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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
This was so good and heart breaking! I have read this authors other books in this series and this one has got to be my favorite so fare. I really love these characters and their story and the heartbreak that they go through. It’s fantastic.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this story, this is my honest and objective review. Fated is the 3rd in a series, I've read and enjoyed the first two and this was a good one although I think I liked Ghosted more. I don't know that you have to have read the other two in order to enjoy this one, it works fine as a standalone. Events take place prior to Ghosted (the first in the series, Daniel's story). What I've liked about the series is there's always an element of mystery in these fantastical scenarios that the stories have in them. What's real and what's not? It's not always easy to see where the story is going, for me anyway (which, frankly, it would be boring if you could). So the reader commits to following the author along on all the twists and turns to see where it finally ends up. And as with the other two in the series, you really need to suspend disbelief if you're going to enjoy the story, otherwise you'll be distracting yourself from the story with reasonable but needless and frustrating questions about reality. Trust me on this.
So we have Fiona, sister to Daniel, both heirs to family watch company. Fiona has a young daughter Mila, from a past relationship that ended in heartbreak for Fiona. Fiona's close friend is Max, who of course wants to be more. Fiona's mother abandoned her to her father when young. As mentioned, Daniel is the mmc from the first book, we met Fiona briefly in Ghosted. At the center of the story is the first timepiece made by the Abry family, which went missing decades ago. So of course Fiona's hippy-dippy absentee mother has it, stolen from Fiona's great-uncle Leopold. Fiona has closed herself off to love and legend is that the watch can help you to live your dreams, which Fiona decides to test because why not? She then dreams a very real-feeling world in which she takes over another woman's life (Becca), married to the lovely Aaron McCormick, living on an island somewhere. The dream life is definitely written more vividly than her Swiss life. So where does she really belong? Is she Fiona or is she Becca? Are the dreams even real? Will it be Max or McCormick? What if the dreams exist just to show you how you can make changes in your real life to get there what you have in your dreams? It was a great ride, and the story itself grabbed me until the end. Her books must take so much planning, holy cow.
My main issue here is that while I liked all of the characters (it's hard not to like Aaron and Max, and I'd already liked Daniel in Ghosted although he's kind of a watered-down version here), I had a little bit of a hard time with Fiona. She was a bit cold and hard for me to engage with in the beginning, I assume the distance was on purpose to show how much she'd shut herself away from love. She definitely came to life once the dreaming started. This was a great installment in the series, and I'm looking forward to the next one!
So we have Fiona, sister to Daniel, both heirs to family watch company. Fiona has a young daughter Mila, from a past relationship that ended in heartbreak for Fiona. Fiona's close friend is Max, who of course wants to be more. Fiona's mother abandoned her to her father when young. As mentioned, Daniel is the mmc from the first book, we met Fiona briefly in Ghosted. At the center of the story is the first timepiece made by the Abry family, which went missing decades ago. So of course Fiona's hippy-dippy absentee mother has it, stolen from Fiona's great-uncle Leopold. Fiona has closed herself off to love and legend is that the watch can help you to live your dreams, which Fiona decides to test because why not? She then dreams a very real-feeling world in which she takes over another woman's life (Becca), married to the lovely Aaron McCormick, living on an island somewhere. The dream life is definitely written more vividly than her Swiss life. So where does she really belong? Is she Fiona or is she Becca? Are the dreams even real? Will it be Max or McCormick? What if the dreams exist just to show you how you can make changes in your real life to get there what you have in your dreams? It was a great ride, and the story itself grabbed me until the end. Her books must take so much planning, holy cow.
My main issue here is that while I liked all of the characters (it's hard not to like Aaron and Max, and I'd already liked Daniel in Ghosted although he's kind of a watered-down version here), I had a little bit of a hard time with Fiona. She was a bit cold and hard for me to engage with in the beginning, I assume the distance was on purpose to show how much she'd shut herself away from love. She definitely came to life once the dreaming started. This was a great installment in the series, and I'm looking forward to the next one!
