The Bookstore Sisters Audiobook By Alice Hoffman cover art

The Bookstore Sisters

The Once Upon a Time Bookshop Stories

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The Bookstore Sisters

By: Alice Hoffman
Narrated by: Jennifer Jill Araya
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An Amazon Charts bestseller

From New York Times bestselling author Alice Hoffman comes a heartfelt short story about family, independence, and finding your place in the world.

Isabel Gibson has all but perfected the art of forgetting. She’s a New Yorker now, with nothing left to tie her to Brinkley’s Island, Maine. Her parents are gone, the family bookstore is all but bankrupt, and her sister, Sophie, will probably never speak to her again.

But when a mysterious letter arrives in her mailbox, Isabel feels herself drawn to the past. After years of fighting for her independence, she dreads the thought of going back to the island. What she finds there may forever alter her path—and change everything she thought she knew about her family, her home, and herself.

©2022 Property Of, Inc. (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Anthologies & Short Stories Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Short Stories Women's Fiction Heartfelt Feel-Good

Critic reviews

“Jennifer Jill Araya brings the two sisters in Hoffman's short story to life. She projects the hurtful emotional baggage they've been carrying throughout 12 years of estrangement.”—AudioFile Magazine
Heartwarming Story • Beautiful Writing • Excellent Narration • Emotional Depth • Cozy Atmosphere • Magical Elements
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It could be an outline for a book. It was way too short and not enough detail. A little unbelievable that so many years of hostility could be mended so quickly.

Outline of a story - too short

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Wished it was longer. I want to know what happened to the sisters? To the niece and Hank.

Book store sisters

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Very much enjoyed this beautiful story about sisterhood and love of all kinds. Mothers to daughters, sister to sister, lover to lover, father to son, and community at large. It is also a love letter to books. Enjoyed it thoroughly, and wish I could have spent more time in the world. Uplifting and magical.

Heartwarming and Lovely

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Nice writing, but really there is no story or character development. Well, it is a short story. Narrator is excellent.

Lovely prose

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If I red this book I may have been disappointed with the lack how fast the resolution came - and not enough information to how we got there. But a feel good story

Good for a listen

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This story had great potential but too short in lenght to allow any connection to the characters. The characters made some major decisions without explanation simply because there wasn't enough time to explain, Too bad, I would have enjoyed a full-length about them. I believe the ending was supposed to give us closure for the main character but I missed how the mother's words could have done that.

GREAT POTENTIAL!

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I love Alice Hoffman but this short story seemed more like the first couple of chapters to a book, and a rough draft at that, with an "ending" thrown in for measure. It would have been more satisfying if she had made it into a full length novel and had given time to devope the characters and the story. Too many fillers/unfinished ideas, too quick of an ending and an unbelievable reconciliation. That coupled with the fact that Alice Hoffman can't seem to write children without making the characters brats- which is really annoying and I have come to question why. But I am a fan and I know she can and will do better, so I only took of a couple of stars. Maybe she'll deliver better next time.

I love Alice Hoffman but...

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I love how Hoffman’s characters are often emotionally stunted, but find growth and redemption in reaching out to their past.

Lovely short story

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The story starts a little slow, but picks up a lot in the last third. I enjoyed it and it had a very sweet ending.

Very cute!

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Filled with tenderness, healing, and acceptance.
A pleasure to read early in the morning to start one’s day with a hateful heart.

Delightful

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