I enjoyed this book so much. It combines witches, magic, and historical fiction. There is plenty of intrigue and fantastic world-building. It was a rollercoaster to see Dora's memories return. Helen Phifer has an amazing way with words. Her story ebbed and flowed beautifully.

At the end of the day, this is a book about women, their struggles, and everything in between. It was atmospheric, bewitching, and a joy to read. The entire time I read it, I could picture everything in my head like I was watching a movie. Phifer's writing was so descriptive and vivid.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the eARC! I look forward to reading more of Helen Phifer's work.

3.5 *
I am a sucker for historical fiction, so when I saw this with a bit of magic thrown in, I requested it right away. Was so excited when it was accepted.
The book starts in Salem 1692, where you find out about the English woman being a woman of healing abilities.
Then you go to London in the present day and discover Dora and her aunt. Throughout the book, you find out about how they are connected and lives relived over and over again with a witch hunter coming after the English family.

I found it a nice little read, but with a lot of plot holes within the story. I have been left with a lot of questions about why I couldn't ambrose (Dora's partner) find the book. Also, I find the title of the book deceiving as there isn't really much about the books store in the actual storyline. Don't get me wrong, I would suggest it to people as it is an alright little read.

The cover and the premise is what drew me to The vanishing bookstore by Helen Phifer. Salem, witches and a bookstore that disappears to protect a magical book was a perfect read for me. A dual timeline that connects Dora, Sephy, Lenny, and Lucine English from the Salem witch trials to the present day, hunted by a witch hunter through time, the English women search for the grimoire that Dora hid hoping that this time they will succeed in breaking the curse. I really enjoyed reading this, but was a bit disappointed that the bookstore isn't really featured in the story, however the character of Hades the crow was a delight.

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for this eCopy to review

When I first opened "The Vanishing Bookstore," I was immediately captivated by the blend of historical intrigue and magical realism. The story transported me to Salem, Massachusetts, where the past and present intertwine in a spellbinding narrative.

The novel begins in 1692, during the Salem witch trials. A young woman, accused of witchcraft, hides a journal in a vine-covered bookstore before fleeing. This bookstore mysteriously vanishes, only to reappear centuries later.

In the present day, Dora, who believed her mother had died when she was a child, is shocked to discover that her mother is alive. This revelation leads Dora to uncover her family's dark history and a curse that has haunted them since the 17th century. The key to breaking this curse lies in the elusive bookstore, which Dora must find to save her family. As she delves deeper into her family's past, she realizes that someone has been watching her, waiting for her to uncover the secrets hidden within the bookstore.

The novel's atmospheric setting and rich historical context drew me in from the start. Phifer's vivid descriptions of Salem and the eerie, magical bookstore added depth to the story, making it an immersive read. The dual timelines were seamlessly woven together, enhancing the mystery and suspense.

The Vanishing Bookstore is set across two timelines: the present day and 1692. In 1692, Salem is plagued by accusations of witchcraft, while in the present day, Isadora and Lenny live peacefully in London—until a strange man named George Corwin arrives, mourning his deceased girlfriend. He asks Isadora for help with the funeral. Little does she know, George’s true identity will turn her life upside down in the most twisted way.

I’ve always loved Helen Phifer’s writing; she was one of my favorite authors last year. One of my favorite reads was Her Lost Soul. She’s also the reason I started reading Stephen King’s books—she mentioned how The Shining was one of her favorites, and it quickly became one of mine, too, after I read The Shining Duology.

The Vanishing Bookstore was truly unique. I loved how Phifer seamlessly wove the two timelines together, slowly connecting the dots. The mix of fantasy, witchcraft, romance, mystery, Greek mythology, and a touch of humor was perfect. I especially admired the English sisters, their resilience in protecting their family, and their refusal to resort to violence despite facing endless struggles, suffering, and immortality.

And Hades—oh, I loved him so much. I wasn’t particularly fond of crows before, given their dark reputation and the association with death, but this story made me see them differently. Hades’ role in protecting the English women for centuries was both heartwarming and intriguing.
I also couldn’t help but feel emotional over Ambrose’s love for Dora. Ugh, I wish there were a prequel that explored their bond more deeply. I’d love to see how their genuine connection grew and how they continued falling for each other, even as Dora repeatedly lost her memory after dying and coming back to life.

Overall, this was such a unique, adorable, and captivating read. If you love fantasy, witches, and romance, you’ll definitely enjoy it!

✨WHAT I LIKED:
📌 Dora realizing how much she loves Ambrose.
📌 Hades protecting Dora and the English sisters.
📌 How the people of Salem still remember the English sisters.
📌 Ambrose’s unconditional love for Dora.

