Rating: 
Summary: Lucy and Ethel, or the 2 Stooges strike again!
Review: Elizabeth Baskin has been married to Roger for 6 years - and though she and Roger still love each other, Elizabeth feels that something vital has slipped away from their marriage. Roger doesn't listen to Elizabeth like he used to; he stays late at the office (real estate lawyer) on a regular basis and when he finally makes his way home, he's too exhausted to do much more than fall asleep in his recliner. Elizabeth works hard, too - as an "undercover" inspector of hotels wanting to earn the coveted highest Five Key rating (some of the funniest moments of the story include Elizabeth's on-the-job escapades) but she doesn't think it too much to ask that Roger remember when she's leaving and when she will return from a job, or to be happy to see her after she's been gone for a few days. So when Elizabeth's sister recommends that she go to Dr. Farkus (who is a "life enhancement" specialist) to obtain some sort of remedy for Roger's behavior (being distanced from her in their marriage), Elizabeth decides to go for it in order to save her marriage. She meets a young woman (Clover) with a southern drawl at the doctor's office who is on a similar mission to "enhance" her husband Bud, and the two become fast friends. They share news on what happens to each of their husbands when they sneak the "stud stimulant" into their morning beverages. When things go haywire, Elizabeth and Clover turn into a kind of Lucy/Ethel or "Two Stooges" type of team in order to find a solution to the mess they've created. Some of their fiascos are funny; some seem just plain silly, contrived, somewhat boring. The ending of the book has a few surprise secret ingredients that add up to an okay recipe for a mostly enjoyable beach read.
Rating: 
Summary: It kept me busy for a little while!
Review: Even though this book wasn't very realistic, I was still going to give it a chance. The premise sounded interesting: A woman goes to a "life enhancement" doctor because she finds fault with her husband and wants to "enhance" him. That seems to be the age old question: "How do you change a man?" Well, for Elizabeth Baskin, that proved to be easy, with the doctors herbs from South America!--or something to that effect. She drops it into his orange juice every morning, and tah-dah! He is a changed person! He has become more attentive, more loving, more amorous! He has become so perfect, in fact, that he wants to make her perfect as well, nitpicking every thing she does, much like SHE DID before she slipped him the drugs!!!Unfortunately, throughout the book, it went up and down, like a rollercoaster. She touched on something interesting, then it went back to the ---I think someone else's review explained it perfectly--- Lucy and Ethel routine! Elizabeth, and her friend Clover, try to break into the doctors office, end up in jail, and make friends with a prisoner named "Cherry." After that, it became a little bit too predictable for me. There were some extra added subplots (Chris Eckersly, the Cherry stuff, hotel manager holding her captive) that just wasn't needed.) I did like the detailed description of her job, reviewing hotels. That was very interesting. Usually, I need a little more depth when I read novels (not entirely true, because I like chick lit) but if there is no depth, it should at least be fun. It just wasn't too fun, or funny for me. Maybe good for some, but not good enough for me.
Rating: 
Summary: Keeps getting better!
Review: I am a new fan of Jane Heller's - working my way up to reading her collection of wonderful books. Her imagination paired with realism is a masterpiece! This book hit so close to home for me! Elizabeth Baskin is married to Roger and is not happy with her marriage. She feels as if the "thrill" is gone. He doesn't pay as much attention to his looks, he works too much, gained weight, makes messes with English Muffin crumbs every morning (and doesn't clean them up) and falls asleep on the couch at night watching TV...sound familiar????? Elizabeth finds out about a "Life Enhancement" doctor who seems to have the answer to Roger's problem through a potion made up of herbs from Central America. She meets the doctor and is given what he called "The Stud Stimulant" that she is to sneak into his morning OJ or coffee. When the first dose doesn't take affect fast enough, being impatient she gives him double doses. Needless to say, Roger is back to the man she first fell in love with. His sex drive is nonstop, he buys new clothes, goes to the gym, watches what he eats. Sounds like the perfect potion, right? But, what about if he wants sex so much - that YOU can't keep up with him? What if
he becomes so obsessed with working out and eating healthy that he begins to complain about how YOU look? In the beginning of the book, you learn that Elizabeth is employed with a company that sends her to 5 star hotels. She gets to stay there free, make impossible demands and inspect them to see if they remain 5 stars. I am thinking, this would be the PERFECT job for me! But, as I finished the book - I realized that NOTHING is perfect. Not a hotel, not a marriage, not you and not me. Jane's books always give me a little bit more wisdom and a smile as I close the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointment
Review: I have previously been a big fan of Jane Heller's books. This was a big let down. Contrived and just not funny. Hopefully the author will soon return to her winning form.
