"The minute I walked in, I just cried," said Fortin, 28, explaining that her bookstore was extensively damaged, along with a chocolate store and a children's boutique in the building.
Fortin, a full-time lobbyist, said she'd become an avid reader of romance novels during the covid pandemic to escape the day-to-day doldrums of being stuck at home while she was attending American University as a graduate student studying labor rights.
Romance novels have recently surged in popularity, and to meet the demand, more than 20 romance bookstores have opened across the country since 2016, including the Ripped Bodice in Culver City, Calif.
We had to throw almost everything out and it was absolutely crushing," she said, expressing her devastation over the loss of her new bookstore only days after its grand opening.
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