Review: Stones For Bread by Christa Parrish

Stones for Bread by Christa Parrish

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Pages: 326

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  What do you do when the gift you thought was bread turns out to be stones?

Liesl McNamara’s Wild Rise is not only a popular bakehouse and café in Vermont, it’s an extension of herself. Liesl is an artisan bread maker, like her mother and grandmother before her. Even though she lost her mother to suicide when she was eleven, she keeps this maternal bond alive as she bakes.

Liesl prides herself on living an uncomplicated, unattached life. But that changes when Seamus walks through the door of Wild Rise, lugging the large bags of whole wheat flour from the local food co-op. He and his daughter Cecelia have recently moved to the country seeking simplicity. Despite her best effort, Liesl becomes attracted to this teddy bear of a man who laughs easily and eats strange sandwich concoctions—on her bread, much to her dismay.

Her simple life is further complicated when a popular cooking show features her bakery. The publicity increases her business and brings several offers from larger businesses, all of which she turns down. But it also brings a completely unexpected phone call, one from a woman claiming to be her half-sister.

Liesl’s sense of identity dissolves as everything about her relationship with her mother—and the bread that held them together—comes into question. Has she been given stones rather than bread? And how can she ever take these crumbs and make them whole again.


Kritters Thoughts:  Liesl is a girl who did not have the easy childhood and at the beginning of each chapter the reader is given a chronological glimpse into the things that she had to overcome to become a successful woman who owns her own bakery.  Liesl has some employees at the bakery who each provide extra plotlines and interesting things to the backend of the bakery.  

I fell in love with Liesl's story and wanted to hear more about her backstory and how she became the woman she was and find out her reasoning for being so hesitant.  I also would love a book that centered around Jude from the bakery to see where he is now and how things are going for him.

I wish that the synopsis hadn't given away a twist that occurred 3/4 of the way through the book, I think it would have been more enjoyable if that part had come out of the blue!  Overall I loved the story and would love to read the next chapter of Liesl's story.

Just as a side note, this is definitely a Christian fiction book and with the characters making church a priority and stories from the Bible, I would be hesitant to read this one if you are not into the genre.  

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from the Litfuse Publicity.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.