We left Josh and Gemma in a good place in the first book. Things were finally coming together. I liked the concept of this second book. It was interesting and the turn of events took me by surprise in the beginning. Things wavered a bit in the middle but I still liked this one. I'm not sure if it was needed but their love has certainly been solidified by the telling of this story. As far as a happily ever after one just never knows with Josh & Gemma!

Josh and Gemma are finally engaged while pregnant with their first baby. Well, after a whole lot of drama and banter (read prequel). But on their wedding day, things take an unexpected turn, neither of them realizing that their lives will never be the same again.

I didn't realize how much I was missing Josh and Gemma Make a Baby to this book until I grabbed this, though I was really not expecting a sequel. Honestly this book was very much different from the previous one. While the prequel feel is more of a breezy novel with banter and fun this has a serious twist here it is wonderful to reunite with our favourite characters.

Saying anything at all about this book is a potential spoiler, so all I'll say is go get yourself a copy of this book and the prequel, if you haven't read it yet.

Thank you so much Sarah Ready and NetGalley for letting me listen to an ALC in exchange of my honest review.

I haven't read the first book, so the caracters and peoples were completely new to me, but I'm glad. I realised that I don't really like the falling in love stories anymore, I prefer the we're together and we're having issues. I liked that part, it's human, it has really strong emotions going through.
Josh is a lovable person and I respect the patience that he has.
Gemma... She wasn't my favorite at all.
Ian. I liked him even though he's a jerk.
The main problem I had while reading is the baby. It's not realistic that a 3-4-5 month old baby does nothing all day, Hope is just not real.

I really enjoyed the first book. It was light hearted, comical & romantic. This one gets heavy quickly and although it was a happy ending, 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.

Thank you to NetGallery and the publisher and also the author for this ARC copy of the book! I really enjoyed it it was a short and fun read even if you hadn’t read the first one you still understand what was happening.

I was so excited to read the sequel to Josh and Gemma Make a Baby, and really enjoyed this second book,
JOSH AND GEMMA THE SECOND TIME AROUND.

While I didn't quite enjoy the sequel as much as the first book, I appreciated being reunited with these beloved characters, and thought the audiobook was great!

Pregnant and so in love, Josh and Gemma are preparing for their upcoming wedding until things don't go as planned.

*many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy for review

This was the second part of Josh and Gemma’s story that I didn’t know I needed.

In this second book, Josh and Gemma live through an unexpected change of circumstances that test them individually and as a duo. This is a journey where they learnt about themselves and their communication, still showing their strong connection and intimacy.

I will admit the beginning took me by surprise (also the reappearance of certain characters), but once the story move forward, I was more and more convinced this was a perfect wrap up for Josh and Gemma’s journey together.

Just like the first book, the audiobook was also performed by Erin Mallon, who effortlessly made me dive into the narration and enjoy all the scenes and dialogues.

Overall book: 5/5 stars
Audiobook: 4/5 stars

JOSH AND GEMMA THE SECOND TIME AROUND By Sarah Ready

Josh and Gemma’s lives are turned upside down, and their love and their future together are at risk. They realize their happily ever after isn’t the end, it’s just the beginning and now they have to fight for it.

😊What i liked -

✔ Second Chance/HEA
✔ This book was not what I was expecting it to be.( don't get me wrong, i did enjoy it).
✔ This book makes you feel a whole lot of emotions, but the emotion I felt the most was of fear, sadness and heartache.
✔ I loved how supportive Gemma's family was to her but most of all how they were concerned and supportive of Josh too.( it was heartwarming)
✔ I loved the character development of Gemma, Josh and even Ian. (i was a bit lost with their back story as i haven't read the first book)
✔ I loved the author's writing style and how she manages to put across the emotions, feelings and doubts of every character.

Audiobook Review -

✔ I read this book while listening to the beautiful voice of Erin Mallon. She did such a good job of putting across the emotions and the love.

🤔What could have been better -

✔ I wish I had read the first book before this, it would have made me understand the characters' story a bit more.
✔ I did get a bit frustrated with the miscommunication between Josh and Gemma.


📚Who Should read :

👶Beginners
💝💼Romance Lovers
💕Second Chance Trope Lovers


📈My Rating : 4/5

Thank you, Sarah Ready and Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC for a copy.

