
The Bookstore Keepers
The Once Upon a Time Bookshop Stories
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Narrated by:
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Jennifer Jill Araya
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By:
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Alice Hoffman
About this listen
From New York Times bestselling author Alice Hoffman comes a deeply moving short story about the love of family and the power of dreams.
The Gibson sisters weren’t expecting to speak to each other ever again after Isabel ran off to New York and left Sophie alone. But here they are, years later, running the family bookstore together on Brinkley’s Island, Maine. Isabel also thought she’d left Johnny Lenox behind, but whether or not she knew it, Johnny was always going to be there for her.
Five years into their happily ever after, Isabel and Johnny are making the most of their second chance at love. Then one night, Johnny awakens from an extraordinary dream…and their world is irrevocably altered. Isabel does her best to give Johnny space as he struggles to accept the new chapter life has opened for them. But Johnny can’t do it alone—no one can. As the whole family is soon to discover, seasons change, but love never does.
©2025 by Alice Hoffman. (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Lovely
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Critic reviews
“Series narrator Jennifer Jill Araya continues her top-notch narration of a heartfelt story of family, love, and independence.… Hoffman's insightful prose sounds like poetry, and Araya delivers full-bodied flesh-and-blood characterizations. Because the family backstory would make character motivations clearer, listeners are encouraged to hear the other two excellent short stories in the series.”—AudioFile Magazine
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Illumination Night
- By: Alice Hoffman
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Illumination Night follows the lives of a young blond giant who is as beautiful as he is frightening; an old woman at the end of her life whose last mission is to save her granddaughter's soul; a family torn apart by a wife's fears and a husband's unrealized desires; and the high school girl who comes to Martha's Vineyard against her will, who steals husbands and cars, and who will bring everyone together in a web of yearning, sin, and ultimate redemption.
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Didn't like the characters but....
- By Tobi on 09-20-15
By: Alice Hoffman
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The Ice Queen: A Novel: Booktrack Edition
- By: Alice Hoffman
- Narrated by: Nancy Travis
- Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Be careful what you wish for. A woman who was touched by tragedy as a child now lives a quiet life, keeping other people at a cool distance. She even believes she wants it that way. Then one day, she utters an idle wish and, while standing in her house, is struck by lightning. But instead of ending her life, this cataclysmic event sparks a strange and powerful new beginning. She goes in search of Lazarus Jones, a fellow survivor who was struck dead, then simply got up and walked away. Perhaps this stranger who has seen death face-to-face can teach her to live without fear.
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Extremely distracting background music
- By Angela on 08-19-19
By: Alice Hoffman
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Turtle Moon
- By: Alice Hoffman
- Narrated by: Sandra Burr
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Turtle Moon transports the listener to Verity, Florida, a place where anything can happen during the month of May, when migrating sea turtles come to town, mistaking the glow of the streetlights for the moon. A young single mother is murdered in her apartment and her baby is gone. Keith, a 12-year-old boy in the same apartment building also disappears. In pursuit of the baby, the boy and the killer, are Keith's divorced mother and a cop who himself was once considered the meanest boy in town.
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An enchanting story
- By A.J. on 05-09-11
By: Alice Hoffman
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Blackbird House
- By: Alice Hoffman
- Narrated by: John Lee, Xe Sands, Amy Rubinate, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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In a rare and gorgeous departure, beloved novelist Alice Hoffman weaves a web of tales, all set in Blackbird House. This small farm on the outer reaches of Cape Cod is a place that is as bewitching and alive as the characters we meet. These interconnected narratives are as intelligent as they are haunting, as luminous as they are unusual. Inside Blackbird House more than a dozen men and women learn how love transforms us and how it is the one lasting element in our lives.
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short stories
- By Kristina on 08-10-17
By: Alice Hoffman
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The Story Sisters
- A Novel
- By: Alice Hoffman
- Narrated by: Nancy Travis
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Each of three sisters—Elv, Claire, and Meg—has a fate she must meet alone: one on a country road, one in the streets of Paris, and one in the corridors of her own imagination. Inhabiting their world are a charismatic man who cannot tell the truth, a neighbor who is not who he appears to be, a clumsy boy in Paris who falls in love and stays there, a detective who finds his heart's desire, and a demon who will not let go. What does a mother do when one of her children goes astray? How does she save one daughter without sacrificing the others?
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The tragic story....
- By Gloripb on 08-06-09
By: Alice Hoffman
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The World That We Knew
- A Novel
- By: Alice Hoffman
- Narrated by: Judith Light
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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At the time when the world changed, Hanni Kohn knows she must send her 12-year-old daughter away to save her from the Nazi regime. Her desperation leads her to Ettie, the daughter of a rabbi whose years spent eavesdropping on her father enables her to create a mystical Jewish creature, a rare and unusual golem, who is sworn to protect Hanni’s daughter, Lea.
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Not Her Best
- By Phyllis on 10-05-19
By: Alice Hoffman
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My Evil Mother
- A Short Story
- By: Margaret Atwood
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Life is hard enough for a teenage girl in 1950s suburbia without having a mother who may—or may not—be a witch. A single mother at that. Sure, she fits in with her starched dresses, string of pearls, and floral aprons. Then there are the hushed and mystical consultations with neighborhood women in distress. The unsavory, mysterious plants in the flower beds. The divined warning to steer clear of a boyfriend whose fate is certainly doomed.
