Biz and Wyatt are having a baby! After picking a donor and a surrogate, their baby is finally almost here. As a babymoon they had on a cross-country road trip to California as a last hurrah. While everything leading up to the pregnancy has gone well, Biz and Wyatt feel further apart than ever. As doubts about fatherhood and raising a child start stirring, both soon to be dads are forced to examine their relationships with their fathers, each other, and themselves. Nowhere better to sort through your problems than by being forced to ride in a small car together from one coast to the other.

Being currently 22 weeks pregnant, I felt this was the perfect time to pick up Karger's new book. Though my 'journey' is different than our leads, there are so many emotions, feelings, and thoughts that present themselves when you're expecting a baby. So, while I couldn't relate to the surrogacy 'journey' as a whole, the overall anticipation, fears, and anxieties were pretty on the nose this go ahead.

Both Biz and Wyatt are such interesting characters and completely opposite; I kept finding myself offering them parenting advice in my head. The contrast between our two leads was great and while I normally hate the miscommunication trope, I mean seriously just talk to each other, I didn't mind it so much in this story. I mean I still wanted them, especially Wyatt to just open up and loosen up, but overall, I think it worked for this story.

In essence this was a cute and heartwarming read filled with hope and antics. Our supporting characters were great, and I was rooting for Biz and Wyatt the whole time. This will certainly make a great road trip read or listen (as I hear the audio is great) and is coming out at the perfect time.



The Bump comes out May 21, 2024. Thank you to Berkley for my advanced copies in exchange for my review. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books.

Review of The Bump by Sidney Karger

The Bump is the story of one couple’s babymoon road trip across the country. It lives up to its name, not only in terms of a baby bump but also in terms of navigating some unresolved/unspoken bumps in their relationship.

The couple is on the brink of a significant life change with the impending arrival of their first child. This journey becomes a metaphor for the unspoken tensions and unresolved issues in their relationship.

I enjoyed this novel; however, I had to readjust my expectations. Having read Karger’s first book, The Best Men, I entered this novel expecting a rom-com. It is definitely not a rom-com. While full of love, it is also full of tension as the couple works through unexpected hiccups. While I didn’t relate to the affluent couple’s lifestyle of adventures and privilege, it is relatable regarding how relationships are complicated and evolving.

This is not a warm, fluffy read, nor all doom and gloom. Buckle up for an adventure.

This book definitely wasn’t for me, but I can see how some would like a book like this as a “palette cleanser” or something of the sort..
I didn’t like how the couple was constantly fighting and seemed like they would’ve maybe been better of breaking up, and also really didn’t like the whole “a baby solved our entire relationship” thing.
It was cute at times, and a relatively quick read, so I guess there’s that.

Fun, fantastic, big-hearted and filled with genuine laughs, The Bump is a breezy, fun, but emotional ride through America. It’s the perfect beach read.

Serious minded commercial director Wyatt Wallace and breezy magazine columnist Massimo ‘Biz’ Petterelli are trying to have a baby. Sure, their neurotic Airedale, Matilda, keeps them plenty busy, and their entertainment industry jobs drive them crazy, but a kid’s the next natural step in their loving marriage. They should be excited that their California-based surrogate, old friend Flora, will pop in nine months.

But instead they both totally freak out. They forgo flying directly to California to be with Flora and decide to take a cross-country road-trip from New York to LA. Along the way, they vow to visit important stops, friends, and relatives. But as time goes on, cracks in their relationship start to show up, making them wonder if they’re meant to stay together.

I’m deeply soft for road trip romances, and I’m deeply soft for couples who stand tall throughout disastrous circumstances. Biz and Wyatt go through it in this book, and not just because the baby has put their relationship through an earthquake. Biz was a child actor before he became a magazine writer, so you get lots of views of his childhood and how acting has formed and shaped him. Biz’s father has cancer, and Wyatt has a dysfunctional family he never speaks to. They have wonderfully odd friends and magnetize wonderfully odd events to them. Of course they’re going to be great parents – they just don’t know that yet.

