Wished

by Sarah Ready

Overview

When Anna Benoit wishes she's married to the enigmatic owner of the chateau she cleans, she wakes up in a topsy-turvy world where she's Max Barone's wife.

Anna is a romantic who believes in The One and Love at First Sight. Why? Because it happened to her. The second she saw Max Barone she fell desperately, hopelessly in love.

It didn't matter that they were from completely different worlds-he owned a jewelry empire, she cleaned houses-love had no barriers.

Except one.

Max didn't know Anna's name, much less that she existed.

Then one day Anna made a wish. Suddenly she was in an upside down world where everyone believed she and Max had been happily married for years. It was passion. It was romance. It was love. It was everything she'd ever wished for.

Wasn't it?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781954007826
Publisher:	W. W. Crown
Publication date:	10/01/2024
Series:	Ghosted , #4
Pages:	346
Sales rank:	436,645
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.77(d)

About the Author

Author Sarah Ready writes contemporary romance and romantic comedy. Her books have been described as "euphoric", "heartwarming" and "laugh out loud". Her works include Josh and Gemma Make a Baby, Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around, French Holiday and romcoms in the Soul Mates in Romeo series. Find more books and interesting tidbits at www.sarahready.com.

Editorial Reviews

2024-08-17
A young woman in love with her handsome but aloof boss finds that wishes can have unexpected consequences in Ready’s novel.

This fourth installment of the author’s Ghosted series introduces Anna Benoit, who works as a housekeeper for Max Barone, the owner of a wildly successful jewelry empire in Geneva, Switzerland. For Anna, meeting Max was love at first sight, despite the fact that Max barely seems to register her existence: “Looking at him was like looking at the desolate sweep of an arctic winter the moment before the sun rises for the first time in months. I was struck, pierced, and flayed by the promise of that sunrise.” One day, while cleaning Max’s library, Anna finds a sapphire necklace along with a brittle old note claiming that it grants wishes. On a whim, she wishes that Max loved her and that they were married. When Max walks in on her, however, he accuses her of stealing the necklace, which has mysteriously moved to Anna’s pocket. Though she is immediately fired, Anna somehow wakes up the next morning in Max’s chateau with everyone calling her “Mrs. Barone.” She and Max are the only ones who have both sets of memories—of Anna the housekeeper and of Anna and Max’s happy seven-year marriage. Anna explains the wish she made, and she and Max go about attempting to reverse it—first by wishing on the same necklace again, then by flying to Paris after Max comes up with an alternate theory. As they work together to put everything right, they begin falling for each other for real. But Max has foresworn passion and true love, which means they’ll just have to forget about each other once everything returns to normal—ifthey can undo the wish.

Fans of the author’s previous works will likely be delighted to revisit the character of Max, who pointedly didnot get his happy ending in Ready’s earlier novel,Fated (2024). Anna proves to be a worthy match for him; her over-the-top romanticism plays nicely against Max’s stoicism. Just when the story seems to tip over into predictable romance tropes (they’re falling for each other despite their differences!), Ready tips the scales and forces readers to reexamine their own preconceived notions of what “should” happen (their plan to reverse the wish will work!). This blend of comforting romantic touchstones with witty dialogue and keen human observations makes for an enchanting read that manages to build genuine tension—both sexual and narrative. Anna is clearly a genuinely good person and easy to root for as a protagonist, although her fixation on Max before she even gets to know him as a person sometimes comes across as a bit childish. But her relentless positivity and wry observations (“Well, there’s a word for optimistic naivety, and that word is tomorrow”) are likely to eventually win over even the most hard-hearted readers. Ready, while crafting a sexy romp that ticks all the romance boxes, also manages to introduce heavier themes that provide a surprising amount of food for thought, including the fantasy of a person vs. the reality, fake happiness vs. real misery, and the ways in which memories shape the present. These elements, supported by smooth writing and briskly paced action, result in a genuine thinking-person’s love story.

A fun read that perfectly balances swoon-worthy romance with a thoughtful examination of first impressions.

Kirkus Reviews