A delightful sequel that weaves twisted, life-threatening, and heart-warming moments, leading to a captivating and lovable happily ever after.

It was an incredible delight to stumble upon the sequel to Sarah Ready's "Josh and Gemma Make a Baby," a book that I truly loved and treasured last year. Needless to say, my excitement was high as I eagerly dived into this new installment. I had already imagined the perfect happily ever after for Josh and Gemma after the conclusion of the first book; a blissful marriage, the arrival of a new bundle of joy, overflowing happiness, and a smooth journey. However, what I encountered was an unexpected and significant obstacle, threatening to disrupt their idyllic path to their happily ever after.

As the story unfolds, we find Josh and Gemma, with Gemma eight months pregnant, standing at the altar, prepared to exchange their long-awaited vows. Yet, fate intervenes, turning their world upside down and halting all their plans for the future. Three months later, not only has the world transformed, but Gemma herself has undergone a profound change in her perception of the world and its inhabitants. It becomes the final test for her relationship with Josh, testing their ability to navigate these newfound challenges and regain the path to their desired happy ending.

Some reviewers feel that the sequel was unnecessary, and I understand their point of view. After all, most of us read romance novels for the happy feelings they elicit, don't we? If you're looking for escapist and sweet moments, this may not be the perfect book for you. However, if you want to read an emotionally satisfying journey that depicts a couple overcoming real-life problems, this book is for you. I loved the seamless continuity of plot lines from the first book, particularly the redemptive journey of Ian Fortune, who elicited both scorn and interest in the first volume. Nevertheless, the first book still holds a special place in my heart, particularly Gemma's presence in that book.

Despite the heavier themes, the plot is brimming with love, fun, and laughter. Surprisingly, it has a great depth of emotions, which fosters a better knowledge of what drives commitment and enduring love. I highly recommend reading the first book before delving into this sequel, as other readers have discovered that without witnessing the couple's backstory, it's difficult to properly invest in Josh and Gemma's relationship. Should Ready decide to continue their journey, I will eagerly await the next installment, as I am wholly captivated by their story.

I did not like the start of this book and what was happening. I pressed on and I am glad I did. I had loved the first book so much that the way this one started rubbed me the wrong way. The Josh and Gemma I knew and loved did change but maybe it was for the better?

For the life of me I do not understand why this plot could not have been applied to any random two characters other than Josh and Gemma. At times it felt like a regression, like those TV shows that realise belatedly that maybe the main characters got together too soon so now they have to throw every conceived obstruction in the way to cause romantic tension in their little paradise to prolong the show.
And yet, as is typical with those shows, I simply could not look away. Sometimes I was reading the pages with an extreme prune face and other times it was pure bliss. Either way I lost sleep over this book.
And frankly this book would have been perfect if we simply did not have to deal with the line “Luckily she has a police officer and a lawyer for parents, so their moxie can match hers. Brook claims the terrible twos will be no match for the NYPD.” Why are we still making light of cops in 2023? And comparing a child’s tantrums to the mess that police forces get into? Ay caramba. Cut that out in the next print run. It adds no value to the story.

Book 2 in the series. I found the overall flow to be slightly depressing. If i had gone into the book expecting something different from the first one perhaps I would have been better prepared for the twist.
Still good writing but if you're thinking you'll get a funny continuation of Josh & Gemma's story, you're going to be disappointed.

This is a fun follow up to Josh and Gemma Make a Baby. Basically, having a baby has put a wrench into their perfect lives. I thought it was a more real book, there’s not a lot of time for romance after a new baby comes. I liked the first book better.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

This book follows on from Josh and Gemma Make a Baby (can be read as a standalone) as Gemma gets her grip on being in a career as a social media marketer and waiting to give birth to her and Josh’s miracle baby. That is until their world falls apart and tips upside down.

I loved getting to know the characters that I got to know in the first book even more, especially Ian, the much hated MC in the first book.

This book does follow through with some of the themes of IVF and struggling through pregnancy, however, it focuses on a new theme of traumatic brain injury and recovering from this.

TBI is really relatable to me as I was at risk of a TBI years ago when I had a major concussion on. Being able to read someone else going through it and going “omg I know how you’re feeling!” made me feel less alone. It was definitely triggering for me and I spent the first 50% of the book crying but in the end I was grateful for it.

