I was expecting this story to be happening after Ghosted and Switched but it wasn’t so I was a little confused. The story was great though and I liked Fiona. I thought it wasn’t very fair that the person Fiona jumped into in the dream was a cheating jerky woman and kept wrecking everything for Aaron and Fiona. Some of the logistics of the dreaming was a bit far fetched but it was easy to look past that and just enjoy the story. I felt bad for Max but all’s well that ends well. Maybe Ready’s next book will have Max finding the love of his life. The ending was fabulous and really fun to read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sarah Ready for a copy of this book.

I have loved this series so far but when I found out that this book was about dreaming, I was super keen to read this. I dream a lot and often remember my dreams. So I was really interested to see where this book went. The plot twists were heart wrenching and I cried, more than once! I listened to this as an audiobook and the narrator was fabulous. I really loved the characters, and the character development was wonderful. I was so invested in these characters and this story. So much love for this one! I can't wait for the next installment - bring on Max's story!

Big thanks to NetGalley, Swift & Lewis Publishing, Independent Book Publishers Association, and Sarah Ready for this early release copy in exchange for my honest review.

Sadly, this book just did not do it for me. I loved LOVED Switched, and still hope to read Ghosted, but Fated felt very blah. Fiona/Becca had very little substance to her and it was difficult for me to care about her fate. Plus, the whole "real love" vs "dream love" and the wisdom she tried to get out of the experience was a real stretch. The emotions felt forced, there was a lot of filler-type descriptions, and I got bored. By the time the ending occurred, it didn't matter to me anymore.

What an interesting read! This was my first introduction to Sarah Ready’s writing and I was not disappointed. Fated is the 3rd book in the Ghosted series, and even though I did not read the first 2 books, I enjoyed this book as a standalone novel. The premise is that Fiona (FMC) is living a very busy life, focusing on the family business and her daughter, all while keeping her dreams on the back burner. That all changes when she is given a family heirloom which she was told would let her dream her greatest desires. What she experiences in her dreams changes how she lives her reality. As the story is told, we bounce between current reality, her dreams, and the past to learn more about her and her loved ones’ life experiences. I actually really enjoyed this back and forth between her reality and her dreams and seeing the contrast in those two worlds well as the journey across time. I could feel all the emotions that were being experienced; fear, struggle, excitement, heartbreak, hope, sorrow, love… Without giving spoilers, the ending was NOT what I expected but it was so good! Overall, the book was full of descriptive imagery, had elements of romance and fantasy, and was a relatively fast read. I definitely added the rest of the Ghosted series to my TBR and can’t wait to read more of Sarah Ready’s writing.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

1.5
Okay so the concept of the book sounded really interesting, and that's about where my positive feedback stops. Both parallels felt like not enough was happening but also that what was happening could have been condensed. It's like the plot wasn't super well thought out. In her dream it seemed like it sucked pretty bad so I have no idea why she kept going back. The writing also felt confusing, like there were time things didn't make tons of sense.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fiona is too busy for love. She is busy running Abery, a watch company, with her brother and raising her daughter. Love is the last thing on her mind. After a traumatic shooting, resulting in her being injured she throws herself into work to help her forget about the incident. When her mother shows up after years of not seeing or speaking to her, and gives her a watch that she says will help her dream of what she desires most, Fiona tries it out. She is thrust into a dream world where she realizes what she most desires is to love and be loved. Every night she returns to her dream world, but this world isn’t hers.

I really liked this book! The way Sarah Ready weaved a magical element into the story was beautiful. It captured my attention from the get go and the story was wonderful. I didn’t feel a deep attachment to the characters right off the bat, and it took me a bit. I didn’t even realize until about 80% in just how attached I got to the characters. By then I was so deeply invested in Fiona, Aaron, and his kids and was rooting for them to make it work.

Sarah Ready is my favorite romance/romcom author for a reason. Fated once again proves that I can count on her to deliver a story that will capture me and satisfy me!

While the paranormal/magical realism is not my normal go to when it comes to romance in my books, Ready’s Ghosted Series is the exception.

Fated gives new meaning to ‘The Man of my Dreams!’


Excellent story and I can’t wait for the next book in this series.

This book is literally bonkers and I can’t tell if that’s in a good or bad way

Like this was a wild fever dream, I’m not sure if I was awake or asleep. I have no idea if this was good or not. At the very least I will say that I had to finish it so much so I stayed up until 1am to find out what the heck was going on.


SPOILERS BELOW:

I think the added story line of Becca and Aaron just made the whole thing sour. I understand it as a plot device but it just mad my stomach angry. Like are Fi and Aaron going to talk about how Sean might not be his. Becca was a genuinely terrible person. Robert was too, to be honest. Max was fine and that story line made sense to me but the way the dreaming, not dreaming like person walking…idk.
Did I mention how much I hate Becca?

