Josh and Gemma the second time around
by Sarah Ready
5 stars

Gemma is on cloud nine with her life she's about to have a baby and is getting married to Josh.
What happens when life decides to throw you a curve ball?
Josh and Gemma have to navigate what can happen when life gets turned upside down and no one knows how to handle it.

I absolutely loved Josh and Gemma make a baby, so when I saw this one squealed I was overly excited to see their journey continue.
Sarah's writing hits home it's a sweet cozy love story with complex topics. I love her writing and have loved almost all her books.
if you read this 100% read Josh and Gemma make a baby first or this won't flow well.

Josh and Gemma have the fairy tale they have their miracle baby due soon and are about to get married, but all of that changes in an instant.
Having woken up and not sure what is going on at all, Gemma is lost on time and day and not being able to feel, and not sure how to handle everything.
Can you survive a relationship when you can't feel love or happiness?
Can you get back to what you missed out on and get back to what life used to be?

This is so emotional in so many ways but like my favorite quote from the book.
Everythings better the second time around.

Thank you, Netgalley and Swift and Lewis Publishing for the eARC for an honest review.

Josh and Gemma was my 1st read of 2023 and I enjoyed the humor and story so when I saw there was a 2nd one coming out January 26th, 2023 I clicked read now right away.

BUT this was so different from the 1st. I feel like this one isn't needed if it was a brand new story different people a stand alone I would of enjoyed more. Since I already knew Josh and Gemma and was ready to see the happily ever after I didn't enjoy the start over in the story. Like this just needed not to be josh and Gemma book. I just wanted something different for them. So since this was book 2 I just felt disappointed by 2 great charterers that deserved the world.

Also Ian No I was not happy the author seemed to want a redemption arc for him and gave him a different backstory to why he did what he did in the 1st making us feel for him. I felt like it wasn't a good move and I didn't like trying to make him a better person all of a sudden.


Thank you NetGalley for sending me this audio arc in exchange for my honest review.

3.75/4

I did not read the prequel to this story and I don't feel like I missed anything. The story seems to cover any background characters have with one another.

The narrator chosen for this story was ok. Overall she is a good job, but her voice was stiff and more announcer like.

The story started off boring, but picked up around the 20% mark. I promise if you can get the through the first bit it is worth it. The story has a few shocking moments to the storyline and I was drawn in until the end.

I did not like how Gemma handled Ian's confession about a situation. She brushed it off like it wasn't a big deal. Like it explained so much, but there were no consequences. She accepted it and moved on.

Overall I enjoyed listening to the audiobook. The story progressed smoothly and enjoyable.

Thank you Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

This book was GREAT! I remember being surprised about the depth of the first book and I feel the same way about this one. It covered some heavy topics and wasn't just a romance. I found myself loving the friendship of Gemma and someone who was from the first book and I just appreciated this book SO much, The authors note at the end was heart warming and I want to read more about her now.

Thank you for my copy of this book- I am a Josh and Gemma fan for sure!

I read the first book and have to say that this one was a total surprise to me. It starts basically with Josh and a very pregnant Gemma at the altar preparing to say their vows. There is a horrific incident that changes their lives and their love forever. It would be hard to say more without giving the very unexpected storyline away, but Josh and Gemma have to fight to try to get their love back. There are lots of obstacles in their way, but neither ever feels like their love for each other isn't worth the fight.

I listened to the audio version of this book narrated by Erin Mallon, one of my favorite narrators. It was, of course, superb!

Thanks to Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC and NetGalley Audio for the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this audiobook. I will start by saying that I loved Josh and Gemma in the first book. I liked the story way better than I expected and was really excited about this one.

I will say that in the end, I did enjoy this book and it all came together and it was really sweet and definitely worth the read. It's possible because I have a medical background, that I found some of it not quite believable and it bothered me most of the way through the book. I also found it annoying that Gemma kept saying she couldn't feel love or feelings when she kept saying things that were clearly love and feelings.

