❤️Josh and Gemma make a baby👨‍👩‍👧

This was a really good read! I flew through it in 48 hours (in amongst holiday things) and really enjoyed the story. There are a lot of elements to this rom com and they come together nicely. There is humour and sadness and love! What more can you ask for!?

Gemma is 32 years old, with a divorce under her belt as well as significant fertility problems. Some of the people around her aren’t the most supportive and she comes to realise that Mr Right isn’t going to just arrive - she needs to seek out her happiness. She wants a baby. She wants a baby with Josh Lewenthal, family friend and nice guy. Nothing romantic, purely contractual. Or is it!?

Thanks to @netgalley and Swift and Lewis Publishing for an ARC of this one. It is out on the 25th January!

TW: miscarriage

With thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Publication Date: 25 January 2022

This is a delightful read, it’s poignant, heartfelt and lighthearted all wrapped in one.

Gemma is in her early thirties - she hasn’t had the best love life and she’s not able to conceive in the usual way. Her Mum is constantly trying to play matchmaker and trying to “fix her!”

Gemma’s fed up of waiting for Mr Right and makes the decision to have IVF to start a family of her own on her own. Her philosophy being that, “each of us steers our own ship of destiny by following the stars in our heart.”

It’s an overwhelming process and an accidental box tick leads to Gemma running with the idea she has a partner. She says Josh when prompted to give a name, who she’s known her whole life.

It was a great start to the story and I couldn’t wait to see what Josh’s reaction was going to be, surely he wouldn’t agree to such a crazy notion?!

The characters are relatable and very likeable. I instantly warmed to Josh, there’s a vulnerability to him and the way he always wears that same smile to cover up what he’s feeling inside. I quickly saw that Josh has been misjudged by Gemma, who sees him as a bit of a play boy not taking anything seriously; even though their lives have been intertwined they don’t really know each other on a deeper level. The real Josh is a super talented and successful graphic novel writer, he looks after his seriously ill Dad whilst being the most supportive and caring person to Gemma.

It touches on societal expectations/pressures and those we place on ourselves. The perception of the “normal” family and the judgement it attracts if you deviate from that. It gets you thinking about what’s important, it’s easy to get caught up in our day to day goings on and take things and people for granted. There can be an inclination to get into a negative mindset about things and I love that Gemma decides to make herself happy and go after what she truly wants.

It’s thought provoking on many topics - another being the way we can judge people without really knowing who they are or why they do the things they do. As Gemma discovers, “we’re like icebergs, we only see the top, the faces we show the world, and all our inner lives and secret fears remain hidden beneath the surface.” Gemma realises she needs to take a deeper look and when you do the rewards are so worth it. As the saying goes, never judge a book by its cover, and it’s great to see Gemma putting that into practice eventually!

I loved the chemistry between Josh and Gemma, how they tease each other - there’s a playful back and forth. There’s a definite connection there - they are affected by each other’s touch and there’s the lingering looks. It’s so natural and easy between them, which makes you wonder how far their relationship can develop. There’s also a deeper connection and I enjoyed seeing them opening up to each other. Josh’s observation that if anything happens to his Dad they’ll be no one left who knows him on such a level was really heartfelt and you can see the aloneness that he’s worrying about and why having a family of his own is such an appealing proposition.

I wasn’t a fan of Ian, he came across as arrogant and fake. I was shocked to find out about the Josh connection and knew my initial thoughts were right!

I can’t talk about this book without mentioning the motivational chapter headings - they were such a nice touch and really fit in with the story!

I absolutely loved the support group and the meaningful friendships made there. They are such a diverse set of characters but when you break it down everyone has the same worries and feelings and they resonate with each other. It was fun to get to know the gang and I enjoyed the way the deeper issues came to the surface.

Josh and Gemma go on a crazy journey together and although Gemma could have done this on her own she appreciates having someone there for support and to go through it with her. Gemma’s feelings towards Josh change towards the end of the story and she wrestles with whether or not to share her feelings. I felt for her as it’s a scary thing, once you say how you feel you can’t take it back and it’s the most amazing feeling when it’s reciprocated, not so much when it’s not which can ruin an already great friendship. Plus, there’s the added complication of the impact it can have on their plan to have a baby together.

Gemma also misjudges her family and it’s lovely to see her realisation that she’s not alone in this in any way, there’s so much love and support for her there she just needs to let them in.

