Main
Character
Books
Read for pleasure.
Find romance novels, snacks, and book clubs. Fall in love with your new community.
Celebrate books at our community events!
Join us for an evening of laughter, chat, and nostalgia as we celebrate Found Time, the new novel from Caroline Goldstein! Hear from the author about her novel, have your copy signed, and meet fellow readers.
✨19:00………………Event doors
✨19:30………………Author talk and Q&A in conversation with Annabelle Slator
✨20:15-21:00…..…Book signing, shopping, chat!
Main Character Books, Spitalfields Market, E1 6DX
ABOUT THE BOOK, NEW FROM 831 STORIES:
A second-chance romance that questions whether a whirlwind, week-long love story can still stir something three decades later.
In 1993, Lili and Reid lock eyes after a Jeff Buckley show at Sin-é in New York’s East Village. Their connection is immediate and intense—kicking off a steamy summer romance that cracks something open for both of them—but the pursuit of another passion cuts it short. Thirty years later, they’re both navigating midlife as single parents of teen girls when they cross paths once more. Can they find their way to each other through the complexities of adulthood better than they could during the relative simplicity of their youth?
“Found Time hits the sweet spot between naughty and ’90s-nostalgic. A sexy and sentimental read!”
—Robinne Lee
Meet the author and have your Indie exclusive edition signed!
27 June, 12:00–14:00pm, in timed slots
Join us for a book signing with Ashley Poston celebrating her newest title, The Someday Garden! Ashley Poston is also the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of The Dead Romantics, The Seven Year Slip, and A Novel Love Story.
Your ticket includes the Indie exclusive edition of The Someday Garden (sprayed edges anyone?) and she'll be here to sign it for you!
To be sure every guest has an opportunity to meet Ashley, she will be signing copies of The Someday Garden plus one other book! (Bring your own or purchase one with us!)
Tickets are timed to ensure a moderate queue. Please arrive no earlier than 10 minutes before your allotted time.
The queue will be outside and under an awning, so please prepare for the weather accordingly!
Our store will be open from 12pm for other shopping.
We will also have Ashley's backlist for sale — including collector's editions of Dead Romantics and Seven Year Slip.
If you'd like to reserve copies of either collector's editions, use linked product and chose pick up in store!
About “The Someday Garden”
The new head gardener at the enchanting Lilymoor House stumbles upon a secret garden . . . with a mysterious man trapped inside, in the next magical novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Sounds Like Love and The Seven Year Slip.
When Sophie Drear plans her escape to coastal Maine for the summer—for a temporary job revitalizing the storied grounds at Lilymoor House—she doesn’t expect to fall in love.
But she does: With the beguiling land, the fragrant flowers, and the towering hedge maze. With the quirky staff and the enigmatic woman who owns the place.
And then, the door appears. Never in the same place twice, it leads her to a secret, and unfinished, garden with a frustrated thundercloud of a man trapped inside.
This mysterious garden is not the only sign that the future of Lilymoor is unstable: the foliage resists Sophie’s careful nurturing, vines threaten to strangle the hedges, and the manor’s owner has wild ideas about who will take over when she retires—including her inconveniently attractive nephew who is also there just for the summer.
Despite herself, Sophie has come to care for the residents of Lilymoor just as much as she cares for its grounds. With the help of one man on the outside of the secret garden, and one man on the inside, she might be the only person who can figure out exactly what Lilymoor needs to bloom once more.
2 JULY | Doors: 19:00, Event 19:30
Join us for an evening celebrating great new reads in sapphic lit in conversation with three amazing authors!
Bea Fitzgerald will launch her new book, Better than Revenge. Bea is a Sunday Times bestselling author and content creator who has swiftly become one of the UK's biggest YA stars. Her debut Girl, Goddess, Queen was the bestselling YA hardback debut of 2023 and her follow-ups The End Crowns All and A Beautiful Evil were both instant bestsellers. In 2024, Girl, Goddess, Queen won the Romantic Novelists’ Association Fantasy Romance of the Year. Her work has also been shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the YA Book Prize and The Books Are My Bag award. Bea's work has been translated widely across theglobe, and when she's not writing, she's entertaining her followers on TikTok and Instagram with her mythology-themed comedy account @chaosonolympus.