The Bump is all about imperfections and how love helps put those flaws into place. It’s a fantastic, emotional, mostly lighthearted read that readers will bite into with ease.

Thank you @BerkleyPub for the free book and thank you @PRHAudio for my #gifted listening copy of The Bump! #PRHAInfluencer #PRHAudioPartner #BerkleyBookstagram #berkleypub #BerkleyIG #berkley

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐦𝐩
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐫
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬: 𝐑𝐲𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐡𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐔𝐫𝐢𝐞
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

★★★★★ (ALL THE STARS!!!!)

This book gave me all the feels! It was so heartwarming and also so funny and I could not get enough! I equally loved Wyatt and Biz and their “Journey” and feel like this will be one of my top books of 2024! I seriously loved everything about this book. I knew when I listened to the author Sidney Karger describe this book during the Booked With Berkley Spring Preview I was going to love it, but I did not expect to be this obsessed. This is going to be my new go-to book recommendation!

Biz and Wyatt are going to have a baby together. Their surrogate is across the country, and they decide to embark on a cross country road trip together along with their dog Matilda. It’s the perfect opportunity to have some time together before the baby arrives. With everything mapped out, their plans quickly change as unexpected detours and emergencies pop up along the way. Throughout their trip, they are forced to examine their own relationship, and their past family dynamics and how that could impact their own future family. Will Wyatt and Biz make it to the west coast together in time for the birth of their baby? Or will there be too many bumps along the way?

I seriously cannot say enough good things about this book. It was just so good! It’s the type of book that will leave you with such a huge smile on your face. This is one you will not want to miss!

🎧Ryan Spahn and Michael Urie were PHENOMENAL. I mean I could not ask for two better narrators for this audiobook. I binged this audiobook in a day. Not only did I not want the story to end, I just loved listening to these two share the cross country adventures of Wyatt and Biz. They were both so perfect and I HIGHLY recommend this one on audio if that option is available to you. Seriously. Pure perfection!

Posted on Goodreads on May 2, 2024: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around May 21, 2024: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on May 21, 2024
**-will post on designated date

This was an incredibly heart warming read. You will fall head over heels for Wyatt and Biz, shedding tears of joy and sadness with them on their "JOURNEY..."

Boyfriends, Biz and Wyatt are soon to be fathers. Via surrogate, they are welcoming their new baby in just a handful of weeks, so they decide to take a road trip from their home in Brooklyn, to where their baby will come into the world in California. Along with their carsick prone dog, Matilda, they embark on a trip that will change their lives in more ways than one.

Both men have dreamed of fatherhood, but suddenly, with it finally approaching, they are crippled with self doubt. Communication is a real issue with these two, which saddened me, but it was all part of Karger's design to show the real time progression of their relationship, as they enter into this uncharted territory.

The things they encounter along the way, the obstacles mentally and physically were so impactful. I absolutely loved this book. Every single thing about it!!

An enjoyable adventure.

Biz and Wyatt have been together for several years when they decided they wanted to become fathers and began their journey to fatherhood with a surrogate. It's been nearly two years of planning, selecting egg donors and surrogates and preparing. Now that the big day is on the horizon and they begin their “babymoon” trip across the country towards their surrogate, both men are beginning to stew in what they feel is their own failings as a future dad. This is especially sad since the bar they set as the perfect Dad is each other. Their separate stewing is affecting their relationship and both men feel the gap spreading between them as they travel west. Each time one is ready to have the discussion, something comes are so it “isn’t the right time” to get into it. Both fear whether they will still be together by the time they make it to their baby’s birth.

A trip to Wyatt’s family and then to Biz’s gives us a great idea of what molded them to be as they are. Wyatt is from a small family with just his mother and brother and his brother’s small family. They are the type to quietly stew rather than discuss their feelings. While Biz comes from a large, loud family who yell out their feelings, if necessary, and make up quickly. This makes Wyatt the planner and Biz the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants free spirit.