✨TROPES:
📌 Star-Crossed Lovers
📌 Found Family
📌 Withcraft and Magic
📌 Unconditional Love
📌 Tragic Immortality
📌 No Spice

🖥️ GOODREADS REVIEW: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7180737784

💻 BLOG REVIEW: https://kimthebookdragon.com/2025/01/06/arc-review-the-vanishing-bookstore/

💻 LINKEDIN REVIEW: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/kinanahmanalao_arc-review-the-vanishingbookstore-activity-7282003085705519105-0S_L?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

Historical fiction

Witches and witch hunter

Goth setting

Curses

Strong female characters

This is my first time reading Helen’s book and I loved the writing style and flow of the story. I am a big fan of historical fiction and it served it so well.

This is a story of the English sisters who are caught up in the vicious cycle of rebirth for centuries and being hunted by the evil witch hunter every time, because of some unfortunate curse. The key to break the curse is the book that is hidden in the vanishing bookstore by Isadora who has lost her memories. The whole story revolves around Isadora’s revival of memories and breaking the curse.

Things I loved :-

The bond between the English sisters

The relationship of Isadora and hades is so adorable – “Dora is home, Dora is home”.

The fact that the English sisters carried their own household without a man dominating in 1692!! It makes me feel so empowering.

There is also a little love angle in this book between Isadora and Ambrose.

(though I didn’t understand the rebirth of Ambrose, it was nothing to do with expect for finding the bookstore, I would have loved to see Ambrose play a greater role)

And I always admire a book where the women do the opposite of what is dictated by the society. There were only two instances the vanishing bookstore came into the picture, it would have been more justified if the bookstore would have been more use than just getting one book out of it.

It was an amazing experience reading this book. It felt like a beautiful adventure. I look ahead to read more of the author's work.

Dora lived with her Aunt Lenny in London and looked after the florist shop, although their sales weren't the best and they were both worried about the future. But when Lenny offered Dora a holiday in the US, as Lenny had business over there, Dora had her best friend take over for her, and she and Lenny headed for Boston. When the two women arrived in Salem, Dora was shocked. She'd thought it was just Lenny and her, but it turned out she had another aunt, as well as her mother, both living in Salem. But that wasn't all the shocks that Dora was to have. As her memories gradually returned, Dora realised she and her aunts and mother had all been together in Salem back in 1692. She was remembering the terror of being hunted, of them being murdered for being witches - which of course they weren't. And of the different lifetimes they'd all endured, each with the same outcome.

Sephy, Lenny, Lucine and Dora were determined this time things would change. It was up to Dora and Ambrose to find the book she'd hidden all those years ago. But could they do it? The little bookstore had vanished and it needed Dora to make it reappear...

The Vanishing Bookstore by Helen Phifer is an intriguing book, and not one I'd been expecting. But I really enjoyed it - I don't mind a bit of magic now and then ;) The four women in the story, were cursed to live their lives over and over, haunted and hunted by an individual who was a nasty piece of work! Recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley & Bookouture for my digital ARC to read and review.

The cover was what initially drew me to this book—it’s absolutely stunning and immediately sparked my curiosity about the story. A hidden bookstore wrapped in vines, a mysterious family legacy, and the atmospheric Salem setting all sounded like the perfect ingredients for a story I’d love. The premise promised a lot: magic, danger, and emotional depth. Unfortunately, the writing style just didn’t work for me, and I found myself struggling to stay engaged.

While I appreciated the intriguing setup and the tension surrounding Dora’s search for the bookstore, the execution felt off. The pacing dragged in places, and I kept waiting for the story to pick up or deliver on its suspenseful promises. Instead, I found myself waiting for it to end—a sign, for me, that I wasn’t fully immersed in the world or invested in the characters.

That said, I think this book might resonate with other readers who enjoy richly atmospheric settings and don’t mind a slower, more descriptive narrative. While it wasn’t a match for my preferences, I still suggest giving it a try if the concept appeals to you. The idea of a magical bookstore in Salem is undeniably enchanting, even if the journey to uncover its secrets didn’t captivate me the way I’d hoped.

3.75 ⭐️

A family of witchy women who’ve spanned centuries and continents come together in an attempt to defeat the darkness that’s been hunting them for generations.

I loved the women of the English family, they gave off Practical Magic vibes, and was delighted by their familiar, Hades. There was a nice balance of action, mystery, romance, and history.

There were moments when the pacing felt a bit awkward and occasionally I found myself confused as to if I was in the present or past. Overall though, this was an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book and allowing me to leave my honest opinion. The premise of this book was so cute and it started off good but halfway through I just stopped caring about any of the characters. So much was happening that didn’t seem to add anything to the story and I ended up skimming through the last 10% of the book because I felt like I was never going to finish it. I think if she had a good editor pare down the unnecessary stuff the story could have been really good.