Caitlin Devlin is the author of A Song I Wrote for Charlotte, The Real Deal, and Born For This. She studied English and Creative Writing at Warwick University before graduating to work in music and theatre journalism. As a teenager, she started writing novels as Christmas presents for her younger sister and brother. Since then, her work has been recognised by competitions such as the Iggy & Litro Young Writers’ prize, the Flash 500 short story competition and the Exeter Writers short story competition. She is also a performed playwright. She currently lives in London with her partner and spends all her money at cafes. Follow Caitlin on TikTok and Instagram at @catmdevlin.
Lizzie Huxley-Jones is an autistic author based in London. They are the author of the queer holiday rom-coms Make You Mine This Christmas and Under the Mistletoe With You, Hits Different co-written with Tasha Ghouri, and the Vivi Conway series: the Waterstones Children's Book Prize shortlisted Vivi Conway and the Sword of Legend followed by Vivi Conway and the Haunted Quest. They are the editor of Stim: an autistic anthology. They write joyful stories that centre queerness and disability, and can be found as @littlehux on social media, or out walking their dog Nerys.
Books and refreshment available for purchase!
Please note we are unable to offer refunds on event tickets.
Get ready to laugh with Stars and Swipes, the new novel from Sophie Gravia! Fall back in love with Ella, Katy, and Zola as they take their hit dating website, The Dicktionary Club, to the States!
✨Swing by the shop in the afternoon for free ice cream!
✨19:00………………Event doors
✨19:30………………Author talk and Q&A with Catriona Innes, Commissioning Director, Cosmopolitan UK
✨20:15-21:00…..…Book signing, shopping, chat!
Main Character Books, Spitalfields Market, E1 6DX
Your ticket includes a copy of the book a week before publication!
About the Book
The Dicktionary Club girls are back… and seeking American members.
Ella, Katy, and Zola are beside themselves when they are offered the opportunity to launch their now infamous dating website, The Dicktionary Club, stateside. The headlines covering their technological (mis)adventures have caught the eye of a Manhattan entrepreneur — and he wants the three besties to collaborate with him on a similar app for the American market.
With their love lives imploding back home, the girls are ready to escape the Glasgow dating scene and live their Gossip Girl fantasies in New York, but their romantic problems are not so easy to run away from. A bigger city, bigger apartments, a bigger dating pool — but it turns out, not everything is bigger in America…
Secrets spill. Lines blur. And in a city built on ambition and attraction, someone is always watching. Because in New York, love is a game.
And everyone is playing.
Stars and Swipes is a glamorous, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy packed with friendship, flirtation, and scandal, from the Queen of Holiday Reads, Sophie Gravia.
BOOK RELEASE PARTY: Tempting Venom by Rina Kent
30 June, 2026
19:00–20:30
Are you tempted yet? Rina Kent’s best-selling dark romance Vipers series has a new novel — and YOU’RE invited to the release party! Rina Kent writes under a pen name, so this event is authorless (we’re sure she’ll be there in spirit).
Your ticket includes a copy of Tempting Venom on release day, along with a signed bookplate, exclusive bookmarks, stickers, and keyring and publisher giveaways! We’ll have drinks, snacks, Rina-themed games, bookmark crafting, and more! Join us and let’s party!
Tempting Venom is a male x male college hockey romance. While this book can be read on its own, for a better understanding of the world, it's recommended to read Beautiful Venom & Sweet Venom first.
Your ticket is non-refundable. If you can’t make the party, we will hold your book and goodies for pickup.
Start your engines to help launch Crash Into You, the new F1 romance novel from Simone Soltani! Join us on publication day to hear from the author about her newest update to the hugely popular Lights Out series, and have your copy signed!
✨19:00: Event doors
✨19:30: Author talk, Q&A
✨20:15: Book signing, chats with friends, party!