Biz is concerned since Wyatt won’t ever discuss getting married and Wyatt is dealing with his own father issues with this own non-existence Dad.

After years of happiness, will turning their relationship from couplehood to family be the one thing to tear them apart.

THOUGHTS:
This was toted as a Planes, Trains and Automobile type adventure and I was ready to laugh, laugh, laugh my way through Biz and Wyatt's adventures towards their new baby. While this was a nice story, it wasn't the hysterical entertainment I was anticipating.

This is also the perfect example of how bad things happen when we are too much in our own head and don’t speak out to our families or significant other. We have to remember to actually discuss things with other people and not just give them a voice from our own suffering subconscious. We don’t want to hear the negative from them, but issues only get worse when people keep their pain to themselves.

Both Biz and Wyatt are wonderful characters and a perfect of example of opposites attract. We see how happy they are together and yet what is tearing their relationship apart is the fear of their own lacking not any issue with the other man.

While this story wasn't hysterical, it was enjoyable and I waited impatiently to see which one would be brave enough to speak out before it was too late.

4.5 stars, rounded up.

Sometimes you find the right book to fit your mood. For me, the most recent example of this is Sidney Karger’s upcoming book, The Bump. It hit me square in the feels and left me smiling, too.

Wyatt and Biz have been together for a number of years now. Wyatt is a director of commercials; Biz, a former child actor, is now a food writer. Wyatt is the high-strung planner; Biz is the more spontaneous, fun-loving one. The couple lives in Brooklyn with their dog, Matilda.

But everything is about to change for them. They’re having a baby (through a surrogate) in a few weeks, and both are getting pretty tense. Biz decides that instead of flying to California for the baby’s birth, they’ll drive, making a few stops on the way so it’s kind of a “baby-moon.” (Biz is starting to panic, so he hopes the road trip will calm him down.)

In their old VW convertible, they start their journey in Provincetown, the scene of many great memories for them. But Wyatt feels like Biz is trying to avoid becoming a father, while Biz wishes Wyatt would just mellow out a bit. The tension makes it hard to enjoy, and then their plans go awry when an emergency with Wyatt’s family necessitates a detour.

Each time they try to get back on course, something else happens which causes another detour. And at the same time, secrets are revealed and discoveries are made which ratchet up both of their emotions, not to mention the tension between them. Can their family survive before it even starts?

While much of the drama in the book would be solved if Wyatt and Biz would just TALK to each other, the miscommunication didn’t bother me as much as it usually does in books. They make an adorable couple, and I really was rooting for them, plus I enjoyed the supporting characters as well. The book was a good mix of serious and silly, romantic and fun.

Many thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for the advance copy! The book will publish 5/21.

🚗 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕦𝕞𝕡 🚗

Wyatt and Biz have always dreamed of being fathers and raising a family together. However, after successfully getting pregnant with a surrogate, both men begin to have complete mental melt downs. With their relationship on the rocks and their baby only weeks away, they decide to go on a cross country road trip affectionally called the “babymoon” to reconnect and have a few last hurrahs.

Unfortunately, from the second the couple embarks on their journey, everything that can go wrong, does. As they navigate from one disaster to the next, old wounds and hidden feelings begin to tear their already fragile relationship apart. As they get closer and closer to their destination and due date, Wyatt and Biz must reevaluate their ideas of family in order to save their own.

This read was so fun. If you’re a fan of road trip gone wrong rom coms, you’ll love this read. Wyatt and Biz are complete opposites, from their personalities to their upbringing, and it ensures there’s something in the story that everyone can identify with. It also makes for fun and witty banter that makes it hard to put down.

I have to take a second to give the author his due: I am not a fan of the miscommunication trope, but this book did it so well that I actually enjoyed it. I think the fact that it involved new parent anxiety meant it was something that’s easy for me to empathize with, and for the first time this trope didn’t repel me.

