Merry Little Bookshop by Ali Brady

Standalone Christmas and Hanukkah Novella/Short Novel

“I realize recommending a book is more than sharing a story – it’s a way of seeing someone, noticing who they are, and inviting them to explore something they might never have discovered on their own.”

While Merry Little Bookshop by Ali Brady is billed as a novella, I found it to be a very satisfying 236 pages. It felt more like a short novel, and there was plenty of time to tell a fulfilling story. This is my third Ali Brady book, and also the third one I’ve fallen in love with from this author duo. I loved the representation of both Christmas and Hanukkah, and the wholehearted acceptance of different traditions.

Shira Schwartz is sent by her company to a small Texas town to open a pop-up bookshop in the holiday market. Because she’s the only Jewish person at her company, they figure she’ll be fine being away for the holidays. But Shira knows that in Azalea, most residents have probably never even met a Jewish person and may have preconceived notions. She takes the easy way out and uses her Starbucks name, Sarah, and doesn’t share that she’s Jewish. (I hate this, but I get it).

Jonny is a tech mogul who is back in Azalea to help his injured father set up the annual Christmas market. He’s immediately drawn to “Sarah.” When he accidentally sees her lighting the Hanukkah candles and crying because she feels so alone, he enlists the town to make it a Hanukkah she’ll never forget.

On top of celebrating both holidays with some wonderful traditions, I loved how the bookstore played such a large part in the story, and such a large part in the townspeople’s lives. It’s too bad it’s only there for the holidays.

“Sometimes it’s right when everything seems the most hopeless that something unexpected happens.”

I loved a mixed holiday romance, and I so wish there were more of them. In this case, I especially loved how much the townspeople came together to accept and welcome her while learning about her traditions. It was such a lovely sentiment and would make for an amazing Hallmark movie. I didn’t expect to end Merry Little Bookshop in sentimental tears, but I totally did.

“This man, this town, has taken in a stranger and made her feel like she belongs. And if that’s not a miracle, I don’t know what is.”

Rating: 4.5 Stars, 2 Heat

Some more notable quotes I loved:

“It’s kind of perfect that the first time I saw you was on Thanksgiving, because you give me a new reason to be thankful every single day.”

“At the end of the day, we’re not just the main character of our own story, but we have a role to play in the stories of everyone whose path we cross. If we’re brave, we can discover a whole new side of ourselves. But when we hide or shrink ourselves down to what we think other people want, we rob the world of something beautiful.”

“But when I start to get that ‘ugh, again,’ feeling, I try to remind myself of everything my ancestors went through, what they lived and died for, and I realize it’s an honor and a privilege to be able to celebrate our holidays openly, and I shouldn’t take that freedom for granted.”