This story explained the history with Ian and that part, although it took a while to get to it, was a really good part of the book.

Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it,

Absolutely not. Absolutely. Not. I genuinely don’t understand why this book was written, it was so unnecessary. The first book would’ve been perfectly fine as a stand-alone.

I didn’t like the first book to begin with, mainly because of the writing and the lacking chemistry between the characters, and sadly that didn’t change in this one. A lot of the times, the writing felt overly dramatic, trying really hard to be funny, which just made it cringe-worthy. As for the characters, Josh and Gemma infuriated me so much. There was so much unnecessary drama and miscommunication between them. Most of the interactions (like in the first book, there weren’t even a lot) between them felt forced.

This book is also a great example for “show, not tell” because their “love” was never really shown. And what made everything worse is that Gemma spent more time with Ian instead with Josh. There were more sparks between her and Ian, the antagonist (although not anymore I guess?) which is terrible. Also, why was this book a whole Ian redemption arc. No one asked for that. There were so many things wrong with the plot. The Lisa thing. The Ian thing. The entire brain injury thing??? The entire plot was just absurd.

It feels like the author tried really hard to convey a deeper message about love and whatnot, unfortunately it didn’t work. This book should’ve been left unwritten.

Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC and Netgally for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Arc provided by Netgalley and the publisher

Such a cute second chance romance. I loved the MCs and the plot theme was *chef’s*. I mean who wouldn’t want to have the chance to fall in love with their person a second time over after a major medical emergency. This book made me feel empathy towards Gemma and Josh made me feel small anger because of miscommunication and his fears. The only think I didn’t love was the miscommunication. I wanted to tell the characters to be patient and listen. 😂 Just found out there is a second book that was before this book that might have helped one of the character’s (Ian) story line! I’ll be heading to Libby right now for that audiobook

Erin Mallon was good but I thought she sounded robotic. She was able to give good women’s voices but fell flat with men at times. I will be honest I didn’t want to finish the audiobook because of her narration but I hope as she gets more feedback she will grow as a narrator. She did still help me love this book!

I did not realize when I selected this audiobook that it doesn’t work as a standalone. I feel like there’s entirely too much backstory that I don’t know for me to get into this book. I made it to 35% and it never grabbed my attention. The narrator was great, but without knowing everyone’s history It just didn’t work for me. I chose to DNF. Thank you NetGalley for providing this ARC. It just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to Netgalley, Swift and Lewis Publishing, and Sarah Ready for the opportunity to read/listen and review this book early for an honest review. These thoughts and opinions are my own.

Well first, I did not realize this was a sequel to another book. The title, cover, and synopsis sucked me in and I instantly wanted to read it, not realizing I was missing some backstory. Luckily for me, this did not take away from the enjoyment I experienced reading this book; I actually listened to the audiobook of this and really enjoyed it. The narrator does a nice job with this and sounds great also! Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was honestly relatable in many ways - it shows how couples can got through extremely trying times in life with many twists and turns and still make it work in the end and find their way back to each other. After finishing this, I’m definitely on the hunt to read the prequels and learn more about these characters.

I received a advanced copy of josh and gemma the second time round. Gemma and Josh are about to get married when there whole world comes crashing down.
Can you fall in love ...again a second time around? Is second time around better?

I enjoyed this book. I did NOT read the first one but I quickly got some stories to play catch up.

Recommend.

I enjoyed this sequel. It did have a come twists & turns that after reading the first I was not expecting. Nothing new to the this type of book. If you enjoy romance novels I would recommend, plus it did have a little spice compared to the first. I enjoyed it.

Not as good as the first one.
This one didn't feel as necessary nor did it offer anything new. It has the same formula as most rom-com.
Josh and Gemma Lewenthal look like a couple who has it all. They're head over heels for each other, they love their jobs and have a fantastic apartment in the city. They're expecting their first baby in six weeks, and they’re driving upstate to Gemma's parents' home for their charming, intimate backyard wedding. But then the bottom falls out.

