Josh and Gemma the second time around
by Sarah Ready
5 stars

Gemma is on cloud nine with her life she's about to have a baby and is getting married to Josh.
What happens when life decides to throw you a curve ball?
Josh and Gemma have to navigate what can happen when life gets turned upside down and no one knows how to handle it.

I absolutely loved Josh and Gemma make a baby, so when I saw this one squealed I was overly excited to see their journey continue.
Sarah's writing hits home it's a sweet cozy love story with complex topics. I love her writing and have loved almost all her books.
if you read this 100% read Josh and Gemma make a baby first or this won't flow well.

Josh and Gemma have the fairy tale they have their miracle baby due soon and are about to get married, but all of that changes in an instant.
Having woken up and not sure what is going on at all, Gemma is lost on time and day and not being able to feel, and not sure how to handle everything.
Can you survive a relationship when you can't feel love or happiness?
Can you get back to what you missed out on and get back to what life used to be?

This is so emotional in so many ways but like my favorite quote from the book.
Everythings better the second time around.

Thank you, Netgalley and Swift and Lewis Publishing for the eARC for an honest review.

<b>**** 4.25 Stars****</b>

Read <b>Josh and Gemma Make a Baby</b> before you pick this one up for having a better experience reading.

I honestly didn’t want to pick up this book up because the first book was so amazing and had the perfect little ending and everything was tied up in a nice little bow, so what more could this story offer you? But I was so wrong.

I would have regretted not reading this book. I cried a million times and I also laughed a lot too, I don’t think I have felt so many emotions in just 300 and odd pages. To whoever is going to continue with this serious buckle up Toto because this one’s a really emotional ride one which you will never be prepared for.

<b><i>I have never read an author who brought out a twist in the book so early and yet follow through and through with it till the end so beautifully.</i></b>
Some of the character developments that happened were so shocking and unpredictable. The plot will never leave you feeling bored. It’s fast paced and gripping.

Every chapter there’s something amazing happening.
I would love to talk about some trigger warning in this book that were handled with so much care. I get the authors message so loud and clear and I sympathise with so many issues that we face as humans and maybe not everyone does but you understand the pain so deeply. I don’t know how she managed to put such raw emotions out there.
Absolutely loved this book, I have found a new author to love and I will keep coming back to her.

<i>Trigger warnings : anxiety, panic attacks.</i>

Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC, and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really like the Josh and Gemma make a baby and was thrilled to be able to read what happened next in their story. It's not often you get to see what happens to characters once their book has finished and they get their happily every after. I liked that we got to see what the reality looked like for Gemma and Josh after they have their baby and how it all would actually work out, we get to see that life isn't easy and they happiness is not always guaranteed after the happily ever after.

Do I think that a sequel was strictly necessary for this book? no. I think that Ready did a great job at tying up the last book with a nice little bow and allowed for the readers to make up their own mind as to how Gemma and Josh went about the rest of their lives. I am a reader that doesn't need every single question answered at the end of a book.

Over all Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around was a good and enjoyable read.

This book was not what I expected, and I don't mean it in a good way. I was expecting a cutesy little romance of Josh and Gemma preparing to meet their child, or even adjusting to parenthood, but this book could not be any further from that. First off, the tone is completely different from the first book, with this one feeling much darker. The whole premise of the book is that Gemma falls into a coma and has to learn how to feel again, what the heck? It's such a weird premise and feels so dark. Second, it barely felt like a romance novel. Josh and Gemma were barely together, and it even felt like romance wasn't even a priority for them. The romance didn't even come into full force until the last 15 or 20%. Lastly, I was excited for this follow-up book to the first novel, especially because it leaves a lot left unwritten in the first ending. Yet, I felt so disappointed. I feel like this book was just fumbled, and after reading, it feels unnecessary.
I understand this was an important story for the author to tell, since it was personal with the issue of traumatic brain injuries. However, it just did not feel like the right fit for a sequel with Josh and Gemma.

This book was GREAT! I remember being surprised about the depth of the first book and I feel the same way about this one. It covered some heavy topics and wasn't just a romance. I found myself loving the friendship of Gemma and someone who was from the first book and I just appreciated this book SO much, The authors note at the end was heart warming and I want to read more about her now.

Thank you for my copy of this book- I am a Josh and Gemma fan for sure!

To be completely honest, I feel pretty conflicted about this book. I absolutely adored the first book and didn’t believe there would be a sequel because of how well it wrapped up. But then there was. The premise of this book was a little mysterious, so I didn’t really know what would happen…until I started reading it. The plot was just a little too unrealistic for me, but maybe in reality it’s not that crazy. For the sake of remaining spoiler free, I won’t go into details, but for the longest time I was just thinking what the heck is happening. This book was incredibly unexpected but in the end I did like it. There was a redemption arc, relearning to love, and dealing with loss. It was both heavy and light at the same time.

