Fated by Sarah Ready

Fated was my first read by Sarah Ready and it definitely will not be my last. In many ways Fiona Arby is blessed. She is part owner of a watch company that has been passed down to her and her brother Daniel, she has a beautiful little girl, and a best friend that is always there for her. Even though she has so much, she has never felt completely loved and accepted. Deep down she still feels like she’s the little girl abandoned by her mother, with this feeling of abandonment continuing with her daughter’s father, who left her after she found out she was expecting.
When he mothers gives her a family heirloom watch, and tells her it will help her see her desire, Fiona never dreams, pun intended, that she will see the man of her dreams, living a dual life, and falling completely for her dream lover.

The story switches between her dreams, and her life during the day. As she continues her dream journey, she pursues the chance of love in reality. This book has a nice mix of two realities mixed with magical elements. I enjoyed the way the author wove her tale, quickly being drawn into this interesting enchanting world. I loved the character development, quickly rooting for a happily ever after. The story had me engrossed and I didn’t want to miss anything.

I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narrator Shakira Shute. She quickly drew me in and I didn’t want to stop listening until the very end. I will definitely add more books read by her on my list as she was so easy to listen to.

Unfortunately, I can't give a proper review as the audiobook will not play past chapter six. I've submitted a support ticket and will update this if and when I can get it working. So far, the writing and narrator are both good, although it's taking quite a long time to get to the stuff that happens in the blurb, and kinda feels a bit like not much is happening, so currently I think 3* feels about right, but obviously there's a lot more book to come. I won't be reviewing on Goodreads unless I can listen to the full audiobook, of course.

Okay, WOW! Fated is the 3rd in a series (Ghosted) by Sarah Ready that tangles up the wonder of magical realism with the joy of a romcom. I have found it to be my absolute favorite combination of story telling, however this book felt very different from the first two books in the series.

This is review is being written specifically to encourage those who have started Fated and are wondering how this book could even fit in the same category as Ghosted and Switched. It takes place in a time before Ghosted and doesn’t have an inkling of the same energy and humor of the first two. Keep reading! You will not regret it!

Like you, I was thoroughly confused by the serious tone and primly proper characteristics of the FMC Fi. In fact, I wondered a few times if this book was supposed to be set in the regency era. This is just Fi’s personality, but don’t let her careful persona fool you because she is about to become the brave heroine on an enormous adventure of love, loss, time travel, adventure, disaster and discovery!

While I spent the first half of the book trying to grasp how different it was from the others, I spent the second half marveling at how delightfully different it is from ANY other book I have read! This story is epic and sweeping! By the 80% mark, I was unable to put it down until the final words.

Fated is phenomenal and I believe the most beautiful of any of Sarah Ready’s books so far.

The narrator Shakira Shute has a gorgeous lilting accent that will only add to the feeling of being swept away to another place and time. She did a wonderful job with all of the voices, making each voice very distinct from the others which helped with following the storyline. I was so impressed!

Sarah Ready’s newest book in her Ghosted series fell short of the mark for me. It took the majority of the book to warm up to the FMC and care about the outcome. The writing is good, but the premise needed more development.

Thanks to NetGallley for the ARC.

This is the first romance novel I've read with magical realism. I quite enjoyed that aspect of the story, but the way things tied at the end didn't quite work for me. Overall an interesting story, definitely different from the copy/paste contemporary romance novels.

⭐ 3.5 (Rounded Down)

“Some say it means an almost, a never was, a dream that didn’t happen, but I say it means an always, a dream that still goes on”

A wonderful cozy romance, perfect for curling up and living in a whole new world!

Crying, Giggling, Kicking My Feet! I am shocked I have never heard of Sarah Ready before! This is the kind of cozy romance novel I love to read (or listen to) when I want to escape reality.

When I first started the book I thought it was a little description heavy, some were good but some felt unnecessary. However, as I read the book I noticed that the descriptions I deemed unnecessary grew less. This made me realize that it was purposeful and helped exhibit a change in our main character which I thought was clever. While this book is cozy there is definitely heartbreak and sadness, but it is wonderful and up until the end you don’t truly know what is actually going to happen.

