I was expecting a light rom-com story, with predictable outcome. Boy, was I wrong. This is story of Kate, Jack, Charles & Mary, Della, David, all central characters dealing with loss of varying degrees, coming together to support. Food is the element that binds them together, love is the secret ingredient. This book had me experience a range of emotions, along with the characters, and I absolutely loved Charles and Mary, an older couple dealing with the impending end of life due to cancer. The love that they showed one another was so touching and instrumental in helping others near them deal with their losses and celebrate their new beginnings. I could not put this book down, I wept, I smiled, I reflected as I embraced their journey. This story, slow to start, will then grab you when you least expect it, and yet there are surprises. It is full of hope and resilience and lovely recipes that are more than just a dish for the table. Many thanks to #netgalley #thesecretingredient #sueheath for the opportunity to read and review this book.

What a lovely book this was!

Filled to the brim with yummy recipes, lovely friendships formed over soul-warming food and generally a lovely writing style. This book was an absolute treat!

I received a complimentary copy of this book "The Secret Ingredient" and all opinions expressed are my own. Overall good story. I loved Mary and Charles the best and I think they made the book more enjoyable.

The Secret Ingredient by Sue Heath is an emotive and heartwarming novel about grief, community, relationships and healing. Food, nostalgia and community unite the characters, all of whom are lovely with traits one hopes to see in neighbours and friends.

When Kate's life is devastated by the death of her beloved husband who loved to cook, she avoids people and life. But a neighbour who has hurts of her own draws her out. Kate begins to realize the healing power of food and starts to bake...and not just for and by herself. Charles, Mary, Della, David and Jack have all experienced loss and learn to lean on each other.

The author writes about deep grief so beautifully and tenderly it crushed my heart. But she follows it with sparks of life and hope. As a passionate cook and baker who creates dishes with love and has experienced death close at hand, this book is relatable on so many levels. It is a superb reminder that one can experience joy and healing in the midst of suffering. Excellent food for thought. Recipes are tastefully included, each full of meaning.

My sincere thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this inspiring novel.

I received a free copy of, The Secret Ingredient, by Sue Heath, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Kate used to love cooking, but life got off track, as it tends to do, and she stopped cooking. Kate is going to start cooking again, get her life back on track. This is a good read, so much going on, then cooking.

A real feel good, enjoyable story. I loved the way Sue incorporates Kates recipes throughout her novel- excellent! Kate makes great changes in her life after the death of her husband, but feels she will never be able to cope without him. Her local community is full of fascinating, wonderful characters. Any more info. will spoil the story.

What a lovely book with a great storyline. This is one to really enjoy and is full of emotion. 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley, author and publisher for this ARC

Kate's late husband had done all the cooking and she planned for him to teach her his recipes .After giving up her job in teaching, she decides the time is right to start to cook. A wonderful ,heart rending, tale of friendship ,love and community spirit, with laugh out loud moments, and moments of sadness. Brilliant.

I thought this was going to be a melancholy story because all of the characters have had some truly bad experiences...spouses leaving, getting older, illness and death. At times they felt sorry for themselves and you expect the book to be mostly a sad one but trust me it isn't. I can't count the many times I found myself smiling at a passage where a character decides this is no way to live and wants to get on with their life. It's okay to be sad and/or depressed when we lose someone but to wallow in it or not get any help is never a good idea and I loved reading about people finding their strength in community. Each of these people deals with their loss differently and that is true in real life as well.

The book is very character-driven and I enjoyed the fact that it has chapters from each character's point of view. They support and help each other in their healing and become a sort of family. I felt like I was hanging out in the neighbourhood with them. They're certainly people I would like to be friends with. I don't know if I'd feel confident enough to cook for a chef though!

This story showcases how food can bring people together and how the different senses can trigger memories. There are plenty of recipes in the book and the food sounds so delicious I can't wait to try more of it. The one recipe I did try was sugar lemon pancakes. I made them New Year's Day for brunch. Lemon is one of my favourite flavours so I had to make them. They were really good and my experience was much better than Kate's.

So incredibly likeable! These three words sum up my thoughts about this wholesome, heartwarming story. The characters were diverse, spanning different generations and backgrounds, reflective of most neighbourhoods today. This representation really helps me, as the reader, connect with the characters and feel like I am a part of their neighbourhood. You will fall in love with Kate, Jack, Charles, Mary, and Della as they all get to know each other through food. It is no secret that food builds connections and understanding, and that is really highlighted in the story. Having the characters share recipes that are meaningful to them and that brings back special memories really contributes to the overwhelming endearing quality of this story. Even better, by including the recipes, readers are able to try them out in their own kitchens...bonus! However, the biggest success of this book, in my opinion, is that it beautifully heralds the importance of friendship and connections during times of loss. This is sweet. This is thoughtful. This is uplifting.

