Last Saturday I went to London with a friend to spend the day. As we were strolling on one of my favorite streets – Charing Cross Road, the one with loads of interesting bookshops, we walked past Murder One, a Crime & Mystery bookshop. I had walked past it before but since Crime is not really my piece of cake, I never walked in. This time though, I noticed that in the sign it also said “Romance” and immediately jumped inside. And oh my sweet lord, what a fantastic surprise! For the shop is divided into the two sections with a whole room with shelves and shelves stocked filled with Romance Novel – in every single sub-genre, every single author I could think of, old and new. I was giggling at the sight of some many beautiful books around me to the point where my friend had to apologize for my behavior.
You might be thinking – “yeah, what is the big deal”. The big deal is that here in the UK, it is very difficult to find these books! I live in Cambridge and out of dozens of bookshops here, only ONE has a section with Romance Novel and even that is not complete. The hardest ones to come by are the Paranormal and Fantasy books and the new releases – I had been trying to get Demon Angel by Meljean Brook for months now and not even Amazon.UK had it in stock! But Murder One did and I got it and left the place quite happy!
If you ever happen to the in London, don’t miss it. They also have events and a cool website:
4 Comments
Li
March 16, 2008 at 9:05 amIt’s one of my regular haunts in London too! My only grumble is that it is relatively expensive, esp compared to Amazon, say. On the plus side, they do have an extensive range, both new books and backlist ones.
The other bookstore in the same area is Forbidden Planet (I know, surprise!). They actually have an excellent Paranormal Romance section, and prices are slightly cheaper than Murder One. They are just around the corner on Shaftsbury Avenue (head away from Leicester Square).
Ana
March 16, 2008 at 10:43 amLi, I didn’t know you were in England too!
Yes, their prices are not as good as Amazon’s but then again whose is? LOL.
I know where Forbidden Planet is! I had no idea they had a Paranormal Romance section as well! Hummm, maybe I should check the branch here in Cambridge?
Thea
March 16, 2008 at 1:30 pmThe shop looks great! Can’t wait to see it for myself in person 🙂
Li
March 17, 2008 at 1:25 pmAna – when I was briefly in Cambridge (quite a few years ago!), I remember they had a fantasy section. Def worth checking out – fingers crossed for you. The one in London has a huge book section (half the basement), and almost always has the latest paranormal romance releases – Nalini Singh, Meljean Brook, etc.