Some St. Louis bookstores extend their hours for a romantic fantasy book release

The sixth book in the popular romantic fantasy series A Court of Thorns and Roses dropped at midnight on Monday.

The Brentwood Promenade Target and local Barnes & Noble stayed open past midnight last night and hosted themed release parties, allowing fans to purchase copies of A Court of Splintered Harmony when the clock struck twelve. But Kris Kleindienst, owner of Left Bank Books in the Central West End, said she chose to give her staff a break from the constant demand for romantic fantasy and didn't keep her bookstore open late.

"I'll say, it's interesting to see a large box store like Target copying the practice of independent book stores that we developed when books have a strict on sale date," said Kleindienst. "We've done some midnight release parties for certain books over the years but it's definitely a big part of the community culture."

Kleindienst said she expects a boom in business today, as people rush in to pick up a copy.

"Romantic fantasy is, I would say, our fastest growing area in the bookstore," she said. "We always order a lot of Sarah Mass' next book -- she flies off the shelf, as we say."

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