This is a cute book, a quick read, and will have your heart smiling by the time you finish it. As a single woman in her 30s, I loved reading an independent female main character who's confident enough to attempt motherhood and IVF on her own - it's inspiring to me, and also great to learn more about the in's and out's of IVF and what a journey like that could look like for myself.

There were some head scratchers, though, if I'm being nitpicky. (1) I'm supposed to believe that Gemma, who has known Josh for 25 years, he's her brother's best friend on this Earth, who she spends every holiday with, has absolutely zero clue that Josh is famous for his work in comics? She actually believes he is just a lazy guy who lives in his dad's basement? Not really understanding that logic. (2) I'm supposed to believe that these stylish, mid-30's friends in Gemma's fertility support group would happen to be such huge comic fans that they'd know exactly who Josh Lewenthal is? Maybe I'm just not friends with the right ladies, ha, but I know none of my friends would have the slightest clue anything about comics. (3) I was let down by the stereotypical "you're infertile and single" trope given to Gemma's mom. The whole "you're 33, no one wants to date a divorcee, I'm going to set you up with an old man with warts for you to have a baby" just seemed so archaic for what otherwise came off as a progressive book - and it's just a damaging thought process for women everywhere, like myself, who are still boss single women at 33 who don't need no man kind of vibe!

Those were my main complaints. But as I said, a quick, easy, painless read with some cute humor that'll make your heart feel warm and fuzzy.

Infertility affects approximately 1 in 8 couples, yet it is still hardly ever talked about. Most of us have had some type of interaction with someone who has been impacted by infertility. This heartfelt story allowed a brief look into an experience that is rarely shared. I really enjoyed following Josh and Gemma as they navigated the ups and downs of life, friendship, love, and trying to have a baby. It was laugh-out-loud funny at times. It was also filled with tender, heartfelt moments of grief and sadness. It was loaded with lots of romance. This novel covered so many true-to-life topics and handled them all admirably. It was well written and the characters were very likable. Well, except for Ian. He was just your typical jerk. The main characters had great chemistry with a good dose of steam and that slow-burn longing which is something I enjoy. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a realistic romance.

Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I had never heard of the author Sarah Ready but this book was actually really cute.

There were a couple things I struggled with. I love that the author tackled the subjects of miscarriages, IVF and the struggle of infertility. What I had a hard time with was that Gemma just happened to have everything happen so quickly. I know IVF takes awhile to go through. I also had a hard time with the whole body shaming. Was Gemma even a bigger girl? That author seems to repeatedly bring that up but then contradict herself when she calls her skinny as an insult too.

All in all this book was a fun quick read. Issues aside the story was really cute.

The only issue I have is I wish they would have wrote about when Gemma had the baby and what she had. That bugged me so bad!

Big thanks to NetGalley for the free copy so that I could give a honest review. All opinions are my own.

I thought this book was super cute and very very funny! I found myself laughing out loud and making all sorts of weird noises while reading this book.

The quick breakdown of the book is "quirky girl" meets "popular ladies man" who come together to make a baby through IVF. But with that comes struggles. The lime jello scenes were great and I thought they were hilarious.

My only drawback of this book is that I wish we got to see Josh's POV. While Gemma was fun and I enjoyed her POV, I think this book could have included a few Josh chapters and it would have been so much better.

This book does deal with cheating, infertility, IVF, pregnancy and loss of pregnancy. Please keep that in mind if you're going to read this book. There is no spice, it's pretty much fade to black - with a few details here and there.

Thank you to Netgalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC for the advanced copy to read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced review copy!

Not just another “brother’s best friend” rom-com!

Gemma is a 32 year old woman struggling with infertility. She decides to try for a baby using IVF but doesn't want just random sperm. She picks her brother’s best friend Josh to be the donor daddy.

This book really took me by surprise. When I picked it, I thought it was just going to be a fluffy, easy-read romance but it was so much more. It was an emotional rollercoaster in the best possible way. The difficult moments make the heartwarming romance that much sweeter.

I look forward to reading more from Sarah Ready!

This book does contain some possible triggers including infertility, miscarriage, and cheating partners.

Que delícia de livro
Gemma foi diagnosticada infértil anos atrás por causa da sua endometriose avançada. Após essa notícia, um marido traidor e um divórcio, o tempo passa até ela resolver que quer tentar uma inseminação artificial. Para isso, ela decidir pedir os espermas de Josh, o melhor amigo do seu irmão e o cara que tirou sua virgindade na adolescência.

