The third book in the Ghosted series, Fated by Sarah Ready, continues to showcase the author's talent for weaving intricate and emotionally rich narratives. The Ghosted series is a collection of standalone books, each exploring different characters and their unique experiences with the supernatural. This instalment follows Fiona, a complex character who navigates a dual existence between her waking life and a mysterious dream world. The story is a captivating blend of romance, mystery, and supernatural elements, making for a truly engaging read. While this is the third book in the Ghosted series, you do not need to read them in order as each book is a standalone story.

Fiona's journey is a labyrinth of emotions and revelations. In her waking life, she grapples with the aftermath of a past affair that led to the birth of her daughter, and a truth that shattered her and led to years of solitude, along with a shooting that made her take stock of her life and hectic schedule that had her forgetting to live life to its fullest. In the dream world, Fiona is caught in a complex love triangle with her husband of 15 years, Aaron, and his best friend, Robert. The dream world operates under its own enigmatic rules—time halts whenever Fiona exits, only resuming upon her return. This unique narrative structure, where time in the dream world is suspended when Fiona is not present, adds a layer of intrigue and suspense to the story, compelling readers to unravel the truth alongside Fiona.

Sarah Ready deftly balances the emotional weight of Fiona's real-life struggles with the whimsical elements of the dream world. The narrative delves into themes of self-discovery, love, betrayal, and the pursuit of personal happiness. Fiona's character is not just a protagonist but a mirror reflecting our own struggles and desires. As she navigates her dual existence, she is forced to confront her past, her choices, and her desires, making her journey all the more compelling.

Shakira Shute's narration is another highlight of this book. She brings each character to life with distinct voices and emotional depth, enhancing the overall experience. Her performance makes it easy to follow the complex relationships and emotional undertones central to the story.

Overall, Fated is a beautifully written tale that delves into the intricacies of love and self-discovery. It's a must-read for fans of the Ghosted series and anyone who enjoys a well-crafted, emotionally resonant story. The book's emotional depth and the way it resonates with the reader's own experiences make it a truly compelling read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC | Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks, for providing me with the audio ARC of Fated. I am eagerly looking forward to Sarah Ready's next release.

In real life, Fiona Abry is busy running her family’s Swiss watch company and being single mom to her daughter. There’s no time for love. But at night, she dreams of a different life on a tiny tropical island with a husband and two kids. What happens when Fiona starts to fall in love with her dream life?

Fated is the third book in a series of interconnected standalone contemporary romance novels. Each book has a touch of something in the sci-fi/fantasy realm which is enough to make it feel a little magical. I think itmakes the romance even more amazing. Because shouldn’t falling in love be a little magical?

Rating: 5/5 ⭐️s - Fated exceeded my expectations. I felt like Fiona was an exemplary example of what many people go through - too busy for more than what they currently have in life. The sci-fi/fantasy component of the story was beautifully woven into the story. I absolutely loved the characters too and the heart wrenching pain and loss at certain parts was so palpable I felt tears welling up in my eyes and absolutely inhaled this book.

Spice Rating: 3/5 🌶️s - One euphemistic open door intimate relationship scene. This is a low spice book but I loved the story so much I didn’t mind the lack of spice.

Fated is available anywhere books are sold on Thursday, July 16 (one week from now!!!) If you prefer audiobook, you can likely find Fated on Audible and Spotify Premium.

Thank you Sarah Ready and NetGalley for the ARC. I cried happy tears listening to this book. I enjoyed listening to Shakira Shute because she made Fiona come alive as the efficient CEO of a Swiss watch company.

3.5 stars rounded up!
-
Summary:
Fiona Abry is busy and content. She has her family's watch company that she loves, a daughter she adores, a wonderful brother, and an amazing best friend who is always there for her. She refuses to ask for anything more. But then her mother gifts her a magical watch that lets her discover and live out her secret dreams and desires while she sleeps. In her dreams, she finds herself living a completely different life, one of slow days and sunny beaches and a strange, handsome man. A man with a smile and touch that set her alight and leave her craving more. And as the nights pass and she falls deeper into her dream, she also finds herself falling in love - with her dream life and the man at the center of it.
-
This was my first ever Sarah Ready book and I was very pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it a lot! I liked the characters at the center of this novel and the way they interacted with each other, and I enjoyed the romance plotline and the way it bloomed throughout the book, even though there were a few elements (see below) that made me mildly uncomfortable for a chunk of the story. I will admit that there were various parts of this book that put me through the emotional wringer and I might have shed a tear or two, it was a beautiful story and I'm glad I read it!

