It was the fall of 2024 when Amanda Holmes first picked up the romantic-fantasy series A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACATAR). Though Holmes had been a lifelong reader, her special interest in the specific genre two years ago would “snowball” into Ottawa’s first romance-exclusive
bookstore
come Saturday, March 21.
Holmes, the owner of Evermore Books, said the idea for the booktique started in the spring of last year when she took a stress leave from her work as an academic librarian, a job she’d had since 2014.
“I jokingly told my husband that I was going to quit my job and open a romance-only bookstore,” she said, adding that six to seven months after returning to work, Holmes was still seriously thinking about the business idea.
After resigning from the “corporate world,” Holmes got to work seriously around Dec. 1, 2025.
Evermore Books in the Glebe will be Canada’s 27th romance-only
bookstore
, according to an online
directory
tracking the number of the latter.
In Ottawa, the romance booktique will be the eighth independently owned bookstore. It would have been No. 9, but Westboro Books permanently closed its doors on March 10, 2026.
Holmes said her vision for the store is to have the place be whimsical, open and airy. She said she wanted to curate a place that was bright and welcoming.
“I wanted folks, when they walk by, to be curious and to indulge in that curiosity.”
But Holmes said she also wanted to speak to a deeper stigma that tends to devalue and undervalue women writing about sex in the romance genre.
“I think (it) gets dismissed, and this store is very much reclaiming that,” Holmes said in an interview with the Ottawa Citizen
.
“Women authors are valued; even if they write sex scenes, it’s still valued and valuable.”
Holmes said there’s something for everyone at Evermore Books, adding that the store gives readers permission to explore smut.
“There’s something for everybody here,” she said. “There are
books
that range from clean, closed-door romance to then very unhinged, super spicy (books).
“I want people to come to find what they want on the shelves.”
It’s not the first time that heat, romance and flare are claiming their place in Ottawa.
Heated Rivalry, the romance series set in the world of hockey following the love story of Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, has been a sensation among Canadians, who have dubbed the series as being “fundamentally Canadian.”
“A lot of people in the city — and I love this idea — have started saying, ‘I’m from Ottawa. Shane Hollander’s hometown,’ ” Holmes said. “It’s a really big cultural and Canadian moment that’s been gaining popularity.”
What began as a passion project to help her heal from corporate stress quickly became a community for Holmes.
“It’s become more than a healing journey,” she said. “This is a space for community now. And I’m so excited to open the doors for romance readers in Ottawa to reclaim the space as their own.”
Evermore Books is located at 857b Bank St.
