A year ago, I read Josh and Gemma Make a Baby so I was excited to read what I thought would be a story about Josh and Gemma adjusting to parenthood and being a couple. I was wrong.

Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around is much more somber and has a lot more angst than the original story. A medical emergency strikes and leaves Josh and Gemma feeling like strangers and more than a bit lost.

I was anxious throughout most of the story and felt frustrated by the miscommunication that often led to even more distance between Josh and Gemma. However, the story picked up in the second half and I enjoyed watching Josh and Gemma get their second chance at love.

In this follow up to Josh and Gemma Make a Baby, we return to Josh and Gemma’s story which takes a dramatic turn. I enjoyed this novel but found it didn’t have the same spark as the first. It was interesting to find out more about Ian and what makes him tick.

I bounced back and forth in reading the e-book and listened to the audio version. I really enjoyed the narration. As it was the same narration as the first book. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC of this book.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize this was the second book in a series when I started reading it. Because of that, I think the beginning of this book was a bit confusing due to all of the family members that were introduced. If there had been a bit more detail provided in the jell-0/dog chasing scene, with regards to who each character was, I think it would have gone a long way in allowing this book to work as both a sequel and a stand-alone novel.
I did appreciate the exploration of Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs) in this book. As someone who works in health care and has seen numerous TBIs, it was interesting to be in Gemma's mind as she tries to rediscover who she is and how to re-acclimate into her life.
The Ian of it all was a little bit out there, but I do suspect I would have gotten more out of his back story if I'd read the first book in the series.
Overall, I enjoyed reading about Josh and Gemma and I will definitely be reading the first book in the series to provide myself with more context!

Read/listen if you like:
🥈Second Chance Romances
📕 Sequals
🧠 TBI Rep
🏥 Life After Traumatic Events
♥️ Meant to Be Romances

I don’t know what it is about this couple, but I absolutely adore Gemma and Josh and I was so excited to see there was a sequel and knew I had to get my hands on it.

I loved the after the HEA that this one gives where you see the trials and tribulations of real life playing out for the characters after they chose eachother, because just because you choose eachother doesn’t mean forever, and it doesn’t mean you don’t have to work for your happily ever after and that things won’t happen that won’t threaten your happiness.

Also, it’s probably weird to say, but I really enjoyed Ian in this book and I hope you all read to find out why cause this was oddly a redemption story for Ian 😂

4.5 stars

What happens if just as you're about to have your happily-ever-after, a HUGE roadblock pops up? Will Jash and Gemma's love survive? I expected a light-hearted read, but it was pretty intense. Enjoyed it a lot! Thank you NetGalley and Swift and Lewis Publishing for the digital ARC in return for an honest review.

Looking forward to the audiobook, too!

I didn't know that there was a first part to this book if I realized that I would've read the first one. I enjoyed reading this book throughout and love that Josh loved Gemma through thick and thin. Josh didn't give up on his love even though Gemma didn't love him anymore... I cried when her brother Dylan gave him a pep talk because of the person Josh is. I loved all the character development. Ian was not a favorite, didn't like him but then when I learned about his past and then how he saved Gemma, I had a change of heart. A must read if you love romance books!

"𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵... 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘐𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦."

𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙧/𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨: traumatic brain injury, pre/eclampsia, traumatic/early birth, NICU mention, coma

I have so many emotions.

I read the first book this summer when I was very very pregnant, and listened to this one at the 5.5 month postpartum mark.... and words can't express how much my heart broke throughout this book.

Sarah Ready knows how to write about very very difficult topics.

I'm happy to report that there is, in fact, a happy ending to this book, but OMG what a roller coaster getting to that point. It's been a long time since I cried while reading/listening to a book.

Thank you so much Sarah, along with Swift & Lewis Publishing and NetGalley, for letting me experience Josh and Gemma's second go at it... and for my ARC copy of the book and audiobook in exchange for this review! ❤
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I loved Josh and Gemma Make a Baby, so it was an easy choice to pick up this book. I suppose this book could be read as a stand-alone, but I really think you would get more if you read the first book in this series.

