Contemporary Fantasy Review: The Secret Ingredient of Wishes by Susan Bishop Crispell

The Secret Ingredient of Wishes by Susan Bishop Crispell

bought

Synopsis from Goodreads
26-year-old Rachel Monroe has spent her whole life trying to keep a very unusual secret: she can make wishes come true. And sometimes the consequences are disastrous. So when Rachel accidentally grants an outlandish wish for the first time in years, she decides it’s time to leave her hometown—and her past—behind for good.

Rachel isn’t on the road long before she runs out of gas in a town that’s not on her map: Nowhere, North Carolina—also known as the town of “Lost and Found.” In Nowhere, Rachel is taken in by a spit-fire old woman, Catch, who possesses a strange gift of her own: she can bind secrets by baking them into pies. Rachel also meets Catch’s neighbor, Ashe, a Southern gentleman with a complicated past, who makes her want to believe in happily-ever-after for the first time in her life.

As she settles into the small town, Rachel hopes her own secrets will stay hidden, but wishes start piling up everywhere Rachel goes. When the consequences threaten to ruin everything she’s begun to build in Nowhere, Rachel must come to terms with who she is and what she can do, or risk losing the people she’s starting to love—and her chance at happiness—all over again.

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8/10

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 The Secret Ingredient of Wishes was lovely. It reminded me of Amy E. Reichert's books of which I am a big fan, mixed with Practical Magic. A little bit of magic and a whole lot of baking, - what can go wrong?

Rachel has been running away from her ability to make wishes come true all her life, ever since she wished her young brother out of existence. When she lands in Nowhere, North Carolina, this quirky and charming town doesn't allow her to continue on her way, so she gets stuck with a grumpy old woman, Catch Sisson, helping her bake pies that bind secrets. There are others with questionable powers here and with a whole lot of Southern charm, including Catch's gorgeous neighbour, Ashe.

But, her own secrets catch up to Rachel, and she either needs to face her powers and learn to control them or continue running. This is a very cosy, easy and sweet read, peeps. Charming and atmospheric, with enough of magical realism to keep things quite interesting. I'll be getting Susan Bishop Crispell's next book, for sure. Recommended.

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"Тайный Ингредиент Пожеланий"-милая книженция. Она напомнила мне книги Эйми Е. Райкарт напополам с Практической Магией. Немного магии и много выпечки, - ну как такую смесь испортишь?

Рэйчел убегает от своей способности исполнять желания с тех пор как в детстве пожелала исчезновения своего младшего брата, да так, что стерла его из жизни всех ее окружающих. Ее последний побег заносит ее в городок Никуда, Северная Каролина. Городок очень странный и чарующий, который никак не хочет ее отпускать. И вот уже она остается жить с ворчливой старушкой, Катч Сиссон, талант которой - печь пироги, которые держат тайны людей в секрете и начинает ей в выпечке помогать. А тут еще красавчик сосед Катч - Аш заставляет ее сердце биться все сильнее.

Но секреты Рэйчел обнаруживаются и ей приходится принять решение - продолжать убегать или пустить корни и научиться управлять своими способностями. Атмосферно, чудесно, расслабляюще и с большим южным шармом. Понравилось, беру этого автора на заметку.