Seattle’s list of independent bookstores grew in 2025, with the addition of two “pop-ups” devoted to genre fiction. Both Haunted Burrow Books on Capitol Hill and Lovestruck in Lake City opened this summer in temporary locations.

Haunted Burrow Books, 430 15th Ave E., specializes in  horror, dark fantasy, sci-fi, and occult books. The temporary store is located near the Punk Rock Flea Market’s ongoing Quality Flea Center (aka the QFC slated for demolition) and should be there through the end of the year. Owner Roxanne Guiney is a member of the Northwest Editor’s Guild and Horror Writers of America. Along with selling new books, the shop offers “Blind Dates” with books wrapped up and sold with a bag of tea. The outer wrapping gives some clues as to the “tropes” of the story, such as “dark academia” or “vampires.” These surprise packages are also available online at https://hauntedburrowbooks.com/.

Lovestruck in Seattle at 12315 Lake City Way NE is a romance book store, open through October with the support of Seattle Restored. The Seattle Restored program works to place local entrepreneurs, pop-ups, and art installations in empty storefronts. McKenna Rain, the artist behind Palm Creative, has mixed her love of romance with her own products to stock Lovestruck. Her retail efforts can be seen at https://palmcreativeshop.com/. Fans of the pink store can also follow it on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lovestruckinseattle/ to find out about special events and drawings.