*Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review*

It delighted me to see a book about infertility, as the subject is one that is close to my own heart. I liked the story overall. The MC, Gemma, is missing something from her life. She wants to have a baby. She decides to do IVF. Her brother’s best friend, the swoon worthy Josh, seems like an ideal candidate and she is surprised when he says “yes”!

The book overall is a fun read. Gemma and Josh have some great witty banter and the story is heartwarming and sweet. I read the book in a couple of days and I would highly recommend it. It might be a little triggering if you're dealing with infertility. I personally liked that it dealt with the issue, as I haven’t seen many stories that have it as a theme.

I managed to finish the book thanks to NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC because I was able to read before its publication date.

I was really surprised while reading because it was entertaining me but the story seemed very predictable and there were scenes where I was ashamed to read what was happening, I honestly think that the most beautiful thing about this book were the illustrations and the beginning of each chapter gave a unique detail and when reading I was never bored by how the author writes I would like to read more of her.

––Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ebook ARC of this book.––

4.5/5 stars

This was my first time reading a book from Sarah Ready. Going in, I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised by the emotional impact of this book and the beautiful romance she crafted.

"Josh and Gemma Make a Baby" is told from Gemma's perspective. She is a thirty-two-year-old social media manager. Her entire life, she has struggled to find a husband and her mom constantly sets her up with fifty-something-year-old men. Instead of continuing to live her present reality, Gemma decides she wants to overcome her fertility issues and undergo IVF as a single woman. She persuades her brother's best friend, Josh, to be her donor, which starts the beginning of their kindling romance.

During her IVF journey, Gemma is working as a social media director for self-help guru Ian Fortune. Although she has worked for Ian for seven years, he suddenly takes an interest in Gemma and they begin going out on casual dates. The novel follows Gemma as she realizes what love is to her and how she'll choose to live her love.

I sped through this book because I couldn't wait to find out what would happen next. I loved that the romance was unpredictable. Although it was obvious that Josh and Gemma would get together, there were so many obstacles and emotions they had to work through to get there that made the story read so beautifully. I also love Gemma and Josh's dynamic, which had me rooting for them the entire time. The conflict with Ian is also unwoven nicely as we discover the truth about Ian and his rise to fame. In turn, it just made me love Josh more.

Aside from the likable characters, my favorite part of this book was how well-written it was. There are lots of components in both Gemma's and Josh's lives that make them complicated and hesitant to love. Josh's father is dying, and Gemma struggles with infertility and her mother's matchmaking. Gemma's fertility support group is quirky and beautiful, and I'm honestly kind of envious of their friendship.

Throughout the story, we slowly uncover the many layers of Josh alongside Gemma. By the end, I was swooning over Josh because he has been pining after her for so long. He has made so many sacrifices and changes to his life because he has been loving her from afar––what girl doesn't dream of that?

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read more from Sarah Ready!

*Thank you Netgalley and the author/publisher for the ARC.*

Really,really good read.
This book made me laugh and cry.
Some of the scenes ...I can't even explain.still have a smile on my face.
Tiny bit of angst.And the H...swoon!

Definitely recommend!

4.5 stars

This was a great read. Gemma and Josh were next-door neighbors growing up. They have a little history - involving lime jello and the garage floor, right before Josh headed to college. But, that was 12 years ago. Since then, Gemma got married and divorced, and Josh? Well, as far as Gemma knows, he's living in the basement of his dad's house, a ne'er-do-well. But, she wants a baby. Her endometriosis will make conceiving the "regular" way impossible. And, of course, there's the fact that she doesn't have a husband or boyfriend. But, she's known Josh a long time and he's got some good attributes, so maybe he'll do? He'll never measure up to her boss, who markets inspirational quotes and is all glitz and glamour - and who has his eye on wooing Gemma! All she needs is Josh's sperm, a business deal, nothing more.

As they move through the infertility process, Gemma learns not to judge a book by its cover. But, will it be too late?

While the author's note at the end addresses infertility struggles, there should have been some trigger warnings. I've not dealt with infertility or pregnancy loss myself, and yet, I found myself in tears more than once!

This was a hidden gem and I'm thankful to Swift & Lewis Publishing, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a digital ARC in return for an honest review.

