Ally Hartman, left, and her sister Baylee Loyd are the owners of Beauty and the Book. (Loren Holmes / ADN) Ally Hartman was starting to sweat. Hartman, co-owner of the recently opened Anchorage romance bookstore Beauty and the Book , hadn’t yet opened the door.
And already, a line that started with about a dozen people had more than quadrupled. “I got here at 9 a.m.
and people started showing up at 9:10,” Hartman said. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, no other businesses are open in this strip mall. Are people showing up this early? We don’t open for another hour.
’” Dozens of people line up to get into the new Beauty and the Book store on their opening day June 8. (Chris Bieri / ADN) The turnout at the store’s grand opening earlier this month was representative of a trend in the romance genre. Spurred by TikTok subset BookTok and popular on-screen adaptations, the books have evolved with the culture, provoked conversation and created community.
Several major cities have seen romance bookstores and pop-ups emerge . And Alaska’s romance book culture is thriving too, with an abundance of authors, ardent readers and book groups. “I was so nervous but it was also super exciting,” Hartman said.
“ I didn’t think we were going to have 50 people show up, but it was very rewarding to see how many people were excited to come and check it out.” A pair of customers discuss a book during the grand opening at Beauty and the Book, a romance bookstore in Anchorage, on S.
