I loved this short story and I want more! I would happily read a full length novel about Riley and her fairy prince. How did she get to work in the bakery, where did he come from, will she follow him? The narration was great and I loved the extra bit at the end with additional information on how the story got together. I'll definitely listen to True Loaf again:)

I was initially interested in this book because of the title: True Loaf. What could that possibly mean? This is a super short story, the audiobook being only 15 minutes long. I thought then, why not, let's give it a listen.

One day a man shows up at Riley's bakery and requests yarrow bread, which sends Riley on a quest into the forest to find some yarrow root. Because of the extreme briefness of this story, there is absolutely no depth given to the characters, the world, or anything else in the tale. To be honest I'm not sure what this point of this story is. It saddles the line between a fantastical folktale and contemporary fiction, but not in a good way. Riley mentions the plants having magical properties, but she also mentions calling the cops, which felt super out of place in the story.

It feels like L. Austen Johnson wrote the beginning of a story and then stopped. True Loaf ends at a place where a whole novel could jump off, but then there's nothing else. There is bonus content at the end of the audiobook in which Johnson describes the Balkan folklore influences behind True Loaf and proceeds to analyze every aspect of her story. She explains how her story follows the structure of such fairytales and mentions it combining her academic and personal lives, which makes me think she wrote this story for a college class on how to properly use folktale story structures. That's what it feels like, and if that's the case then it works. But as a story that I would consume outside of knowing that, it just makes no sense.

Unfortunately, I didn't care for this story and therefore cannot recommend it. I guess if you are into Balkan folklore then you might enjoy it, but other than that it is not worth a read.

What a fun original fairy tale! This was very short- about the same length of classic fairy tales, and it would fit perfectly in a collection of fairy tales. Definitely recommend for fans of both new and old fairy tales. I would love to have a full-length version of this one day and see this story explored more!

Honestly, I didn’t get it. I listened to the explanation and I do recognize all the parts labeled but I’m not sure what the point is of such a short story.

Very cute short story that is reminiscent of well known fairy tales and folk lore. I would love for the story to be expanded into a full novel or to read a whole collection of them!!

A very Bijou little tale that promised more than it actually delivered. The explanatory notes at the end suggested the author has the essentials of this kind of storytelling down, but I think that was the issue, the story was so obviously built. It felt strangely sterile. There was little charm which is a real shame as it sounded wondrous and magical in the blurb. Solid but not outstanding..

I absolutely love all things folklore-related. Folklore gives us insight into a world long past. The stories of our ancestors were passed down to teach us life lessons. I love that nearly all of them contained magic and wonderful worlds, also darkness and hardship to help set the balance.

My Initial Impressions:

The story is amazing and it checks almost every box for me when it comes to a modern folktale. The details were rich enough to build a world for me to envision. However, I was envisioning a much different type of world until it was clear that we were more in the 21st century than I had first believed. Despite this, the setting was warm and invited you in like a cozy blanket.

Pacing:
The story moved along just how you would expect any folktale. The story carried you through all of the key points of the story allowing you to take in the protagonist and the task she must complete. You follow her on the journey, the setting and mood the author described allow for it to feel otherworldly. Especially for me does this particular element hit home as I was shocked it was in current times. To feel like your stepping into a folktale that has been passed down what a true gift.

Themeing:
The world we are invited into is warm and vibrant with this author. I did feel transported into the protagonist's perspective. I have a deep love of folktales and have read too many to count. I did get a tad disappointed with the story. I felt like the story was almost incomplete. In most folktales, you find that you are learning something. The tradition of passing down these tales was to impart some sort of truth. I am not sure what I was supposed to learn from this story exactly. I want to be able to look at this story or just remember the story easily enough to pass on the wisdom from the story. I don't feel like that is something that was accomplished in calling it a folktale. Still a beautiful story I am sure to recommend.

Characters:
The characters were clearly defined. I was surprised in the end when I found out who the villain was. In folktales, the characters are supposed to be pretty flat. There isn't always time to do much character development. I feel like in such a short story I was still able to glean some information about the protagonist. The little details brought the character to life for me.

Conclusion:
This was a beautifully written and in my case narrated modern folktale. I am so happy that the author was able to give this gift to us. I am a huge fan of learning about cultures through folktale and appreciate anyone who is able to write a new one. I will definitely recommend this to anyone who will listen. Thank you, L. Austen Johnson, please keep on writing more.

such a cute little story. it's a quaint and cozy little story with whimsy and mystery that i think younger audiences would really enjoy. it serves strong autumnal, kiki's delivery service vibes which i do love aha. also, i feel i must mention that cover art is so cute and is what drew me into the book in the first place!

i appreciate how the author doesn't feel the need to spell out everything for the readers in terms the nods to classic folklore tropes and just lets it sit in it's own space.

it would have worked as a longer tale and i would have enjoyed it more that way. the character and world is already quite interesting so would have loved to spent more time developing that. i understand that im probably not the target audience for this due to my age but, overall, no complaints!

