This might be the first Sarah Ready book I didn't love automatically. This one just wasn't for me. I just couldn't dive into this one like i have for all of the other ones.

I LOVED this book!! I couldn't put it down. This is my second audiobook that I have listened to by Sarah Ready and I highly recommend her books. They are quick paced, but also tell a story that keeps you so engaged throughout the entirety. I can't wait to read more by this author!!

Another very different lovestory from Sarah ready! This was a fun read with an extraordinary storyline! This is my least favourite of the series so far which doesn't mean the book wasn't good it just didn't catch me as much as the other ones and I will continue this series! If you like an extraordinary story and some amazing heartwarming characters im sure this book will be perfect for you!

(thank you netgalley for this arc-copy!)

I was disappointed with this book. I enjoyed her previous ones in the Ghosted series. Maybe it should have stopped at two? I don’t know if it was the narrator or the story itself that just didn’t resonate with me. I could not connect with the MC. I was very confused when the book kept switching between when she was alive, and when she was dreaming. This was too much of a slow burn for my liking. The writing felt very wordy and lost me along the way. I will still read Ready’s other books, but I think I am done with the Ghosted series for now.

Another AMAZING, heartbreaking time twist/sliding doors esque story that easily became my favorite in the Ghosted series!! I loved this unique premise that has a Sweedish woman inheriting a magical stopwatch that allows her dreams to become real and her going back and forth between two 'dream' worlds where she has to choose which man she truly loves. Excellent on audio narrated by Shakira Shute and highly recommended for fans of authors like Rebecca Serle. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!!

🎧Fated🎧
By: Sarah Ready
Narrated By: Shakira Shute
Review Score: 4 Stars

Boogie’s Bulletpoints
•Fiona is such an interesting character, I loved following her character arc.

•Ready does an amazing job of describing both Zurich and the island Fiona visits in her dreams!

•No spoilers, but wow. This book was a rollercoaster of emotions.

•I love how the story was resolved.

————

🎧 Audiobook Review! 🎧

Fated was kindly provided as an ARC by Netgalley and Swift and Lewis Publishing, LLC. Thank you for allowing me to enjoy this wonderful book!

Release Date: 7/16/24

Not too long ago, I read Sarah Ready’s “Switched”, and I absolutely loved it, so I jumped at the chance to listen to Fated.

I can tell you that, these two stories are not the same, lol. That’s not an insult, nor is it a reflection on how I felt about this book versus the other. It’s merely an observation that if you read one, don’t expect it to be like the other.

With that being said, this book was really good. A little slow at times for me, but it was honestly a good puzzle. I kept trying to figure out what was going to happen, and I loved that I was kept guessing.

This book tugged at my emotions. No spoilers, but there were definitely some plot twists that I did not see coming. I think I felt a full range of emotions as I listened to this audiobook, lol.

Fated was such a good book though. Interesting, engaging, emotional. It was definitely an enjoyable read, and worth checking out.

Just like all the other Sarah Ready books I’ve read, I could not put this down. This series is becoming one of my favorites. I love the magic and wonder mixed in with the romance. It’s the best mix for me and I just never want them to end.

I think this might be my favorite book from this series yet or maybe it’s just because it’s freshest on my mind. I loved Fiona and Aaron. Whenever she was dreaming I was just dying to know what would happen next. The twists were so well done and I was so surprised by what ended up happening. I don’t want to spoil anything so I won’t say more but you’ve got to read this, especially if you love to dream.

I absolutely loved the narration by Shakira Shute. She did a fantastic job bringing the story to life and I could listen to her narrating forever.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishes for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

This is number 3 in the Ghosted series by Sarah Ready and it is by far, my favorite. The other two novels, Ghosted and Switched don't have to be read in order to enjoy this novel, however. This series just features a few of the same characters we've grown to love. Actually, the timeline in this one could arguably be said to happen before Ghosted.
Anyway, this novel features Fiona Abry, sister to Daniel, who is featured in Ghosted. Fiona is a busy watchmaker and mother. Her mother gifts her with a family heirloom pocket watch that can show you your dreams. Fiona is enchanted and lives another full life while asleep. She is married with 2 kids and lives off the coast of Brazil on a tiny idyllic island. She ends up falling deeply in love with her dream husband, Aaron. But she can't live in her dream world forever. Or can she? Are Aaron and the other inhabitants of the island real? Could this be fate or just a dream?

Special thanks to NetGalley and Swift and Lewis Publishing, LLC for this audio e-arc.

