In literary circles, romance and its more adventurous elder cousin erotica get something of a bad rap. From Mills and Boon, to Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series, to EL James’s Twilight-inspired Fifty Shades of Grey (less vampires, more bondage), there’s something about the genre that seems to invite ridicule.

It’s easy to imagine fans slinking around bookshops, sandwiching their copy of Crazy for the Cowboy between a couple of Churchill biographies and claiming it’s “for a friend”, or ordering their favourite titles online where no-one can judge. Business might be booming – Fifty Shades famously sold more than 125 million copies – but a passion for romance is still the (literary) love that dare not speak its name.

But two American sisters, Bea (in first video below) and Leah (in second video) Koch, are determined to end the stigma – and have opened the world’s first “exclusively romance brick-and-mortar bookstore” in Culver City, California.

The aptly named The Ripped Bodice caters to (almost) all tastes. According to the shop’s website, categories on offer include “English 20th Century”, “Paranormal”, “Bikes and Tats”, “Demons” and “Dragons”, as well as LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, transgender and queer)-themed books, and a Young Adult section.