Ready does it again!!

Like Switched & Ghosted I found Fated by Sarah Ready just as captivating!

The FMC, Fiona ( older sister to Daniel in book one Ghosted) the CEO of a Family Watch company & workaholic, gets a magical family watch that allows her to dream of a different world, one where she is married with two kids. Only she is also having an affair with her best friend. A far cry from her quite single mom life in Geneva, Switzerland and one where she thinks she will never meet her own true love and is contemplating marrying her best friend.

This wonderful story included found family, magical realism and soulmates. It will have you thinking outside of the box, dreaming of tropical locations, fated mates and love meant to be. It also reminded me a bit of some of my favourite movies, THE LAKE HOUSE with Sandra Bullock & JUST LIKE HEAVEN with Reese Witherspoon.

Thank you to the author herself, NetGalley and W. W. Crown and imprint of Swift & Lewis Publishing for providing me with an advanced audio copy and e-copy. Also, a great big thank you to Kelsey Navarro Foster and James Anderson Foster for the amazing narration.

I absolutely love a good "where am I? WHEN am I?" moment a la 13 going on 30, and this book checked all of those rom-com boxes. I usually hate the cheating trope, but I feel like this book has the only instance when it is acceptable. I especially like how both timelines continue moving while Fiona is going back and forth.

- Magical
- Single Mom x Single Dad
- Dream land?
- Spice (2/5 🌶️)

Fiona can’t allow herself to fall in love in real life but maybe in her dreams?

Aaron married is children’s mother because it was the right thing to do but where they ever happy?

In a series of twists & turns this book keeps you captivated and makes you feel all of the feelings.

I listened to it while I read a long and I highly recommend the audio!

Fated is the second book I've had the pleasure of reading by Sarah Ready, and much like Wished, it didn't disappoint. Sarah's style is consistent—her stories are charming, inventive, and filled with a touch of whimsical magical realism reminiscent of The Lake House or Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. This time, the magic comes in the form of a mysterious watch that lets the protagonist dream of her deepest desires.

Magical realism can sometimes be tricky to balance, but Sarah pulls it off with ease, creating a story that's both entertaining and heartwarming. I found myself hooked and thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

I was really looking forward to reading this book. The whole Ghosted series all sounded right up my alley.

Unfortunately this turned out to be a very different story to what I was expecting.

The fact that it an wasn't alternate universe kind of story, but that she was actually living someone else's life just gave me a very icky feeling that I couldn't quite shake off. Because of that, the dream sequences just felt off, and I couldn't really get into in. I wasn't sold on the romance, and I just generally didn't like the way things were playing out.

Reading this book ended up feeling more like a chore than something amusing. I'm disappointed because the writing itself wasn't bad. It's what was being written about that didn't hook me at all.

FATED by Sarah Ready was a delight to read, and it had me glued to my kindle from start to finish! The "dream" aspect of this was so fun (and honestly, relatable LOL).

What if you met the man of your dreams...in your dreams? That's what happens to Fiona Abry after her mother gives her a family heirloom that supposedly allows you to dream your greatest desire. And even though she thinks she's happy enough with her busy work life and her home life as a devoted single mother to her son, she finds that in her dreams she's living completely different life in a completely different place, surrounded by quirky characters and a family she doesn't know at all. How can this be her greatest desire? She begins to fall in love with that dream life, but is there a way to reconcile dream and reality?
I've read several books by Sarah Ready now, and I've enjoyed them all. This one doesn't have quite as much humor as the others have had, and while I missed that a bit, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story. I listened to the audiobook, and the narration by Shakira Shute was excellent and definitely added to my enjoyment of this book.
Thanks to Netgalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for providing copies for an unbiased review.

3.5 stars! The last third of the book was sooooo worth the rest of the book. The first two thirds were slow and I almost quit quite a few times but then it picked up and had me on the edge of my seat and was absolutely captivating!

This is the second book of Sarah Ready's Ghosted series that I've read/devoured/thoroughly enjoyed.

I started backwards with this series, starting with wished, which carries on with characters already appearing in Fated. This meant I already had some background information going into this one,
but both can be read as standalone novels.

At first, I wasn't too sure about this one, but this soon changed once the magical element of the story started. I love the idea that a watch can make you live your dreams, and Fiona and Aaron were just *chefs kiss*

The mix of places and characters added depth and kept the story moving forward without relying solely on romance to keep the pace, and Dee, Essie, and Maranda are island grandma's anyone would love to have. (I really fancy banana bread now though!)

