Romance Road Trip: A Novel Romance in Louisville, KY
By Sara Shahein
Edited by Shea Campion
Saddle up readers! We’ve made it to A Novel Romance to chat with the owner, Jonlyn. We discussed all the elements of a novel (romance), from the challenges of owning a bookstore to the community and staff that make it all worth it.
Jonlyn, Owner
The Meet Cute
Sara: Hey there! I wanted to start by thanking you for taking the time to chat about A Novel Romance with me!
Jonlyn: Hi! Of course!
Sara: This first set of questions is a bit of an introduction to A Novel Romance. Tell me a bit about the bookstore: How long has it been open, and how long have you been at this location?
Jonlyn: We opened in July of 2023, and when we first opened, we were a tiny little 200-square-foot space. It was a little blue shed, super cute. We had a much bigger response than I anticipated and very quickly grew. We moved to a 2500-square-foot space in June of 2024, and it’s been about two and a half years now.
Sara: And you all are the first romance-only bookstore in Kentucky, right?
Jonlyn: Yes, that's correct.
Sara: Amazing. I love that for you guys.
Jonlyn: Thank you.
Sara: So, why Romance? What made you want to open a romance specific store?
Jonlyn: So it's kind of a long story. I'll try to make it short. Back in March of 2023, I had a pretty big life-changing event happen, and it made me realize that life is too short not to just follow your dreams. I'd always wanted to own a bookstore; it just seemed right. I had worked at Barnes & Noble for a few years, but I wanted to go more of the independent bookstore route. I decided I was just going to go ahead and do it, just bite the bullet and figure it out. I took a trip to Asheville, North Carolina, to work on my business plan, and while I was on my way there, I listened to Casey McQuiston's One Last Stop. Twenty minutes after I got into my hotel, I was a sobbing mess, but in the best way because I had just finished the book and it was so good and so sad, but hopeful. Which, at the moment, was exactly what I needed, knowing that you could be sad, but then have a happy ending. I thought, “I can’t just have a bookstore, it needs to be a romance bookstore because I want that feeling for everyone that walks through the door. So thank you, Casey McQuiston.
Sara: I really love that. It would be such a full circle moment to have Casey McQuiston come to the store.
Jonlyn: We have tried to get them to the store, but they’ve had a very busy writing and event schedule, so we were still trying. One day, we will realize this dream. It’s funny because their book Red, White, and Royal Blue is what got me into romance in the first place.
Sara: I think that’s the case for a lot of people. I know it was one of the first books I picked up when I got back into reading romance.
Jonlyn: Oh, I love that.
Sara: Right, we’re all connected through books in this community. I must ask, why name the store A Novel Romance?
Jonlyn: I actually had a different name when I first started working on my business plan. I'm trying to remember what it even was. It was like, Meant To Be Books, or something. As soon as I started doing my research and realized that romance bookstores were a thing, I looked into names. I thought a trope-type name would be fun or tie into the whole romance feel. But Meant To Be Books didn’t feel like it fit me, every time I wrote it I felt like it was someone else's name. I started writing down a list of words that had anything to do with romance and mixing them together. I narrowed it down to five, and A Novel Romance really felt like it fit.
Sara: I love it, it’s such a fun play on words, you’re reading a novel and having this novel experience!
Jonlyn: Thank you.
Sara: You're welcome.
How is A Novel Romance organized and how do you choose what to buy for the shop?
Jonlyn: Right now, the space that we're in is built like a house, so it's a lot of different rooms. When we first got in there, we decided we wanted to make rooms by subgenre. In the front of the store, we have sports romance, then we've got contemporary romance paired with manga and graphic novels. Then it goes into historical romance, and we've got a young adult room, and fantasy and dark romance together. Every room is painted differently, so it’s a different feel based on the subgenre.
Sara: That is so cool!
Jonlyn: We really love it. We have a couple of murals to accent the different rooms. As far as how we decide what books to bring in, everybody on staff is a reader. We all love romance, and we have a spreadsheet where people can put in their suggestions for things that they think we should bring in. We have a really excellent book buyer who makes sure to respect those suggestions, and we try to bring in a lot of indie authors as well. Then also just keeping a finger on the pulse of what people are looking for. So it’s a mix of things that we love and also what everyone else loves.
The Climax
Sara: That’s awesome, I love to see the collaboration. What is your favorite part of owning and running A Novel Romance?
