with the help of the audiobook. The whole time I was reading it felt like I was watching a movie in my head. It was a warm, hilarious, and feel-good experience. If you’re looking for a romcom with less spice but more on the comedic side, this one is for you! Though just a small heads up that this isn’t your average book for smut readers. Josh is a new book boyfriend! In my opinion, he was the star in this book I LOVED him. On the other hand, Gemma is a bit demanding and doesn’t handle the stress that well but still, she contributed a lot to make this book hilarious. Character development was on point. Although in my opinion, I think some scenes could be cut short, nevertheless, I would still recommend this!

Thank you so much to Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) and NetGalley for the ARC! <3

How did I get so lucky to read two amazing five star books in one day?? Both of which I need to gratefully thank Net Galley for the ARCs of! I didn’t have any expectations for this romantic comedy going into it today… and it completely blew me away! The author was sooooo hilarious and had me laughing from the first chapter! Gemma is a woman that is trying to take control of her life and her own happiness so regardless of not having a partner she decides she’s going to have the baby she’s always wanted. We follow Gemma as she reaches out to a family friend to give her a little help. Every chapter had me laughing out loud! But it wasn’t all laughs this book also deals with serious conversations around infertility and how 1 in 8 women struggle with infertility. I shed quite a few tears as I was reading as this topic was so sensitively and well addressed along with the grief that follows unfortunate miscarriages. I highly recommend this book for those that love romantic comedies that are heart felt and still bring on the tears! Keep an eye out for release January 25th, 2022!

4.5☆
I absolutely loved this book! It was such a cute romcom that discussed a really important topic in a really amazing way! I really enjoyed the writing and the characters were amazing except a certain Ken doll🙄 Gemma and Josh deserve everything and I'm so happy about the girls on the support group! They really made the book. Took of half a star for some awkward and cringe moments. All in all, highly recommend this one! One last thing, if you expect a lot of spice this is not the book for you!

I loved this book!!!!!!!!!!!! These characters are so refreshing and charming that you can't help but fall in love right alongside of them. Sarah Ready is a new author for me and I have got to check out her previous books now.

I was unprepared for how much I enjoyed this book!! I was up until the early hours of the morning to finish it because I could not put it down. In her 30's and single, Gemma decides she is done waiting for The One to begin her family. Rather than find an anonymous donor to father her child, she asks an old acquaintance and crush Josh to help her. They begin the IVF process, and though she begins dating someone from her professional circle, she begins to realize that the man she's been looking for may have been around all along. The book deals heavily with infertility, the realism of which I cannot speak to personally. This book still often mixes humor with the grief and struggle though. There were some descriptions and scenes that I personally felt to be a little too crass and unnecessary, and a few threads I would have like to have been more concluded, but overall I was hooked on the story! It was my first book by Sarah Ready, but it won't be my last.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed a free copy of this book, which I received from the publisher and NetGalley. Any views expressed above are my honest opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC for the ARC.

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby has a great premise that allows for a lot of laughs, but also a lot of emotions. Gemma is a positive, upbeat person working her dream job with famed self-help guru Ian Fortune. She has overcome a painful divorce and an infertility diagnosis. However, now Gemma has made a New Years resolution- have a baby. And she knows the perfect guy to help - Josh, her brother’s best friend and her complete opposite.

Unfortunately, as much as I like this premise, this was not the read for me. We start right away with everyone around Gemma, including her own family, being almost unrealistically mean to her. It was really hard to read all of the fat-shaming comments and a town full of people judging a woman for being infertile. This completely took me out of the story and there was not a lot that could be done to fix it for me. I think this plot had a lot of promise, but side characters very much took away from the story.

Sadly, this was a miss for me, but I will look for the author’s future work.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

My actual rating is 4.5/5

So how to even start? I absolutely loved this book and I think everyone else should too.
Josh and Gemma make a baby is a story about family friends who decided to have a bay through IVF and as you could imagine is not an easy process, add family, work and love life and you have a recipe for an incredible story. This was my first Sarah Ready book so I did not have any particular expectations yet somehow she managed to blow any expectation I had. Infertility and IVF is such a personal hard subject to talk about that I imagine could easily be done is so many bad ways. Sarah Ready painted a picture that was not perfect and the journey to maternity is not, but still managed to make it beautiful and emotional. Though I can not personally relate I found my self so many times in Gemma's shoes wondering what I would do in her place.

