Evermore Books, a "romance boutique," held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening this week at 857b Bank St. in Ottawa, Ont., Canada. The Ottawa Citizen reported that owner and lifelong reader Amanda Holmes first read A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas two years ago, after which her interest in the genre would "snowball" into the new romance-exclusive bookstore.
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| Amanda Holmes | |
The booktique idea began last year when she took a stress leave from her work as an academic librarian, a job she'd had since 2014. "I jokingly told my husband that I was going to quit my job and open a romance-only bookstore," she said, adding that even after returning to work she was still thinking about the business idea.
She began seriously pursuing the idea after resigning from the "corporate world" in December. Holmes told the Citizen that her vision for the store was to have a space that was whimsical, open and airy, as well as bright and welcoming. "I wanted folks, when they walk by, to be curious and to indulge in that curiosity."
She also wanted to address the stigma that tends to devalue and undervalue women writing about sex in the romance genre: "I think (it) gets dismissed, and this store is very much reclaiming that. Women authors are valued; even if they write sex scenes, it's still valued and valuable."
Holmes added: "It's become more than a healing journey. This is a space for community now. And I'm so excited to open the doors for romance readers in Ottawa to reclaim the space as their own."