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was such a great story! I love Sarah's ability to keep me on my toes until the very end and this book definitely lived up to that hype! If you love romance with a little bit of magic, this is definitely the story for you!
Fiona is a hardworking, single mother who recently went through a traumatic event and has put her life on hold until her mom brings her a gift that changes her life. Because of this gift, she suddenly finds herself going back and forth between her normal (waking) life and a life that she thinks is a dream that she never knew she needed.
Fiona is a hardworking, single mother who recently went through a traumatic event and has put her life on hold until her mom brings her a gift that changes her life. Because of this gift, she suddenly finds herself going back and forth between her normal (waking) life and a life that she thinks is a dream that she never knew she needed.
Firstly Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the audio ARC of this book. Please note this gift has not affected the way in which I have reviewed this book.
This is the third book in the Ghosted series, by Sarah Ready.
Telling the story of Fiona a CEO of a watch making company, who has closed the doors on Love after life shows her how fairytales aren’t really true. She is given a gift that changes her life forever.
An enjoyable book which is an easy listening and reading.
This is the third book in the Ghosted series, by Sarah Ready.
Telling the story of Fiona a CEO of a watch making company, who has closed the doors on Love after life shows her how fairytales aren’t really true. She is given a gift that changes her life forever.
An enjoyable book which is an easy listening and reading.
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I liked this book enough to give it 3 stars.
Because while I liked the ‘plot’ aspect of the book, I don’t know if I liked the romance, you know?
The romance aspect wasn’t enough to convince me that Aaron and Fi would even last a year of marriage. They literally still barely knew each other by the end of the book. And the author was AWARE of this because she threw the “you love me even though you barely know me?” in at the end with that “but I know your heart” BS answer to convince US readers that they were meant to be!!! Mind you they both lived vastly different lives. Should have had this resolved somehow DURING the book, but the author didn’t. And then fast forward and they got married only a month later. What the hell.
I don’t know. I just couldn’t suspend my disbelief enough to feel like they had EARNED their HEA. I guess being 32 does that to you—you can no longer be spoonfed HEAs anymore. There are LOGISTICS to consider in order for a couple to mesh in EVERY WAY possible, let alone get MARRIED and have a life together. Just. No.
Because while I liked the ‘plot’ aspect of the book, I don’t know if I liked the romance, you know?
The romance aspect wasn’t enough to convince me that Aaron and Fi would even last a year of marriage. They literally still barely knew each other by the end of the book. And the author was AWARE of this because she threw the “you love me even though you barely know me?” in at the end with that “but I know your heart” BS answer to convince US readers that they were meant to be!!! Mind you they both lived vastly different lives. Should have had this resolved somehow DURING the book, but the author didn’t. And then fast forward and they got married only a month later. What the hell.
I don’t know. I just couldn’t suspend my disbelief enough to feel like they had EARNED their HEA. I guess being 32 does that to you—you can no longer be spoonfed HEAs anymore. There are LOGISTICS to consider in order for a couple to mesh in EVERY WAY possible, let alone get MARRIED and have a life together. Just. No.
This story grabbed me from the start and kept me ensnared until the end. I stayed up way later than I should have reading this book and didn't want to put it down. The twists and turns weren't what I was expecting and even when I got one aspect somewhat correct, it wasn't exactly how I thought it happened. You do have to suspend your beliefs in this book a bit because many of the things that happen are not very realistic. In addition, there are a couple of critiques. I wish we could have gotten a glimpse into Becca's viewpoint. You only learn about her through other characters, and I had some lingering questions about her that weren't answered. Also, while I like the ending, I wish it could have been more elaborate. I wanted to experience everyone figuring it out and also the meeting of side characters and Fiona. That being said, I had a blast reading this book. It's one of my favorite reads of the year so far. Just FYI, I received this as an ARC and this is my honest review of the book.
