3.5 ⭐

Okay, time to be honest. First of all I would like to say that I really liked the first book. I think it deals with a subject that is not widely covered and, ultimately, it was original. I enjoyed it from start to finish. There were times when I got bored, but it was from time to time. But that doesn't matter now, since this is the second book.

When I saw it on NetGalley, I had to order it because I was curious about what it was going to be about, since from my point of view, everything had been solved with the first book, but no. It was one of my first reads of the year, if not my first, and It takes a really hard time finishing it, which was totally different from how it happened with the first one that I finished in two days.

I don't know if it was the plot or the feeling that I was getting lost from time to time that made me not devour this book so quickly. I mean, it was good, but I don't usually like the second parts of stories that I think I've already solved and that may have influenced my reading progress. Anyway, I immersed myself in it and enjoyed, within what was possible.

I think the most enjoyable parts were Ian's. Unlike with the first book, Ian improved a lot. The author developed him much more and it was his character who gave me the push to continue reading.

What is my general opinion of al this series?

The book I enjoyable the most was the first one. It has something sparkly between its pages and make me connect deeply with each of the protagonists.

My opinion about this book?

I think that the trope of this book is the exact example that sometimes, you have to fight for happy endings, and learn how to appreciate the small things.


Finally, I woukd like to thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Josh and Gemma started as an unconventional couple when she asked him to be a sperm donor. One thing kef to another and they became a real couple. After tragedy, life begins again and we see everyones true colors. There are ups and downs, and it's messy, but I'm the end good this happen to good people. Thank you for the opportunity to listen to this ARC.

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
I really enjoyed reconnecting with these witty characters. It felt like coming home. A realistic way of how life goes and that it’s not always happiness and sunshine. The banter throughout makes this book a really light read. Even though there are quite some heavy topics playing out in the background. Loved that the hated Ian Fortune made a reappearance. All the storylines nicely came together that way. A really enjoyable sequel to Josh & Gemma make a baby.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
to Know what happens after Happily Ever After
Second chance romance
Witty Characters
Josh & Gemma make a Baby
Quick & light read

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
𝘎𝘦𝘮𝘮𝘢 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵. 𝘚𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘶𝘱𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵, 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘤é 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩-𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺.
𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭. 𝘈𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵.
𝘌𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵…
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳?

𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘩 𝘓𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥-𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘧𝘶𝘯-𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘸𝘦𝘣 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘎𝘦𝘮𝘮𝘢.
𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤.
𝘌𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵…
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴?

𝘚𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘦𝘮𝘮𝘢’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵.

I love a good sequel that feels like a natural continuation of the story. I loathe a sequel that feels like a cash grab. I’m happy to say Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around falls into the first category. If you like second chance romances, bumpy love stories, and depth to your romance…here’s a book that should be on your TBR shelf. Josh and Gemma’s story is easy to get lost in and hope for a happily ever after, especially since the story feels like it could be realistic. I wouldn’t call it the most memorable book ever, but it was a great “recharging” book. I’d recommended it to anyone asking. You know those books you always have on deck that are a solid recommendation you think most people would enjoy? That would be this book :)

Sequel to Josh and Gemma Make a Baby this book starts with Gemma 34 weeks pregnant so much in love with each other and preparing for their wedding.
But what would happen if you got a brain injury goes into a coma wakes up a couple of months later unable to feel love? Not towards your family not towards your fiancé not even towards your new born baby. Will their relationship withstand this difficult times?

I loved the first book and I was SO EXCITED when I saw Sarah Ready was writing a sequel. The thing I love about her writing is that the stories are always surprising. I was not expecting what happened to happen and it was done in a really realistic way (I would imagine). It kind of left you wondering if it was going to end the way you thought it would. Great read! Can't wait to catch up on her backlist!

I listened to this book, but did not realize initially that it was a series. This is definitely not a standalone book and reading the first book I imagine would give context to the relationships between the main characters in the book. Without that, there were quite a few moments in the book where as a reader I was uncertain of what was going on. I got the general idea by the end of the book but I would not suggest the book to someone that hasn't read the first. The story was a good rekindled romance story based around an amnesia-like experience and continued at a good pace. I was interested in learning what happened to the characters through the ups and downs of the book. I thought some of the confusion between Josh and Gemma was a bit overdone, especially since they were supposedly very close before the incident in the book and while this added to the story, one did have to suspend reality a bit to believe things as they were in the book. Overall, I would recommend this book, but only if the first in the series has been read.

Loved this one!! I wasn’t sure how a second romance book was going to be done with Josh and Gemma, especially since I loved the first one so much but the author did a great job with it and I ended up really enjoying it. And Ian became my favorite character 😂 This is kind of a second chance romance? I really don’t know what trope/s this book is haha! I have definitely become a fan of Sarah Ready and will read anything g she writes. The narrator did a good job on the audiobook as well.

I am just starting to listen to audiobooks and I love it! The narration was absolutely amazing, great to follow along with the text.

"Josh and Gemma the second time around" is a continuation of "Josh and Gemma make a baby".

The story is a romantic comedy, but with other elements as well. It starts a few months after we left the couple, and without spoiling anything, reveals the fall from grace and the fight the new happily ever after.

In all fairness, this book wasn't needed. Josh and Gemma's story was perfect as it was, and I feel like this book kind of ruined it. However, I still enjoyed most of it.

The writing was fabulous, as always, and I loved both main characters. There are two things that I want to focus on. The first one being Ian. If you are not a fan of redemption arcs, then I wouldn't recommend this book, because this is exactly that. I saw that a few other reviewers commented on it, and I completely agree with them that this book is more Ian's character redemption, than a romantic love story between Josh and Gemma. But!, the difference with me, is that I actually enjoyed it, because I love a good villain.

