Member Reviews
My favorite niche is a cross between romance and magical realism and Sarah Ready has got this niche down pat! I loved her previous book Ghosted and now absolutely adore her newest book Switched. She has a remarkable of straddling magic and science that makes my heart pitter-patter. And the sweet, emotional love stories that unfold are just the cherry on top!
Serena Otaki is such a lovable, free-spirited science nerd determined to not let love distract her from her true love with science. It’s sweet to witness the way she navigates opening her heart while still remaining committed to all that matters to her. The storyline in this book is so unique and distinct, that I found it to be a breath of fresh air after a string of trope-y romcoms. If you are looking for a sweet, funny romance with a reality-bending twist, Switch should be the next book on your TBR!
The narrator did a phenomenal job and was the perfect voice to fit the personality of Serena!
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy! I loved it!
I’d prefer to give this a 3.5, as overall I really enjoyed it and definitely needed to know what happened next.
As far as the story goes, I was immediately drawn in by an adult woman living her life and in love with her career. I could completely empathize with her thought process and outlook on life and love and fun. I can also empathize with the attraction and tension with a handsome British man that you met in a pub. Did Sarah Ready stalk me to create Serena?!
There were some out seriously laugh out loud moments during this story. However, I did think that Henry’s ex-girlfriend was a bit unnecessary. If you removed her from the story the plot would not have been altered in anyway. I also don’t feel like we got suffiencent background/explanation from Henry to truly believe she would SA him in a coat closet in his family home with his girlfriend down the hall. And I’m absolutely respectful of those who choose to wait to have sex for marriage or “the one” or whatever they choose to wait for. But I don’t believe a virgin is going to give any woman the best sex of her much more experienced life. I think it would have made much more sense if he had said “our first time” rather than it being “his first time”. Based on the ages of his youngest sibling being 21 I’m also having a hard time pinpointing Henry’s age, especially with how worried it’s said his family was that he went to Geneva for a prestigious job. He’s got to be at least late 20’s so it seems weird that his family would be so concerned about such a move considering he’s highly educated adult.
Anyway, back on track, I loved the learning and understanding that our characters experienced as a result of the switch, about each other and themselves. I’m glad that the switch back arose from an emotional connection vs a physical connection and liked the metaphor of Serena having to give up her life for love. I loved Serena getting a heart to heart with her mom about the unintended trauma inflicted from mother to daughter about love being all consuming. It was a lovely and realistic healing journey for our girl and I’m so glad she learned to accept and give love without losing herself.
The narrator was fine but it almost felt like she was reading her diary to me and I’m still not sure if that’s a pro or a con. I know that the same story can feel different through different medias so I’m not sure if I would have liked the book more or less if I’d read a physical or digital copy. I do think I missed out on some of the charts, graphs and diagrams. The voice of Henry was unexpected for a couple random chapters near the end and was a bit jarring. He just didn’t sound like a Henry to me, the accent just didn’t connect and the voice felt a bit too old. I almost wish the male narrator had voiced Serena-Henry rather than the female narrator attempting a male voice.
this was tremendous, easy 5 star.
Sarah Ready has the uncanny ability to make incredibly unlikely things seem like they make the most sense in the world. Adored the prose, characters, setting, relationships, EVERYTHING. And when I tell you I outwardly gasped towards the end of the book at a certain development. I can't wait to re-read this.
Sarah Ready has cemented herself as a MUST read author for me, if they're all of a similar caliber as Ghosted and Switched then I see many more 5 stars in my future.
The audiobook narrator (or should I say narrators!) also put on the performance of a lifetime, especially considering the body and voice switching antics!
