Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for this free ebook ARC in return for my honest review.

So nice to read a book that you can finish in one sitting. Apparently this is the 4th, and maybe final, installment in this series but it is the first one I have read and I enjoyed the premise of the local girl/pasty chef who moved to Paris and returns to be near her dying mother just as she finds love. A touching story about love and even how the missing ingredient in her pastry was love. I enjoyed it a lot and while the entire plot was very fast and simple, that is why it is a short story and I am fine with that! 3.5***

All I can say is fantastic! What a story!
This book spoke truly to my heart and made me realize a few things about life.
Life is a journey. It's full of surprises and the not so good surprises.
I loved Violet and how she handled what life threw at her. She is perfect example of how God never puts more on our shoulders than we can handle.
I loved every minute of this story and even though I took my time it was over in a flash! It was so good that I couldn't help myself lol.
Isabel was a true angel to Violet. Do was Remy but I'll let you read the book for yourself.
5 stars for a job well done. I highly recommend.
My thanks for a copy of this. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine.

Having read the other three in the series I had wondered where this story was going to lead.
The first half was very slow and didn't grab me, but as the story progressed I liked where is lead and wished it was slightly longer and more detailed as it was beautiful and heartfelt. I do hope that they stop the series here as I think it ended well and any more would just be too much.

I recommend reading the first short story before this one -- at the end of the other story, Violet finally made the choice to go live out her dreams in Paris. In this story, Violet is in Paris but things aren't working out the way she planned, and she is still tied to the island she left behind.
This is a short emotional story that addresses questions about life and what it really means to fulfill your dreams. I enjoyed it because I'm invested in the characters.

I love the Once Upon a Time Bookshop Stories. The are the perfect palate cleanse between other books. Short and sweet with likable characters, a quaint island town in Maine, and a story that invites you into their family.

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Bookstore Family by Alice Hoffman is a breathtaking, heart-rending novel that touched me on a deeply personal level. With my own father’s recent passing, the themes of cancer, grief, and the enduring power of memory resonated in every page, wrapping around my heart like a familiar embrace. Hoffman's prose is tender and intimate, portraying the weight of loss with such honesty that I found myself teary-eyed through most of the story. But it was the final line—"All you had to do was remember, and there they were."—that truly undid me. A beautiful, healing tribute to love, family, and the people we carry with us, always.

Loved this short story! I liked it so much that I read the first three in the series today. The stories were all very sweet and they are.all quick reads.

This was another sweet, romantic story about the bookstore sisters and daughter/niece Violet. This time the romance was for her as she followed her dream to be a pastry chef in Paris. I love this series! Don’t want to reveal the ending. Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon for the ARC.

This is the fourth book of this series and it is a quick read. These books make you feel like you are a part of their family. I would definitely recommend these quick little reads.

Another amazing installment in this series. I really love these characters, and this did not disappoint. The writing style is warm comfort.

"The Bookstore Family" is a typical story about a woman's quest to prove herself in the "City of Love," only to realize that a big part of her life is missing. There is little room for elaborate storytelling in this traditional Hoffman-style magical narrative - a straightforward, linear plot with a predictable storyline. There's nothing here that hasn't been written before. As I've said, it follows a clichéd formula but still warms the heart and consoles the soul.

A very cute little short read, this book was incredibly hygge and left me wanting more of the character’s stories. Filled to the brim with cozy comforts and also dealing with the difficult topic of grief, it was handled in an incredibly gentle and loving way.

This book had all the makings of being a real love conquers all story, unfortunately it fell flat. It was clunky and disjointed, being a short story it felt rushed.
The only section that made me feel anything for any of the characters was Sophie and her s xx ister in the tent, but even that was short lived and swiftly moved past.
The only reason it wasn’t a one star is purely based on the fact I think it had potential to be a better story had it been a longer book.

Loved, loved, loved this book! I don't usually enjoy short stories, but since this was Alice Hoffman, and she's one of my favourite authors, I couldn't resist. I really appreciate her lyrical writing and was drawn into this story about the power of books, baking, loss, and love. I highly recommend it and am grateful to have received an advanced review copy from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

Not the right story for me.

There's a very sweet and emotional story contained within these pages, but I think it gets a bit lost. For a short story there's a lot of time spent on the 'set up' and I found it not only unnecessary but detrimental to the plot. Removing the first 10% or even 20% would make a world of difference, especially when you take into consideration that this is book 4.

This is the fourth in the Once Upon a Bookshop series, all short stories. The first two captivated me - what great descriptions of the Gibson family, who deal with great losses, loves, and family business successes.

This time, it takes place in Paris, where Violet currently lives, and is using her mom's infamous recipes to bake in a completely different country. She realizes that Maine is where her heart truly is.

These stories could be expansive, but Hoffman manages to turn them into deep characterizations of a family's loves and losses.

Such an adorable short read. I enjoyed all 3 book and really appreciate how well they tie together. I was rooting for them to have a baby. The perfect endind.

I’m really going to need Alice Hoffman to put all four of these in a full novel!!
This is the fourth one in the mini series and please read all of them. It’s a whimsical, lyrical world of these Bookstore sisters that makes you want to move to an island open a bookstore and just fall in love.
Thank you to Alice Hoffman, the publishers, and NetGalley for the early copy. Love them all.

I just found out that The fourth story in the series of short stories about a family that owns a bookstore on an island in Maine. While I did not read the other three, I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Alice Hoffman has a very magical way of using words to paint pictures in the minds of anyone who reads her books. I have loved almost every book I read of hers, and never turn down an opportunity to see what she has written.

It doesn't matter what Hoffman writes, I will give it a read. This cover and title intrigued me, and I knew I needed to see the story. I enjoyed it so much, it's well written and intriguing. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.