Fiona has been avoiding love for years. Ever since her fiancé broke her heart and left her pregnant, she has closed herself off to the idea of romance and forever. She has focused on her business, her daughter, and her brother. And that has been enough. Until it isn't. A near-death experience realigns her feelings about the future. She can no longer avoid it. She's lonely and wants to fall in love. Her family's antique pocket watch comes into her life and shows her a man that she simply cannot resist. But he's only in her dreams, right?

I loved this book! I adored Switched, but this.....this is something else. My jaw dropped at some of the parts of this book. It broke my heart. It made me happy. It had it all. The audio was also very well done and I highly recommend it.

Rating: 4.5⭐
Spice: 0.5🌶️

Since reading Switched (previous book in series), I have been highly anticipating Fiona's story. Sarah delivers once again with a romantic take on magical realism and I could not help but enjoy the ride! ✨

Fiona is an heiress to her family's Swiss watch company, fully committed to running it - meaning all work and no play. Never mind a love life, she doesn't even have time for a holiday!
When her mum presents her with a family heirloom for her "birthday", story has it that the watch will let you dream your hearts true desire. Soon, Fiona is living the life as Becca, on a secluded beach with a husband and two children. Knowing this dream would never become a reality, she decides to fully immerse herself. When Fiona starts falling for her dream husband, she knows she needs to cut her losses before she's in too deep. A dream is a dream... but what happens if it's not one after all?

I was literally left hanging on the edge of my seat with the suspense in this book! Fiona is strong and independent, doesn't do love or attachments because she thinks it makes her vulnerable when the other decides to leave. Meeting McCormick and spending time with him changes all that for her and boy, does she chase after her dreams! McCormick is such a charming character who just wishes the best for everyone (but himself) due to guilt he still holds from many years ago. My heart really felt for him!

There was seriously times when I thought 'this could never work' but Sarah proved me wrong! I loved how the ending came to be (my heart, gahhhh🩷🫠) and cannot wait for Max's story, next in 'Wished'.

Thank you to Sarah and Netgalley for the eARC, in exchange for an honest review 🫶🏻

Upon initially delving into this novel, I encountered a reading slump that hindered my immediate immersion in the narrative. However, as I gradually became absorbed in the story, I found myself truly captivated. In fact, I was so engrossed that I ended up devouring the entire second half of the book in one uninterrupted session. Unlike its preceding installments, this latest addition to the series adopts a more somber and reflective tone. It ventures into the complex themes and emotional intricacies inherent in time travel romance, rendering it a riveting choice for enthusiasts of this genre.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this ARC. My opinions are my own.

Fated is part of a series but can be read as a standalone novel.

Fiona lives in Geneva, Switzerland and runs her family's watch company with her brother, Daniel. Her mother visits and gives her a watch that is a family heirloom and will make her dreams come true. She soon starts dreaming about a man who lives on a tiny island and sees Fiona as his wife, Becca. In the real world, she has to decide whether she could see her best friend, Max, as more than a friend.

I loved the chemistry between Fiona and Aaron but I thought the book was a bit too long. I want to read the previous books in the series though because I like the magical realism aspect of the series. The final 20-30% was well worth it. Sarah Ready is going on to my list of must read authors.

Wow. They are really for each other. Soulmates through and through.

I honestly don't usually read fantasy-romance but this one nailed at the fated/soulmates trope. The element of fantasy here is really magical. The storytelling is very interesting though I feel like some parts are dragging. I also liked the world-building done by the author, the descriptions of the magical island and the way of living there, it is very detailed and you can easily imagine it.

The romance has its highs and lows and the fmc has some questionable ideas/decisions at first but she has great character development. I also loved the children of both MC's (they are both parents) they made the story more interesting to me. The climax was so good and that plot twist? Well, I didn't see that coming, honestly. Also tw: cheating (not of the heroine but an importsnt character) now this cheating might really bother you cause' well...you have to read the book to find out but it has its purpose.

I found the ending a bit too rushed and the epilogue a bit too short however I think that's because the MC's here might still appear for the next book in this series (which is about the FMC's bff). Buttt oh my the reunion! Loved it. I also found the craftsmanship of watches/clocks a lot more fascinating because of this book. I also think it was so creative of the author to be able to make clocks/watches and time to have a huge symbolism or connection to the story. A very fresh take on an old concept really. I loved how these two are just fated.

