SWITCHED by Sarah Ready is Freaky Friday mixed with The Big Bang Theory! There were some things I really enjoyed about this book. I liked the two main characters; I was a fan of the opposites attract, workplace enemies to lovers situation. I also thought the general plot was really fun: a year after their one-night stand, two physicists switch bodies and learn to appreciate each other (and realize their love in the process). I also thought the audiobook narrators were good! The narrators really matched the characters well.

There were a few things that I loved less, though. I didn't quite get the "love at first sight" at the beginning. While I don't mind "love at first sight" as a trope, I didn't feel like we got enough detail in their first night together to really feel that love or understand why it was love. I also wish the reasoning behind Serena's fear of love was explained earlier in the book. Until we met her mom and learned the backstory, I didn't understand why Serena was afraid of losing her identity in falling in love. It felt a little silly as a conflict until the backstory was explained, so I wish that it was explained (or at least explored) sooner. The last little thing I had an issue with was the idea that they were going to die if they didn't switch back. It seemed like the spiritualist pulled that out of nowhere and there was no evidence--scientific or otherwise--supporting that theory. I would've liked some sort of explanation for why they would die if they didn't switch back so the stakes felt a little higher.

Overall, though, I liked this book! I think readers who enjoy "nerdy," scientific romances will really enjoy this one!

Rating: 6/10
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This was such a quintessential Sarah Ready book - a little chaotic, a lot of entertaining, and so enjoyable to read!

-I’ll admit there was a little too much science jargon at the beginning of the book and the way Serena and Henry met was kind of odd, but once we got past that, I really enjoyed their relationship!
-It was a fun Freaky Friday esq. concept! My favorite part of it was when they realized they could access each other’s feelings and memories - how they were still themselves in another body, but still took on small traits of each other.
-I also loved how Serena’s best friend sort of just accepted the explanation that she turned into Henry I feel like I would need to ask a hell of a lot more questions before just being like “yeah, okay that makes sense”
-If you ask any of my friends, there is nothing I hate more than the power of love, but somehow Ready made it work

Read if you like:
-Insta-love, but slow burn at the same time?
-STEM books
-Freaky Friday

This book was a fun, lighthearted romance with a bit of chaos. I don’t recommend it as your first Sarah Ready book if you haven’t read her work before, but it was still super enjoyable!

Thank you Netgalley and Sarah Ready for a #gifted copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Great audiobook! I loved the storyline and wanted to keep listening to see how everything will get resolved. I really enjoyed it!

Thanks for this audiobook!

Switched by Sarah Ready
Narrated by Kelsey Navarro Foster and James Anderson Foster
Magical realism. Second in a series but stands alone.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy for review purposes. Ana’s Attic accepts no compensation for reviews, and all reviews contain my honest opinion. This post contains affiliate links.

I grabbed Switched by Sarah Ready from NetGalley because it sounded fun. I had no idea it was part of a series until I added it to Goodreads when I finished it, so it stands alone perfectly fine. If you like STEM romance novels, this one would appeal to you for sure because both of the main characters are physicists.

Serena and Henry had a fun (but over-the-top) meet cute and spent one incredible night together. Henry was looking for love and Serena loved her single status. She loved it even more when she found out he was in town because he was her new boss before sneaking out. For two years they worked together, both hiding their attraction until one freaky storm happens while they are in the lab and they switch bodies.

“Your soul burns so bright it doesn’t matter what you look like or what body you’re in – it’s you. Nothing can change that.”

The author made some interesting choices about which traits the person takes with them when they switch. They kept their voices but not their accents and I must say, listening to the audiobook, I found it very confusing at times to know who was speaking because they each have traits of the other. There was a chapter or two with the male narrator and the rest was Kelsey Navarro narrating both characters. She did a fantastic job with the accents, but I think the nature of the story made it hard to follow. I’m not sure if I would have had the same difficulty had I read it instead of listened or if the whole audiobook had dual narration.