What do you get when you cross Bridget Jones’ Diary, your brother’s best friend and an agreement to make a baby? This book!

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby was a quick and pleasant read. I loved the character of Josh and mostly liked Gemma (she did have her moments though), especially when she decides to take control of her own destiny and have a baby on her own terms. I loved all of the secondary characters as well, especially the women from Gemma’s infertility group. The banter between Gemma and Josh was really charming and I thought he was just a lovely main love interest.

Minus a few stars because it really was too much of a Bridget Jones retelling at some points.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

“When I was a little kid, I worshiped Josh Lewenthal, now, I couldn’t care less about him, I just need his sperm.“
The beginning sentence of this book is perfect, and sets the tone of the story well. This romantic comedy is about Gemma in her road to try to get pregnant. Sarah Ready in this book shows her strengths in making a swoon worthy love interest, inside jokes and phrases that will make you laugh, and perfectly goofy situations.

I feel like the beginning of the book was rocky for me. I was taken aback by the sheer rudeness of some people around the main character, Gemma. Some were insensitive, and abnormal rude such as her mother. This caused me to have a negative reaction at first, for I felt their attitudes came from out of nowhere. Especially since Gemma simply wanted to make a baby. I was unsure as to if the secondary characters would continue to be so unlikeable, but this is where I was so wrong.

As the book went on Josh stole my heart the more he showed up, coming across as teasing and funny. He and Gemma’s dynamic was warm and welcoming. I loved how the readers grow to know more about Josh, rather than having a page long summary about who he is. The way Ready did this made him feel more organic and real. Then Gemma’s friend group made me giggle and smile outwardly, looking forward to whenever they would get together. I love how each person in their group had their own distinct character traits. I feel like these sets of characters really drove the book for me. Their banter was perfect and some phrases came out of nowhere but somehow fit right in.

In general i enjoyed the book and it had good scenes i was close to dnf this books but i made it through i was hoping it would be more like the brother’s best friend type of thing where they are super close but we didn’t really get any scenes with them interacting much, i also felt the fact that they’ve known each other for like 2 decades and yet she barely knew anything about him except that he only had his dad, i found it weird because he went all the time to their house and spent holidays with them so it’s hard to believe she didn’t know him at all, also i would’ve liked to see more of their relationship as an actual couple, and the fact that the epilogue ended in a cliffhanger *spoiler alert* that we didn’t get to see the gender of the baby when throughout the entire book they were talking about a girl.

The premise of this book sounded completely silly to me, but I was blown away by how much I loved it! Josh and Gemma Make A Baby was SO. FUNNY. Gemma is 32, divorced, with her dream job, but it doesn’t all feel complete without a family. The only way she can get pregnant is through IVF, and instead of an anonymous sperm donor, she asks her childhood acquaintance slash brother’s best friend to do the job.

There is definitely a romance here, but much of the book centers around Gemma’s IVF journey and I think the author hit it out of the park. We see the lows, the highs, the in betweens, and the supporting cast, and it’s so wonderful that the author gave us a romcom leading lady who a lot of women out there can relate to. And like I said, the story was absolutely hilarious (aside from a few heart wrenching moments, as you might expect with a story revolving around infertility).

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

"You should always believe the universe is going to
give you good things, because sooner or later, it will."
Josh and Gemma Make a Baby was a very fun and
exciting read. I didn't like it in the first moments, but the
book ended up winning me over with time.
I just fell in love with Josh, definitely my favorite
character in this story. But I couldn't connect with
Gemma, in some moments it was excruciating to
accompany her. Anyway, it was a fun read, but I would
like some points to be different.
ps: definitely "pregnancy trope" is not for me.
Thankyou to netgalley for providing me with an
eArc.

What an utterly sweet read! This was so enjoyable. It was fun but then it sucker-punched me too and had me ugly crying (quietly) at two in the morning, trying not to wake my husband up.

The story follows Gemma; a witty, likeable 32-year-old who's getting a little sick of her mother's attempts to set her up with a new date at each family function.

And they're getting older, too. Since Gemma discovered during her first marriage in her early twenties that she had endometriosis and wouldn't be able to conceive naturally, and since she's now in her 30's and still single, her well-meaning but misguided mother is of the opinion that she needs to set her up with older men who have already had, or just never wanted, children.

