Tucked in the heart of Corrine Drive’s small business hub is a romance-only bookstore, The New Romantics. Past its entrance, romance novels of all kinds crowd wall-to-wall bookcases. On the shop’s left side, book-lover paraphernalia fills tiered shelves. By the front window, comfortable seating gives patrons a spot to read, work and chat. 

It’s here you’ll find Desirai Labrada, a regular who visits almost daily. An avid reader and book collector, Labrada said she owns roughly 50% to 60% of the books sold in the store and comes every Tuesday for new releases. Through her dedication to The New Romantics, even before it opened its doors, she became friends with its owner, Jane Rodriguez. Labrada has her own Little Free Library, gifted to her by Rodriguez, a testament both to their friendship and to how large Labrada’s book collection has grown. It sits in front of her house, painted lavender and covered in sparkles. As we chatted, I was struck by why she gravitates toward The New Romantics: Simply put, she loves love itself. 

Labrada’s life sounds like something out of a contemporary romance novel (her go-to sub-genre). She met her husband, John Henry, through Halo — a sci-fi first-person shooter video game — where they voice-chatted in multiplayer mode. Years later, they held a Halo-themed wedding at Full Sail University, complete with a wedding officiant dressed as the game’s protagonist, Master Chief. It led to a feature in a Best Buy commercial, where the two game together and say, “It was a match made in Halo.” It even made Conan. Now, Labrada teaches students to connect with audiences through storytelling at the very university where the two said their vows.

For Desirai Labrada, The New Romantics is an oasis of great reads and camaraderie. (BARBARA IVINS)

How did you first find The New Romantics?

I love telling this story. So, I was actually all the way in Deerfield at the grand opening of another bookstore, and we were outside waiting, … excitedly chatting with people, who were like, “Where are you from? How far did you drive? Blah, blah, blah.” And so, I happened to say that I came from Orlando, and someone was like, “Did you know someone’s gonna open up a romance bookstore in Orlando?”

And I was like, “No! Please tell me more.”

And so she was like, “Hold on. I saw a video on TikTok.” … It was probably one of the first videos that Jane [the owner] had uploaded to TikTok talking about how she was going to open up a romance-only bookstore. 

[Jane Rodriguez] mentioned how much she loved reading, and how much she wanted to kind of create a space to establish community — that it wasn’t just about being a bookstore or selling books. She wanted it to be a space that people could come and hang out. And so I started following, since then. I think — if I can remember correctly … it was like in the very, very beginning — I remember when she was like, “We’re gonna do our first pop-up!” And it was at the mall, and so I showed up to that. I do think I bumped into Jane at a few other events around town, so she kind of started to recognize me as I was showing up, and I’d always make a point to say hello. But I would go to all their pop-ups. 

I remember when she established the website, and leading up to the opening of the store, I was just so excited. I kept telling her, “You know, I’m going to be there like, all the time, right?”

And she was like, “Yeah, it’s gonna be cool! We’re gonna have a space for people to come and chill.”

And I was like, “No, no. I’m really gonna be there all the time.” … I would make sure to always show up and support. My husband and I had the opportunity to help her before she opened the store, to kind of get things in order. Her parents were here. We were pulling tape off the floor, building some shelves. It felt like we helped.

What draws you to contemporary romance, and the romance genre as a whole?

Even more specifically: the funny ones. I think I had a difficult childhood, and had I not been able to laugh through things, I don’t know if I would have been able to get through it. So, I love things that are funny, and a lot of times [these stories have] drama mixed in … the humor, I feel like, really resonates with me. But I think I’ve always just been someone that loves love. I don’t know what I was watching as a little kid, or if that was what I was born with, but I’ve always felt that love was the most important thing ever.

What makes this place stand out?

It’s kind of a few things — like I said, I’ve just always been someone who felt like love was the most important thing. And when I heard Jane talking, I could hear that … I could hear that she felt the same way. But also, there’s a very distinct way that people who get things done speak, and I could hear that and recognize that in her as well. It was never like, “I’m thinking about opening a romance bookstore,” or “I’m trying to.” She was like, “I’m opening a romance bookstore.” And I know, with people that manifest stuff, that is a very specific way that they speak. And that resonated with me, because I think that’s kind of who I am, too. … I feel at home here, and I’m somebody who’s very “extra” in general. When I like something, I really like something, and not everybody can like, tolerate that. Or sometimes I’m too much for people, but I don’t feel like I’m too much when I’m here. And I think that’s the biggest thing. 

Why do you find books to be important, either personally or in general?

There’s never been a time where I’ve picked up a book and I didn’t learn something. And it doesn’t have to be nonfiction. I’ve picked up like, a billion romances, where there was a random fact in there that I had to be like, “Wait, is that true?” And I would go on the internet and be like, “Oh my God, that’s true.” I love learning in general. But I think the most important thing about reading is how you get to see different perspectives, and how it helps establish empathy. And, falling in line with love being the most important thing — if we don’t have empathy for each other, we end up where we are. … The world is really crazy right now, and this feels like something different. It feels like we want to put good out in the world, and that’s why I keep coming back here to share that with others. Because how do you change anything unless you’re doing something different? 

Anytime something in the news is bothering me, I always come here — and not just to get things for people, but to give. To be around someone else. For a little while — and I’ve been doing it now in partnership with The New Romantics — but for a while, because I have so many books, I was like, “I want to keep supporting the store, but I need to slow down on what I’m bringing into my house, because there’s a limited amount of space.” So, I would buy gift cards here, and I would buy a book here, and I put the gift card in the book. [Then] I would leave it in a Little Free Library for someone to find, and they could then come back to the store and use the gift card. So, sharing, caring. But the empathy, I think, is the biggest thing.