Josh and Gemma The Second Time Around is the sequel to Josh and Gemma Make A Baby and should be read in order. I’m not gonna lie, I struggled through this one. I loved the first book and couldn’t wait to read this one. It took me a while to get into it and even then I still struggled to finish it. I don’t feel like this book was necessary at all…I’m going to pretend that their story ended with the first book. This story does deal with some heavier subjects so check the triggers before reading. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t read the first book and read this as a standalone.

The first book was perfect. So I really wasn’t sure where this was going to go. It was a slow start and much of it focused on wedding preparation, so I thought okay - it’s one of those novels that covers the course of a day type things, fine. Then bam. Not what I was expecting! Major drama. Quite heartbreaking to read to be honest, considering the love and happiness Gemma and Josh had found by the end of the first novel 💔 Just so much more angst than I was expecting. The return of Ian was also a bit of a shock and, not going to lie, I was scared for longer than necessary in a romance book 😅 I like the idea of returning to Josh and Gemma again, maybe through the other characters? Like a novel featuring Ian or Dylan as an MC?

I was able to read an advanced edition of this text through NetGalley, thanks to the publisher!

Although I haven’t read the first novel in this series, I do enjoy good romance stories. With two small children of my own, the premise of this story sounded particularly interesting. I can confidently say that it wasn’t difficult to pick up this novel without reading the first. There was a good amount of flashback, exposition, and explanation given whenever a previously established character arrived in a scene.

My one criticism would be the main character’s initial ailment—her thought that “the love was gone” just before she passed out struck me as very unusual. The subsequent issue of her recovery offered an explanation for her emotional struggles, however, I couldn’t understand why she felt that way before the coma.

Altogether a quick, enjoyable beach read! Anyone who enjoys a good romance novel set in modern times would like this book. Particularly any readers familiar with parenthood.

I read the first book of the series and loved Josh and Gemma. Sadly, this book fell a little flat for me. I agree with others who say it felt like the book was rushed through. It was a little over dramatic for me when the first was sweet and set a nice pace.

I really liked the concept of the book with everything that happened but I felt like Josh(who is the MMC) wasn't even that present and I thought Gemma became a not likable character. I did not care for the redemption arc of Ian who was so ick in the first book.

I do really like Sarah Ready's writing and that redeemed the book. I think maybe that is why I had such a reaction to the characters. They are very well written. I would definitely read something from her again.

Thank you to NetGalley, Swift&Lewis Publishing, and Sarah Ready for the e-ARC. This review is my own opinion.

Am I ovulating, or is this book a tear-jerker? *Dabs tears daintily as I finish folding laundry.*😭😭😭

Let me be clear... I’m not the type to cry normally. Small humans and dogs are usually the only things that get me? I definitely prefer to cry on the inside.. like Cameron Diaz...

But some books – like this one? You just have to have a good cry as you fold your husband's 56,712 pairs of gym socks and be ok with it. (A note for the trolls – my husband works harder than any man I’ve ever met and is a damn good man on top of it -- so yes, I’m happy to lovingly fold his socks and put away his laundry if he’s just too tired to do it. 🥰)

THOUGHTS:
- Absolutely loved exploring what happens to a person’s psyche when they experience parental abandonment. Society treated mental health as a frivolous afterthought for much too long and this book highlights that we’re JUST now beginning to understand how traumas will affect people.
- Discussions around fertility IVF, miscarriages, difficult pregnancies etc can be very sensitive, but it’s awesome to see a happy romance structured around these struggles! All relationships take work – but especially those plagued by issues that others without experience cannot possibly understand. If you loved Colleen Hoover’s ‘All Your Perfects’ – you’ll absolutely love ‘Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around’!!
- Real couples and real relationships are always so great to read. SO much of the smutty romance world is designed to give us brain candy to shamelessly listen to while we go about mundane tasks, but as I was saying about the sock folding above, it’s the little things and the real things that really make relationships happy and whole. 🖤🖤🖤

FAVORITE QUOTE:
“…. Sometimes things have to get really, really bad before they get better.” – Sometimes they just really do.

NOTES:
- Second in the series
- A reallll tear-jerker
- CWs: Miscarriage, infertility, parental abandonment

**I received this book for free as an advanced reader copy, but all thoughts are my own. – SLR 🖤

I may not have enjoyed this story as much as most, because I have not read the first book. However, the story was super cute, the writing flowed well. This was not my usual taste in romance novels, maybe because it’s the sequel, but it was still a good read nonetheless. I am sure for people who have read the first, the continuation of Josh and Gemma’s story would be more enjoyable!

