By Zoe Perzo
Love’s Sweet Arrow is a romance bookstore in Tinley Park, Illinois. Opened by mother-daughter duo Marissa and Roseann Backlin in 2019, the shop recently celebrated its five year anniversary. And every year, they participate in Bookstore Romance Day (held annually on the third Saturday of August). 
When searching for bookstores with big Bookstore Romance Day plans, Love’s Sweet Arrow came highly recommended, so I met with Marissa Backlin to learn more about the store and what they have planned for this Bookstore Romance Day.
Backlin and her mother had always loved romance and were huge fans of The Ripped Bodice, but because they lived in Illinois, visiting either of the iconic romance bookstore’s locations wasn’t really feasible. They decided to create a romance refuge of their own.
“We did some planning, attempted some crowdfunding, and I decided to take a year off teaching to work full time at the store,” Backlin said.
Despite the challenge of the pandemic hitting shortly after they first opened and forcing them to pivot to online sales for a while, the store has continued to thrive.
These days, Backlin is back to teaching full time and her mother, Roseann, retired and is at the bookshop full time.
Backlin admitted that working a full day at school and then heading to work at the shop has been a strain. But happily, the team has grown recently and helped to alleviate some of that stress.
Love’s Sweet Arrow now employs two part-time booksellers, as well as a Marketing Manager and an Events Coordinator. Backlin says bringing on the extra staff has been a “game changer.”
“Brittney, our Marketing Manager, has been working on bookstore improvement and developing relationships with other businesses,” Backlin explained. “And Arianna, the Events Coordinator, focuses on event development and organization. Events are such an important part of our business, and with Arianna at the helm, we have been able to host bigger events and bigger authors, and even have off-site events!”
And I would be remiss if I didn’t ask about her canine support team — the small pack of dogs that frequently appear on the shop’s socials.
“The dogs are all mine,” Backlin laughed. “Since I spend less time in the store, they spend less time at the store, but Bonnie goes every Wednesday during the school year. They are all rescues!”
Together, the team is gearing up for Bookstore Romance Day 2024 on August 17!
“We joke that every day is Bookstore Romance Day,” Backlin said. “But it’s great to have a day where other bookstores have to celebrate romance if they want to participate.”
She described some of the events they’ve held in past years: romance panels, live podcast recordings, author signings, and more. Backlin explained that the key to a successful Romance Bookstore Day is respecting the readers.
“Romance sells well, but romance authors will know if a bookstore is just looking for the money and doesn't respect the genre. You don’t have to read romance, just give the readers respect on their day.”
This year, Love’s Sweet Arrow’s Bookstore Romance Day plans include a prize wheel where customers can win discounts and free gifts, a raffle for an Elle Kennedy book set and a store tote bag, and an online discount for customers who can’t make it into the store!
Backlin teased that they also have a few more things in the works.
If you’re celebrating Bookstore Romance Day in the Chicago area, consider stopping by Love’s Sweet Arrow in Tinley Park, Illinois! You can also visit their website, or follow them on Facebook to learn more about their upcoming events!
Photo credits: Love's Sweet Arrow