In December, a group of about 20 readers gathered at the Ripped Bodice, a bookstore in Culver City, for a meeting of the Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Book Club. The topic of discussion: Rebekah Weatherspoon’s A Man for Mrs. Claus, a 270-page paperback filled with explicit descriptions of passionate encounters at the North Pole.
The book, according to club members, is an example of Santa erotica, one of many subgenres of romantasy (a portmanteau of romance and fantasy). Think Hallmark holiday movies, but much weirder and hornier—and definitely not rated PG-13.
“Usually, if it’s Santa, his jizz tastes like something very specific,” said one member, referring to one of the subgenre’s tropes. (For the curious: Peppermint is canon; eggnog is a more controversial author choice.)
The Ripped Bodice was the country’s first bookstore to dedicate itself exclusively to romance novels. Feeling that mainstream shops often overlooked the genre, sisters Leah Koch and Bea Hodges-Koch opened the shop in 2016 after observing a growing cohort of readers, like them, who were devouring romance series.
Over the past decade, romance novel sales have soared, inspiring more than 20 new dedicated bookstores around the country. In 2023, the Ripped Bodice opened a second location in Brooklyn. Today, the Culver City store hosts five book club events a month, including ones devoted to historical romance and queer romance, each with an average of 20 participants.
This article appears in Issue 35 of Alta Journal.
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At the December romantasy meetup, Ripped Bodice bookseller Grace Cook began the evening’s discussion with a poll, asking people to summarize their opinions of A Man for Mrs. Claus with a thumbs-up, -down, or sideways. Responses were mixed, leaning toward the positive side of neutral.
The group spent an hour analyzing the complexities of a plot that follows humans, elves, and angels across multiple timelines in Los Angeles, the North Pole, and other realms. What some might regard as frivolous smut, this group takes seriously. “So far, of all the Santa erotica that I’ve read, this is my favorite world-building,” said one member. As attendees talked, a few people kept their hands occupied—knitting, crocheting, and composing small-scale landscapes with brightly colored markers.
In between discussions of very merry sex scenes, the conversation strayed to the steamy HBO Max hit Heated Rivalry, based on the sports romance books by Rachel Reid. Many attendees had already read the six-part series about a queer romance between closeted rival hockey players. The group’s excitement about the show was driven by the special feeling that comes when your niche obsession seeps into the cultural zeitgeist.
Cook, who was a member of the book club before joining the store’s staff, skillfully steered the group back to Weatherspoon’s novel before wrapping up. Reluctant to leave, attendees chatted in small groups before forming a line at the register to purchase their next pleasure reads.•
L.A.-based pianist turned writer Catherine Womack covers classical music and the arts for the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles magazine, Alta Journal, and more. Dog lady. Will travel for opera.