I look forward to reading more of this authors work in the future and definitely plan on reading the rest of this series.

Thank you to the publisher for granting me access to this title via Netgalley.

Excellent book, love it! Looking forward to more from this author! Apologies for the lateness of my review

I'm super bummed to say that I didn't like this book as much as her first two. I loved Ghosted & Switched and I was let down when I read this one. I love her writing style and how fast I got into her previous books. I don't know if this wasn't the book for me or what, but I'm willing to give her another try when the time comes

DNF @ 29%

This turned out to be something I really didn't want to read about.

The premise sounded so good — the MC getting a chance to live another life in her dreams, which then collides with her real life and wants and needs? Absolutely fascinating.
But it's not just that Fiona lives a completely different life in her dreams — no, she's actually inhabiting another woman's life. That just didn't sit right with me.
Also, I usually like unlikeable characters, because most of the time they are the most interesting ones. But Fiona and her alternate ego, Becca, were kind of annoying. Almost 30% in, I still didn't care for what would come next. The plot seemed jumbled to me and with no real connecting thread.
One thing I have to give credit for tho is the writing style — it's kind of lyrical and beautifully worded (still, I didn't care for all the descriptions).

DNF 32%

I wanted to like this one, but it just could not snag my interest. For starters, it threw me off from the beginning when Fiona got shot. I know that part has a purpose, but I was only a third of the way through the book, and I was already finding Fiona to be unlikable. I couldn't even tell you why, but I wasn't interested in her story. Her dream life seemed intriguing, but she was even more unlikable in her dreams (or at least her previous self before she became self-aware in the dreams was unlikable).

Because I received this as a free arc from NetGalley, I wanted to continue it. I just can't bring myself to pick it back up and care about Fiona or her life. I need to be spending my time reading the books I enjoy, and this one isn't on that list.

This story was so interesting, I’m in love. It was kind of hard getting into it at first but then the magic does the work.!!

Thank you netgalley for the arc

WOW. I absolutely LOVED this book!
I've read the previous books in the series, which I also enjoyed, but Fated is the best by far.

It's well written, with interesting and complex characters, and the storyline is unique.
Fiona and Aaron had fantastic chemistry. The story was beautiful, full of emotion, and longing.

I highly recommend, and I can't wait for the next installment.

5 stars from me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Netgalley, Swift & Lewis Publishing, and Sarah Ready for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book harder to get into however once I did get into I sped through it. Very different take on what’s meant for you if you go for it!

Like all of Sarah Ready’s other books I’ve read, this one is full of heart and a dash of magic. I love how she takes this world and builds on it a few new characters and supernatural twists at a time.

After being gifted a reportedly magical watch by her mother, Fiona falls into a dream that has her as Becca, a married mother of two, mistress, worker, friend and community member of a little beach island town. Confused the first few sleeps in her island home while still waking to her daughter and job in Switzerland, her two lives are competing for her love and attention but she has to choose one. How does she make the impossible choice?

This book took me a while to get into but when the magic grabs you, it GRABS YOU HARD. I couldn't take in the last third of the book fast enough. SO good. It definitely didn't let me down.

#arc
#netgalley
#fated

i had really trouble reading this book
probably not my type of read
but can be someone else
maybe some day i can try again to read this book

My Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️

General Thoughts: This is the second book I've read by Sarah Ready. After reading "Wished," I felt I had a pretty good idea of what to expect in this one. And I was not wrong. Both Sarah Ready books I've read have been fun, creative, lighthearted, and whimsical magical realism books a la Lake House or Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants variety. In this case, a magical watch allows the character to dream of her heart's desire.

Magical realism can be hard to do well. I thought Sarah did a good job. I did have a few questions about how certain things worked. Maybe I just read when I was too tired, but I felt a few things warranted more explanation. However, I enjoyed the book all the same.

Spice Meter:❤️‍🔥. Spice is there, but light and not very detailed.

Romantic Tropes:
-single first-person POV
-magical realism
-cute
-contemporary romance
-interconnected standalone

Disclaimer: I received a review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. Thanks to the author and Netgalley.

Reading Order: This is the third in an interconnected standalone series. I jumped in with the fourth one, and then went back and read this one. I think you can jump in wherever you want in this series, but I do think series are always better read in order.

You can read more of my reviews on Insta @mylastromancenovel.