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.

This story broke my heart open. A charming book following a pastry chef finding love again in books, cooking, her family and romantically. This story was sad and heartwarming and truly felt like a hug. I couldn’t hold myself back from reading it straight through.

So apparently this is the fourth story in a series of short stories centering around a family who owns a bookstore/cafe on a small island in Maine, written by the same author as Practical Magic.

Victoria lives in Paris, France, working as a pâtissiere but feeling unfulfilled with life. When her mother’s cancer returns, Victoria goes back home to Maine to spend time with her mom, and she figures out what’s missing from her life.

If you wondered if she’s missing love, then yes, you’d be right. That was literally a secret ingredient in a recipe Victoria had trouble making. So the story is a bit trite, almost tooth-achingly sweet, and predictable, but it had warmth and gentleness, too. The writing was smooth and you don’t need to have read the other stories in this series to understand this one, but I think it probably would be more enjoyable if you had. Not bad, probably not my type of story, but I can imagine suburban women in book clubs enjoying this.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

The fourth story in the series of short stories! This one was just as amazing as the others and has shifted the focus to be more on Violet instead of Sophie and Isabel. I think all of these stories have been quite powerful and I've truly felt the grief and hope expressed in each one. I think this was truly Violet's coming of age story and I've been quite invested in all the stories! Definitely would recommend if you enjoy short stories and / or stories that are slice of life and don't shy away from heavy topics.

The Bookstore Family by Alice Hoffman

Thank you to Netgalley, Amazon Original Stories and Alice Hoffman for providing me a free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really really wanted to love this story, but it was a no from me. I enjoy what this story tried to be - the plot alone is a beautiful walk through extreme change in one's life and how the FMC navigates that change, but the execution significantly took away from the storyline. To me, it felt disjointed, like I couldn't keep up with what was happening, and it was written in a way that didn't pull me in. There were formatting issues that made it feel like a constant block of text making all of the words come together. While I understand this is an ARC I thought the formatting would have been more uniform.

Another sweetly satisfying short story in this series!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Bookstore Family is the fourth short story in a series written by Alice Hoffman. To complete this review I went back and read the proceeding 3 short stories in order to make sure I was able to appreciate this story and I am so glad I did. By reading the proceeding stories I was able to see the characters develop along with the plot lines. The Bookstore Family actually made emotional near its conclusion as I could identify with the characters and the life events that were unfolding. The stories can be read as stand alones but I think you will enjoy the entire story so I recommend reading them all in order"
1. The Bookstore Sisters
2. The Bookstore Wedding
3. The Bookstore Keepers
4. The Bookstore Family

Each story is just under 40 pages so it makes for a quick but powerful read. Alice Hoffman remains a writing powerhouse so put these stories to the top of your TBR!

Thank you Net Galley, Alice Hoffman and Amazon Original Stories for the opportunity to preview this short story. The opinions shared are my own.
This short story is expected to be released May 13, 2025.

Thank you NetGalley, Amazon Original Stories, and Alice Hoffman for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I’ve loved this series and this installment was a great addition. It’s so bittersweet and follows Violet, who I was really hoping to learn more about in the last one because she reminded me of myself. Her story was beautiful and describes so many parts of life perfectly: love, loss, family, and a permanent connection to your hometown. Please pick this one up when it comes out!

Short, sweet but beautifully told, The Bookstore Family follows the story of Violet and her reconnection to her roots and finding love.

Violet grew up on Brinkley's Island, Maine and left to attend a culinary school in Paris eventually landing her dream job as a patisserie in a Parisian restaurant.

But something is missing.

Her aunt Isabel comes to stay and encourages Violet to keep looking.
But just as things finally come together with a chance meeting, Violet is called home to a family emergency where she begins to realise it's there that really holds the key to what she needs.

Thoughts

The Bookstore Family is part of the Once Upon a Time Bookshop series, and whilst the stories are interconnected, it stands well on it's own.

It really is a beautifully told story and can be read in one sitting. It's one of those stories that kept me highlighting sentences and passages because it resonated.

There were some wonderful references to books and the connections we make with them. Especially rereading our childhood stories as adults.

"Every time a book is reread it’s entirely different depending on who the reader has become"

Heartfelt and at times, emotional, exploring life, finding happiness, love, loss and grief - The Bookstore Family was a pleasure to spend time with.

Thank you to Netgalley and Amazon Original Stories for the opportunity to read and review this lovely, thought provoking short story.

never had i ever read a book by the author Alice Hoffman and well i just felt in love with this story. This story is a fast read and definitely will want to know what happened to David, Violet and Remy well all. Will definitely recommend this book, love how this book is about family and love. This book is so reliable.

This one packed such an emotional punch.

Violet and her family, particularly her mother Sophie & her aunt Isabel, were lovely to read about.

This was very much a slice of life read with grief, indecision and love explored quite vividly despite this being a short novella. Some parts hit very close to home & it was quite (slightly painfully) relatable.

A very whimsical, dreamlike quality that Alice Hoffman is fantastic at capturing.

Don’t wait is the big takeaway message from this story!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher & author for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This was a short, beautiful story revolving around family, love and loss. I loved the setting - taking us from Paris to Maine. I did cry.