Sarah Ready

New Year's Resolution:Have a babyPreferably with Josh LewenthalMeet Gemma Jacobs. She's driven, energetic, and a positive thinker. She has a great career working for famed self-help guru Ian Fortune, she lives in a cute studio apartment in Manhattan, and her family is supportive and loving (albeit a little kooky). Her life is perfect. Absolutely wonderful. Except for one tiny little thing.After a decade of disastrous relationships and an infertility diagnosis, Gemma doesn't want a Mr. Right (or even a Mr. Right Now), she just wants a baby.And all she needs is an egg, some sperm, and IVF.So Gemma makes a New Year's resolution: have a baby.Josh Lewenthal is a laid back, relaxed, find-the-humor-in-life kind of guy. The polar opposite of Gemma. He's also her brother's best friend. For the past twenty years Josh has attended every Jacobs' family birthday, holiday, and event - he's always around. Gemma knows him. He's nice (enough), he's funny (-ish), he's healthy (she thinks) and he didn't burn any ants with a magnifying glass as a kid. Which, in Gemma's mind, makes him the perfect option for a sperm donor.So Gemma wants to make a deal. An unemotional, businesslike arrangement. No commitments, just a baby.To Gemma's surprise, Josh agrees.They have nothing in common, except their agreement to make a baby and their desire to keep things businesslike.But the thing about baby-making?it's hard to keep it businesslike, it's nearly impossible to keep it unemotional, and it's definitely impossible to keep your heart out of the mix. Because when you're making a baby together, things have a way of starting to feel like you're making other things too- like a life, and a family, and love. And when the baby-making ends, you wish that everything else didn't have to end too.

A Novel

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby

Kenzi Linton

I’m a sucker for some good old inspiring quotes, but all of the ones by Ian started to irritate me, because they were pretty cheesy and constant. However, this book really was cute and I’m very curious on what the sequel is going to include, since this one seemed to end perfectly.

New Year's Resolution:Have a baby Preferably with Josh Lewenthal Meet Gemma Jacobs. She's driven, energetic, and a positive thinker. She has a great career working for famed self-help guru Ian Fortune, she lives in a cute studio apartment in Manhattan, and her family is supportive and loving (albeit a little kooky). Her life is perfect. Absolutely wonderful. Except for one tiny little thing. After a decade of disastrous relationships and an infertility diagnosis, Gemma doesn't want a Mr. Right (or even a Mr. Right Now), she just wants a baby. And all she needs is an egg, some sperm, and IVF. So Gemma makes a New Year's resolution: have a baby. Josh Lewenthal is a laid back, relaxed, find-the-humor-in-life kind of guy. The polar opposite of Gemma. He's also her brother's best friend. For the past twenty years Josh has attended every Jacobs' family birthday, holiday, and event - he's always around. Gemma knows him. He's nice (enough), he's funny (-ish), he's healthy (she thinks) and he didn't burn any ants with a magnifying glass as a kid. Which, in Gemma's mind, makes him the perfect option for a sperm donor. So Gemma wants to make a deal. An unemotional, businesslike arrangement. No commitments, just a baby. To Gemma's surprise, Josh agrees. They have nothing in common, except their agreement to make a baby and their desire to keep things businesslike. But the thing about baby-making? it's hard to keep it businesslike, it's nearly impossible to keep it unemotional, and it's definitely impossible to keep your heart out of the mix. Because when you're making a baby together, things have a way of starting to feel like you're making other things too- like a life, and a family, and love. And when the baby-making ends, you wish that everything else didn't have to end too.

Josh and Gemma Make A Baby

Haney Hayes PR

Let me start off with, I read a lot of smutty books so if you check out my reviews for that then this is not for you. 

I made it through this story but honestly, I’m not sure how. I was super excited for an adorable little Rom-Com. However, I was left feeling Blah. There should be a trigger warning for women and even men who may have having trouble having babies. This story does deal with Infertility Issues and IVF. So if you are having this as a trigger do not read this book. I can say this isn’t the worst book I’ve read but it’s also not the best.