Main complaints:

The dialogue was off. People don’t have conversations in paragraphs. I think that was the hardest part for me. It went so slow and they never stopped talking and most of it didn’t drive the plot forward at all.

The most important thing Dora needed to do to break the curse she did so quickly with little effort so why did they have to live so many lifetimes for her to do it? What has she been doing all this time if not looking for the book?

The tone after her mom died was so off to me. Her mom that she just found out was alive died days after them meeting and everyone is sad for five minutes. She’s not mad at her mom or her aunts for keeping them separated for 30 years?? Nothing?? Then some random guy coming to get her mom’s dead body hits on her for no reason that adds nothing to the plot. It was so weird.

Part Hocus Pocus, part Practical Magic. Totally cozy. I enjoyed this. Would be a perfect Fall/October witchy read.

This book is a DNF.
The writing
From the very start when I began to read I couldn’t get into the writing at all. I had to force myself to keep reading and my mind kept wondering. Rather than being able to get the vibes of the scene and picture small details like I normally would be able to, I was just confused through this book, staring at words.
The characters
I found the characters themselves to be interesting but the way that they were introduced took me out of the book. Rather than showing the characters doing something that shows their personality or job, the author instead seems to list the characters, what their job is and what they have done. It began to feel like I was reading facts about these characters and studying them rather than getting to know them naturally throughout the story and learning more about their characters.
The storyline
When I first read the blurb, I thought it was such an interesting concept and that it would be something that would definitely interest me, but after reading it for a while, I got really bored and confused. I didn’t enjoy the reactions of the main characters to certain events, and the introduction to the story overall felt a bit clunky.

Thank you to Netgalley for the free review copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I went into this book hoping to find a lot more of some components that I found were sadly missing. I anticipated hearing a lot more about the bookstore itself, which was a very minor plot point in comparison to many of the other things in this book. The ideas in this book were awesome, but they just seemed to miss the mark for me. I couldn't connect well with the story when it kept jumping around, and it felt a bit like a 'by-the-numbers' approach to the action. Everything was written as a sequence as opposed to being more organic and holistic, and it really was a shame.

I did find the concept really interesting - witches with a cursed family line doing their best to evade a perennial evil that pursues them through time. The characterisation was spotty at best and a bit 'Mary-Sue' at worst (for the main character, at least), but I did enjoy some of the characters (mostly Ambrose & his dedication, and Hades the crow). I think this book had so much potential, but sadly it missed the mark for me.

I also wasn't a fan of the sequel baiting at the end, in that it was rather abrupt and a bit of a immediate and unexpected ending, and not in a fun way. All in all, this is a cute YA-esque read, but unfortunately not my cup of tea.

(3.5 stars)
First let me say that I really enjoyed this story! This was my first book by Helen Phifer and I will be looking to read others in the future.

The Vanishing Bookstore takes place mostly in two time periods: 1692, Salem, Massachusetts (yes, the witch hysteria) and current day in both London, England and Salem. Three sisters are considered witches and are arrested and hanged in 1692, along with one of the sisters’ daughter. Somehow - and for this you need to suspend your disbelief and go with the flow - they are cursed to live over and over again and die over and over again at the hands of a witch hunter from 1692.

The three sisters have distinct personalities, which was great. Dora/Isadora is the daughter of one of them and in present-day, is around 30, running a small flower shop in London. She lives with one of her aunts, nicknamed Lenny, who is a doctor. When Lenny receives a frantic message from her sisters in Salem, she convinces Dora to come with her on a “holiday” - since Dora knows nothing about her history.

George Corwin is the witch hunter and makes an excellent villain. And I loved Hades, the crow, who was the sisters' familiar. They referred to him as their "watcher."

I did have a few issues with the book, starting with its title. The bookstore aspect is barely there, and it wasn’t even really a bookstore at all. The magic wasn’t described well, and it took almost to the end of the book to explain how the women were able to be reincarnated over and over again and how George Corwin managed to seem immortal. There was another character, Ambrose, who tried to save Dora in 1692 and somehow he kept getting reincarnated too, but that never really got explained. Also, while the audiobook narrator did a lovely job, I missed having authentic accents for the characters from England and from Massachusetts. No one had any particular accent at all - and accents, for me, truly make audiobooks come alive. In addition, the epilogue didn’t add anything to the book, unless it was supposed to be a hint about a future sequel.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book and to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
I loved reading about the English women, Ambrose and their friends. And even though you kinda know what the outcome will be, I still felt the tension and angst during their journey.

