I loved this one and will be buying a copy as soon as I can! Already recommended it to a few friends! The behind was a bit rough but the last 20% were again

I’m generally a major fan and supporter of Sarah Ready, and the first two books in the Ghosted series were both incredible! However, this one, Fated, left me scratching my head and wondering if it really came from the same imagination. It felt different than all her other books (I’ve read many, but not all), and just didn’t live up to my hopes and expectations, based on the previous two and the blurb.

I was left wanting so much more or maybe just something else out of this story - it was OK but I really didn’t enjoy the dreaming scenario and wondering how everything would play out, and if Fiona would wind up with her best friend in reality, Max (sort of a love triangle bit there, which I don’t like), or with the dream sequence guy McCormick and the other life she seems to fall into, and his friend Robert... When the twist is revealed I was really disappointed - plus, the multiple love triangle aspect really turned me off (as it always does)…

I’m sure there will be many who enjoy this one, but even though I’m mostly a Ready fan, she still has a title or two in her catalogue that I don’t jive with (and that’s ok). She has others that are my fave books, so I’m sure that the next release (Wished, in October) will be one of those new faves! Still - you should give this one a try, even though it didn’t work for me.

Narrated by Shakira Shute, who always does a great job, she couldn’t increase my impression of this one. She gets a good rating for her performance, however! I do always enjoy hearing from her.

I received an advance copy from NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing (IBPA), and this is my honest feedback.

The narrator was FANTASTIC. I enjoyed the book a lot more because of how fantastic the narration was. I usually don’t pick up stuff with kids but this was written so well! Would HIGHLY recommend the audiobook!

The characters were so loveable, and I teared up at certain points. It was a really good read! I would definitely read more books by this author and would also check out more books narrated by Shakira Shute!

I received a free copy of this audiobook and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Much thanks to Sarah Ready, Swift & Lewis Publishing, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED this book. I did not want to stop listening; I know that's over used hype for most books these days (I can't believe we've made "unputdownable" a word), but I honestly was loath to stop listening, to the point that I had headphones on while watching TV with my family, which I almost never do because it feels super rude and exclusionary to me. But I was dying to know what the fuck was going on here.

I'm sure there are oodles of plot holes if I cared to look for them; there usually are in plots that mess with time. Some things I plain don't understand---What the heck was she doing with a gun? What was the point of shooting herself? What was Becca experiencing while Fiona was in her body? (Did it not weird Fiona out to be in someone else's body??)

And a couple things really tested my suspension of disbelief. No one else was concerned by Becca's suddenly split personality? No one considered she'd developed DID? I refuse to believe a person wouldn't have been tempted to google some things out of sheer curiosity, to find out if they're real. I've never had a lucid dream, so I can't speak from that angle, but if your dream felt that real, contained so many details, and you could remember it all when you woke, wouldn't you wonder?

But I loved the story, the characters, so much that I did my best to ignore all that. Fiona might not be the most relatable of characters as far as her circumstances---the rich CEO of a Swiss watch company--but her lack of self-confidence and hesitancy toward relationships, her general compassion and sympathy for others, endeared her to me.

When we first met Aaron, I thought he would be one of those super sexy, gruff-to-the-point-of rude, controlling alpha males we see so often in novels. But no, he was actually quietly vulnerable, very sweet, mature, and lacking in self-confidence, but not in a way that made him needy or whiny. He was fully aware of his flaws and countered them with selflessness, doing everything he could to help other people and atone for his mistakes.

I. Loved. That. Man. When I found out . . . There were tears. Many tears.

I do wish I'd gotten to know Becca better, let her speak for herself. We really just heard a bunch of gossip about her, other people's opinions about her, and were left to make assumptions. I had such mixed feelings about her.

I loved all the children, though I wanted to shake Amy for going back for a book. I understand, I'd be tempted, too, but books are replaceable. Max seemed like a great guy, but I was rather indifferent to him; he wasn't Aaron. I liked Daniel in this book better than I liked him in his own book!