Josh and Gemma's story did not go in the way I expected, but it made me love the book all that more. This is really a contemporary book, with some romance in it. This book has a lot of serious topics discussed and I think, if you need content warnings make sure to check them out.

One thing this book is about is love. It is about the change in love and how it doesn't always stay the same. It may look different. As someone who has been married 22 years I whole heartedly agreed with this sentiment and it really spoke to me. There are many times in a relationship that love changes and evolves, which also Josh and Gemma's is for a different reason, it was written so well.

Sarah Ready made me feel all the emotions in this book. Her writing is phenomenal and she wrote both the sadness and the laughable happy moments in such a way that I was right there experiencing it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Swift and Lewis for a copy of this book. All opinions are 100% mine.

I think this is part of a series, which I haven’t read, but although it meant I didn’t immediately ‘get’’ all the characters, it didn’t spoil my enjoyment. Josh and Gemma are in the middle of getting married when everything changes. The rest of the novel is about the aftermath, and provides the happy ending while taking some interesting detours along the way. This is a romance which is just as much about family and hope as it is love. 3.5 stars

I went into Josh and Gemma Make a Baby completely blind and adored the book. It actually became one of my favorite books of the year! When I saw that there was going to be a follow up, I knew I needed to read it. And while I think that Josh and Gemma Make a Baby ended perfectly, Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around was the PERFECT sequel. I loved the character growth that many of the characters go through (cough cough IAN cough). There really were so many twists and turns in this book and I was not expecting it. Josh and Gemma were perfect in this story and I really believed their love story. I will definitely be picking up a physical copy of this when it comes out!

I am in literal AWE of this book. I didn’t realise that Sarah Ready was making a sequel to the first book, but I’m so glad she did.

Josh and Gemma’s story did not go in the direction I had expected it, but I think that’s what made me love this book so much. This book isn’t the conventional romance. The characters go through real struggles, real emotions, real complexities…it’s simply stunning in the most basic of words.

My god! The emotions that the characters, and, in turn, the reader feels are so profound and raw. Ready highlighted the challenges involved with infertility, miscarriage and IVF in her last book. This book took Pre-Eclampsia/ Eclampsia and brought it to centre stage. It’s a frighteningly common condition that happens to pregnant women and the risks to the woman’s overall health can be life changing.

Normally a happily ever after kind of ending is just simply a nice touch for a romance novel, but this book…I was desperate to see what the ending would be.

As it was last time, the writing was phenomenal. Amongst the very sad turmoil moments, there’s were parts that made me laugh out loud. There were parts were I scoffed in outrage and also parts where I blushed due to the steamy intimacy. I admire Ready so much for how she can provoke such a spectrum of feeling within her readers.

If there’s ever a series you should read, it should be these books.

3 ⭐️ I read an arc of Josh and Gemma Make A Baby about a year ago and I enjoyed , so I was thrilled and shocked to hear there was a sequel. I was also a little concerned that it wouldn't live up to the first book because I didn't think it required one. Unfortunately, I was right because I didn't desire this as much as I had hoped. The majority of the time I did enjoy it, however I found the book to drag a lot. This honestly was more of a book about the character Ian than both Josh and Gemma. It was a fun and quick read but wasn’t really necessary. I appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for providing this early copy!

Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around was the sequel I didn’t know I needed!! Thank you NetGalley and Swift & Lewis for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Check for trigger warnings. For spoiler purposes, I’m not listing them here.
Sarah Ready blew me away with Josh and Gemma Make a Baby, which at the time, I felt didn’t need a sequel. Once I started reading, I was hooked. I loved reconnecting with Josh and Gemma and their story. This is definitely my favorite brother’s best friend book and I also love this as a second chance romance.
Josh continues writing more really sweet comics and his drawings are so endearing. In terms of book boyfriends, he’s a keeper.
Of course I can’t write about this book and not write about all that SPICE. There were sweet moments and there were HOT moments. I think these are some of my favorite spicy scenes.
Like the first book, this explores some pretty heavy topics, which again, for spoiler purposes I won’t mention, but I highly recommend reading the author’s note at the end, which explains how personal this story is to the author. I thought these topics were handled really well as Josh and Gemma learn to fall in love again.