Thank you so much for netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange of my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this latest addition to Sarah Ready’s Ghosted trilogy, although this can absolutely be read as a standalone. Magical realism is so well done in these books, each one with its own unique situation that feels absolutely believable and well executed.

I found the magic system very compelling here. Although I normally gravitate towards shorter/faster paced romances, the slower pace here worked fantastically well for this story. I was really able to sink into the characters and the world, all of which felt very well-developed. The cast of characters was great, and all of them felt fleshed out.

This would be a fantastic choice for a summer read!

Hopeful romance about what happens when you find love, but only in your dreams.

“Falling in love was always my fear”

📚 dream world
📚 magical realism
📚 single mum
📚 standalone in a series

🌶️

|Thoughts|
This is my second dive into the Ghosted series, and its such a beautiful written and though evoking series. I intend to go back and read the first book in the series.

“If you ever need me, if you ever find yourself awake at night wanting me, I’ll be here. I’ll be here loving you”

I was a little skeptical at first, as I hardly come across stories that are able to tie together a dream world/ fake family with reality. But this story was able to come to a highly satisfying ending, that didn’t diminish the character growth.

“McCormick can’t leave me - he isn’t real”

An additional bonus were the quirks of the story being set in Geneva. Also, I feel like this could be counted as a Christmas story as the story is bookended by the festive season.

”In dreaming we do all the magical, wondrous things we are afraid to do in waking life”

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher & author for this arc in exchange for this honest review.

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‘In dreams, we experience everything we’re afraid to in real life. In dreams we can fly, we can defeat dragons, we can go back in time, we can see our loved ones who are dead and gone, we can talk to a crowd while naked on a stage, and we can even fall in love. But then we forget our dreams and we’re left with only a feeling.’

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. She can write anything, and it’s guaranteed that we fall in utter book love. If you ask us, the Ghosted series is quite different, oh so romantic, emotional, and funny as well as wonderfully unique and, whilst others have written in a similar vein, this magnificent Author is definitely a favourite!

‘Dream. Dream. Dream. Let me dream of him. One more time.’

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 focused 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.

‘How is it that you can be in the arms of someone you love, yet feel so lonely?’

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.

‘If you ever need me, if you ever find yourself awake at night wanting me, I’ll be here. I’ll be here loving you.’

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!

“When I kiss you, I always think you smell like a butterfly.”
“Butterflies don’t have a smell.”
“They do. Every day butterflies visit hundreds of flowers. Over their lifetime they land on millions of blooms, dancing in the pollen, drinking the nectar. I think butterflies smell like the perfume of a million flowers dusted on their wings. Like you.”

loved this book so so so SO much!!! I will be thinking about it for months. I loved the unpredictability of it all. I had no idea where it was going or what to expect and I loved every second of the wild ride.

Sarah had me in stitches with laughter and wheezing through tears. I don’t know how she does it. She’s a MASTER!! I will read every word this amazing author writes!

Read this now!!! Just trust me, thank me later. Your heart will burst with joy and you’ll be squealing in glee you’ll love it so much.

Another wonderful addition to the series ‘Ghosted’ with Fiona Abry, finding love with a man in her dreams. Fiona is consumed with keeping herself busy by running her family’s Swiss watch company and taking care of her young daughter. Keeping busy means that her heart will be protected. However, in her dreams, she lives on an island, married to Aaron and they have two kids. The more time she spends in her dreams with Aaron, the more she does not want to leave her dreams.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story, as Sarah Ready explores the romance between Aaron and Fi. When Fi enters Aaron’s life, life is not quite as perfect as it seems and gradually Fi uncovers the true story of their life. This paranormal story worked even though it is so very far-fetched from reality. The relationship between Fiona and her brother, Daniel and her best friend Max, made this a more rounded story. Whilst this is part of a series, it can be read as a stand-alone but I encourage any reader who has not read the earlier books, to do so. They are amazing reads, particularly book 1. I so look forward to reading the fourth book in this series.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Contemporary romance with magical realism. This is a standalone book in an interconnected series. Poetic writing and interesting premise but a bit slow for my taste. I will definitely give the first two books a try as the reviews on those look positive.

