Note: I received a NETGALLEY ARC AND AUDIO in exchange for an honest review.

Note 1B: I will not be reviewing Josh and Gemma the second time around - because this novel was barely enough to stomach. Same goes for the audio.

Note 2: This is a duet for now. This is the first novel. Josh and Gemma the second time around, releases Jan 26th 2023.

Triggers: ivf failure, miscarriages, bodyshaming, infidelity, pregnancy mishaps, death.

What can I say about this atrocious novel that won't make me wish for it's self combustion even more?

Honestly. I expected a lot more from this novel.

Considering one - it's a sarah ready novel - and I loved her previous novels. Two, it touches on sensitive issues like pregnancies and other crucial situations that happen to women/transwomen,intersex etc. Three - because the title was damn hilarious.

Did I get any of the above remarks right from this novel - Answer no.

This novel was so atrocious and horrible and gosh darn I expected better - that I cannot, cannot put a positive spin on it even if I wanted to.

Gemma for one sucked as a character - she was a doormat to everyone who mistreated her - family, relationships. But was a selfish, judgemental bitch to those who cared - Josh, her IVF group friends. Plus such a hot mess and disorganised and ignorant - like she could've adopted a kid, she could've done it with an anonymous donor, so many other ways to have a kid. Her personal life was such a mess - that it made me have sheer headaches and of oh god when is this going to end? Newsflash it didn't end sooner.

And also she wanted to have a kid with a familiar face - let's just get one thing clear - Josh is not a familiar face - she had a hookup with him one time, and that was it. Otherwise all they did was say hello at family functions. Having a kid with someone familiar means, asking someone from your own family, a close friend - not an almost perfect stranger - like Josh was. So yeah sorry but the first half of the plot was completely absurd. More on how the second half of the plot went to shit later.

Secondly - Josh was pathetic. That was it. He reminded me of Ross from friends - yes I hated friends, sue me- the way he keeps pining over Gemma and never tries to solve the backstabbing that happens to him from someone else, ages ago. It's pathetic. And it made the romance even more unbelievable when she finally acknowledges everything that he does for her. His overly charming behaviour also tended to get on my nerves at times.

Plus he said no to her - when she asks him initially - but then on a sudden 360 twist - he agrees to be her donor friend. Like what the hell? Where is the consistency here? It all seems to have vanished somewhere. And also a vibrating iphone? WTF? God...I needed more bleach for that scene than ever.

The other characters sucked as well - they are all judgemental, superficial, and suck in growth, until towards the end. Like I get this was also a bit of self discovery, but my god were they caught up in their vain problems so much and being pregnant for the stupidest reasons imaginable. I couldn't tolerate it. Plus her family is irredeemable - and she lets them use her for no reason, for no actual caring oh wow, awesome no worries reason. Instead they humiliate her (reference to triggers), and she STILL HELPS THEM!

The romance was unbelievable - no development, no slow burn, no nothing. All she does is date losers, then one day like Isaac Newton gets hit on the head with the knowledge Josh likes her, loves her. That's it. That's the origin of the story. They're both losers, and Gemma deserves Josh, who is also pathetic. I honestly thought they were better off as friends. That is all.

Her pregnancy issues - are never addressed. She never considers adoption, no anonymous donor, no surrogacy, no nothing. Sigh. All she does is whine about asking Josh to be her donor, you'd think a woman who can run a company successfully for her boss could also run her personal life, but cannot, ladies and gents. Her pregnancy issues are not taken seriously, not even by her. So really, this is dangerous for women who read this novel, if they do, and think it's okay to be this thoughtless, uncaring, and robotic in the name of a miscarriage, ivf problem, etc.

Overall, this novel was a complete disaster, even with the half sweet ending.

Nothing sold me on this story, everything was terrible. The character development especially hurt, because wow, I dared expect better from the protagonists themselves. And the romance too. Sigh. Plus touching on the heavy topics. Completely glazed over, no care whatsoever.

Wow, you really disappointed me, Sarah Ready. I hope you know that, with this mess of a novel.

Gosh.

I really enjoyed reading this one! I honestly didn't expect the heavy theme throughout but it was the perfect complement to the cute romance. Although the cheesy quotes/sayings were a little much at times, I am definitely looking forward to the sequel and see these two as parents.

I loved this book so much!! It had be laughing out loud numerous times. It was just the right type of read for the end of the year and to pull me out of a book slump,

I loved this book! I thought it was a unique take on a love story. Definitely looking forward to reading more from Sarah Ready,

I'm one of those readers who loves pregnancy trope. What makes this book unique is that they planned it hahahaha because mostly the pregnancy trope used the sudden pregnancy like how?

This is a cute book. I so much laugh with the characters humor. Thank you for the humorous author. If you want to read something light, give this a try. Cannot critize it content because it serves its purpose. As it is a rom-com then I must laugh right? Anyway, a good read especially when you don't have so much time to read a heavy plot.

