A great novella by the fabulous Alice Hoffman- if you love her work this book will remind you why, if you’ve never read her work, this book is a great place to start.

The 4th installment in this hauntingly beautiful collection. I feel so deeply for all the characters. This was just as lovely as the other 3. Sad but sweet

“Every time a book is reread, it’s entirely different, depending on who the reader has become.”

The fourth installment in The Once Upon a Time Bookshop Stories continues the story of sisters Sophie and Isabel and the family bookstore as Violet leaves Brinkley’s Island to chase her own dreams and find her passion.

These are perfect one sitting short stories that all fit together to become a beautiful narrative of familial connections. The love, losses, triumphs and heartbreak that make up family relationships. I was so impressed with the way the author was able to fit so much depth and feeling in so few pages.

I am a HUGE fan of these short stories about a bookstore family, and I was excited to catch up with them all. This time around was a bit bittersweet. I was happy to see Violet finding her way back to herself and her passion by revisiting the children's stories that brought her so much joy and comfort in her youth. In fact, all the bookish references delighted me. But I was especially glad that she was able to open her heart up at which would prove to be a vital time.

I won't lie, this installment was filled with heartbreak for me, maybe because it hit too close to home, but Hoffman navigated it all beautifully. The love shared between these people buoyed me. I also adored being reminded of the magic of their island, their store, and the magical baked goods. The ending was hopeful and left me feeling happy about the future that was in store for Violet.

Short, cozy and sweet with likeable characters. This was the perfect short story to read in one sitting on a rainy day. Tackling grief and loss while finding love and yourself along the way is no easy feat, but Alice Hoffman did it beautifully in this short story. Thank you to Netgalley and Amazon Original Stories for the opportunity to read and review this eARC.

An interesting continuation of this short story series. An emotional story captured in just a few pages, including plenty of drama, coming of age, and some romance.

[1.5 stars rounded down]

Opening with too many overly-long paragraphs of exposition just explaining where Violet is in life right now <i> The Bookstore Family </i> is not off to a good start. This is a short story about Violet, a pâtissière from Maine who is working in Paris and her struggles with the lack of love and happiness in her life. Her Aunt visits her to encourage her and, just as she begins to fall in love, her mother becomes extremely ill and she returns home. She sends postcards back and forth to her lover in Paris as she tries to decide what will make her happy.

I did not enjoy the narration style. Written in the third person, the narrator feels very detached from the characters. We are <i> told </i> things about each of the characters instead of learning them naturally through dialogue or actions. <i> “But even in her hometown, Violet had been something of an outsider, as if she was in constant mourning for the father she had never met.” </i> and <i> “Violet had never cared much about outward appearances, and on evenings when women on the streets were decked out in spring dresses and sandals, she wore the same austere white shirts and black slacks that she wore to work.” </i> This narration is not done in a fun <i> The Princess Bride </i> sort of way, but rather the most basically presented exposition to catch the reader up to speed.

The worst of it is only in the first quarter of the book, as a lot more dialogue fills the remaining pages, thankfully. The dialogue was still forced and cliche, but there was a rhythm to it that broke up the meandering descriptions. I enjoyed reading the short postcards that Violet and her lover exchanged. I thought that the dialogue between those flowed better and was very nicely done. There was also a few sweet lines here and there, but few and far between the slop that makes up the rest of the story. I liked the paragraph on page 7 that talks about how Violet had learned to bake all of her grandmother’s recipes and how she adapted those into Parisian desserts. I think the cutesy cafe names listed next to the formal descriptions was a charming moment. I also enjoyed Violet’s newfound penchant for children’s stories. I think that this was a good way to show herself trying to find happiness again, as well as a strong lead up into her inevitable move back home.

Anyways, this was not a story for me. If you enjoy fluffy, low stakes stories and a cute cast of characters, then this is an easy one-sitting read that would be worth picking up. I will never think of this story again.

🌸BOOK REVIEW🌸
The Bookstore Family by Alice Hoffman
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ebook
Short fiction
-the fourth short story in Hoffman’s bookshop series
-This short story is a love letter to the magic of reading, the love of family, and the pain of loss.
-It’s also a story about coming home and the healing power of family recipes.
-Though this story was only 30 pages long, it packed a punch. I love short fiction for this reason- every word is written thoughtfully considered, and every action must propel the plot forward.
-I love Alice Hoffman’s work, and her novel The World That We Knew is my favorite.
-This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you @netgalley and Amazon Original Stories for this advanced reader copy! The Bookstore Family will be available May 13!
🌸 Em

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.