What happens when a moss-laden tech hub crosses paths with a candy-striped romance bookstore? It’s the meet-cute no one saw coming. And it’s happening right now, from Tacoma to Snohomish, as brick-and-mortar romance bookshops pop up like pink mushrooms.
In 2025 alone, five romance-specific bookstores have opened in the Puget Sound region, one of which is making its debut this weekend in Pioneer Square.
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Decked out in salt-water-taffy pastels, Beguiled Books (opening Nov. 15-16) was actually at the forefront of the local trend, having launched on Valentine’s Day weekend as a mobile romance-book trailer. But the hunger for HEA (Happily Ever After, in the biz) is proving mighty enough to merit a permanent location.
In case you missed it, the romance genre is smokin’ hot, thanks to increased readership during the pandemic (see: escapism); romance-themed BookTok, Bookstagram and BookTube channels; and the recent rise of “romantasy” novels (with fantastical elements that may include vampires or dragons).
There’s also a new movement to bring romance books out of the closet, as they’ve often been confined to a dark corner of mainstream bookstores. As a result, independent romance bookshops — almost always women-owned — are trending across the country.
Beguiled joins Hardcovers, in Mill Creek, which opened in late March with lushly flowered accents. July brought Eternal Endings to downtown Snohomish, a sensuous mezzanine space with black shelves, deep teal walls and candles abounding. Lovestruck in Seattle landed first on Lake City Way as a powder-pink pop-up in the Seattle Storefronts program, and moved to a permanent Wedgewood space on October 25.
Also in October, Shelf Indulgence debuted as “Tacoma’s first romance bookstore” with warm olive green and dark wood vibes. Helpfully, the shop offers a spice scale “from sweet and cozy to extra hot.” Northwest writer K.L. Parsons earns two peppers for Love Under Snowfall (part of her sultry Stranded in Leavenworth series), while bestselling Colorado author Meghan Quinn hits the high end of hot-and-bothered (four peppers) for Merry Christmas, You Filthy Animal.
These new bookstores promise something for every taste, with subgenres including paranormal romance, funny rom-coms, historical and holiday themes, sci-fi, thriller and love-on-the-run — all of which can be cross-categorized with LGBTQ angles. Local author Jo Segura’s specialty is romantic archeology adventures, including Temple of Swoon and Raiders of the Lost Heart.
Romance novels might not be everyone’s cup of spiced tea, but in my opinion more readers and more bookstores are an undeniable plus. And in these times, who couldn’t do with a dose of HEA? Or at least HFN — in more industry parlance, Happy for Now.
There’s more good news for local bookworms. Lost the Plot, a roving pop-up bookstore focused on fiction by underrepresented writers, has just launched a mobile bookstore in the form of a charmingly remodeled truck (next stop: Old Stove Gardens in Ballard, Nov. 16).
And at the opposite end of the size spectrum, Barnes & Noble is returning to Downtown after closing its Pacific Place store in 2020. The new 14,000-square-foot space at Sixth Avenue and Pike Street is due to open in April 2026.
Literary news continues with some big names coming through the reading circuit this month. David Sedaris returns to Benaroya Hall this weekend (Nov. 16 at 7 p.m.) to crack up audiences with his precise and peculiar insights. The following night (Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m.), Benaroya welcomes music journalist and filmmaker Cameron Crowe — who, speaking of romance writers, penned Singles and Say Anything and set both in Seattle. The former Woodinville resident will talk about his new memoir, The Uncool with moderator Eddie Vedder.
Food writer Padma Lakshmi is bringing tales from her new book Padma’s All American to Seattle Arts and Lectures (Benaroya Hall, Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m.). And just after turkey day, Salman Rushdie joins the SAL series to discuss his new book The Eleventh Hour: A Quintet of Stories (Benaroya Hall, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m.).
But to earn some serious book-nerd cred, you’ll want to catch the National Book Award Watch Party (livestreamed at Third Place Books Ravenna, Nov. 19 at 5 p.m.). Cheer for Seattle journalist Claudia Rowe, whose book Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care is a finalist in the nonfiction category.
There’s a wealth of new books by Seattle authors this fall and I’m happily plowing through them.
I loved Trisha Ready’s small and exquisite novel Nobuko, the first title from new Seattle press FrizzLit Editions (founded by Christopher Frizzelle, former editor at The Stranger).
Ready’s book is structured poetically — 108 chapters, each with no more than 150 words — creating a quiet symphony of small movements rooted in her memories of teaching English in Japan in the 1980s. Funny, nostalgic and surprising (including a Japanese organized-crime subplot), reading the book feels like peeking into all the little drawers of an apothecary cabinet.
Also poetic: recent collections by local poets, including former Washington State Poet Laureate Kathleen Flenniken, whose book Dressing in the Dark showcases her gift for illustrating aching scenes with just a few perfect words, including in “The Cat Is Missing, Day Eight.”
See also Martha Silano’s Terminal Surreal. Published posthumously (Silano died of ALS in May), it’s a tough but rewarding read in which she faces her own mortality with dark humor, environmental wonder and, as in “Is This My Last Ferry Trip?”, adoration for the simple encounters that make up a life.
I’ve got lots more local literature on my nightstand so stay tuned for more book reports next week.
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