I absolutely fell in love with Josh and Gemma in the first book and was so excited to be approved for this one! I felt many emotions with this story. I'm so glad that Josh and Gemma found each other the second time around. I've seen reviewers write that this book wasn't necessary. And honestly, what book IS necessary? I really enjoyed this story and would recommend it to other readers.

I adored Josh and Gemma Make a Baby, so I was definitely looking forward to this one.
This is not a light, happy romance. After falling in love with Josh & Gemma in the first book, this was a bit of a tough/emotional read.

Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around is sort of a second chance romance, about finding your way back to the person you love. I won't go into too much detail, since it would spoil a lot of the book!

I listened to the audiobook and read the ebook as well.

I would definitely recommend reading the first book first, otherwise you won't have any connection to the characters, and I think it would be a struggle to enjoy/understand the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC, for an advanced copy to review. All opinions are my own.

I struggled to get over the narrator and her voices. Did not like her one but for this story. Once I got over the fact I had to put up with her the whole story I got back into it.
It was an interesting read for me. Didn’t love it didn’t hate it. I think I’ll try read a physical copy of the book at some stage and see if I like it more than the narrated version.

For me, I was expecting this to be a laugh out loud and hot slow-burn second chance romance but it wasn’t. In fact, the rom and com were just not there. It felt a little flat. I feel like this sequel almost wasn’t needed.

I like the idea. Overcoming a brain injury and finding that you’re no longer able to love the man closest to you sounds like a great story! Maybe this is a great story line for a different book. To me, this just felt like it was a way of making us all love Ian rather than Gemma and Josh’s relationship (like I was hoping). I feel like this concept as a stand-alone novel would have been fart better in my opinion.

Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around was definitely not what I was expecting, but in a good way. I loved Josh and Gemma Make a Baby and was very excited to read this sequel. Erin Mallon narrated and she is a great one to voice this book. Great twist, right at the beginning. I really enjoyed learning more about Ian Fortune and his personal growth. HEA, of course, because YAY!

Thank you to Sarah Ready, Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I read the first Josh and Gemma book and fell in love with this story. I thought for sure that any sequel could not hold up to the first, but I was wrong. I love how Josh and Gemma find their way back together and it kept me on my toes waiting to see what had happened. I really like the style it was written in. Great book!

This book was a wild ride. I really liked the first book and I thought the concept for this one. The conflict was original and really made me feel like I was going on a journey with the characters. I thought that their fight back to their relationship before was really sweet and brought back the same feelings I felt for Josh and Gemma when I had read the first book. The only problem was Ian. I felt like he was an unnecessary distraction, and while I liked that he got a redemption arc, his banter with Gemma felt super out of place for a book where he’s not the love interest. I would have loved to see more of Josh and Gemma together, but overall, it was a good addition to their happily ever after.
I also thought the narrator did a wonderful job, especially with the most emotional moments. She handled the raw emotions so well and her reading made it a great experience!

I did not like the start of this book and what was happening. I pressed on and I am glad I did. I had loved the first book so much that the way this one started rubbed me the wrong way. The Josh and Gemma I knew and loved did change but maybe it was for the better.

I really enjoyed this! I really liked the first book so when I saw this one on NetGalley I was excited! This book dealt and focused more on heavier topics than the first book which was more of a rom com. But it felt like realistic problems that a couple might go through when things get tough. While it did have its light-hearted moments, it isn’t a light-hearted book. I still really enjoyed it despite this! I enjoyed Ian’s character arc in this book! Overall, I really liked this and it was a 4.5 for me! The narration was great as well!

