I went into listening to this book blindly because I did not read the first book, but I heard such wonderful things about Sarah Ready. I could not have loved this book more than I had predicted, and I am putting the first book on my need-to-read list right now. Gemma and Josh, the Second Time Around, is the sequel to Gemma and Josh Have A Baby and a continuation of Gemma and Josh's relationship while they battle new obstacles.

Gemma and Josh are finally at the altar after preparing for their big wedding. They are having a baby, and they are excited about their future. An unexpected event happens, and everything changes. They are unsure if their relationship will survive after everything.

I really loved this book. The story had a good mix of light humor and felt-good moments. It was easy to get caught up in the story and root for Gemma and Josh. I thought it was clever to use Ian as a pawn to have Gemma realize that Josh is the one for her. That was a fun twist and made the story fun to listen to. I feel like the story was trying to make Josh a villain at first because no reasonable person leaves their partner unattended while being in a coma for months to go to California to work and be the hot topic in all tabloid magazines. I was not a fan of Josh most of the book until I realized that he genuinely loves Gemma, and his odd behavior was not what it looked like. Josh had many moments in the book that I had to shake my head for him, but he redeemed himself. The narration by Erin Mallon was excellent, and the story was addicting to read!

Thank you to NetGallery and to Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC, for my copy of the audiobook.

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.

DNF @ 30%

I cannot with this book and I’m truly so sad about it! After loving Josh and Gemma Make a Baby, I fully expected this to be a sweet story about their life post-baby and getting married but that’s not what this was. This was dark and sad and a sequel that was not needed at all.

Essentially, Gemma had eclampsia which caused her to have the baby and then go into a coma for three months, when she wakes up Ian Fortune is at her bed side and she has no idea what happened. We come to find out that Gemma has permanent neurological damage and has to relearn how to feel.

I only got 30% of the way through before I knew I couldn’t continue on, the plot was just strange and made me uncomfortable. On the bright side, I enjoy Sarah Ready’s writing and will give her other books a read instead.

I absolutely loved Josh and Gemma (The First Time Around), but I was definitely not a fan of them during this second round. The plot twist was interesting, but I felt that the story did not really go anywhere. It was not worthy of an entire novel. I was not as invested in the characters as I was the first time around. I wish Josh and Gemma's ending lived in my mind and not on paper.

A three star read for Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around. It was pretty meh and I found myself listening at top speed to get through the novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC, for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

I so loved the prequel to this book and thought this fell short. While “I can’t love” is a twist on the usual “I have amnesia” trope, it felt trite. Ian’s prominence also grated — Josh was like an afterthought or an extra who just flies in and out.

This was the complete opposite of Josh and Gemma Make a Baby. It was sad and thought provoking. It’s crazy how fast everything can change. This was a beautiful story of picking up the pieces and creating something new. Reading both books in the series will give you both worlds. Fun and Flirty, & Beautiful and Sad. Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this book in exchange for a review.

I think i would have rated this book a bit higher if it had come with some TW. I think this book, while beautiful, could be really triggering to some people. and I would hate for them to open this book expecting it to be one thing and then get slapped in the face by something else.

Somehow I got chapter 3 of this book without realizing it was a sequel! 🤯 I am someone who stops reading a synopsis if I find out it’s a sequel! But, nope, with this book I was hooked! I can fill the blanks later I had to know what happened in the end!
Man did I ride this rollercoaster! 🎢 I had SOOO many emotions reading this book! There were times my chest actually hurt because my heart was breaking for them! 💔
I can’t wait to go back and read the first one. I want to know how Josh and Gemma fell in love and I want to fully understand what in the world Ian did to make strangers on the street throw mashed potatoes 🥔 and cake 🎂 at him!
It’s weird to say “don’t spoil me for the first book” since I’ve already read the second, but seriously, I’m not reading anything about the first book till I read it!

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. And Erin Mallon is one of my favorite narrators - she’s voiced so many books by my favorite authors, including Christina Lauren and Abby Jimenez. She has wonderful inflection and pacing, as well as great intonation when switching between multiple characters.

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 (especially if you’ve listened to the audiobook versions!), 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.

I just finished this book and I'm already hoping for a 3rd installment of Josh and Gemma. I loved how this book picked up shortly after the other one ended and brought all the lovable or mostly lovable (cough, cough Ian) back with them. I love the story of Josh and Gemma and this book kept my interest, I honestly couldn't stop listening.

