WISHED
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 did not 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.
