Romance Bookstore Update: June 2025
There are now 119 physical romance bookstores worldwide; 10 new physical stores opened in June.
June was a very busy month for romance bookstore openings, as well as discovering more existing bookstores to add to the directory. Every time I think I’ve found them all, another one (or two, or three…) pops up!
While last month’s update was free, these detailed updates are now a benefit for paid subscribers (only US$5/month or US$50/year). A lot of work goes into managing the directory and compiling these updates, so your support is greatly appreciated!
I’ll still be sharing the high-level numbers with everyone before the paywall, but you’ll need to subscribe for all the details.
A big thank you to Alisha at Tales & Tomes in Australia for letting me know about a number of online bookstores in Australia and New Zealand that weren’t in the directory yet.
Overview
According to my research, there are now 119 physical romance bookstores in nine countries around the world, 91 (or 76%) of which are in the United States.
If we also include online and pop-up romance bookstores, the total number of stores grows to 216.
Growth of Physical Stores
I discovered 2 more physical romance bookstores that opened in 2024, which changes the previously calculated growth rates. By the end of 2024, there were 84 physical romance bookstores worldwide—up 950% from 8 physical bookstores in 2022. So far there has been a net increase of 35 physical romance bookstores in 2025 (38 have opened, 3 have closed).
When we look specifically at the United States, the growth has been even more dramatic. Over the same two-year period from 2022 to 2024, the number of romance bookstores in the US increased 1450% from 4 to 62. So far there has been a net increase of 29 physical romance bookstores in the US this year (30 opened, 1 closed).
There are now 231 bookstores in the directory—a whopping 45 were added in June and 1 removed.
The following is a breakdown of bookstores by type: Physical, Online, Pop-up, and Coming Soon along with a list of ALL the recently added and updated stores in each category! This includes some new charts as well. 📊
📌 Please note that these categories overlap—a store can categorized as multiple types. For example, a bookstore can be online and have pop-ups, with a physical location coming soon.