There have been bookstores dedicated to science fiction/fantasy, mystery/crime, and other genres. So why not romance?

In fact, romance bookstores are probably the fastest-growing trend in the bookselling world. Since sisters Bea and Leah Koch opened The Ripped Bodice in Culver City in 2016, dozens more have popped up, including the latest, right here in East Vancouver.

On Aug. 16, Perfect Match at 545 E. Broadway became the seventh romance-dedicated bookstore in Canada. There are currently 133 physical romance bookstores in nine countries around the world.

The store is proof of both the popularity and expansiveness of the genre.

“We’ve got sports romance with anything from hockey to Formula One on the shelves,” says store owner Amy Pelletier.

“We’ve got Westerns, we’ve got historical

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