Gemma our protagonist is a 32 year old divorcee who’s done waiting for the right person. She dearly wants to be a mother and is now skipping the marriage part and thinking about making a baby. IVF is her only option because of her history anyway, so all she needs is a sperm donor. Enter Josh Lewenthal, her brother’s best friend who’s always been around since her childhood and who is the ideal candidate to be a sperm donor. The story kicks ahead from there on...

As characters, both Gemma and Josh were easily likeable. Gemma’s voice was solid and made the narration seamless as it’s a first person POV. I love how the author didn’t hesitate to go all out on the negative shades of her character as well, as it’s not something we usually see in a rom-com book. It only made her more human, so that’s a plus. Her internal monologues reflected well on the story and were the only indicators of her age. I’d say she was both mature adult and a gawking teenager through the story. But rather than taking it as an inconsistent portrayal, I just assumed it was who she was and felt fine about it.

Josh Josh Josh.. Of course, at this point I would say that all romance authors know the Kryptonite to crack our hearts and dangle it in front of us with characters like Josh. It’s criminal come to think of it. Josh is adorable, charming and confident and what makes him unique in a way is he stands up for himself in the relationship when it matters. He neither gets egotistic nor lets Gemma walk over him. He balances the line better than the usual romance or rom-com characters.

Their chemistry was awesome. It’s a slow burn book and every scene was a scoop of delight. They have history, Josh being her brother’s best friend, but the author didn’t over exploit that trope. I’d say she even subverted it a bit, since despite Gemma knowing him all her life, the question arises on how well she knew Josh as a person and not just through the lens of her brother’s bff and it was good to read it revealed.

I also liked the concept of little sketches shown in the book at each important moment. It felt like encapsulating their memories in a polaroid and it felt nice. I also liked some of the quotes that Gemma and Josh say, though some of them felt pretentious.

I loved all the other characters of the book as well - Gemma’s family, Josh’s father, Gemma’s friends, their partners and especially the kids! Kid voices, when done right, never fails to make me all gooey. They were adorable!

And finally, if you have been reading my reviews for sometime, you’d know how peeved I get when it’s a rom-com and there’s not a comical side to it! Honestly, I didn’t know it was a “rom-com”, so I was expecting it to be a pleasant romance book. And that’s when the comical parts clicked! It was very nice! There were many laughable moments and they didn’t seem forced either. I feel very happy about it.

Overall, am very glad that I read this book in the first week of this year! The timing of the book sat well with me since it had a sort of clean slate, new goals, full of hope vibe that I was in the mood for and I thoroughly enjoyed myself! I’d definitely recommend reading this book and reading it within the month at that! Happy reading!

📕 Book Review📕 Josh & Gemma Make A Baby- Sarah Ready (5 ⭐️)

Ever read a book and you can’t wait to tell all your friends to read it?? That is this book! I absolutely loved it. Every part. The quotes, the illustrations, and my goodness did I love Josh Lewenthal 😍 If the plot doesn’t reel you in I promise you don’t have a beating heart and seriously need to go seek medical attention. This book was hilarious and I have no regrets staying up until the next morning with the flu to finish it! Thank you so so much @sarahready for writing this and making room for different discussions and connections that so many women, men, and couples have, but are so rarely shared. The diagnosis, the IVF, the miscarriages, and the will to keep trying, even though.

Synopsis:
Gemma was 22 when she was diagnosed Stage 4 Endometriosis. Doctors said her abdomen looked like a grenade went off inside. She tried the marriage thing 10 years to be exact!! I quote, “I already rode the marriage boat, it tipped over, capsized and I nearly drowned.” She got divorced (the scumbag cheated spread eagle on their dining table!!) and she decided single ladies don’t need a man to have a baby (thank you science 🧬 🧪 🧫). Now at 32, she asked her childhood friend, whom she’s always fantasized about (who wouldn’t he’s a total stud), to give her his sperm for IVF.

this book was so good! i couldn’t put it down after the 40 percent mark. it's probably one of the best single pov romances i’ve read in a longgg time. sarah ready did a great job of showing what josh was thinking through gemma’s perspective. <spoiler>i loved the hints about Josh and his comics. I have to say it was kinda annoying how gemma just assumed he was a broke artist, even though he was taking care of his dad and was so disparaging to him for so long. </spoiler>

this book started as a light romance but got heavy at some points, dealing with infertility and parental death. despite the heavy moments, there were still so many funny scenes. another thing i liked about this book was the way the fertility aspect played out. it was super realistic <spoiler> despite it being so sad i was glad the miscarriage was included, with it being so realistic </spoiler> .