This book was completely not needed. I don’t know why the author wrote this book but okay. The whole premise of the book was so dumb for this to be part of the series. I understand the author wanted to represent her mother, but I should’ve been done in another book/universe.

The idea of love was so lost and not well expressed in this. It was more telling than showing. I liked Ian’s redemption story and honestly now he’s my favorite. But otherwise, the love connection between Josh and Gemma just felt poorly represented.

It read so quickly, which was great! Especially since there was actually so much going on. I was so excited about this, I didn’t totally love the last one, it’s because of how Gemma was treated, but I wanted to see Gemma and Josh get their happily ever after! And while they DID, and of course I knew there was going to be a conflict, otherwise this book wouldn’t be a thing at all. But the journey to their actual HEA was rough and honestly not my favorite.

That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good book, it REALLY was! It was written well, and the story moved along at a good pace. I just wanted something different. It was just so hard to watch Gemma struggle, and to watch Josh struggle because of everything Gemma was going through.

BUT the saving grace of this whole book was the ending, and watching Gemma be this new version of herself. She WAS changed after being in a coma, but she was determined not to give up. Watching her fall in love again. Her realizing that love isn’t just the big things, it’s also the little things. It was SO SWEET. Her and Josh love each other SO MUCH. And that was the most important thing. And like everything else that was done so well.

Ian Fortune SUCKS. But his whole story line was complicated and thought out, I hated every second of it, but it was done so well. I hate that Gemma decided they were friends. I don’t actually care that he did in fact had a sad childhood and a very specific reason for being the way that he is, he was not a good person. Gemma and Josh were such good people, and forgiveness IS very important. But I personally wasn’t into it.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved every minute of Josh and Gemma the Second Time Alone. I easily could have read this in one sitting if it weren’t for life and adulting.

Even though the book deals with some heavy subject (preeclampsia resulting in coma and TBI) it still have many funny aspects to the story.

My favorite part of the whole story is Josh and Gemma’s love for each other.

Thanks to Netgalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC for a copy of Josh and Gemma the Second Time around in exchange of an honest review

Im going to start this review by saying I absolutely loved the first book in this series. Loved it. So I was super excited to read the sequel. Let me tell you this book is going to have some very polarizing reviews Im sure. This isn't a lighthearted, fun, cute, rom com. This sequel is about real life, it's about what can happen after the HEA. It's about tragedy, loss, illness, and its really challenging the vows we make to each other. The book also took on some pretty heavy topics like pregnancy complications and TBI recovery. If you aren't into reading something harder, more emotional and serious, maybe skip this sequel. If you want to read how two people struggle through hard issues and find their way back to each other, then give it a read. Also if you want to read about Ians redemption - give it a read.

-A few spicy scenes
-Some miscommunication (not always my fav)

3,5 stars

Absolutely not. Absolutely. Not. I genuinely don’t understand why this book was written, it was so unnecessary. The first book would’ve been perfectly fine as a stand-alone.

I didn’t like the first book to begin with, mainly because of the writing and the lacking chemistry between the characters, and sadly that didn’t change in this one. A lot of the times, the writing felt overly dramatic, trying really hard to be funny, which just made it cringe-worthy. As for the characters, Josh and Gemma infuriated me so much. There was so much unnecessary drama and miscommunication between them. Most of the interactions (like in the first book, there weren’t a lot) between them felt forced.

This book is also a great example for “show, not tell” because their “love” was never really shown. And what made everything worse is that Gemma spent more time with Ian instead with Josh. There were more sparks between her and Ian, the antagonist (although not anymore I guess?) which is terrible. Also, why was this book a whole Ian redemption arc. No one asked for that. There were so many things wrong with the plot. The Lisa thing. The Ian thing. The entire brain injury thing??? Basically the whole thing.

It feels like the author tried really hard to convey a deeper message about love and whatnot, unfortunately it didn’t work. This book should’ve been left unwritten.

Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC and Netgally for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I did not realize when I selected this book that it doesn’t work as a standalone. I feel like there’s entirely too much backstory that I don’t know for me to get into this book. I made it to 35% and it never grabbed my attention. I chose to DNF. Thank you NetGalley for providing this ARC. It just wasn’t for me.

Josh and Gemma The Second Time Around is the sequel to Josh and Gemma Make A Baby. I loved the first book and was surprised to see the sequel.

Gemma is pregnant and deeply in love with Josh. Josh and Gemma were preparing for their wedding, but things went upside down for them.

Gemma awoke from a coma three months later and has no emotion, which her doctor says is normal after a brain injury. She doesn’t feel love for Josh. So she decided to fall in love with Josh again and live happily with him and their daughter.

