This was a fun and heartwarming romantic comedy. It was very reminiscent of a Hallmark movie; the main character is a woman financially struggling who dreams of what it might be like to be married to the man she cleans for. He lives in a mansion, drives an Aston Martin, is CEO of a well-known jewelry company and, is also of course, HOT. This is a bit of a Maid in Manhattan plot with a magical twist, a necklace that can grant wishes. On a whim, she takes a shot at her wish and casts her wish. The woman encounters a challenge - she's magically framed for stealing, losing her much-needed income, which she uses to help support her mom and sister, caught by of all people, the owner of the house she has a crush on. When she wakes up the next morning, she suddenly wakes in a new reality. As the wife of a rich man, who, evidently, still remembers her attempted theft and the fact that they are not married despite the world around them convinced otherwise and evidence that they are. Without spoilers, this story had the vibes of a 90s romance and though it was predictable yet comforting, it actually was hard to predict how the problems would be resolved. I enjoyed how in their marriage power dynamics were equal, like partners in both marriage and even in their business. I liked that the person who was essentially "enchanted" was aware of what was happening too because it gave them both autonomy. This was cute and sexy (yes, there's some spice) and it was a quick and enjoyable read. I haven't read the other books in this series, but would check them out. You don't need to have read them to read this one, but I do know the characters are interconnected. I really loved the side characters in this one though. The narators were fantastic.

Wished is the fourth book in the Ghosted standalone series.

Anna has been in love with her boss, Max, for years. She cleans his house and feels invisible to him. When she comes across a trinket that claims to have wish-granting powers, she makes a wish, partly joking but also partly hoping her wish comes true. Anna wishes that she and Max are married. The next morning, it seems that her wish has come true. It's as blissful as she imagined it would be, but can she live this life that feels forced and not real?

Sarah Ready has done a great job with this Ghosted series. Each book has a magical realism element to it and each premise is different. Just like with the three previous books, the way that Sarah Ready brought around this story so that Anna and Max could have an HEA was very cleverly written. I am in awe of Ready's imagination and ability to take the reader on a journey with each book.

This book felt a bit like a mix of Cinderella and Aladdin to me. Anna and Max come from different worlds and she didn't think that she ever had a chance with him. When she finally experienced what it felt like to be loved by him and to be a part of his world, it broke her heart when she thought of the fact that it felt forced and not real. I wanted her to be able to keep that incandescent happiness she felt with him and I was rooting for her.

I listened to this book and I thought the narration was great! Anna and Max had different accents, and that emphasized the point of what different worlds they were from. And I got to hear Will M. Watt narrate a bit, and I love him!

Pick this one up for a magical and whimsical romance with an HEA that will have you grinning!

Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥

This is a light fantasy romance — if you like books with lots of hot and spicy sex scenes for about half the book, then this book is for you! Unfortunately, I like romances with more character depth than physical fantasy. I did enjoy the character banter for the first 60% and the chemistry between Max and Anna is definitely huge focus and you do require a suspension of disbelief throughout. I definitely liked Anna’s character a lot and I did jump through the massive amounts of detailed sex scenes. I really enjoyed the narrator for Anna in the audiobook — I am not sure the male narrator was needed for the chapters of Max but he did have a deep rich voice. Anna for me really brought her character to life and her intonation at the right places really played up the chemistry.


Thanks to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC | Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks.

3.5 Stars

*Can be read as a standalone but best if read as a series.*

The incorporation of magical realism in the story was great. However, I found the romance to be rushed and unconvincing, and I struggled to connect with Max's character. I believe that further development of Max's character would have strengthened the story.

Overall, while the book was good, it didn't stand out as my favorite in the series, especially in comparison to the compelling story in book three.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Ready, and Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

During Fated I felt like Max was not getting a fair deal but after reading Wished I realize that Max would have missed out on so much if he had settled for Fiona. I loved how this book was intertwined with the rest of the series and the characters made appearances. The characters in this book were so great & the premise of wishing on a necklace was fun. Anna & Max were great and I enjoyed the way their relationship happened with the wish. I think this book is my second favourite in the series, it was a feel good, fun read,

Thanks to NetGalley and Sarah Ready for a copy of this audiobook.

