LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It’s a store that offers happily ever after, all the time. That’s the purpose behind a romance novel shop in Louisville.

It hasn’t even been a year, but Jonlyn Scrogham knew she wanted to create an inclusive community.

“And when I thought about a genre that really exuded those traits and those values, I was like, the romance community, that’s it,” Scrogham said.

So she opened A Novel Romance in Middletown, quickly outgrowing the small bookshop.

But how it all started? It’s an homage to her boyfriend.

“We had actually met on eHarmony after me being urged relentlessly to join. I thought that I would basically let it just sit there and not do anything and two days into it, I met him,” Scrogham said.

She said the two of them talked to each other for four to five hours each day for approximately four months.

“We were supposed to have our first really big date here in Louisville and it was on March 12 and he passed away on March 12,” Scrogham said.

The tragedy left her frozen. Navigating her grief and inspired by a romance book she read, she dedicated herself to opening this bookstore.

“I definitely feel like as much as this place is a love letter to our community. It’s also my last love letter to him,” Scrogham said.

In between the pages, she feels his presence.

“Having romance and being able to kind of immerse myself in romance, it allowed me to kind of work through that grief and also find hope on the other side of it,” Scrogham said.

The store is outgrowing its current location and expanding into a larger location in Jeffersontown.

“This community really is amazing. Like I have found some of the greatest friends that I never would have known if it wasn’t for the romance community,” Scrogham said.

A Novel Romance is the first romance-only bookstore in Kentucky. The new location is expected to open on June 1.