Drastically impacted by a personal tragedy, Julia Evarts has been unable to move on with her life despite having a husband and a five-year-old daughter. Madeline Davis, proprietor of the Tea Salon, is barely hanging on, her business suffering from a lack of customers. Hannah de Brisay, famed concert cellist, is at the end of her career... and possibly her marriage.

An anonymous gift of starter and directions for baking Amish Friendship Bread brings these three women and the rest of Avalon, including Julia's estranged sister, Livvy together, reminding them of what is important in small towns and relationships.

Darien Gee crafts an incredible story about life, love, friendship, and loss things that each member of the town of Avalon experiences on some level. But as this community shares the Amish Friendship Bread starter (and apparently there really is such a thing as Amish Friendship Bread, although no one can connect it directly to the Amish), they also let go of hurts and slights and take hold of trust, caring, forgiveness and an affinity for their neighbors that had gone sorely missing.

FRIENDSHIP BREAD has a soothing quality to it, even as the characters find themselves in and work their way through difficult situations. Readers may not be eating the cinnamon-laced, cake-like bread along with the characters although they're certainly encouraged to try the recipe in the back of the book but the feelings of goodness and comfort emanate from the pages just the same. FRIENDSHIP BREAD is a delightful read.