If you’ve got your eyes and ears locked in on the latest book trends, you’ll know that ‘romantasy’ is having a bit of a moment. It’s gained a large following on the book corner of TikTok, which has come to be known as BookTok, and is part of the reason why England has now got its very first bookshop dedicated entirely to romance novels.
You’ll find Saucy Books, which opened last month, right here in London, landing in Notting Hill to give the booming genre a space to focus on and invite a community of fans to hang out and pick out their latest read.
Credit: @saucybooks, via IG
What can you expect from Saucy Books?
Saucy Books was founded by Sarah Maxwell, with her bio on the shop’s website saying she created the concept as “a love letter to independent bookstores, bold women, and the belief that pleasure is a worthy pursuit”. As well as the latest titles in the genre, there is also an area of the shop called the ‘smut hut’, which is solely for more erotic fiction.
As well as pushing a load of romance titles, Saucy Books are hoping to help dispel some generalisations about the genre that are, to them, unfair and unbased. These include the idea that romance books are not intellectual, or that they are just for women. Speaking to The Guardian, founder Sarah Maxwell said that these ideas are inherently misogynistic and also stem from ‘snobbery and bias’.
She said: “People think it’s less than or low quality, which is not true at all. These are all very high quality authors and high quality stories. I think there’s an inherent misogyny around it. A lot of the time, the sorts of things that women like across arts and culture tends to get discounted. These books are about the female perspective and female gaze when most media is through the male gaze.”
It will also be a space for events around books, such as the upcoming publication party with Dillian Dyer, which will involve an evening of food, drinks, and a talk from the author to celebrate the release of her novel, The Brave And The Reckless.
The opening of Saucy Books also comes after the surge in this genre led to UK fiction revenue clocking in at more than £1 billion for the first time. There’s quite clearly a demand for this space, and its popularity will no doubt lead to a flurry of visitors to the dedicated space.
Saucy Books is open now, and you can find them over at 232 Westbourne Park Road, W11 1EP (nearest station is Ladbroke Grove). Read more about them at their website.