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I really enjoyed the "Soul Mates in Romeo" series and I gotta say that I wasn't disappointed! I loved Josh so much and whew when I tell you my heart broke those last few chapters but that ending was so cute. I really read this in one go because I could not stop reading. Sarah Ready, you have done it again!! I can't wait to read more books from this author. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you for providing me with this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I consider myself a member of the target audience of this book, seeing as I am a young woman who typically adores silly romance novels, Alas, this was a difficult read for me. The first few chapters were extremely strong and created some great imagery (describing Josh as an “octopus”, etc.), and throughout the story there were some romantic moments, but the vast majority of this book was so filled with plot conveniences and ridiculously inhuman character actions that it was almost laughable. I don’t want to spoil too much in this brief review, but I go extremely in depth in my Goodreads review on everything I found ridiculous about this story. Easily one of the most hilarious reading experiences I’ve had in a long time, but certainly not in the way the author intended.

The pining had me screaming.
Gonna be honest, the plot took a different turn then I was expecting, Going off the cover I thought Gemma would be pregnant for a large part of this book. That wasn't the case but I really enjoyed the direction this book went down. I couldn't get enough of it. My sinus cold made my eyeballs and brain literally sting last night but I pushed through to finish because I was enjoying it so much.
If I had any complaints it'd just be that I wish I could have seen Josh and Gemma being in an actual relationship a bit more but other then that I had a lot of fun!

Reads like a romcom, with tones of seriousness under the surface. Once this story started to pick up I couldn’t stop reading until the end.

TW: infertility, endometriosis, miscarriages, IVF procedures

This premise was a wild one! I haven’t read a book like this one before!

Gemma is a thirty-two year old divorced woman working for a self-help guru. She’s spent years and years looking for her Mr. Right, but after a disastrous marriage and even worse prospects, she’s decided that she doesn’t want the man — she wants a baby.

The whole premise revolves around Gemma turning towards IVF (in-vitro fertilization) to help her get pregnant as a single mom, but the idea of an anonymous sperm donor freaks her out. So she makes a list of all the qualities she wants to see in her baby, and only one person she knows fits that bill to the last letter — Josh, her brother’s best friend and a constant in her life for the past 24 years. (I say constant, but she knows next to nothing about him and what he does — constant in terms of quantity not quality, I guess!)

Josh agrees to be her sperm donor, but as she starts turning towards Mr. Wrong, she begins to realize exactly where her Mr. Right has been this whole time. The only problem…she doesn’t want to complicate this IVF process by pushing her feelings onto him.

To be perfectly honest, this book was hilarious in so many aspects — Gemma’s family is insane, her support group is unhinged and the dialogues and situations she finds herself in are like no other! The support group has people from very different walks of life, with very different situations in which they’ve all opted for IVF. But somehow, this insane group of puzzle pieces works out in their favour because they get great friends out of it.

Josh’s webcomic is an unpaid main character in this book, in which everyone in Gemma’s life talks and fawns over it and she just hasn’t read it at all in the past two decades. It makes sense that it all comes to a head with it, because there are hints that imply that there’s something Gemma needs to see in it. Also, I liked the little drawings sprinkled throughout!

I really felt for Gemma in the first half of this book, but towards the latter half, I was more confused than anything. It felt like we were taking leaps and bounds with her relationship with Josh in ways that you couldn’t tell how you got there? Somewhere, these events were disconnected enough for me to lose track of the Gemma-Josh train.

If you need a laugh-out-loud contemporary romance that explores the trials and tribulations of trying to enter an unconventional phase of life, then this is for you!

[Thank you Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC and NetGalley for providing this book to me in exchange for an honest review!]

"𝑻𝒘𝒐 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒐, 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝒀𝒆𝒂𝒓'𝒔, 𝑰 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉. 𝑰'𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆, 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒎𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒕 𝒎𝒆. 𝑹𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆."

