Recently I was passing through Louisville, KY so I decided to stop at A Novel Romance, an independent romance bookstore.
Immediately when I walked in I was greeted by the resident cat, Bella, who supplied many head bonks and sniffed my shoes (which smelled like my cat).
Taylor Swift was playing on the speakers.
Tables of romance novels were before me.
This might be where I go when I die, I’m not sure.
Overall, A Novel Romance is a really inviting, comfortable, inclusive space with an excellent selection of books and merch.
Right away when you walk in there’s an area with these cool neon pink chairs where you can take a selfie if desired.
The shop is made up of several rooms dedicated to different types of romance. What struck me immediately was how wonderfully curated the collection was, and also how diverse. There is a ton of queer romance here, and plenty of titles I hadn’t seen before.
I hate how the algorithm gets to you on social media and you wind up seeing the same titles repeated (especially if they have trendy covers) and you miss out on books that don’t float to the top of that list.
It was very clear this store was stocked by people who know and love the genre.
I mean, their tags are on point.
Most of the first two rooms are divided up into varying subgenres of contemporary romance with a small area for YA and historical. There’s even a shelf where books are shelved by spice level.
Past that is another room that’s just manga. My husband immediately went here and was very excited because romance manga isn’t something that really gets stocked at our local bookstores.
Beyond that is another room that’s entirely dark romance. That’s not really my thing so I browsed it, but if you really like that subgenre you’d be thrilled at all the titles shelved here.
There’s also a room for writers called the “Noveling Nook,” which I think is just so cool. It’s got Bella’s cat tree back there, too, so you know he’s offering advice on manuscripts and encouraging head bonks.
They also have a small play area for kids in case you need to keep yours entertained while browsing. Bella does not offer babysitting services.
And of course, in addition to books there is also merch.
They had a ton of stickers and bookmarks. They also had tee shirts, e-reader and tablet cases, pins and more.
So what did I buy?
I got myself Nine Month Contract by Amy Daws and Last Resort by K Bromberg, as well as two cute magnetic bookmarks. Rich scored some manga (not pictured).
I shopped on a random Friday, but looking at their website, they have book clubs, book launches, a craft night and a writers group.
I had so much fun stopping by, but I really wish this was my local bookstore because I would be there all the time.
Have you been to A Novel Romance? Do you have a local romance bookstore?
Ed note: if you’d like to write up a book shopping trip report for your local romance bookstore, please get in touch!