Ellie Crawford

NOT MY CUP OF TEA - BUT CERTAINLY HAS AN AUDIENCE

This book had a marvelous premise that told the story of a young career driven divorcee, Gemma, who longed to be pregnant and her brother’s best friend, Josh who was more than happy to help. Nuanced with an annoying self-help “guru” boss who has growing interest in Gemma relationship wise and the constant pressures from her mother and family to find a new husband quick, this book certainly had a large cast of characters.

While the perfect choice for a well seasoned beach romance reader who favors easily digestible plots, a sprinkle of spice, and at times painfully dense characters, I found the book to be predictable and a bit cheesy. But I refuse to rate it lower than a 3 because I fully recognize that this is exactly what some people are looking for and I think it will do well in those audiences.

celene

mikee ♡

Josh and Gemma Make A Baby is a book I finished in one sitting! I never thought this book would be this entertaining and have kept me invested. 

My favorite part of this book would be the part when Gemma invited Josh to come with her to a party and they met Hannah and Brook where these two friends of Gemma asked Josh about the comic he created. Also, loved when Josh is always present whenever Gemma asks for him. 

The only thing that I didn't like was Josh and Gemma took long enough to finally open up and confess their mutual feelings. But regardless, I still enjoyed their journey and their struggles to finally find their happiness. The ending was a bit predictable but still fine. 

Lastly, I loved the quotes in every chapter. It was a cute and sweet way to start a chapter and the friendship they have developed. Also, the representation of infertility the author is telling us. It was a sense that everyone should not take the topic lightly. The book was more like a character-driven book which I loved as well.

Josh and Gemma Make A Baby is a book I finished in one sitting! I never thought this book would be this entertaining and have kept me invested. 

My favorite part of this book would be the part when Gemma invited Josh to come with her to a party and they met Hannah and Brook where these two friends of Gemma asked Josh about the comic he created. Also, loved when Josh is always present whenever Gemma asks for him. 

The only thing that I didn't like was Josh and Gemma took long enough to finally open up and confess their mutual feelings. But regardless, I still enjoyed their journey and their struggles to finally find their happiness. The ending was a bit predictable but still fine. 

Lastly, I loved the quotes in every chapter. It was a cute and sweet way to start a chapter and the friendship they have developed. Also, the representation of infertility the author is telling us. It was a sense that everyone should not take the topic lightly. The book was more like a character-driven book which I loved as well. 

Sorry for posting my review late, I got caught up with my school-related stuff. Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for granting me a copy.

Janna Niemi

This book is super relatable to me. And I loved every minute of it. 
The plot is interesting, the relationship between Josh and Gemma is great and I loved getting to know them and following them on their journey. I hoped from the start that they would get a happy ending. 
I also enjoyed both Josh and Gemma as characters. I really liked them and they intrigued me from the start. 
All in all, this book was good, a little bit funny and I loved every minute of it. 

I enjoyed the narrator as well. They made the listening experience pleasant and I did not want to stop listening. 

*ARC received from the publisher via Netgalley

sydney

** spoiler alert **
           To me this was a very unique concept for a book and I love it so much. Seeing her fall in love with him while he is completely whipped the entire time is so much fun. The fact that he writes the flipping comics about her?! And the HE WROTE ONE FOR THE BABY!!!! Josh is the best man ever. I need a short story about them actually being parents.

I received an arc through netgalley.

fer ❀

** spoiler alert **
           In general i enjoyed the book and it had good scenes i was close to dnf this books but i made it through i was hoping it would be more like the brother’s best friend type of thing where they are super close but we didn’t really get any scenes with them interacting much, i also felt the fact that they’ve known each other for like 2 decades and yet she barely knew anything about him except that he only had his dad, i found it weird because he went all the time to their house and spent holidays with them so it’s hard to believe she didn’t know him at all, also i would’ve liked to see more of their relationship as an actual couple, and the fact that the epilogue ended in a cliffhanger *spoiler alert* that we didn’t get to see the gender of the baby when throughout the entire book they were talking about a girl.

also this isn’t mentioned but it could be helpful in case you don’t want to read about this type of stuff. 
Cw: fat shaming, miscarriages, infertility

Nikki

Not ashamed to say that I cried a lot while reading this book. I loved both Josh and Gemma and I loved the journey they went on in this book.

