Book Summary and Reviews of The Secret Ingredient of Wishes by Susan Bishop Crispell

Reader Reviews

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Maureen D.

August 2016 Review
I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters are amazing and the process one I totally believed in.

Yvonne K. (Magnolia, TX)

Magical
I was pulled into the story within the first five pages. The characters feel real and you can just imagine a magical place called Nowhere. Loved the story and the characters especially Catch. This could make a fun book club read some really great paths for book clubs to venture and discuss.

Debb R. (Grand Island, NE)

Wish I may, wish I might.....
I loved this book! A little magic, a great friendship and romance that will keep you reading until late in the night. Rachel Monroe moves to a small town named Nowhere, and finds more excitement than she even knew she was looking for. This would be a great read for women of all ages, I found it to be delightful!

Barbara G. (Lisle, IL)

Be Careful What You Wish For
What would you do if you discover you can make wishes come true by wishing your annoying little brother would get lost and suddenly it's as if he never existed?
Even your parents don't remember him and ship you off to a psychiatric hospital when you continue to insist he did? This is the dilemma Rachel finds herself in as she grows up and tries to learn to control her gift.

When she inadvertently causes a pony with an ice cream cone on its head to appear in response to the daughter of her best friend's birthday wish for a unicorn, she resolves to leave town until she can gain some control and maybe find her brother. When she runs out of gas because she's so distracted by this latest event, she finds herself in Nowhere, North Carolina where she's taken in by Catch, a woman who bakes individuals' secrets into a panoply of pies.

Eventually Rachel gets a handle on her power, finds love with the local builder/handyman, and finds her brother, but then must make the difficult choice of whether or not to tell him who she really is.

Rebecca L. (Torrington, CT)

The Secret Ingredient of Wishes
I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book tells the story of Rachel Monroe, a woman from Memphis that can grant people's wishes by thinking about them. Rachel has had a rough life up to this point, after accidentally wishing her brother away, her father walking out on her, and her mother killing herself, plus Rachel spent much of her time hospitalized or in therapy due to her "condition." No one seems to believe that Rachel has this ability, and her parents can't seem to remember her brother Michael. The only family Rachel has left is her friend MaryBeth, who spent time with Rachel in a psych hospital. After Rachel starts granting wishes again though, she runs away to try and protect those she loves. She ends up in a town called Nowhere, North Carolina, where she meets Catch, who can keep secrets by baking pies. But when Rachel's secret gets out, the Town isn't quite so welcoming.

Overall I really liked this book. It reminded me a lot of The Glass Kitchen by Linda Francis Lee because of the magical realism and the food, and that was one of my favorite books of 2014. I liked the characters in this book, there was a lot going on in the story and it kept me interested throughout with the varied story lines. I thought that the ending was a little abrupt, there were definitely some things that I thought were unresolved at the end of the book. I still really enjoyed the book though, the romance in the book was sweet and it was wonderful to see their relationship develop. This was a great book and I would recommend!

Sherri A. (Westbrook, CT)

Pie, Pie, everywhere
I fell ill on our last day of family vacation at the cape, and had The Secret Ingredient of Wishes next to me in bed. This was the near-perfect choice; easy to follow, easy to read, easy to enjoy.

I found after a while, that I was able to forgive the overly-obvious coincidences but at first that did irritate me, I can't lie. Out of all the characters that sweeten this novel, the one I felt the most disconnect with, oddly enough, was the main character Rachel. She felt fluffy and unreal, but perhaps that's just me. Or the fact that her love interest Ashe seems to keep finding that "band of flesh where her shirt rides up" (stopped counting after it was mentioned 6 times...)

...15 more reader reviews