𝑯𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒕𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕.

"𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒕. 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒓. 𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒈𝒐 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚. 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅."
_____________________________________

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Spice: 🔥🔥
Tropes: Brother's best friend, planned pregnancy, love triangle (kind of)
Triggers: Loss, infertility, miscarriage

Available January 25th!

I saw Josh and Gemma Make a Baby was available as an ARC and decided to read it. I'm glad I did because I enjoyed it and it introduced me to Sarah Ready!

As someone who doesn't have that "I have to have a baby" urge, I wasn't sure I was going to connect with this book. I found myself able to connect to the story and I was rooting for Gemma to become a mom. She was challenging at times as a character, but I felt like I related to her at times around her looks and how she holds herself back.

Josh is just a perfect cinnamon roll 🥰 It was so clear how he felt about Gemma and it was frustrating to see her be so oblivious to it. I loved him so much. His new years resolution was perfect.

This book had many funny moments, but also made me cry a few times. I thought it did a good job of talking about infertility and loss, which is still very much a topic that's not discussed enough.

This would've been a five star book for me, but I felt it lacked some spice/tension. I'm totally good with closed door spice scenes, and some of my top books last year had limited spice. There were moments, but I would've liked more. I wish we could've got some POV from Josh since we only got Gemma's.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC. And thank you, Sarah, for writing this book!

I'm going to start off by saying that pregnancy tropes are not really my thing. I was quite hesitant to start this book but decided to give it a chance. Within the first 20 pages I was HOOKED!!! Gemma's voice is hilarious and so relatable, it was easy to fall in love with her immediately. I got STRONG Bridget Jones vibes but it didn't feel. like it was an outright copy cat of it. Josh was also one of those MCs that slowly creeps up on you. As I got further into to the book I found myself in pain over how much Josh was clearly in love with Gemma. There was some plot twists that were amazing and only drove the novel along. Also the group Gemma joins full of women also going through infertility was absolutely hilarious. I loved the life long connection they all formed. I am so happy I decided to give this book a chance and will forever be recommending it to everyone I meet. As we get older we forget to lean into scary things because of the chance of being truly, gut-wrenchingly, hurt. Gemma's journey through this felt incredibly personal and like I was going through it with her. Thank you to Net Galley for letting me read this!

This was pretty much exactly what I was expecting from the description! Gemma is in her early 30s, has been divorced for a while, and learned back in her 20s that she was infertile. She's always wanted a baby, and she decides to go it alone through IVF. When she first meets with the reproductive endocrinologist, he asks if she has a partner and she blurts out that she does, though she really doesn't. She decides to ask her older brother's best friend, who she's known for years and to whom she lost her virginity 16 years before. He ultimately agrees, and through the process they actually become friends, and then maybe more. I liked their relationship, and this was a very quick read - a nice balance of heavy topics (infertility, loss, grief) and fun, light banter.

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby follows the journey of Gemma, a thirty-something divorced woman suffering from infertility, and Josh, her brother's best friend and the guy who's been a "houseplant" in the background of her life since she was young. Lacking any boyfriend prospects but really wanting a baby of her own, she asks Josh to be a donor for her upcoming IVF cycle.

I grabbed this ARC because I was enchanted by the premise, and thought it would be a fun read. Which is was, for the most part. It was a cute, predictable, brother's-best-friend, slow burn romance. But here's the thing: I really wasn't a fan of our heroine for large parts of the story. She has some really unlikeable qualities. She's extremely self-centered and judgemental, which are not qualities I think lend themselves to being a good parent. Speaking of parents, it's kind of easy to see where Gemma gets her judgemental side from, because her family is awful. On the surface they seem loving, but the non-stop fat-shaming of Gemma goes unchecked and unchallenged for the majority of the book, and from what I can gather she's not even really fat. They also bemoan her lack of a boyfriend and it seems like the entire town knows about the condition of Gemma's uterus. I doubt Gemma told anyone other than her family about her endometriosis, so that means the people who are supposed to love her the most blabbed her business to anyone who would listen.