Gemma, on the other hand, ain't having none of it. She's taking matters into her own hands. After all, she doesn't have to be in a relationship to have a baby. She can try to conceive through IVF, she just needs a little something from someone and decides she knows just who to ask.

Josh is described as a laid back, relaxed, find-the-humour-in-life kind of guy. At first, we only have Gemma's description of his character to go off. She's known him most of her life, made her mind up about him years ago, and hasn't really paid attention since.

It got a little bit frustrating at times to see how blind Gemma was about not just Josh's character, but other things too. I guess in some ways it's fun to be more in the know as the reader than the characters themselves but Jiminy Crickets! Open your eyes, Gem!

My only other criticism is some of the scenes felt a little slapstick in their attempts to make me laugh. I already found both main characters funny, I didn't need the physical comedy. So this is the only reason it wasn't 5 stars for me as otherwise I really, really liked it.

I feel like people who loved The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez, or heck, even good ol' Bridget Jones by Helen Fielding, would really enjoy this book.

Hope it makes you ugly cry, too (in a good way).

4 Stars ★★★★
ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, Sarah Ready and Swift & Lewis Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Gemma works for a successful self-help guru and after a series of not so happy events (including divorce and a ruptured cyst) and quite a lot of criticism from her family decides to screw it and have a baby on her own through IVF.... she just needs a donor. Cue brother's best friend and her former fling that she hasn't seen in six years, Josh, a comic artist 😍.

I wasn't terribly sure what to expect when I started reading this book, but I truly loved it! As someone who has endometriosis, it meant the world to read a story like this. Each reader, especially those who have gone through IVF will have their own POV about it, but as someone who learned at an early age that that might be on the docket, it made the future a tad less scary.

There were some moments that made me really laugh and the HEA was both unexpected in its development, yet ties up a lot of strings. The characters were loveable, the banter was great, and it read well for fans of The Hating Game by Sally Thorne or Emily Henry's work with a sprinkle of Bridget Jones's Diary.

4.5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!!!

I thought this book was a nice, pleasant read. Gemma was a funny protagonist that was easy to empathize with and root for. Josh was a sweet love interest.

I appreciate that infertility and miscarriage are discussed in this book. I think these topics are often ignored and dismissed as if they don’t happen but sadly they do. I think it’s important to bring awareness and to let others know that they’re never alone.

**I Received this ARC curtesy of NetGalley - all thoughts and opinions are my own**

I was pleasantly surprised with this book; at first I thought it was going to be a quick easy romcom but the way in which the characters were portrayed and how they handled hard topics was a breath of fresh air.

I did find Gemma to be annoying/immature at some points while reading, but I genuinely think that this is a book that had such fun side characters (her fertility support group friends) that it made up for her getting on my nerves. This book contained a lot of tropes I personally enjoy and I loved how the reader was slowly able to piece things together and understand that Josh (who I loved) was secretly pining after her for so long!

I won’t lie, the first few chapters had me sceptical to if I would like this however I ended up really really enjoying this book!

I have little to no knowledge of how IVF actually works etc so I can’t say everything is completely accurate in this book but I got so emotionally attached to Gemma and Josh during their process that I was rooting for them the whole bloody time.

Just when you think everything’s going perfectly for them the worst happens. I was heartbroken for them and had tears rolling down my cheeks.

I did love the humour in this book. I found it added that comedy relief you need when reading about something so raw and heartbreaking. I found Gemma really ditzy and Josh complimented her completely. I’ll definitely be recommending this book to fellow romance lovers!

Thank you to NetGalley for the book!

Like many of us, 32 year old Gemma loves her oversized sweaters and tights. Almost as much as she loves working for the inspirational self help guru Ian Fortune.

Unfortunately for Gemma, her mother is convinced those sweaters play a part in Gemma’s perpetual single status and is always trying to get her into nicer clothes.

And after splitting with her husband Gemma has convinced herself that love isn’t in the cards for her despite a strong desire to be a mother.

So she pursues single parenthood through IVF- the only catch? She needs a donor. Enter Josh Lewenthal.