I loved the concept of the story. I loved that they each gained a wonderful understanding of each other as they fell in love. I wish all couples could do this! But it was also strange that they were besically falling in love with themselves. There were a few parts that just totally confused me, they would say nice things about the other person but were they really talking about themselves? When he gazes at her lovingly, isn’t he gazing at himself?

The story started out slow for me with too much science, but as it continued I really enjoyed it despite my confusion of who was speaking during many scenes. I was able to get most of what was happening, but the same narrator for both parts made it difficult. I loved the parts where they visited family as the other person. There were some clever and fun moments and I liked both characters despite my unease at the weirdness. I realized that the less I thought about the details and improbabilities the more I enjoyed it.

“It’s not love at first sight. It’s not friendship to love. It’s not hate to love. It’s not blind love. It’s love built from understanding. A love that knows all my flaws, everything I’m afraid of or that I’ve done wrong, all my idiosyncrasies and all my blind spots – a love that knows I’m human and often bull-headed, stubborn, and mistaken. A love that knows me and still loves – loves every hidden corner of me, every dark depth, and every idiotic thing I’ve done in the past and may do in the future, and still, still loves me.”

Likes:
•As a Trekkie I loved the Star Trek references. Captain Purrk? Genius.
•They were both from normal, happy families, a rarity in books.
•The concept of the story is fun and unique.
•I liked both characters.
•It was a fun sweet journey with tons of character growth.

Dislikes:
•I’m not sure if the body-switching worked so well for a romance since they were kind of falling in love with themselves.
•It was very confusing to know who was talking at times.
•It didn’t really work so well in audio because there were footnotes and diagrams in the actual book.
•The breaking of the 4th wall. I usually love this in books, but found it didn’t add to the story at all in this instance.

The Narration:
Kelsey Navarro Foster did a fantastic job switching back and forth, so my rating is not about her, it’s because I don’t think this book lends itself to audio well. Besides there being footnotes and graphs, following who was speaking was very confusing at times since they both took on qualities of the other person in the switch. Having dual narration throughout may have helped, but I’m honestly not sure.

The Down & Dirty:
I loved the concept of Switched by Sarah Ready. I feel I may have absolutely loved it if I read instead of listened but I honestly don’t know. Most of my issues stem from not following who was speaking since they both take on traits of the other when they switch bodies and it’s the same narrator for both of them for most of the book. I also found it strange that they kind of fell for themselves. Yes, there was a lovely message of loving someone’s soul rather than the body they are in, and it may have worked if they were switched with other people but to fall in love with essentially yourself is kind of wacky. Still, I smiled the whole time and enjoyed listening despite being lost a few times.

I am for sure interested in picking up Ghosted, the first in the series, because I enjoy the light paranormal happening in our world and I like her writing.

Rating: 3.75 Stars, Closed door, 3 Narration

Fated releases 7/16/24

One of the greatest joys of my life is going into a Sarah Ready book completely blind. If she writes it, I'll read it. Could it be a lighthearted comedy? Could it be something that is going to destroy me? I don't know, but what I do know is that my heart will be happy by the end of it, and Switched is no different.

It's Freaky Friday meets the Big Bang Theory, and I ate up every second of it! The jokes were funny without being too over the top, the romance was impeccable, and even though it was very spicy, it was still very intimate, which I don't see done in a lot of books. It's either a 5 alarm fire or closed door/fade to black with most books, so Sarah's approach is somewhere in the middle and I am here for it!

I can't fathom how Sarah keeps writing hit after hit, but I'm not mad about it at all!

This book is a heartwarming paranormal romantic comedy about two physicists named Serena and Henry. One day, after an unexpected storm, they switch bodies. Despite being complete opposites, they end up meeting one perfect night and sparks fly between them. This book is packed with banter, tension, chemistry, and hilarious moments that make it an absolute joy to read. It emphasizes self-discovery and female individualism while still keeping the story engaging and entertaining. If you're looking for a sweet, hilarious, and delightful romantic comedy, this book is highly recommended.
This is my first book by Sarah Ready, which happens to be the second book in the Ghosted series. I enjoyed it so much that I'm planning to get the first one now. It was a fun read! I highly recommend it - the narrator did an excellent job.

