The Bookstore Keepers

The Once Upon a Time Bookshop Stories

By: Alice Hoffman

Narrated by: Jennifer Jill Araya

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.

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

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.

just a short story

another story on a series. the sisters are keepers of this bookstore together and always will be.

The Bookstore Keepers

For a short story it was a beautiful love of life for a family to learn

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I love these little novellas. This is #3.
I hope for more to come or possible a full-length novel?
I'm there for whatever!

Beautiful

I read the first two books of this last year and I loved them! I was planning to read this one before the fourth book came out, but it didn't work that way. Alice Hoffman is an amazing storyteller and I have loved all of The Bookstore Keeper books. They have made me laugh and cry and squeal. They are so powerful for only being 35 pages long.