The Secret Ingredient of Wishes - Susan Bishop Crispell

Rachel has a secret ability she can't let out in case she hurts the people she loves yet again. When she was a child she made a wish she didn't mean that changed everything and since then she has refused to use her gift.

But then one day she gets lost, and ends up in the one place where she might just be able to find herself. When she meets someone just as strange as she is, she realises that it is possible to do good and embrace the possibilities. Catch takes her in and is so open about her own gift that Rachel allows herself to hope that maybe one day she too can control her wishes. Catch can bake secrets into pies so that they are forgotten, and with this she helps the people of her town. If only Rachel can learn to do the same, she hopes she can find a way to live with herself and settle in the town she has come to love. Along with a certain someone whose friendship is starting to feel like more.

I enjoyed this book so much, I didn't want to put it down and could not wait to get back to it when I had to stop for boring interruptions such as work! If you love books with a touch of magic, like those of Cecilia Ahern and Sarah Addison Allen, you'll really enjoy this. In fact, Susan Bishop Crispell has now been added to my list of favourite authors. I really can't wait to read more from her.

The author's descriptions of Catch's pies are absolutely amazing, you can really imagine cutting into them, smelling the aromas, shame they weren't really in front of me, though I'd probably be the size of a house if I was living with Catch!

The perfect cocktail to go with this book is one of my own, the Apple Crumble. Reading about the fruits and pies Catch was baking, made me think of this yummy cocktail!

In a shaker, add 1 shot of gin, 1 of apple sourz, 1 apple juice, 1/2 lemon juice and a dash of gingerbread syrup. Shake with lots of ice, till the shaker frosts over. Strain into a martini glass.