Thank you to NetGalley, Swift & Lewis Publishing, Independent Book Publishers Association, and Members Audiobooks in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed listening to this sweet love story about a couple’s relationship before and after a traumatic brain injury. The narrator was very good and easy to listen to. I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook and chose to write a voluntary, unbiased review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis publishing for the ARC of Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around. I listened to this on audiobook and enjoyed the two readers who were used. As for the story, I thought it was interesting and I did like that it wasn't happily ever after and that they had to go through a lot of real world issues, though parts were obviously dramatized to make the story more engaging. With that being said, I feel like the sad parts went on for so long that it became a depressing book to read. I enjoyed the first book a lot more but do appreciate that the author tried to wrap up the story and change things up from what is typically anticipated for a happily ever after kind of book.

I've stopped listening to this audiobook, because loads deal of the plot didn't make sense it seemed like I was missing on something turns out it's the second book ....I haven't read the first book yet and it's TOTALLY MY FAULT!
so here's a disclaimer for future listeners : this is the second book in a series ! it would make so much sense if you read the first book :)

When I saw Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around, I knew it was a must read after reading Josh and Gemma Make a Baby which I loved! It picks up right where that book ends and can not be read as a standalone without confusion.

This book was much heavier topic wise than book one and is not a romcom. It deals with real-life problems a couple may go through when things get tough. It did have funny moments but it's not a light-hearted warm fuzzy feeling book. It is a very good book though and I loved seeing Josh and Gemma fight for what they each wanted.

Erin Mallon does an amazing job with the narration.

First off, don't, and I mean DON'T, read this one until you read the first one! Maybe skip this one if you do not have a strong disposition. I was floored, absolutely floored. How could the author do that! At least she redeemed herself and it turned around and came out as a HEA by the end. I'm not giving anything away. I listened to this one. If I was reading it, I probably would not have gone past the first chapter but with listening I had to find out what happened and glad I did.

I love “After the Happily Ever After” books- some people don’t but I do. They are real. They are the books you didn’t know you needed but are so happy you got at the end because they give you more of what you feel in love with the first time. And they tied up a few loose ends you may have overlooked, like Ian’s true backstory revelation that I never imagined. We also get a redemption arc for him which I also loved. But most importantly we get to see Gemma fall in love with Josh again.

So this picks up right where book one left off. It could technically be read as a standalone but I don’t recommend it. First you miss out of a wonderful book in it’s own right but it will be harder to grasp the history and development of all these characters. I won’t go into spoiler details but just like the blurb says, a tragic event separates them in many ways. And they have to fight their way back, not to the place they were before but to a new and even better place. I really enjoyed this story. My only tiny criticism is I would have like to have seen the friend group play a larger part. They made some appearances but were not as prominent in the storyline as they were in the first book and I missed them. But then again they are off with new families of their own so maybe that was the realistic scenario.

Again I highly recommended this one as a wonderful follow up to book 1. Now we just need a spin off for Ian

Thank you to the author, the publishers and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC to review for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for both the ARC and ALC of this book!
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The first one was great, and while I wasn’t sure of there being a need for a sequel at the beginning, I was more and more convinced and pleased as I read/listened!

