Meet Whose Books’ romance book club leader

When Rita Castillo-Vela, 43, thinks of her first time reading romance, she thinks of the avid readers in her family. Her grandma, mom and tías.

“They would just read (it) all, everything,” she says, “but there was always this True Love or True Story magazine.”

Within the pages of the print, Castillo-Vela would read through little romance stories that she confessed weren’t always appropriate for kids. But she read them because the women of her family read them.

Her love for reading in general blossomed in elementary school. She fondly recalls Dr. Razon at James Stephen Hogg Elementary (which is now Hogg New Tech Elementary School) as the first educator to encourage her to check out certain books like Sweet Valley High.

All of these influences inspired her to earn her bachelor’s degree in literature and later attend the University of North Texas for a master’s in organizational leadership.

“I actually thought I would be a high school English teacher, then it happened,” Castillo-Vela says. “I’ve always been an avid reader, and then kind of fell into teaching math and science because I really wanted to stay at the school that I was at, and that was the only position they had. So then, I discovered a love for STEM as well. I love teaching science and getting dirty and really creating cool labs for kids.”

Today, she is no longer a “traditional teacher,” instead using her background in education to found Enrooted Consulting and Solutions in June 2025 and works part-time at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden.

“We take my love of botany, plants and STEM and merge it with social-emotional learning for kids and then pro-social skills for adults,” she says.

These lessons include teaching parts of a plant, what a plant needs to thrive and survive, and connecting the scientific with the humanistic skills needed with love and compassion.

“I was in education for a really long time and very formal education, and I was principal during COVID and post-COVID while I was also pregnant,” she says while tearing up, making a comment she was not going to cry.

“It was a really hard time to be an educator and to be a new and first time mom,” Castillo-Vela says. “There was no reference to how to be a leader through a global pandemic while postpartum. I needed an outlet that was soft enough, but at the same time, something I didn’t feel was frivolous.”

She ended up joining Whose Books’ mystery book club to fill that void. During one of the club meetings, she leaned over to tell the shop’s co-owner Claudia Vega that they needed a romance book club.

Vega said, “And you should lead it.”

“While I was transitioning out of formal education and really focusing in on the needs of myself and my family, I still wanted to be able to connect with people,” Castillo-Vela says. “And so romance gave me that bridge to really feel like, ‘OK, this is soft and easy, and fun and flirty, and I can connect with people and bring people together.’ That was my bridge.”

The Oak Cliff is for Lovers Book Club has met every month since May 2024. Having this club has not only helped Castillo-Vela find connection, but live out what she finds central to our community.

“We are lovers of people and our neighborhood and, of course, literature,” she says.

“Your perceptions of what you’re reading are always true to where you are in life and your experiences and so we bring those out. Often our book club is really a diverse group of people. All genders, all ages, all ethnicities, and it’s really beautiful to just come together and see how different perceptions play out and strike a chord with one another.”