Ler esse livro foi como me sentir assistindo um filme de comédia romântica. Da noite para o dia eu devorei a história de Gemma e ri dos seus percalços. Ela é uma mulher de 32 anos que conseguiu sobreviver as desilusões depois de descobrir as citações do seu chefe guru motivacional Ian. Por sete anos ela trabalha para ele, vivendo sua vida de monotonia até decidir finalmente se tornar mãe. Gemma é a imagem de muitas mulheres e foi muito bom ver esse enredo no livro. Outro ponto bacana foi o grupo de mulheres FIV, que tornaram amigas de Gemma e a ajudaram em seu crescimento pessoal.

Quanto a Josh... que amor. Ele embarca nessa aventura com Gemma e, apesar das tentativas dela de afastá-lo e manter tudo dentro do acordo, é muito fofo ver a aproximação de ambos e conhecer mais dos seus sentimentos. Há algumas - muitas - reviravoltas no caminho que, apesar de não serem chocantes, acrescentaram à trama e só me fizeram amar mais ainda o Josh.

Contudo, mais que um romance, eu gostei de ver a jornada da Gemma. Ela não é perfeita, pelo contrário. Nesse processo ela erra, mas tudo serve para o seu crescimento e descobertas de si mesma. Arrancar o curativo dói, mas é necessário.

Foi meu primeiro encontro com a autora e eu estou encantada pela sua escrita. Ela conseguiu trazer momentos sérios com leveza e ainda permanecer o livro muito divertido. O final... como eu amei. Sessão da tarde satisfeitíssima!

Eu recebi esse livro antecipadamente para uma revisão honesta e só tenho como tecer elogios. Agora, só me resta torcer para a alma de alguma editora brasileira trazer esse livro para nós.

I simply loved this book. Not only was it a really great example of a fantastic rom-com, but it was also really educational about IVF, women reproductive systems, infertility, miscarriage and so much more.

These areas are hard to touch on in books, but with 1 in 8 people being affected by infertility, it’s so incredibly important to normalise these topics in everyday life and media.

I really enjoy the writing and pace of the book. The romance was hilariously cute and I loved the very cute ending

10/10 would recommend

I could not put this book down! It is so funny and so smart. The tropes are perfect and the characters are charming. Gemma is so unbelievably relatable - if you’ve ever struggled with your self worth, or suffered from corporate millennial anxiety (the constant fear of being fired for something silly like sleeping in one day in the last seven years), she will speak to you. I’ve never read from such an understanding POV on fertility treatments IVF! This book pulled my heart strings, tickled my funny bone, and kept me coming back for more.

“Each of us steers our own ship of destiny by following the stars in our heart”.

I didn’t want to finish this book coz Josh and Gemma are just so cute! I wanted to read more about them but I’m so happy how the book ended! Although the topic of the book is heavy, the characters were very light and enjoyable to get to know. I love how the story unfolded and how everything fell into place. It also shows how different women handles infertility and does not only center on how Gemma faces it. The book gave us a glimpse of other peoples’ stories and they were given proper endings and closures

I've not read any of Sarah Ready's other novels, but definitely will be picking them up in the future. Josh and Gemma Make a Baby was such a sweet, heartwarming story about infertility, unrequited love, and loving others much more deeply than your perception of who they are.

Gemma was such a darling MC with her tacky sweaters and love for lime, and I adored her and Josh's dynamic together. Overall, this was such a fun read that also explored heavier topics such as infertility and parental death.

My only critic is there were times where the writing felt really repetitive and I felt like I was reading the same descriptions of people over and over again throughout the book (Lavinia's lemon face is an example). But I won't hold it against Sarah Ready because I really enjoyed this book!

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing me a copy !

I really enjoyed the story along with the doodles. It felt like I was watching a movie. This book is about Gemma, a divorcee who is struggling to get pregnant. She asks her brother’s friend to be the sperm donor, and so begin their romance!

loved this one. As the name was interesting I was drawn to this book. I haven't heard of this author so I had 0 expectations. I have to say, I loved this book, the characters, and the plot.
Especially the growth between the characters , the intimacy that the book portrays.

