Risqué Reads is a new subscription box for fans of romances with some heat! I love seeing new romance novel subscriptions boxes because my roommate gets a ton of YA subscription boxes and I’m a little jealous. NB: This box was sent to me free of charge and I’m not being compensated for this review.

The box comes with two books and a small piece of swag. The price of the monthly box is $10.99 with $4 for shipping, which is a pretty good deal, considering the retail cost of a normal trade paperback. Everything comes in a plain cardboard box and the items are wrapped in delicate tissue paper. You can order subscriptions in monthly, 6-month, or 12-month plans.

As of right, the box is only available for U.S. residents.

Here’s a description from the site:

Risqué Reads is your home for erotic books. Each monthly pack contains two books based on your preferences and is delivered discreetly to you. Our team works hard to make sure the books you get every month will be sexy, entertaining and specific to your interests.

One thing that really struck me about the service is that you get to pick your genre. There’s the standard romance package with erotica and steamy contemporaries. I received that one to try. There’s a paranormal selection; Box reviews that I’ve seen with this selection included two Shelly Laurenston titles. And lastly, there’s a BDSM genre selection.

The box is rather big for the two books and small gift inside, so I thought there’d be more. Not necessarily a bad thing, but there’s a lot of empty space in the box. Of the two titles I received – All He Wants by C.C. Gibbs and Another Man Will by Daaimah S. Poole – I’d only classify one as erotica. Another Man Will seems more contemporary romance/women’s fiction. However, I was glad to see two new to me authors included.

My gift included with the books was cupcake soap! As in soap in the shape of a cupcake. It’s really cute and smells amazing. I love taking baths and I’m a bit of a Lush fan, so this little extra was perfect for me and I know I’ll be using it. I’m curious as to what other extras will be included in future boxes. However, the site’s description only mentioned books, so I’m unsure if extras are a regular thing that will be included, rather than a promotional item.

While the website is pretty straight forward, there are some questions that don’t seem to be readily answered. I couldn’t find the cost of the 6-month or 12-month plans listed without going through the sign up process. If you’re curious, the 6-month subscription is $60 before shipping costs and the 12-month subscription is $110 before shipping, so there’s definitely a discount for the longer plans. I would have also liked to see a list of authors that readers could potentially receive, just to give subscribers an idea of what they could be getting. Like I said earlier, I would have never expected to get Another Man Will in the erotica box because it doesn’t seem to be an erotica title.

However, for readers with a budget, the price of just doing a monthly box and receiving two books is a great deal! It’s essentially two books for around or less than the list price of one. It’s also great for those who don’t like a lot of extra stuff with their subscriptions. I’m definitely one of those people, as I often am unsure to do with the extra bits and baubles that sometimes come with other boxes.

I think Risqué Reads is a great option for budget-friendly, minimalist romance readers who want to get in on the fun surprise that comes with subscription boxes.

For those interested in giving the box a try, we have a promo code! You can get the first month free ($10.99 discount) on 6- or 12-month subscriptions. Available through 12/31/16. Subscribers receive two erotic books from a chosen genre plus an extra surprise each month. The books are shipped discreetly to your door. Use code: RISQUEBITCHES