Although I hadn’t read the first book, I was charmed by the love between Gemma and Josh. The shock and twist of the coma, birth of the baby, and loss of love kept me listening. This story kept me going. Would their love conquer all the obstacles?

I was in love with Josh and Gemma Make a Baby, so it made me incredibly excited to stumble across the second book. I loved the narrator and the storyline was very interesting. My favorite thing about the first book was the characters and how lovable they were, and that changed a little for me in this book. I still loved Josh of course, but I liked Gemma much less in this one. Of course, the authors writing was still amazing. The first will always hold a special place in my heart.

I adored Josh & Gemma in the first book and I thought the audiobook was fantastic. I was delighted to listen to this second book and it exceeded all my expectations. Josh is an amazing husband through all of Gemma's challenges and even grew to like the formerly despicable Ian. I wasn't sure how Sarah was going to make their story even better, but she did. It's a romance, with comedy, drama, family issues, a health crisis, and a villainous character. It is perfection.

Firstly, as an audiobook I have to say this was a good one. The narrator did a fabulous job, and I think she kept me entertained and enthralled with this second instalment of Gemma and Josh.

I might be an outlier, but I didn't like the first Josh and Gemma book as much as this one. Gemma frustrated the be-Jesus out of me in the first book, and I felt Josh was the ants pants and men of men, as far as book boyfriends go. I struggled to see what he saw in her as I just wasn't getting it.

Fast forward to this book, and giving Gemma a traumatic brain injury made me like her! She wakes three months after she and Josh were to have married, and can't feel the love she knows she should be feeling. Throw in that she's now a mother to a child she has missed the first three months of her life, and you have the recipe for an interesting, and slightly out there romance / com-com.

I'm glad I read the first book, as I don't think this book would be as significant in terms of context, had you now known the love Josh had for Gemma, and how certain events depicted in this book, seem out of character but potentially understandable, given the possibility Gemma may not regain consciousness.

Anyway, what made this book work for me was Gemma's frankness, and the depiction of the TBI and some of the rehabilitation, and all of the feelings Gemma experienced in learning to live her life in the here and now, but as a slightly different version of herself. Also Ian - the man you loved to loathe in the first book, was fleshed out and there's a whole lot of his family history explained that gives context to his attitude and behaviour. And Josh ... still love that guy and his dorky, hotness.... and statements like the one where he says he has enough love for both of them to see them through.

It's always a struggle for me when books rely on the miscommunication trope. It's far from my favourite trope, and I often think, "it's f+++++g 2023, just talk to each other". I don't think I've ever rated a book five stars where that trope was front and centre because I feel it doesn't work well unless the writing is exceptional and the context allows for the miscommunication. I think this was only partially achieved here, and relied upon Gemma's injury rather than the characters having more interaction, more therapy, and more discussion. I wondered if Gemma's family were as close as they were, would they not have involved themselves more, in bridging the gap between the two, and been more present given the severity of Gemma's injury.

Anyway, for me, this book was actually better than the first book. I enjoyed the narration and the presentation of this one and listened to it fairly swiftly.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the audio copy of this book to listen to.

While I enjoyed this book, it just didn't have the same magic as the first book in the series. It was well written and the characters were well rounded. I enjoy the narration and characters, but the story itself was not what my favorite. However, I would still recommend this title. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced listen.

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.

Josh and Gemma started as an unconventional couple when she asked him to be a sperm donor. One thing kef to another and they became a real couple. After tragedy, life begins again and we see everyones true colors. There are ups and downs, and it's messy, but I'm the end good this happen to good people. Thank you for the opportunity to listen to this ARC.

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
I really enjoyed reconnecting with these witty characters. It felt like coming home. A realistic way of how life goes and that it’s not always happiness and sunshine. The banter throughout makes this book a really light read. Even though there are quite some heavy topics playing out in the background. Loved that the hated Ian Fortune made a reappearance. All the storylines nicely came together that way. A really enjoyable sequel to Josh & Gemma make a baby.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
to Know what happens after Happily Ever After
Second chance romance
Witty Characters
Josh & Gemma make a Baby
Quick & light read

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
𝘎𝘦𝘮𝘮𝘢 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵. 𝘚𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘶𝘱𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵, 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘤é 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩-𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺.
𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭. 𝘈𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵.
𝘌𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵…
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳?

𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘩 𝘓𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥-𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘧𝘶𝘯-𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘸𝘦𝘣 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘎𝘦𝘮𝘮𝘢.
𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤.
𝘌𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵…
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴?

𝘚𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘦𝘮𝘮𝘢’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵.