I love the uniqueness of each read by Sarah Ready. Wished falls in line with the other beautifully crafted stories I've read by Ready, and they always make me feel so fulfilled and satisfied at the end. Ready has a way with creating a world and building it up to where you feel like you are part of it, and then taking you through the rollercoaster of life each character faces. The storylines are always so different, and Wished did not disappoint. This was a beautifully written masterpiece, and I cannot wait to indulge in the next piece by Sarah Ready.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Highly, highly recommended!

This was such a cute read! I will be honest, Max was not my favorite-offering to settle and live a mediocre life in the last book without passion, no thanks! But he was definitely redeemed this book. It was less twisty than prior books in this series, but it made it a nice and almost comforting cozy read. I loved the deeper look at all the things that play into what could actually happen if wishes came true, the complicated nuances we may never even realize. A great wrap up to these characters stories! I absolutely love this series!

Sarah Ready is quickly becoming a favorite author! And her Ghosted series is why. I didn’t realize how much I would love the magical realism genre, but here I am having read the whole series in the last month, and I still want more! Sarah’s writing pulls you in and she gives so much detail, but not in an excessive way, it is just so easy to see in my mind and feel like you’re there watching the story unfold around you.

Anna and Max’s story was such a unique take on a wish come true, and I loved it. The prologue starting in Max’s POV and then jumping back in time and giving Anna’s was perfectly done. I’m not usually a fan of insta-love but this one is done right. There were so many giggles and sweet moments between them as they navigated how and if they should reverse the wish, and dang were there some good quotes throughout. The ending was perfection and left such a satisfied and content feeling that I don’t always have with books. I definitely recommend you read this one, and the others in the series.

I had the privilege of listening to the audiobook and reading the ebook and that was such a neat experience. To listen to the narrators while also being able to read the book just made the story all the more come alive in my mind. The narrators did an amazing job at breathing life into Anna and Max and I would recommend to anyone who can, listen to it while you read it. It just makes it even more magical!

Great job yet again, Sarah! Now… what’s next? I need more!

The writing is lovely. The characters are compelling. I liked the message of the story. There were lots of important things said about love and living. But it was hard to listen to Anna tell herself all the reasons she shouldn't be happy. The overall tone of the story was sad, and I hadn't been expecting that. The narrator did a very good job with the characters and accents. I enjoyed listening to this.

Sarah Ready did it again with this series. I love magical realism and Sarah Ready is a master of it.

5 stars
2 spice

Book review 📚
Wished by Sarah Ready
⭐⭐⭐⭐

So, this is book 4 of a series, that can easily be read as a standalone. But I have previously read Fated (book 3) and when I was approved for Wished as an ARC, I decided I wanted to go and read the other books in the series (Ghosted and Switched) prior to reading Wished, and I am glad I did.

I have very quickly become a huge fan of Sarah Ready because her writing skill is unmatched. For such simple (in a nice way) stories, she really has a way of keeping you interested and wanting to read more.

Although the story does start quite slow in Wished, you will be happy you held on when you get further in and you become obsessed with needing answers and outcomes. The characters are well described and beautifully portrayed, the world building is as magical as always, leaving me desperate for me and the writing is just so beautifully done.

This has been such a wild series and I’ve loved every second of it, I just wish it hadn’t of taken me as long as it did to read them.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Steam Level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 (very descriptive open door scenes)

Anna Benoit is in love with Max Barone. The only problem? He doesn't know she exists. Anna spends her days cleaning Max's home, and he barely even notices her. Then one day, everything changes. Anna wakes up happily married to Max. But how? Can wishes actually come true? Now Anna must decide whether or not to reverse her wish or stay in her new reality. But if she gives up her dream, will she ever get a chance at love?

I've been a Sarah Ready fan for a few years now, but I will admit that this series hasn't caught my interest. I actually DNF'd Ghosted and skipped the next two stories. When I read the description for this on Netgalley, though, I thought it sounded promising. I'm here to say that my Sarah Ready love has been rekindled, because this was a great romance full of magical realism. Yes, this is a love at first sight/insta-love situation, but trust me when I say that the chemistry was there from the beginning. Watching Max and Anna get to know each other and fall in love was enchanting. I loved the moments in Paris and could feel the angst as they both grappled with the decision of whether or not to set things right and cancel Anna's wish. This gave me The Family Guy vibes, but steamier and without kids. It also made me think of The Good Part by Sophie Cousens, although this one worked for me (sorry to the diehard fans who adored that one). Clearly, you don't have to read the other books in the series to enjoy this one, although the epilogue did name drop the other characters, which will satisfy those who love getting little glimpses of past couples when finishing a series. I'm looking forward to seeing what Sarah Ready has planned next!

Thank you Netgalley and Swift and Lewis Publishing LLC for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

4 stars
TW: past family trauma, loss of a parent, side character hospitalised, injury to a loved one

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy to review. All thoughts are my own.

I've enjoyed how Ready has created this series, and each concept feels unique and well-presented. Whilst I wasn't a huge fan of Max in the last book where he was a side character, I came to thoroughly enjoy him in his own book. However, Anna is truly the star of this book, and I found her really rewarding to read.

I said this about book three too, but some of the tropes used in this book (in this case, instalove, rich guy poor girl) are not ones I usually enjoy, but the way the author utilised them made it a non-issue for me, and I'm impressed by this skill. I enjoyed Anna's naive love at first sight for a man she didn't know enough about, but I appreciated it more when she realised that she couldn't conform to the wish's parameters and enjoy loving Max against his own free will. She is a dreamer but not delusional, and I truly enjoyed this about her. She was happy to accept her wish didn't match Max's feelings and give up that love to make sure he was happy, even at the cost of her own happiness.

However, the twists to Max's feelings were really fun to navigate, and boy was it overwhelming (in a good way) to see him drop his beliefs that passion and love weren't for him. I loved how physically spicy this book got because it worked so well with the dynamics between the main characters. It wasn't placed just to please the thirst readers, but complimented both Anna and Max and how they both expressed passion and feelings. It was very tastefully done and whilst this is the spiciest book in the series, I really appreciate it for being so.

I adore this world, and if this is the last book in the series, I'm very satisfied by the ending of it. Sarah Ready is an instant read for me now.

After finishing Fated I was so excited that the next installation of the Ghosted series would be Max's story.

This one wasn't quite as good as the previous installations. I thought it was a little too insta-love and we didn't get to see their relationship build. It's just like after the wish a switch flipped and Max was in love. I really liked the relationship building in Ready's previous books so this was a little disappointing.

Other than that, it was still a really fun and quirky book. I thought both of the characters were well written and of course, the side characters are always a joy. Ready's premises for her magical romances are so intriguing and original!

REVIEW
cw: mention of death, kidney disease, alcoholism, child abuse, DV, bullying

The moment Anna Benoit caught sight of her enigmatic boss, she was immediately enamoured. Max Barone is the owner of the most prestigious Swiss jewellery company. When Anna makes a wish that she’s married to Max while cleaning his chateau, she wakes up in a topsy-turvy world where her wish comes true, and everyone thinks they've been married for seven years. There's only one problem. Max doesn't even know Anna's name.

I always know I'm in safe hands when I read a book by Sarah Ready, and I ADORED Max from Fated, so I was really excited to read his story. I was also lucky enough to be able to listen to the audiobook alongside reading an eARC, and I highly recommend doing the same as Will Watt & Amanda Ronconi captured Max and Anna perfectly.
I loved getting to know Max better. He was such an interesting character, and understanding why he was so closed off to love made so much sense after we discovered what it did to his parents. I loved the way he was written as such a powder keg of restrained passion. The explosion was intense and extremely satisfying. His fears about love and hate were also sensitively explored. I thought the landmine analogy he talked about was perfect, even though my heart broke for his childhood recollections.
I loved Anna. She was such a sweetheart, and I particularly appreciated how hopeful she was despite everything she'd dealt with in her life. She was such a nurturing person, and I appreciated how she cared for her mother and sister. I loved the almost oppressive chemistry between her and Max after they met for the first time as 'husband and wife'. The way Max's recollections were incorporated was so cleverly done and SO hot, and Agathe, his secretary's reaction to his confusion was hilarious. I also loved their banter as they grew closer.
Their first kiss was sublime. The chapters in Paris were so beautifully written, and I adored the escalating sensual tension between them. It truly was the most exquisite slow burn. Meanwhile, even though I completely understood Anna's ethical dilemma, St Tropez h*rny Max was absolutely hilarious. There's nothing better than a filthy mouth as far as I'm concerned, and Max put his to excellent use.
There were some interesting supporting characters, and I would love to see Anna's sister, Emme, in a story in this series in the future (maybe she could paint herself into a new reality *winks*). I liked Dorene, Anna's boss. She was a lot of fun but also gave great advice.
The magical elements have been a lot of fun in this series, and they were so well executed in this story. I loved that the impact of each wish was a little different but always unexpected. Chapter 31 utterly wrecked me. My heart broke for both of them, but the reunion was absolutely worth the wait. I swooned so much and I ADORED the acrostic ring. Meanwhile, the epilogue was just perfection.
Another truly gorgeous story.

Overall Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Heat Rating: 🔥🔥.5

📱E-Book Review📱

Wished
Sarah Ready

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Oh how delightful it was to be back in the world of the Ghosted series again!
This is the fourth book in the series and we've (me and my son!) been keeping up to date and have read all 4 books in this series now.

Wished takes us back to Geneva and on a journey with Max and Anna.
I loved this because we obviously got to know Max fairly well in book 3 - Fated - when we meet him in Fiona's story.
Now, I don't want to be giving any spoilers for either book if I can help it, but if you read Fated, then you'll know why I felt really upset that Max was missing out.
Hence my joy for this book!

Once again, we're taken on a magical adventure when Anna, Max's cleaner, finds and makes a wish on one of Max's antique pendants and then finds that they're living an alternate life, where they've been married for years!

I just can't say any more about the storyline because in true form, things progress rapidly, things get muddled up and we are swept away in the crazy, romantic bliss of it all.

I absolutely loved Anna from the start. The contrast in her and Max's background and way of life made for a lovely fairytale style plot and the thing I loved most was that Anna wasn't drawn in by the money and wealth, she was just truly and madly in love with Max.

Max's development was just brilliant. From the man we had met in book 3, to see him thrown into this crazy "wish" world was wonderful and to see the changes in him even towards the end of the book - well I just loved every second.

As ever, the writing style is emotive and descriptive and draws you right in from the first to the last page.
Packed with passion, magic, humour and a fair few twists and spicy scenes, I was completely immersed the whole way through.

If you've seen my other ("Ghosted") reviews, then you'll know that I always share this series with my (grown up) son, who never reads books!
This is also why it takes me far longer to finish these books than normal, as we have to schedule it round both our activities - but we made it through another one and we both absolutely loved every second!

We can't wait to see if there'll be another book coming and who we'll see starting in it!?




💕Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my ARC copy - this is my honest review 💕

4.5 stars! I truly love this series by Sarah Ready. I wish it could go on forever. I was so excited to get Max’s story after reading Fated and it didn’t disappoint. This was a fast-paced book and I was able to read it pretty quickly! I enjoyed all the variations of who knew what and in what reality. Max and Anna had great chemistry. I wish we had a few more chapters from Max’s POV but it was fitting to have it start and end with him. I loved the mentions of the characters from previous books in the epilogue. Overall highly recommend this book (and the whole series)!

⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

ARC Review

Wow, this book took me on an emotional rollercoaster - in the best way! 🎢

It’s love at first sight for Anna when she meets the owner of the chateau she cleans, but of course he doesn’t notice her. She makes a wish for them to be married and in love, but what happens when it comes true…? 💎

This story started off quite slow for me, which is the only reason it doesn’t have 5 stars.

Once you get into the story, it’s very exciting and I loved it, finishing it in one sitting. The storyline was unique and the descriptions of the locations were fantastic, really making you want to go and explore them yourself. The main characters were beautifully written and I felt their pain personally, with horrible ugly sobs, but it was really worth it!

The side character Dorene was a hilarious gem to be treasured. 🎞️

I must now go and check out the rest of this series and Sarah’s writing!

This story can be read as a standalone.

Themes/Tropes:
Romance, Emotional Scars, Afraid to Commit, Billionaire, Boss x Employee & Unrequited Love

3/5 🌶 rating

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Mega description dominated the plot🤔

I had high expectations of Wished after loving Fated, the previous magic realism romance in this Sarah Ready series. The basic premise of reshaping their future (and some of their past) thanks to a magical sapphire necklace was definitely intriguing.

But I found Wished a slow go, with way too much of the book spent on describing the setting and every little move they make as cleaning woman Anna and wealthy Swiss jewelry magnate Max go in and around a wheel of encounters and life options after a fateful wish Anna makes to be with Max, a man who says he wants nothing to do with love. Anna is somewhat a Cinderella character because in her daily, scruffy work clothes, debonair Max doesn't really give her a second look. But all that changes when she transforms into someone who's part of his world. The very end was, for me, the best part, but it felt like it took so long to get there.

In the end, I'd say I was not the perfect audience for this particular novel but I would probably take a chance reading more by the author because Fated really did hit me in just the right emotive space.

Thanks to Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

Wished is a sweet, engaging read set against the charming backdrop of Geneva—making me want to book a trip there immediately! Sarah Ready immerses readers in the world of jewellery makers, introducing us to Max and Anna. Their magical story takes us from Geneva to Paris and St Tropez.

Ready’s vivid descriptions and relatable characters make this a delightful addition to her series. If you’re looking for a light, feel-good, romantic escape, give this a go.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

Thanks to Netgalley & Swift & Lewis Publishing for access to this E-ARC! So cute! Loved the romance & all the magic elements. Plus the characters were so well done. Another great book from this author.

Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy to review.

I’m at the point that if Sarah Ready writes it, I’ll read it. The Ghosted series as a whole are the perfect paranormal romances, and Wished stands strong among them.

On a surface level, I recommend this for anyone who loves a good forced proximity/marriage trope. And of course, the well-written steamy scenes are a huge plus.

On a deeper level, I recommend this for the exploration of whether people are who they are because of their experiences or because of their souls. Would we always be who we are, regardless of circumstances? And is who we are a choice?

I loved this one. Keep writing, Sarah Ready. I will keep reading.

Anna Benoit is twenty-something. She lives in Geneva with her mom and her little sister and her job is (along with her boss and neighbor) to clean the magnificent Barone chateau. It's a daunting task to keep the beautiful place in clean and tidy, but the best part of it is seeing its sole occupant: Max Barone, sole heir to the Barone jewelry empire. When she first saw him years ago, it was like she was hit by lightning. They've barely spoken, though, but she lives for the occasional moments when they do. 

When one days she sees one of the precious Barone pieces - a necklace with a handwritten note that says it grants wishes - she takes a shot and wishes she and Max were married. To her utter shock, when she awakes next morning, she's not at home, but in a differently decorated version of Max's bedroom and everyone is calling her Mrs. Barone. Everyone thinks they have been happily married for seven years. Well, everyone except a very confused and annoyed Max. Now, they will have to go on an adventure of sorts to "unwish" everything and make life go back to normal. But sometimes, when you are granted a wish, it's the a magical way in which the Universe just set things right...

This one is delightful! The rich guy/poor girl takes a completely different turn and you get enchanted alongside the characters. You start wishing for them to be happy too. 

If you are a fan of magical  realism and romance, you will definitely fall in love with "The Barones". Lovely story and I am sad the series ended. 

Content notes: mentions of death of parents, bullying, alcoholism, financial insecurity, child abandonment, toxic family relationships

⭐️⭐️⭐️ .5

Ever wanted to make a wish and marry a man you fell in love with at first sight?

I was initially drawn in by the colours in the cover and then the blurb. This is the 4th book in a series, but as I haven’t read any of the Ready’s books before, it’s safe to say this can be read as a stand alone; the theme of magical realism was also a new addition to my reading repertoire.

I thoroughly enjoyed the realistic descriptions that Ready used throughout the book; I was able to envision myself in the story experiencing all of the sensations & feeling all of the feelings. There are a few pretty 🌶️ 🌶️🌶️ scenes, so bear that in mind if that’s not your style.

A few little slow paced moments and plot holes but overall, an enjoyable & whimsical story.

Thank you NetGalley + Swift & Lewis Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read & review Wished.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc. This is another unique and fun Sarah Ready romance. This time our MC makes a wish and finds herself married to the man she fell in love with at first sight, who barely knows her. He doesn’t want passion or love, but I’m sure you can see where that goes. Fated was my favourite of this series, but I did really enjoy Wished. I hate love at first sight but it was tolerable in this. I listened to the audiobook, which was really well done. This series is pure entertainment and this one continued on with that.