I loved this book!!! It was so well written, with so many moments of wonder. Of amazement. Of relief. And most of all, of love. The story was unique, and tender. Man, my heart was so touched. I couldn't put the book down, and read it in one sitting!!!

I loved all the elements of the book, and I loved that I was surprised at different points. It's so much fun to be surprised, and pleasantly so.

I'd definitely recommend this book!!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I didn't feel much of an attachment to the characters until about 60% of the way through and then I really enjoyed the direction and ending. I didn't realize this was #3 in a series and have not read the others so I can't speak on if that matters. I think you probably would have had a connection with the characters right away if you've read the others, that may have been what lacked in the beginning for me. The sibling relationship is great.

I received an advanced review copy and audio copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through Netgalley.

I absolutely love sarah ready books. Any of them. But this one? Its the best one yet. The concept is so unique, and so hopeful. The characters are so good, lovable, and you really see the development of both the characters and their relationship. I also really love the connection to part 1 in this series (daniel).

The narrator is awesome as well, you feel like youre inside their world, i barely noticed i was listening to a book.

Thank you to netgalley and the author for sending me the book in exchange for an honest review

Oh, how we love the Ghosted series by Sarah Ready! We honestly feel giddy with excitement every time she releases a new book in this ‘suspend all belief’ series of pure romance with a dashing of suspense, angst, broken hearts, and ultimate dreams of ‘the one’! Every book so far has won our hearts and Fated has now completed the perfect trifecta by this Author in the Ghosted series. If you’ve not jumped on the Sarah Ready -fan train- yet you simply must, we implore you.

Fated is another interconnected standalone in the Ghosted series and we’re back in beautiful Geneva, by Lac Leman, taking in the fresh mountain air and the wonderful flower scents of the Jardin Anglais, flower clock. Fated is the story of Fiona Abry who, alongside her brother Daniel (who we met in Ghosted book #1), runs the family Swiss watch company. Fiona is a dreamer at heart, though is you ask her she’ll deny it. She guards her heart fiercely whilst living a very self-controlled organised life that’s focussed on her business as well as her daughter. Fiona has not been lucky in love, in fact she stays well away from it, as people who are meant to love you always leave you.

Now, what Sarah Ready excels at is showing just what will happen if you’re helped along the way to seek your heart’s desire. Your soulmate. What Fiona desires most is a fervent love that’s pure, honest, and unselfish. And as things would have it, sometimes the path to wondrous love turns out to be incredibly unconventional and instigated by the person we least expect.

Fated is beautiful, agonisingly emotional, just pretty perfect. We had tears in our eyes as we read with gigantic smiles on our faces. Our hearts raced and our hearts broke. What an immensely beautiful story with such lovable characters. To be honest, our expectations were high when we started Fated but unsurprisingly Sarah Ready matched and exceeded them in a heartbeat!

Fiona Abry has no time for love.
When she is gifted a magical family heirloom that allows you to dream of your hearts desire, Fiona finds herself dreaming night after night, of a little island town, and a sleepy cottage that she lives in with a man and their two children.
Every night Fiona returns to this life, a life that is not hers.

I love a Sarah Ready romance. Its the perfect balance of life, love and magic.
These characters, the story, the town, the confusion between what is real and what is a dream, I loved it all!

Charming and delightful - a welcome addition to the earlier books I've read by Sarah Ready. Well done

I liked Fated. Like always, Ready did a great job with the magical realism genre. Having read the other books in this series, I liked what Ready did with this book. I never wanted the dream world scenes to end. I wish there was more explanation about what Becca was doing in the dream world. I didn't find it believable that Aaron would stay with Becca for that long. I thought Fi and Aaron were cute love interests. I liked how Ready tied everything together at the end...there were some points where I questioned where the author was taking the story. I wish the beginning scene with the gala wasn't brushed under the rug. I thought Ready could have added more depth to Fi's character with that. This was a LONG book. I felt that some of the scene descriptions were a little dragged out. Overall, this was a decent read. Thank you to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC for the ARC.

fated by sarah ready

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

contains:
* a lot of love
* fated lovers
* magical realism
* two different worlds
* single mum
* closed door romance
* finding the ‘spark’

an easy romance that was filled with love, laughter, grief, sparks, vulnerability, fear and bravery, it was such a delight for fated to be my first of sarah’s reads…and it has only made me want to read more🫶🏼

fiona is running her family’s swiss watch company, and has very little time for anything other than work or her family - especially any vacation time and definitely not a love life…

…until she holds the family heirloom which allowed her to dream what she truly desires…however real those dreams may feel💫

fiona starts to fall HARD for the man in her dreams, a second life on the beach that lives only in her dreams, but in the end it’s not fate, it’s just a dream☁️

i loved sarah’s writing style, how she could write fiona’s pain, and show aaron’s unconditional love and confusion at the same time🥹

let’s just say, i laughed, i awed, and i most certainly cried🥹😇

fated is a standalone book, within a series of 4 books in total - who doesn’t love a series you can read in any order?!☝🏼

release date: july 16th - if you haven’t thought of picking this one up yet…please do🤩

thank you to @netgalley @sarahreadyauthor and swift&lewis publishing for sending me the e-arc for review!!💗

˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚

📚 Fated @sarahreadyauthor
⭐ 5/5
(Part of the Ghosted series, Fated releases on 16th July'24💜)

Thanks to @netgalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with the e-ARC of this amazing book!
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💌 REVIEW:: I've seen posts about Sarah's books all over my feed but i never had time to read one, until Fated. This book was so beautifully and poetically written and had me spilling tears into my pillow. 🥹

The plot is pretty simple, but the way the author wove the words together, filled with laughter, magic, vulnerability, fear, grief abandonment, love, and bravery, was something that stuck with me.

Fiona seems to have it all together; being the heiress to a generations owned watch company, single mother to a precious daughter, with a loving brother and guy best friend; who hopes one day he and Fiona will be more than just that.

Still, Fiona feels something is missing in her. With an heirloom watch clutched to her heart she falls asleep into a dream, a dream that feels a little too real. Her husband Aaron, and their two children, on an island should be perfect. But all is not perfect there either, well, except Aaron.

The author's writing style really had me in my feels🥹, not just with Fiona's pain but also with Aaron's aching vulnerability, his confusion and his unconditional love. From the beginning to the full circle end I was left in wonder and awe💕

"There's something there...hovering at the edges of my mind...since I woke up. It's as if I...saw the most beautiful love, but now it's gone...A distant echo of something...I can only feel the pang of a loss so great my heart aches...for something beautiful...I can't remember, but know I loved... it's like a dream."

The stunning transcendent romance Fated, poetically, beautifully written, by gifted versatile author Sarah Ready, left me grabbing the Kleenex and guarding my heart.

The premise appears simple, but like all her romances, the path to true love is a twisty winding road filled with fear, loss, vulnerability, grief, abandonment, sparks, laughter, wonderment, magic, bravery and timeless love.

Fiona seems to have it all with a Swiss chateau, heiress to a prominent generations owned watch company, single mother to a precious daughter, a loving brother and Max; who hopes one day he and Fiona will be more than best friends.

But Fiona knows something is missing, broken in her. She loves Max but isn't in love with him...why? With an heirloom watch clutched to her heart she falls asleep into a dream, a dream that feels real. Her husband Aaron, and two children, on an idyllic island should be a respite but all is not perfect there either. Well one thing is perfect...Aaron.

Voice actress @shakirashute_voiceover broke me, not just with Fiona's pain but Aaron's aching vulnerability, his confusion and his unconditional love.

I was wrong at every turn of where this genius writer was taking me. From the beginning to the full circle end I was left in wonder and awe. Part of The Ghosted series, it's very much a standalone and it stands alone Fated to be a romance classic.

I received a free copy of this book/audiobook from the publishers via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

3 stars

Fiona Abry leads a guarded life, deeply committed to her role in her family's prestigious Swiss watchmaking business in Geneva. She cherishes her relationships with her daughter, her brother Daniel, and her best friend Max, but after past heartbreak, she keeps love at arm's length. Everything changes when her whimsical mother gifts her a family heirloom watch rumoured to reveal one's deepest desires in dreams. Intrigued by the possibility, Fiona decides to test its mystical powers. Soon, Fiona finds herself transported during her sleep to a vivid alternate reality: she's married to a devoted man and raising two children on a tropical island in a charming beachside cottage. This dream life stirs unfamiliar emotions within Fiona, challenging her guarded heart. But how can she reconcile falling in love with a life that exists only in dreams?

Sarah Ready's latest novel, "Fated", captivated me from start to finish. As a standalone within a series that features Fiona's brother Daniel, it skilfully blends elements of magical realism with a poignant exploration of love and longing. The narrative unfolds with lyrical prose and a deeply romantic tone, though it remains tastefully restrained in its depiction of intimacy.

While I found myself swept away by the enchanting premise and Sarah's evocative descriptions of tropical locales, I did encounter moments where the pacing faltered slightly. At times, the story felt elongated, particularly in the lush descriptions that, while beautiful, occasionally begged for brevity. This led me to switch between formats—audiobook and ebook—seeking a balance between immersion and pace. "Fated" remains a standout in its genre, offering a narrative tapestry that weaves together themes of love, destiny, and the allure of what might have been. Fans of magical realism in particular will undoubtedly savour this tale.

3.75⭐️

“You feel it. It’s real. “

If I am 💯 honest it took me a while to get into my feels for this one, it was just hard to wrap my head around a pretend relationship at first. But this dream life was beautifully written and it slowly like Fi, it won me over. You just need to let yourself believe in magic.

I was given an ARC copy of this book and my opinions are my own.