It was a real turning point when she recognises she deserves more at work, it was great to see her confidence grow throughout, and her knowing her own value and breaking out of the box she’s been put into. It’s so easy to let others dim your light and ability to thrive, and when she reclaims it back it’s a joy to see.

I breezed through the chapters to follow the journey Gemma and Josh go on both individually and together. I loved the ending and the revelations in the last few chapters. The comic book connection was a great addition and I could picture the scene at the convention playing out in a movie!

Overall, it’s an uplifting, feel good read with humour, heart and positivity throughout. It’s a pendulum of emotions, from heartbreakingly sad at times to a ray of sunshine on a winter’s day. There’s Bridget Jones’s Diary vibes at times so fans of that will love this!

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby is a warm, fun, emotional, and engaging story about friendship, love, and family. It takes a sensitive approach to the struggles and practices of families specifically AFAB people who have issues with fertility. It was a fast read with quite a bit more depth than other romcoms. There were some predictable plot points but Ready made the in-betweens fun so much so that I didn’t mind that it was predictable.

It was an enjoyable read with great writing and I cannot wait to read more of Ready’s work!

Sarah Ready was a first-time author for me and she did not disappoint with Josh and Gemma Make a Baby. I wasn’t able to read this book as quickly as I wanted to (life forever getting in the way of my tbr!), but I picked it up at any opportunity I could and struggled to put it back down again.

I had no idea what I was in for with this book, having never read the author before, however I was immediately presented with engaging and endearing characters, light-hearted humour and the sensitivity needed to handle such an important subject. I normally shy away from books which have ‘second-chance romance’ vibes, and had the blurb have mentioned Josh and Gemma’s history, I may not have requested the ARC; this being said, I am so glad I gave the book a chance and the development of their relationship from their previous encounter made the story so much richer.

Gemma was such a strong, independent character to read about and the fact she was taking control of her own destiny to have a child, had me rooting for her from page one. I cannot write this review though without acknowledging that Josh carried this book! I like my literary men either dangerous and dirty, or charming and head over heels for the heroine. Josh absolutely fell into the latter for me, and he brought a real light-hearted feel to this slow burn romance.

For everything I loved about this book, I held back from giving 5 stars as I would have devoured Josh’s POV. He was all-in with Gemma from the start, even when she couldn’t see it for herself! Reading Josh’s POV would have given me all the fluttery feels that he would have been capable of creating.

I love how this story progressed, and the relationship between Josh and Gemma moving from friends, into lovers and finally into parents. This was both fulfilling and enjoyable to read. I have already added some more of Sarah’s books onto that ever growing tbr of mine!

Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC and Netgalley who provided a read-now download of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Read this is one sitting l, no seriously I did not get up from my chair until I finished this one! I appreciate how realistic Gemmas journey to having a baby was, how real women can relate to that struggle. The plot twist at the end had me over to moon! How did Gemma not see that one coming? Such a sweet untraditional love story

I am grateful to NetGalley for providing a free copy of this book.

I’m really glad I took the opportunity and read it. I enjoyed my time with it!

To begin, let me say how much I adored Josh and Gemma— especially Josh! They have great chemistry, and I loved seeing their relationship slowly develop. Josh especially won my heart over. He is such a good man and friend. Although I would have liked his POV, I felt the narrative did more than enough to get to know him well. He felt like a tangible, three-dimensional character of his own, without being reduced to just a love interest. Which I really appreciated. I think our titular protagonists were well developed and matched, and I appreciated getting to follow their journey.

The story has such wonderful humor, warmth, sincerity, and romance.

While I enjoyed quite a lot of the story, I must also confess there were moment of disconnect.
It didn’t quite help that the narrative begins by framing Gemma as this frumpy mid-30s single woman. The narrative really ages her when she is only 32— she is young!

(slight spoilers below)

There is also some fatphobic commentary towards Gemma that I felt ultimately went unchecked. A perpetrator of this commentary is her own mother, and when Gemma finally confronts her, all it takes is her mother saying she loves her and suddenly it’s okay. I just didn’t buy the quick turnaround of the mother wanting to set her daughter up with old men, to suddenly telling the men to hit the road. I suppose I am not as forgiving as Gemma was.

I lost my connection to Gemma for a while in the middle of the story— I think perhaps the Ian subplot lingered too much and it made me want to move away from both it and Gemma. But that’s more of a personal nitpick as that subplot is important towards what happens in the climax of the book.

