The Burning Ember bookstore, focusing on romance and romantasy books, hosted its grand opening on October 30 at 1128-B Pacific Ave. in Santa Cruz, Calif. Owner Charese Allen posted after the festivities: "Our grand opening day was such a success!! Thank you to everyone who came out to visit us and experience the shop we’ve been working so hard to create.
"We opened officially at 2 p.m., and there was a small crowd outside waiting! Then we had an official ribbon cutting ceremony at 5 p.m., which drew a larger crowd! Thank you @downtownsantacruz for welcoming us so lovingly. We cannot begin to explain to you all how excited we are to join the downtown community."
Allen, a mental health practitioner who describes herself as an OG romance reader, told Lookout Santa Cruz: "I love my work, but I want to do more than just be a therapist. I've had a long dream of opening a bookstore."
Her goal is to create a community for those who, like herself, are huge fans of romance and romantasy: "In a world with so much division, people are embracing this. Romance as a whole, what I love about it--especially as a woman--is that it's focusing more on women growing and finding partners who want to grow with them."
She also noted that she appreciates the rise of strong female characters and also has an interest in the "dark romance" subgenre. "More women writers are entering the fantasy space, she said, and a lot of these books really lean into female empowerment. She believes that focus is part of what makes the genre so popular," Lookout Santa Cruz wrote.