A sweet story of loss, loneliness, love, and finding a community to share your life.

Kate’s husband, Eddie, died, and she feels guilt and sadness. She suddenly quits her job and steps into the kitchen to try and experience her late husband’s love of cooking. The disaster of that day and meeting her elderly neighbor begins the shift in her life, which will open her up to new experiences and people. She begins to meet and cook with the characters in her neighborhood. As these friendships form, each person’s life is changed.

Each chapter is told from the perspective of one of the characters. The recipes they cook and share begin to create a connection and friendship between them. This is a story of starting over, forgiveness and finding those people who become your tribe.

I loved the recipes in the book, the characters, and the hope this book left with me.

I would highly recommend this book. Put it on your TBR. The book will be published on January 18, 2024 so preorder it today

Thank you, NetGalley, Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and the author, Sue Heath, for the e-ARC.

Kate and Eddie are the ideal couple, very much in love and devoted to each other. If there is one blip in their lives is that they can’t agree on children. Eddie is very much in favour of starting a family, but Kate can’t commit, thinking she would struggle as a mother. Then a tragic accident takes the decision out of their hands. With the encouragement, help and compassion from her neighbours, Kate slowly re-builds her life, realising she is not the only who has had her heartbroken, lost a loved one and been touched by tragedy.

A comforting, gentle read about relationships, love and acceptance, with well rounded characters, who all have a positive role in the story.

Far from my usual read, but I fully understand the appeal that it has, and I’m sure it will be a well received and loved book.

3.5*

Thank you NetGalley and One More Chapter.

This novel is sure to satisfying those who enjoy “foodie” themed books…but it is so much more. The author addresses a myriad of responses to the loss or impending loss of someone or something held dear with compassion and sensitivity. The slow pacing in the beginning was a challenge, but the heart-warming connections that built throughout the storyline made it worthwhile.

Five neighbors representing three generations barely know each other until one reaches out in an act of love and what was once a disparate group of people becomes a community, perhaps even a family. What begins as tentative friendships blossoms into relationships that support the healing of lives dominated by grief and regret. There is certainly an underlying tone of sadness, but there is also humor and wisdom reflected in the character development. Overall, the novel is a tribute to love, and a solid entertaining read.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

A tender and meaningful story about loss and love and community and friendship. Also a little romance!

I was distracted at first by having so many different narratives but after a while it all made sense and the stories came together beautifully.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Not my usual style of reading book but I really did enjoy "The Secret Ingredient" by Sue Heath. It has a good cast of characters who have to deal with a range of emotions but at its heart is a big old hug (and plenty of food). I thought the idea of creating your own personalised recipe book is a great idea and it just shows how personal food can be and how it can evoke memories (happy and sad).

Wrenching and immersion - love lost to early, love fighting for more time, finding connection and making new family. The longing and pain feels as real as the strong bonds, and I think I missed Eddie as I much as Kate did. The strong bond between Charles and Mary fuel the ties between a disparate group of neighbors that become close friends and find exactly what they need. Almost magical, although sad.

I so love foodie novels. I seen this and knew I had to have it.
This novel made me laugh out loud, drool and snifle at times.
Kate is a wonderful character and I loved her instantly. She was a delight to know.
I finished this book in one evening because I couldn't put it down! I loved every minute of it.
The cover of the book is cute too.In truth it and the description was what made me take it. Plus, I love trying out new authors and this one didn't disappoint.
A wonderful story that kept me turning the pages long into the evening to see what happened next.
One of the many quotes that I loved It's a long quote because it's a two in one.
Della was doing some remembering about Justin.
‘I’m just annoyed with myself, I’m not upset.’ And it was true. ‘But it’s perfectly normal to associate things with people, isn’t it? It’s always going to be like that. We did have happy times.’ They did,they had some wonderful times together. ‘I shouldn’t let the fact that it was all based on a lie sour my memories, should I? It’s my life, my past. And –’ she glanced up at Kate, ‘– it’s what happens to you, what you do, that makes you who you are, isn’t it?’
Memories cam be painful and grand. But sometimes they can make you cry when you least expect it too.
And I loved this quote also
‘She had nothing to be scared of,’ Kate said. ‘We’re all scared of something, things that other people don’t give a second thought to of something, things that other people don’t give a second thought to.of something, things that other people don’t give a second thought to.
Isn’t that what drives us, fear? Fear of failure, fear of not being good enough,fear of not winning, fear of the unknown.’
Fear, the biggest kicker of all!: it prevents us from doing anything that we need or want to do. Sad isn't it?
This book was fun to read and one thing that stood out to me was
Always tell someone that you love them make time for them because one day they're not gonna be there anymore. Tomorrow's never promised or even today. This was the part that made me cry because you just never knew know. Only God knows.
My thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book
I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This is the first book I have read by this author and I didn't really know what to expect going in. It was a little slow to start, but once the characters were combined and the action started to take off, it got much more entertaining. I would say this book was heart-warming overall and rate it 3 - 3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers

The secret ingredient is a mix bag of emotions, the story centres around friendship, love and loss. The novel is written exceedingly well and connects to the reader. The emotions I felt whilst reading was a testament to the author.

The Secret ingredient is a poignant story of love, grief and the role of friendship in our lives. I was initially anxious about reading The Secret Ingredient due to the themes of death, grief and loss for personal reasons. But while I cried reading this book, I also smiled and I laughed out loud on many occasions. Such a beautiful and worthwhile read. I loved it!
And there are some delicious sounding recipes - so now I'm off to the kitchen to bake some treats.