In the residential neighborhood of Wedgwood sits Lovestruck in Seattle, a bookstore specializing in romance novels. This makes it unique in Seattle, as it’s one of the only brick-and-mortar businesses to focus exclusively on one genre.
Upon entering, your eyes are immediately drawn to the dulcet tones of pink and white, reminiscent of sakura petals, with odes and tales of romance lining bubblegum-pink shelves. Of the many love stories, there is an extensive selection of subgenres to choose from, including the LGBTQIA+ section celebrating nonheteronormative slice-of-life ballads. The store's owner, McKenna Rain, identifies as Queer and wanted to highlight LGBTQIA+ books and authors, and originally thought about shelving them among other sections before deciding on giving them their own section. One of these books is Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings, a Sapphic romantic comedy about an artist who acquires a floriculture farm in search of solitude — only to find the property is already occupied by its previous owners.
Currently, Lovestruck in Seattle is running a preorder campaign for Unrivaled by Rachel Reid, the latest book in the author’s Gay sports romance series “Game Changers,” which has been recently adapted into the popular HBO series Heated Rivalry. (Along with selling the other books in the series, Lovestruck created a section dedicated to other hockey romance novels, such as Elle Kennedy’s The Deal.) Rain describes herself as a fan of the show and said it has helped many bookstores, including hers, find new customers. Rain confirmed that Reid’s series is currently the bestseller this month and was the month before as well.
The store originally began as a pop-up in July 2025, around the time Rain noticed romantic bookstores becoming more popular across the US. She started it with the help of Seattle Restored to test if there could be a market for one in the city. On the first day, there was a queue of over 500 customers, confirming the store’s market viability. Rain then created a Kickstarter to secure the capital needed to rent a permanent space, with a goal of $35,000. The campaign raised $36,129. When visiting the store, you’ll see plastic pastel plaques on the bookshelves naming the sponsors, people who donated $250 or more to the Kickstarter, including romantasy author Dana Evyn, creator of “The Mirrored” trilogy.
Lovestruck in Seattle is a cozy space that showcases the diversity in the romance genre, which is versatile due to is its ability to be adapted to other genres, such as mystery, science fiction, and fantasy, to name a few. If you’re ever in Wedgwood and have time to spare, this place is worth visiting. Even if you’re not particularly invested in romance or much of a reader, there’s no doubt you’ll find the right book with the help of the friendly staff.
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