This is such a sweet beautiful romance. I love that wishes came true in this story and the hero and heroine definitely deserved their happy ever after. Visiting the gorgeous locations would be a wish come true for me and they added to the magic of the storyline. What do a housecleaner and a billionaire have in common? Nothing but love. I listened to the audiobook as I read along and that was a fantastically immersive way to enjoy this novel.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to listen to in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

***AUDIO BOOK VERSION***
Wished is the fourth standalone book in the series by Sarah Ready and another fun and enjoyable listen.
We follow Anna, who's a cleaner with a huge crush on one of her clients, Max Barone. One day, she comes across a magical necklace and makes a wish that she was married to him. Then, she gets fired for being suspected of trying to steal it. The next morning, she awakens in his bed, in his home, and married to him (for the past 7 years, no less). As the pair genuinely fall in love, Anna faces a moral dilemma - does she correct her wish and go back to her normal life and risk losing the man of her dreams or stay in a dreamed up relationship that isn't really real?
This was such a sweet and fun listen, and i loved both the main characters from start to finish and enjoyed both narrators who narrated this book and brought it to life. Now I just need to find a magical necklace like this myself....

First off thank you NetGalley for the arc of wished I fully enjoyed listening to loved the rom com and charmed of it and fun and adorable of it I realised after listening to it what it is book 4 of the series going to get the other books soon to read

5 stars

I love this series, but this one is my favorite of them all. I love the balance of romance and angst and magical realism. Ready has such a way of balancing them all out. The turnaround that Max made in this book was just so perfect. from grumpy to cinnamon roll.

The way that Anna and Max's wishes differ slightly yet match exactly the same result was so sweet. I loved everything about their relationship. The way they got to know each other even when Max had "memories" of their life together. It was sweet to see them peel back the layers of what they thought the other was and how much better reality could be.

Doreen for sure was the comedic relief and had me rolling. I think everyone needs a Doreen in their lives (or to grow old and become the Doreen in someone else's life).

Amanda Ronconi and Will Watt did such a great job with the narration. They really brought the connection between Anna and Max to life. The desperation, the fear, the longing. They're both quickly becoming some of my favorites the more I listen to them.

Thank you, NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC for the ALC.

4.25

The Ghosted series is one of my favorite contemporary romance collections, and I am so glad to read and review the most recent installment, Wished, highlighting new character Anna Benoit and recurring character Max Barone. For those following along at home, the first MMC is Daniel Abry, and Max is Daniel's sister's platonic best friend (whew! lots of connections to remember!)

As in each book in the series, the FMC is the primary POV. I really liked Anna as a character, she was very honest, down to earth, and relatable. The themes in this romance were insta-love/love at first sight, fake marriage, with a multi-verse vibe. I'd say this book is the most even-keeled in the series; I remember the others having jaw-dropping twists and insurmountable obstacles that really took me for a ride. Wished was lovely, but not as shocking or surprising. There is some spice in the series and in Wished, but not particularly graphic or gratuitous in my opinion. It was exactly what I needed to read this week and I totally recommend it, and the whole series, to contemporary romance readers. Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing for the ALC of Wished, which is available now!

I have loved this series and I love this book in particular! It has all the feels. For me, this series is about fighting for love. Doing whatever it takes to be with the person you love. Like all the books in the series there is magical realism and twists and turns along the way. This story follows Max and his cleaner Anna. Max is a cynic about love. Anna falls in love at first sight. She makes a wish and all her dreams come true. The meat of the story is the ethical dilemma this causes not to mention the importance of the journey to get there. This could be read without the other 4 books, but it is better if you know the whole story. You also get a little glimpse into what everyone from the other stories are up to. This is the spiciest in the series and the spice is good!

