# Episode 12 | Romance isn’t a trend. But are romance bookshops?: Cassie Simmons, Main Character Books (London)

An episode of [Bookshop Stories](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/6789231785), 2 Oct 2026, 1 h 02 min.

Audio: https://anchor.fm/s/113977da4/podcast/play/126566588/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-8-30%2F433004677-44100-2-95da64a16b1bd.m4a

Romance is booming, and a string of romance-only bookshops are opening across the UK. But is this the beginning of a lasting change in bookselling – or are we watching a bubble form? For Episode 12 of Bookshop Stories, Tom meets Cassie Simmons, founder of Main Character Books, the romance specialist in London’s Spitalfields Market. Cassie’s route into bookselling was far from conventional. A former patent lawyer who spent years building a successful legal career, she eventually walked away from it to create the kind of physical space she felt romance readers were missing. They talk about the lingering snobbery around romance, the influence of BookTok, why readers increasingly want physical communities as well as online ones, and what a specialist bookshop can offer that even the biggest general bookseller cannot. But with the number of romance bookshops growing rapidly, Cassie is also refreshingly candid about the risks. Does the huge value of the romance publishing market really translate into viable independent bookshops? How much specialisation is too much? And what happens when everybody else spots the same opportunity? Plus: book tourism, “trophy copies”, the realities of running a shop in central London, the strange requests Cassie receives from brands – and Smut Club, Main Character’s wildly popular open-mic night. It’s a conversation about romance, community and what happens when an online reading phenomenon becomes a bricks-and-mortar business. You’re gonna love it. Follow Bookshop Stories Bookshop Stories goes behind the shelves of independent bookshops to meet the people who run them and explore the realities of bookselling, running a small business and keeping independent bookshops alive. Follow Bookshop Stories on Instagram for photographs and stories from each shop, and subscribe to the Bookshop Stories Substack for the articles accompanying every episode. You can also browse books recommended by guests throughout the series at the Bookshop Stories Bookshop.org storefront. Buying through the storefront supports independent bookshops, while also providing a small commission that helps support Bookshop Stories. rex-verify-ofirav5nnmql

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.