“The Bookstore Keepers” is the third short story in Alice Hoffman’s Once Upon a time Bookshop Series. I reviewed “The Bookstore Sisters” last August, https://bit.ly/3IPvnfI. A week later, I reviewed “The Bookstore Wedding”, https://bit.ly/3IMW0Cc. I think “The Bookstore Sisters” is the strongest story of the three. But, “The Bookstore Keepers” captures the life in the marsh in Maine, while putting the focus on Johnny Lenox, who loves deeply.

The following notes are spollers if you’re going to read the earlier short stories. Johnny has finally married the woman he loves, Isabel Gibson. But, he has a dream one night in which an angel comes to him. It tears his heart apart when he realizes the angel is his father.Isabel realizes, “The real way to understand a man was to witness how he reacted to his father’s death…It was clear she was married to a man who knew how to love.”

While the focus is on Johnny, there are changes in store for the Gibson sisters and Isabel’s niece, Violet. This is a short story, though, not a novel. Hoffman manages to see into all their hearts in just a few words. And, she uses her own magical writing to tell of those changes and how each person reacts.

There’s one more story in this group, “The Bookstore Family”. Violet has graduated from college. While her mother, Sophie, expects her to come back to the island and take over the bookstore, Violet has another dream. “The Bookstore Family” was released in May. I just picked it up, and I’ll be checking out Violet’s story. Each one in the series has focused on one of the four characters. It’s going to be Violet’s turn to evoke the magic in Alice Hoffman’s writing.

Alice Hoffman’s website is https://alicehoffman.com/

“The Bookstore Keepers” by Alice Hoffman. Amazon Original Stories. 2025. Available for free for Kindle Unlimited.

FTC Full Disclosure – I downloaded a copy of the story.