I loved that this book offered a perspective that was totally new for me: surrogacy. I got to learn a lot more about the process and gained a whole new appreciation for parents who go thru this as apart of their journey to become parents. It’s truly a beautiful gift and I’m so so happy I got to learn more about it.

If you need a fun sunny day rom com, I highly recommend this read!!!
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pub Date: May 20, 2024

Thank you NetGalley and Berkly Publishing for this free e-reader copy in exchange for a free review.

This was such a cute story! This is a LGBTQIAP+ category book and this wasn’t my first of this category but it did live up to others I have read. Our main characters are Wyatt and Biz, 2 partners living in NYC on the journey to fatherhood. They decide to take a road trip across the USA to California to meet their surrogate and be present for their babies birth. You get to follow along with them on their journey where alot of stuff happens during their cross country road trip. There is something drama and some shocks along the way. The thing I liked about this one was the dynamic of the relationship. They are 2 opposites heading into the scariest part of most peoples lives, parenting. I found it relatable and chaotic in the best ways.

This wasn’t a smutty romance but hit more on the story telling aspect which was pretty refreshing and I enjoy at times. The baby and pregnancy parts of the book were very small parts so if that’s a troupe you shy away from, have no fear! They are just in the background mostly and not the main focus of the book. This was my first book by Sidney Karger and I enjoyed it. This was a great read!

Big thank you goes out to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing and Sidney Karger for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Two soon-to-be dads embark on a babymoon of a lifetime – a cross-country roadtrip to bring home their newborn – but not without plenty of bumps and unexpected detours along the way.

This was such a satisfying and heart-warming read. It’s got all the ingredients for the perfect summer vacay book. Think: road trip, rekindled romance, uncovered secrets and lots of unplanned adventures. If you’re making your summer book-it-list, you’ve got to make sure THE BUMP is on it.

I loved everything about this. From Biz and Wyatt’s opposites-attract relationship and sarcastic volleying to how the MC’s must learn to adjust and go with the flow when plans reroute, THE BUMP encapsulates “the journey” that new parents go on before that life changing moment. Both characters experience tremendous growth and I loved how every moment of stress and inconvenience only strengthens their relationship and prepares them for their next chapter.

I couldn’t download this one fast enough after getting a lil sneak peak during Berkley’s Spring Preview. You know those books that only get a fraction into and you almost want to pause because it’s too good and you don’t want it to end? That’s how this one was for me and I can’t wait for the world to enjoy it as much as I did!

From Star Wars themed weddings, hometown pit stops and finding community in the unexpected, there’s so many unique stops along the trip and I wanted to transport to the backseat of that oldies convertible and join Biz and Wyatt on the endless highway heading west.

A jumbo thanks to @berkley for the advanced eARC, I loved every second of this!! THE BUMP releases May 21, 2024!

I received a free advance reader's copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.

A feel-good story about a couple's journey to parenthood.

Wyatt and Biz are expecting their child to be born soon, and so embark on an epic babymoon road trip. They have a number of places to check out on their way out to California where their surrogate lives, but in the meantime why not have a little fun? But things don't always work out the way we plan them to, and perhaps that's symbolic of what they should expect in parenthood. Written with joy and love and a decent dose of drama, this is a heart-warming road trip story that'll have you rooting for these characters.

It was such a pleasure to read this book. Surrogacy journeys for two dads-to-be isn't something found in fiction all too often, and those that do exist are usually filled with tales of terror that really make the whole surrogacy industry look like something to be weary of. This book removes those misconceptions and paints a truly honest look at what the process looks like from the point of view of the dads. While every journey is different, it's a step in the right direction in terms of representation for how these stories are told. I hope to see more stories told in this stage of life for LGBTQ families, as they are few and far between.

Absolutely loved this one. You should definitely give this one a read and experience these characters' journey to parenthood.