Just after Fiona Abry and her brother Daniel make a bet over who will find and accept love first, Fiona’s hippy dippy mother Buttercup, who abandoned her at age 6, comes for a very brief visit and gifts her a long-lost family heirloom, the first pocket watch made by Adolphus Abry, founder of the family’s watch company. According to her great-great-uncle Leo, who gave her mother the watch to pass on to her, if Fiona falls asleep holding it, “it will show you your heart’s desire. And then once you’ve dreamed it, you can grasp it.” Next thing she knows, she’s waking up on an isolated Caribbean island in bed with a stranger, Aaron, and mother to two children. To further confound things, she looks like the woman whose body she seems to be possessing. Over the course of the summer, she revisits the island nightly in vivid dreams, never knowing how much time has passed, if any, and slowly falling for Aaron.
There were a couple of minor issues that kept this from being a 5* read for me. It frustrated me how unintentionally cruel Fiona was by not being honest with Aaron about who she is, causing him such incredible hurt. Also, as a huge fan of Jillian and Daniel Abry, the couple from Ghosted, it is disappointing that this story takes place before they meet, so readers don’t get to revisit with them.
As always, though, Sarah Ready does an incredible job of crafting romances that defy time, space, and logic. In this third book of the Ghosted series, there are so many twists that readers are left guessing until the end whether Fiona’s dream guy, Aaron, is real but in another dimension or just a figment of her imagination. Highly recommended!
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Swift & Lewis Publishing through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
There were a couple of minor issues that kept this from being a 5* read for me. It frustrated me how unintentionally cruel Fiona was by not being honest with Aaron about who she is, causing him such incredible hurt. Also, as a huge fan of Jillian and Daniel Abry, the couple from Ghosted, it is disappointing that this story takes place before they meet, so readers don’t get to revisit with them.
As always, though, Sarah Ready does an incredible job of crafting romances that defy time, space, and logic. In this third book of the Ghosted series, there are so many twists that readers are left guessing until the end whether Fiona’s dream guy, Aaron, is real but in another dimension or just a figment of her imagination. Highly recommended!
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Swift & Lewis Publishing through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
I've read all of Sarah Ready's previous books and I fall more in love with her stories each time. I've read reviews that say "it's so far fetched" and "not believable" but I love the character, whimsy, and magic that she bleeds into each of her books.
Fiona is a very likable FMC, which is sort of rare these days when I read modern romance books. She's got money, is the CEO of a luxury watch company, a goofy brother, and a best friend who is in love with her. And yet, she wants the sparks. As most of us do. She finds the sparks by receiving (albiet from her thieving mother) a family heirloom watch which gives the person in possession of it the ability to live their dreams. It's in her dreams that she meets Aaron as she fills the body of a woman named Becca. Becca is an asshole - cheating on her husband with her husband's best friend and also hates her kids (including a badass daughter that reads Dostovesky in the mornings).
This book was so full of longing and heartbreak and happiness and sorrow. It was all the emotions combined. I wanted so desperately for Aaron and Fiona to get together but not as "Becca"... as herself. You'll just have to read the book to see what happens.
This book made me want to dream again myself. It was heartfelt and lovely and should be on any dreamer's bookshelf. Here's to you, Ready, for another well done novel.
Thanks to Swift & Lewis Publishing and NetGalley for an e-Arc in exchange for an honest review.
Fiona is a very likable FMC, which is sort of rare these days when I read modern romance books. She's got money, is the CEO of a luxury watch company, a goofy brother, and a best friend who is in love with her. And yet, she wants the sparks. As most of us do. She finds the sparks by receiving (albiet from her thieving mother) a family heirloom watch which gives the person in possession of it the ability to live their dreams. It's in her dreams that she meets Aaron as she fills the body of a woman named Becca. Becca is an asshole - cheating on her husband with her husband's best friend and also hates her kids (including a badass daughter that reads Dostovesky in the mornings).