I honestly didn’t expect anything that happened in this book. I thought it would be a typical single woman wanting to be a mother without a partner story. But it actually went deeper than that. I’m glad I picked this up because it was amazing. Loved reading about Gemma’s IVF journey. Loads to unpack but also very enlightening and enjoyable to read. The stories of infertility and miscarriages felt authentic to me.

Anyway, Josh Lewenthal definitely joining Josh Templeman and Josh Im in the best Joshes to be honest. 

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Preye

The title pretty much sums up the story. Gemma, the female protagonist, is deemed infertile by medical experts after undergoing surgery for a health issue. She grows up in a small town and as small-towners are wont to do, they tease and ridicule her mercilessly. Josh, the male protagonist, is the neighbor that becomes a part of family. He is her elder brother's friendship and her mother involves him in all the family's activities because 'he is from a broken home'. 

I found Gemma perpetually annoying, obtuse, shallow, and spiteful. I couldn't connect with her and, I'll be honest, I haven't disliked a female main character (FMC) this bad... ever. I couldn't drum up any feelings for her regarding her inability to get pregnant and I found her actions calculating at worst, desperate at best. 

As far as I am concerned, Josh—the poor sweetheart—settled. Look: I love my HEAs just as much as the next girl, but I wished that when she finally realised her misgivings, he would have moved on already. Boo! 

There's a particular scene towards the end where her family rib her about her condescending behaviour over the years. They [the family] talked about her intentional meanness and prejudice against the poor soul. The fact that she never apologises to him was such a let down and I expected that the author would remedy that in coming chapter but... we just had to go with the flow, I guess. 

The author then attempts to compensate for her deliberate passive-aggressive attitude by making the grand-gesture extra. Her grand-gesture—which would probably go down in history as the most ill-advised and fool-hardy declaration of love—is perhaps her last act of desperation. 

I didn't find any faults with the writing and the narrator made this a very pleasing listening experience. The narrative is conversational and almost like listening to a friend ramble on. I do wish we got to see Josh's pov. That would have made a very good read. 

Josh is a beautiful character and his almost perfect personality served to highlight all of Gemma's flaws. She is callous, unfeeling, and uncaring: Josh is sweet, loving, and knows well enough to express his emotions properly. 

She is a proud card-carrying member of the "tell-it-as-it-is" and somehow manages to do it in the harshest way possible. She treats her friends and everyone else cruelly and is fiercely prejudicial. Once she places you into a category, best believe you won't be getting out soon. For all her intelligence and self-declared righteousness,  she is obtuse and terribly naive. 

Even the stellar performance of the narrator couldn't persuade me to feel a twinge of any emotion—apart from anger—towards Gemma. This is another new-to-me author and a few friends conformed that her other FMCs are just as problematic: Ergo, this might just be my first and last book from this author. 


I had my fair share of laughs while reading this title, but I couldn't get past how vile the female character was. The male character, on the other hand, was endearing and entirely too sweet for his own good.

emma

i love love. believe me when i say that this book is amazing. josh and gemma hold a place in my heart now. i can't even explain how much i love this book. i cried tears of joy when reading the last few chapters. josh and gemma are truly meant for each other and i'm so happy for them. josh is so sweet and you can tell that he loves gemma with all his heart. that's all that matters. and the bonus chapter? in josh's pov? oh my god. i honestly need more of them because i can't get enough! i'm so glad that i decided to read this book. one of the best decisions that i have made this year, so far. no doubt.

Neisha Gabrysiak

*I was given an e-ARC from NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

This is the first book I've ever read by Sarah Ready, and I honestly chose to read it because I've not been feeling well and wanted something quick and light to read while lounging around to try to get better. Josh and Gemma Make a Baby sounded like the perfect quick, light book to read while lounging. Until I got sucked into it and wasn't able to put it down and rest like I needed. 

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

Gemma is, by her own definition and by the definition of those around her, frumpy, chubby, dull, and desperately in need of a husband with whom to settle down. She's been married and divorced and doesn't want to go down that path again, but she desperately wants a baby. She, being a modern woman, decides that she will have a baby on her own, with help from a sperm donor - but one she chooses, because she doesn't want to risk the unknowns of an anonymous donor from a sperm bank.