The characters made the story. I love every single one of them (except one but NO SPOILERS). Josh Lewenthal is my new literary husband, no man can compete with him. Gemma is absolutely remarkable, vulnerable yet strong. But not only them, the "secondary" characters still managed to steal my heart.

An absolutely must read, emotional, beautiful, funny and respectful story. Anyhow if you need be I'll be reading every other book Sarah Ready has published.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I love the pregnancy troupe in romance novels or that I really enjoyed this book. I learned a lot about infertility and IVF, which I wish was talked about more. Also Josh Lewenthal? One of my new favorite love interests.

This was such a cute, heartwarming read! To me it was really interesting to have a storyline incorporating the journey of infertility and IVF as one of the main plots bringing the love interests together. Gemma was in a way so likable because she was imperfect and had some stuff to work through, Josh on the other hand was such a big softie and down to do whatever for Gemma which made him an instant favorite! Another thing that added positively to the story was the friendship group around the Fertility Support Group, 4 very different women dealing with the same heartbreaks of infertility and disappointment of IVF but still forming beautiful friendships.

I really, really enjoyed this book. Josh is probably one of my favorite romance heroes so far this year and Gemma absolutely doesn't deserve him. I was nervous going in to this because I had seen reviews saying Gemma sucks, and while she definitely has a lot to work through and wasn't always likeable, I think Ready did a great job with her. Sometimes we suck as humans and aren't always our best selves. Gemma screws up, and apologizes, just like we all do.

I loved that you could see that Josh absolutely adored her from the beginning and I love a clueless heroine. The little twist at the end??? To die for.

Overall this was a 4.5/5 star read for me and I'd absolutely recommend it. It's a slow burn that's filled with longing and banter.

**4.5 stars**

This was my first book by the author and definitely enjoyed the relationship building and the little moments of complicity.

Josh and Gemma have been knowing each other for many years, he is her brother’s best friend and has been a constant in her family (although they have not been really close). When she decides to have a baby following her struggles with infertility, he is the person that she thinks about. At the same time, her boss (with which she has been dreaming for some time), asks her on a date. The rest, as they say, is (part of this) history.

The book felt in a way like a slow burn. It showed the experience of someone going through an IVF process while trying to juggle the rest of activities. I loved the character’s journey and the self-discovery, and even if certain aspects felt predictable, I enjoyed how thoughtful and funny it could be.

I alternated between listening and reading. The narrator of the audiobook (which I have heard before) was very good and made me enjoy even more certain parts of the book.


Of note: I voluntarily read a free copy of this book (and respective audiobook) in exchange of an honest review.

Seeing that this was a rom-com about infertility and IVF immediately drew me in and knew I had to read it! I loved how sweet and patient Josh was about his feelings for Gemma and how Gemma came to find out how he felt for her. I’m a comic convention nerd and loved that he was a comic artist!!

The only reason I did not give this 5 stars was due to Gemma’s family, especially her awful mother. None of them stuck up for her and constantly put her down like it was just a normal everyday thing to call her fat and infertile! Gemma took this way better than I’ve seen anyone do. And the whole town knowing about these personal details as well?? Nope. The family’s gotta go. Sure they may have redeemed themselves in the end but if they had actually been treating her that way for 32 years until she found ‘the one’ that’s just revolting.

Overall it was a sweet story about maturity and learning not to judge a book by its cover.

Gemma works for a motivational guru and has decided she wants a baby, despite her fertility issues. She thinks her brother’s best mate, Josh, would be ideal as a sperm donor. Because they aren’t close after a one-night stand years ago, she just doesn’t know if he’ll say yes.
I was initially uncertain about selecting this book but finally decided to take the plunge. And I am so glad I did. I really enjoyed Ready’s writing style and she delivers an engaging story, with witty banter and plenty of chemistry between the main characters. A workplace love interest (giving Daniel v Mark Darcy vibes) and a fertility support group add to the delightful mix.

Josh and Gemma. Gemma thinks she knows exactly who Josh is. The perfect sperm donor, nothing more.
But is Josh more than meets the eye?
Gemma is ready to make her New Year's resolution come true all on her own. And Josh agrees to help.
This story is super sweet. The characters drew me in, and I just couldn't put the book down. The elements of real-life struggle help bring this book to life even more.

Loved, loved, loved, this book. It made me laugh, cry, happy, sad, angry, just all the feels lol. I wished it would of shown more of the financial struggles of IVF as most insurances don’t cover most of the cost but other than that this story was great . Couldn’t put it down read it in one sitting.