The Divine Proverb of Streusel by Sara Brunsvold

 *Book received for consideration. All thoughts are my own.

Shaken by her parents' divorce and discouraged by the growing chasm between herself and her serious boyfriend, Nikki Werner seeks solace at her uncle's farm in a small Missouri hamlet. She'll spend the summer there, picking up the pieces of her shattered present so she can plan a better future. But what awaits her at the ancestral farm is a past she barely knows.

Among her late grandmother's belongings, Nikki finds an old notebook filled with handwritten German recipes and wise sayings pulled from the book of Proverbs. With each recipe she makes, she invites locals to the family table to hear their stories about the town's history, her ancestors--and her estranged father.

What started as a cathartic way to connect to her heritage soon becomes the means through which she learns how the women before her endured--with the help of their cooking prowess. Nikki realizes how delicious streusel with a healthy dollop of faith can serve as a guide to heal wounds of the past.

Sara Brunsvold creates stories that speak hope, truth, and life. Influenced by humble women of God who find his fingerprints in the everyday, she does the same in her life and her storytelling. Sara’s recognitions include the 2020 ACFW Genesis Award for Contemporary Fiction. She lives with her family near Kansas City, Missouri, where she can often be spotted writing at a park or library. Learn more at www.sarabrunsvold.com.

To be honest, I really wasn't sure what to expect with this one, but from the moment I saw the cover and read the title, I knew I wanted to read it anyway. Thankfully this is one of those moments where judging a book by the cover absolutely paid off. 

This story was absolutely beautifully. What could be better than a story about family, faith and food? It was a bit of a slower paced read than I typically prefer, but I found myself really enjoying it nonetheless. When Nikki finds herself needing a little break from life, she heads to her uncle's farm for the summer to learn more about the family that she really doesn't know much about. While there, she finds a notebook filled with family recipes and words of wisdom. She connects to her family and the community around her as she starts creating these recipes. One of the things that I really loved about this book is that we're not just reading about the dishes she is cooking--- but we're actually given the recipes too! Having German heritage myself, I certainly appreciated that and found a few recipes I want to write down and try with my family as well. While the story itself would have been enjoyable without this anyway, it definitely set it apart for me. I think food can be such a way to connect people, and this book was a beautiful example of that. It definitely touched on some more difficult moments but offered a great message of faith too.

If you enjoy Christian fiction, this is certainly one to check out. 

Get your copy: https://amzn.to/4aRvvoI