Yes, this book seems to take place before Ghosted, which makes my eye twitch a little; I went back to Ghosted and scanned the end for mention of Fiona having a husband or children but couldn't find any, at least not without rereading Ghosted in entirety. So there aren't any major continuity issues, but there isn't an obvious connection, either, aside from the Abry thing, of course.

This was a long book, but I was not ready for it to end. The epilogue we got was cute, but I needed more---how did they decide to live their life together? On the island, in Geneva, both? Did Aaron keep being a man of all work and swim on the side, or swim the most and tinker in his downtime? No way was Fiona able to continue working as much as she was used to. What was the custody situation like going forward? Did Fiona and Aaron have more children?

Sigh. Hopefully there will be another book in the series, perhaps focusing on Max, and we'll get to revisit Aaron and Fiona. Overall, highly recommended, but you'll enjoy it more if you can let the wonky bits go.

*Can be read as a standalone.*

When I first picked up this novel, I was in the midst of a reading slump, and it took me some time to fully immerse myself in the story. However, once I got into it, I found myself captivated! I was so engrossed that I ended up reading the entire second half of the novel in a single sitting! In contrast to its two predecessors, this entry in the series takes on a more serious and introspective tone. It delves deeper into the themes and emotions surrounding time travel romance, making it a compelling read for anyone who enjoys this genre.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Ready, and Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

The emotional tension in this story stays so high from the beginning. I don't know how the author does it, but I feel everything the characters feel. I absolutely did not guess the twist that was coming, not even a little bit. I cried my way through several chapters, and I totally rearranged my schedule so I could finish and get to the happy parts. The narrator did a fantastic job with the characters and the accents involved. I really loved this.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 ALC Review

What a read! This is book Three of the Ghosted series by Sarah Ready. I haven’t read the first two and it can be read as a standalone. I will admit that I signed up to read this on NetGalley because the book cover is so pretty! Yes, I am one of those readers. Do I regret it? Did the beautiful cover let me down? Of course not, it exceeded expectations!

Here we meet Fiona, heiress of a Swiss watch making company. She is gifted an antique watch that makes her dreams a reality.

"I'm in love with a dream, with a man who isn't real, and there isn't any coming back from it."

The love story is so beautiful and unique, our MMC McCormick is a dream boat! The perfect book boyfriend. There was so much chemistry and unexpected plot twists that had me truly enjoying the book. I will not say much more, I am a firm believer in not spoiling the story, the book summary does say the following: She meets the man of her dreams in her dreams.

“he's invaded my world. even when he's not real, not here, I still feel him next to me."

The narrator of the audiobook Shakira Shute was excellent. She was perfect for the characters and enhanced the enjoyment of the book. I look forward to reading the first two in the series.

Thank you to the author Sarah Ready and Net Galley for the advanced copy of the audio book!

The third in Sarah Ready’s magical realism-meets-impossible romance standalone novels, this takes on the man of your dreams-literally! Fiona is living a jam-packed life without love when she’s given a family heirloom rumored to give you dreams of what you want most. When she wakes up next to a strange man on a tropical island, she thinks she’s been abducted until she discovers in this life, she’s married with kids and living a simple life. Every night, Fiona returns to this dream life but when things get serious and she starts falling for her dream husband, she has to decide whether to return to real-life where he doesn’t exist but her daughter does, or stay in this dream world.
At first, I struggled to get into this one. It just felt so impossible and it was hard to like Fiona at times but WOW-once the book hits its stride, the story really takes off and I was pulled in. A beautiful romance told well by the narrator.
Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is the Third Novel in Sarah Ready’s Ghosted series and unfortunately, it’s also my least favorite.

It revolves around Daniel’s (from the first book) sister, Fiona. She’s gifted a watch that allows her to meet the love of her life in her dreams. So why was it not my favorite? Simply, the plot wasn’t well developed until too late for me. Sarah Ready’s writing style for me is strongest in terms of its lyrical, prose and her ability to deal with complex emotions. That’s still true here but it’s hard to focus on while you’re trying to figure out what the heck’s going on with the plot. In the earlier books in the series the magical realism elements are more straightforward in terms of the ‘rules’ of the magical set up. In this case it was too nebulous for me to really grip onto until way too late in the story.

I did still enjoy the book though. Especially the second half. I found the ending extremely satisfying, it just took way too long to get to that point.

Wow! Just Wow! The twists and turns of this book almost gave me heart failure. I laughed, I sniffled, I was frustrated, I was gleeful. This book will run you through the gamut in this sweet romance, but look a bit deeper and you'll find a deeper meaning beneath the surface. You should always be open to trust, love and dreaming even when you've been hurt and want to close yourself off. There is always room for love if you make space for it, but first you have to love and trust yourself. The characters were so very well crafted. Even those you hated or wanted to hate, were well done so that you were left with a mixed feeling about them. The plots for each book in the series is so creatively crafted and original that you can't help falling in love with it. Even my husband has listened to this series with me and has enjoyed the books. To say the romance genre is not his usual cup of tea is an understatement, but these audiobooks are so well crafted that even he has enjoyed them. I'm already chomping at the bit for the next book and I've just barely finished listening to the last word from this one! I do have to say that this book is the standout in the series for me as the best yet! Don't get me wrong they are all great books, but this one really hit me in the heart and brought me fully inside the book to feel as though I was living it! All I can say is, give me more, more, more!!!

Can we stop for a second and talk about how this Sarah Ready series just KEEPS GETTING BETTER?!? I mean, honestly, I liked the other two but this one takes the cake. It was SO GOOD. I loved it so so so much. I can’t hardly review it because I don’t want to spoil a minute of it for you. Just know, the build up is so wonderfully done and then the ending is just *chefs kiss.* I was so mad and so happy all together and just couldn’t stop listening to this one.

Sarah Ready tells beautiful love stories, effortlessly blending warmth, angst, and a bit of magic.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️♾️
🌶️🌶️

💭 overall thoughts:
Not sure how I haven’t learned by now that Sarah will completely rip my heart out before putting it back together 😭 I've added another of her books to my favorites list! I loved this so much.

Fiona is a single mom & CEO of her late father’s watch company. She lives a very busy life, one that she was born into. She’s given a watch that lets you dream what you really want, and it takes her into another life.

Fiona loves parts of both of these lives, and it pushes her to figure out what she truly desires. The dream world gives her a place to safely explore love, and a completely different way to live than she’s used to.

I had so many theories and none were true 😅 I did very much enjoy the ride. I fell hard for Fiona & Aaron, and I was hoping for them to end up together somehow.

While listed as 3rd in the series, you definitely don’t have to read the first two books - this one actually takes place before, so there’s very little connection (except Fiona’s brother Daniel being the mmc in Ghosted).

🤍side characters:
I’m very much looking forward to book 4, Wished - Max deserves his happily ever after! I loved how much he supported & respected Fiona.

🎧 audiobook thoughts:
Sarah Ready always has me discovering incredible narrators! Shakira Shute embodied Fiona so well, and added so much to the story.

tropes + topics:
✨ magical realism
💭 dream world
🙃 opposites attract
👩‍💼 single mom & CEO
👩‍❤️‍👨 soulmates/meant to be
🫶🏼 found family
💜 single 1st person pov

✨ books with similar vibes:
♡ The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

Thank you to Sarah Ready, Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC and NetGalley for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I didn’t realize this was book 3 but honestly I don’t think you need to read the first two. They must be just interconnected or themed similarly. I like the story well enough. I was a bit confused why we were spending so much time in one version of the story versus the other but it did tie together at the end. I’d describe this as magical fiction with a romance component. This was not like your typical romance book.

Fiona is living a successful life in Geneva, and dreams her perfect man on a tropical island. What is real? The plot is good, but it takes so long to get anywhere. The descriptions of everything, The lists that go on, the ponderous pace and repetition mean the plot does drag, especially in an audio book., where it is harder to skim over and move on. It is a good story and has great characters, but long winded in the telling

This is one of those reviews where it is very difficult not to spoil anything about it. At the end of the day, I loved this book/story. Sarah has a way of writing characters that you just can't help falling in love with and rooting for. I so desperately wanted to know what was going to happen with Fi, I truly couldn't stop listening/reading.