Rating:
Summary: I love Jane Heller's books
Review: I have read all of Jane Heller's books. This one was excellent. This perticular book is about a woman who is unhappy with her husband and would like him to be more attentive to her. Jane writes this book in "first person" so you feel like she is talking directly to you. She goes to a doctor who gives her medication to have him enhanced,but as the saying goes, "becareful what you wish for, it just might come true" She has a few twists and turns with the Characters and I just
loved it. I recommend it to all who would like some "reading
candy" or just read it for the fun of the story!
Rating:
Summary: I love Jane Heller's books
Review: I have read all of Jane Heller's books. This one was excellent. This perticular book is about a woman who is unhappy with her husband and would like him to be more attentive to her. Jane writes this book in "first person" so you feel like she is talking directly to you. She goes to a doctor who gives her medication to have him enhanced,but as the saying goes, "becareful what you wish for, it just might come true" She has a few twists and turns with the Characters and I just
loved it. I recommend it to all who would like some "reading
candy" or just read it for the fun of the story!
Rating:
Summary: refreshing with a twist
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It breaks away from
the usual story. I puts life situations into
perspective. It helps you to realize how relationships
can get into rut. Jane Heller is wonderful.
Rating: 
Summary: a good read
Review: I really like Jane Heller's books, and I really did enjoy this, but not as well as I have some of her others, especially infernal affairs. I would recommend this to friends, it was cute.
Rating:
Summary: The Grass Isn't Always Greener
Review: I think the "Secret Ingredient" has to be one of the best novels Ms. Heller has ever written to date. The story of two married woman Elizabeth and Clover who want their husbands to be the men they were when they first got married (attentive, loving, sexy, high energy level). Both women feel that after a few years of marriage, their husbands don't pay enough attention to them anymore, don't make love to them like they used to and they no longer do the things they used to do when then were first married. The women decide visit a doctor who specializes in giving a person back what they once had (enhanced). Well Elizabeth and Clover got what they wanted and more than either of them can handle. The husbands are now listening to what they have to say, helping around the house, are very attentive to their wives every need and they want to make love all the time. Seems like things have backfired, the wives can't keep up with their newly enhanced husbands and get left in the dust -- and since the wives can't keep up the husbands seek others who are willing to go the distance. Now what to do? Go back to the doctor and get the antidote -- well they find out the doctor really isn't a doctor but a con artist and that's when the fun begins. This was just such a good read; I didn't want it to end. Sometimes when you get you what you think want you find out what you had was definitely better that what you got.
Rating:
Summary: The Grass Isn't Always Greener
Review: I think the "Secret Ingredient" has to be one of the best novels Ms. Heller has ever written to date. The story of two married woman Elizabeth and Clover who want their husbands to be the men they were when they first got married (attentive, loving, sexy, high energy level). Both women feel that after a few years of marriage, their husbands don't pay enough attention to them anymore, don't make love to them like they used to and they no longer do the things they used to do when then were first married. The women decide visit a doctor who specializes in giving a person back what they once had (enhanced). Well Elizabeth and Clover got what they wanted and more than either of them can handle. The husbands are now listening to what they have to say, helping around the house, are very attentive to their wives every need and they want to make love all the time. Seems like things have backfired, the wives can't keep up with their newly enhanced husbands and get left in the dust -- and since the wives can't keep up the husbands seek others who are willing to go the distance. Now what to do? Go back to the doctor and get the antidote -- well they find out the doctor really isn't a doctor but a con artist and that's when the fun begins. This was just such a good read; I didn't want it to end. Sometimes when you get you what you think want you find out what you had was definitely better that what you got.
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