The Bookstore Wedding is a cute short story with a hidden meaning. Loved how much emotion was put in so few pages. Love between sisters, family, and childhood friends.

Thank you for the advance copy of this short story. Isabel returns home after her parents death. She reconnects with past love and sister. A good story showing how much you would be willing to give up for the betterment of others. I like reading short stories between novels and have enjoyed several of the Amazon offerings. Thank you again!

What a lovely short story. I didn’t want it to end, but it was perfect. I can’t wait to go back and read the first book in this series.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest in the Once Upon A Bookshop short story series by Alice Hoffman. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

Isabel is finally back home on Brinkley's Island, Maine, reunited with her sister, Sophie, and her niece, Violet, as well as her childhood love, Johnny Lenox, and working at the family bookstore. But every time Isabel and Johnny set the date for their wedding, something happens at the last minute. Is their love meant to be?

I adore Alice Hoffman's writing and really like this short story series. Do yourself a favor and start with the first one - they're easily read in a sitting and that way you get the full experience. I want to live on this island and go to this bookstore and bakery. The names of the pastries are so fun! But it's the relationships that take center stage here. Can't wait for book #3!

I love short stories in general, but I really love these short stories. This sequel was so good in every way, and I love how there is an actual plot in each book despite there only being 40 pages. In those 40 pages there are character arcs, plot lines, sentimental relationships that are built, and it’s just overall the best little pick me up reads. They helped me out of a slump and I am excited to follow along with the story when the next one comes out in February 💛 (I am rating it a 3.25, just because it’s hard to rate short stories but I really did love it. I rate almost all small books between the 1-3 star mark).

This was a cute little short story about two sisters, a bookshop one of the sisters own and a wedding. I obviously picked this book for the title and saw it was going to be on Amazon. I did not realize it was the second of a series. AH did a great job summarizing book 1 in the start, but I feel like I would have enjoyed this more reading the first one. Alice Hoffman is always a go to reader for me

A short story about a woman who decided to never love and leaves home after losing her mother to cancer and seeing her father's grief. I'm not always a lover of the short story format, but this is beautiful and encompasses so much in such a few number of words. I really enjoyed it.

It’s rare that a 39 page story feels complete and it’s a sign of Hoffman’s writing ability that she makes this one such.

Isabel and Sophie are sisters who grew up on Brinkley Island. Their parents owned a bookshop on the island which they hoped their daughters would run on their passing. But Isabel, traumatised by her mother’s early death from breast cancer, turns her off from the romance of a bookshop and of love.

Enter her childhood friend Johnny Lenox. Their connection is strong and even though Isabel runs away to New York, she eventually returns to the island. I liked their friendship & relationship. Johnny allowed Isabel freedom to be herself. He didn’t suffocate or seek to domesticate her, rather allow her to thrive.

Isabel discovers how to love in her own way. It’s beautiful to read.

I received an ebook copy direct from the publisher via NetGalley but this had no bearing on my review.

All in 39 pages.

A delightful short story by Alice Hoffman is exactly what I needed after ten days of hosting six teenagers.
Isabel is back in her hometown and along with her sister and niece, running the family bookstore, and pretending she's not in love with Johnny Lenox.
As Isabel and Johnny grow close, real life, and real worries start to interfere with their relationship. This may be a very short story but it is full of heart, and I loved it.

When I saw the page count u thought oh this shall go breezily but tell me why a 50+ pages book has done what more than a 500+ could not do?
I fell in love with the characters and their close knitted community, their support was so immeasurable and their love for the family touch so deeply in me. The author explored a explained the topics of grieve and forgiveness and second chances so well I feared a bit whiles reading it.
I was so filled and happy when I was done with this book which was a surprise because rarely do short stories lives me satisfied. If wonder where a novel from the author would leave me if a short story from her was that good.

<I>“I’m sure I’ll do something else stupid, and then you’ll be angry at me again,” Isabel said sadly. “If you do, I’ll forgive you all over again,” Sophie assured her. “We can fight and still love each other. That’s what sisters do.”</I>

Thank you Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. And I was so excited that we have a second story in this cute series. I'm so glad that the sisters are back and this time with a wedding, This one was short, cute, and sweet.

Thank you to NetGalley for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this short story from Alice Hoffman!

★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ | 1/5

Although this book is an installment in a series, and the second edition of a short story collection, it genuinely didn’t matter. From what I understand the first book was (poorly) summarized in the beginning, and then everything that happened in this book felt very summary and telling not showing. I didn’t connect or care about any of the characters or what was happening in the plot, regardless of prior knowledge of these characters or not.

Isabel’s voice felt very immature and juvenile, and her supposed romance with Johnny felt weird and forced from Johnny’s end to hers, and she was like “I’m so in love.” Like girl…no. She felt too tied down by everything and then everything that happened really happened around her and she was just a character for plot purposes.

A cute and heartwarming short story sequel to The Bookstore Sisters, a previous novella by Alice Hoffman, which I read and enjoyed. Recommended if you like books about books, sisterhood, and second chance romance.

I’m not sure how she does it - but somehow I can get attached to and cry for characters in less than 40 pages. Every word here is magic. And let’s be honest, no one else can write about the bonds of sisters like Hoffman. There is no love in this world like the love between sisters.
Also - Johnny Lenox is everything.

Thanks for the book! Can’t wait for the 3rd!

I wish this was a full novel because I love Hoffman’s writing and characters! I can’t wait for the next novella to come out.

What can you say about a short story without giving it all away? Yes, this would have made a GREAT novella so that it could have given us a little more information, but that aside, this was a very charming story of true love, family, and one's roots.

This story is part of three short stories by Alice Hoffman and the second in this trilogy of stories. The next and last one will be out on February 4, 2025. I had no problems reading this without reading the first story, but since this is free if you have KindleUnlimited, I will be making sure to go and read the first one.

This was a really cute short story. I loved the relationship between the two sisters. It made me happy to see the MC give up her wedding for her sister. Really cute fast read.

The Bookstore Wedding is a beautiful short story filled with hope and love. It’s about 2 sisters, Isabel and Sophie, who come back together after Isabel has moved away to be there for each other during a trying time. It goes on to tell how Isabel surprises Sophie by giving up her very special day to make Sophie’s life complete only to be surprised herself when the love of her life, Johnny Knox, arranges an unexpected union at the couples favorite spot. This is a fun and heartwarming read, one that I enjoyed tremendously and I’d love it if Alice Hoffman would decide to write a full length novel about these wonderful characters. I’m giving this a 5 star rating and can’t wait to read more!

I did not realise that this was a novella and part of a series, which I have not read before . Also, this was my first by Alice Hoffman. A quick and fun read that I enjoyed. Even though this was short, the meaning came across. It’s so hard to connect with short stories the way you connect with novels, but Hoffman did a good job here!

I always enjoy things written by Alice Hoffman. She has such a delicate and beautiful writing style. I love that the first bit recaps the first book, it makes it easier to follow along. Whether or not you read the first book isn't as important or necessary as it would be in other series.