If I have to tell you about the things that I liked less, I can only come up with 2 things:
- for me personally, Dora read a bit young and not like a 33 year old woman.
- the biggest problem they have in every life (in order to defeat Corwin) is solved rather quickly, in comparison to how big an issue it was said to be

Other than that, I really liked to book. It read very quickly and I kept on gravitating back to it.

This book is a split timeline, starting at the height of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692, and also following the characters in modern day London and Salem. Isadora and her family are accused of witchcraft. Her friend (and love interest) Ambrose tries to save her when her mother and aunts are taken, but ultimately they are only able to hide Isadora’s family spellbook in his secret bookstore.

During the witch trials a curse is placed on a witch hunter that includes Isadora’s family. It forces them to repeat their lives over and over, always with tragic outcomes, until they can break the curse. In present day London, Dora owns a flower shop and lives with her aunt. She has no memory of the previous lives she and her family have lived. But when the hunter finds her they rush back to Salem in an attempt to bring back Dora’s memory and try to find the spellbook in the long-lost bookstore, convinced the answer to breaking their curse lies within.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book, and loved the descriptions of the settings. As someone currently living not far from Salem, the author describes October in Salem perfectly. This book gave me Practical Magic vibes (the movie, I haven’t read the book), and I think if you like that movie you would enjoy this book. The relationship with Ambrose seemed a little forced, and I don’t think the title is appropriate given how little attention and relevance the “vanishing bookstore” actually has to the storyline. Overall this was a quick, enjoyable read and the Practical Magic vibe was a good way to close out my 2024 reading.

*I received an ARC of this book and all opinions are my own*

I really wanted to love this book. The precolonial time period is one of my favorites and I love dual time stories. The first part of the book I found a bit boring and kept putting it down and returning to it. It improved in the middle. One of the issues I found was that the although the MC is 32 years old, she acted more like a teenager, not a fully grown adult. There were plot points that did not make sense to me, having to do with the past, the 'bookstore' and the resolution. But .. there is enough good stuff to make it an enjoyable read.

“The Vanishing Bookstore” by Helen Phifer spans multiple lifetimes, centering on a family of witches cursed to be hunted in each one. The key to breaking this curse lies in an ancient book of magic, which the protagonist hid in her first lifetime, in a bookstore that has since vanished. Only the protagonist and her friend know its location. However, as the lifetimes pass, the protagonist’s memories of her past lives become increasingly faint.
The story is told across various lifetimes, weaving the past and present together. However, some elements related to the characters’ past lives were not well executed, which impacted the overall experience.
However, the descriptions of their life in Salem were vivid and well-crafted.
I feel like the book would have been much more cohesive if the female protagonist was a young adult, as her being in her early thirties feels a bit off. The magic element also felt a little underdeveloped for much of the book, and the romance backstory lacked depth.
Overall, the book is good and has great potential. I do think that the book’s title does not capture the essence of the story and if it was a witchy, YA book, it would have been more enjoyable. I’d recommend it to people who want to pick up a light, cozy, and witchy read!

This was such a magical read, it was the perfect witchy read over the Christmas break and I did not want to put it down,

The Vanishing Bookstore - Helen Phifer

4 stars

What. A. Beautiful. Story.

This story begins in 1692, with a young woman (Isadora) accused of being a witch. She hides a journal in a secret bookstore that vanishes and is never seen again. Fast forward to present day and this journal is the only item that can stop herself and the women in her family being witch hunted through time.

My initial thoughts when reading this story were: holy shit. ‘I am woman, hear me roar.’ This entire book is a metaphor for being a woman. This story is pure, unfiltered womanhood through the lens of historical fiction. This book really explores female camaraderie, the evolution, the fear of how things used to be and just how powerful a woman truly is.

Helen did an amazing job in painting such a vivid, magical setting. It was an extremely engaging and easy story to read (which is what I whole heartedly appreciate from a fantasy book!) I always find dual timelines can be difficult to write, but Helen absolutely nailed this one! The dual timeline helped keep this as such fast paced read.

“You are women who live without the guidance of any man…” I saw this quote and all I could think was ‘of course they are powerful because they don’t have a man. Of course they are witches. Of course people fear them.’ It broke my heart knowing that the Salem Witch Trials were an actual historical event and just for being an outspoken woman, you were hunted and killed. If you wore lipstick - you were a ‘witch’ and killed. If you were smart - you were a ‘witch’ and killed.

This was such a unique, cozy story that really showed us that the more powerful you are, the more you’re hunted. Truly kill or be killed. I cannot wait to explore more of Helen’s writing!!

Thankyou to NetGalley for a copy of this arc!