I absolutely loved Josh and Gemma Make A Baby so I was excited to see there was a sequel but also a bit worried that it wouldn't live up to the first book because I didn't feel that it needed a sequel to feel complete. I was sadly right about this because I didn't want this as much as I was hoping. I did enjoy it for the most part, but the beginning of the book really dragged for me. I think that the first book would have been better as a standalone to be honest. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was a huge fan of Josh and Gemma Make a Baby, so I was crazy excited to see the sequel on NetGalley.

When the description said lots of twists and turns, I was a bit scared on what I was going to read. At first, I was a little weary on the first twist, but I grew to love the book. I had so many emotions running through me. At times I couldn't make up my mind, did I want to cry or laugh.

I noticed a lot of the not so good reviews were from people that did not read the first book. Well, I read the first book and I absolutely loved it. If you loved the first one read it and get more Josh and Gemma time.

Wow..Gemma is in a coma and wakes..She has lost 3 months of her life. She missed the birth of her baby girl Holly and Finds she never married Josh.

Gemma does not feel and must learn how to feel and think and cope with life.

When Gemma wakes Ian who is sitting next to her. Ian becomes a friend and Ian has a way of pushing Gemma to feel.

Josh is hopeful and will wait for Gemma. Gemma must work on getting better and focus on Holly and Josh. Traumatic Brain Injury is so serious and shows the struggles.

Josh and Gemma learn that they need each other and that family and friends are important to have support.

I enjoyed this even though it was darker than I expected. I wish that there were more Josh and Gemma solo scenes. I just wanted more of them being cute together.

I received an arc through netgalley.

I read Josh and Gemma Make A Baby in March of this year. I l enjoyed Sarah Ready’s writing so much, that in my review I stated I could have stayed in Josh and Gemma’s world a little bit longer. I even recommended Ready write a sequel or a book based on a secondary character. To my absolute delight, I saw that she did just that.

Josh and Gemma The Second Time Around was another smash hit. Ready is correct when she says, everything is better the second time”. I fell more in love with Josh and Gemma in this book. However, while it is marketed as a standalone, I do not recommend reading this before you read Josh and Gemma Make a Baby. Ready does not recap enough of the previous book, so readers could be left confused.

Plus, this book picks up where the first one left off. It is a beautiful look at what happens when the unthinkable strikes your loved one. Josh and Gemma are truly tested to see if the love they share is unconditional. Will they be willing to stand with one another through the hard times in life?

Along with Ready’s stunning writing, this book offers beautiful illustrations. Sprinkled throughout the chapters, you can find scenes depicting Josh and Gemma’s love story. I thought this was such a sweet touch, since Josh‘s artwork plays an important role in their story.

I will end this review the same way I did Josh and Gemma Make A Baby. Sarah Ready if you want to write book #3 for Josh and Gemma, I am here for it. Or, if you feel their story is wrapped up nicely, perhaps explore Dylan or Ian’s world. Either way, I am and will continue to be a loyal reader.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Swift and Lewis Publishing, LLC for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

3.5. I loved Josh & Gemma book one… this one was tough for me. Very stressful. There was a lot of miscommunication, and even though there was a good reason for it, it was tough to enjoy this one as much as I would have liked to.

But it did have a good ending, which brought the rating a bit higher for me.

Great audiobook narration.

Thank you to Netgalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for the advance ebook & audio galleys.

Josh and Gemma decide it’s time to get married prior to the arrival of their baby there’s just 1 little bump in the road (Punn intended) Gemma is in a coma and josh needs to figure out how to get her back. After Gemma’s coma she woke up 3 months later feeling nothing. Josh made a promise to always continue to push through and get her back. Just when you thought they reached the end of the road Gemma realizes her love for josh.