This is an absolute gem of a rom-com with a quirky twist. Serena and Henry's story, set in the intriguing world of particle physics, takes a wild turn with a body-switching twist that feels like a modern-day "Freaky Friday." The blend of humor, science, and romance is perfectly balanced, making every moment enjoyable. The characters are wonderfully fleshed out, and their self-discovery and love journey is hilarious and touching. The audiobook brings an extra charm, especially with the switched accents, a delightful touch! It's a heartwarming, funny, and intelligent listen that's perfect for anyone who loves a good love story with a unique spin.

Ooh, I was really hoping that this Sarah Ready book was going to resolve the few issues I had with ‘Ghosted’, the previous book in this series.
The premise of this book sounded really interesting and I like that the author is writing paranormal romance stories.

This book follows Serena, who appeared as Jillian’s best friend in the first book. Serena works in STEM in Geneva. She loves science, her cat, is messy and is avoiding commitment. Serena meets Henry, who is British, straightlaced, looking for love and turns out to be Serena’s new boss.

An electric storm causes an unexpected event at the particle collider which results in them switching bodies!
I listened to the audiobook and I thought the narrator did a good job with the voices. I did sometimes find it hard to follow who was speaking because of the switch plus with the changing of accents. I do not know if this is due to the audio or if the same would have occurred if I was reading physically.

I thought the story was a bit slow to start as it took a while before the switch occurred. I liked the appearances of Jillian and Daniel with the update to their romance. I’m not sure I was completely sold on the insta-love aspect of this one or the chemistry between the characters. While I am a fan of the ‘Freaky Friday’ style body switch, I am not fully convinced this worked for me when they were falling for each other as this felt a little odd at times.

I listened to this book quickly and it was an easy listen. I would still be interested to read the third book in the series as the author’s ideas are really appealing.

I am rating this book 3 stars.

Thank you to the publisher, W. W. Crown for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Serena Otaki knows that physics is her one true love. When she hits it off with uptight Englishman Henry Joules, she’s convinced a relationship could never work out. Until an electric storm near a particle collider swaps their minds into each other’s bodies!

I loved the premise of this story and immediately wanted to read it. In their initial meeting, Henry was a golden retriever hero, hopelessly in love immediately after seeing Serena. She tamped down her attraction and strongly discouraged Henry from pursuing anything with her, especially when she discovered he'd be her boss for the foreseeable future.

Waking up in each other's bodies was a hilarious thing to read, having to navigate completely different bodies and lives. Unavoidable circumstances had them both having to visit their families together in order to prevent them from knowing just what was going on.

In the process, they developed a deeper understanding of each other and grew closer. I'll admit in some parts I'd quickly get lost due to the science jargon and all, but the story was just captivating.

I listened to the audio which was entertaining, but as they both had the opposite voice while talking out loud, it was a bit confusing so another format would have been better for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Publisher for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I have to be honest, I just couldn’t get into this book. Frankly, it was hard to get past the 2nd chapter, but I pushed on to give it a fair chance. I felt that the mc was hard to like and she really annoyed me. My eyes rolled and I heavy sighed so many times. The insta love in the very beginning was hard to swallow, it didn’t feel believable. Also, because, to me, the story was predictable I was pretty bored. The narrator was just okay to me.
I really wish that I had nicer things to say. I’m sure many people will like this for the angry romance alone, I’m just not one of them.

Switched is a fun, adventurous, romantic rom com by Sarah Ready. It's narrated by Kelsey Navarro Foster and James Anderson Foster.
Serena Otaki is an easy going gal. She adores all things physics and she's living the dream at The Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, Switzerland. She also has absolutely no intention of getting attached to any human, ever!
Henry Joule, on the other hand, is a bit more tightly wound. His idea of living the dream is 'a place for everything and everything in its place'. He also loves physics but he's looking for his forever person to marry.
When Serena and Henry accidentally meet things just spontaneously explode.