Enter Josh, Gemma's brother's best friend. She hasn't spoken to him in years but comes right out and asks him to give her what she needs to make a baby - but it has to be done through a fertility clinic and IVF due to Gemma being previously diagnosed with endometriosis and fertility issues.

I have to say - I love reading books that address issues such as infertility. Several family members of mine have experienced infertility, and it's a problem that should be spoken about more, because so many women that are infertile feel like they are less, which is absolutely not true.

Back to the story - throughout the process of attempting to get pregnant, Gemma starts to learn more about Josh and realizes that she's judged him wrongly for most of the time she's known him - which has been for most of their lives. 

The author manages to make this story light-hearted and funny in a lot of places, but also addresses many difficult issues throughout - infertility, pregnancy loss, the stress of infertility on a marriage, the loss of a parent - as well as some other things such as holistic approaches to infertility struggles, meddling-do-it-for-your-own-good mothers, and sleeze-ball bosses that take advantage of people below them in stature. 

I definitely enjoyed this book and am only disappointed that I read through it so quickly. Now, to find more of Sarah Ready's work so I can read those as well.

Sammie Piotrowski

I loved this book. 4.5 stars.

The concept drew me in immediately and kept me hooked the whole way through. This was more than just a romance, it was a story of independence, infertility, and companionship that was more than anything I could have expected. I loved the relationship between Gemma and her infertility support group just as much as I loved her interactions with Josh, which is always a sign of a well-rounded book.

Speaking of Gemma and Josh, with every page I fell more in love with their love story. Even if I thought the plot was very predictable, I still enjoyed watching it unfold. I also loved that Josh was a character who was known to always seem happy-go-lucky, even when he was struggling on the inside, because I feel that isn’t represented much in books. This is a very common coping mechanism, and it made the book feel ten times more real.

The only bad part of this book was Ian. I know he served a purpose, but even when he was being “sweet”, I hated every second. I’ll admit I was rooting for Josh from the start, but that aside, Ian still felt slimy to me. I wish his arc was much, much shorter, but I understand why it was how long it was.

Overall, I blew through this book and loved every second. A great read that will give you a lovely story of a woman’s journey to becoming a mother and the companions she meets along the way. 

p.s. I adored the illustrations throughout the book. Beautiful.

Josh and Gemma Make A Baby is a book I finished in one sitting! I never thought this book would be this entertaining and have kept me invested. 

My favorite part of this book would be the part when Gemma invited Josh to come with her to a party and they met Hannah and Brook where these two friends of Gemma asked Josh about the comic he created. Also, loved when Josh is always present whenever Gemma asks for him. 

The only thing that I didn't like was Josh and Gemma took long enough to finally open up and confess their mutual feelings. But regardless, I still enjoyed their journey and their struggles to finally find their happiness. The ending was a bit predictable but still fine. 

Lastly, I loved the quotes in every chapter. It was a cute and sweet way to start a chapter and the friendship they have developed. Also, the representation of infertility the author is telling us. It was a sense that everyone should not take the topic lightly. The book was more like a character-driven book which I loved as well. 

Heather Harrington

Yikes, this was not good. The writing wasn't the best and the plot needed a lot of work. This is supposed to be a romance, but there was no believable chemistry between the two main characters. The only saving grace to this was Josh, and he deserved better than Gemma. He was so sweet and carried a torch for her for years, and she was not the nicest. I also didn't believe for one second that she never realized Josh, her brother's best friend, was a successful artist. She works in social media and never realized he has a huge following? It makes no sense. And the inspirational quotes? So cringe.

Nicola Sarah Brooks

I loved the authors series set in Romeo, NY so I was eager to see if this was similar.  It was a great story and the characters were really engaging, I just felt that there was a bit too much artistic licence with regards to Gemma and Josh's solving of their problems.

The wait time for IVF and so on was super fast, like TV fast.  I know I'm Scottish but surely the requirements to get IVF aren't that different? 

But it was great to see fertility, miscarriages, and endometriosis being discussed.  As someone who has suffered from these things myself it was great to see them in the open and not being hidden away.  Yes, they are painful subjects but they do need to be brought into the "open" as it were. 

