The Secret Ingredient

by Jane Heller

What If A Secret Potion...
Meet Elizabeth Baskin, who falls in love, gets married, and discovers six years into her union that the magic is gone-or, rather, fading. Her husband Roger has grown a paunch, lost interest in sex, and seems allergic to conversation. What's a disgruntled wife to do?

Could Turn The Dullest Dud...
After taking her sister's advice, and consulting with a celebrity doctor, whose practice is a bit unconventional, Elizabeth is convinced that she's found the secret ingredient to saving her marriage. All she has to do is slip the prescribed packet of miracle herbs into Roger's orange juice and then-presto! She'll have him back the way he was before he started coming home from work and falling asleep in front of the TV!

Into A Stimulating Stud?
But her plan goes dramatically awry, and instead of rekindling her romance with Roger, she finds herself stuck with a man she hardly recognizes and doesn't even like. Suddenly, Elizabeth is breaking into the doctor's office, running from the law, and teaming up with a transplanted southern belle-all in a desperate attempt to restore Roger to his old, imperfect self. What she learns is that perfection, especially when it comes to husbands, is highly overrated. The question does her revelation come too late?

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Romance, Humor, Contemporary Romance, Adult, German Literature

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 28, 2001

About the author

Jane Heller, a New York native who recently moved from Santa Barbara, CA to New Preston, CT, is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 13 novels of romantic comedy, including "Name Dropping," "Lucky Stars," and "Best Enemies." Nine of Heller's novels have been optioned for film or television, and all of them have been translated in countries around the world. Her first book of nonfiction, "Confessions of a She-Fan: The Course of True Love with the New York Yankees," is a humorous look at her passion for baseball. Her book about caregiving, "You'd Better Not Die or I'll Kill You: A Caregiver's Survival Guide to Keeping You in Good Health and Good Spirits," combines Heller's personal essays about being the wife of a man with Crohn's disease and the daughter of a mother with dementia, plus interviews with other caregivers who deal with everything from autism to Alzheimer's and advice/tips from experts. "You'd Better Not Die" is upbeat and inspirational - a cheerful companion to the over 60 million caregivers in America. Heller's new novel, "Three Blonde Mice," a spinoff of her bestselling novel "Princess Charming," was published on August 2, 2016.

Reviews

[Katherine Nally · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very quick read, but I almost gave up in the middle because it got so crazy.

It’s ultimately about how nobody’s perfect, us included, and how we collectively need to learn to live with that. I appreciate the message but I would’ve liked the book better if the characters weren’t so extreme.

[Nellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a little far-fetched, and the female characters repeatedly wanting to do anything, legal or not, to "save their marriage" was annoying, but it was a fast read and did keep my interest to see what ended up happening at the end.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jane Heller sure knows how to write a funny novel with twists and turns, good story line, no one is perfect the myself included.

[Fatima Kerr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute, fun, hilarious, quick read.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a pretty “out there” idea…and I didn’t enjoy all of the book, but overall, it was fun. Completely crazy!

[Merena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good- bought it for a dollar at a thrift store so worth the price lol

[Gaylen Matlock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an easy read, but it was really strange. And what were those herbs!!

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heller's latest romantic satire (after Female Intelligence) playfully follows the misadventures of Elizabeth Baskin, a dissatisfied wife searching for a magic potion to revitalize her husband, Roger, only to discover that quick fixes can be disastrous. She's a finicky hotel field inspector spy for AMLP, America's Most Luxurious Properties, who's almost ready to downgrade her own marriage as uninhabitable. Roger, an overworked real estate lawyer, has developed a paunch, a bald spot and a penchant for going to bed at 11 instead of making love till dawn. He drools and drops crumbs everywhere when he eats, and she yearns for the old romance of their first meeting when he rescued her from a breakdown on the "dreaded 405," a Southern California freeway. Brenda, who's Elizabeth's well-meaning sister and a celebrity-obsessed journalist, suggests Dr. Gordon Farkus, a Beverly Hills "specialist in life enhancement." Elizabeth buys into the trendy hocus-pocus and purchases a "stud stimulant" to drop into her hubby's fresh-squeezed orange juice, but in her eagerness to rev up Rog, she overdoses him and suddenly her sweet but dull husband becomes a sexy but terribly self-absorbed hunk no woman can resist. Mortified by the havoc she's wrought, Elizabeth decides to ask for the antidote, only to discover the notorious "life enhancer" has split town.

Cute story.

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book as a raffle prize. I'd never read this author and I wouldn't have bought it. The blurb tweaked my interest though, and I opened it to page 3. It grabbed my interest right away. The basic premise is unbelievable and in order for the story to work you just have to accept it. From then on, it's a fun ride supporting the axiom, "be careful what you wish for."

Elizabeth wants to spice up her husband and unbeknownst to him, treats him with an herb potion. For a few days she's pleased with the results, but then he morphs into someone so perfect that he becomes a different man. There are a lot of laughs throughout the book. I ended up reading the whole thing in one sitting. Not my normal type of book, but seems like a B.

