Review by Kelly Jarvis: The Bookstore Keepers by Alice Hoffman

New York Times best-selling author Alice Hoffman returns to The Once Upon a Time Bookshop series with a third installment, The Bookstore Keepers, which follows the lives of two formerly estranged sisters, Isabel and Sophie. Readers first meet the pair as they reunite to save their parents’ struggling bookstore in The Bookstore Sisters, and witness their growing romances with new husbands in The Bookstore Wedding. Now, readers get to watch as the sisters navigate important moments in their lives that change the shape of their family.

Alice Hoffman is one of my favorite writers, so it is no surprise that I love this short story. Hoffman’s literary style is on full display as she whisks readers away to the small island where the sisters reside. Their bookstore sells beautiful novels and delectable treats including the famous Marry Me, Marry Me Wedding Cake, but their best selling item is an illustrated letter written by the sisters’ mother just before she passed away. The letter, titled How Much Do I Love You, serves as a reminder that love is the most important thing of all. Hoffman’s prose has a way of stirring emotion, and I found myself smiling and crying as I turned the pages. The story expertly explores family roles as it oscillates between joy and sorrow before concluding that “you cannot love someone too much.”

The Bookstore Keepers is the perfect bite-sized taste of Alice Hoffman’s writing to entice new readers toward her works or tide fans over while they wait for new releases. Although released as stand-alone stories, the three texts work best when read in order. If you are looking for an escape that will leave you longing for more stories and sweet treats to go with them, gift yourself the entire Once Upon a Bookshop series. You can find it here.

Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine and teaches writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University. Her work has been featured in A Moon of One’s Own, Blue Heron Review, Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer, Mermaids Monthly, The Chamber Magazine, The Magic of Us, and Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers. Her debut novella, Selkie Moon, was released in 2025. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/