07-03-2025
Flame & Fable is Cleveland's first "romantasy" bookstore
When Flame & Fable opened last month in Lakewood, there was a two-hour line out the door.
Why it matters: It's the first bookstore in the Cleveland area dedicated to romance and fantasy titles, and its instant popularity testifies to the pent-up demand for these genres.
Zoom out: Flame & Fable joins a growing roster of stores and pop-ups dedicated to selling romance novels that have debuted in cities like Chicago, Minneapolis and Indianapolis in the last year.
💭 Sam's thought bubble: My wife is a certified #romantasy addict, and she joined me as an expert witness when I went to check it out this week.
My first thought was that the selection seemed somewhat limited, but she assured me the titles had been curated by someone deeply familiar with the genres in question.
She bought "Quicksilver" by Callie Hart, which evidently is "big on Goodreads."
What they're saying: Owner Nickie Lui, who worked at Overdrive for eight years before setting out on her own, told Cleveland Scene that she saw Flame & Fable as a community space as much as a bookshop.
"There's a movement among women in the millennial age group in particular, where we're kind of like reclaiming romance for ourselves," she said.
Stop by: 13439 Detroit Ave., right across from St. Ed's.
Go deeper: Romance books are having a moment