Loved this sweet book. You might think you know how it ends, but I love the twists and turns it takes along the way. Cross-country road trip ✅ Discussion about road trip snacks and fast-food meals, yes please. Families, weddings, childbirth ✅✅✅ And sweet pups ✅✅✅ Not. Cub more to love in a book. If you enjoyed Stephen Rowley’s The Guncle, you’ll enjoy The Bump.

4 Stars The roadtrip trope is underrated in my opinion and The Bump by Sidney Karger had a fantastic take on it. It was a heartwarming and humorous journey about a couple of the cusp of parenthood as they make a cross country trek for the birth of their child.

Wyatt and Biz have been together for over a decade and fit the old adage that opposites attract. Though both have dreamed of becoming parents and they are about to welcome their first child together, Wyatt and Biz are freaking out that the time is almost here. Instead of flying to California from New York as they originally planned, Biz proposes another idea: a cross country trip that will be one last hurrah for the couple and a chance for some quality time together to work out the issues they've been having before bringing their baby home. On their adventure, Wyatt and Biz are hit with unexpected detours and challenges to their relationship; old wounds are reopened and secrets are revealed. In close proximity in the car together, they are forced to confront their issues, truly think about the meaning of family, and recommit to their relationship.

Sidney Krager did a wonderful job making this story not only witty and engaging, but heartfelt and relatable. Wyatt and Biz's story is a beautiful peek into the complexities of modern relationships and parenting, and what we do when facing uncertainty and change. Throughout it all, their love carries them through the bumps in the road.

Wyatt is the practical one. Biz is the spontaneous one. They’re polar opposites, but together they work. Now after a decade, they’re having a baby.

And they couldn’t be more scared.

While they’ve both been dreaming of the day a baby would be placed in their arms, now they’re doubting everything. They set off on a road trip to their surrogate in CA, but along the way they encounter several unexpected detours. Can they reexamine the meaning of family, while building their own?



I went into this book expecting a romance similar to that in Best Men last year. But I got so much more. I would classify this book as one about relationships, not necessarily a romance, but relationships in general with those all around us. I love books about road trips. There is just something about being stuck in a car with someone for hours that brings out the best and worst of a person, and this book highlighted that. I loved Wyatt and Biz. They were both amazing characters in their own right, but together they were a little frustrating, and I kept yelling at them to just communicate! Ah miscommunication can be so aggravating, but the lesson learned is one that is so important.

I loved that this book covered the journey of Wyatt and Biz having their first baby via surrogate. It was heartwarming to read about how involved they were throughout the whole process from picking their embryo to their baby being born.

I would recommend this to those looking for a great and touching read.


Thank you to Tor Berkley @BerkleyPub and Netgalley @Netgalley for the e-arc. All thoughts are my own.

Heartwarming story that hits close to home. As a gay couple hoping to one day have kids, this book really pulled on my heartstrings. I felt like I was reading our own story and the author was narrating my life. The alternating POV’s really added to the story and made you feel for both characters. I found myself wanting to enter the story and yell at both characters to just tell each other what’s up and communicate. I will be picking up the authors other book. I was very lucky to have read an arch of this and I am very grateful.

Don’t go into this thinking romance. It’s a book about relationships… between partners, parents/children, siblings, friends, even between pets! And it’s about relationships that aren’t always working, because in real life, it’s not always smooth sailing. Sometimes you’re gonna freak out. Sometimes, you’re going to decapitate a life-sized stuffed grizzly bear. These things just happen.

Follow Wyatt and Biz as they travel across country to be there when their surrogate gives birth.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Watch for The Bump to come out May 21, 2024.

i had such a great time reading this book!! it was so fun. the characters were amazing and sweet and wonderful. it was just such a pure joy and i'm so very thankful to netgalley for letting me read this one early!!!

I feel like this book is such a great read for new parents, old parents, and people who aren't parents alike. I think it'll be super popular at my library!

The Bump by Sidney Karger had so much potential. After the first half I was still not completely not invested so I stopped.
I'm going to try and read again as life was hectic when I began the book and I've heard others that loved and laughed through this one.