Perhaps it is the success of the romantasy genre but two new romance indie bookstores are opening in the US this month. The first is the New Romantics, opening in Orlando, Florida, and the second is Blush Bookstore in Dallas, Texas.
Jane Rodriguez, owner of the New Romantics, says: “The New Romantics is a Romance-Only Bookstore featuring books from a diverse range of authors covering a wide range of romance genres. You’ll find every single type of romance genre here.
“We are here to create a safe, diverse space for all romance readers and uplift the romantic stories we read. We value community, inclusion, connection, empathy, love, passion, respect, and gratitude.
“We are the dreamers, the romance readers, and the positive forces in our communities, and we hope to instil that energy here. If this resonates with you, we invite you to stick around and follow us on this beautiful journey of creating the things we want and need in this world.”
She told Shelf Awareness that the opening inventory will likely consist of some 2,000-2,500 romance titles across sub-genres like contemporary, romantasy, historical, YA, LGBTQ+/Queer, sports, dark, and paranormal.
Blush Bookstore in Dallas is actually a second outlet. It opened its first branch in Wichita, Kansas in 2023. Owner Jaclyn Wooden decided to open a location in Dallas after hosting an event there in 2023 and seeing the potential for a romance store in that market.
