This Romance Book Subscription Box Brings More Than Words

Melissa Saavedra, CEO of The Steam Box image used with permission

Subscription box, we all the term now–they’ve been around for a number of years and at this point, you can get most anything you desire within a little (or large) cardboard box delivered right to your door. Since the pandemic began, people have relied on them to diversify their palates, whether that be food or fashion, and now, even with books and sexual wellness items. Why not couple the two?

Melissa Saavedra is the Latina founder of Steamy Lit, a romance book and sexual wellness subscription box service which offers recipients a vibrator and a selection of self-care items to enjoy along with their steamy novels. Don’t worry, if you’re not interested in receiving a toy, you can choose a box that doesn’t have one.

A US Navy veteran, Melissa launched the inclusive product, to not only open the lines of communication around sexual wellness but to also diversify readers book shelves by amplifying the voices of authors who have been historically underrepresented in the publishing world. In particular female authors, people of colors and authors from the LGBTQ+ community.

How Does The Steam Box Subscription Box Work?

Every quarter, your box is curated with three to four books for that season, plus three or four items from women-owned small businesses, and vibes/sexual wellness items. Not everything comes at once. Your first box contains one book, your items from the small businesses, and your vibe/wellness items. Your other books will follow every two months so you never run out of steamy content!

Subscription Boxes Available

Annual–Boxes for all four quarters. These are full boxes, products, books, and vibes.

Semi-annual-– Boxes for two quarters. These are full boxes, products, books, and vibes.

Quarterly— You can choose a book only subscription (just the books). No Vibes (only books and products). Full box (books, products, and vibes)

They also have merch! Personally, I love some of the t-shirts and I really want to get this one:

From The Steam Box Merch Shop

Quarterly boxes begin at $55 USD every three months

Image by author

The box I received is the Latine/x Romance Special Edition Box. It contains three books, Love Me, Maddie Mendoza by Amy Oliveria; The Sunset Job by Max Walker; and On the Hustle by Adriana Herrerra with a special NSFW vellum exclusive insert. It also included Candle from Heka Remedies, Concha bath bomb from Loquita Bath and Body, Passion fruit lotion bar from Pachamama Is Mother Earth, Vibe and lube from Maude, and Bookmark from Fandom Sleeves. This special edition box is still available and is currently on sale for $99 USD.

5 percent of each box is donated to Latinx in Publishing, an organization committed to supporting and increasing the number of Latinx people that work in publishing, and promoting literature by, for, and about Latinx people.

You can check out my reel on Instagram where I show you each item.

I love that Steamy Lit is a woman owned business and their attention to detail. The box arrived quickly and is full of items I will actually use. The candle smells delicious, the lotion bar feels divine on my skin, and I can’t wait for an opportunity to use the bath bomb. In the past when I’ve tried other sexual wellness subscription boxes, I found a lot of them to be cheap feeling. The “extra” items were not well made, and felt like something you’d find in a crackerjack box if you catch my drift.

They reminded me of the old-school toys you’d get from seedy sex toy shops back in the day, when everything took AAA batteries and died after you used them once. ABS plastic and just not decent quality. If you got any other perks, they felt like they came from Dollar Tree.

It just wasn’t the quality I expected from a subscription box service when I was paying decent money.

With Steamy Lit, I feel like I am getting more than my money’s worth. These are full size products, the vibe is a brand I know and trust, and let’s be frank, I’m not afraid to use it or the amazing self-care products that have been included. And that bookmark? How cute is that?

**This is a sponsored post. I was provided this subscription box in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Steamy Lit for providing this box and a quality product and service. This article contains affiliate links, so if you decide to treat yourself while shopping, I may earn a small commission. To learn more, get in contact with me here.