Jonlyn: It's just being able to see the community that's been created. Obviously, it gets hard. There are days when you think, “I wish I could just turn it off for 24 hours,” but then you go to book club or you go to an event and you see all of the people that have chosen to be a part of your community. It's so rewarding and so fulfilling. I leave, specifically my queer romance book club, feeling like I have just sat in a recharging station. That's probably my favorite part, just being able to see this space that I have provided turn into this community that people choose to engage in.
Sara: That's one of my favorite parts too, just being a part of that community, getting together and meeting new readers to dissect the books that we're reading together, and learning how my perspective is different from someone else's. I think that's a really enjoyable part of being a reader.
Jonlyn: Exactly.
Mural done by Livin'Art
Sara: If I were to come visit A Novel Romance, what is one thing I must see while I'm there?
Jonlyn: We've got several murals. A bourbon barrel wall that's made out of bourbon barrel staves against a watercolor backdrop. We have a sports romance mural. There’s a notepad paper mural that customers come in and write their favorite quotes on. We have a pride wall that's around our contemporary queer section which is really cool. That's one of my favorite things. Livin'Art online did all of our murals and she did an immaculate job.
Sara: I will have to take a trip to Kentucky. I love murals, they add so much to a space and community. Shifting gears slightly, in a world that occasionally undermines the romance genre or has a lot to say about it, how do you combat this and show up for your community of romance readers?
Jonlyn: First of all, just having the space and showing up. I've noticed in our specific community, this has made a difference. In Jefferson Town, people are so impressed by how many folks show up for romance. I think that in and of itself is changing the perception of what romance is and what it means. Kind of a random way to preface this, one thing my therapist has said that I love is “when people say something that's really off color to you, you just look at them and say, ‘I'm really surprised you felt comfortable saying that out loud,’” so we do that with a lot with people that come in, and say “I'm surprised that you're getting enough business to stay in open.”
Mural done by Livin'Art
Sara: I am officially using that when someone says something out of pocket to me, I love that.
Jonlyn: It just turns it back around and makes them realize that was a strange thing to say. It makes them uncomfortable instead of us because there's no reason for us to be uncomfortable. It's romance. It's great.
Sara: Do you have any advice for someone that wanted to open a genre-specific bookstore?
Jonlyn: First of all, research is so utterly important. Making sure that you understand what's going to go into opening a bookstore, but also researching the bookstores that are already there, because opening a genre-specific bookstore gives you access to a community of other genre-specific bookstores and you've got to want to be a part of that. You also have to want to put in the work that it takes to open a bookstore. It's hard. There are a lot of days where I'm like, “I don't really know why I did this,” and then, of course, I remember. It's hard, but as long as your heart's in it, you're passionate about it, and really want to provide that space for your community, you just got to stick with it. Stay the course, and you will persevere, and be willing to be a part of the community because you're going to need it. I don't think that I would be where I am without the community that I have, my staff, my readers, and also the greater romance bookstore owner community.
Sara: I did just see one of your staff members got married at A Novel Romance. I think that is so beautiful.
Jonlyn: It really is. The romance community is just amazing. It never ceases us to amaze me.
The Epilogue
Sara: Now for some rapid fire: what are your favorite tropes?
Jonlyn: Friends to lovers, rivals to lovers, and when I say friends to lovers I specifically mean childhood best friends to lovers, and second chance.
Sara: Any favorite subgenres?
Jonlyn: Found family, right off the bat. I’m really getting into Omegaverse.
Sara: Same.
Jonlyn: There's just something about that that hits just right. And I love the whole, “that’s my person.” I will eat it up every single time.
Sara: Tell me about why you love one of those tropes or subgenres.
Jonlyn: I’m going to say second chance. It embodies everything that I love about romance, which is that even through the darkest of times, there's hope at the end. You always know you're going to have a happy ending. It’s easy to see that in a second-chance romance where life happens, things fall apart, but at the end of the day, you know where home is.
Sara: Justice for second-chance romances because there's so many people not here for it and they are just missing out!
Jonlyn: Obviously, I don't want someone getting back with their toxic ex, but I want people that belong together to find home again.
Sara: Exactly, yes.
What are you currently reading?
Jonlyn: I just finished We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian, which was amazing. I am getting ready to start A Little Holiday Fling by Farrah Heron, which I'm very excited about.
Sara: Great Picks! Finally, what is an upcoming event that you are excited about or that you can tease?
Jonlyn: We are hosting author Samantha Allen for the release of their new book Puck, A Midsummer Night’s Dream inspired rom-com. The event is on June 5th at 6:30. Tickets can be purchased on our website and include a copy of the book.
Sara: I love a Shakespeare inspired romance that is so exciting! Thank you again for chatting with me!