This book is sweet, heartfelt and full of cute moments I loved. Its fun, cute, a little bit quirky which i thought was enjoyable and fun to read. It’s more of a slow burn which I really like. I felt like the characters’s romantic arc moved at a pace that made sense for them and made it all the better when they finally admit their feelings. It touched up on topics like IVF as well which I thought was informative and a good addition to the story. Overall, I really liked this book and I enjoyed reading it. I thought it was a sweet and heartwarming book and if you like pregnancy trope book, definitely check this one out.

I am a lover of all romance novels, first and foremost. I love discovering new Authors that share my love of romance novels, and Sarah Ready did not disappoint. The title of Jost and Gemma make A Baby was intriguing and made me want to know more. The cover was bright and inviting and encouraged me to read her book. When I read the title, I was hooked.

I loved how i was literally laughing outload one minute, then crying the next. I loved the banter between Jost and Gemma. It was sweet how he seemed to want to help her with her new year's resolution of having a baby, but it was more than just a resolution to him, because he loved her and wanted her to see that she loved him too.

I generally love romance, and the whole friends to lovers is always a positive, but this was that and more. The plot with Ian stealing Josh's quotes, and making Gemma fall for him for years was a crazy twist. I did not see that coming at all.

I cant wait to read more of Sarah Ready's books

easily a 5 star read!

This was so cute! Easy, quick romance! Josh reminded me of a puppy, it was fairly obvious he’s always been in love with her.

But I really liked the IVF and pregnancy hardships faced by women trying to get pregnant in the book, I think it’s a topic of conversation that needs to be had more because there are alternative ways for women to have a baby if they can’t get pregnant via regular sex.

I loved this story. I am a sucker for pregnancy involved books and this was cute. I will definitely be picking up more books by this author in the near future. Thank you Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I adored this book!!! Gemma is like a modern day Bridget Jones, in fact, there are quite a few similarities between this book and Bridget Jones Diary so if you like your heroine to be real and funny and flawed, you will like this book! This book is sweet, funny, charming, moving and just really really lovely.

I devoured it in a couple of days, a fab read, I will be excited to read any more books by Sarah Ready!

Fabulous!!!

'Josh and Gemma Make a Baby' by Sarah Ready is a fun romantic comedy with some thoughtful themes at its core. We meet single Gemma, a divorcee in her 30s, at new year, her resolution to have a baby. The only obstacles being she needs to convince Josh Lewenthal to donate his sperm to the cause... and deal with the amorous advances of her gorgeous boss Ian Fortune.

The book made me laugh, particularly at the ridiculous situations Josh's flirtatious grin can get him into, and it made me cry (no spoilers here). Each character fulfils a romantic comedy archetype - Gemma is a clueless heroine but I appreciated her evolution across the text and her journey with fertility. I also enjoyed her relationship with Josh and how a flirtation, and some past romance as teenagers, evolves into something more meaningful.

Overall, this book is slightly ridiculous in part but has a good heart and some important messages about fertility and the journey to motherhood. It is wacky, funny and heartwarming - 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thought that this was really cute!!! Josh was soooo hot and I loved his chemistry with Gemma! I'm always a sucker for a childhood crush romance so this was definitely my cup of tea!

Une romance captivante, dosée juste comme il faut. C'était mon premier roman de Sarah Ready et j'ai beaucoup aimé.

Gemma est une jeune femme énergique et optimiste, qui a été déçue par l'amour par le passé et qui découvre qu'elle ne peut pas avoir d'enfants, souffrant d'endométriose. À 32 ans, elle a un boulot qui lui plaît, elle vit dans un beau studio à Manhattan et est entourée d'une famille aimante. Elle est heureuse mais il manque quelque chose à sa vie, un enfant. Sa résolution pour la nouvelle année est d'avoir un bébé, pour cela elle décide de faire une FIV et demande au meilleur ami de son frère d'être son donneur, mais elle n'est pas préparée au tourbillon émotionnel dans lequel elle se jette.

Sarah Ready aborde des sujets forts et peu souvent abordés avec justesse et avec une certaine profondeur à laquelle je ne m'attendais pas. Cela rend l'histoire originale, vraiment appréciable et plus réaliste.
Les personnages sont tous très attachants, bien développés et plein d'humour. J'ai rencontré quelques difficultés par moments à dissocier les dires et les pensées car les guillemets se ressemblent très fortement mais cela ne m'a pas empêchée de dévorer ce livre à une vitesse folle..

Si vous souhaitez un livre sans lourdeurs avec une bonne dose de rires et de pleurs, il est fait pour vous !