This is unlike anything I have ever read. And it was thoroughly enjoyable!

Fiona runs her family's Swiss watch company in Geneva. She is given a family heirloom, a watch, that will let you dream your greatest desire. And she does. She falls in love in her dreams. But can she make her dreams a reality?

Many thanks to Net Galley and Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5

Overall I enjoyed this, but the ending was a little flimsy. While I don't expect books to always fully explain everything, there was just so much happening in the last few chapters that could have used a bit more explanation. I had so many questions and felt like I got so few answers.

Aside from that though, it was an enjoyable read. The tone was a bit more somber than Ghosted and Switched.

One thing that really bothered me though is that Fiona thought about her "dream" daughter Alex all the time when in the real world but pretty much never thought about her actual daughter Mila when on the island.

♡𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 &| 𝐞𝐀𝐫𝐜 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰♡
4.5 🌟
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"She meets the man of her dreams in her dreams." This quote | statement alone drew me to this book beside the cover art.
I don't even know to express how much I enjoyed this book! It will definitely hit you in the feelings.
The audiobook is done very well. The narrator did a good job bringing the characters to life.
This is my first book by this author and will not be my last.
𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 July.16
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Thank you, Netgalley, and Swift & Lewis Publishing for the (eArc &| ALC)-eBook and audiobook for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! I always love a Sarah Ready book, always! This didn’t disappoint. It’s the magical realism you’ve come to expect from her Gosted series and zeros in on Fi, Daniel’s sister before Ghosted even takes place (looks like I’ll need to revisit that book again soon!). There were some far reaches and leaps I had to take for the story to not seems too far fetched, but I loved it none the less. The twist was unseen, the characters were endearing, and the ending was sweet.

I both read and listened to it as an audiobook. I typically “read” this way so I don’t have to stop the story for too long. I did listen to the audiobook entirely and the narrator did a great job. I was a bit distracted by the accent but that’s a me issue and not a her issue. I don’t typically listen to audiobooks with accents and it was almost too soothing. She did a great job and reminded me the Fiona wasn’t some American working girl, but a European millionaire heiress, so the accent was entirely appropriate in this case! Great job to both Sarah Ready and her narrator Shakira Shute.

I genuinely don’t know how she does it, but Sarah manages to make me so anxious, amazed and delighted with every book she writes.

Fiona and Aaron’s story was… just, amazing. A thousand emotions, especially in relation to Fiona’s feelings about family and love. Such a beautiful, devastating, magical love story to time, to family and to romance.

AHHHH! This book was so good. This whole series just gets better and better. I hope this author never stops writing this series! It has a wonderful plot, side characters, a quirky town, a slow-burn love story.

It is romcom whimsy perfection.

I LOVED IT SO SO MUCH! I think this one was my favorite in the series.

If you can suspend your belief in natural physics and trust that love can be found in other realms that one can return to night after night then this book is for you. Fiona Abry is a CEO of a famous Swiss watch company. She keeps herself busy, busy, busy for a reason, she has been hurt and abandoned by important people in her life and keeping a full calendar helps her not dwell on her inner pain. One day she is gifted a famous pocket watch made by the founder of the Abry watch company. It is supposed to be able to help its bearer to dream of their greatest desire when the watch is set. All Fiona really wants is to love and be loved and has not been lucky in that area of her life so far. So one night she takes a chance and sets the watch, goes to sleep and... to her great surprise wakes up in an alternate reality on a tropical island where she is married with two children! As she returns to this island to dream each night with the help of the watch, she begins to open her heart and fall in love with her 'husband' Aaron McCormick. But is the dream world real, are Aaron and her children and the islanders real. Fiona will have to learn to really trust and this is an important component of what she must learn so she can find true love and happiness. I enjoyed this magical novel very much. I really had to let my imagination take flight so the story could work for me and accept that magical realism can actually exist. A very fun read, recommended. 4 stars.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC | Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks for a chance to listen/read an ARC copy of this audio book.

