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Interview: Inside Wales’ first romance-only bookshop

28 Dec 2025 6 minute read

Owner Aimee Cummings and husband Charlie Seddon | Image: Aimee Cummings

Wales’ first bookshop dedicated entirely to romance has opened, featuring everything from contemporary love stories to historical and fantasy tales.

The shop arrived earlier this month and was opened by book enthusiast and lifelong romance reader Aimee Cummings. Nation.Cymru spoke with her to learn more about the project and what visitors can expect.

Love Stories offers a carefully curated selection of around 1000 titles and aims to be more than just a place to buy books. It is designed as a space for community, conversation, and events celebrating the genre.

The idea for the shop came during trip to New York where Cummings visited The Ripped Bodice, one of the world’s first romance-only bookshops.

“Seeing something I love so proudly displayed and celebrated was life-changing,” she says. A subsequent visit to Edinburgh’s Book Lovers Bookshop, the first romance-only shop in the UK, convinced her that Cardiff was ready for its own.

Seddon loading the shelves before the grand opening | Image: Aimee Cummings

Growing up and living in Cardiff, Cummings often traveled to nearby cities such as Bath and Bristol on “book crawls” to find the titles she loved. Her husband, Charlie Seddon, who is also involved in the project, often noted that the city had no dedicated space for romance readers to gather.

Love Stories aims to fill that gap, offering not just books but also a community space for events, author visits, and conversations celebrating the genre.

Why romance and why exclusively romance?

“I stand firm on the hill that romance is one of the most diverse genres of literature, not only in terms of representation, but in relation to the sub-genres it crosses. We have a section for fantasy titles, paranormal, science-fiction, historical, mystery and thrillers.

“Not to sound too much like Hugh Grant in Love, Actually, but if you look for it, you can find romance storylines across so many different books. Even in those that some people may not instantly class as a ‘romance book’.

“I think that’s why I love the genre so much. Growing up, I always leant towards books that had a love story in them – main plot point or not. The diversity of what can be included under the romance umbrella is huge, and that’s something that we really try to celebrate and shout about at Love Stories.”

How do you choose which romance books make it onto your shelves?

“A combination of extensive research, titles and authors I love, and then just vibes! I’ve had customers ask if I’ve read all the titles on our shelves – I wish!

“We have around 1,000 individual titles and I am by no means an expert, so I do a lot of work to try and make sure our titles are as diverse and inclusive as possible. I try to stock titles that you wouldn’t traditionally find in a larger chain bookshop, and I love when customers come in and say, ‘oh they have this!’, or when we get to introduce a customer to a new author.”

How important is diversity (LGBTQ+, BIPOC authors, different relationship dynamics) in your curation?

“It’s hugely important to us. I want our customers to be able to come in and see themselves, their relationships, represented on our shelves. Everyone deserves to see their stories told and, as an indie bookshop, we have the power to make sure those stories get to be amplified and celebrated.”

Image taken from Emma James’ bookish travels blog called Bookworm girl

What’s one romance book you think everyone should read?

“Oh my goodness, what a question! Can I give you three? Red, White & Royal Blue, by Casey McQuiston, Love, Theoretically, by Ali Hazelwood, and Poison Study, by Maria V. Snyder”

Have you had any moments with customers that really confirmed this shop was needed?

“Absolutely. We only opened on December 13th, so not very long ago, but it already feels like we have a little community forming in the shop.

“We’ve had bookclubs come and visit en masse – seeing 10+ book lovers pile into the shop and start chatting about the titles they’ve read recently, hearing a chorus of ‘you HAVE to read this!’ has been incredible.

“On the other side of it, we’ve had people come in solo, who are maybe new to romance and asking for a recommendation and while I’ve been chatting to them I’ve had another customer join the conversation to give a suggestion.

“I think that just shows that there was a need for a space like this, where romance readers can gather and get to express their love for the genre with nothing other than whole-hearted enthusiasm.”

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Are there plans for events, author visits, or collaborations?

“Yes. I think 2026 is going to be big for us in this regard. We’re already chatting to authors and publishers about pre-order campaigns and events.

“Wales can often be left out of UK author tours, so our aim is to provide a space that connects authors and readers!

There are also some Cardiff-based businesses that we’re in the (early stages) of collaborating with. It’s such an exciting time for us and we can’t wait to share more about what we have coming up.”

If someone walks into Love Stories not thinking romance is ‘for them,’ what do you hope they leave feeling?

“It does happen a lot. Romance is a genre that is often looked down on, and can easily be categorised as ‘fluff’ or ‘porn’ by a lot of people.

“In cases like these, I hope that I can help them find a book that is either adjacent to something they would normally read, or that excites them enough that they’re willing to take the chance on something new. Then, I hope they leave feeling like they’ve found a title that has resonated with them, that they’re a bit more open to the genre, and that they can’t wait to get stuck into their next read!”

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Interview: Inside Wales’ first romance-only bookshop

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