Love is in the air at new Remuera bookstore
• May 28, 2025
A collage of vintage ‘smut’ book covers lines the walls as Enamoured Books founder Ruby Wallace welcomes romance readers into her store. Photo: Sophie Albornett
A global surge in online romance book sales is fuelling local demand, with Auckland now home to its first devoted romance bookstore.
The rise in popularity of romance has led to increasing numbers of bookstores dedicated to the genre - Enamoured Books marked a New Zealand first in early April.
These niche stores have been popping up around the world - in the US alone, at least 15 romance bookstores have opened in the last five years.
Enamoured Books founder Ruby Wallace describes how the idea was born from her desire for a community space, and access to a wider range of romance novels.
Listen Here: Enamoured Books founder Ruby Wallace discusses how the bookstore started
The once taboo genre has had a resurgence across generations, particularly with Gen Z women.
In New Zealand, romance made up 15% of all adult fiction sales in 2023, and Whitcoulls Top 100 list of 2024 featured several romance titles popularised by online communities.
Viral ‘romantasy’ (romance-meets-fantasy) novels, A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maasand Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros took the top two spots.
The romantasy section at Enamoured Books – one of the most popular subgenres of romance. Photo: Sophie Albornett
COVID-19 lockdowns fuelled a rising interest in romance, as people flocked to social media in record numbers and discovered online communities like BookTok.
BookTok is a subcommunity on TikTok where book lovers – particularly romance fans – discuss novels and exchange recommendations.
At the time of writing, the hashtag #BookTok has over 53mil+ videos posted to it on TikTok; the #smut hashtag, a term referring to sexually explicit novels, has 600k+ posts.
Wallace herself is an avid BookToker, but like many, struggled to translate the online community into in-person connection.
“I think the digital space is incredible, and it's great in ways that you can connect with people who maybe you wouldn't normally, but sometimes it's really hard to bring that community in person.”
The rise of physical copies of romance novels has been an important factor in the success of stores like Wallace’s.
Listen here: Romantasy writer Frances Denny explains how social media has affected romance literature
Store attendant Lucy restocks – with what’s still left. Photo: Sophie Albornett
The reading community have backed Enamoured Events which begun late May, with book launches and meet-and-greets on the horizon.
Demand has been so high that Wallace started them earlier than initially planned.
“I was going to put it off for a few months to make sure we can get everything sorted, but we're going to start doing it sooner than planned because people are really eager.”
The appetite for connection has already been clear in-store.
“We've had people on opening day who walked in separately sitting down on the couches, talking about all the books they've got, what's on their list, and making friends.
“I think lots of people are quite excited about the community aspect.”
With romance having large rise in popularity, Denny says the genre’s universal and consistent themes are more relevant than ever.
“It's predictable, particularly in this unpredictable time, which is why I think it's boomed again.
“And it's, at the heart of it, [it’s] about human connection - that's always attractive.
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