The second thing that I want to point out, and let my frustrations seen on is MISUNDERSTANDING! Can authors please stop using this trope? I hate it so much. It's infuriating and pointless because if the characters were normal people they would've talked it out. I just find misunderstanding lazy as writing, and definitely remove stars from my books.

And because this was an audiobook, I can't not praise the narrator -Erin Mallon, because once again, she did a wonderful job telling this story.

<i>This book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review </i>

This was a super cute forced second chance romance. I loved how Gemma had to find her way again and I honestly really liked how Ian fit in. I was so sure I’d hate him and he turned out to be a pretty neat character. It was cool to see their odd friendship and how it helped Gemma find her love for Josh again.

🌀Synopsis
Gemma passes out during her wedding ceremony. She had preeclampsia and ended up in a coma for a few months. When she wakes up, she can’t feel. Her brain is scrambled and the life she knew is no longer there.
Upon waking, she meets the daughter she was pregnant with and finally sees her fiancé, Josh. Only, she doesn’t feel love for him anymore. They vow a year to each other. Gemma is determined to find that love again.
The only obstacle is her ex boyfriend Ian. She sees him at the rehab center and a friendship starts to form. Gemma doesn’t like him but she actually feels emotions when she’s around him, making her want to spend more time with him.
It takes time, but Gemma finds feeling again. Once she starts to feel anger she realizes it’s similar to love and uses it to form her feelings for Josh. Though rocky, eventually they move forward into a new love together.

I've definitely got some mixed feelings about this book and I'm not entirely sure how I really feel about it... I loved the first book in this series (which I think is a must read if you want to give this one a try) and I still loved the connection between Josh and Gemma, and Josh is an absolute sweetheart of a character that I absolutely adored. I think at the end of the day I just didn't want these characters to go through anything that they did in this book.

It was definitely and interesting story and I think one that deserves to have been told. It's definitely dealing with some really heavy subject matter but some of the actions of the characters just made me so angry. I completely understand why Gemma was the way she was and I would get upset with myself for being angry at her which I think is part of the reason I don't know how to feel about this book.

Taking the story out of it and my emotions around the characters, the story is very well thought-out, the pacing fantastic, the writing style is great, and the narration was perfect for the story. The characters are well developed and I was emotionally invested in their story.

It's not a story I think was necessarily needed as I think Josh and Gemma's story was pretty well wrapped-up in the first book, but it was nice to revisit these characters and see them come through the other side with another happy ending.

✔️ Brother's Best Friend
✔️ Relationship in Crisis
✔️ Close Family
✔️ First Person Single POV

I loved the first book so I was super excited for this one. it really blew me away I love josh and Gemma and this one totally liked up to the first book. I highly recommend this series.

Recently joined NetGalley and have to say it’s fab. This was my first book and it was brilliant. Would describe this as a great holiday read. Plot was good. Not too confusing at all. All the characters were authentic and linked in well with one another so it was a seamless read. A love story willing the characters to stay together… or do they? You’ll have to read/ listen to find out!!! Loved the narrator too

I absolutely loved Josh and Gemma on the first book, and that continues on in this book.

I am a lover of series, another book after the first, or epilogues. I always want to know more + what happens next with the couple. This book gave me that.

Although there were a lot of ups and downs to get to where they needed to be, it was worth it.

This is the sequel to Josh and Gemma Make a Baby. I'll be honest - I didn't remember the first book. However, I caught up a bit while reading this book. Gemma and Josh are getting married, but she gets preeclampsia and faints during her vows. When she wakes up, she doesn't feel anything for Josh. To complicate things, her ex (who was the villain in the last book) is there, and she feels something (anger, but she feels something!). She's wondering if her love for Josh will ever come back.

3.5⭐
A big hiccup! Will there be a HEA?

I was surprised when I saw a sequel (Thanks Kat!). I remember loving Josh and Gemma's first book and IVF is such an unusual theme for a rom-com that I never thought would make a good plot for this genre but Sarah Ready handled it so well. I would recommend that you read Josh and Gemma Make a Baby first because this book picks up where the first one left off.

Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around begins with Josh and Gemma's wedding that didn't quite get to the "I DOs". I love the side characters both family and friends who are involved and now with a newborn.

I don't feel there needs to be a sequel to the first novel. I thought this premise was okay but the characters are the best part, especially, the "bad" guy, Ian Fortune! 😍 Friends, this one is spicy!🌶️🌶️🌶️

Erin Mallon did a wonderful job with the narration. I flew through this one!

This book wasn’t as good as the first one. The first part of the story drug on way too long. I felt like Josh and Gemma’s connection was completely gone. Sad bc I was looking forward to this one. Good narration though

3 STARS

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Sarah Ready for providing me with an ARC of this audiobook.

I was excited to get a chance to delve back into the world of Josh and Gemma!
I really enjoyed this sequel and like how Ian got some redemption from being the worst character ever!!!!
Definitely recommend reading this!

3.5 *

I loved the first book! It really caught me by surprise. I was eager to read the second one!

I listened to the Audio and once again it was an excellent narration by Erin Mallon. She perfectly brings out the character of Gemma!

We left Josh and Gemma in a good place in the first book. Things were finally coming together. I liked the concept of this second book. It was interesting and the turn of events took me by surprise in the beginning. Things wavered a bit in the middle but I still liked this one. I'm not sure if it was needed but their love has certainly been solidified by the telling of this story. As far as a happily ever after one just never knows with Josh & Gemma!

I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC for granting me access to this Advance Listener Copy.