The Bookstore Wedding (The Once Upon a Time Bookshop Stories)

Like the first book in this series, this story is about Isabel’s personal growth. Since this is a character driven story, readers who focus on plot will be disappointed. If you haven’t read the first book you won’t realize that Isabel’s character development began in book one and continues on in this second book of the series, so I highly suggest you begin by reading the first installment called The Bookstore Sisters. (It’s a short story like this one and doesn’t take long to read.) Both stories follow Isabel’s ongoing struggle with commitment phobia and track her gradual emergence out of the place where she was emotionally stuck and into a place where her outlook is more mature and she is able to fully connect. It’s a quite lovely romance, and I wonder where the last installment will lead. A well written short story is a pleasure to read.

Alice Hoffman is my favorite contemporary author, therefore I am loathe to offer up some criticism along with my appreciation.As always, her works are ethereal, inspiring, and heartfelt without the cringe. However, her prose has become a bit choppy and simplistic. She has lost some of her lyrical voice.Her characters are as strong as ever, but some seem to lack a backstory. Also, her proofreaders need to catch annoying plot errors. For example, two people are said to be keeping Hank so the couples can enjoy their wedding night.Hoffman’s unique and almost metaphysical description of nature and its profound role in her characters’ lives is “perfection.”

With such a seemingly heady title of this review, this book(or story), the second in the Bookstore Sister series, is not at all heady or complex. It is an easy read that expands upon the lives and relationships of the characters in the first “book”. It has a lighthearted, playful quality to it while, at the same time including challenging circumstances.The storyline is woven from numerous characters learning the meaning of love: self love; family love; romantic love…all of which is addressed and woven together without complexity or intensity. One quote from the book that I particularly liked that relates to this is:”People make mistakes, and sometimes they weren’t aware of how bad their choices were until they lived through them and came out on the other side.”…a simple, but true reflection on the realities of people’s lives.If you want to read a light hearted but engaging book that is essentially a short story and/or if you want to read more about the development of the lives of the characters in the first installment of this series,I recommend reading this.

I enjoyed reading this as much as I have in reading any of Hoffman’s books. Her characters are always described in vivid detail. She does tend to have tragedies happen, however this story did not. Maybe that’s why it was even better than I thought it might be. Her descriptions of places and seasons are always captivating, making everything easy to picture. Her writing style is fluid and easy to read. She makes magical things believable. I highly recommend every one of her books. I haven’t found one yet that I didn’t like.

Sweet story about love, patience and forgiveness. Alice Hoffman delivers a story about a young girl who decides to leave her island home for New York City. After her mother‘s death, Isabel does not want to fall in love as those you love leave. Her childhood friend Johnny waivers and his love for her and waits for her return. After her father‘s death, Isabel and her sister Sophie inherit the bookstore. Once she returns to the island, Isabel and Frank decide to marry. But after three disastrous attempts, they still not tied the nut. Will the fourth time be a charm?It’s difficult to leave a review for a short story without divulging most of the plot so I’m gonna leave it at that. Ellis Hoffman is a good writer. Her style is engaging and keeps the reader savoring her words. This is a good book. I really enjoyed.it’s short and sweet.