I don't know if I can be impartial with this book, I have already read the physical book twice, yes...twice and I have been listening to the audio book more times than I should admit.
.
first because the narration is done in such a perfect way that I want to listen to Serena and Henry again doing everything possible to return to their bodies until they have no choice but to make peace with the fact that they need each other
.
and I love how they inevitably begin to meet and fall in love. That part melts my heart. Because even though I know several parts almost by heart at this point, it is incredible and beautiful to hear the characters come to life and say the most swoon-worthy phrases in the book
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and face unexpected situations, and we don't talk about the images that Sarah Ready paints in my mind with her words, so dreamy
.
I love this book and this series, although Serena made me doubt at first it is impossible not to love her and love her mind and the way it works
.
Thanks to Sarah Ready for give me a copy of this beautiful in exchange for my honest opinion

I loved this!!! Serena is such a brain and I love that so much about her! It was so nice to see someone so incredibly smart and also so incredibly messy in the same person. Henry is the best! I just wanted to hug him the entire book! The switching of their lives really hit home when they had to be there for each other’s huge life events, and it was so well written, it tugged on my heart strings! I love this series so far and I can’t wait for the next book!

Thank you to Netgalley, W.W. Crown an Imprint of Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC audiobook for an honest review.

This is book two of a series but could definitely be read as a standalone even though our main couple from previous book plays a minor role. This was another fun, quirky book that doesn't follow the normal standards of this trope. This time being a "body swap" of our hero and heroine. Serena and Henry are both scientists and have a total soul mate/love connection at their first meeting...which freaks Serena out because she doesn't believe you can be in love without losing yourself and follow your dreams. Therefore, she sabotages the relationship shortly after discovering Henry it to be her new boss. The two work together, but not happily. Then one night there is a storm and a bunch of mystical/science stuff that happens that causes the body swap. I enjoyed how the two could get an inside scoop into to each other's feelings and glimpses of past life events. The entire premise was clever but a bit too much science stuff for me. I adored Henry's character and while eventually you got to see why Serena/Ducky got her stubborn belief about love, she could still be so frustrating at times.

There are some spicy scenes that honestly, I could do without. The story was solid with just the sweet romance in my opinion. Still an enjoyable read with the long awaited "aha moment" and happily ever after.

3.5 stars

Thank you to @NetGalley and W. W. Crown, Swift & Lewis Publishing, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), and Members’ Audiobooks for my free advanced readers copy of this book and audiobook!

I both listened to and read the book. The writing was excellent, great character development, a plot that kept you intrigued and an animated narrator.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! This book, such a hilariously sweet, love at first sight, fated mates romance. I thoroughly enjoyed this funny, quirky romance. I cried so any tears of laughter and of sweet joy. The characters, Serena and Henry are both science nerds that meet at a local bar. Serena aka Ducky unknowingly sits on a newly varnished laden bench and becomes glued to it. In comes her rescuer, Henry, donates his coat for her to wrap around her as she shimmies out of her pants, sans panties and pants.

They have a magical night that terrifies Serena. It feels like instant love and she is not having that at all. She breaks Henry’s heart with a lie, he ends up being her boss and for the next two years they work begrudgingly together until another fated magical day where they somehow switch bodies.

Together, Henry and Serena work side by side, meeting each others families, being supportive and attentive to each other’s needs, while finding a cure to their debacle.

Full of witty banter and funny quips, the author takes you on a wild ride of fated love. Will Henry and Serena get their respective bodies back? Do they fall in love and admit it to each other? Or like a psychic’s prediction, will they both die?

This was a cute and fun Freaky Friday story but with two people who are complete opposites but have some spark between them. In order, to truly understand the other person, they switch bodies and in doing so can feel emotions and memories allowing them to really get to know the other person. I loved how the author brought the different emotions to a forefront and even more so when they were forced to attend family events.

I listened to the book and the confusing part is who was who after they switched. It felt like at some points you couldn’t tell who was Henry and who was Serena.

Thank you to the author, #Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced copy of the audio version of Switched in exchange for an honest review.

As always, I will jump at the chance to get my hands on a Sarah Ready book early! This was book number 2 in the Ghosted series. I absolutely loved the first. Even though I knew it was a series, I didn’t go into reading it knowing much about the plot and was so pleasantly surprised to have so many Jillian and Daniel cameos!

