Review of Stones for Bread & KitchenAid Mixer Giveaway from Christa Parrish! Pin It & Win It!

About the book: 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 her 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.

My review: This is a unique and fascinating story that I didn't want to put down!  I felt I could relate to Liesl in her penchant for being alone, her struggle to draw closer to God and push Him away at the same time, and her love of bread though there's no way I'd have the patience for the whole process that she does! Mainly, I just love eating it!  I loved how the story moved back and forth in time, from her memories as a child of happy times and very dark times to her life now and how her life has been shaped by earlier events.  The other quirky characters that work for her really added to the story in showing her things she needs to see and pulling her out of her shell.  I couldn't help but smile at the little girl's antics and how great her father was with her.  There are even recipes scattered throughout for people who want to try their hand at them.  There was also interesting background on the history of bread.  The poetic quality to the writing along with the reflections on Jesus being the Bread of Life give the story almost a devotional and literary feel sometimes.  I highly recommend it!

I received this book free from Litfuse Publicity in exchange for an honest review.

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Meet the author: Christa Parrish is the award-winning author of three novels, including the 2009 ECPA Fiction Book of the Year Watch Over Me. When she's not writing, she's a homeschool mother of three wonderful children. Married to author and pastor Chris Coppernoll, Christa serves with him as co-leader of their church's youth ministry as well as serving as a facilitator for a divorce recovery ministry. She is now also slightly obsessed with the art of baking bread.

Learn more about Christa at: http://christaparrish.com

Christa Parrish is celebrating her fourth novel, Stones for Bread, with a KitchenAid Mixer giveaway.

Easy steps to enter:

1. Follow Christa Parrish and TNZ Fiction on Pinterest.

2. Then Pin the Stones for Bread book cover (below), the contest graphic (above), or both, and link to this post (using this URL: #StonesforBread KitchenAid Mixer Contest #ChristaParrish http://litfusegroup.com/campaigns/stones-for-bread-by-christa-parrish).

3. Then fill out THIS SHORT FORM to let us know. (There are also some additional ways to earn extra entries, as well as an option for non-Pinterest users. It's true—people like that do exist!)

Questions? Email info @ litfusegroup dot com.

Winner will be announced on 12/9 on Christa's Facebook Page.