This book felt different to most romance books because it felt very, very realistic. I like it that author found a beautiful way to show how not every relationship is perfect after falling in love, and to express real and understable feelings. Still—there were moments/scenes that felt incomplete, like something was missing. And so many miscommunication moments for my sake.
Anyways, I really liked and enjoyed this book. The story was really interesting and it kept my attention all the time. It was emotional and touching.
Thanks to the author, to the publisher and to NetGalley for a copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC for giving me an ARC!

So i wasn’t aware that this was a sequel (oopsies) , but i still found myself loving this book. it was a pretty heavy story, so proceed with caution. but i do think it was written SO well!!

Sooo . . . I didn't know this was a sequel so I didn't read book one prior. I think it might have helped me have some more background information, but I still very much enjoyed this as if it were a standalone. I will go read Book 1, however, because I enjoyed this one.

Gemma had a traumatic experience that leaves her not remember how to FEEL (the emotional kind not the physical kind). When she tells Josh she doesn't feel love for him, he's crushed. But they both so hard to find a way back to the place they were. She even struggles with feelings for her daughter, Hope.

The only person evoking any feelings in Gemma is her former boss, Ian Fortune, who we all love to hate. And I won't lie, he grew on me as I went through this book.

This was a beautifully told story of how love evolves and changes, even when you continue to remember how to feel.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC for allowing me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review!

I was super excited when I saw that there's going to be a sequel to Josh and Gemma make a baby but while I really enjoyed the first book, this one was quite disappointing. The entire concept of the book was interesting, but I still felt like this sequel wasn't needed. I felt like I was watching a telenovela, all those big events, traumatic backstory reveal, lots of miscommunication and those spicy scenes one after the other was a bit too much for me personally (don't get me wrong, I can really appreciate a good spicy scene).

Erin Mallon did a fantastic job narrating this book and it made my reading experience much more fun!

Thanks to NetGalley for this arc.

TW: Pregnancy illness, hospital, trauma,

I had no idea that Sarah was making a sequel to Josh and Gemma make a baby, but I was thrilled to read the second one and learn about the baby, etc.
I could not put this book down, as I was so invested in both Josh and Gemma and how the relationship would pan out. I got a bit frustrated about how the storyline was going, as it felt like things were missing in parts (a bit rushed).
If you love rom-coms, this book is for you.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

Sarah Ready, what have you done? I need a weighted blanket for the ringer you've put me through!

When we last saw Josh and Gemma (in 'Josh and Gemma Make a Baby'), IVF was successful and they were waiting for their baby to be born, with Josh proposing to Gemma.

Now they're ready to get married, only for pre-eclampsia to strike at the altar, no less, with Gemma in a coma for months. Only for her to wake up and say she can't feel any love for Josh. A heartbroken Josh is left trying to juggle his successful career, their baby, while Gemma has to deal with life with a brain injury, a baby, and work her way through her feelings and the trauma.

Adding to the complications are the return of her boss Ian Fortune, a man who stole and passed off Josh's work as his own.

This book truly tests the wedding vow 'in sickness and in health'.

I had to put this book down and read it in stages. At times I had to skim it (don't worry I did return). Not because this book was awful, in fact, quite the opposite. I had to put this down and read something lighter because I was so invested in this story, and the emotions it evoked.

I think this book represents a leap in Sarah Ready's writing from the first book. It's heartbreaking, poignant, but, thankfully, full of hope. When the dawn broke and I got to the end I honestly felt like I was friends with these characters.

It's a huge risk to write a sequel to a love story, because you have to break them apart in order to put them together. Otherwise you have to make the main characters from side characters of the first book.

If I had any quibble, I think it would be the return of Ian Fortune and the revelations involved in that. I would've preferred that be resolved in the first book. At times I also couldn't help but wonder if both books would've been better off merged as one, cutting out the parts in the first book that didn't sit well with me. At any rate I am wondering out loud and should add this is merely my thoughts, which in no way affects my overall big love for this book.

I hope Sarah Ready one day can give us a special novella (take my money please!) where we get to see Josh and Gemma further in the future with life in less choppier waters because they have weathered it all.

Thanks to Netgalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for the ARC. I have pre-ordered my own copy.