Love in the Bookshop: A Mystery Writer’s Ode to Bookstore Romances

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Let’s face it, all readers have the same dream—to own a bookstore! Ah, the images it conjures. Spending our days with books, reveling in the aromas of paper and ink, tingling with anticipation when we think of the fictional worlds waiting for us inside the covers of books.

It’s no surprise that books about books are so popular or that as both book lover and writer, I wanted to explore the possibilities of bookstore fiction. Since I like nothing better than a twisty-turny mystery, I began with that idea in mind. But my roots are in romance. In fact, I started my career writing historicals.

That’s how Love Under the Covers was born, the romance bookshop in my Love Is Murder mystery series. Naturally, writing about a bookstore made me think of all the wonderful romances set in bookstores.

Check them out. Fall into a book and fall in love!

The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs

Natalie Harper inherits her mother’s financially strapped bookshop and also becomes the caretaker of her ailing grandfather. When Grandpa’s health declines, Natalie decides to sell the shop and the aging building that houses it. There’s only one problem: Grandpa owns the building and he refuses to sell. Enter Peach Gallagher, a contractor hired to handle repairs. So begins Natalie’s journey of making new connections and discovering the truth about her family, her future, and her own heart.

Bookshop by the Sea by Denise Hunter

The responsibilities of raising her siblings have meant that Sophie has had to put aside her dream of owning a bookstore in Piper’s Cove. Now, her sibs are all grown up, and Sophie’s going to make her bookshop dream come true. A wedding reunites Sophie with Aiden Maddox the high school sweetheart who walked out on her without a backward glance. Can she trust Aiden to stick around and help her get the shop up and running? And while she’s at it, can she trust him with her heart?

The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser

Thea Mottram’s husband walks out on her just when her uncle passes and she inherits his antique book collection. She travels to Scotland to check sell the books and comes to love the town of Baldochrie and its quirky residents. The only person she can’t win over Edward Maltravers, the bookstore owner she’d like to sell her uncle’s collection to. Somehow bickering with Edward proves oddly refreshing and exciting.

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

From his floating bookstore on a barge in the Seine, Monsieur Perdu prescribes novels for the hardships of life. Using his intuitive feel for the exact book a reader needs, Perdu mends broken hearts and souls. The only person he can’t seem to heal through literature is himself; he’s still haunted by heartbreak after his great love disappeared. After he reads the letter she left him,
Perdu hauls anchor and departs on a mission to the south of France, hoping to make peace with his loss and discover the end of the story. Joined by a bestselling but blocked author and a lovelorn Italian chef, Perdu dispenses wisdom and books, showing that the literary world can take the human soul on a journey to heal itself.

How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry

With a title like that, no lover of romance can resist! Emilia Nightingale takes over Nightingale Books on the death of her father and though she’s tempted to sell, she can’t break her promise to her father to keep the store open. Her customers have become friends, and Nightingale Books serves up romance, long-held secrets, and unexpected hopes for the future–and not just in the books it sells.

 Much Ado About You by Samantha Young

Evangeline Starling’s life in Chicago is missing that special something. And when she’s passed over for promotion at work, she know she needs to make a change. She plans a holiday in a quaint English village and the vacation package comes with a temporary position at Much Ado About Books, the bookstore located beneath her rental apartment. Evie swept up in running the store and drawn into the lives, loves and drama of the friendly villagers, including sexy farmer, Roane Robson. Evie knows better that to be tempted. A holiday romance can only end in heartbreak, right?

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