[Meriehellene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roger is perfect, Roger is a dud, Roger is enhanced, Roger is un-enhanced, Roger is the perfect dud. During this wild, insightful and witty ride, Elizabeth rates hotels, introduces us to her star struck sister, finds a “Dr/Magician,” partners (in crime) with another unhappy wife, meets a mysterious and lecherous private detective, breaks and enters, goes to jail, makes friends with a con-woman, makes a psychotic enemy, deals with various sex pots and bimbos, stalks celebrities, has a run in with thugs, gets kidnapped and left to die, gets rescued by her favorite dud and realizes no one is perfect, nor marriage not even herself. This book kept me guessing, thinking and laughing all the way through

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Its ok so far I guess. Nothing incredibly special.

If you are in a relationship or have ever been in one where your bf / husband has gotten too comfortable then you will read the first few chapters nodding your head and relating to everything being said. after that it starts getting a little ridiculous and not so believable.


Overall the book was ok. Its definitly not the best thing I have ever read. Its alright for a one time read. This won't be a book that I seek out to read again.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It had an original take on the common chic lit. It says that it uses magic, but really just some medical herbs, so I don't be frightened by the work "magic". Through out the whole book I couldn't come up with how the book was going to be resolved. Therefore, I was surprised in the ending. The only part I did not like was how critical she was of her husband. I'm surprised he didn't leave her long ago! She was expecting perfection from her spouse in every aspect. But she does learn a lesson in the end!

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great summer read. Fun, but a bit of a reminder that we can be unforgiving and judgemental towards the people close to us. She makes you laugh at the ideas you get in your head about changing others to better fit into what YOU want and forget what it is that they may want out of life, particularly your relationships. It is not too serious, while touching on a serious topic...living, breathing, working, sleeping, playing, loving,and fighting with the same person each day (usually in a small space the size of a living room, lol).

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

After six years, Elizabeth Baskin's marriage has lost it's magic. Her husband, Roger, is just not interested in her anymore. So, she consults a celebrity doctor who prescribes a packet of herbs to be mixed in Roger's orange juice. But instead of rekindling her romance with Roger, she finds herself stuck with a man she hardly recognizes and doesn't even like. Suddenly, Elizabeth is breaking into the doctor's office and running from the law, all in an attempt to restore Roger into his old imperfect self.

This was a fun book with the usual Jane Heller humor. My rating: 4 Stars.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun and cute plot; got a few good laughs out of it and she had slight depth and charm with it. However, the plot is a little "out there" so it's not her finest. I'm glad I continued to read her however because some of her other titles have been very enjoyable. I like her conversational tone of writing.

Others I like: Whitney Gaskell, Beth Kendrick, Alesia Holliday, Janet Evanovich & Emily Giffin

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book for me to read. The woman is a perfectionist and after 11 years of marriage is tired of her husband who is not perfect. She sneaks a potion into his orange juice and he becomes the perfect man...and she hates it and learns through the painful process that her husband is fine the way he is and that she is happier with a human being than with perfection. Funny with a good reminder to be more tolerant.

[Yang Shu-yuan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elizabeth Baskin hat den Mann ihrer Träume geheiratet - nur leider ist Roger nach sechs Jahren Ehe zum gestressten, abgeschlafften Geschäftsmann mutiert. Was tun? Mit Hilfe eines Pülverchens, das ihr ein Wunderheiler verschrieben hat, gelingt Elizabeth die Rückverwandlung, und sie hat ihren Supermann wieder. Allerdings kann sie diesem Energiebündel plötzlich nicht mehr das Wasser reichen

[Jody · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author has a wonderful sense of humor and a great style in her writing. However, the premise of the story was pretty far-fetched. She is dissatisfied with the way her marriage is going and goes to a Hollywood "doctor" for special herbs to fix it. It backfires with hilarious results. This is a great book to read if you're looking for something quick, easy to read and need a good laugh.

[Anne-Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book to read if you need humor and an escape. The woman wants to change her husband and then when that happens she no longer likes him and a reversal is put into place with hilarious antics. This was the first one I read by Jane Heller, I think it is one of the best. Heller is a master at the ironice twist. YOu can read this over and over and still love it.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book grabbed my attention and never let go. I couldn't put the book down until I finished it. Every married woman has thought that the "magic" has gone out of their marriage at some time or other. I doubt many of us have gone to the extremes that these women do. Of course, that is what makes this book so delightful. I will definitely be looking for more books by this author.

[Heike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unhappy wife gives her husband a potion that makes him a perfect husband - maybe too much so.

While the book was very entertaining and funny in the first two-thirds, it wore a bit off towards the end.

[CLM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light fiction with a silly plot but her books are enjoyable.

[Graceann · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plot device in this wickedly funny novel is a concoction meant to make husbands more sensitive, tidy and loving. Unexpected results ensue, as does much hilarity.

[Ellenjsmellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cute one by Heller.

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was alright. It was cute and fun, but one that I suspect I'll easily forget.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a work of art by any means but it was a fun read.

[Robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this a few years ago--I remember it as a fun, not very meaningful book.

[Bree · Rating 2 out of 5]

The unrealistic plot didn't quite keep my attention but it was an ok read.

[Leslie]

I'm on page 129 of The Secret Ingredient. Had to take this book back to the library. Not a bad book!

[Jenni · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first half of this book was great, but the second half was extremely disappointing.