The Boston area’s first brick-and-mortar romance bookstore had plenty to celebrate after its first year in business, recently closing “Chapter One” with a host of lively festivities.
Lovestruck Books & Cafe in Cambridge’s Harvard Square sold over 100,000 books and hosted 160 events, such as book signings and author talks, over the past year, Rachel Kanter, owner and founder, told MassLive.
“It exceeded all of my expectations,” Kanter said, adding that Lovestruck has fostered a sense of community between its growing and devoted customer base and romance novel authors — big and small — since officially opening in January 2025.
The independent bookstore carries thousands of titles in rows upon rows of colorful shelves with sub-genres and subsections such as fantasy, sports, Western, paranormal, erotica, young adult, LGBTQ+ and a widening selection of non-fiction material.
More and more customers have been drawn to books about health, wellness, sex and relationships, as well as biographies and memoirs, and Lovestruck shifted some of its inventory to better accommodate these consumer tastes, Kanter said.