I believe this story handles maturely and responsibly the storyline exploring IVF, that said, I will like to mention there is a potential trigger warning, although it is also a big spoiler I feel it is necessary to state in case there are readers who would prefer to not to read.

Towards the second half of the book, there is a miscarriage. It is handled with great care, but it can cause distress when reading.

Overall I enjoyed this book, it was quite the ride with highs and lows, but I don’t regret a single minute of it. I would recommend!

Reading the synopsis.. this absolutely seems like it’s right up my street and I was absolute correct. I totally fell in-love with this book and these characters! This hooked me in from the first page and I just couldn’t put it down. This book had me laughing so hard, it is absolutely brilliantly written and such good fun to read! I want Gemma to be my best friend and I absolutely love love Josh🥺!! I would 100% recommend this book especially if you need to get out of a reading slump, addictive is a word I’d use to describe this book and the ending!! Sobbing🥺😢 this book is so deserving of the rating!

I read it in a day- I couldn’t put it down! I was so invested in Josh and Gemma and their journey that before I knew it I have read the entire book! It was a light read, humorous, heartwarming, with endearing characters. I wanted to shake Gemma at times to wake her up- we readers figured everything out sooner than her. But then, when you’re living it and not watching someone else’s life unfold, I think we would also be afraid sometimes… I really enjoyed reading this, it brightened up my day!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Two words. VIBRATING CELLPHONE.

I will just leave that nugget of curiosity with you if you haven't read the book yet.

This rom-com hits the ground running. With Gemma, our MC doing IVF and deciding that her brother's best friend and her onetime high school hook up is the perfect sperm donor.

The two have great chemistry with playful banter and some spice at inappropriate times. It's funny and sweet. And God, did I love Josh.

Thank you NetGalley for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

If Bridget Jones had a baby with Pride and Prejudice and The Backup Plan, this book would be it. JAGMAB reads like the quintessential rom-com with the banter, cuteness, drama, smiles and heartbreak. It was easy to see the book play out in my mind as I read it, picturing Renee Zellweger as Gemma and Hugh Grant as Ian Fortune (if you’ve seen Bridget Jones, you’ll know why). Writing a rom-com book is tough because there is a sense of predictability that is difficult to evade. This book is predictable, however, I absolutely did not mind it and still found it enjoyable.

Gemma’s character is flawed, which can be irritating at times and hilarious at others. Her infatuation with lime jelly salad, I will never understand and do not wish to. There were also some scenes in the book that I could see playing out well in a movie but they didn’t translate well in the book. If I hear the term “Boy Toy” one more time, my brain may explode.

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby is a light, cute and sometimes saucy romance book that makes it a perfect palette cleanser for all you rom-com lovers out there!

I like the blurb and decided to read this cutie.

Gemma is a 32-year-old childless widow, divorced as a result of infidelity. She learned that she could not have children at a doctor visit in her 20s. After she got divorced, she waited for the right person, but no one came. Gemma was like, 'Then why do you need someone to share my life? Let me find a donor, do IVF, and have a happily ever after with my child!' She knew exactly the right person for this job. This lucky person is his brother's best friend, Josh.

It was a good basis for a comedy. Well, it was fun, heartbreaking, warm, lovely story. Friendship, love, family, solidarity. It made my heart melt. The only thing I didn't like in this book is Gemma's childish behavior.

4 stars, well done!

5 stars

After a disaster of a first marriage and an endometriosis diagnosis, Gemma decides to take things into her own hands and seek fertility treatment. She believes her brother’s best friend Josh would be an ideal sperm donor but perhaps not for the reasons you may think…

Josh and Gemma make a baby was an absolute gem of a book. This felt like Bridget Jones with a little more depth. I had never heard of Sarah Ready but will definitely check out her other releases.

Not many books make my 5 star favourites shelf but this has got to be one of them. It’s also the first time an audiobook has hit the top spot for me.

Brilliantly written characters and narrative, told with laugh out loud humour and gut wrenching emotion combine to make this a perfect read.

I have to say the love scene was one of the most original ones I’ve read purely because it felt so real to me.

Ready was adept at showing the flaws of all her characters and it made it more realistic than your run of the mill romance. Several circumstances in this book were deeply personal to me and Ready handled the sensitive topics like endometriosis, fertility and death expertly.