Serena is a free spirited, Star Trek loving, messy and extremely chaotic person, who enjoys coffee and tofu. She loves her career, and most of her jokes revolve around splitting atoms, or other scientific jokes. When she goes to a local bar and literally gets stuck, possibly glued to the chair, she meets Henry. Henry is the opposite of her in many ways, he is an organized, clean freak, that loves tea and anything meat. Henry being the chivalrous gentleman, gives her his jacket. They hit it off right away, both understanding each others jokes, because they both are physicists. After their connection, they go to Henry’s hotel where they make planets move with the most amazing night of either of their lives. Unfortunately, the morning comes and Serena receives an email from her new boss, the head of her department, which unfortunately happens to be Henry. Serena immediately puts a stop to their burgeoning relationship, even having the guy that works at the restaurant pretend to be her new interest, although that causes her to gain a cat named Captain Tiberius Puurk out of the bargain.
Almost 2 years go by in a flash, with them both maintaining a working relationship and never addressing the amazing night they have. But when a freak incident occurs and they switch places, among literal sparks, things swiftly become a version of Freaky Friday. Serena awakes to discover she has big muscles stubble and oh my word, man parts. When she rushes to her best friend’s home, and is immediately punched, she is finally able to explain her crazy situation. Serena goes to work where she discovers Henry, in her body wearing a sexy outfit that should not be work wear.
The story continues as they try to figure out a way to get back to their own bodies, in a series of funny incidents that open both their eyes to how the opposite sex truly lives. With time running out, they decide to help each other with previous engagements, discovering more each other and what made them drawn to each other in the first place. Will they figure out a way to change back before it’s too late? And is there something cosmic in their switch? Something that is meant to be?
The author wrote a fun rom com, with an interesting twist on Freaky Friday. I loved the different adventures they shared, now experiencing simple life events from a different perspective. I enjoyed the fun playful characters, although it got heavy with the science jokes in the beginning, and I almost stopped reading, feeling like I didn’t have the same humor. I was glad I kept going because I definitely started enjoying the story more once they switched places.
Fun Rom-Com ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Playful Freaky Friday Twists ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Characters ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Storyline / plot ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Freaky Friday x Ali Hazelwood
Switched is the second book in Sarah Ready’s Ghosted series. While this book is number 2, it can be read as a stand alone . There are characters that overlap, but if you haven’t read the first, it doesn’t give too much away.
In Switched, Serena “Ducky” Otaki has one true love: physics. Her life in Geneva, Switzerland is perfect for her. She has a cat, Purrk, her own disorganized messy apartment, and she’s perfectly happy being unattached romantically.
Henry Joule is an uptight British man Serena meets in a pub in Geneva. There’s a bit of a funny accident and the two cross paths…then they accidentally switch bodies.
When I saw this book was available I knew I had to read it. I loved the first book, Ghosted, so much and this one was just as good. I love the paranormal aspect to these romance books. It brings a fresh, new perspective to a trope that could otherwise become formulaic and boring. Also, bonus points for featuring a strong woman in STEM!
I am definitely looking forward to the third installment in the series!
Thank you to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for the ARC!
This one started out a bit far fetched for me, but it won me over. I enjoyed the writing style and the voice actor did a great job! I started to really like the characters and found them endearing and lovable after awhile. This kept me engaged with the novel. I am not normally into romance novels, but this one did a good job of being engaging and not too flowery. I ended up happy I read it.
I listed to the audiobook for free through netgalley for a review. All opinions are mine and are true.
This Romantic Comedy was absolutely adorable. I loved the character development with Serena and Henry. Serena;s smart, bold and messy character is the perfect balance to Henry’s uptight and rather boring life. This book was full of laughs and a bit of worry for our two main character which kept me wanting more especially with the thought of potentially losing one of them. This book is a great read full of love, laughter and just the right amount of science to make it all come out just right. Sarah Ready did it again with another knock it out of the park modern romance.
Switched by Sarah Ready is a sweet little twist of Freaky Friday with a romantic twist and some science mixed in. The characters are likable and a great pairing and I enjoyed their interaction. This was a quick romance story.
This is the third book I've read by Sarah Ready and while it doesn't take the top spot from The Space Between, I very much enjoyed this story. I was a little skeptical going in because Ghosted left me with a lot of questions, but getting a story based around Serena was fantastic. This was a freaky friday version of a love story and I was here for it.
