New independent romance bookshop, opens in Cirencester
The Booksellers Association has welcomed Hollyhocks, a new independent romance bookshop opening in Cirencester, the Capital of the Cotswolds, on Saturday 8th August.
Filled with a vast selection of titles from both traditional and independently published authors, Hollyhocks will specialise in Romance sub genres of Young Adult (YA), Fantasy, Dark Romance, Contemporary, LGBTQ+ and many more, along with special editions, vintage classics and curated gift items, there is something for everyone.
The team behind Hollyhocks is Holly & Maria, a mother daughter duo from New Zealand. Holly is a big romance reader and has been sharing romance book content on Instagram and TikTok for a number of years now under her @_h.reads accounts. She has over 149,000 followers combined across both platforms and has found that the romance reader community to be a fun and inclusive group. Maria is more behind the scenes planning and organising operations. With family in the Lake District and Norfolk, Holly has always wanted to live in the UK and after many visits they fell in love with The Cotswolds and Cirencester in particular.
With that, they followed their long-held dream of opening a romance bookshop.
Holly and Maria said: "The journey to open Hollyhocks has been a considered and intentional one, with thought and passion going into every decision and every detail. Life is indeed too short to not fulfil one's dreams and the culmination of all the hard work, effort and energy that Holly and Maria have invested into this will soon be realised and open for all to enjoy."
The Booksellers Association said: "Hollyhocks, with its focus on romance and the many exciting and fast-growing subgenres within it, is the latest example of the increasing number of independent bookshops specialising in particular genres, especially those thriving on BookTok. These shops are becoming destinations where online fandoms can come together in the real world - creating vibrant, physical spaces to share their passion, expertise and sense of community. Given Holly's extensive experience in the romance community, alongside her impressive social media reach and established connections within these fandoms, we have no doubt that Hollyhocks will quickly become a must-visit destination for romance readers from across the UK and beyond. We're delighted to welcome Hollyhocks into BA membership."
In the future book clubs, new release pre-orders and author events will be added to the schedule. In the meantime, the grand opening is on Saturday 8th August 10am - 5pm.
Hollyhocks is located at 85 Cricklade Street, Cirencester, GL7 1JF
Opening hours:
Wed - Sat: 10am - 5pm
Sun: 10am - 4pm
Mon-Tue: Closed
