This guest post comes to us from Lady Jane of Romancing the Data!
I’m Lady Jane of Romancing the Data, a website and Instagram account that combines my love of romance books and spreadsheets. My three main goals for Romancing the Data are to conduct and share awesome data analysis about romance books, create helpful resources for romance readers, and spread joy within the romance community.
I’ve been a dedicated romance reader since 2019, reading 150 books a year on average. My favorite subgenres are historical and contemporary (although I often dabble in others!) and my favorite tropes are forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine and dating/sex lessons.
The Rise of Romance Bookstores
Over the last two years, a new trend in bookselling has emerged—the rise of the romance bookstore. After years of being relegated to one shelf in a dark corner of general bookstores, romance books are now taking centre stage at stores dedicated entirely to the genre.
Last summer, The New York Times reported that: “Over the last two years, the country went from having two dedicated romance bookstores—The Ripped Bodice [in Los Angeles] and Love’s Sweet Arrow, in Chicago—to a national network of more than 20.”
Seeing this trend, I decided to compile a list of romance bookstores. This research called to the data nerd in me, as I happen to run a website and Instagram account dedicated to my love of romance books and spreadsheets.
Research
My research included conducting numerous web searches on Google, Google Maps, and Instagram (to name a few), scouring existing bookstore lists on various websites and blogs, and getting input from romance readers on social media (primarily Instagram and Discord). Instagram proved to be a particularly fruitful source and I could regularly be heard saying, “I just found ANOTHER one!!”.
Based on this experience, I wasn’t surprised to find that the number of romance bookstores is even greater than news stories to date have reported.
The following numbers are up to date as of March 21, 2025.
Number of Romance Bookstores
According to my research, there are at least 91 physical romance bookstores around the world, the majority of which are in the United States:
- United States: 67
- Australia: 14
- Canada: 5
- France: 2
- New Zealand: 2
- United Kingdom: 1
If we also include online and pop-up romance bookstores, the total number of stores grows to 138.
Growth of Romance Bookstores
By the end of 2024, there were 55 physical romance bookstores in the United States—up an astonishing 1275% (13.75x) from 4 physical bookstores in 2022.
We’re currently three months into 2025 and another 12 romance bookstores have already opened, with another five scheduled to open sometime this year.
While the most dramatic growth has been in the United States, the growth in physical romance bookstores worldwide has also been significant. Over the same two-year period from 2022 to 2024, the number of romance bookstores around the world increased 850% (9.5x) from 8 to 76. Another 15 have opened so far in 2025, with another 11 scheduled to open later this year.
Note: I’ve defined romance bookstores as a bookstore that has a significant focus on selling romance books, either stated in their description or demonstrated by the stock they carry. Not all the bookstores sell only romance, some carry one or two other genres. For example, Chills and Thrills Bookshop sells both romance and thrillers. I’ve also included Turn the Page Bookstore (run by Nora Roberts’ husband), which carries the complete collection of Nora’s many romance books.
Romance Bookstore Directory
After compiling the list of romance bookstores, I decided to create a directory and map as a resource for romance readers. The directory can be easily searched, as well as filtered by type of bookstore, country, and region for the United States and Australia (see screenshot below). A few romance readers have told me they plan to use the map to plan a romance bookstore road trip!
View the Romance Bookstore Directory
I hope you find this resource helpful. If you know of any romance bookstores that are missing from the directory or will be opening soon, please let me know in the comments!
Happy reading!
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Thanks to Lady Jane for this post! You can find more at Romancing the Data.com and on Instagram.
Which stores have you been to? Which are you planning to visit?