This was the epitome of the slow-burn, these 2 have been dancing around each other for decades!

Gemma will be like Marmite to some folk - you'll love her or hate her.  She has a blinkered worldview and is a bit naive.  She's so focused on one thing, having a baby, that everything else passes her by.  Sad that we didn't get to see Josh POV - it would have been nice to know what was running through his head.  The supporting cast was a bit hit or miss for me but they added to the story and gave the characters some depth .

Gemma's mum was a complete beatch and the townsfolk - well I would gladly smack a few of them around for the way Gemma and her body became the topic of gossip. 


TW: Infertility/Miscarriages/Body Shaming

Jess Griffin

** spoiler alert **
           Ahhhhh I loved this book so much!!!
It was a perfect mix of angst, fluff, and comedy, whilst also tackling the struggles of infertility.
The author did an amazing job of conveying Josh's POV even though the story was only told through Gemma's. 
The concept of this book is interesting in itself but the execution by Sarah Ready was flawless. The writing was so well done it felt as though I really knew the characters.
As well as a romance, I feel like this book placed a focus on Gemma's personal journey too. Realising not everything can be looked at through a (cheesy) inspirational quote and that sometimes there isn't a positive side to everything that happens.
Josh and Gemma's chemistry was undeniable and Sarah Ready really outdid herself with this book.
Definitely one of my favourite reads.
Thank you NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC for making this ARC available to read in exchange for an honest review :)

Sierra Ford

**I Received this ARC curtesy of NetGalley - all thoughts and opinions are my own** 

I was pleasantly surprised with this book; at first I thought it was going to be a quick easy romcom but the way in which the characters were portrayed and how they handled hard topics was a breath of fresh air. 

I did find Gemma to be annoying/immature at some points while reading, but I genuinely think that this is a book that had such fun side characters (her fertility support group friends) that it made up for her getting on my nerves. This book contained a lot of tropes I personally enjoy and I loved how the reader was slowly able to piece things together and understand that Josh (who I loved) was secretly pining after her for so long!

Allie Garza

Thank-you NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC for the chance to review this ALC.

5/5 for both story and narration.

I was not ready for what Josh and Gemma Make a Baby was going to do to my emotions. I thought it was going to be this fun romcom and it is fun and funny but it’s also emotional and real! 
I loved this story and its characters and the message that it gives. 

Gemma was an interesting character. Gemma wants kinds and a family but she’s divorced cant get pregnant the old-fashioned way and she’s losing the hope of finding someone. Add a mother that isn’t very understanding and yeah Gemma has a lot going on. I had moments where I really liked Gemma and others where I wanted to shake her and make her see what was right in front of her. 

Josh is wonderful and I want to protect him with my life. I loved Josh he was wonderful and there was so much more to him than what we as readers could see through Gemma. I’ll say that I wasn’t sure what to expect when we first get introduced to the idea of Josh. But as the story progresses, we start to form our own idea of him while Gemma stays a little behind. 
Their relationship has a little bit of everything, the buildup of their friendship, the angst of the slow burn and the heartache of the conflict that the story is trying to fix. I had my problems with Gemma because of the way she handled things and I would usually take off a star from the rating when there’s characters that handle/create the type of conflict, but I really loved the way the conflict comes with a realization that it’s been a constant issue from the start of the book. Gemma has always been this way, always had these thoughts but it’s not until we see her voice them to those who matter to her that we see that it’s a way to justify herself. She apologized and paid her dues as she should, and she made the grand gesture! 
This story focus on infertility, pregnancy loss and I can’t speak on how accurate it is. But it felt very real, emotional, and raw. It wasn’t just a thing that was added as a background it was front and center and helped us learn more about the type of people these characters were. It helped them grow. 

Narration,
Erin Mallon is PERFECTION. She’s the sole narrator here and she does a fantastic job at creating a distinct voice for each character. I’m always amazed at her incredible range as an actor.

Overall, this book has my heart. I laughed, swooned, cried, and wanted to throw my phone at the wall. It was a total rollercoaster of emotions. Sarah Ready has done such an amazing job here I can’t recommend this enough! 



Josh and Gemma Make a Baby A Novel

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