Philly’s hottest store is a new romance bookshop in Manayunk

It was after 3 p.m. on a sunny Thursday afternoon when Molly Diane let out a gleeful shriek inside a pastel-pink bookstore just off Main Street in Manayunk.

Standing near a decorative rose wall, Diane and four friends huddled in a circle, excitedly sharing their finds after a half-hour shopping spree: a pale green edition of Emma by Jane Austen, a heart-covered notepad, a “Ban guns, not books” sticker, and an illustrated hardcover of Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros.

“This [bookstore] has everything,” said Diane, who had come to Cupid’s Bookshop to celebrate their birthday.

Cupid’s, which opened April 24, is Philly’s first bookstore dedicated entirely to the romance genre. Hundreds of people — including some who traveled from Pittsburgh and Brooklyn — browsed monster romances, queer rom-coms, and historical bodice rippers, between noon and 6 p.m. Mayor Cherelle L. Parker even stopped by during a scheduled tour of Manayunk.

The 600-square-foot store, covered in neon signs and wall art of swooning lovers, is the brainchild of Tina Long, a Manayunk/Roxborough resident and longtime fan of the genre.

“I have always loved romance, but it’s always been frowned upon — until recently,” Long said.

Thanks in part to social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, romance books have exploded in popularity, fueling a boom in indie romance bookstores across the country. Cupid’s follows the opening of Kiss & Tale, a romance-focused shop in Collingswood, just six months ago.

“I think most people would be practical and say that’s the craziest career to go in to right now with the economy,” Long said. “But I think it’s important to have more places with judgment-free zones where you can be openly in love with silly romance books [about] dragons, aliens, faeries, and feel safe.”

Long, a former fashion and publishing professional, had amassed a personal library of special editions and multiple copies of her favorite titles. When burnout at her job hit, her husband, Anthony, encouraged her to turn her passion into a project.

“He’s been super supportive, helping out where he can — he’s my very own book romance,” she said.

Cupid’s carries about 600 titles, from contemporary authors like Myah Ariel (No Ordinary Love) to fantasy and “romantasy” series like Raven Kennedy’s The Plated Prisoner. Subgenres are labeled clearly, helping readers navigate tropes like “friends to lovers,” “monster romance,” and “dark academia,” and find specific interests with ease.

Long said she wanted the store to fully embrace the genre’s reputation for being big, bold, and occasionally over-the-top.

“I really wanted a place when you walk in you’re like, ‘This looks like it’s all about campy romance,’” she said, citing classic Fabio-style covers as inspiration. “I don’t want customers to hide what they like. It’s fun to read and talk about your silliest book boyfriend or girlfriend.”

Lua Stardust, a Manayunk resident who recently married her own friends-to-lovers partner, spent the afternoon exploring the shop.

“I’m such a friends-to-lovers girlie, and I also love romantasy,” she said. “[The bookstore] is so cute — there are labels on shelves for the different genres and trinkets for my Kindle."

For Stardust, romance books offer an escapism that feels relatable.

“You can envision yourself in these scenarios or have a deep, close relationship to a character,” she said. “It makes me think about the different eras in my life — my first boyfriend, my first kiss, my first heartbreak.”

Older and plus-size women protagonists are what Shelita Thomas looks for in her romance reads. As longtime romance reader, the 50-year-old Mount Airy resident wants to “enjoy paranormal books with women who look like me.”

At Cupid’s, she picked up Drunk on Love by Jasmine Guillory to support a Black author and said she’s been thrilled to see the genre’s growing diversity.

“Romance has always been popular to me, but they didn’t have plus-size protagonists back then,” she said. “And bookstores [like Cupid’s] show just how diverse the selection has gotten.”

Mainstream bookstores carry romance, too, but Diane said the shelves are often filled with “white, straight couples — and it’s boring.”

For them, Cupid’s Bookshop was not just a birthday treat, but a space that felt inclusive and joyful.

“I feel like people crave community and love and having someone understand them,” Diane said, and romance books offer “an escape to a world where everything is gonna work out — for all readers."

📍106 Grape St., Front A, Manayunk

🕒 Open Tuesday through Friday, noon to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed Monday

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