The audio is fantastic! The accents are especially good. Amanda does a great job as Anna and her voice for Max is spot on. Will narrates the prologue and epilogue. He has a very sexy voice!

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

3.75 stars

Anna Benoit has been cleaning Max Barone's estate for 3 years. She fell in love at first sight. He barely knows she exists. One day, Anna makes a wish that she and Max are married and for him to love her. She wakes up in a new world where she is Max's wife and must figure out a way back to their reality. But will she get to keep Max's love?

Wished is #4 in the Ghosted series but can be read as a standalone. It's actually the first book I've read from Sarah Ready. The audiobook was done well with dual narration for the FMC and MMC. I found myself wanting to annotate a physical copy at some points early on in the story. The characters felt like they had substance, and I liked how the side characters were tied in with the story progression.

What knocked my rating down was the insta-love feeling from the MMC. After his POV prologue detailing why he didn't want passion and love in his life, I wanted a little more resistance from his character. He was too willing to go along with the alternate realities even when he knew they weren't real. The pacing also felt a little off. By the 70% mark, and the second alternate reality, I wanted the conclusion to hurry up already.

Overall, I liked the concept behind the story and the characters. I would read more from Sarah Ready.

Thank you Netgalley and the author for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I've really enjoyed many books by Sarah Ready (namely Switched, French Holiday, The Space Between ...) and I was super excited for the opportunity to read Wished! Although it was good overall, I felt it missed the mark on depth for me compared to other books by this author. That's not to say it's bad ... it's a nice, light-hearted book. Many people will love it I'm sure. I just felt that it was heavy on the "hot and heavy" and a little light on the substance. I realize a book about time travel, time loops and/or magical realism ideas can do whatever the heck it wants ... I just personally wanted a little more character development particularly with Max. If you're looking for a light (and steamy) read though, this is a great option!

This was my first Sarah Ready book! I will definitely be reading more books by her! I hadn’t realized this was part of a series, so I do believe it can be a stand alone! I really enjoyed Wished!
The Characters were very well written! I feel like each Character could be related too. Anna’s character reminded me of myself with her values of Honesty & always trying to make others happy.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a feel good, palate cleanser, or just want a little chuckle! Loved it!

Dear Sarah Ready,

American born Anna Benoit is a cleaner. Once a week she attends Max Barone’s chateau in Geneva. Max is handsome, austere and lonely. Anna falls in love at first sight. Max does not see her at all. One day she is cleaning in the library and sees a sapphire necklace in a box on the table next to a note which invites her to make a single wish on the jewels. She wishes she was happily married to Max. It doesn’t go well – initially at least. Max discovers her in the library by which time the necklace has made its way mysteriously into her pocket (she really did not put it there, or if she did, she does not remember it). Fired for attempted theft, Anna’s life changes but not in a good way.

Anna, 25, lives with her mother and eight-year-old (half)sister, Emmy. They are still paying off medical bills associated with the care of Anna’s late father. Emmy’s father is no longer in the picture. They have a very tight budget and Anna’s salary is necessary for their survival.

The next morning however, it appears Anna’s wish has come true. In fact, the book begins here, with Max being advised that “his wife” is waiting for him in his office. (The story then backtracks to how the pair got there.) Max knows full well he is not married. Max and Anna are the only two people in this world who know the truth and remember what really happened. What starts out as a contentious and mistrustful relationship quickly becomes something more. Max and Anna travel to Paris, where the remainder of the parure is kept (the necklace being only one part of it). The plan is to make another wish to set things right.

Up until this part, the narration is shared fairly equally between Amanda Ronconi and Will Watt. After the second wish, the narration is all Amanda Ronconi, right up until the epilogue.