As a fan of slow burn, I think the overall pacing of the story was good and it worked for me. That said, this book is very wordy. We spend the novel inside Fiona's head, and she has a LOT of inner tangents and monologues that occasionally bogged the book down for me and made it drag, but I also enjoyed getting more insight to the characters and the world, so I don't complain too much, I just wish parts of it had been a little less wordy.

I read the audiobook version of this novel, and I have to say that the narrator did a great job! I really enjoyed listening to Shakira Shute read, and it actually helped make up for how wordy some of the sections were because I was at least enjoying the sound of the book even if I was finding the text itself a bit too wordy or repetitive.

What I liked:
- Good characters! I really liked Max and Aaron, and I adored all the villagers, especially Amy!
- A well done slow-burn romance.
- A good amount of emotional angst and tear-jerking moments that were powerful, but didn't overwhelm the story.
- An amazing narrator for the audiobook version!

What I didn't like:
- Very wordy. This book, especially certain sections could have been way shorter just by saying things or explaining things differently, and it got occasionally tedious.
- There are elements of the romance plotline that feel almost like cheating. Ultimately, none of it really counts as cheating because of pre-arranged understandings and literal obliviousness of the characters involved, but it's something I didn't expect and that readers should be aware of incase that's a sensitive topic!

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. The love story was so tender, and I really loved the platonic relationships throughout the book as well!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
1.5 🌶️
Netgalley ALC

PROS:
This book had no right being as good as it was. I had absolutely no idea where it was going up until the very end. I loved Fiona as a main character; she is smart, loyal, caring. Her memorizing poems to make her dream daughter happy had me in a chokehold. Prior to this I read Switched, but not the first book in the series, Ghosted. Fiona's brother Daniel is the MMC in Ghosted and now I am super pumped to go back and read it. He was a wonderful brother to Fiona, and funny that this book seems to take place before Ghosted as Daniel was still single in this one.

CONS:
The audiobook made me cry while I was trying to drive my car. RUDE!!

AUDIO:
I've never listened to Shakira Shute before but really enjoyed her narration. As previously stated, I was crying while listening to some of the more emotional scenes. She really had me feeling things with Ms Fiona Abry.

Such an absolutely amazoling book! The twists and turns of this love are gripping. Grab your tissues and hold onto your heart! I love this whole series but this one is my favorite! I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes their heart ripped out and put back together.

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for an advanced e-copy of Fated, in exchange for an honest review.

In Sarah Ready's novel 'Fated,' you will be transported into the surreal realm of magical realism, where the boundaries between dreams and reality blur. The FMC, Fiona, a watchmaker from Geneva, embarks on an amazing journey that will challenge her perception of time and destiny.

After a traumatic incident, Fiona inherits her uncle's mysterious watch that unlocks the door to vivid dreams of a breathtaking island paradise. In these dreams, she encounters Aaron, a handsome and enigmatic man who believes her to be his long-lost wife. As Fiona navigates her waking life, she finds herself torn between her longing for the dream world and her real-life best friend, who harbors unrequited feelings for her.

The story takes an unexpected turn with the introduction of time travel. In a desperate attempt to save the island of her dreams from impending doom, Fiona must confront her past and uncover the secrets that have been hidden from her. As she races against time, she realizes that the choices she makes not only affect her own destiny but the fate of those around her.

Ready's writing style is both lyrical and evocative, transporting readers into the vibrant tapestry of Fiona's dreams and the complexities of her waking life. The characters are well-developed and relatable, making their emotional struggles and triumphs resonate deeply.

For lovers of magical realism, 'Fated' is a must-read. It is a story that explores the power of dreams, the enduring nature of unrequited love, and the transformative potential of time. Whether you choose to read the physical book or listen to the well-narrated audiobook, this intriguing tale is sure to captivate and transport you to a world where the boundaries between the possible and the impossible dissolve.
This was a solid 4.3 Stars read!

