A fun little story that I’d love to see developed as a full length novel! Caught my interest and entertained me!

True Loaf is a short story that feels like a modern day fairy tale. Riley bakes bread and a customer requests a special ingredient, but getting that ingredient and what happens after is not what she expected. The story is so short, it’s a little unclear whether there is a broader point, but this would be a wonderful teaser for a longer novella or book. It definitely intrigued me with it’s Red Riing Hood vibes and the questions it raises.

Thanks to Netgalley and to Xpresso Book Tours for a free review copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and ratings are my own.

The book was too short but it managed to catch my interest with its originality.
I would prefer if it was bigger butthan the story was fun either way.

I received this and as an eARC to read for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Zenith Publishing for giving me access.

Seeing how this is was a short story, that there was a bread pun, and a loaf of bread on the cover, I knew I just had to read it. That being said, I was left wanting more.

I just wasn't satisfied by this loaf.

This could easily become a much larger story. Fill in the backstory, give it time to rise. -- Sorry, I am a baker at heart and cannot help it. I needed more about the brothers and what happened at the end left me in crumbs of confusion.

Genre: Folklore

Description: When a strange man puts in a strange request at the bakery where she works, Riley must go on a mini-adventure to find one unusual ingredient. Along the way, she realizes that things are not always what they seem.

Pros:

- It's a short story, easily finished in one sitting.
- Despite it's length the characters and plot draw you in and tell a pretty complete story.

Cons:

- I'm not sure if I can technically call this a con, its more of just a disappointment, but im sad that it was so short. The story drew me in and I wanted to know more.

Would I recommend it?

Yes, absolutely.

When I got this short story I didn’t realise quite how short it was!
At a mere 10 pages in length I didn’t hold out much hope for a great story as I really love a book with some good character and world building however this has left me wanting more!

I want a full length book to fully explain the full thing because I am invested. I absolutely loved this and definitely want more!

There isn’t much I can say with giving away any spoilers but a baker, 2 brothers and the paranormal is something right up my street.

Well Im not sure how to feel about this. It was so easy to read and Johnson's prose were very enjoyable- but it was far too short! I hope they go on to write full length novels, if so I will be picking those up!

3 delicious, mysterious, baked stars!

This story was quite short so I can't say too much without giving it all away, but Riley works in a bakery and gets a strange request from a traveler. Though they only usually grant unusual requests to locals, she decides to fulfill his order.

This was a fun story that felt like a retelling, but upon further research it looks like its just a fairytale with influence from the Balkan, which is pretty cool! I could totally imagine this being told as a children's story through the years like a real fairytale. A story told orally through generations. Which means the author got it just right in tone!

I know its a short story, but I really wanted a bit more. My big downfall here was that the resolution felt like a coincidence and not purposeful, but I think it was meant to be purposeful. And I think we needed to know a bit more about the twins world, not a lot, but to put it into a little context. I still enjoyed this, though!

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. True Loaf was truly short. Shorter than any novella I've ever read and I was surprised with what actually happened throughout it. In it, you will meet Riley who is asked by a stranger to make something with a certain ingredient. Strange. I know.

So, of course, she does want any normal person does when a strange request happens.. she goes along with it. Riley doesn't ask like ANY questions about it either. Just goes out to the forest, near twilight, to search for this damn ingredient. Along the way she ends up meeting another stranger who tells her where to find her for a price: he wants whatever she makes as well.

At this point, I have a feeling on how this is going to go down but I'm still shocked that zero questions are asked. ZERO. In the end, there was some drama and I think a marriage? Not sure but I would totally take a full book of this in a heartbeat. Novellas are the death of me.