JOSH AND GEMMA THE SECOND TIME AROUND review

⭐️⭐️.5/5

🌼I read Josh and Gemma Make a Baby last January and really enjoyed it! When I saw the sequel was listed as “read now” on NetGalley I was pumped!! Unfortunately this one fell flat for me.

🌼Here’s a summary of the plot:👇
Josh and Gemma have finally gotten their happy ever after, until their lives are turned upside down. As Gemma struggles with a major life change, she enlists help finding her happiness in the most unlikely place. But now Josh and Gemma have to decide if their happy ever after is worth the fight…

🌼I’ll start with my main issue with this book: it wasn’t needed. I loved the way the first in the series ended. They spent so much time in the first book desperate to have a baby, and once they finally did they never talked about her or really acknowledged her in this book? That part felt really off to me. I also thought it was strange how little the book seemed to focus on Josh and Gemma’s relationship, and instead kept focusing on smaller (imo) side plots. Overall, this book was just okay for me. Not terrible, but also not my favorite. I’d definitely recommend the first in the series, but I’d probably skip the sequel.

I was so excited to see this sequel available on Net Galley. Josh and Gemma are so excited their baby will be here in a few short months and their wedding is days away. On their wedding day after meeting Josh at the alter Gemma suddenly doesn’t feel good and at all.
Next thing Gemma knows she is waking up to her old boss and con-man Ian Fortune sitting at the end of her hospital bed. Months have gone by and so much has changed while Gemma was out. Josh and Gemma’s lives are completely turned around and their future is at risk. Will they be able to make it through this difficult moment in their lives?

Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around by Sarah Ready

This is a follow up book from Josh and Gemma Make a Baby. This book added to the story of Josh and Gemma but for me I felt it unnecessary to write this book it really did not add much to what I already knew about the couple. Gemma has second thoughts about marrying Josh. Ian is again in this story playing havoc in essence to Josh and Gemma relationships. You do find out a little more about Ian's back story that gives light to why Ian does what he does to Josh.

I am of the opinion that the first book was enough and a follow up was not necessary. It did not provide all the feels I got from the first book. I think this would have been better if Mrs. Ready would have written the backstory about Ian and not make the relationship between Josh and Gemma more complicated. I just did not get the enjoyment as I did in the first place. I just felt like I did in the first place that Ian story could be left out of the story.

I did like the banter between Josh and Gemma which some of it will make you laugh a bit. This was a 3 star read for me and I do recommend this for romance lovers this does have some romantic comedy in it. If this is your cup of tea, then you will enjoy this book.

Narrated by Erin Mallon she did a good job bringing voice to the characters. Each Character had its own voice.

Thank you to Netgalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for a free copy of Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I loved the first book and was excited to continue Josh & Gemma's journey. I think we should have stopped there and didn't really need this follow up. If you read this, you need to read the first book or be lost.

The narration was a lot of fun but the story line felt disjointed. Why throw Ian back in and create a triangle and then redeem him? I wanted to see more Josh and Gemma together and learn to reacquaint with each other and didn't see that.

I switched between audio and ebook. I really liked the book but the narrator was just ok. I think her voice matches what I think Gemma would sound like but I think she could’ve brought the story to life more.

This was my first Sarah Ready book (I didn't know this was a sequel) and I absolutely loved it.. makes me sad I didn't read the first book. This was a sweet romance story with a few twists and turns. The narrator was wonderful and she did a good job. I would love to read more.

This book is a sequel to Josh and Gemma make a baby, which I loved and gave five stars. Now after I have read this one, I feel like this book was very unnecessary. It didn't bring so much new to me.
👫
I didn't like that the main focus in this book was on Ian, Gemma's ex boss and the most hated man. I wish to read more about Josh and Gemma rediscovering their love to each other. That was what I loved about the first book, to read about them. But overall a cosy and a cute story that I really liked