Stones For Bread By Christa Parrish

I received this book from Litfuse Publicity for no charge in exchange for my honest review of this book. The opinions expressed here are my own.


Book Description:  


A solitary artisan. A legacy of bread-baking. And one secret that could collapse her entire identity.

Liesl McNamara’s life can be described in one word: bread. From her earliest memory, her mother and grandmother passed down the mystery of baking and the importance of this deceptively simple food. And now, as the owner of Wild Rise bake house, Liesl spends every day up to her elbows in dough, nourishing and perfecting her craft.
But the simple life she has cultivated is becoming quite complicated. Her head baker brings his troubled grandson into the bakeshop as an apprentice. Her waitress submits Liesl’s recipes to a popular cable cooking show. And the man who delivers her flour—a single father with strange culinary habits—seems determined to win Liesl’s affection.
When Wild Rise is featured on television, her quiet existence appears a thing of the past. And then a phone call from a woman claiming to be her half-sister forces Liesl to confront long-hidden secrets in her family’s past. With her precious heritage crumbling around her, the baker must make a choice: allow herself to be buried in detachment and remorse, or take a leap of faith into a new life.
Filled with both spiritual and literal nourishment, Stones for Bread provides a feast for the senses from award-winning author Christa Parrish.


My Thoughts: 

Stones For Bread is the first book by Christa Parrish I have read and I am so glad that I did read it. This book tells the story of Liesl McNamara, owner of Wild Rise Bake House, who leads a quiet, simple life as an adult. As a child, her life was anything but quiet or simple but the one constant has been bread.  Liesl is a third generation artisan baker. Her earliest memories are of her baking with her mother and her grandmother. Recipes passed down for generations starting in Germany. No matter what has happened in life Liesl always had bread to find sanctuary. In one day her life becomes very complicated: a new delivery driver and his daughter come into her life, her head baker brings his Grandson in to work with them, and another worker submitted Liesl to take part in a popular cooking show.  Her once quiet life becomes a circus after the cooking show airs, including a phone call from a half sister and a biological mother. Liesl now has to face secrets that she never wanted to. 

Stones For Bread is a wonderful book. Christa Parrish writes a unique story, deep with the history of artisan bread making, an art passed down through Liesl's mother and grandmother.  Told from Liesl's perspective, you see it through the eyes of an adult and child. Christa Parrish writes with authority on bread making, running a business, German culture, and mental illness.  I loved the characters in this book especially the relationship between Liesl and Xavier. Their interactions were special and the bond they had was truly like a parent/child relationship.  The characters in her book are flawed and have messy lives, which make them real.  Stones For Bread is a story that will stay with me, it truly touched me and really made me think.  I couldn't put this book down, from the start it grabbed me and kept a hold. I liked the recipes and other bread things in the book, really made it special. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Christian Fiction and baking. You won't be disappointed. I can't wait to see what Christa Parrish writes next. I give this book 5 STARS.