Arguably as romantic as the books on its shelves is the Ripped Bodice’s 5th Avenue storefront in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
Sweet florals, pink tiles, kitschy accessories, and novel-inspired decor make the NYC indie bookshop inviting for all types of romance readers — contemporary, historical, and of course, the ever-popular TikTok fave, romantasy.
Whether you’re interested in attending a book club, signing, or simply stopping by to gather material for your incoming beach days, this adorable small biz is one for the books, literally and figuratively.
Ripped Bodice is shaping the NYC literary community
Unsurprisingly, the tight-knit community was welcomed with open arms in the NYC literary world for its inclusivity.
“I think for a long time, certainly while I was growing up, indie bookstores were looked at as arbiters of taste,” says the store’s owner Leah Koch. “It made me feel like the thing that I liked was not worthy of shelf space, so that’s the whole reason we do what we do — to make romance readers feel valued.”
Inventory and decor aside, the meaning behind the shop is one of the reasons it landed on the list of USA Today’s top indie bookstores in the country.
Koch’s hope for her business was to become “a celebratory space where people feel excited to come and something that the community and the street would be proud of.” Considering Ripped Bodice has gained national attention, we’d certainly say she has succeeded.
(Should you reside on the West Coast, you’ll be happy to know the store’s first locale originated in Los Angeles.)
What to read this summer — Leah Koch’s recs
And what would a bookstore owner be without a couple of few recs? (Koch keeps a list handy — just in case.)
From Ali Hazelwood’s latest, Problematic Summer Romance — which sees protagonist Maya fighting feelings for her older brother’s best friend —to Andie Burke’s With Stars In Her Eyes — a sapphic romance about a cellist and bookseller — she has quite a few new romances releases on her radar this summer, and July will be a busy month.
Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna is perhaps one of the releases Koch is most excited for readers to devour, and she says the “cozy, English countryside novel” doesn’t require that you read the first book in its series to get the full picture.
The final suggestion on her list: Ready To Score by Jodie Slaughter, a sapphic romance that’s billed as “Friday Night Lights meets Cleat Cute.” Koch confesses: “I love everything [Slaughter] writes.”
If you’re looking to stay on top of new reads, be sure to join the Secret NYC monthly book club on Fable and get involved in our conversation. If you prefer darker reads, NYC will get its first-ever horror bookshop, The Twisted Spine, this fall.