Overall, I am thinking the Ghosted series just isn’t for me. This book is the 3rd in the series and while each book can be standalone, they are connected within the same universe.

I adore Sarah Ready, she’s one of my favorite authors but I’ve noticed I’ve had a hard time getting into this series. Especially this most recent book. It’s not bad, in fact the writing is rather lovely…a poetic style to it. I just struggle when there are so many realities, descriptions and characters swapping it’s like I can’t immerse myself into the story. I also thought it was also a bit long. Full disclosure, I also don’t usually enjoy magical realism. This one didn’t really sound like the style of writing she usually does, don’t get me wrong she’s always poetic in her writing, this one just wasn’t the SR I’m used to, to the extent that if I didn’t know she wrote it I would think someone else did (I’m NOT saying that is what happened though, it’s just that big of a change). So she may be making some stylistic changes to how she writes this series but hopefully not her future books.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝...

✅The lucid dreaming aspect
✅The part where she talks about how when you see something through someone else’s eyes and it’s something that they love, you start to love it too
✅When she helps the grandmother at the fish market (reminded me of my relationship with my mommom)

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝗼𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝗼𝐲...

☀️Magical Realism
🕰️Lucid Dreaming
☀️Complex Relationships
🕰️Time Jumps / Alternate Realities
☀️Poetic Writing
🕰️Horology

My favorite books by Sarah are The Space Between and the Josh & Gemma books. I also really enjoyed French Holiday and the Soul Mates in Romeo (Married by Sunday was my very fav in the series)!

So despite feeling the beginning taking its time to become more interesting I found it pulled me by my shoulders trapping me into the story as further as it got and next thing I knew the story came to an end!

I’m so happy to have been given the chance to listen to the audiobook version of this in order to keep listening while I’m busy! The book and characters have so much description I just didn’t wanna stop. What happened to McCormick and Fee afterwards? What about Daniel and the other characters?

I am absolutely in love with this series. I listened to this entire book in one day because I had to know how it would end. Each book in this series just keeps getting better and better. I can not get enough of Sarah Ready's writing. The descriptions of the island were beautiful. It made me want to go there immediately. The emotion in this book was off the charts. It gave me ALL the feels. Fiona and her brother own a watch company. For her birthday, her mother gives her a watch that was in the family. When she dreams, Fiona travels to an island and meets the man of her dreams. Of course, all that wonderful conflict kept me listening all day long. I thought the narrator did a wonderful job of voicing Fiona. I can't say enough wonderful things about the series. My only question is, will there be more? Huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to listen and review this amazing book. I'm convinced that every romance reader need to read a Sarah Ready book. They will be hooked!

Wow! This book blew me away! I read and enjoyed the first two in the series. They are a little more silly and lighthearted. Fated embraces magical realism and brings the feelings. There are a lot of twists and turns. I can't say much without spoiling. I will say stick with it. It takes a few chapters to get your bearings. The last quarter of the book is an emotional rollercoaster! It has all the feelings!

Of note, this story takes place before Ghosted (the first in the series). It made me want to go back and search for clues in that story. I hear there's going to be a 4th book which is pretty exciting.

I listened to this as an audiobook. The narrator is phenomenal! Her accents were perfect and made listening a joy!

Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC and NetGalley for this audio ARC!

Great audio book! The narration plot and writing were all great! Definitely worth getting. McCormick was my favourite character and I found the premise very unique and left me wondering how it would all end

3.5 stars

I want to start off by saying I didn’t read the first or second book, but each book in this series can be treated as a standalone. I didn’t have a hard time following along, and I am interested in reading the first two to see whose story I get to follow along with!

It was a very sweet romance with a lot of great themes. We always think about what our dream person, house, car, job would be. But to actually see it play out in our dreams? I was rooting for our main characters!

I listened to the audio of this and found the narrator easy to understand and would recommend her! It wasn’t hard to distinguish between male and female POV’s or between the many characters. I was able to listen at 2.5x speed.

The beginning of this book was a little slow but it picked up in the second half. I wasn’t a fan of all the flowery descriptions and found myself zoning out at time. There were also many plot holes that I couldn’t stop thinking about.

Overall, I liked the story and would recommend! I appreciate the paranormal and mystery aspect and would consider reading the rest of the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the advanced listener copy (audiobook) in exchange for my honest review.