Fiona is confident and fulfilled by her work and her role as a mother. She finds love and support from her brother and best friend, From the outside things are going well. However, she feels emotionally stuck. She wonders if she is missing romantic love and feels like she has forgotten how to dream. Outside of work and motherhood, she has lost her identity. So when her estranged, hippy mother gives her the tools to explore her heart's deepest desire through her dreams, Fiona takes a chance and begins exploring a dream world where her nights are spent on a tropical island with a handsome man called Aaron. Will her dreams become reality?

This book includes:
- a love triangle/maybe it's a love web? idk
- mini cameos from some of Sarah Ready's other popular characters
- dream life vs life of your dreams dilemma
- missed opportunities and regrets
- second chance romance and friends to lovers
- TW: gun violence but just in one scene

"Fated" is a reflection on what it's like to have everything in life, but give up your personal life to do so. Watching Fiona realize she is unhappy and trying to navigate the epiphany was interesting, especially since her adult life is very privileged. I enjoyed that the book acknowledged that women have the right to have deep desires behind their fulfilling careers and roles as mothers.

I am a huge fan of Sarah Ready and constantly reflect on the impact her books have made on me. They are delightful to read and are each as impactful and wonderfully excruciating as the last. Unfortunately, this one didn't hit the mark as well for me. "Fated" is well written with a cast of interesting and dynamic characters. Nothing can take away from that. Fiona's general demeanor was very realistic and three-dimensional (which is great) but she's just not my cup of tea. Maybe she was too real for me haha. Each of her decisions stressed me out so badly, and I felt like she was engaging in some infidelity even tho technically she never was. I DNF at 90% because the book just gave me so much anxiety and I couldn't do it anymore. Again, this is not a reflection on the writing or even the plot, just wasn't a match for me. Sarah remains one of my instant-read romance authors.

I received this audiobook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC, and Sarah Ready for the opportunity to review this book. This review is also available on my GoodReads - check out my profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863

For being the third book in a series, this book takes place before book one since Daniel is still single and hooking up with random people all the time. Characters from book two are not mentioned.
This book took four years too long to read. I felt like it just kept going and going and going. Fiona wouldn't stop talking, and I found myself rolling my eyes more times than I could count. The plot dragged. There was zero depth to any of the characters. And the romance was hard to get behind when I repeatedly thought of how Fiona willingly and knowingly led Max on. That's not something you do to your "best friend". I lost a lot of respect for her over that.
The writing is poetic, but it's way too over expressive and wordy, which takes out some of the magic.
I'm not a fan of the infidelity plot line, because in actuality, that's exactly what this is. She was with Max in her real life and with Aaron in her dream world, and it was just too much.
The plot hole with the shooting is a glaringly big one. Surprising, since it's what sets this whole story into motion.
"We got married a month later". I'm sorry, but that's way too early to get married to brand new people when you have children who have never met the other person. Sure, in this magical realism world it's fine, but I find it less romantic.

Thank you to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for an ARC of this title.

Sarah’s stories are so beautiful, magical and uniquely different from other books I’ve read. She takes us on a dreamy adventure filled with amazing characters, magcial/paranoramal aspects and a delightful HEA.

I had to really pay attention while listening as Fiona traveled in her dreams. Sarah writes with beautiful detail giving us a perfect vision of the location, characters and emotions they are facing.

Shakira Shute has an amazing voice and delivers a beautiful performance. She gives perfect emotion, personality and voice to each of the characters. An amazing listen!

Oh my god, this book was 13/10! I loved this book so much I don't even know where to start! The characters were all perfection, the story was outstanding, the ending was perfect, the emotions this story brought me were tear worthy, I just loved this book so so much, it might be my favorite of the year! If you love romance, you HAVE to read this not even joking it was great!

Wow, I am so impressed with the epicness of this story. The amount of story telling, love, adventure, urgency and character development that was packed into this book in the confines of 400-ish pages is wild. Truly- this book almost felt like a fantasy-romance series. Somehow Sarah Ready was able to pack a huge punch without having to drag us along. Her prose is vivid, without being too flowery. Her characters have such depth and emotion. Each book in this “Ghosted” series has been so fun to read, and so impactful.

Here we follow Fiona, a wealthy heiress and businesswoman, who runs her family’s Swiss watch making company. The story unfolds after Fiona is shot by a madwoman at the family’s famously grand NYE party. She’s left with questions no one can seem to answer. Later, Fiona begins to dream of a sultry tropical beach and a fantasy man, who must be too good to be true. She spends her days trying to decide how to move forward, and make the best choices for her and her young daughter, but yearns to be able to sleep, where she is finding herself at her most contended. But what if her fantasy world could actually be reality? And what if everything she has fallen in love with is put in mortal danger? Is it possible to go back into time? To change your fate?
…..perhaps being part of a clock making family holds the secret to time that can save everything and everyone she fallen in love with.

