"Our community has welcomed us with open arms and really shown us that romance books are loved by all, and that a physical book in hand is still a major focus for most patrons," said Emily Ezell, owner of Blush & Bashful Romance Bookshop in Hopkinsville, Ky.
Located at 3012-B Ft. Campbell Blvd., Blush & Bashful held its grand opening on May 4. The store carries all-new romance titles with a particular focus on the fantasy, contemporary, rom-com, suspense, and dark romance sub-genres. While Ezell and her team do not stock books outside the romance genre, they will special order any title customers ask for.
Ezell reported that the store has already held several author signings since the opening, and Blush & Bashful has established a book club that meets once a month and so far has had a great turnout. An offsite story time with author Brittany Thurman is coming up, and last week the store held a special event tied into the release of the movie adaptation of It Ends with Us. Ezell plans to continue to expand the store's event offerings with tote bag decorating, bookbinding classes, and more.
Ezell said she's long dreamed of opening a bookstore as well as writing a book of her own, but in her younger years she was "terrified to commit to that" and chose to be a nurse. Then, she had a dream one night that was "so vivid, detailed, and otherworldly" that it gave her inspiration to start writing a novel. As she was working on it, she started thinking about opening a bookstore, under the assumption that it would give her more time to write. She added: "Ironically, I have less time now to read, much less to write."
On her decision to make it a romance-only bookstore, Ezell explained that she has always had a "deep-seated love" of romance, one that has its origins in being read fairy tales as a kid. "As I got older, romance books just always seemed to bring me comfort," she said, and they allowed her to "escape reality for a brief moment and read about love in all the many ways that it can be told."
Elaborating on the community's response to Blush & Bashful, Ezell said the opening day festivities had "such an amazing turnout" that she "immediately had to place another large stock order that same evening."