If you enjoyed The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams, I really think you will appreciate this work from Sue Heath.

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(Shout outs have also been put on my Instagram Stories & will be saved to Reading Highlights. Account is found under "ShinewithShauna". At the end of the month, I do a recap/book reviews for all of the books that I have read. This one will be featured at the end of January 2024. I also tend to give a shout out on publication day, if I really liked the book.)

This was a lovely book about loss, grief, friendship and food. Kate is widowed at a young age and has decided to take some time to decide what she wants to do with the rest of her life. Jack was a brilliant chef who is also mourning and grieving but this time it is for the loss of his sense of taste and smell. The book then revolves around another elderly couple, Charles & Mary. Mary is dying and although she is not afraid she is worried about how Charles will cope.

The story line is one of friendships made in the unlikeliest of places, and how each person can help another to deal with their grief/loss

The characters were all lovely and I really felt part of their lives and became completely immersed in the book

the story very repetitive and slow. I really enjoy stories with the characters of the older population. This book having a few in it was my saving grace. I don't think I would have finished the book I'd not for them.

I don't like to cook and the talk of cooking and baking was overwhelming to me. I did know the story centered around food, but thought I would be okay with that.

I was frustrated with the characters not moving forward in their lives and living in the past too much. I lost my patience with them and never fully cared.

Having said all that, I think the book is fine for people who focus on food more than me. All books are not for all people, and this was a struggle for me but I know others will probably love it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for allowing me to read the advance reading copy. My review is my own opinion not influenced by receiving the ARC.

I loved this book! An elderly man's way to connecting to his community and bringing his neighborhood together!

All the characters are so special and I enjoyed learning about them and hearing their stories. The cooking lessons are incredible and it's just such a lovely read. A feel good story - with loss, love, romance, friendship and more.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

This is a touching story of dealing with pain and loss and how the quirky neighbors in one neighborhood help each other through friendship and food. Filled with fabulous recipes, The Secret Ingredient had me crying over the heartbreak, laughing with newfound joy, and loving every bite. Thanks to the author Sue Heath, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, and NetGalley. I received a complimentary copy of this ebook for review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

The Secret Ingredient is a touching story about love, loss, and the importance of found family. Kate, who is mourning her husband Eddie's death, is gradually finding the strength to move on. The story explores how food and community can help Kate and her neighbours navigate their own grief and find hope. A heart warming and emotional read.

This is a exquistly written beauitful story of friendship , loss, grief and being true to yourself. i read it in one sitting as its impossible to put down. The author has written a finely crafted story that this reader loved. I adored the main character Kate who is on a personal recovery journey from a great loss in her life. Food is her muse and she ventures out of her grief to create wonderful food and be true to herself. Through food she finds new friends and herself in the process.
This book gave me a perspective on grief and starting over that was comforting and enjoyable to read. This will touch your heart, you will laugh, cry and cheer for kate. Very well done story and excellent writing. I look forward to the next in series by this wonderful author. I highly recommend this book for your reading enjoyment.

Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My review opinion is my own.

The Secret Ingredient by Sue Heath is a poignant tale of love , loss and the value of found family.
Kate is grieving her husband Eddie who died over three years ago, but she is finally starting to feel ready to move forward again, and the first step in the process is to return to the kitchen, which was always his domain. Through the world of food she begins to forge connections with several of her neighbours, many of whom are dealing with losses of their own, be it the onset of dementia, the breakdown of a marriage or living with a terminal illness.
This book has so much heart and a wealth of charm, it is cosy and comforting but not maudlin or cloying. It might be hard to think of a book about grief as being uplifting, but that is the word I would use.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publishers, all opinions are my own.

Make sure you have a box of tissues close by. You will be smiling through your tears. A wonderful book about loving, losing people and finding a way to carry on.

Warmth radiates from every word of this book. A few words with a stranger, finding surprising new friends and shared good food made with loving hands are all we need to release the magic of life, to recover from tragedy, to recall the joy of memories past and taste freshly bake new ones. Thank you to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

I loved this sweet story. All the characters are just so likeable. And you feel like you’re a part of the story with the recipes Kate cooks through because the author shares the entire recipe in the book. It really made me appreciate how food is connected with memories. We all have those meals that remind us of a moment in our childhood, our wedding day, or in remembering a favorite meal of a loved one since passed. This book makes me want to create my own recipe book playbook of memories made past, present, & future. But this book goes deeper than that, it also helps each character through some hardship, heartbreak, failed dreams, grief, & more. This novel is poetry. Thank you HarperCollinsUK, One More Chapter, NetGalley, & author Sue Heath for this eARC. All opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.