I can’t rave about this story enough! There is a reminiscence of The Nutcracker in the setting and through one of the plot devices, a gift, that I especially loved. I will admit that the book developed slowly, which a bit of action in the beginning, followed by a large chunk of slow relationship building and internal conflict that at times made me put the book down. But once I began to sink into the romance and the conflict circled back, I could not put it down. The ending had me in an absolute chokehold. 4 ⭐️

*I was lucky enough to receive both the digital and audio arcs of this work and really recommend the audiobook version. The accents specifically really transported me into the story!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for these advanced copies, in exchange for my unbiased review!

This is the third instalment of the Ghosted series by Sarah Ready. These are all stand-alone novels, but each one deals with some type of magical or mystical element.

In this book, our heroine Fiona runs her family's Swiss watch company. She is a workaholic and unlucky in love. On her birthday her mother gifts her a family heirloom timepiece that is said to have magical properties that lets you dream your hearts desire. Fiona falls asleep holding this watch and wakes up on a tropical island, with a husband and kids. After a huge shock, Fiona realizes that she can visit this family in her dreams, and becomes quite fond of them.

This is a wonderful, magical story about fate and found family. The locations of Switzerland and the tropical island were so amazing to read about. All of the characters were fully formed and interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for the advanced listener copy. The audiobook is great and narrator Shakira Shute was wonderful. I loved this book, as I have all the books in this series and I highly recommend this audiobook.

Fated absolutely wrecked me, in the best way. Fated is a story about love, loss, hope, and time. Set in 2 different worlds, Fiona's real life and the life that she dreams (literally), Fated takes you on a journey of what could be and what sacrifices you are willing to make to capture a dream that seems impossible. I typically don't read magical realism, but Fated sucked me in from the beginning. The imagery is beautiful and both Sarah Ready's writing and Shakira Shute's narrating make you feel like you are living through Fiona as she decides what type of life she wants to live.

Fated is longgg at almost 14 hours which means I spent a lot of time anxious, with my hand on my chest, waiting to see how / if Fiona and Aaron could get their HEA. This is the first time in a while that a book has captured my emotions and kept me guessing throughout the whole novel. I would definitely recommend to anyone who loves romantasy, time travel, the power of dreams, or anyone who wants to step slightly out of the box of what they normally read. Fated is the 3rd book in the Ghosted Series, but can be read as a standalone. The setting of this book is before book #1 of the Ghosted Series so I actually would recommend starting with this one if you haven't read the series yet (I have not read the others, but definitely will now).


Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC and NetGalley for this ARC to read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Wow, this audiobook was a journey!

My heart was pulled all over the place: glowing, torn, glowing, and torn again. I didn't want to stop listening because I needed to know what was going to happen. Every time I thought the storyline was settling, it was upturned again!

The writing is beautiful, it flowed well, and the narration really emphasises the beauty of the book.

Now to find more of Sarah's books!

5/5 stars
1.5/5 spice

Tropes:
Alternate reality/time
Single mom
Magical realism
Fated mates
Slow burn
Single POV

I was in agony with this book. There was angst, sweet moments, and absolute heartbreak. The summary had me intrigued, but I already knew that some type of magical realism would be involved, having read the other two books in this series. I was blown away by the whole plot and the twists, especially at the end. You can read this as a standalone, but the other books are also worth a read.

I got to listen to the audiobook, and the narrator did an amazing job bringing these characters to life. Overall, I highly recommend this book for fans of magical realism and fated mates. This one delivers 🙌🏽

Thank you to Netgalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for the ALC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and offered voluntarily.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review an early copy of this book. Fated by Sarah Ready will be released July 16th, 2024.

I want to start of by saying that I LOVE Sarah Ready. Her past two books have been absolute favorites of mine, especially Ghosted, so when I saw an ARC become available to Fated, you bet I jumped on that request button. However, this book did not provide the same amount of excitement and attention-grabbing effects as the past books by this author have. That's not to say that the book was bad - it was a great story, it just wasn't my favorite. The whole idea of dreaming into another life is something that is super interesting to me, but I just couldn't stay focused on this book for the life of me. Towards the end, though, I was really eager to find out how she was going to wrap the story up. Totally worth the read.

I love this series! The premises are always so out there, and even when they seem too far-fetched, I get hooked every single time. Sarah Ready is such a creative writer, there were twists in the book that I did not see coming. If you haven't read this series and you like rom-coms and sci-fi, this is a perfect mix.

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.