A look into Canada’s first bookshop catered exclusively to the romantic
By Zoie Karagiannis
What’s not to love about romance novels? From love-at-first-glance to enemies-to-lovers, there’s a trope out there for everyone. The suspenseful plots have readers captivated and swooning, and above all, it has them rooting for characters to fall in love and find their happy ending.
According to BookNet Canada, romance fiction book sales in Canada saw a 44 per cent increase from June 2020 to June 2021, but up until this year, Canada had no dedicated shop for lovers of the genre.
Luckily for romance fans, Canada was gifted with its first romance-only bookstore, Happily Ever After Books, in May of this year – and we have Jenny Pool to thank.
The online bookstore sells everything from bestsellers, LGBTQ reads, to BIPOC love stories and historical and fantasy books, while also highlighting novels written by Canadian authors. It’s very important to Pool to have diversity in the bookstore.
She makes it her job to try and pick up any romance books people have been talking about online (she’s constantly scrolling through Twitter, Instagram and TikTok) or through word of mouth from other readers. Pool welcomes anyone to contact her if there is a book they want her to order that isn’t currently in stock.
Pool always wanted to own a bookstore and after the pandemic, where she worked from home for a construction company, she finally put the wheels in motion. Happily Ever After Books has hosted many pop-ups, which have allowed her to connect with readers face-to-face. “I wanted to interact with the public in a way I can’t in my day job, I love talking to people about romance books. It’s a sickness in the best way!”
While she has a couple of people who work for her on a by-the-gig basis to help sell books at her pop-ups and some who graciously volunteer their time, Pool is the store’s only employee. In the seven months the online bookstore has been running, it has gathered a dedicated fanbase.
“We have a group of amazing supporters and I see so many at our pop-up events every month because they so desperately want to be in-person at a romance bookstore and I want that for them too,” Pool said.
She’s had multiple people thank her for bringing Happily Ever After Books into existence and giving them a space where they can come in and not be shamed for buying a romance novel.
Love is everything. I can’t imagine a world without it
Although the romance genre is immensely popular, there’s a stigma surrounding the works of love and heartbreak. A 2015 study in the Gender and Society journal described the extent some readers have gone to conceal the fact that they are reading romance, such as hiding the books from their family, regularly defending themselves and their capacity to distinguish reality from fantasy and even using book covers in public. The disdain for the romance genre can also be attributed to underlying misogyny, including any contempt some people feel toward its readers.
But there should be no shame in reading stories you enjoy. “Everyone deserves a happily ever after. That’s our unofficial motto,” Pool declared.
Jacquelyn Middleton, a Canadian romance and contemporary fiction author, loves love. With her own romance books published, such as The Certainty of Chance and Say Hello, Kiss Goodbye, she said that there is nothing more enchanting than a love story with a happy ending.
“Love is everything. I can’t imagine a world without it,” she said. “With all the scary stuff in the world, we need something that celebrates love, hope and so much more. The romance genre does that.”
She noticed that the romance-only bookstore is incredibly well-received and long overdue.
“Seeing Jenny start this up was a breath of fresh air, and so exciting. To have someone out there that loves romance like we do makes it feel like we are in this together,” Middleton said. “She can’t help but be successful, because she has so many people behind her who want her to succeed. She also celebrates the authors along with romance readers, and to have someone like this in your corner is so amazing.”
Middleton enjoys all kinds of love stories. She says that romance is a genre that takes the time to have diverse characters and provides a platform for different voices and their experiences.
“We also see things being discussed such as consent or birth control. Romance is so progressive and that too is a real treat because it is always changing and always improving.” she said.
The pop-up bookstores for Happily Ever After Books have been sought-after and in demand. The store garnered huge success at the Word on the Street Toronto book and magazine festival as well as at smaller scale pop-ups at Evergreen Brick Works, Happy Soul and Little Ghost Bookstore and Cafe.
In August, the Society Clubhouse held an event with Happily Ever After Books to celebrate Bookstore Romance Day. Erica Campbell, one of the organizers, said many people were walking by the College Street patio and checking the books out.
She hopes that for every romantic, there is a novel out there that can be their perfect match
The Society Clubhouse is a multi-purpose community space run by women. As such, it was natural for Pool and the organization to collaborate and hold the event. Pool even teamed up with them to create a beer called, “Hoppily Ever After,” nodding to the hops used to brew the pale ale. Her husband helped them design the custom label and the drink was a hit with many at the event.
Pool hopes to have more pop-ups outside of Toronto soon to reach more Canadians who have been waiting for a shop like this. She wants to allow more readers in this community to get the chance to experience a romance-only bookstore.
Pool has been able to see the romance community in the GTA continue to build and grow in real time at these events. “It’s nice that other people just appreciate being able to shop and connect with other readers, and even with myself to be able to talk about romance and find books you wouldn’t be able to find easily.”
She hopes that for every romantic, there is a novel out there that can be their perfect match.
“One of my biggest things is that I want anyone who walks into Happily Ever After Books, wherever we are, to be able to find a romance novel that’s for them. It doesn’t matter what you are looking for, and I don’t care if it’s a Duke, a seven-foot-tall alien or an aromantic baker – I’ll find it for you,” she said.
While Pool hopes to open a physical bookstore one day in the upcoming year, she is setting her sights on pop-ups, different subgenres of romance and other ways people can enjoy them. She plans to create more book-related merch and is considering starting an online book club, with the possibility of some smaller book club meetings in-person.
