Romance books, long derided a guilty pleasure, are now being loved out loud as unabashedly as the main characters detailed in their pages.
Denver’s first brick-and-mortar romance bookstore, Spicy Librarian, opened its floral-bedecked doors in the River North Art District last month. Since then, owner Sydney Ivey said she can barely keep books on the shelves as customers drive from hours away to immerse themselves in a real-life celebration of the imaginary worlds they adore.
“Women have always gravitated toward romance, but nobody was talking about it,” Ivey said. “It was this secret thing. Now, we’re all going, ‘Wait, we’re reading the same thing and we love it.’ We’re taking women writers seriously. I had people on grand opening day waiting an hour in line in a polar vortex storm, and I can’t even keep the books on the shelves right now.
“It shows how much it was needed in the community and that it’s not a silly thing that women are reading these books.”
On a recent Friday afternoon, groups of women entered Spicy Librarian in hushed reverence, eyes dancing over dreamy decor that includes a cashier stand constructed out of books, dripping greenery strewn from the ceiling and a selfie-beckoning mirror with “good girls read dirty books” written on the glass in red lipstick.
Soon, their quiet wonder evolved into gasped “oohs” and “aahs” as they rushed to the titles still in stock, dishing on the stories they already devoured and confirming which made the cut to their TBR — to be read — pile.
Romance-specific bookstores are spreading across the country, from the original Ripped Bodice shop in California (now with a second outlet New York) to Lovebound Library in Utah and Kiss & Tale in New Jersey — and beyond.
The long-popular genre is exploding, driving growth in fiction print sales in 2023 and accounting for nearly two-thirds of the overall gains for adult fiction in 2022, according to market research firm Circana, as younger generations of romance readers spread the gospel via TikTok and other social media platforms.
Spicy Librarian is a physical manifestation of the romance revolution, a place where readers can gather to celebrate love. The bookstore, located at 3040 Blake St., is one example of a flourishing romance community in Colorado where authors, readers and entrepreneurs are making public the once-private hobby of giggling and blushing over fictional people’s love stories.
Amid stressful times, Ivey and other local romance enthusiasts agreed the genre provides much-needed joy, but also permission to dream of a life where happily-ever-after feels less like a fairy tale and more like a reality to work toward.
“Women’s reading habits have long been the source of mockery, disparagement and disdain,” said Christine Larson, a University of Colorado journalism professor and author of “Love in the Time of Self-Publishing: How Romance Writers Changed the Rules of Writing and Success.”
“‘Escapism’ is often used to describe the genre by people who want to dismiss it,” she said. “I like to think of it as this very powerful, imaginative place where we have the ability to imagine worlds where power dynamics are very different and we can imagine the relationships we really want. We all want to go somewhere better.”
Finding community
Until December, 28-year-old Ivey was a burned-out kindergarten teacher who found refuge in the pages of “romantasy” — a wildly popular genre combining fantasy and romance themes.
Colorado’s own Rebecca Yarros — author of “Fourth Wing,” “Iron Flame” and the newly published “Onyx Storm” — helped popularize the genre when “Fourth Wing” camped out in the No. 1 spot on the New York Times bestseller list for 18 weeks. “Onyx Storm” sold more than 2.7 million copies in its first week, becoming the fastest-selling adult title since Circana started tracking print sales nearly 20 years ago.
Ivey was enthralled when she visited the Ripped Bodice. As an avid reader and organizer of literary events like Denver’s Silent Book Club, she felt there was a market to bring a romance-centric bookstore to the Mile High City.
If the bare shelves are any indication — restocking is happening, she said, don’t worry — the demand was even bigger than she imagined.
Not only has Ivey been getting requests for sold-out books, but for events and use of the space, too. She’s already hosted author signings, book clubs and mixers for Colorado romance writers and is fielding requests from boudoir photographers to use the picturesque building as a photo backdrop.
“This community already existed,” Ivey said. “I’m just giving it an intentional space.”
Denverite Emily Kahn, 27, is a new recruit to romance novels, having picked up the New York Times bestselling fantasy series “A Court of Thorns and Roses” in September before flying through a ton of the genre’s biggest hits.