Looking back to my review of Ghosted, I really did miss having Henry’s POV during the story similarly to how I missed the absence of Daniel’s and was delighted for that chapter at the end. I like that the books follow a similar format to one another, however are totally unique stories!

I thought the writing was creative! I loved the Freaky Friday switch up premise. I thought it was hysterically done. I felt the most emotion from the scenes where they were with their family but couldn’t interact how they really wanted to. I loved the character growth. I liked the ending. There were times I felt a little confused and should’ve re-listened to reorient myself. I would also get confused who was speaking at times (Serena in Henry’s body or Henry in Serena’s) and I think it was because of the narration. Switching up accents and male/female voices so frequently I am sure was a bit confusing. I also wished at times there was a little more dialogue between the FMC and MMC when they were with others and less narrating what was occurring.

All in all, another enjoyable Sarah ready book for me! 4/5⭐️

Looking forward to the 3rd book, Fated!

With a cute cover and playful font, I started this audiobook thinking it would be a quick, lighthearted, Freaky Friday-esque romp with some humor and hijinks and hopefully some good banter. I was not prepared for the beautifully described scenery, the lovingly crafted characters, and the exploration of their backstories woven through the story as their relationships progressed, and how their upbringing shaped the paradigm through which they viewed the world.

The way Sarah Ready utilizes the principle of show-don't-tell builds an incredible connection with these characters, and it has been a very long time since I felt such a yearning for two people to find their happily ever after.

Switched is a love story that makes you reconsider what it really means to fully love someone. What it means to see someone, and the things we don't know about ourselves until we can see through the eyes of someone else.

The narration of this audiobook deserves its own special commendation for adding another dimension to the incredible heart of this story. Kelsey Navarro Foster narrates this story, and does an amazing job of not just switching between character voices and affectations effortlessly, she also switches between tones and accents for the same characters, depending on whether it's their internal monologue, their unaccented voice in their switched state, or their fake accented voice in their switched state. She brought these characters to life, and made it so easy to listen along and understand the conversations as easily as if you were in the room watching them interact with each other and the side characters. A great narrator makes it seem easy, but this must have been very difficult to do as seamlessly as she did, and it elevated an already great story to one that I immediately wanted to start again and listen to from the very beginning.

Thanks for NetGalley for the advanced copy of this audiobook, and the introduction to Sarah Ready. She is immediately one of my must-read authors going forward, and I'm looking forward to getting to read the rest of her catalog as well.

Freaky Friday meets STEM romcom! Serena’s great loves are her job in physics, her cat Captain Purrk, and Star Trek. When she meets the handsome British Henry, her ultimate opposite, and the sparks fly. The only problem-she doesn’t want romantic love. Fast forward a few years after their paths have crossed and an electric storm causes one of their particle colliders to go haywire while they’re at work…and Serena wakes up in Henry’s body (and vice-versa). Things couldn’t happen at a worse time with major life events on both ends…and the two must reunite and work together to figure out how to make each other’s lives go smoothly in the meantime & ultimately switch back to their own bodies.
I loved reading this and caught myself laughing multiple times and holding my breath in others. This is a sweet romcom with some ties to Ready’s first book in this universe, Ghosted. Kelsey Navarro Foster did a great job carrying the narration.
Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I started this one yesterday and absolutely devoured it!

This was super cute, and totally unique I’ve never read anything quite like it. The characters were sweet and relatable, and it was interesting getting insight into their reactions and navigation of a freaky Friday body swap situation. The biggest thing about this I found was how openly the author talks about things like periods, and what it would be like to wake up with the other parts 🤣 this is something we’ve ALL thought about at some point in time. I loved that!

This had funny parts, super emotional parts, and at times was really eye opening. It made me think quite a lot about what it means to love. We get to see a variety of different relationship dynamics in this book, whether it be the main characters or their parents and friends. Seeing those through both of the main characters eyes was a great perspective, because it shows us how the relationships around them affect their views on love as adults. I loved this, and while it opened my eyes a lot it was also reassuring in my own relationships.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the author for this review copy!