Some parts seemed a little far fetched (switching bodies aside), and a few gave me second hand embarrassment for other characters - lookin at you Lorna, but overall I found myself fully invested and even laughing out loud at various parts.
I will definitely continue to read Ready in the future! Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
This book might have sparked my interest once again in contemporary romance.
The heroine, though cast as an intelligent woman has a very relatable life and vocabulary. I salute the author for not filling the book with deep science-y words. At first I cannot understand Serena's deep set aversion to commitment and marriage until I saw how her parents relate and then I totally get her. Still, I liked her already by this time.
For Henry, he was a total package of a hero for me. Almost too perfect actually until I saw his vanity amidst the chaos of their switched body. Though I saw him only through the filter of the heroine, I like him as a hero and a character.
The hilarious part of the story is the best part for me in this book. Let me say first that this is a first read for me for this author so I cannot talk about her other books but for once, the funny part of the story fits the character. Often, the funnies on books are the widely known jokes about genders but not in this book. The hilarious part comes from two smart people speaking their own language.
Have you ever read regency books or historical books that characters language reminds you of high schoolers cafeteria lingo? I did and its jarring.
In this book, the characters fit their words and their quirks and I admit, I repeatedly listened to the book three times because the story and the fun is that good.
Audiobook: There is just one chapter where the hero - Henry's point of view was shown and the narrator's accent is jarring. Throughout the book, the hero's accent is British and then this chapter of his POV comes in a hard american accent. Soooo jarring!
Other than that, the book is a perfect listen for me. I will surely look for other books from this author hoping they are just as good.
Thanks to Netgalley for providing me the audiobooks.
I really got into this book pretty much straight away! Very easy to listen to, I Will definitely recommend
This was a cute little book, a lovely twist to a Freaky Friday romcom. Enjoyed the fact the FMC is a woman in STEM, and the footnotes and graphs made me chuckle.
The audiobook was great, I ended up finishing the book through the audio because I enjoyed the narration so much.
Switched by Sarah Ready is the second book in her Ghosted series. Overall it was a 4.5 star read, is an easy read, and well narrated. I enjoy Sarah Ready as an author and will continue to read what she writes.
Serena is is a free spirit that doesn't get too deep. Her one love is science and she does not leave room for much else. One night she meets Henry in a bar and they enjoy a night together. At the end of the night she can see herself falling for him, but finds out he is going to be her boss and she backs off. They are both a little bit of a mess and do not have an easy working relationship. One night Serena has to drop something off to Henry but there is a freak lightning storm and they switch bodies. They are racing against the clock so that neither of them dies, and they have to get to know each other and in the process they build something real.
Thank you NetGalley for my copy of the audiobook. All opinions are my own. #NetGalley #Switched #SarahReady
Switched was such a fun read! Prepare to suspend your disbelief and go along for the ride. Serena and Henry are both physicists working in Switzerland at the Large Hadron Collider (Don’t worry; you really don’t need to know what that is.) They are both very serious about their careers. However, they meet in a bar before Henry starts work at the LHC and sparks fly. When Serena realizes he’s going to be her boss, she skedaddles and tries to avoid him as much as possible.
Time passes and they are basically work enemies. Then during a storm, they have an “out of body experience” a la Freaky Friday. Suddenly Serena is in Henry’s body and vice versa. They don’t know how to reverse things and decide they need to stay together to try to figure it out. Which necessitates Serena attending Henry’s brother’s wedding as Henry, and so forth. They gradually learn to empathize with each other as they access some of the other person’s memories. There’s a hilarious scene when Henry, in Serena’s body, experiences menstrual cramps and thinks he’s dying and needs to go to the hospital!
What began as an insta-love hot one night stand turns into a slow burn, opposites-attract romance, and I loved it.
This is the second book in a planned trilogy but you definitely don’t need to read the first book to enjoy this one. (I didn’t.) A couple of people from the first book, Ghosted, appear in this one, but that’s all.
I bounced between the audiobook and the ebook for this title, which was very convenient. The audiobook is narrated mostly by Kelsey Navarro Foster, who did a great job with all the accents (Serena is from northern California and Henry is English), with one chapter narrated by James Anderson Foster.