There is a bit of “wish-ception” in Wished. By the end, I admit I was confused by what was real and what was not, who remembered what and why. It’s a romance so it’s not a spoiler to say they end up happily together. They are clearly very well suited to one another; once they actually start talking it’s clear there is chemistry and more between them. But I had questions about the magic of the story. I didn’t quite understand what the point of the “Checkov’s letter” was given where the story ended up and I got lost in the timeline. Had no time at all passed? How does that work?

Anna is a person of extremely high morals. She will take a bus ride she can’t afford to return a single franc she was overpaid in change. (I believe in honesty but this is overkill Anna.) When she finds herself getting what she wished for she has a moral dilemma about consent and self-determination. I didn’t think Anna needed to be quite so pristine in her moral compass in order to have some serious qualms about this. She wants the love between her and Max to be real. Of course she does.

I wondered how she could possibly fit into a life where she had been married to Max for seven years when she remembers nothing about that time. Can you imagine? Going to a job you’ve been doing for years and everyone knows you and remembers things about the preceding time and for you it’s all brand new? The book largely skips over that. Fair enough. It’s not particularly romantic and the timeframe of the book is mainly the five day break Max had planned for his and Anna’s seventh wedding anniversary. (In this reality they got married very quickly and very young.)

I listened to Wished in three bursts, taking short breaks to listen to podcasts. There were times in the book I was less engaged and impatient for some action. And then when the second wish happened I felt a little exhausted. It felt a little like starting everything all over again but this time oh so much more complicated. I sometimes feel this way when there’s a third act break up or when something happens in a story which feels insurmountable, it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s anything missing in the story. Here, I needed to take a breath because it felt like I’d climbed halfway up the mountain and had slid straight to the bottom. The summit felt very far away and I needed extra energy to tackle it. I understand why the author chose the first wish and the second. If the second wish (I’m trying to be a little vague here because spoilers – the second wish happens somewhere around the halfway point or just after if I recall correctly) had been the only wish, listeners wouldn’t have had a chance to know Max.

The narration was very good and that helped me stay engaged with the story. Amanda Ronconi is a narrator I associate with Molly Harper books. In fact, I associate her so strongly with Molly Harper I sometimes struggle to listen to her reading books from other authors. There’s a kind of cognitive dissonance for me. However, in Wished – and I mean this in the best of ways – Sarah Ready’s writing style was similar enough to Harper’s (similar humour, if less frequent) that I did not struggle at all. Ronconi is an excellent narrator, very good with emotion and humour, pretty solid with accents and is able to depict a broad age range of characters. Will Watt is new to me but also very good. Max, despite being French and living in Geneva, has a British accent (it’s explained in the book). Watt has a deep voice and is a native Brit so the accent lined up well. He also delivered Anna’s softer tones in a convincing American accent, in addition to portraying various French-speaking characters. I’d happily listen to him again.

Wished had a strong premise but I’m not entirely sure it stuck the landing for me. Apart from my confusion, the last part was a little too treacly – and this from a listener who likes to wallow in a HEA. While this audio is my first Sarah Ready, there was enough to like that I’ll be reading or listening to her work again. I have Ghosted (in ebook) on my TBR in fact, which is the first book in this loosely connected series.

Were I to rate the book’s content separately to the narration, I’d give the content a B- and the narration a B+ which means overall:

Grade: B

Regards,
Kaetrin

Wished by Sarah Ready is such a fun, feel-good read that’s perfect for anyone who loves a mix of romance and a little magic. The story follows Anna Benoit, a total hopeless romantic who has been head-over-heels in love with Max Barone ever since she first laid eyes on him. The catch? Max doesn’t even know Anna exists. He’s the super successful owner of a jewelry empire, and she’s the cleaner at his chateau. But for Anna, love doesn’t care about any of that. She believes in fate, "The One," and all those swoon-worthy things—so much so that she makes a wish to be married to Max. And voilà, the next morning she wakes up in a world where they’ve been married for years!

