This just felt really unnecessary. I don’t think we needed a sequel here, no matter how loveable the characters are.

Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around by Sarah Ready is the sequel to the first book Josh and Gemma Make a Baby. I love Gemma and Josh’s love. It’s pure and absolutely wonderful. But they get dealt one bad hand after another and it absolutely breaks my heart. There were some parts which you'll need tissues on hand as any woman will be able to relate. But overall the book was beautifully written. It was funny, heartbreaking, and heartwarming all at the same time.

Sarah Ready has the ability to make me cry every time. In the first book of this series, I was crying at the realistic portrayal of struggling with infertility, love, and loss. But in this one? HOLY CRAP. Gemma seriously can’t catch a break.

I love Gemma and Josh’s love. It’s pure and absolutely wonderful. But they get dealt one bad hand after another and it absolutely breaks my heart.

I don’t want to give anything away, but if you want a tear-jerking read where everything isn’t always happy and perfect, this is the book for you. Just be aware of some trigger warnings (infertility, medical trauma, loss of love, etc.).

Also, the audiobook for this series is wonderful and I couldn’t stop listening to it!

This was a sequel that I didn't know I needed - exploring how a couple's love can change after tragedy but come out stronger than ever. After Gemma wakes up from a comma - she finds that she can't feel the same love for Josh that she did previously - she can't feel much emotion at all. But Josh is unwilling to give up on Gemma and their life together. He is so patient with her as she comes to terms with her traumatic brain injury and adjusting to life as a new mother. I was slightly disappointed in Dylan in this book (definitely not the supportive friend and brother he should have been). Ian Fortune returns and provide needed comic relief - and finds some redemption as you learn more about his background. Overall, I really enjoyed this novel and am thrilled that Sarah Ready wrote a sequel for this amazing couple. Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC and NetGalley for the chance to read this novel in advance.

Just like the first book, I enjoyed reading this one. I was faced with different emotions the same way Gemma felt the entire book. I was confused, like Gemma, as if I was in her shoes. Everything that happened to her was so confused, yet they make sense. I was always over the edge of my seat when Ian was in the scene but I know, without a doubt that she would always choose Josh.

I adore the dedicated Josh has and how hard he fight for Gemma since day one.

It was nice seeing Josh and Gemma's life after the baby.

“𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆. 𝑨𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒌𝒚 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒗𝒆, 𝒘𝒆’𝒍𝒍 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒐𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑮𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒆 𝒊𝒕.”

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice:
Tropes: MW, rom-com, second chance
Series: Josh and Gemma #2

⚠️Check triggers⚠️

Gemma's life couldn't be more perfect. She and Josh are madly in love, they're getting married soon, and they have a baby on the way. Gemma has everything she's ever wanted and she couldn't be happier. However, things take a turn when tragedy strikes, and Josh and Gemma's love is put to the ultimate test. Will they make it through to their new happily ever after?

I loved Josh and Gemma Make a Baby, so when I heard a sequel was coming out I was excited to visit them again. I enjoyed this story immensely and thought Sarah did a great job telling more of Josh and Gemma's story. I liked how Sarah explored the way that love changes and grows in a relationship. Josh and Gemma worked together through a tragedy and came out on the other side with a deeper love. I wasn't sure about a certain character reappearing, but I'm glad they did because their growth and development was a highlight for me. I didn't see the twist coming at all and was truly shocked. The ending was perfect and solidified my love for Josh and Gemma as a couple.

I know there are mixed reviews on this book, but I loved it. I thought it was great and told a beautiful story about different kinds of love. I think some people went into this story expecting it to be all sunshine, but the blurb was clear that there were going to be some storms before the happy ending. This book showed that the journey to the happy ending isn't always perfect and I thought it was beautiful.

Thank you to Sarah and NetGalley for the early copy in exchange for an honest review!

If you have not read Josh and Gemma Make a Baby - you must. Then read Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around. These books make you laugh and are very entertaining.
The audiobook was entertaining, funny, sad, disgusting and everything in between. The narrator did a great job.
I combined listening and reading on the first book - Josh and Gemma Make a Baby. On this book I listened to the whole thing. I was planning to combine listening and reading like I did on the first book , but I was in the car a lot so just listened this time.
I was excited to see that there was going to be another book about Josh and Gemma. When I read the title I thought "on no" a divorce. How sad.
You learn to love Josh and Gemma in the first book. They are both very interesting and well developed characters. I was so excited to hear about their life at the beginning of this book.. Just what I imaged except for the jello molds.
I was not prepared for the rest of this book. It was not at all what I expected. At times a beautiful love story and at other times, life was very tough. This is very true to life for all of us - at times life is beautiful and easy but at other times very tough and tragic. There are twists in this book that I did not anticipated.
Read and Enjoy!