Thank you to W.W. Crown an Imprint of Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book and to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.
Switched is Sarah Ready’s sequel to her popular paranormal romantic comedy Ghosted. The heroine of Switched, Serena, was introduced in Ghosted as Jillian’s best friend. Switched can be read as a stand-alone but it will be enjoyed more if read after Ghosted. Imagine if the characters from the TV show The Big Bang Theory were put into the movie Freaky Friday and you have the basis of Switched.
After earning a double PhD in Physics and Computer Science at the age of 22, Serena Otaki left California to work at the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, Switzerland. Serena is obsessed with Star Trek and spends her free time with her rescue cat, Captain Purrk, and hanging out at a dive British pub. She doesn’t waste her time on housekeeping, not minding a messy apartment and eating spicy frozen tofu dinners. She’s not interested in romantic relationships, so she has one-night stands when she feels like it, but always with a new man. Samantha is afraid that if she falls for a man, she will give up her beloved job and scientific studies to follow traditional female roles.
One night, Serena meets a handsome British man, Henry Joule, at the Cock and Bull Pub. He helps her out of a tight spot, and she goes with him to his hotel room for a hot one-night stand. The next morning, she sees an email from work announcing him as her new Team Lead. When she meets him again at the pub, she pretends that she has a date with another patron to discourage his interest in her. When she sees him at work the following week, things are awkward.
Fast forward one and one-half years and things are still awkward at work between Serena and Henry. They are secretly attracted to one another and are unable to date others because of that attraction. However they realize that they are vastly different in their daily habits. Henry is an uptight, schedule-driven, organized tea drinker. Serena’s free-spiritedness and sloppiness drives him batty. They are both workaholic attractive genius physicists though.
Then late one night an electrical storm causes an unexpected event at the particle collider, and Serena and Henry switch bodies. Serena is in Henry’s body, and Henry is in Serena’s body. They each become very familiar with the other while literally walking in their shoes. They begin to understand their fears and motivations, and gain perspective on the opposite sex. They have to adjust to their new circumstances quickly because the switch happened right before they were scheduled to take vacations with their families. Then they do research to try to figure out a way to switch back into the bodies that they were each born in.
There are many hilarious scenes in Switched, and readers will be reminded of both The Big Bang Theory and Freaky Friday. The pub patrons, Super-collider employees, and family members add extra humor and depth to the story. I absolutely loved all the cameo appearances by Jillian and Daniel from Ghosted. I enjoyed all the Star Trek references, and especially the cat, Captain Purrk.
While most of the story falls into the comedy genre, the author brilliantly expresses Serena’s lifelong desire to unlock the mysteries of the universe. Her elegant articulation of Serena’s fears of losing herself if she gets in a serious relationship with a man are so poignant. This serious side of Serena’s personality is what elevates Switched above other Freaky Friday-based stories.
The audiobook is brilliantly narrated by Kelsey Navarro Foster and James Anderson Foster, a real-life husband and wife. Their accents and vocal dramatization are perfect.
I received an Advance Review Copy (ARC) from NetGalley and W.W. Crown Publishing for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I absolutely adored this book! It's such a fun read, very cute and quirky!
Serena is a physicist who'd rather spend her time smashing atoms, doing anything physics-related, or in her messy apartment watching Star Trek with her cat. She cannot and absolutely will not entertain the idea of libe or dating (but hookups are ok!) One night she meets a guy at a bar and hooks up with him, but flees as soon as he says he feels like it's love at first sight. Big NO for Serena! She then learns this guy, Henry, is her new boss and she decides she needs to cut all sexual/ personal ties with him and keep it strictly work-related. Serena believes they have nothing in common, other than their love for physics. He believes you find yourself in love and marriage, she believes you lose yourself. They're total opposites, in almost every aspect.
One night at work, an incident occurred that caused them to switch bodies. They've spent days in each other's bodies, and in this time they've learned so much about each other. They've experienced each other's memories, glimpses and emotions from each other's pasts, and through this they've come to understand each other & their views on love.