I loved the whole concept of Wished. It’s like a fairy tale with a modern twist, and you can’t help but get sucked into Anna’s topsy-turvy world where her wildest dream seems to have come true. She’s finally married to Max, but there’s that underlying question: Is it everything she thought it would be? This isn’t just a simple "wish granted" story. It dives into the whole idea of wanting something so badly but not knowing if it’s really the best thing for you.

Anna is such a relatable character. She’s sweet, optimistic, and a bit naïve when it comes to her idea of love, but that just makes her all the more lovable. Max is more of a mystery at first—brooding, rich, and very much out of Anna’s league—so it’s fun watching her navigate this new version of their relationship. As the story goes on, you start to see a different side of Max, and it keeps you guessing about how he really feels.

What really stood out to me is how Wished isn’t just about the fairytale romance; it’s about figuring out what you really want out of life and love. It’s funny, sweet, and even a little emotional at times, especially when Anna starts to question whether getting everything she wished for is actually what’s best for her.

Sure, the plot has some predictable moments, but the magical, dreamy vibe and the heartwarming romance make up for it. If you love romantic comedies with a bit of magic thrown in, Wished will definitely hit the spot. It’s a light, entertaining read that’ll make you smile and maybe even think a little about your own wishes and dreams.

What would you do if you woke up in your hot boss’s bed, discovering you are married to him? Not only that - but you have been married to him for SEVEN YEARS?

Anna never thought her wish would come true. But suddenly it has, and her entire life has flipped upside down. The best part is that Max, the boss she’s been in love with for years, also wakes up with the same memories from the past seven years - and they did not involve having a wife!

I am such a fan of this series and have been looking forward to listening to Max’s story after my heart warmed for him in Fated. And per usual - it did not disappoint! I loved Anna’s strength and fearlessness, and though I wanted to punch Max at times, I couldn’t help but love him. He was so arrogant at times but also such a softie. He was also such a dirty talker - dang Max! 🥵

Per usual, Sarah Ready kept me on my toes throughout the book, never knowing what to expect. She always brings me to the brink of heartbreak before healing it again ❤️‍🩹

Will Watt and Amanda Ronconi did a wonderful duet narration. I love listening to this series in audiobook version because the narrators always do such a phenomenal job, and this one was no different.

I hope this series never ends, it’s so good 💕

Thank you so much to the author, NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced listener copy of Wished in exchange for an honest review.

“Live with passion, love with your heart”, better advice than “steal a car…naked”. But this book has a few gems in them, all of which made me smile. It’s a nice, feel good read, about wholesome characters. But the spice was a nice departure and the buildup was exceptionally written.

Wished by Sarah Ready is book four in the Ghosted series. If you like love at first sight, magical necklace, wish granting, whirlwind romance, spicy, hate to love, she falls first he falls harder, opposites attract, billionaire romance then you will absolutely love this book.

Wished is Anna and Max’s story and it was amazing. Anna cleans Max’s house and is secretly in love with him. Max is a billionaire who is so focused on work, not relationships, and doesn’t know Anna exists. One day while cleaning she comes across a beautiful necklace and makes a wish that she and Max are in love and married. Max catches her with the necklace and fires her on the spot. The next morning she wakes up and her entire life has changed…her wish came true.

Sarah as usual did an amazing job with Wished. I want to know what it’s like in her brain to write these creative and unique stories. The Ghosted series has become one of my favorite series and Wished did not disappoint. She did an amazing job with the storyline and a plot that has magic realism in it. I loved all of the characters. I was able to listen to this ARC audiobook and it was perfect. Anna was narrated by Amanda Ronconi and Max was narrated by Will Watt and they were perfect for their parts. I really enjoyed the audiobook. Thank you to NetGalley, Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC, and Sarah Ready for letting me listen to this ARC. Definitely a must read!!

I messed up by not reading the first three first, but I digress- I really enjoyed this!
I loved the narrators for it and the story line + the magical surrealism.

It’s almost insta-lovey, but also not because she loved him before she made the wish and then he fell in love with her after the wish.

More thoughts to come, but 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️