A lovely, sweeping novel full of whimsy, adventure and atmosphere. On top of the story being delightful on its own right, the narration truly brings it to life

This was shorter than i touhg but it was pretty entrataining and i didn't expect what would happen at all.
It made me take interest in Balkan Folklore, because for it's shortness, it doesn't explain so much about it and leave it so open.

Thank you NetGalley and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for the free audiobook copy of True Loaf, A Balkan Folklore Inspired Short Story by L. Austen Johnson, narrated by Penny Scott-Andrews.

Roughly 16 minutes long, True Loaf is a whimsical short-story with a modern folklore setting, about a bakery employee named Riley who is given a task to fetch yarrow from the nearby woods in order to fulfill a strange customer's request. The brevity of the story doesn't leave much room for character development or world-building, and the ending is so abrupt that it primarily leaves the reader puzzled.I was also perplexed as to why this book was categorized as NA on NetGalley. The overall style and content are compatible with Middle Grade (except for the main character being old enough to drive a car & one instance of "ass"). 

Though I was somewhat dissatisfied with this short story, frequent short story readers or middle grade enthusiasts might enjoy it more. True Loaf is now available from Amazon and other audiobook retailers.#TrueLoaf #NetGalley

I loved the magical realism elements in this enchanting short story! I do wish the ending had been a little more flushed out and more elaborated on but overall a fun, quick read.

True Loaf is something that you would read to your children before bed. It’s short and sweet and has just enough magic and whimsy to keep the little ones happy, and that’s why it didn’t really work for me.
Even though it is a very well written short story, True Loaf is just too short to leave lasting impressions on me, and that’s fine, I’m not the targeted audience.

This review will be posted on my Goodreads page as well.

Thank you NetGalley and Lore and Lyre, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks for my copy of True Loaf A Balkan Folklore Inspired Short Story by L. Austen Johnson Narrated by Penny Scott-Andrews in exchange for an honest review. It published July 27, 2021.
This short-story was very well-written and narrated. I wouldn't recommend it for younger children though, but teens and adults could enjoy it!

Sure cute quick fairytale like audiobook. I really enjoyed the narrator doing all of the characters voices.

Thank you netgalley and the publishers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Inspired by Balkan folklore, the short story follows Riley, works in a bakery. One day she is asked by a tourist to fulfill a special request for a bread. However to make this bread she does not have the right ingredient. Therefore she goes Out into the forest and gets direction from a passerby who is apparently as strange and whimsical as the customer who ordered the bread.

Working in a small village bakery really is no stranger to the peculiar requests on a daily basis but it turns out this was much much worse then what she had anticipated.

Narrated by Penny Scott- Andrews, True loaf was an unique and engaging micro story. Despite being a short book it was a good one. It had the autumn/ Halloween feel to it I think you are looking for short and uncanny story this is the perfect recommendation. As far as the ending goes, I would say that it was too abrupt I wish the story had explored its characters tad more.

The cover is definitely beautiful and eye catching. I learnt about this folklore through this so I think it was a win-win situation. I hope the author writes more such intriguing stories.

This is a cute, whimsical short story. The author told a fun story with just enough mystery in only a few pages. It was interesting to learn that the story was inspired by Balkan folklore.. The cover is also beautiful and perfectly captures the feeling of the story. I loved the ending and the overall tone of the story. The narrator of the audiobook was fantastic.

3.5/5

I really enjoyed this short story!

It tells us a story of a girl who owns a bakery and goes to the woods to find a rare ingredient for a custom order. Everything happens so fast and I wish it was longer and more detailed. I don’t think that I fully understood the idea of the author and the lesson that I needed to learn from this. Also, the ending was very confusing.

Anyway, it’s great if you want to read something in under 10 minutes. I listened to the audiobook and I can say that not everyone will like the narrator’s voice.

I'll admit that I really wanted to have a lot to say about this, but I really don't have that much that I can say. It was very short, and it was well-written. I don't know that I really got the point of the story--at least not entirely. I felt like there was something missing. In fact, I felt like there might have been a lot missing.

I listened to this on audiobook, and I also didn't love the narrator's voice. I realize that's a matter of personal taste, but it's worth mentioning.

All in all, this is a good little story if you just want something short and magical. I can't say, however, that it was really one of my favorites. That doesn't mean, though, that it won't be one of yours!

This is a very short story about a bakery owner, Riley, in search of an ingredient for a customer. Along the way she meets someone else in the forest and everything becomes connected. I feel like it's hard to review this story as it is just so short and I wanted more. The narrator was good but took a bit of time to get used to her voice and accent.