Thankyou #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. I randomly stumbled across Josh and Gemma last year with a read it now audio after the book had already been released and I Loved them and the book. I laughed so much. So, when I discovered there was a second book I got so excited and grateful to be approved. Unfortunately, this one did not hit the mark with me like the first. Despite all the same characters, it just fell flat in places and would fizzle out for me. I understand that the author was touching on some tough topics and I was okay with that, I live with someone similar. But what I couldn't get over is that I often laughed more at the banter between Gemma and someone that was 'not Josh' and that combined with some of their lackadaisical goofy actions and inabilities to communicate frustrated me too much. Don't get me wrong there are enjoyable parts of the story and i enjoyed it, But the first book is far better IMO.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc.

I was really looking forward to this bool because I loved the 1st one in the series but for some reason it wasn't what I had expected.
I couldn't get past 55% and had to mark it as a DNF.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but that’s not to say that I didn’t struggle with reading it. Maybe it’s been too long since I’ve read the first novel in Josh and Gemma’s love story but this book felt very different. The characters felt different (for good reason due to the circumstances presented in the story) and the tone was a complete switch from the previous book. Again, it wasn’t bad, just different from what was expected. I wonder if maybe this story belonged to a different set of characters rather than being a continuation of Josh and Gemma (though I do love them). Also, I will say that I’m very glad that this story did not involve an AU spin or amnesia.

Well Sarah Ready! I was not prepared for this book. The plot twist. I am so glad difficult and serious topics are talked about in books and the effects they can have.

I was screaming at the book willing things to work out. I adored the first book so I really enjoyed picking this one up and following the ever after part.

I think it highlighted some really important things. There was love and loss, reconciliation, revenge. All sorts. But all part of being human.

I really loved the character development from Ian. I love Gemma's mum loving her truth. Overall I really enjoyed this book.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I read the first book in this series and I loved it. Sadly, this second book isn't as good. It wasn't badly written, but the plot was bizarre and unpleasant.

Josh and Gemma the Second time Around is the sequel to Josh and Gemma Make a Baby and a wonderful romance that’s both heartwarming and humorous while also tackling the difficult topic of traumatic brain injury and the path to recovery.

Gemma and Josh got their happy ending in JaGMaB - Gemma is pregnant, Josh proposed, and they’re deeply in love. But when Gemma falls into a coma during their wedding while 8 months pregnant, all their plans are in the wind. Gemma falls into a months long coma, and Josh is left alone with his newborn daughter while juggling his career and his grief. When Gemma finally wakes up, it’s not Josh she sees when she opens her eyes - it’s Ian, who was left in disgrace in the previous book after all his lies and deceptions were revealed. But now that Gemma can barely recognize her life or find her way back to who she used to be, or worse, her feeling for Josh, she finds herself falling back into some sort of tenuous friendship with Ian, since he seems to be the one person who seems to understand what she’s going through. But it gets complicated when more of Ian’s past is revealed and Josh and Gemma feel further apart than ever.

This story was more emotional and less humorous than the previous book, The very sensitive topic of traumatic brain injury was handled so well, even when things got heavy, there was still some humor to be found while not making light of it. If you love books by Abby Jimenez, you’ll love this one!

I requested this book because I had read the first book in the series. I was curious as to how the author was going to build a plot with these two characters after how the left off the last book and I found the way she did it to be very interesting. Gemma ends up in a coma for several months due to eclampsia, because of a trauma to her brain she doesn’t experience emotions in the same way she used to and feels like she can’t love. This books is mostly about her learning that there is different levels of love and different way to love than the ones she experiences in the first book. We also get a redemption arch for Ian fortune from the first book, the fact that everyone in the city hates him in pretty hilarious to me, which is fairly well done and I enjoy the fact that he isn’t a one dimensional evil dude in this one. I listened to the audio book at the same time as I read this one. The narrator does a really good job, but if I hadn’t be reading both I would have missed the illustrations in the book which is something to consider.

his book continues the story of Josh and Gemma who are preparing to get married, but things don't go as planned for there is this unexpected turn of events that made Gemma doubt her feelings for Josh.

I really like that the author had provided some background why the series' antagonist acts the way that he does. This can be considered as one of those traditional happily ever after stories, but if you just want to have a good time this series is worth giving a try.
Thank you, NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"I'll keep it locked up like a treasure in my heart, and I'll take it out whenever I want to feel happy or loved."

