A quick beautiful thought-provoking soulful story… it gave all the feels… so beautifully written!

Thank-You Netgalley for the opportunity to read for an honest review.

"The Bookstore Wedding" is an adorable, heartwarming read that perfectly captures Isabella's personal journey.

When I finished reading The Bookstore Sisters, I wished it had been a full length story. I wanted more of the Gibson sisters and was so happy to get an opportunity to return to their world.

As expected, this story involves a wedding, or more like all the disasters that were keeping Isabel's wedding from happening. The worst of all befalls the family in the lead up to the latest wedding. Bringing back scary and painful memories from their past, this event served as a reminder to value today and prompted some to open their hearts.

It also showcased the wonderful people of Brinkley as they all rallied to support the Gibson sisters. I especially loved the way everyone picked out books to provide comfort to Isabel and Sophie on this journey. Lovely choices and explanations of how they could ease some pain.

Hoffman showed the beauty in the pain and highlighted the power of love. This touching tale warmed my heart, and I really hope we get to revisit the Gibson sisters again.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After their mother's death, Isabel no longer wants to love, because love leads to loss and heartbreak. She leaves her small town (and sister and family bookshop) behind for New York. She also leaves her best friend Johnny, who she knows she will fall in love with if she stays.

Eventually the estranged sister returns home to help in her Sister and neice's time of need, and she's reconnected to Johnny, who has never stopped loving her. But things hust can't seem to fall into place.

The story is about love, loss, and timing.

This is my first time reading any of this author's work. The story is written in 3rd person. It's written in the tone of a fairytale story. The writing is sort of clipped, which was an artistic choice that I didn't love.

I liked Johnny's unwavering love and patience, and the relationship mending between the sisters.

I give this 3.5 stars

#NetGalley #TheBookstoreWedding #ARCReview #jaimison1221_reads

Alice Hoffman has once again charmed me with The Bookstore Wedding, the second installment in the "Once Upon a Time Bookstore Stories" series. Having read The Bookstore Sisters last year, I felt compelled to continue with the series, and I'm glad I did. This short read earns a solid 4 stars from me.

Hoffman's writing style is both enchanting and evocative, weaving together themes of love, family, and the magic of bookstores. The narrative, though brief, is richly detailed and emotionally resonant, drawing readers into the lives of the characters and the special moments they share.

The Bookstore Wedding beautifully captures the essence of its setting, making the bookstore feel like a character in its own right. Hoffman's talent for creating vivid, atmospheric scenes shines through, adding depth and warmth to the story.

I'm eager to explore more of her books. Her ability to blend the ordinary with the extraordinary creates a unique reading experience that stays with you long after the last page.

Overall, The Bookstore Wedding is a delightful, heartfelt addition to the series and a must-read for anyone who loves stories about love, family, and, of course, bookstores.

I am a fan of Alice Hoffman. Practical Magic was one of her favorites for me. The Bookstore Wedding is her next work of art. I loved it.

Not usually a fan of romance or short stories but who can resist a charming tale by Alice Hoffman …
And just luved all the magically named treats from the sisters' bakery!
Already looking forward to the next installment.

With thanks to NetGalley for this e-ARC!

I feel that Alice Hoffman is the queen of magical realism. In this adorable novella magic is in the air along with all those enchanting moments that make it up….love, family, community and just plain life and all it entails. A short, bewitching read.

Enjoy!

The Bookstore Wedding centers around the Gibson sisters, Isabel and Sophie, on Brinkley Island, Maine where they run the family bookstore. The story stresses the importance of love, connection and faith in the future. Life is short and can be fragile, but that shouldn't stop people from following their hearts and dreams. I enjoyed the scenery and the baked goods the sisters made, but I was sometimes frustrated with the sisters' reluctance to make certain relationships a priority. The Bookstore Wedding is #2 in the series, after The Bookstore Sisters. I did not read the first book, so that may have affected my understanding of all the sisters had gone through up until this time. Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the digital ARC.

This novella was the perfect length, full of heart while keeping the story short and sweet. We start with Isabel and Johnny as each attempt to plan their wedding is stalled, seemingly by fate. But neither wants to give up since their families and fellow townspeople are also rooting for their wedding.

I enjoyed the relationship between Isabel's family members, especially with her sister, Sophie, as they all supported each other throughout the story. And, of course, this story has a sweet romance in store for each sister, ending with the perfect wedding! Alice's writing style is lyrical and descriptive, encapsulating the charming Brinkley’s island (with plenty of delicious baked goods throughout the book!)

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Short story by one of my favorite authors. A planned wedding delayed numerous times due to unseen circumstances. What family means in this beautifully told story. Just what I needed to read to escape a hot summer day.

Short stories are hard to connect to, because there’s not a lot of character development. But this one was good for a short story.

It’s a cute story of a couple who keeps trying to get married every year, but something tragic or natural disasters always prevent it from happening. It follows some of these events.

There ends up being 2 weddings and my favorite part was the dog signing the marriage certificate with his paw.

After reading this short story — I found out that this was related to the authors previous book ` The bookstore sisters` — I have always enjoyed this author and have now become intrigued to this book from reading this short story.

The narrative follows the sisters Isabel and Sophie as they navigate the challenges that come their way as they plan for Isabel’s wedding

This is a light , quick read — that at it core is focused on themes of family, love, second chances, and communities coming together.

Thank you to Netgalley and Amazon Original Stories for this ARC. This is my honest review.

2.75⭐️
I am thankful to have gotten the eARC for free from Netgalley and Amazon Original Stories so I can leave my voluntary and honest review.

Well in the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep but was exhausted I saw this as a “read now” on NetGalley. The description looked cute so I downloaded it and promptly fell asleep.

I had not realized it was from Alice Hoffman when I started off. As I was reading I felt like it was really familiar so I jumped onto GoodReads and read that it was book 2 in this short story series and then saw who wrote it and why it was so familiar. When I had gotten back into reading a couple years ago I had asked for the Practical magic series as I heard great things and I loved the movie. Well those books still sit on my book shelf unread as I had to DNF book one.

I wrote this as background because personally I just don’t like her writing style but obviously many many people do! But with that being said ai tried to set that part aside to review this and I still didn’t enjoy it much.

The overarching story is sweet for sure but I feel like I just read an extended outline of a book. I realize that short stories have their challenges due to them being, well, short but I have read some great ones that are rich and descriptive. This one was not.

I gave it 3⭐️ simply because it has some merit and folks who like short stories may indeed like it. But for me it just didn’t meet my expectation of a good book.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

A big thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for giving me this ARC.



This was the first Novella that I have ever read, and it did not disappoint. The flow of the story was good. Even though it was a Novella I didn't feel that anything was rushed. I think the author did a great job at portraying the characters' feelings. This is a good quick read for anyone who wants a good heartfelt romance story. I will definitely be reading the other two books in this series!

I really enjoyed The Bookstore Sisters and will definitely read The Bookstore Keepers.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.