Fated (Ghosted Book#3)-Fiona the heroine is Daniel's sister from book 1, but it can be read as a standalone

By Sarah Ready-I've read Ghosted & Switched 4 & 5 ⭐ reads

Setting: Geneva, Switzerland

Publication date: 7/16/24, Read 7/12/24

Format: 437 pgs. & Audio length ~ 13 hours 36 minutes

🗣️Narrator: Shakira Shute

I thought Shute did a great job of bringing a voice to each character. They fit the characters with standouts from Fiona, Buttercup, and Daniel. Their voices were the most distinct, but I could easily tell the difference between all characters. The reading style brought the story to life and the pacing flowed easily with the story. The narration and the author were in sync. The narrator paused and announced every time a new chapter came. The book had a table of contents which helped me follow along with the e-book and audio.

POV: 1st person h

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Paranormal

Tropes: Christmas, magical dreams, time travel, cheating, right person/wrong time

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley & Swift and Lewis Publishing LLC for the E-ARC and ALC🩷! I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

💭Summary: Fiona Abry is a single mother who works for the family's Swiss watch business. She's given a pocket watch family heirloom that transports her into a dream world where she's married with two children living on a tropical island.

I loved the idea of a magical watch that makes dreams feel like a reality. The description of the island was an Internet- free utopia. Fiona/Becca's husband Aaron McCormick was a loving father and husband that didn't deserve what Becca and Robert did to him.

I enjoyed Fiona and Daniel's sibling bond. They worked together and helped raise Mila. They also held each other accountable trying to have a life outside of work.


Maximillian "Max" Barone was Fiona's BFF in the present while McCormick and Robert were in her dream. He was in love with Fiona, but was willing to marry her without love. I hope the next book gives him a HEA.

Rating : 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have read some other books from Sarah Ready and enjoyed them. This was a fun beach read for me. The cover is very eye catching!

Fate?

This book had such a great premise. Very fresh and sweet and wish fulfillment.
Definitely paranormal. Fiona is a busy working person but when she dreams, she gets lost in her dreams with Aaron and kids and a beachy life very different from her waking one.
There's a twist, of course. I really liked Aaron and thought he was the perfect foil for Fiona.
Recommend.

I loved reading this, the plot felt new to me and this kept me reading especially when I was going through so many emotions,

Fated is book 3 in the Ghosted series by Sarah Ready.
This book was unputdownable! The main characters were certainly quirky and fun.
I love a paranormal romance, and this one certainly didn’t disappoint.
Charming, delightful, sweet, and simply wonderful.
I loved reading her Josh and Gemma series. And this series is just as great.
I can't wait for book 4 Wished!

Thank you NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I am completely speechless. I adored the first two books in the series, but somehow, this one managed to surprise me even more. First off, Daniel makes an appearance in this book since he's Fiona's brother, and honestly, I've been weak for him since "Ghosted." I just love him so much.

I'm a huge fan of paranormal romance novels, and this one hit all the right notes. There's something about the full circle in these stories that makes you feel so complete. I was absolutely captivated by Fiona's character. Her resilience and logical mindset were so strong that she didn't believe her dreams could be real until the very end.

If I loved Fiona, I was absolutely feral for Aaron. His character is the epitome of strength and selflessness. His love for his children and the sense of peace he exudes despite the immense grief he's endured is truly inspiring. He felt like a calm anchor in the midst of a storm.

Watching Fiona decide to love Aaron with all her heart, thinking it's just a dream, was absolutely beautiful. But Aaron's pain at losing her when she wakes up, and his confusion dealing with the two personalities inhabiting his soon-to-be ex-wife, was so raw and heartbreaking.

The children in this book were incredibly cute and relatable, adding so much to the story instead of detracting from it. They made everything so much better.

And that plot twist? It made me gasp out loud! I cried so much, but I'm so happy with the happy ending. I absolutely can't wait to read book four in the series because I really loved Max in this book.

This was such a sweet, heartwarming, emotional rollercoaster of a book. The writing was superb, the story was original, and I loved the magical realism. I loved the elements of family, the nod to poetry, and the overall theme of the book. I highly recommend!

A gigantic THANK YOU to the author, Sarah Ready, the publisher, Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC, and NetGalley for giving me the chance to post my honest opinion of this book.

Emotional, dreamy, fated...
Three words to describe this wonderful book!

From the first sentence of the book, I was hooked!
I obviously wanted to read the previous two in the series, to really engage with the author's writing style which is easy-flowing and charming.

Thank you to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis for the eARC. Honestly, this book was so hard to get into and it was hard to finish. I think it just wasn’t my genre and that’s okay. It was just a hard premise to wrap my head around and the HEA was difficult to see actually happen.