The Secret Ingredient: Charming and uplifting feel good fiction, this is the one book you need to read in 2024!

Name: The Secret Ingredient: Charming and uplifting feel good fiction, this is the one book you need to read in 2024!
SKU: 92907
Availability: InStock

4.3 | 548 ratings

Price: 0.99

Last update: 07-04-2024

About this item

‘A delicious story that wraps itself around your heart’ Evie Woods, bestselling author of The Lost Bookshop

It’s been three years, two weeks and one day since Kate Shaw’s life changed forever. Three years, two weeks and one day that Kate has been angry – with herself and life.

But today is different. Different because Kate has finally taken the step she’s been avoiding…back into the kitchen. Now, what begins as a (disastrous) attempt to make pancakes becomes a culinary journey that is not only a love letter to someone so important to her, but also an unexpected means of connection to a community she never knew she had…

Readers are loving The Secret Ingredient:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘It's a long time since a book provoked this much emotional attachment… absolutely wonderful’

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A love story on so many levels … It made me cry a lot but it was also uplifting and a real feel good read. Definitely one to curl up with and read in one go!’

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Beautifully heralds the importance of friendship and connections during times of loss … If you enjoyed The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams, I really think you will appreciate this’

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘All the characters are so special … A feel good story with loss, love, romance, friendship and more’

⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘What a delight … a stunning book that examines are individual relationships with food and how it has the power to evoke memories, create friendships and to transform our lives’

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A poignant tribute to love, resilience, and the transformative power of shared experiences, making it a compelling and emotionally resonant read that transcends the boundaries of grief and ultimately leaves readers with a taste of hope’

lag32583

Excellent

Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2024

This book was a poignant and heartwarming culinary journey. There are elements of grief, community and love. The writing captured me at the beginning and infused me with warmth and emotion. Food connects us.
I received a gifted copy.

MrsLeif

A sweet story with sweet characters!

Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2024

A sweet story with sweet characters!

Kate Shaw is done being angry. She has quit her job as a teacher and has decided to finally use her kitchen to make pancakes. Her husband passed away three years earlier and she knows she needs to move forward. He was a great cook and she misses him dearly and all the special dishes he used to make for them.

While she's attempting to cook, someone knocks at her door. The old man's name is Charles and he tells her, her house used to be a tea place. His wife Mary and he used to enjoy many afternoons there. He wonders if she would cook something for his Mary. After talking with Charles for a while, Kate finds herself saying yes. She will cook scones for them.

Next, Kate bumps into her neighbor, Della. Della is divorced and her faithful companion is her dog. They start a conversation and soon Kate invites Della to the meal she is preparing for Mary and Charles.

During all these events, Kate keeps on running into another one of her neighbors, Jack. He has recently moved close by and their first few interactions weren't great. However, Kate soon learns what happened to Jack to make him react the way he did.

The Secret Ingredient gives us a little bit of everything. There is loss, there is sadness but there is also hope, friendship, and memories. Food is a great memory inducer. A certain food smell can trigger a wonderful memory of someone you loved who has cooked for you. A food memory can also be comforting. I know it happens to me when I get sick and I just want to smell my mother's chicken soup recipe.

I haven't tried any of the recipes in this book but I want to.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

S. Lewis

Emotional read

Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2024

Just over three years ago, Kate's husband was killed and her life imploded. Since then, she has been living in a fog - going back and forth between despondency and anger. She decides she can no longer do her job as a teacher effectively, so she resigns. She has been avoiding the kitchen in their home since that was always her husband's domain - he loved to cook, and hoped to become a chef one day. After a disastrous first attempt at pancakes, she slowly hones her cooking and baking skills, while making meaningful connections with the other neighbors on her street who are also in need of healing.

This book will give you all of the feels. It was such an emotional story. I loved the entire cast of characters. There was David, who's wife left him for another man, and now that his daughters are grown he is an empty-nester. Della's husband also left her for another man, and she has isolated herself ever since. Jack used to be a well-known chef who owned his own restaurant, but after he caught a virus, he lost his sense of taste and smell. He never recovered them, and since he didn't feel he could cook without those, he closed the restaurant, and moved to a new home. Now he is just trying to figure out what is next for him. Mary is dying of cancer, and her husband Charles is determined to make her final days special - just as determined as Mary is determined to make sure Charles is taken care of after she is gone. I loved seeing how all of these individuals helped each other to heal, and all of the new relationships that formed. For all of the cooks out there, there are recipes scattered throughout the book - contributed by Kate's husband, Kate's Gran, Mary, and Della. This book is perfect for fans of Cecelia Ahern Lucy Gilmore, Eva Carter, and Rachel Linden.

Deanne Patterson

Wrapped in kindness and joy

Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2024

When you think of food what do you think of? As for myself, I think of love. It doesn't have to be a romantic love, but it could be. Preparing food for someone is an extension of love, showing how much we care about them. We prepare for people that are sick, for celebrations in happy times, funerals in sad times, a romantic date to impress, our family. All extensions of love and caring.
After an unexpected life changing event Kate Shaw is tired of life passing her by. Through food cooking, gathering recipes the community comes together. This awakening Kate has that there is life to be lived once again is beautiful. She discovers her neighbors and realizes she has an unexpected connection to them. Her association with these neighbors is as enriching for them as it is to her. Sweet memories are made, and new friendships are formed through a love of food. The book is gentle and kind and brings an awareness of wanting to move forward, indulge in a little self-care and just to be kind and do what you can to help others. Highly recommended!

Pub Date 18 Jan 2024
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

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