Rating edit: 3.5 stars.

The story captures the themes of love, loss, grief, and familial bond. It's a short story, so a quick read, something that can be finished in one sitting. However, sometimes I felt it wandering; it didn't bother me because the writing is beautiful that creates vivid imagery. I really liked it!

This book was a really beautiful short story covering grief, change, and new beginnings. I love how Alice Hoffman can make even the most normal/human experiences feel touched by magic. She can always make me cry. I didn’t realize this was third in a series but even having not read the others I still really enjoyed it.

Its a sweet novel / story of Gibson sisters and how they navigate life. The one sister Isabel had taken off after high school and left Sophie on the small part of Maine. Flash forward to present day and Isabel is navigating her relationship with Johnny and her sister is facing the challenges of her strong willed daughter. Its a cute story. Way shorter then I thought.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book! I am providing an honest review.

This book had me emotionally all over the place. Unlike the first two of the series, I felt there was a bit too much packed into this short story. Though, it was absolutely beautifully written as Alice Hoffman’s books always are. The details and descriptions make you feel as though you are right there. Helping you picture exactly what she’s writing about. The structure of this book is also a bit different than the first two books, but that wasn’t here nor there for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

As always, so beautifully written. This story is about Isabel and Johnny, their love, and how it survives time and grief and happiness. Thrown in there is a bit about Isabel's niece and her plans for life, similar to how Isabel started out. Great story! What impressed me most is that this was written in just a few pages but had me feeling complete when I was done. There are times I read a short story or novella and I feel like I have missed so much background or info. This was not the case, which again speaks to the author and her writing.

Another wonderful installment in this series delving into the lives of two sisters and their life interactions. This is not a long read and enjoyable for the reader.

This was a nice read back down memorylane. Its been a few years since I read Alice Hoffman and her books about the witches, but this really made me want to read them all over again. It was such a nice little moment in life, and Alice writes with gusto. I truly enjoyed this short story, and it didn't need to be any longer. Even short, it made me feel it was longer and it had me hooked. I highly recommend this to all Alice Hoffman readers. Thank to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc, and letting me give my honest opinions.

A sweet short story about a family living on an island with their own bookshop. The bookshop was a delight - I want to go to there!
However, I discovered that this was book 3 in a series, and I haven't read the first two. This explains why I felt like I was stepping into the middle of a story. The characters had lives and relationships and personal stories that I wasn't privy to. I felt like I was just starting to get to know them at the end of this story, but I may have got more out of it if I knew them from the beginning. In particular, I want to know what the backstory with the mother's book is.
I do recommend this story, it was very nicely written. But be sure to read the Bookstore sisters first. Given that each story is only 30ish pages, I wish they had been published as a single book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the eARC.

"(Happiness) It lasts such a short time, but you remember it."

This is my favorite of this series of short stories so far! Johnny wakes up one morning from a dream that will change the course of his and Isabel's lives.

While I love a story about books and bookstores, the deeper themes in this book on grief, longing, and adventure hit even closer to home. Though not particularly earth-shattering, and the ending was a possibly a little too good and sweet to be true, Hoffman writes in a poetic prose that paints a beautifully vibrant picture.

Lovely story, and I can't wait for the next one!

This was both heartbreaking and heartwarming!
I usually struggle to connect with characters in short stories but since this is the third installment for the Gibson sisters I felt like coming back to old friends. This story starts with Johnny's dream (mentioned in the blurb) and takes the couple down a heartbreaking path. The way they come back to each other put the pieces back together. This is beautifully written and features the same characters we have come to love in this series.

An endearing short story focusing on the themes of family and loss. Although it was short it included great character building so you really felt for all of the characters.

I was given a copy of the Bookstore Keepers, written by Alice Hoffman from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I had heard of Alice Hoffman from somewhere and saw this tale was available, so I wanted to read it. It's seemingly the conclusion to a duo of books about two sisters, Isabelle and Sophie, who run from what sounds like the most twee bookshop in North America. This short story (and it is brief, it's about 20 pages) is sweet-sickly. Hoffman writes with personality, and her sensory descriptions of the earthy landscape around the characters are quite charming; however, the writing of the characters - perhaps I needed to have read the other books to see their charm - does not feel especially natural. These characters are both lightly portrayed and given these dense characters arcs of longing and desire, which was impossible to convey with such a limited page count. To explain further, we also have Johnny, Isabelle's partner and Violet, Sophie's daughter, who (not exactly a spoiler) wants to go to Paris. At the same time, her mother expects her to run the bookshop, which feels a bit too Hollywood picture for me. Johnny, in particular, did not feel natural or evolved in this, leading me to think that he was a foil for the emotional receptivity of his girlfriend/wife (I can't even remember their relationship status).

I'd read a fully fledged Hoffman novel at some point, but I am confident I wasn't the target audience for this short story.

A lovely continuation of the bookshop sister’s tales one of grief and new beginnings. It gives us a quick peek in to their lives and more like an update from the previous stories. If it was more developed and all put together to create a story like other of the authors works it would be a nice story ! It is full of advice and wisdom for those going through grief and new beginnings.

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

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.

This is a nice cozy short story about family legacy, love, and finding yourself.

I absolutely adore this series. Alice Hoffman writes deep, complex human emotion so well that I can feel a piece of myself with each of these characters.

Isabel’s trepidation and concern
Johnny’s grief and hope
Isabel’s journey to find her own path in life

I additionally love this series (and many like it) because you can pick it up without having read the ones before it and not feel lost. Once you pick it up, you won’t want to put it down until you finish.

I really enjoyed this entire short story series about the Gibson sisters and their little bookshop on the outskirts of Maine. We saw them grow apart, come back together, and build a successful book store that I must go to asap. In between we saw marriages and children. She did a great job finishing up their story and would love to see it as a full length novel.

I've always liked Alice Hoffman but this book is most timely for me. I'm in the middle of a sad rift with my own sister and I devoured this story and it's lessons and plan to use it to go forward in my relationship. Thank you Alice Hoffman

Alice Hoffman’s The Bookstore Keepers is a gem of a short story that delivers a magical, heartwarming experience in a compact package. As a fan of her evocative storytelling, I found this to be a quick but deeply satisfying read that perfectly showcases her signature blend of whimsy and emotion.

If there’s one downside, it’s that this story feels like a tantalizing glimpse of something greater. I couldn’t help but wish for a full-length novel that would expand on its characters and themes. Hoffman has created a world so vivid and compelling that I was left yearning for more.

Will definitely be checking out the other two short stories in this series. A beautifully crafted short story!

Anything I see by Alice Hoffman I immediately scoop up, and this was no exception.

Her writing is gorgeous, evocative of a different time and place, and truly brings you into the life of her characters.

My only complaint? It wasn't long enough for me. I would have read a full length novel about these characters and their lives.

But that's a small price to pay for such a lovely piece of work.

Oh this book was absolutely darling and just touched my heart in so many ways. I adored it from the beginning to end. The setting, the characters, and all of the things!