The story behind Spicy Stories
Spicy Stories started with a dream — to create a place where romance lovers can feel completely at home. I’m 23, and growing up with dyslexia meant that reading didn’t always come easily to me. I was often made to feel that reading would always be something I struggled with, and for a long time, it wasn’t something I naturally reached for as a hobby. Then I discovered romance.
From romance to dark romance and all the different subgenres in between, I finally found stories that made me want to read. I found myself picking up book after book, pushing through the parts I found difficult, and slowly discovering that reading could actually become something I genuinely loved.
It became more than just a hobby. It became my escape, my comfort and something I looked forward to. And eventually, that love of reading turned into another dream — creating somewhere that other romance lovers could experience that same feeling.
The dream
My dream is to one day open a romance-only bookshop café. I imagine a warm, cosy space where you can walk through the doors and immediately feel like you’ve found your people. A place where romance books aren’t hidden away on one small shelf, but where every corner celebrates the genre and all of its wonderfully different subgenres.
There would be cosy places to sit with a good book and a coffee, shelves clearly organised by genre, beautiful bookish gifts and merchandise, gift wrapping, ready-made bundles and eventually the ability to create your own.
Most importantly, I want it to feel welcoming. You shouldn’t have to wander around a huge bookshop trying to find the type of romance you love. You should be able to walk in, see the signs, find your favourite genre, discover something new and simply enjoy being surrounded by people who love books just as much as you do.
Why start online?
That dream is a big one and I’m starting small. Spicy Stories is currently an online-based business, because I wanted to create the foundations of the dream before taking the next step. By building the shop, growing a community and bringing our books, gifts and merchandise to romance lovers online, I’m hoping to eventually take Spicy Stories into pop-ups and events and, one day, into a physical space of its own.
The image on this page is a little glimpse into that future. It isn’t our shop yet, but it’s the kind of warm, atmospheric romance bookshop café I dream of creating one day. Every order, every new customer, every recommendation and every person who chooses to follow Spicy Stories helps me take another little step towards that goal.
Spicy Stories isn’t just the online shop. It’s the first chapter of a much bigger story.