This book was so full of longing and heartbreak and happiness and sorrow. It was all the emotions combined. I wanted so desperately for Aaron and Fiona to get together but not as "Becca"... as herself. You'll just have to read the book to see what happens.
This book made me want to dream again myself. It was heartfelt and lovely and should be on any dreamer's bookshelf. Here's to you, Ready, for another well done novel.
Thanks to Swift & Lewis Publishing and NetGalley for an e-Arc in exchange for an honest review.
Sarah Ready tells beautiful love stories, effortlessly blending warmth, angst, and a bit of magic.
📖 Fated
📝 Sarah Ready
🗓️ 07/16/2024
💜 contemporary romance
📱🎧 read on kindle + audio (arc/alc)
🎙️ Shakira Shute
📚 book 3 • Ghosted series
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️♾️
🌶️🌶️
💭 overall thoughts:
Not sure how I haven’t learned by now that Sarah will completely rip my heart out before putting it back together 😭 I've added another of her books to my favorites list! I loved this so much.
Fiona is a single mom & CEO of her late father’s watch company. She lives a very busy life, one that she was born into. She’s given a watch that lets you dream what you really want, and it takes her into another life.
Fiona loves parts of both of these lives, and it pushes her to figure out what she truly desires. The dream world gives her a place to safely explore love, and a completely different way to live than she’s used to.
I had so many theories and none were true 😅 I did very much enjoy the ride. I fell hard for Fiona & Aaron, and I was hoping for them to end up together somehow.
While listed as 3rd in the series, you definitely don’t have to read the first two books - this one actually takes place before, so there’s very little connection (except Fiona’s brother Daniel being the mmc in Ghosted).
🤍side characters:
I’m very much looking forward to book 4, Wished - Max deserves his happily ever after! I loved how much he supported & respected Fiona.
🎧 audiobook thoughts:
Sarah Ready always has me discovering incredible narrators! Shakira Shute embodied Fiona so well, and added so much to the story.
tropes + topics:
✨ magical realism
💭 dream world
🙃 opposites attract
👩💼 single mom & CEO
👩❤️👨 soulmates/meant to be
🫶🏼 found family
💜 single 1st person pov
✨ books with similar vibes:
♡ The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
Thank you to Sarah Ready, Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC and NetGalley for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.
📖 Fated
📝 Sarah Ready
🗓️ 07/16/2024
💜 contemporary romance
📱🎧 read on kindle + audio (arc/alc)
🎙️ Shakira Shute
📚 book 3 • Ghosted series
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️♾️
🌶️🌶️
💭 overall thoughts:
Not sure how I haven’t learned by now that Sarah will completely rip my heart out before putting it back together 😭 I've added another of her books to my favorites list! I loved this so much.
Fiona is a single mom & CEO of her late father’s watch company. She lives a very busy life, one that she was born into. She’s given a watch that lets you dream what you really want, and it takes her into another life.
Fiona loves parts of both of these lives, and it pushes her to figure out what she truly desires. The dream world gives her a place to safely explore love, and a completely different way to live than she’s used to.
I had so many theories and none were true 😅 I did very much enjoy the ride. I fell hard for Fiona & Aaron, and I was hoping for them to end up together somehow.
While listed as 3rd in the series, you definitely don’t have to read the first two books - this one actually takes place before, so there’s very little connection (except Fiona’s brother Daniel being the mmc in Ghosted).
🤍side characters:
I’m very much looking forward to book 4, Wished - Max deserves his happily ever after! I loved how much he supported & respected Fiona.
🎧 audiobook thoughts:
Sarah Ready always has me discovering incredible narrators! Shakira Shute embodied Fiona so well, and added so much to the story.
tropes + topics:
✨ magical realism
💭 dream world
🙃 opposites attract
👩💼 single mom & CEO
👩❤️👨 soulmates/meant to be
🫶🏼 found family
💜 single 1st person pov
✨ books with similar vibes:
♡ The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
Thank you to Sarah Ready, Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC and NetGalley for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.