As usual, the writing was beautiful and it was done in a very thoughtful way. Please don’t do anything more to Josh and Gemma, they deserve peace and happiness! 😂

I had no clue what to really expect coming into this book, and I wasnt sure if it was just going to be drama/a break up for the sake of a plot line but I’m glad that it wasnt

I enjoyed the storyline and the growth that we went on with Gemma and also Ian, I didnt expect to enjoy his character so much especially after the previous book.

I did miss the camaraderie between Gemma and the fertility support group from the previous book and wish we got to see that more

I read the first book and I loved it. I had high hopes for this story but it just fell flat. This book is not as romantic as the first. Didn't have as much comedy either. At times it reads more like a domestic drama. It's just an okay story. It's not as comparable to the first. I'm going to pretend it doesn't exist.

Thank you to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC for the E-ARC

All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.

After reading the cutesie will they won't they which was the first book I was excited for this one. But it made me feel a completely different way. This is an outlook on real life and the trials that couples actually go through and I admire the different route the author went down.

Especially with a new baby things can change, and the expression of this throughout was really well written.

Overall I really enjoyed it.

This is a fun but serious read…a woman wakes from a coma having birthed her child and feeling no love for anything and how she fights her way back..again I didn’t realize it was a sequel but it stood alone ok.

I absolutely loved the first book. But given that I adored the characters, this made this book a bit of a tough read. It was still a good book but I did prefer the first

I absolutely LOVED Josh and Gemma make a baby! The audio version of this is so fun, and made me so excited to read this follow up! This one had so much drama based around their relationship and it made me so sad at times watching Josh fumble and try to navigate Gemma's feelings. I could have done without bringing Ian back, but I get the purpose. I definitely was hoping for some more steam and romance from this one to really help me understand their love throughout! I am definitely intrigued to see if there will be a third book in the series.

Gemma and Josh finally have their lives figured out, they have a baby on the way and they are about to get married it seems that their happy ever after is just around the corner. Due to an untimely separation (Jenna being in a coma for three months) their love and happily ever after are at risk.


In my opinion, a second book wasn't really needed because the first book summed up that Josh and Gemma ended up together and that the IVF worked the second time around.

This book was good. I really love the first one better and was excited to read more of Josh and Gemma’s story. This book isn’t needed, but it was fun to go back and read about them.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #Swift&Lewis for the arc of #JoshandGemmatheSecondTimeAround! I was excited to see the sequel to Josh and Gemma Make a Baby, I also wasn’t necessarily expecting a sequel. This book was not what I expected at all. It’s definitely not a feel good romance book but had some interesting plot points. I still don’t really know how I feel about the book, I was not expecting this story line at all and it really threw me off at the beginning of the book. I didn’t get rom-com vibes from this book, more of just womens fiction almost? It was definitely a “heavy” book at times. Overall, a 4 star read. I would have loved for this to be a standard love story between Josh and Gemma as I was really rooting for them in the first book and wanted more of a follow up to the happiness we got originally. This definitely wasn’t that kind of book but still kept me satisfied and interested in the story.

Loved reading this story and thought that it was a good follow-up to the first book, which is the story of how their dating relationship started. I loved how much he cared for her and the baby, and tried to put them first in his life even when they couldn't do the same for him. It was annoying how many communications issues that they had, but that seems to be the dynamic of Josh and Gemma's relationship. There were many times when I wanted to just reach in the book and shake them both. I loved the friend group that she gained through her infertility treatments and how they stuck together even when they all had babies. Great book and I definitely enjoyed this book and wouldn't mind another addition to their story.

I loved the first book Josh & Gemma Make a Baby so I was super excited to find out there was a sequel! This one did not hit as well as the first. The characters have a real problem with communication, but I guess if they were good at actually talking to each other, then we wouldn't have a book. It was still a fun read.

When I read the first Josh and Gemma book I instantly fell in love with the characters and the whole book. When I found out a second one was written I was ecstatic. Until I finished it… you completely ruined the romance of josh and Gemma. It was frustrating that you felt the need to try and redeem a horrible horrible character aka Ian. This book fell incredibly flat. I guess it felt more like a soap opera with brain injuries. Which I like that you brought awareness to that but it really just didn't do their love justice. If you loved the first book I felt highly highly suggest not reading this on

I really wanted to like this book. Unfortunately, I had not read the first book about Gemma and Josh, so there was a lot of backstory that was missing for me. It would have helped if the author had included a little bit more information as to why Josh was back and forth in LA and what Ian Fortune actually did. All in all, it was a good book, But not a good standalone book.

The book was amazing and I couldn’t stop reading it. It was interesting and love every part of it. This books does have abit of spicy scenes.