Thank you Swift & Lewis Publishing and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy via audiobook. I really enjoyed the narrator for this novel but otherwise the story didn't capture my attention. I didn't like the theme of "infidelity" with the dream vs. real life concept in this novel and the main character, Fiona, I found annoying. This was a very long audiobook as well that felt like it dragged at the end.

Another great magical realism (my fav) read from Sarah Ready.
I have already read book 2 in this series, but the books can be read as standalones. I really must read book 1 ASAP, as it is about Fiona’s brother Daniel.

Fiona and Aaron have a wonderful and slightly strange relationship, as he gets to know her while she “is” Becca.

I enjoyed the book being (mostly) set in Geneva, which is such a “fresh” location when reading a lot of romance books.
I was also pleasantly surprised about the watchmaker’s angle! That was such a new occupation for a FMC to have, really enjoyable.

I did notice I got some “eat the rich” feelings when describing the wealth displayed at the Christmas gala and Max’ casual making and gifting of jewellery. A very stark contrast with Aaron’s island life.
Thankfully the story did not lean (too much?) on, successful city woman gives up everything to live in a (literal) hut for a man, because true love. Ugh.

Also, unfortunately the book was too long for me (it could have done with some cutting out of elements without losing the plot) and I was not as invested as I had hoped.
Still an enjoyable read.

3.5 stars rounded down.

Read as an audiobook.

I received an ARC of this book (thanks!) and these are my own opinions.

Fated is book three is Sarah Ready's Ghosted series. Just like Ghosted and Switch, Ready's third installment is a fun, enjoyable read. If you are looking for a light, funny romance with a healthy dose of magical realism, Sarah Ready continues to be the author to gravitate to.

Although I was skeptical when I picked up the first of these books, the author changed my mind on magical realism in my romance novels.

Thank You, Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC and NetGalley for a copy of Fated in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! I normally stick to non fantasy romance novels. But this was a great introduction to the genre. I was very hooked by the typical romance aspects of this novel!

HOW?? THIS STORY IS SOO *GOOD*.

It started off slow, sorf of: “eh, okay?” But past the 60% mark, I didn’t want to stop reading!!! And then everything that I had read in the first half started clicking into place.

I actually sort of figured all the twists out before hand, even the ones with no clues at all about them, idk, i had a hunch sort of, but still that could not spoil the fun of it for me.

The story as a whole is really really cute, I very much liked Aaron and Max’s character. Fiona really, i was just waiting for her to figure it out because I had understood most of it, nonetheless her character is really charming!

And, NO I WANT THAT DAMN WATCH TOO!!!

Absolutely Recommend!!

This terrific book is an atypical contemporary romance. Main character Fiona lives in Switzerland, successfully running a family watch company she and her brother inherited when their father died. She seems happy raising her daughter with help from her brother and best friend Max. Her abandonment issues have kept her from risking a passionate relationship.

Then her hippie mother returns to gift her with a stolen family watch that lets her dream her heart’s desire. After using the watch to dream, Fiona finds herself on a tropical island married to Aaron, a man she loves, with two children.

I wasn’t sure I’d like the magical realism, but the book
is so well-written and the plot unfolds so believably that I loved it. Descriptions of locations in Switzerland and on the island are so detailed and realistic, they were easy to imagine. I loved how Fiona and Aaron’s romance unfolded. Along the way, author were a number of well-developed secondary characters who added to the story. There were so many twists and turns, I wasn’t sure how the book would end. I loved the ending.

This book is the third book in a series; however, it’s not necessary to have read the other 2. This author is such a great writer, I definitely plan to read her again. I loved how the cover captured the 2 locations. I listened to the audio version, which was enhanced by the excellent narration.

I love how wonderfully the author blend in sci-fi and romance 🤌 this combination is so unique and I have found only this particular author writing stories with it and I love it.
The characters development is remarkable as we read the plot, bit by bit along with the story we get to witness the progress in the relationship between the characters and also in the characters growth.
I will be looking forward to more works from this author in the future.