Review: Josh and Gemma Make a Baby

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby by Sarah Ready
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Note: I received a NETGALLEY ARC AND AUDIO in exchange for an honest review.

Note 1B: I will not be reviewing Josh and Gemma the second time around - because this novel was barely enough to stomach. Same goes for the audio.

Note 2: This is a duet for now. This is the first novel. Josh and Gemma the second time around, releases Jan 26th 2023.

Triggers: ivf failure, miscarriages, bodyshaming, infidelity, pregnancy mishaps, death.

What can I say about this atrocious novel that won't make me wish for it's self combustion even more?

Honestly. I expected a lot more from this novel.

Considering one - it's a sarah ready novel - and I loved her previous novels. Two, it touches on sensitive issues like pregnancies and other crucial situations that happen to women/transwomen,intersex etc. Three - because the title was damn hilarious.

Did I get any of the above remarks right from this novel - Answer no.

This novel was so atrocious and horrible and gosh darn I expected better - that I cannot, cannot put a positive spin on it even if I wanted to.

Gemma for one sucked as a character - she was a doormat to everyone who mistreated her - family, relationships. But was a selfish, judgemental bitch to those who cared - Josh, her IVF group friends. Plus such a hot mess and disorganised and ignorant - like she could've adopted a kid, she could've done it with an anonymous donor, so many other ways to have a kid. Her personal life was such a mess - that it made me have sheer headaches and of oh god when is this going to end? Newsflash it didn't end sooner.

And also she wanted to have a kid with a familiar face - let's just get one thing clear - Josh is not a familiar face - she had a hookup with him one time, and that was it. Otherwise all they did was say hello at family functions. Having a kid with someone familiar means, asking someone from your own family, a close friend - not an almost perfect stranger - like Josh was. So yeah sorry but the first half of the plot was completely absurd. More on how the second half of the plot went to shit later.

Secondly - Josh was pathetic. That was it. He reminded me of Ross from friends - yes I hated friends, sue me- the way he keeps pining over Gemma and never tries to solve the backstabbing that happens to him from someone else, ages ago. It's pathetic. And it made the romance even more unbelievable when she finally acknowledges everything that he does for her. His overly charming behaviour also tended to get on my nerves at times.

Plus he said no to her - when she asks him initially - but then on a sudden 360 twist - he agrees to be her donor friend. Like what the hell? Where is the consistency here? It all seems to have vanished somewhere. And also a vibrating iphone? WTF? God...I needed more bleach for that scene than ever.

The other characters sucked as well - they are all judgemental, superficial, and suck in growth, until towards the end. Like I get this was also a bit of self discovery, but my god were they caught up in their vain problems so much and being pregnant for the stupidest reasons imaginable. I couldn't tolerate it. Plus her family is irredeemable - and she lets them use her for no reason, for no actual caring oh wow, awesome no worries reason. Instead they humiliate her (reference to triggers), and she STILL HELPS THEM!

The romance was unbelievable - no development, no slow burn, no nothing. All she does is date losers, then one day like Isaac Newton gets hit on the head with the knowledge Josh likes her, loves her. That's it. That's the origin of the story. They're both losers, and Gemma deserves Josh, who is also pathetic. I honestly thought they were better off as friends. That is all.

Her pregnancy issues - are never addressed. She never considers adoption, no anonymous donor, no surrogacy, no nothing. Sigh. All she does is whine about asking Josh to be her donor, you'd think a woman who can run a company successfully for her boss could also run her personal life, but cannot, ladies and gents. Her pregnancy issues are not taken seriously, not even by her. So really, this is dangerous for women who read this novel, if they do, and think it's okay to be this thoughtless, uncaring, and robotic in the name of a miscarriage, ivf problem, etc.

Overall, this novel was a complete disaster, even with the half sweet ending.

Nothing sold me on this story, everything was terrible. The character development especially hurt, because wow, I dared expect better from the protagonists themselves. And the romance too. Sigh. Plus touching on the heavy topics. Completely glazed over, no care whatsoever.

Wow, you really disappointed me, Sarah Ready. I hope you know that, with this mess of a novel.

Gosh.

Until the next read,
TMR

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