This book was slow to start for me. But like going uphill at the start of a roller coaster it eventually picked up speed and soon I was desperately zooming along and holding on for dear life.
Fiona is a hard working mother and loving sister. She and her brother are the heirs to a hugely successful watch company. Through a series of events that set the scene to the greater story, she comes across the first watch that her relatives ever made that is said to show you your heart's desire.
She begins dreaming of him and the twisty, turny love story begins. There were times when I wanted to shake Fiona and yell at her; other times when I wanted to cry with her. The characters in the story were all well built and had good depth, even the mysterious Becca that we never actually meet in story.

“We are all a thousand layers making up a single life.”

Once it got started, I loved this story. I did not have the background knowledge of the other two books in the series, so I was originally worried that I wouldn't be able to follow along. I was able to follow the story perfectly, and now I want to go back and read the other two books in the series!

Wonderfully narrated by Shakira Shute. She is a total 5/5 stars, to go along with another 5/5 story from Sarah Ready.

If you liked Ghosted or Switched, you will love this one. We met Fiona in Ghosted and we get to follow along on her journey in this book. Fiona meets the man of her dreams, while dreaming. She is in possession of a timepiece that her family made a long time ago that shows you love. She dreams of her true love and falls in love with him. In reality, she is deciding if she wants to have a future with Max, her best friend.

There were so many emotions in this book, like in Ghosted. I teared for Fiona and McCormick multiple times. I longed for Fiona and the three children to somehow all be loved together. There were several times I wanted to throw my book and smash my listening device because ish just wasn't how I wanted it to be written, but it was done so much better. I wanted to ring some people's necks a few times, because they were being dumb. And then one the next page they were being so freaking delightful and thoughtful.

This is the 3rd book in the series. While you do not need to read the other two to understand this one, I do recommend reading Ghosted before Fated. I am beyond excited for what comes next!

Thank you to NetGalley for the audio file, this is my honest opinion.

I love the idea of a family watch that shows you your hearts desire. I loved Fiona's story and how she comes to find love. I also love that Sarah Ready does a great job of explaining Fiona's reluctance to open her heart up to love again.

Shakira Shute did a great job narrating this novel. Shakira had an even tone and narrated the book so clearly and concisely that I was able to listen at 3.0x speed. I look forward to listening to more of Shakira's work in the future.

Sarah Ready really knows how to hit you in the feels. Having loved the first two books of the series, I was excited to see how Fiona’s story played out. I was a little confused at the beginning, not realizing this took place before the events of Ghosted. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to feel for the first part of this book or who I was supposed to be rooting for. But as the book went on I became more and more invested. I just wanted to see Fiona happy and in love and the ending didn't disappoint. Highly recommend on audio as well!

I really liked this book! I love the concept of destiny and soulmates, and it was really fun how this story came together. This book had me always wanting to read just one more chapter to see what would happen. This was a great companion to the "ghosted" series by Sarah Ready. I will definitely look forward to reading more of her books. I also really liked the narrator of this audiobook. I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I'm not sure still what I think of this book, the plot is different with paranormal tendencies and this was easy to listen to a bit cringe at times but overall an ok listen for me . Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this audio arc.

This is a fun, entertaining read. I enjoyed the story’s paranormal elements and getting to see the hero from the first book in the series. The story is full of twists and turns that kept me turning the pages to find out how it would all end. There were also aspects of the story that didn’t work for me. I enjoyed Aaron and Fiona’s romance. The secondary characters added to the fabric of the story and my enjoyment.

I enjoyed the audio version of this book and the narrator.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love this series! Fated is the third novel in the Ghosted series and these could be read as stand alone novels as well.
Fated follows Fiona Abry of the Abry Swiss watch company. She’s terrified to open her heart & she’s gifted a watch that lets you dream your greatest desires. Fiona ends up living 2 lives. One in reality & the other on a beach with a husband & kids, but what is she to do when the man of her dreams is just that? A dream.
This book was so good. I was really curious to see how a happily ever after would be possible given the circumstances & I wasn’t disappointed. There’s tons of lovable, and some not so lovable, characters to get to know. It really tugs at your heartstrings near the end of the book & I was not expecting it at all.
Thank you NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for the ARC.