Bad Girl Books, the UK's first bookshop dedicated entirely to the romantasy genre, opened its doors in Oxford last weekend, drawing long queues and creating a physical community hub for fans who previously gathered online.
A bookstore born from obsession
The shop was founded by 30-year-old Starlin Marot, who quit her marketing job in July 2025 after feeling unhappy and unfulfilled in a toxic workplace. After a friend recommended Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses series, Marot became obsessed, reading all five books in a week and a half.
'I became obsessed,' Marot told Metro. 'I could not put it down.' She then immersed herself in romantasy communities on TikTok and Reddit, realizing there was a strong demand for a physical meeting place.
'So, last year I decided to make a physical manifestation of my obsession,' she said.
From pop-ups to permanent shop
Marot started with a pop-up event in London in September 2025, which cost £20,000 and attracted more than 1,000 people over two days. Despite maxing out her credit cards, the event was so successful that she quickly broke even.
She continued with back-to-back pop-ups to fundraise for a permanent shop. 'Each one, I scaled a bit, and was able to grow really quickly. I did three more pop-ups within four months,' she said. 'The events were mental; people flew in from Ireland, the Czech Republic, Italy, Germany, and they came with empty suitcases to fill up with books.'
In February 2026, Marot secured her dream location in Oxford. The call came while she was hosting a pop-up in Manchester with 3,000 attendees. She transformed the space with a striking pink exterior and stocked shelves with books about witches, dragons, fae, and more.
Opening day success
The shop opened last week to queues stretching down the road. 'I'm surprised by how many people came to the opening, to be honest,' Marot admitted. 'Because I'm here permanently, I just kind of assumed it'd be a lot quieter, but I was overwhelmed.'
Community building was a key goal. 'People were making friends in the shop, which was my biggest goal,' she said. 'One girl said that she came on her own, and she lived an hour away, and then she left as part of a book club of people that she met inside.'
Unhinged selection and indie authors
Bad Girl Books champions independent authors who struggle for shelf space in mainstream shops. Marot focuses on 'things you can't get from a Waterstones or on Amazon; more lesser-known authors and books.'
The shop features a section called 'unhinged,' which includes quirky titles like Why Cheese?, a romance about men who transform into wheels of cheese. 'I have a whole section in my bookshop called “unhinged”,' said Marot. 'It's just for a good time. I see no point in judging people for reading something silly.'
Romantasy's commercial rise
Romantasy has become one of publishing's fastest-growing genres, fueled by TikTok's BookTok community. Sales of science fiction and fantasy books surged in recent years, pushing UK fiction revenue above £1bn for the first time in 2024, according to a 2025 report. Rebecca Yarros's Fourth Wing was the seventh bestselling book in the UK in 2024, selling 245,217 units.
Despite its success, romantasy faces criticism. 'I think there's a lot of stigma on the genre, because it's such a women-championed genre, a lot of people tend to look down on things that women like,' said Marot. 'But the books are complex. A lot of them are 90% fantasy and have complex plots, interesting character development, and trauma processing.'
Summer festival and future plans
Marot plans to host a summer romantasy festival each weekend, with author signings, limited edition books, and giveaways. 'I have over 50 authors coming this summer. I'm happy to be the hub for romantasy authors to come, promote their book, and for their readers to meet them in real life,' she said.