I've seen this get mixed reviews, so I was a little wary especially considering I don't really like romance novels where the heroine gets pregnant. But this was lovely. Sarah Ready handles the topic of infertility with care, and the romance was sweet.

Josh and Gemma are really really cute. This story had more cuteness than smut and I don’t know whether I love or hate that 😄
BUT i love that Gemma is a flawed character and I love how their love comes to life. It was also nice that this wasn’t a “I’ve loved you all my life” trope. I really like that.
Overall a nice, cute love story with a well portrayed exploration of fertility issues and the strains they puts on relationships.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Bit of a slow start for me with this one but overall I really enjoyed seeing Josh and Gemma’s journey! Gemma was also hilarious 🤣

I absolutely loved Josh and Gemma Make a Baby by Sarah Ready. It was such a cute read and, despite making me scream from frustration, I felt for Gemma. While I loved watching Gemma grow throughout the book (and slowly figuring out how blind she had been), any scene with Josh Lewenthal was the absolute highlight of the book.

My only qualm was the cringe I felt at the end of the book.

I really really enjoyed this. I loved Josh and Gemma and whilst the storyline was very predictable at times, it was such a nice easy read. I was thoroughly captivated and moved by the storyline and I was rooting for them. Some sections were emotional and I imagine could be both very relatable and very triggering depending on people’s own personal journeys to parenthood.

I did find it a little jarring that it was so similar to a couple of chick flicks I’ve watched with certain scenes / plot developments but I tried my best to look past that.

All in all, this was an excellent read and once I finally got to it, I devoured it! 4.5 stars for me!

I had this one on my @netgalley shelf and decided to pick it up and I couldn’t put it back down. I loved it. It made me laugh and it made me cry. It covers a tough subject for many in a beautiful, informative, sensitive way. They were two characters I was just rooting for constantly and I think everyone deserves a Josh in their life! This is a book I want to see on screen! It was just brilliant! I cannot wait for the next instalment!

I don't remember much about the story tbh except that the female character wants a baby. She is divorced and not planning to date. Then she considered IVF, the problem is she needs a willing sperm donor with no-string attached and that is Josh Lewental, her brother’s best friend and the boy who took her virginity. It has the same vibes as Jane the virgin which I kind of enjoy. However, Gemma was judgemental but at the end it was good that she had a character development. The couple was extremely funny. Overall, this book was fun and unique! There will be a second book which will be available on January 26, 2023.

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby by Sarah Ready is a fun little Romcom that I just didn't want to stop reading. Gemma is divorced, single, has a job she loves and only wants one thing...a baby. Because of her endometriosis she has to do IVF and needs a donor. In comes her childhood crush and her brother's best friend, Josh. This book is about her journey attempting to get pregnant, dating and friendships found along the way. This book and it's characters are very relatable and likeable. I found myself laughing, crying and cheering as I read Gemma's journey. I would say there may be a few triggers for some such as IVF, miscarriage, and death of a loved one. Overall I found this book quite enjoyable and would recommend it to anyone that enjoys a good Romcom.

A beautifully written book. Really enjoyed reading this. Thanks to publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read

This book was everything I wanted it to be. It had me turned pages without even realizing. It was so good!

A solid 3 star read. This book started out strong and at first, Gemma was an extremely likeable character. The premise is great: Gemma is in her 30’s, single, and in a successful career, but she wants a baby- who better to help her than her brother’s best friend? The only issue I had with this book is that the author relies on the same narrative tools to get laughs and propel the story: embarrass the absolute pants off your main character. I can handle a little secondhand embarrassment, but this went a little overboard in its treatment of Gemma. I wanted more for her.

It started out so strong and then it fell flat for me. It had such a strong premise and was such a unique plot! But, I ended up dnfing. Gemma and Josh were annoying after a while.

Some of this was predictable and cliche (aren't most romances..) but I really enjoyed it regardless! I absolutely loved Josh! This is such a cute rom-com.

3.5/5 stars. This book was very cute and tackled a difficult topic in a refreshing way. The personal growth Gemma experiences and the friendships she makes were my favorite parts of the book. I especially liked how self-help guru Ian Fortune was handled. The reason this book was only 3.5 stars for me though, was that GEMMA DESERVED A BREAK. Every embarrassing situation happened to her, neighbors and coworkers badmouthed her, and she was cheated on more than once. I would've loved for Sarah Ready to stop leaning so heavily on the trope of "everything terrible happens to the plucky main character" because, honestly, it distracted from the more poignant parts of the story.

Gemma Jacobs is your basic workaholic who finds herself approaching her mid-thirties with no man in sight. She’s always wanted a baby, and she’s realizing she may never find a man to settle down with. She works for an egomaniac self-help guru who is a creep as well.

Gemma has only one man who she knows and trusts to ask if he’d be willing to be a sperm donner. Enter Josh Lewenthal, her brother’s BFF. She’s known him all her life. He’s been to all the family affairs and is a part of the family