Love on the Page: Under the Cover — a bookstore that sells exclusively romance novels — has a diverse selection of books for every romance lover

The romance book genre has single handedly revived my love for reading. After accidentally discovering BookTok — a side of TikTok devoted to sharing book recommendations — a year ago, I’ve loved reading all types of romance novels — from “It Ends with Us” by Colleen Hoover to “The Love Hypothesis” by Ali Hazelwood.

So when I heard about Under the Cover — a new bookstore in midtown KC that sells exclusively romance novels — I couldn’t resist the chance to immerse myself in a store filled with captivating love stories.

Walking inside, it didn’t feel like I was walking into a bookstore; it felt like I was inside of someone’s home library. The couches and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves made the store feel cozy, making me want to stay longer and flip through all of the novels. Despite the store’s compact size, the opportunity to chat with fellow romance novel lovers created a warm and inviting atmosphere. 

This store offers a diverse selection of romance novels. The bookshelves in the store are divided into romance subgenres, ranging from sports to Yes, Your Majesty (about royalty). There were also sections devoted to popular romance novel authors like Colleen Hoover and Emily Henry. And if there’s a novel that isn’t in the store, there’s a suggestion box by the checkout counter.

I’ve been wanting to read romance novels from different authors, so I resisted the urge to buy another Colleen Hoover book. I decided to ask store owner Carley Morton for her recommendations, and I bought two books. Here’s what I thought about them.

“Wildfire” by Hannah Grace featured a forbidden romance with two characters who use one another to overcome their obstacles. It was jam-packed with passion, keeping me entertained as I kept reading. The book starts off when two characters — Aurora Roberts and Russ Callaghan — get together at a party. 

The two don’t expect to see each other again, but a few days later, they both end up working as counselors at the same camp the entire summer. Despite my initial eye-roll at the cliché, their budding romance — despite the no dating fellow counselors policy — still kept me engaged.

This novel takes place in the same universe as “Icebreaker” — another popular novel by the same author and a book I’ve read — so I loved seeing familiar characters. However, these two books aren’t that connected, so there’s no need to read it before picking up “Wildfire.”

I thought this book would be a cute, cheesy romance novel, but I was shocked to see these characters struggle with family problems and self worth issues. Most romance novels are so focused on the developing relationship that they don’t focus on the individual characters, so I appreciated that these characters had more to themselves besides their relationship.

As their relationship developed, they both learned to open up to one another. Part of me wished the author would have made their issues more subtle — real people wouldn’t blurt out to a stranger about their fathers’ gambling addictions or their self-sabotaging tendencies. 

There also wasn’t a significant plot throughout the book and everything felt pretty predictable — of course if there’s a rule that camp counselors can’t date, then that rule will be broken. 

But despite the predictability, I still enjoyed the book. The summertime camp setting made the book feel very nostalgic, and it was a quick and easy read — just extremely cliché.

I don’t think I’ve ever hated a main character more than Piper Bellinger in “It Happened One Summer.” After being cut off by her stepfather, nepo-baby and social media influencer Piper is forced to learn some responsibility by running her late father’s dive bar in a small town in Washington. 

The premise of this story is cute, but Piper’s spoiled brat attitude and the over-using of Gen Z references made it difficult for me to finish the book. As she leaves her party animal life behind in Los Angeles, sparks ignite with a young sea captain named Brendan Taggart, leading to a story filled with unexpected attractions and realizations that a minimalist town might be better than the glitz and glamor of the big city. 

Piper’s character is everything I don’t like in a protagonist: a clueless, ditzy girl who is desperately chasing the attention of a man who doesn’t want her. Being 27 years old and not knowing how to fend for yourself isn’t charming, it’s obnoxious and annoying. 

I didn’t even want to root for Piper finding true love after listening to her obsess over herself for the entire book. I love an enemies to lovers trope, but the budding romance between Piper and Brendan was too much of a slow burn for me. I found myself getting bored of the same old arguments between the two or hearing Brendan criticize Piper’s clueless big city attitude every single chapter. 

But Piper does manage to connect with her heritage as she learned to embrace the small town. It was satisfying to watch her enjoy life outside of Instagram and large Los Angeles parties. And I enjoyed the softer side of Brendan’s character. Frankly, Brendan was the only decent part of this book — his character brought Piper down to Earth.

This book was too slow-paced for me. I kept having to put it down due to cringe worthy scenes or pure boredom. But it did have some redeemable qualities, like the cute small town setting and lessons about being connected to your heritage.