With the help of social media, Kahn formed online romantasy book clubs and then took the plunge into hosting in-person events. She hosted a “A Court of Thorns and Roses” dinner party complete with costumes, games and book discussions.
Kahn has had such good turnout that she’s now organizing an in-person romantasy book club and reading retreats.
“I wanted to build community through this common hobby that can be a lonely hobby because you don’t think about reading in community,” Kahn said. “It’s usually something you do by yourself, so sharing that in person is really special. I just want to talk about these books with people.”
Stephanie Webb, a Denverite and owner of the online romance-centric Tongue in Cheek Bookshop, also wants to prioritize the community aspect of romance readers.
Webb, who has a whole room in her house dedicated to shelves upon shelves of book inventory since her site’s July launch, hosts literary-themed events to cater to her romance family.
She hosts a recurring “Polastic Book Fair” — a play on the childhood favorite Scholastic Book Fair with the adult twist of a pre-fair pole dancing class. She sells book boxes, which include romance novels packaged with a bath bomb, candle and a few other goodies sprinkled in. She sponsors book launch events and is working on starting her own book club in March.
Webb is interested in opening a metro Denver brick-and-mortar romance bookstore of her own when the time is right.
“I’ve found my weirdos, and I love that,” she said. “One thing that brings people together is common interests, and I think romance and love stories have such an opportunity to change some of the narratives we have now around joy, hope, connecting with others, and I hope to be able to offer that.”
Empowering reads
Ivey said the romance book industry has come a long way despite persistent misunderstandings of the genre. For example, she said, the majority female-written and -consumed novels increasingly feature LGBTQ couples, people of color and people with disabilities. The world-building can be rich and the plotlines strong.
And while the books have earned themselves the nickname “bodice rippers,” she said not all romance novels even feature sex. From sports romances, mafia, dark academia, historical, fantasy, cowboy, and even “closed door romances” where the explicit scenes are nowhere to be found, there is a romance book for everyone, Ivey said. She also has permanent LGBTQ and POC sections so readers searching for some diversity can easily find a read up their alley.
For those who do relish a risqué read, Ivey fashioned an adults-only room inside Spicy Librarian behind a door disguised as a bookcase, concealing enough sex toys for sale to last through even the longest-running smutty book series.
Romance novels have often been slammed for giving women unrealistic expectations, CU’s Larson said, or distracting women from being “good feminists” and pushing for meaningful change.
“I have interviewed dozens and dozens of writers and readers, and I don’t think that’s valid at all,” she said. “I think romance is a place where you imagine a better world. You imagine what relationships can be like and maybe look for something better than what you have or different and it’s in a fun way — a way that’s sparkly and imaginative and compelling and most of the time, women get to be the heroines.”
While Coloradans are making fewer babies and a growing number of adults in the nation are living without a spouse or partner, Ivey said “book boyfriends” — the male main characters who drive the literary ladies wild — are plentiful.
“It shows how much that we do need men to change that the men that women are most falling in love with are fictional men written by women,” Ivey said.
Colorado-based paranormal romance author Holly Roberds said she loves that romance readers are proudly claiming their sexuality, power and “main character energy.”
Roberds self-publishes her series and was delighted to connect with Ivey, who hosted a signing with Roberds. Folks lined up to get signed copies of Roberds’ books, including her vampire series “Vegas Immortals” and “Lost Girl” series of fairytale retellings. Spicy Librarian agreed to sell copies of Roberds’ books and has sold out of her work multiple times.
“Romance teaches and shows women that they are lovable — no matter who they are, what they look like, or what false beliefs they might hold about being unlovable,” Roberds said.
LeTrail Hall was feeling the love on her first visit to Spicy Librarian earlier this month.
The Denver librarian remembers snagging her first romance novel off a library shelf years ago and plowing through as many as she could. She smiled surrounded by the once-taboo reads that are finally getting their flowers.
“I like that we can see a variety of people experiencing love — villains, curvy girls like me. It’s refreshing,” Hall said.
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