Thank you to NetGallery and Swift and Lewis Publishing for the advanced audiobook in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to Sarah Ready for bringing Josh and Gemma back to me. I found this a hard book to read because it was so emotional for me.. I just want Josh and Gemma to be together and it was so hard to see them struggle but so worth it. I love that Gemma’s mom was more developed in this story I actually liked her this go around. I do recommend reading the first book before jumping into this one. I just adore these character and would read more if it were published.

Wow! What a great book! The narrator was excellent. The story kept me engaged throughout the whole book. This was a great conclusion to the first Josh and Gemma book.

Cute story about what love really means and how it's shared among partners, with a twist of what happens when one partner hits a drastic change?

Gemma and Josh are in for a surprise when Gemma collapses mid wedding with preeclampsia. Months later, Gemma revives but because of the coma, she is considered having a major brain event, which challenges the way she can understand the world. She can no longer multitask, handle bright lights or lots of stimulation but hardest of all, she doesn't feel emotion as she once did and this is what spells problems for Josh. What do you do when your fiance says she can't feel love?
Through healing measures of family, friendship, and therapy, the story is a sweet exploration of what makes people who they are, and how to find each other where they are.
#netgalley
#arc
#joshandgemmathesecondtimearound

I liked Josh and Gemma Make a Baby so I was pleasantly surprised to discover this sequel. Unfortunately, this second book doesn’t have the same charm as the first. It spends way too much time on antagonist Ian and not nearly enough on Gemma and Josh rebuilding their relationship, or Gemma bonding with her baby. The pacing also felt rushed in terms of Gemma’s recovery and how few days pass after the incident. Erin Mallon is a good narrator, and there are some cute moments, but this book just felt unnecessary.

4.5 stars

Meeting Josh and Gemma again in 'The Second Time Around' provides some opportunity to experience their humourous banter again but this novel is more than another romcom.

It still has a definite romcom vibe but this novel has more substance than their previous novel.

Quite how the idea of this book came to fruition I don't know, but it's worth the time it'll take to navigate your way through the twists and turns that result in this, sometimes, frustratingly vague novel.

Have no fear though the questions that you'll undoubtedly have will all be answered.

En route you should be prepared for a whole slew of emotions though as you'll laugh out loud, cry your eyes out, go red with rage and just a touch pink from embarrassment ...to name just a few.

Once again Erin Mallon performs the audio expertly, bringing all the characters to life, making the experience more like a movie reel.

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.

The prologue was rough…. But then, Josh and Gemma’s story begins as they being preparation for their wedding. There were a few times that I thought that I missed something:, but by the end, the story wrapped up nicely. Ian, who is a total protagonist, lends a great deal of humor with his one-liners. Not everything is as it seems, and it was fun listening to the story evolve. . There were some seriously steamy moments, but they added to the love story of Josh and Gemma. The narrator was wonderful!

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.

Josh and Gemma make a baby was one of my favorite books that I read in 2022. I thought the ending was absolutely perfect. Before reading this book I had a lot of high expectations for it.
Josh and Gemma the second time around fell a bit flat for me. Unfortunately, I don't think that this book was necessary to continue Josh and Gemma's story.
I will forever recommend Josh and Gemma make a baby.
2.5 stars out of 5 stars. ⭐️
Thank you to Swift & Lewis LLC for an audiobook arc.

I LOVED this book. I never knew about the first one in this series and I'd never heard of this author before. This can definitely be read as a standalone. I expected this to be an average romcom (because sadly lately I've stumbled on to many of those). It was NOT what I expected. The twists and turns alone are reason enough to read this book but from a "Romance" genre perspective, the author tears your heart out and puts it back together very slowly, while you hold your breath. Excellent read! I'm going to look for more from this author!

The first bit of the book dragged on. I think maybe I lost some substance of the book, due to coming in on the 2nd book, not knowing there was a first book. The characters didn't really mesh well for me so I was kind of put off on this one. The second half of the book was alot better with things blending well. I think I would've enjoyed it more if I read the first book first, which I haven't. This just didn't grasp me and I couldn't really get into the characters as much as I'd like to.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publishers to read and review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.

I really enjoyed the banter, humor, and good time that was Josh and Gemma Make a Baby. Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around, unfortunately, did not have the same vibe.