Many thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced audio copy of this book.

Hold. My. Pizza. This is a fresh romcom that had me laughing in the waiting room at my dentist. I found myself rooting for Gemma through the triumphs and heartbreaking moments of the book. Ready presents a likable cast of characters that represents the diverse types of fertility issues. I highly recommend this book, but I especially recommend it if you are in a bit of a romcom rut and need something different.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

✨Book Review✨
Josh and Gemma Make a Baby by Sarah Ready
Pub Date: 25/01/2022 💗💗

I think I may have just read one of my favourite books of the year and i’m so happy about it!! EVERYTHING about this book gave me ALL the feels in every way possible and it even made me cry 😭😭 i couldn’t get enough of this book i was wanting more of josh and if gemma (defs not ian though iykyk 😂)

the plot of this book was so simple yet i have never read anything like it and the interactions between gemma and josh throughout the book were just phenomenal. i was laughing, crying and just LOVING them together and individually the whole time. the dynamics of all the relationships in the novel worked so well and were so entertaining. i was never once bored and due to it being a slow burn it had me begging for something to happen between them but that’s the kinda pain i love being in 😅😂

The friends to lovers & brothers best friend tropes got me good in this one! I feel like i’m a sucker for all romance tropes at this point and this book only proved that more. 💕🤩

I listened to both the audiobook and read the ebook and i loved both! Erin Mallon was a great narrator and I will definitely be looking for her name in the future.

Major TW for infertility & miscarriage as this was the basis of the entire book. There was infertility shaming and although this was hard to read I feel like it was done in a way that was realistic and made a clear statement on how shitty and insensitive people can be. The fat shaming was also dealt with in a similar way that made a firm statement on how much people can suck. I am curious to see what others think about how this was done so let me know if you have read it!!

I devoured this book and I really enjoyed it and think a lot of you would too!

✨ Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for a honest review ✨

This was my first Sarah Ready and I will be reading more. This book made me laugh, cry, and run around my room screaming. The plot line was amazing and unique when I first heard about this book I was intrigued about how it would progress but Sarah Ready killed it. Josh is just impossible not to fall in love with and Gemma is just this charismatic funny heroine and they make an amazing couple. Even if you do not like the pregnancy trope I still highly recommend this.

This was a really fun romance that takes a sensitive approach to the struggles of AFAB people who have issues with fertility. I really loved Gemma’s character development despite not liking her as a main character. I also really enjoyed Josh from start to finish and I loved the slow reveal of how he really felt for Gemma. The greater cast of characters were also really sweet and I hope there are other books to make this a series.

I really liked this book! I thought it was a cute story. Ready used classic tropes like brother’s best friend and even a little bit of a love triangle, but included a fresh new twist of wanting a baby and how that played into the mix.
I haven’t had any experience with IVF or fertility clinics, but I appreciated the way the author pulled in more characters to touch on others’ journeys with infertility.
The story got cuter and cuter and ended with some peak cuteness, but somehow remained grounded into enough reality that I wasn’t rolling my eyes at the ending.
4.25/5
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Wow wow wow. I truly had no expectations going into this book and it may be one of my favorite women's fictions novels of the year. This book is one of the most female foward, compassionate and insightful books ive read on a topic that can be really serious and anxiety provoking for some. Ready put all of my worries away and truly created a unique book about the struggles a woman goes through to be pregnant, find love, and find herself and how all of those things don't have to happen together and can happen on the woman's own terms. I loved Gemma and she may be my favorite lead character of 2022. A lot of her fears are fears that in having currently and I truly resonated with her on a level I wasn't expecting even if we are in different life stages. Josh as well is just perfect. He is the so supportive and understanding in a way a main character should be. I hope I find my Josh one day. Overall I couldn't not recommend this book more.

Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy

3.5 stars- “Josh and Gemma” was a sweet book, with plenty of humor but also real life situations handled well. Great characters, especially Gemma. Who couldn’t love her??? It had a few odd scenes but overall fun read! I will definitely read more by this author.

Gemma wants to have a baby and she enlists her brother’s best friend to help her out. As Gemma has been told she can’t have a baby without IVF she needs a sperm donor and decides Josh is the perfect candidate. The characters are likeable and the story flows well. This book has more depth than a normal romcom which was nice. I really liked this book and read it in one day!