For the most part, I think Gemma's IVF journey was done well. I've never had fertility issues so I cannot speak to the veracity of her experience, but it seemed like an honest portrayal (except for the part about being able to schedule an appointment with a fertility specialist online for the very next day - ummmmm...no). Although it does seem a bit unrealistic that she would embark on this major medical procedure with very little forethought and research. I mean, she seems surprised at the first support group meeting to learn that many IVF cycles fail. That really seems like basic information someone should know before committing thousands of dollars to an invasive medical procedure like this.

So in a nutshell, your enjoyment of this book will probably depend upon the degree to which you are willing to suspend disbelief on a number of fronts. If you're good with overlooking some flaws in pursuit of just being entertained by a sweet love story, you'll probably like this book. I recommend it for anyone looking for a romance with a unique storyline and a happy ending.

CW: infertility, pregnancy loss, death of a parent, fat shaming

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

It’s been a long time since a book made me feel this angry and in love at the same time. On one hand, I LOVED Josh. He has been added to my ‘men from books I’ll never stop thinking about’ list. On the other hand, I really hate Gemma. Let’s start with Pros...
Pros:
Josh.
Funny moments
Josh’s secret
Josh
JOSH.
Con:
Gemma’s crappy attitude
Gemma’s head being so far up her own butt
Gemma’s head being so far up Ian’s butt.
IAN!
Ok... so I have less to say than I expected. This book had soooo much potential and I really liked the moments Josh and Gemma had alone, walking the city and eating pizza. Ian’s storyline was so dumb and unnecessary and made me truly dislike Gemma. This is the kind of story that really needs that dual POV to help readers not only connect with the characters, but to give the author a chance to give more depth to the plot. There were so many topics brought up I would’ve loved to see tackled and resolved, and most just ended up completely brushed over and I don’t feel like we ever truly get to know Gemma or Josh.
2 stars for Gemma, 5 for Josh so let’s meet in the middle and say 3.5

I thought it was a really good way to talk about fertility issues. That’s something that you really don’t hear a lot about outside of nonfiction books. Josh and Gemma’s relationship was really special. I do feel that Gemma was a bit immature for a 32 year old.

This was a quick and cute enough read, albeit very predictable. I didn't always love how the author broached the subject of Gemma's journey with IVF - it's such a sensitive subject for so many women, and, for a large part of the story, it seemed like the seriousness of that process was glossed over - as well as her relationship with her boss, and her past with Josh. It often felt like some key details were left out that just left the story feeling a little flat. I liked it enough to finish it - halfway through I definitely had the familiar romcom feeling of needing to know exactly how things played out with Gemma and Josh - but didn't love it either. Just okay for me.

I was given an ARC by NetGallery in exchange for my honest review.

1. What was your favorite part of the book?
There are so many amazing parts of this book. Though if I had to choose, the scene where Gemma reads Josh’s comic and realizes Josh’s feelings

2. What was your least favorite?
This isn’t my least favorite because it was on the author, but all the pain Gemma went through. It was necessary, but my heart!!

3. Did you race to the end, or was it more of a slow burn?
I would think it was a slow burn. The romance between the two characters was amazing.

4. Which scene has stuck with you the most?
I honestly don’t know which one to choose. I think the scene when she loses the baby while on the live stream and the moment with Ian while it was happening. It was hard to read, my heart really went out to her and I wanted to reach through the book and punch Ian myself.

5. What did you think of the writing? Are there any standout sentences?
The writing was amazing. Sarah Ready has such a way with words. I have so many things highlighted from this story, if I had to choose just one, it would be, “Each one of us, all the people in our lives are like icebergs floating near each other. We only see the top of the icebergs, the faces we show the world, and the rest, all our inner lives and secret fears remain hidden underneath the surface” location 3862-3864

6. Did you reread any passages? If so, which ones?
I didn’t reread any passages

7. Would you want to read another book by this author?
I definitely would.

8. Did reading the book impact your mood? If yes, how so?
It did impact my mood, in so many different ways. Essentially, I felt what the main character felt.

9. What surprised you most about the book?
Honestly, this book seems like it would be a romantic comedy with maybe some fertility issues tied in, but it’s so much more than that. It has life lessons. It’s so beautifully written and I think the author really did an amazing job writing the main characters struggles and the struggles of others around her.