Sarah Ready knows how to catch the attention of her readers. What got me to pick up this book was definitely the title, I've heard of fake dating, and dating out of convenience but this was the first time that I came across a book where the main characters were trying to have a baby BEFORE they date.
I really didn't have much expectations for the book, but I was surprised by how well the story flowed. If you are able to pick it up I would recommend also getting the audiobook because it just added a deeper level of involvement with the story.
So where do I start.. the story line seemed a little ridiculous but the more you got to learn about the characters the more it made sense as to why they made the choice that they did.
Gemma is the main character of the book and we are told the story from her view point, she's a likable character even though she goes a bit over the top with her motivational quotes. She's a divorcee with an infertility diagnosis, since she's unable to have a serious relationship she decides to go through IVF. I will say that I was not very familiar with IVF so I'm not sure how realistic it actually was. What I can say though is that those parts in the story might be a little too much for someone who has gone through it themselves since even I found myself getting emotional at times which surprised me. She wasn't a perfect character but she was a very realistic person in my opinion. I don't want to give away too much but her character is able to grow from this experience and she realizes that she has been very wrong about multiple thigs. Some people might not like her character too much but she will grow on you if you give her a chance.
Now lets talk about Josh, he's Gemma's brothers best friend of course. I think we can all agree that this type of trope is a good one. Josh is probably everything that you would want on the male lead, kind, smart, funny but unfortunately he is very misunderstood. So of course when Gemma needs a donor she thinks of him, the uncaring guy that wont want commitment. But that's not the case, we learn that he actually cares more than what he leads Gemma to believe. Even though we don't get to see his point of view we still get to know him pretty well since we learn about his personality at the same time that Gemma does. This might not be too much of a spoiler but just in case (view spoiler)
Both characters are very likable and there are times when they made me laugh and when they made me get a bit teary eyed. The cell phone scene was to die for and also the boy-toy movement.
There was also other set of characters that were part of the story like Gemma's support group, I loved those characters I thought they were extremely funny although I did think that they forgave Gemma a bit too quickly.
Then we have Gemma's family.. I think that as an almost 30 yr old women I can definitely relate to what Gemma was feeling. Getting reminded that we aren't getting any younger and that we need to date quickly to get married quickly. In her case getting married again. Her family felt really close and I think that comes with having close family is that they think they are able to say things to you without it being offensive or them thinking that they are being insensitive. Those moments I definitely did not like too much but I understood why they were added to the story.

The book was such a great pick that I would recommend it to anyone that wants a more realistic type of romance story. thank you Net Galley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I loved Josh and Gemma make a baby. The book was witty and fun. I loved the family aspect. I loved her journey trying to get pregnant and how her relationship with Josh evolved throughout the book. She had such a great supportive group of friends, and even her work arrangement, working for a famous motivational speaker/influencer was interesting. At times her character got on my nerves, but she had amazing growth throughout the book and it ended in such a good place. I was so excited for book two.

The second book didn’t quite live up to my expectations. She and Josh do experience a couple of significant hurdles and I’m not sure that people in real life could’ve handled it any better, but it just felt like a lot. I found myself just wanting them to get together and move forward and then we would be hit with another hurdle. It made the second book drag a bit, and although we did get the HEA in the end, it took more work to get there than I anticipated, especially based on the first book. I’m glad I finished it but I just wish it had been a little bit more upbeat.

I thought this book was a good sequel to "Josh and Gemma Make a Baby"; however, it was a bit heavier than I was expecting. I enjoyed the overall plot of this book, but I thought (and was hoping for) a bit more about their life with the baby and how that played into their relationship. I very much enjoyed the side characters in this story and the narrator really brought it to life! A solid 4/5 stars for me!

“Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around” by: Sarah Ready

“Love is definitely better the second time around.” Gemma is 34 weeks pregnant and about to marry the love of her life. The gazebo is built. The jello molds of her and Josh are gently wiggling. Everything is perfect. “And Gemma, have you come here to enter into marriage without coercion, freely and wholeheartedly?” She opens her mouth. Words spiral. Love is there. And then she is gone.

What do you do when love is gone? Do you fight for it? Do you search for it like a lost child? Do you walk away?

When I read the first book, “Josh and Gemma Make a Baby”, I expected it to be a stand-alone romance. It was really good. I highly recommend it. When I saw that there was a second book I knew that I had to read it because of how much I loved the first book. Ready masterfully allows her characters to grow and change the way real people do. You laugh and cry with them. What I also love, is that she also covers deep topics. She gives them the weight they deserve, yet the books are not weighed down. This book contains pre-eclampsia, eclampsia, a coma, and the aftermath of all of the above. Gemma and Josh have to learn who they are after facing trials that most couples could never fathom. And they have to find out if their love is real, or if it is time to let it go.

A complete 5 stars, I highly recommend this book as well (read the first, though!). Can it be a stand-alone? Eh, kind of. The first book is referenced but you can still follow the plot without having read it.