Ian also makes appearances in the book, but instead of a greedy self-help guru, we see a more human side of him. Ian helped Gemma feel emotions like anger. Gemma and Ian’s growing friendship was fun to read. Ian was frustrating at times.

The book focused a lot on Gemma and Ian; I wish we could get more of Gemma and Josh and their struggle to find their way back, and Gemma learning things again. There was a lot of miscommunication between Josh and Gemma, which was frustrating.

The idea is that things sometimes fall apart even after “happily ever after” and you can find your way back.

I liked the plot of the book. It was a fun read.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Steam Level: 🔥🔥🔥 (3.5- moderately descriptive sex scenes)
Trigger Warning: traumatic brain injury, car accident, brief mentions of cheating

Gemma Jacobs has everything she's ever wanted. She's 34 weeks pregnant with the baby she never thought she'd be able to have, and she's about to marry the man of her dreams- Josh Lewenthal. But then their wedding day ends in tragedy, and Gemma's world is turned upside down. Now she and Josh must navigate their new normal and find a way to restore their love. Has their happily ever after been destroyed or will it be better the second time around?

Alright, let me start by saying this wasn't a perfect four star book for me, but I didn't quite feel like it should be bumped down to 3.5 stars. The beginning and ending were excellent, but there were a few things in the middle that I had mixed feelings about. I really liked that this book showed how happily ever after can sometimes have roadblocks and detours. If you go into this expecting something light and fluffy, then you'll definitely be disappointed. This is more of an emotional read and deals with heavy topics of loss and trauma. We also get to see Ian Fortune- the antagonist from book 1 - get sort of a redemption arc as a lovable a-hole. His backstory included some plot twists that I never saw coming. My main complaints are that we didn't get enough of Josh in the middle, and there was some miscommunication that honestly seemed unnecessary. But even with that, I found myself sucked in and wanting to find out how Josh and Gemma would overcome the difficult hand they had been dealt. I definitely recommend reading book 1 in this duet, and if you're okay with a heavy, serious sequel then definitely give this a chance afterwards.

Thank you Netgalley and Swift and Lewis Publishing LLC for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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 Lewenthal, and is pregnant with their much-loved baby.
Her life is wonderful. Absolutely perfect.
Except…
What really comes after the happily ever after?

I absolutely adored Josh and Gemma Make a Baby so as soon as I saw this on Netgalley I ran! I think it's hard with romance books to make a sequel that is equal to the first one so I was a little apprehensive.

I think the beginning was easy to read and fun, being back in this world but as it gradually went on, I did find myself a little bored in some sections. If you are going to do a sequel you have to do something different which Ready did do in this book but I think it just took me by surprise and I wasn't mentally prepared.

As the book went on, I did begin to enjoy it again and I loved the ending.

I rated this book 3.5 stars!

thank you to netgalley for this e-arc in exchange with honest review.

i gave this 3.5 stars. this one is a little bit disappointing and not good as the first one. i was so surprised to see the author announce the sequel for Josh and Gemma Make A Baby. i love the first book so so much like josh and gemma literally have a special place in my heart. okay no i won’t say it was necessary to write the sequel but i love how the author wants to highlight more on gemma’s story. i really wish this book more focus on josh and gemma rather than ian. and also the pacing and the plot in here are a little bit draggy. this book is still heavy and serious because of the struggles of josh and gemma’s trouble with the inability to feel. i still got the overwhelming feeling when read this book. so overall i enjoyed this book but at the same time i’m sad that it didn’t reach my expectations.

The follow up to Josh and Gemma Make a Baby was, in my opinion, not as good as the first. I feel like it is one of those books where it would have been better off without a sequel.

I enjoyed this sequel. It did have a come twists & turns that after reading the first I was not expecting. Nothing new to the this type of book. If you enjoy romance novels I would recommend, plus it did have a little spice compared to the first. I enjoyed it.

NetGalley Review — my rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
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Josh & Gemma the Second Time Around is the sequel to Josh & Gemma Make a Baby.
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I won’t describe this book at all because it would give away everything.
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However, it was ok? Not needed but didn’t hate it. I was pissed at first that the author fucks with the MCs happily ever after — but it was fun. Unnecessary but cute.
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If you read the first and enjoyed, give this one a read! Pub date is January 26!
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Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing for the ARC!
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#netgalley #joshandgemmathesecondtimearound

Not as good as the first one.
This one didn't feel as necessary nor did it offer anything new. It has the same formula as most rom-com.
Josh and Gemma Lewenthal look like a couple who has it all. They're head over heels for each other, they love their jobs and have a fantastic apartment in the city. They're expecting their first baby in six weeks, and they’re driving upstate to Gemma's parents' home for their charming, intimate backyard wedding. But then the bottom falls out.