I adored this story. Family, food, and forgiveness is the perfect combination for a pleasant, fulfilling read. Brunsvold has a way of dipping into the heart of the characters and creating a deep connection between the characters and the reader. Adult daughter, Nikki, is navigating her way through her parent's divorce. With the help of an uncle she barely knows and a recipe book filled with wisdom and deliciousness, she discovers hope and forgiveness in ways she never thought she would. I loved all the characters, but I enjoyed the role Joyce plays in this beautifully written story the most. I received a free copy with no expectations. Opinions are my own.

Have you read The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip? If the answer is yes, then go ahead and grab this book because you will love it. If your answer is no--well, make sure you read it as soon as you can. Because The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip ranks in my top 5 best books ever read--I have been early awaiting this newest novel by Sara Brunsvold.

The Divine Proverb of Streusel captured me from the moment I read the title. It had everything I love in a novel--deep and real characters, faith lessons, and emotional moments where you forget you are just the reader of the story. Did I mention LOTS of recipes??! My mouth was watering as I read each new additional. And the message that accompanies each recipe in the story are worth almost more than the story itself. As someone who loves to cook and uses it as my love language to my family, I really connected with those recipe proverbs. In fact, after starting the book, I've cooked more in two days than I usually do in a month!

This book is an exploration on how we are supposed to handle situations when we've been DEEPLY hurt by someone who has no regrets and no apologies. How do we forgive someone who has done something that seems (or is) unforgiveable? When they want to just move on yet we are drowning in our emotional ocean? when they want a relationship, yet we are angry. When they are trying to pretend nothing happened, yet our world exploded.

This is what gets explored in this novel and it's done so so well. I fell in love with Aunt Emma. <3

I really really loved this quote by her:

***But Chris has made his bed. He'll need to sleep init awhile yet. Hard as it is, we need to let him. The good news is God's not afraid of an attitude. That divine whack will come in due course--to all the skulls that need it.***

So. Much Yes. I could fill this review with passages I highlighted...because so many spoke to me. And I actually did reflection after this book because I saw areas I myself need to work on. This book is 100% a faith journey and I highly recommend it for anyone wanting a meaty Christian Fiction.

5 Stars.

* I received this as an ARC from the publishers and NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions are 100% my own.

This is a heartfelt story that includes faith, family, broken hearts, healing, forgiveness, love, home and the discovery of long-forgotten family recipes!
I found this to be a captivating story from the very beginning. Adult Nikki feels like a little girl again, crying on the inside for the return of her dad. He left her mother and his two daughters, 4 months earlier, and she just received from Hannah, her older sister, a picture of a post on social media of their dad with a woman neither of them had ever met, who is his new wife. Nikki’s relationship with her long-time boyfriend, Isaac is on shaky ground, and she is worried about her mother who has to sell their family home and move in with Hannah’s family, living in their basement.
The last day of school is near so Nikki, a teacher, asks for a personal day, gets in her car, and starts driving through downtown Kansas City, Missouri, leaving her small apartment behind. Soon she finds herself on the interstate driving through suburbs, following the interstate for hours, only stopping once for gas and a snack. That night she ends up at her uncle’s farm in another small corner of Missouri. Although he has a newer house on the property, the original family farmhouse is still there, empty. Nikki does not know the brother of her dad well, having only spent Christmas day at the family farm as a child, and after her Grandma Ann passed, they did not go back anymore, not even on Christmas.
Nikki ends up staying all summer, moving into the old farmhouse. She becomes part of the community, as well as the church family where her uncle attends. She helps him clean up and update the old farmhouse to prepare it to be a rental. An old book that had once belonged to her great grandmother full of handwritten German recipes, along with scriptures from Proverbs turns up and is an immediate treasure. As she is learning to cook by following the recipes and receiving help from Joyce, a woman who had grown up with her dad and uncle she also learns many things family members who came before her. With each new recipe they prepare, local people from the community are invited to share in the meal. Nikki learns that a serving of the delicious German streusel, along with a big dose of faith can heal wounds of the past and change lives.
This is a delightful, heartfelt story, with many references to scripture and the value of friendship and reaching out to others, as well as the healing forgiveness and second chances. The characters in this beautiful story are loveable and hard to forget.
I received a compliment copy of this book. All opinions and remarks are my own.