Bad Girl Books, the UK's first permanent romantasy bookshop, opened in Oxford on a Saturday morning, drawing a queue of over 100 fans down Walton Street from as early as 5.15am. The shop, with bright pink doors, celebrates the subgenre blending romance and fantasy, which has exploded in popularity thanks to BookTok.
Fans travel from across the UK for opening
Emma, who travelled from Warrington, said her husband dismisses the books as pornography, but she insisted they are about much more. The queue was predominantly women, with only two men spotted. Jono, visiting with his girlfriend, said he has started enjoying the genre. The shop's founder, 30-year-old Starlin Marot, was inspired by her own obsession after a friend recommended a romantasy book found on TikTok.
From pop-ups to permanent shop
Marot posted a TikTok last year about a dedicated romantasy pop-up; 40,000 people watched, and over 1,000 signed up within two days. She hosted pop-ups across the country, maxing out her credit card, and raised £30,000 to open the permanent shop. Inside, shelves are divided into categories like "Monster Smut", "Unhinged", and "LGBTQ+", with merchandise proclaiming "I Heart Fictional Men" and "My Favourite Colour Is Morally Grey".
Genre success and stigma
Sarah J Maas's ACOTAR series has sold over 75 million copies worldwide, and Rebecca Yarros's Onyx Storm had the biggest opening week for a hardback fiction title in the UK since Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman. Despite commercial success, romantasy carries a stigma. Petra, first in the queue, said people dismiss it as "just fairy smut", but it offers good stories and life lessons. Peach noted sexism, as it's predominantly women who enjoy it.
Rebeka Finch, a literary agent at Darley Anderson, said the genre has been diminished because it sits at the intersection of romance and commercial fantasy, both historically struggling for critical respect. She added that readers now have a forum to celebrate these books without reductive messaging.
BookTok's role and community
TikTok's #BookTok has amassed hundreds of billions of views, turning unknown authors into international bestsellers. In April, the UK's first official #BookTok bestseller list launched, with romantasy dominating. Calah Singleton, commissioning editor at HarperVoyager and HarperMagpie, said social media has made "findability" easier. Izzy, 22, who read 100 romantasy books last year, said the genre helped her discover a love of reading. Cat summed it up: "There's yearning, longing, love, pure whimsy and magic – and a bit of smut."