I don't know if I should say this, but about halfway through this book, I skipped to the end to see how it was going to end before I could go back to finish it. I knew when I was doing it that I should just trust that Sarah was going to get the characters where I wanted them to be, but I didn't trust that. I've read a few books from this author at this point, and she's never let me down, so I should have known this book was going to end exactly as I wanted it to, and it 100 % did. All this to say, trust the process, Fiona will end up exactly where she's meant to be.

This was a great addition to a series I'm really enjoying, and I'm so excited it's not ending with this one. I'm very excited to see how Max's story plays out in Wished. If you enjoy fantasy/paranormal romances, I would definitely suggest reading this one. I know my reviews normally include a listing of tropes, but doing that now would spoil too much. So, just know it's a fantasy/paranormal romance, and there is a HEA guaranteed.

I really like this author, but this one just didn’t work for me. After having her heart broken in so many ways, Fiona decides to live her life for her daughter, friends and running the family watchmaking business with her brother. Her mother flits back in for a moment and drops off a magic watch that will in her dreams change her world and allow her to live the life she is supposed to. For me, there was too much back and forth, to much going on and for whatever reason, I just didn’t really comment with the characters. It does have a lovely wrap up, but for me, the getting there didn’t draw me in like in her other books.

Thank you NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for the ARC of this book.

This is my third Sarah Ready book and she has now become an auto-buy author for me! I have loved everything of hers that I've read. She is a magical realism master.

Fated has two timelines (of sorts) with one person, Fiona, in both. She moves between her real life and a dream world that she travels to in her dreams via an old pocket watch. The end became a bit confusing during the big reveal, but overall, the two timelines worked well.

Fiona is faced with a difficult life decision - settling for a gem of a man that she knows isn't her one, or keep looking for that love she believes is out there. She actually finds him, but he's in her dream timeline. What's a woman to do when your perfect match is living in your dreams?

This book was just fantastic. I loved Fiona's journey. And I really appreciated her end decision. The two opposite settings (Geneva and a tropical island) gave the best of both worlds. All of the characters were loveable and kind and it made it hard to decide who to root for. This was a solid romance that I highly recommend!

The narration of the book was great! She had the prefect accent for both timelines and all the characters. It's not often that a female narrator can do a top notch male voice as well. I thought it was great!

Thank you to the author, #Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced copy of Fated in exchange for an honest review. I rotated between the ebook and audio formats.

I always start by saying, I leap at the opportunity to read a Sarah Ready book early! Especially one in the Ghosted series! I absolutely loved Ghosted, really enjoyed Switched and now can’t stop thinking about Fated!

I didn’t realize initially that this story begins prior to when the story of Ghosted took place. That was a pleasant surprise! It was SO lovely to see Daniel come to life again on the page and this time as a loving brother and uncle.

Fated is overall incredibly creative. Sarah Ready was able to vividly depict both worlds (real life and dream world) of which the main character, Fiona was living. Every scene on the island felt palpable. Aaron/McCormick was swoon worthy! It was so riveting to see where Fiona would be when she reentered the dream and what occurred in that world while she was awake. My brain tends to be overly analytical (even when reading), so a healthy dose of magical realism is needed from time to time and this delivered!

I loved the complexity of the familial relationships in both worlds. I was happy that Fiona and Max had each other and part of my heart pulled her in his direction. Although Fiona’s mother was not there for her how she needed throughout her life, I could still feel the genuine love she had for her daughter. The story about acquiring the watch was funny! I loved how devoted of a mother and mother figure Fi was. She had such a big heart!

I thought this would follow the format of the first two in the series and have an epilogue from another POV. I think it would’ve been interesting to hear from either Aaron or Max.

The narration was absolutely beautiful!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book especially the style of writing this author has mastered. Sarah has a unique style of including so much description in every sentence that your imagination is really turned on. The story kept me engaged from start to finish. I look forward to her next book.

Unfortunately the audiobook archived the same day I was approved. Luckily I was sent a book copy to read and review. Please check out my actual review under the book version. I'm looking forward based on other reviews I've read.