Romantasy? ‘Hockey smut’? This downtown Boise bookstore plans to bring the heat
Downtown Boise is about to get a little more passionate.
Hearts on Fire Books, a romance-themed independent bookstore, plans to open in October, owner Samantha Haroian told the Idaho Statesman.
Haroian, a former tax accountant, said the idea came from her own love of reading romance, and from noticing a gap in the local bookstore scene. She said Hearts on Fire Books will shelve love stories that go beyond the bestsellers.
“I’ve always been a big romance reader,” Haroian said by phone. “The Boise area has lots of fun indie bookstores that I love, but their romance sections just aren’t super deep. When I wanted something less mainstream, it was hard to find locally.”
The bookstore, nestled between Ward Hooper Vintage and The Mixing Bowl, replaces Olivin, an olive oil and vinegar taproom, at 218 N. 9th St.
Haroian said she left her corporate job to turn her “fever dream” into a reality.
“I didn’t want to work a traditional 9-to-5 anymore,” she said. “I really like working for myself, and this romance bookstore was kind of just a fun idea my friends and I would bounce around every once in a while.”
Although the shop is still waiting on city permits and final renovations, she has already ordered the inventory. Her goal is to give readers a local option with more variety than what’s available at national chains or online stores.
The romance genre is one of the leading categories in the U.S. print book market. A report in June found that romance sales are up 24% year-over-year. One of the biggest sub-genres fueling that growth is a blend of romance and fantasy called romantasy.
Haroian said the romance genre can get a bad rap.
“I think the romance genre has always kind of been dubbed this frivolous, anti-intellectual sector of the literary world,” she said. “Some people are embarrassed to say that they read romance books because of that. But when you see someone else on social media speaking openly about reading “Pucking Strong” or a hockey smut book, it’s like, ‘Oh my god, other people read this stuff, too.’”
The rising popularity of romance novels — fueled by the “BookTok” community on TikTok — helped cement her decision to open her own romance-themed bookstore, she said.
“The romance genre has always been popular among readers, especially women, but social media really helped it skyrocket,” Haroian said.
Her vision for the shop is a cozy, dark and moody space with Victorian and old-timey influences.
Hearts on Fire Books aims to stock not just trending authors like Sarah J. Maas but also under-the-radar authors and subgenres: from classic bodice-rippers by Beverly Jenkins (”Indigo” is a personal favorite, she said) to dark fantasy like Rachel Gillig’s “One Dark Window” and newer voices in paranormal and LGBTQ+ romance.
Haroian said Monday that she’s now reading “The Fallen & The Kiss of Dusk” by Carissa Broadbent and “See Me” by Nicholas Sparks for a book club.
She hopes her bookstore will attract devoted fans of the genre and convert some skeptics.
“There’ll be a taste for everyone,” Haroian said.
Besides books, shoppers can expect to find candles, journals, bookmarks, stationery and items from local vendors, she said.
Haroian hopes to make the shop a local gathering spot. She plans to host in-store book clubs, author events, pop-ups with local makers and possibly watch parties for film adaptations of romance novels on Netflix.
The store’s hours are initially slated to be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, but Haroian said those hours could change as she finds her readers’ rhythms in the new space.
“I’d love for my shop to be one of those staple community spots where people can come and hang out, have their book club there or just talk books,” Haroian said. “I think there’s always a need for that, to foster a fun community around something that is positive.”
