Josh and Gemma Make a Baby

Written by Sarah Ready

Narrated by Erin Mallon

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC
• Release date: Dec 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781954007314

Reviews for Josh and Gemma Make a Baby

[Jodie Moore · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"Love is the best gift I've ever had the privilege to give." I don't give out five stars unless a book can make me laugh, cry, and think of something in life differently; this book did all of that and stole my heart! I absolutely loved Josh and Gemma...and their line jello! Their story is cute, adorable, and will give you all the feels. The sayings in this book, oh my goodness! "The water slide is broken, but the pool is still open." "Your garage doesn't park cars." While a few parts may have been a little questionable as far as reality, I didn't care because they were so minor. And some of them actually do make sense once you get to the end. I cannot wait to read more from Sarah Ready!

[SerendipityReads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Look, are there some plot holes? yes
Is credulity stretched at times? yes
Are any of the side characters as lovable as the book seems to think they are? no

BUT I DON'T CARE. This book completely surprised me, charmed me, and stole my heart.

I LOVED JOSH AND GEMMA.

Yes, enough to keep shouting about it. :p

Enough to round my enthusiastic 4.5 stars up to 5 stars, for this grading system.

The third act conflict was actually a believable one, for once, and even the cliche "grand gesture" moment didn't make me roll my eyes as much as most of them do. :p

Trigger warnings for infertility issues, and miscarriages, otherwise, lovers of romcoms should love this book! I will ABSOLUTELY be looking for more from this author.

Also, I'm not always the biggest fan of Erin Mallon, but she did a great job narrating here.

[Andrea Author · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

After her ex-husband and his new wife have their third child, Gemma decides she's tired of waiting for Mr. Right. She's ready for a baby of her own. She asks Josh, her brother's best friend, to be the sperm donor. No, she's not in love with him. She's over her high school crush. They're not even friends anymore. So why does reconnecting with him, seeing his protective side, make her feel all sorts of things she never wanted to feel again?

This book is part romance, part women's fiction, and thoroughly delightful. Gemma is relatable, wise in many ways, self-deluded in others. Josh is sweet and so patient with her, giving her exactly what she needs. The quirky side characters add to the fun. The audio narration was very well done. It's a smart, charming, heartfelt story, and about as perfect as a book can be.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the audio ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

[helsky · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is so good. It deals with topics like infertility, infidelity and plagiarism. The main characters have such great chemistry between them. Josh is sweet and caring, a dream come true. Gemma is fun and lovable. I was rooting for them the whole time.This is a great debut and I definitely want to read more from this author.I listened to the audiobook and narrator Erin Mallon was just perfect for this story.Thank you NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for a copy of the book.

[Karen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the first book I’ve read by Sarah Ready, and I’ll definitely look for more. It was witty, insightful, with relatable MCs, and kept me interested from the beginning. I love a book where the characters’ development is truly meaningful, is low angst, and there’s a satisfying HEA…Josh and Gemma Make a Baby was all this and much more. Narration was excellent!

[AJ · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This would get 5 stars if there were not so many plot points taken from Bridget Jones- from big to small. Which is such a shame because the characters are fun and there is a nice bit of humor along with well-written serious topics. But I lost count of the times I recognized a scene. Seriously wondered how this got published in the beginning.

[sherdemomma-553971 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was given a copy of this book for my honest opinion.While I like the tropes of Brother’s Best Friend and Friends-to-lovers and Romance Comedy, I was more interested in seeing the inclusion of being an older woman with endometriosis looking to have IVF to finally have a baby. And, while I understand that there’s a lot more involved with getting IVF, and this is a story, it felt like things happened really fast for Gemma. I also felt that Gemma was a little too judgmental when it came to Josh, even as she felt upset about family, and others, judging her. However, there were the times when Gemma and Josh were having fun that I was all “Awwwww!” about their interactions. Even though I wish that they had had more time to actually get to know each other better, what they did learn about one another was good. And as far as Ian, I agreed when he was called a “Ken doll”, because at the first description of him I shivered with an out loud “Ew”. In conclusion, I am giving this a 4 star rating only because of the information that was shared about endometriosis and IVF, the fun parts, and the HEA.

[Franka · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved it! And Erin, as a narrator was excellent!

[bitchqueenhsgirl · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

NetGalley provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Josh and Gemma make a baby - audiobook

I have to tell you I recently found a passion for audiobooks, and I grab every opportunity for a free one (judge me, but I'm a student and can't afford it right now). So when I saw one in NetGalley, and romance one, what did I do? I grabbed it. And I listened to it for two days.

This book is amazing - so heartwarming, and funny, and lovely, and cute! I loved all of it. I genuinely laughed out loud with Gemma's friends and felt the love of Josh. They were just such a cute couple.

But let's give you a short synopsis.

Gemma is a 32-year-old single woman, whose dream is to have a baby. One sweet, little girl. The problem is that she doesn't have a boyfriend and doesn't want a random man to inseminate her, so when on 1st January she asks her brother's best friend Josh about it, and he declines, she feels desperate.

Luckily, or not so much for Josh, his dad is sick and he decides he wants to make a baby, so he can leave something after.

And there starts the IVF procedure and here starts their connection.

Gemma - yes, she was selfish and blind for the people around her, but she was not mean (except once) and was really enjoyable to read about her. Her adventures as a single woman who likes her career, but wants a child felt cute and lovely, and when I put my headphones in, I couldn't stop listening.

Josh was the best - kind, and funny, but also thoughtful and caring, and his smile was just brightening the world. He felt human, and I loved that he wasn't envious (of certain things). He just wanted to make the earth a better place.

There wasn't much spice or steaminess, but the whole book felt so wonderful and complete, I didn't need it. The characters were realistic and definitely rippled a few laughs from me.

The writing was amazing, and the story was excellent. So if you are looking for a sweet, heartwarming, and funny romance, this book is perfect for you.

Erin Mallon also did a fantastic job putting voices behind the characters, and her impressions in the book were genuinely terrific! I would listen more of her if I could.

So in the end I do recommend this book and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.