Gemma wants a donor she knows and lucky for her brother’s longtime BFF Josh- she knows him very well or so she thinks. However, she’s about to discover that there is a LOT more to Josh than she realizes.

If you are looking for a rom-com to really make you ugly laugh- this is it. Sarah Ready has tackled the difficult subject of fertility troubles in a way that not only gives you a glimpse into the pain Gemma feels, but breaks that up with witty dialogue and punchy, fun writing.

You will laugh. You might cry. You may also pee your pants (especially if you’ve had kids).

***“I need your sperm,” I blurt out. Josh starts to choke, then he coughs. His face turns red and he hits his chest.***

In regards to tropes- there is, in fact, a miscommunication trope happening in this book. I’ll admit, I’m not a huge fan of this trope and often find it done in a really lazy manner.

Thankfully, this book actually features a well done miscommunication trope and I will tell you why.

Gemma has long suffered loving criticism from her mother who comments on her clothing, her size, her relationships- the list goes on.

You realize pretty quickly that Gemma has been beat down by this steady stream of criticism in addition to her ex-husbands infidelity. You’ll see this in the way she speaks about herself and others.

She thinks she is unlovable and covers up these views of herself with Ian’s positive affirmations.

This view of herself lends a large hand to the miscommunication trope and does a fantastic job of making it feel real and not like two people who have never had an adult conversation in their life.

***I think I need to face the fact that I haven’t learned, not in thirty-two years, to look past my own ideas of people. I never, ever look to see who people truly are. Not even the people closest to me.***

The character growth!

I’ve not raved about a romance book yet, but I think this is one I will go ahead and rave about.

Oh! For my spicy friends- its just one chili pepper.

One word. UNPUTDOWNABLE.

It’s 4:57 am and I’m in tears, this book made me go through a roller coaster of emotions. The topic of this book is something I can really resonated with, as is something I’m quite scared of. We all know someone who lost a baby or is struggling with infertility, so it’s nice to this representation on a book.

This is such a cute story and I simply loved it! Though not a huge fan of romance novels, this book is totally an exception and I simply couldn't put the book down.

Gemma has a perfect life--she has a perfect job, lives in a nice place. But there's one thing--she is infertile. Yet her New Year Resolution was to have a baby...preferably with Josh Lowenthal, who is her brother's friend. Then Gemma label out her plan to Josh and thought he would disagree..but he soon agrees to help her make the baby. The story is all comedic, funny romance with Gemma slowly starting to fall for Josh...

I simply loved this story! The plot itself is unusual which differentiates from other romance novels I have read. I was a bit skeptical reading this book at first but gradually, I found myself dwell, deeper into the book and got so hooked into the story that I couldn't put the book down! I found Gemma, the main protagonist of the story funny but at the same time understanding and she seems to have a close friendship with her relatives. There were some parts which were hilarious and I really loved those moments! The ending was expected but still, I really like the fact that they ended up together!

Overall, if you like a funny, cheesy romance novel that will make you laugh, then this book is for you--worth five stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

I really enjoyed the last third of this novel. The first two thirds were a little hard to get through. At times, the inspirational quotes were a bit too cheesy, and Gemma was somewhat unlikeable. I kept cringing at her word vomit when she’d talk to Josh. But as the book went on, Gemma became a more likeable character. Seeing her love for Josh blossom was very sweet, especially since as the reader I could see that he already loved her.
If you’re looking for a romance with a focus on pregnancy and fertility, then this one is a nice one to read. It’s not quite a must-read, but enjoyable nonetheless.

(Review also posted on Storygraph)

2.5 stars. I really wanted to like this book but our main character Gemma was infuriating. She was shallow, rude and judgemental which was really off putting, especially when the supporting cast, specifically the love interest, was extremely supportive in her journey to get pregnant. I truly hoped this would be a win as I liked how the author discussed infertility and normalized it. After all, it’s a common situation women find themselves in but, unfortunately, it still feels like a taboo subject. However, I couldn’t appreciate and enjoy this novel and its discussion on infertility due to our MC. Hopefully, there are similar books out in the market, like this one, that I’d enjoy more than this, as the premise was promising but the execution left me wanting more.