The premise sounded awesome - a sequel about what comes after the happily ever after - and I expected that it would be about what comes after for Gemma and Josh. Sadly, it was mostly about recovering from a traumatic brain injury and Ian Fortune. That angle did not work for me, the romance was nonexistent, and I just found it largely disappointing and pretty depressing. The best part of this audiobook was Erin Mallon's narration. My suggestion? Read the first book, and let that HEA be it.

Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC and NetGalley for providing me with an advance listeners copy to review!

I adored Josh and Gemma Make a Baby and was thrilled to learn there was a sequel. While it's the same characters it doesn't have the feel of the first book at all. The banter is gone and Josh and Gemma hardly have anything to do with each other throughout the story. Sadly, this wasn't what I was looking for in a sequel. The narrator did a great job and hopefully Sarah Ready will give us more books like Josh and Gemma Make a Baby.

Enjoyed the audio and read along with the e-arc.
The only thinks that would throw me off is when the male voices were read. But that a more personal preference than it being a bother.

All in all I enjoyed having an audio to listen to.

2.5 stars. I LOVED Josh and Gemma Make a Baby. This was a fine sequel, but it really wasn’t needed. I am going to pretend this book doesn’t exist.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced audiobook copy.

I liked the narrator and the story was very interesting.

After absolutely loving Josh and Gemma Make a Baby, I was very excited to be granted access to the ARC of Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around. The second installment in Josh and Gemma's story, while enjoyable and entertaining, was IMHO not as funny and I had to get over significant disbelief at one point to continue reading.

The book starts with Gemma about 8 months pregnant, and the couple preparing for their wedding. When disaster strikes and their future is in jeopardy, Josh and Gemma face challenges to their storybook ever-after that seem insurmountable.

I enjoyed the re-introduction of Ian Fortune, and getting to know a bit of his backstory--is he really as self-centered and just plain awful as he seems? His character added a much-needed element to the story. (spoiler alert) I struggled with Gemma's recovery, as it seemed to be unrealistically quick and easy. Ian and his antics at the rehab facility allowed me to move beyond this and continue to enjoy the story.

I listened to the audio version, with narrator Erin Mallon who is excellent as the reader of the Josh and Gemma books. Her voice interpretation of Ian and Josh are wonderful. The only issue with audio, is that I needed to mute the spicy scenes when others were present!

Thank you to Netgalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC for the ARC audiobook of Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around. The opinions in this review are my own.

Perky and upbeat Gemma has it all—a great career, a loving fiancé and a baby on the way. Her life is absolutely perfect until everything changes in the blink of an eye. Josh and Gemma’s story will suck you in with the unexpected twists and turns.

Everything is planned. Your big day is approaching, your happily ever after is nearing, and you are about to be married to the love of your life. What could go wrong?
Well for starters :
1: a traumatic brain injury
2: 3 months in a coma
3: waking up feeling nothing toward your fiance
4: Ian Fortune your ex-boyfriend and boss is back in your life.
Gemma and Josh's lives are about to get complicated however, will they find their way back to each other? Did love die?
Well, you have to read to find out😉
I enjoyed the book. There were many surprises regarding the 3 characters( Josh-Gemma-Ian). We get to learn more about Josh and Ian's past and understand how Ian became who he is nowadays. Josh's unconditional love for Gemma was beautiful and touching he excelled at showing us that he is the one for Gemma as a lover, husband, and dad. As for Gemma, well she went through a lot but it was also eye-opening for her too.
In a nutshell, it was a good read and I'm glad that I've read it.

I loved this !

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Swift and Lewis Publishing for my advanced audio copy of Josh and Gemma The Second Time Around!

Going into this audio I was slightly afraid that I wouldn’t enjoy this second installment of Josh and Gemma as much as the first.
As you can tell by my star rating that is not the case!

This book was a lot of fun. As the synopsis says there were lots of twists and turns. I enjoyed all of the surprises for the most part. Some of them a little far fetched but this is fiction.

I loved every single character. Even Ian Fortune.

I loved the continued romance of Josh and Gemma.

I loved the narration of this book. Erin Mallon Is amazing.

I loved the end of this book.

Overall- highly recommend. I will definitely be reading more by this author.