Main Character Books, Spitalfields Market, E1 6DX
ABOUT THE BOOK:
A forbidden love forces a shift in gears in the next sizzling Formula 1 romance from the USA Today-bestselling author of Cross the Line.
Formula 1 driver Zaid Yousef is back—though he’s not sure he wants to be. After a crash last season left the seven-time world champion with two broken wrists and a hesitance to get back behind the wheel, his future in the sport is nothing short of uncertain. Saddled with an unfinished contract and expectations to win a record-shattering title, the only choice is for him to return . . . right?
The press turned Ava Farahani’s life upside down in the last few years, forcing her to leave her job in marketing and the world of F1 she grew up in. She knows she should stay far away from the track, but the draw of the sport she loves is too strong to resist. A preseason event brings the two together for one hot, reckless night, and weeks later, results in a positive pregnancy test. Ava desperately wants to be a mother, and the baby gives Zaid a newfound drive to survive the season and break the world record.
There’s just one little problem: Ava is a team principal’s daughter . . . and Zaid is their biggest rival.
“Simone is at her best with this gorgeous, tender and effortlessly romantic installment to her series. I laughed, I giggled and I most definitely cried. She’s already in the hall of fame for romance writers for me, but Crash Into You will remind readers of exactly why she’s one of the greats!”
—Soraya Bouazzaoui, international bestselling author of Aicha
Go on, add to your TBR.
Find us for great novels, bookish gifts, community events, and much more at our flagship store.
Spitalfields Market
30 Spital Square
London E1 6DX, UK
Hours
M: 11:00–18:00
T–Sa: 11:00–19:00
Su: 12:00–17:00
Find amazing reads online on our Bookshop.org page — your bookshelf will thank you!
Listen to swoony stories and support the shop with Libro.fm audiobooks!
Happy Pride!
Join us this month as we celebrate love stories, in all colours.
Our in-store tote is now online to celebrate the rich diversity of all the pleasure reads.
The tote is 220 gsm midweight canvas made from 100% recycled open-end cotton. Inside you'll find a fabric pocket — perfect for smaller essentials!
Our products are made to order, and can take up to 5 business days to ship (plus two days for shipping). We thank you for your patience!
Show off your passion.
From contemporary to romantasy to that spicy one with the dragons, we’re here with a shared love for the genre. We’re building out our online offerings, but treat yourself to a little merch while you’re here!
Represent your favourite trope with this Beechfield EarthAware® organic cord baseball cap. Available in multiple colours, medium profile, and adjustable.
Our products are made to order, and can take up to 5 business days to ship (plus two days for shipping). We thank you for your patience!
Obsessed with magic, dragons, and far-away lands? Us too.
Represent your favourite genre with this Beechfield EarthAware® organic cord baseball cap. Available in multiple colours, medium profile, adjustable back.
Our products are made to order, and can take up to 5 business days to ship (plus two days for shipping). We thank you for your patience!
Large tote for all your book (and non-book) shops. EarthAware® large shopper made from 100% organic cotton canvas. Available in multiple colours with white embroidery, size 52 x 38.5 x 16cm.
Our products are made to order, and can take up to 5 business days to ship (plus two days for shipping). We thank you for your patience!
Let’s talk books.
Stay in touch to hear more about our opening, book clubs, and events.
Contact Main Character
The shop
Spitalfields Market
30 Spital Square
London E1 6DX, UK
Find us on the North side of Spitalfields Market, near the elephants!
Hours
M: 11:00–18:00
T–Sa: 11:00–19:00
Su: 12:00–17:00
Main Character is the brainchild of Owner/Founder Cassie and Comms Director Allie, who found comfort and community in a romance book club during COVID. Since then, we’ve had children, moved countries, changed jobs, and worn too many (romance) hats. Main Character is a love letter to the community of romance-book loving people who have seen and supported us through it all.
We are lady-owned and embrace diversity and love in all its forms. We believe that books should be fun and enjoyable: if you like it, it’s the book for you! We don’t yuck someone else’s yum and think that everyone should read for pleasure.
Contact us at hello@maincharacterbooks.co.uk!
