Tucson’s newest bookstore has wheels — and a whole lot of romance 💕📚

Tucson now has its very own mobile, romance-centered bookshop.

Book enthusiast Idekel Coronado opened her new bookmobile — The Book Boutique — just a few weeks ago with the hope of growing the romance-reading community in Tucson and making romance books more accessible through her bright pink bookshop on wheels, which she calls “Cupid.”

“I just really want to share the love of books, the love of romance books,” Coronado said.

Part of what she loves so much about the romance genre, she said, is the joy and comfort she gets reading the stories.

“I think it's just so cute,” Coronado said. “And there's just so much that you can do with romance books.”

One of her personal favorites is “The Love Hypothesis,” by Ali Hazelwood.

“I want people to read that book, and ‘Better Than the Movies,’ by Lynn Painter,” Coronado said.

Among the curated books that Coronado offers are popular romantasy favorites like “Fourth Wing” by Rebecca Yarros and “Bride” by Ali Hazelwood, as well as sports romance stories like “The Deal” by Elle Kennedy.

Pretty much all genres are welcome at The Book Boutique, Coronado said, as long as the sparks are flying.

“It could be a fantasy, a murder mystery,” she said. “Anything with romance, I want to have it on the truck.”

In particular, she said all her cowboy-related books are quite popular. She specifically named “Cowboy Casual” by Holly Renee, a second chance romance in which Blaire Monroe reconnects with a past flame after a failed engagement.

On the shelves of The Book Boutique, customers can also find plenty of bookish merchandise items including tote bags, stickers, book covers, Kindle cases and more.

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The idea for the romance book truck, Coronado said, came to her last year after seeing similar mobile bookstores on social media.

“I had seen a few TikToks of other ladies that have their own mobile book store, and it inspired me to do it as well,” she said. “I have noticed romance has gotten a lot bigger, especially here in Tucson. I'm seeing a lot more people really into it.”

Coronado said she saw the rise in popularity in romance book clubs and romance-themed events like “Love You So Matcha,” which was held at the Korean Rose back in February. She also pointed to the recent opening of the romance pop-up store Why Choose.

“I think it is so cool that so many people share the same love for the same genre,” Coronado said.

Once she decided to go for it, she said it took her a year of meticulously installing shelves, upgrading her truck and picking out her romance inventory to finish her romance bookshop on wheels. After months of work, she finally threw a grand opening on March 21 at the Korean Rose, and the response was overwhelmingly positive.

“I want to say maybe 100 or so people showed up,” Coronado said. “We sold out of almost everything by the end of the day.”

If you want to get your hands on a new romance read, Coronado and Cupid will be pulling up at two local events this weekend.

Coronado said she has a few surprise treats for customers, including a limited stock of signed copies of “Cloud Nine” by Amanda Sinatra, and a selection of books by her favorite indie authors.

“I'm gonna have a whole section just for a few of the ones I've met,” she said. “And I am adding books to the truck.”

On April 25, The Book Boutique will be popping up at the spring social market at Di Luna Candles, 2700 N. Campbell Ave., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Then on Sunday, April 26, Coronado will be making an appearance at Cars, Bikes and Trikes at the Evergreen Mortuary Cemetery, 3015 N. Oracle Road.

“It will be a whole weekend just for the truck to go places,” Coronado said. “Now I'm just looking for new places to take it to.”