10. How did your opinion of the book change as you read it?
As my previous answer states, I was pleasantly surprised it was so much more than I initially thought.

11. If you could ask the author anything, what would it be?
I don’t really have any questions.

12. How does the book's title work in relation to the book's contents? If you could give the book a new title, what would it be?
I think the title is very straightforward. I do think it’s a little wonky, but I don’t know what to recommend to change it to.

13. Is this book overrated or underrated?
I don’t know how this book will be when it is published, but I hope everyone can take the time to read it. Definitely underrated if it isn’t popular

14. Did this book remind you of any other books?
It doesn’t

13. How did it impact you? Do you think you'll remember it in a few months or years?
I definitely think it impacted some of my ways of thinking. It’s so easy to focus on the negatives in life that the positive gets overrun. I’ll definitely remember it

14. Would you ever consider re-reading it? Why or why not?
I’d definitely reread it. I loved every second of it and I’d love to read it when it’s officially out.

15. Who do you most want to read this book?
…is everyone an option? I’d definitely choose everyone.

16. Are there lingering questions from the book you're still thinking about?
What was the gender of the baby?!?! Though it’s small, I can’t help but wonder

17. Did the book strike you as original? Yes and no?
Oh, yeah. I think it’s original. I haven’t personally read anything similar to it.

*3.5/5
this was such a cute and quick read! i have to say that i really enjoyed reading it, so much so that the flaws that i encountered didn't bother me very much, i just flew through it and read it in one sitting. this book went beyond my expectations and i think i might check out other books from the author.

content warnings : infertility, miscarriage, loss of a parent, fatshaming

e-arc provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review

At 32 Gemma has already had her fair share of disappointments in her life, a failed marriage, a failing uterus, and countless failed dates set up by her mother. With the words of her boss and self-help guru, Ian, she knows best "if you can dream it you can do it", so who cares that her new year's resolution is to have a baby and the only thing she's missing is the other half of the equation, sperm.

With the daunting task of IVF already looming over her head, she panics when asked who her partner is and raddles off the first name that comes to mind, her brother's best friend, Josh. Although he's seemingly unmotivated, quitting his successful business venture to draw comics in his dad's basement Gemma knows him well, she can't deny his good looks, and he's basically part of the family. What could go wrong?

This book does a deep dive into the trials and triumphs of infertility, IVF, and the support needed along the way. It was a slow burn throughout but you're constantly rooting for them both. There are some scenes I found hard to believe could be realistic and unfortunately didn't add a lot to the narrative either but overall the book was a quick read and left me smiling in the end.

A feel good romance that was definitely needed for this beginning of year. The writing is strong but the author manages to write about hard subject such as infertility with care and still manages to have the book be pretty mood lifting. The characters are all lovable despite their flaws and you will definitely root for them. Definitely would recommend

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby was a cute yet predictable read, that I flew through. Gemma is diagnosed with Stage 4 endometriosis, causing fertility issues, however one of her key goals in life is to have a baby, so she recruits Josh to help her.

I loved Josh, he was so sweet, funny and deserved so much. He remembered key moments for Gemma, and overall I think he earned so much better. Gemma however... is one of the reasons I rated it low. She was mostly annoying, blowing up at those that didn't deserve it, judgmental and selfish and she barely spent time to learn about Josh. Despite this, I did feel sympathy for her- she had a horrendous time and was hormonal, yet this couldn't completely forgive her actions.

The infertility issues were handled amazingly, with the 'support group', and I was so happy how it ended for them. I felt it was done sensitively, and the Authors Note at the end backed this up. One of the reasons I disliked Gemma was her insensitive and angry reaction when she blew up at her friends, then refused to apologise for her harsh actions, especially regarding the infertility, which she herself knows is a huge issue.

I felt too much time was focused on Ian, and yes he was key to the story, however I would've preferred time to learn about Josh, for them to get to know each other as we 'watch', instead of learning about Ian, who was a slimy guy. Also, when he had the woman in his house, I felt Gemma could've blown up at him... or said more... I hated that she still was nice to him. In addition, her mum... she was so rude! I understand family 'wanting the best for her' but setting her up with a sleazy 50 year old man... please stop.

I gave it 3.5 stars, rounded down as when I remember the book, there are more issues that stick out to me.