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Great easy read
- By Fundamental I. on 04-02-22
By: Margaret Atwood
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When We Flew Away
- A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary
- By: Alice Hoffman
- Narrated by: Mara Wilson
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl has captivated and inspired people for decades. Published posthumously by her bereaved father, Anne's journal, written while she and her family were in hiding during World War II, has become one of the central texts of the Jewish experience during the Holocaust, as well as a work of literary genius. Bestselling author Alice Hoffman delivers a stunning novel about one of contemporary history's most acclaimed figures, exploring the little-known details of Anne Frank's life before she went into hiding.
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More Timely Than Ever
- By Lisbeth on 11-09-24
By: Alice Hoffman
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When We Were Friends
- A Short Story
- By: Jane Green
- Narrated by: Lucy Rayner
- Length: 1 hr and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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By all accounts, Lucy’s handled her divorce well. She’s finally in the cozy, plant-filled house of her dreams. And although she doesn’t fit in with the other divorcées—all busy looking for their next ex—she’s excited to get down to earth and savor the small joys of life. When Lucy meets Elle, a hip younger woman who shares her same passions, their connection is instant. Taking a chance on kismet, Lucy forges a friendship that fills her days with meaning. She and Elle are inseparable, from sunup to sundown, enjoying the immediate ease and familiarity of each other’s company.
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Felt like it could turn dark at any moment
- By Etoile NEOhio on 03-15-25
By: Jane Green
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Nameless: Season One
- By: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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If our memories make us who we are, who is a man without any? Nameless has only a gun, missions from a shadowy agency, and one dead aim: dispense justice when the law fails. As he moves from town to town, driven by splintered visions of the past and future, he's headed toward the ultimate confrontation in this propulsive series of short thrillers by number one New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz.
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Koontz is finally back!!!
- By Areana S on 11-25-19
By: Dean Koontz
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The Fall Risk
- A Short Story
- By: Abby Jimenez
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Connor Crais
- Length: 1 hr and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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It’s Valentine’s Day weekend, and Charlotte and Seth are not looking for romance. Armed with emotional-support bear spray, Charlotte is in self-imposed isolation and on guard from men. Having a stalker can do that to a person’s nerves. Just across the hall and giving off woodsy vibes is Seth, a recently divorced arborist. As in today recently. Heights, he’s fine with. Trust? Not so much.
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More of a dramedy
- By 🔥 Phx17 🔥 on 03-03-25
By: Abby Jimenez
What listeners say about The Bookstore Keepers
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Annemarie Kallenbach
- 04-05-25
Too drippy
Too short and choppy and soppy. The narrator was right on cue with the same.
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- NinaKalada
- 03-10-25
just a short story
another story on a series. the sisters are keepers of this bookstore together and always will be.
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- Babs
- 03-07-25
The Bookstore Keepers
For a short story it was a beautiful love of life for a family to learn
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- Jessica B
- 02-28-25
I’m hungry for more!
Alice Hoffman is brilliant. How she managed to fit so much into a short story amazes me. I can’t wait for the next installment. Can. Not.
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- Kristina Mateo
- 03-28-25
Still soo cute
I wish these books were longer. They are soo good. Wholesome, cute. So excited that the next one is coming out next month.
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- Amazon Customer
- 03-26-25
Sorrow and Joy
The way this story depicted the grieving process, and the pain and joy of love and loss, was so moving and authentic! Highly recommend.
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- newagemom
- 03-29-25
When you need a good cry
These three books have been some of the most emotional I have read. They are this way, at least for me, because many of the feelings of love and loss are expressed in a deeply woven theme throughout. I have experienced most of these emotions very similarly in my own life. The way the three books shadow life, my own life, has changed me. “I think I might love too much….but maybe it’s just enough.”
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- Leah Price
- 02-20-25
Great little Story
Loving these little short stories! Perfect for a quick listen! Easy to follow and to stay one track
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- Shari Ring Wolf
- 04-16-25
Nice, homey read
Not all coming of age stories feature young adults becoming adults. Like this story, most paint a picture with words about how people grow into the next phase of becoming who they are meant to be. In this story, Johnny and Isabel grow into the role of becoming parents, or...not becoming parents.
The story features extended family, and roots. It also includes the metaphor of wings--roots and wings in life. It explores holding tight with love, and letting go with trust, in love and in the process.
It moved a bit slow for my taste, but that was necessary, and it's a short story anyway. I listened entirely, and the narration is perfect for the story.
Recommended for times when you're in the mood for a slow, easy family tale that won't take all day to read.
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- missmarymack
- 02-25-25
Awful
Trite, boring, and ultimate depressing for no good reason. The dog scene was unnecessary and unrealistic in terms of emotion.
I liked the first installment in this trio of short stories but hated the second. Decided to give the third a try and am regretting it.
Also, the narrator sounds robotic to my ear.
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