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Spice Meter:🌶️🌶️

⚠️Trigger Warning: Major Health Issues, Physical Trauma

📍Release Date: 26 January 2023

❗This is a spoiler-free review from Netgalley❗

I'm going to start this by saying that a sequel to Josh and Gemma Make a Baby was utterly unnecessary. Yes, I understand that 'happily ever after' isn't very realistic and there will always be ups and downs in life. Those downs, in particular, can reach rock bottom. However, (and hear me out for a minute), I have three thoughts on this sequel:
💥1. Romance novels don't always have to be realistic (especially when it comes to a sweet, wholesome happy ending - for reference read book 1, it was awesome) it's okay to let a story be a story.
💥2. There are just some standalone books that are too beautiful to warrant a sequel, no matter how unrealistically wholesome they were, and writing one kind of ruins the experience.
💥3. There is no need to write a full-length follow-up novel to an already wrapped-up and wholesome story. Novellas are also an option and they are a frequent delight.
Regardless, I still had very high expectations of this book, in spite of its irrelevance. The first book, which I actually got to ARC review as well, was incredible. I loved everything about it. Unfortunately, this one read like a soap opera, and not in a fun sort of way. Everything from the romance to the conflicts, to all the 'notable' quotes, was irritatingly cheesy. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy it at all, I did, hence the three-star rating, there was still some of its previous charm but it wasn't the same.

I'm pleased to say that, in spite of all the cheesiness, the characters were just as lovable as they were in book 1. Although their actions were so questionable at times I found myself face-palming (I know that's not a real word) Poor Gemma had a ton of bs to deal with, not just in her life, but heath-wise as well that I honestly wanted to wrap her in a cosy blanket and feed her cookies. That girl needs a break. She didn't lose that optimism that made her so likable in book 1, however, and ultimately that's part of the reason I kept on reading. Josh isn't much better off, either. He has his own shit to deal with, his life took a dark and unexpected turn, and pretty much everything sucks for him. Similar to Gemma, Josh's optimism and dedication made him an equally likable and sweet character and I love him very much. Also, the guy is super-nice all the time. Even to those who don't deserve it. As for Gemma and Josh's relationship, it took a tumble, things were bad for a while, but their love is strong and can defy all odds. No matter how cheesy that is it's still adorable.

Moreover, I actually ended up reluctantly liking characters that didn't really appeal to me in the first book or I simply outright disliked. Once again, I found parts of this unnecessary because we don't need to like everyone, particularly in books, yet I can't say the newfound depth of some of those characters wasn't a pleasure to explore. It was fun getting to know those secondary characters on a foundational level and learning their stories however minor they were compared to the main plot.

In spite of everything I'd still recommend this book. I had fun reading it and I'm sure a lot of others will as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review

I was so excited to read this as l loved the first book and had such high hopes for the continuation of Josh and Gemma’s story. I thought it was a cute, quick read but after finishing it made me realize that a sequel wasn’t necessary.

Also, I wish Gemma hadn’t befriended the villain from the first book as it was very off-putting to read their “heartfelt” conversations knowing what had happened between them in the previous book.

Love a book with a well written plot twist. The first half has a bit of a slow burn it did pick up. The characters a lovable and the writing is seamless. It was great to get to continue reading Josh and Gemma’s journey.

3.5/5

I would like to start this review by admitting that I did not read the first book in this series and due to this I felt like I was missing a lot. Between the characters and the plot I really did not start to enjoy the book until the last half.
I wanted to like it I just really couldn't get into it. If I had read the first one I might have enjoyed it better. I might go and read the first one if it's on kindle unlimited but I would not buy it for myself. I did enjoy listening to this book instead of reading it myself which I was able to due to receiving both editions.

Thank you Netgalley for gifting me an advanced copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.

3.5 ⭐

Okay, time to be honest. First of all I would like to say that I really liked the first book. I think it deals with a subject that is not widely covered and, ultimately, it was original. I enjoyed it from start to finish. There were times when I got bored, but it was from time to time. But that doesn't matter now, since this is the second book.

When I saw it on NetGalley, I had to order it because I was curious about what it was going to be about, since from my point of view, everything had been solved with the first book, but no. It was one of my first reads of the year, if not my first, and It takes a really hard time finishing it, which was totally different from how it happened with the first one that I finished in two days.

I don't know if it was the plot or the feeling that I was getting lost from time to time that made me not devour this book so quickly. I mean, it was good, but I don't usually like the second parts of stories that I think I've already solved and that may have influenced my reading progress. Anyway, I immersed myself in it and enjoyed, within what was possible.

I think the most enjoyable parts were Ian's. Unlike with the first book, Ian improved a lot. The author developed him much more and it was his character who gave me the push to continue reading.

What is my general opinion of al this series?

The book I enjoyable the most was the first one. It has something sparkly between its pages and make me connect deeply with each of the protagonists.

My opinion about this book?

I think that the trope of this book is the exact example that sometimes, you have to fight for happy endings, and learn how to appreciate the small things.


Finally, I woukd like to thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.