I read an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. I really really liked this. Josh and Gemma had me laughing and all in my feelings. This book is a slow burn, friends to lovers, and brothers best friend. The book does focus quite a bit on infertility so be aware if that is a trigger for you. I think the author handled it very well and it was realistic. There is a slightly spicy scene but it’s nothing too intense for those who prefer their romances on the cleaner side.
I definitely would recommend to romance readers! The release date is 1/25/22!

Gemma Jacobs has everything she could want in life, great job, supportive family, beautiful apartment in Manhattan.. but the one thing she wants is a baby. Who better to help her with that dilemma than her brothers best friend, Josh Lewenthal.
Josh will be the sperm donor, they work out logistics in a contract so Josh can also be involved in the baby's life, Josh attends the fertility appointments with her, it's all going perfectly.
Except that getting closer to Josh shakes up Gemma's entire world. The guy she thought she knew is so much more, and Gemma slowly realizes she's been judging everyone in her life the same harsh way she judges herself. When she discovers a truth about her life that affects Josh, she scrambles to make things right.

This was my first time listening to an audio book and I enjoyed Erin Mallon's narration very much. It was easy to distinguish between the characters and the pacing of the novel felt very natural.

3.5/5 rounded up
Would've ranked higher but it felt a little predictable to me and I guessed all of the major plot points. Still an enjoyable read!
🌶🌶🌶/5

Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing and Net Galley for the audio ARC! This is a voluntary review.

It makes complete sense that the narrator of this book has won awards. The audio quality was so perfectly aligned with the contemporary romance style of the book.

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby was truly outstanding. It was a book full of awkwardness, hope, awful quotes, and a dash of the reality of navigating infertility and holding out hope for a baby. Not following either trope of "older brother's best friend" or "enemies to lovers", this book was a great combination of both, focusing on the development of the relationship between Josh and Gemma from long term acquaintances, to friends, to babies.. My only critique is that i wish we knew more about Josh and his comic career!

I listened to the whole book in less than 24 hours. It was just so enticing and made me feel like i was hearing the stories of my friends trying to conceive.

TW: infertility, loss, fertility treatment
This book talks about IVF, infertility treatment and loss in many ways. It is a romance book but also talks about heavy topics. Gemma is divorced and wants a baby so she turns to her brother's best friend, Josh, and ask him to be her sperm donor. Josh eventually agrees and the IVF process starts. As someone who has dealt with donor sperm and fertility treatments this book hit a little hard but it was a cute story about how Gemma grows as she navigates this new part of her life.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exhchange for an honest review.

I was NOT prepared for the emotional punch this book packed!! I picked it up on a whim and man did it impress! Don't let the cute cover fool you, this book gave me Christina Lauren and Abby Jimenez level feels. When Gemma decides she wants to try to have a baby via insemination she turns to a childhood friend not realizing the emotional journey they are about to embark on. Full of humor and so much heart I binged this book that was great on audio narrated by Erin Mallon.

Highly recommended, especially for readers who enjoy secret pining and second chance at love stories. Josh definitely makes the cut for top book boyfriends and the epilogue for this book was just chef's kiss perfection! Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copy! Sarah Ready is officially an auto-buy author for me.

CW: death of a parent, infertility, pregnancy loss

Anytime I’m up til three in the morning bingeing - straight up DEVOURING - a romance, you know it’s a great one. And I did exactly that with this. Ready is a new-to-me author, but something about the blurb had me really excited for this, so I turned on the audiobook as soon as it became available. I had no idea what was in store for me. This was such a layered read, with moments of lightness and humor, scenes that had me tearing up, multi-faceted characters, and a storyline that had me grinning by the end. We only get the heroine’s point of view, so I was getting definite Love Hypothesis/Spanish Love Deception vibes - and that is a very, very good thing. Even this couple’s messy history worked for me, and the book just got better and better as the story progressed. Pair that with Mallon’s one-woman powerhouse of an audio performance, and this was a truly satisfying romance.

The story follows Gemma, a woman who has started to realize that if she wants kids and a family, she’ll need to get creative. Gemma is not able to get pregnant the old-fashioned way, and her divorce has left her wary of relationships, so she’s two-for-two in disappointment. But on New Year’s Eve, Gemma makes a resolution to change that… she just needs a little help. Enter Josh, her brother’s best friend and the panty-dropper who took her v-card at 16. He’s practically part of the family already, and Gemma already knows that he’s got *ahem* baby-making skills. Even better? Josh is a carefree player who will make it easy for Gemma to keep things feeling like a business transaction… or so she thinks. Turns out, Josh has been in Gemma’s life for over twenty years, but she never really knew him at all.

The blurb didn’t mention that Josh is a player or that they’ve already slept together once, so I was immediately worried when that came up in the story. Manhoe brother’s best friend is one of my least favorite tropes, but it’s done in a way that didn’t bug me. Nothing about Josh screams “manhoe,” and Gemma has definitely NOT been pining over him, nor did they have some great love story in their teens. Plus, there are some interesting developments, and the twists on the tropes were pleasant surprises. There’s a bit of OM drama, but zero OW drama, so I had no trouble loving Josh. And you know what? Their history just makes the story richer, and as the pieces of this slow burn romance started coming together, I could totally see why that was the case. We may not get Josh’s perspective, but I could easily see that he’s a kind, loving, cinnamon roll of a hero. There are breadcrumbs sprinkled along the way that felt somewhat obvious to me (as a veteran romance reader), but even I was surprised with how everything came together. This has such a light and fresh feel throughout, though it needs to be said that there are also plenty of potential triggers along the way, particularly relating to all aspects of pregnancy. It put me through my paces emotionally, and I loved how it all progressed. I also loved these two together, and that made it a fulfilling, highly devourable read.

Audio note: The audio is excellent, I highly recommend that as well. Mallon is the sole narrator, but she is so great at changing up her voice to fit the characters. She made this easy and enjoyable to listen to, and her performance just enhances the story. It’s also the perfect runtime for me, around 9 hours, and the light feel and slow burn romance lend themselves to a relaxing listen. I was able to binge this in one day, and if I’d started earlier, then I wouldn’t have been up so late, lol. I was eager to do so though, and it was well worth my time.

This is such a cute and happy story! I really enjoyed Gemma’s family and her journey. It was refreshing to see infertility depicted in an honest way (not always fixed quickly and easily - if at all).

The narrator was excellent and it was a quick read.