It's a great read! It's very Freaky Friday (2.0), mixed with romance and a ton of laughs! (Plus the diagrams & sketches are amazing! Lol) Loved this one!
Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
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I really enjoyed Ghosted, which is book one, and I enjoyed this one too, but I felt like this one didn’t grab me as quickly. I was super happy to see that this story was a spin off of Jillian’s (from book one) best friend Serena. Switched was told in a singular POV through Serena’s perspective.
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Just like you would think, this story involves two people switching bodies. Freaky Friday but with a male and a female? Cool, I’m about it. Except they didn’t even switch bodies until almost 30% in, that first 30% was basically Serena and Henry meeting, sleeping together then them not being together but working together. It was obviously necessary for the plot but we could have easily cut a bunch of that fluff out.
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Regardless of that little strife I have, I found this one to also be very endearing. Beloved characters from the first book make appearances like Jillian and Daniel and even Zelda who of course had me laughing as per usual.
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I loved the theme of this one “understanding” someone. Sarah has a way of really make those themes stick out in her books. Once again, I was filled with all of the emotions through this one; I laughed, I swooned, I wanted to cry. I love when a book can do that to me.
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I listened to this one via audiobook and it was narrated by Kelsey Navarro Foster and James Anderson Foster and they did a great job! I listened to this one very fast! Highly recommending the audio!
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Switched will be released on 2/20. I think my romance and romcom friends will love this one! Huge thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Ready and W. W. Crown and Swift and Lewis Publishing for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.
Body switching
Forced proximity
Magical realism
Boss/employee
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.
I always enjoy Sarah's writing. It pulls me into the story and makes me connect with the characters.
My only complaint this go round was the audiobook got confusing at times due to it not being duel or duet.
We met Serena in Ghosted, so I was excited to read her story. I definitely picture Henry as a hot nerd. Love an MMC with glasses.
The banter with them being in each other's bodies was hilarious. Serena being attracted to her own boobs 😅 Henry having a period 🙈
Not a closed door, but just one semi-spicy scene towards the end.
I found the story of Switched funny and original, I loved listening to it on audiobook! Serena and Henry think they have their lives figured out and know what they want and their priorities and tastes couldn't be more different. But oops, something they don't understand happens and suddenly, Serena is Henry and Henry is Serena! Everything is switched, turned upside down, a 180º turn and the worst part is that if they don't manage to switch back quickly... they are in danger of losing their lives. I really liked seeing how they respond to the fact of finding themselves in each other's body and having to pretend, in front of everyone, that everything is normal. I recommend it, it's a good light read!
Switched is Book 2 in the Ghosted series by Sarah Ready and it is the most AMAZING book. I laughed so much in this book and I could not put it down. I fell in love with this characters!! If you like fake dating, accidental workplace romance, forced proximity, romantic comedies with a strong female character who loves Star Trek then you will like this book.
Serena Otaki(FMC) is from California, she is a vegetarian who hates tea, but loves coffee, loves her cat Captain Purkk, and is a huge Star Trek fan. She is a theoretical physicist who lives in Geneva, Switzerland, is messy and unorganized and who is happy being single. She sees no point in being in a relationship because the person you are in a relationship with always tries to change who you are and she doesn’t want to change, she likes who she is and what she does.
Henry Joules(MMC) is kind of the complete opposite. Henry is from the UK, loves to eat red meat, does not drink coffee, but loves a good cup of tea and wants a corgi. He also lives in Geneva, Switzerland is very clean and organized, and is ready to settle down. He believes in love and wants to find it.
The dialogue and tension between these two is fantastic the way they made rules that they couldn’t touch themselves while they were in the other body. It’s similar to Freaky Friday, but 100x’s better. You could not have found better narrator’s for this book then Kelsey Navarro Foster and James Anderson Foster they were the perfect Serena and Henry. I could go on, but I don’t want to spoil this book for anyone especially the funny parts that had me in tears. I cannot recommend this book enough. Thank you Sarah Ready and NetGalley for letting me listen to this ARC for my honest thoughts and opinions.