Romantasy. Time-travel. Queer romance — these are just a sample of the subgenres celebrated at South Florida's first romance-only bookstore.
For the uninitiated, there's a whole world to romance literature.
While millions of people tuned in for Superbowl Sunday, a small group gathered in Deerfield Beach to gush over the first read for a Bad Bunny-inspired book club, aptly called Debí Leer Más Libros or “I should have read more books.”
It’s the third book club created and hosted by Steamy Lit that aims to highlight the works of Latino authors, among other underrepresented voices in the romance genre.
“It's cool because there's so many Latin authors out there. The support doesn't come so often, and it's so much harder to push through. It's just nice supporting your own,” said Jackie Montes.
Montes has been a Steamy Lit patron since the store opened in early 2024. As an ICU nurse in Hollywood, Montes tries to block time off on Sundays to attend the book discussions. For her, the bookstore has been a safe haven for happy endings.
“I think COVID did a number for a lot of people. I think it finally opened up the fact that we're very sad,” Montes said. “I think romance novels in general are such a nice way to escape into a happy place versus escape into just sadness all the time, you know?”
In the last two years, she’s become an avid reader because of the genre, making her one of the many millions of people who jumped on the romance bandwagon over the course of the pandemic. Now, more romance book stores — with equally cheeky names as Steamy Lit — have been popping up around the country.
"Reading romance has always been something that society wants to belittle. They want to say that it's not as serious or it shouldn't be considered reading — all of these things that are so untrue and so unfair about the genre."Melissa Saavedra, Steamy Lit owner and founder
When Melissa Saavedra, who had been living in California, moved back to South Florida she realized there were none in the area. That propelled her to open Steamy Lit and create a safe space to talk about sexuality, relationships and pleasure.
“I really wanted to talk about these taboo topics that especially in my experience — in a Latina household — we didn't talk about it, right? We didn't have open dialogue, even with my friend groups. It took a long time for us to even get comfortable in talking about those things,” she said.
Romantasy and diversity
Saavedra had always been a big reader, but the onset of the pandemic thrust her into the romance reading community. Before Steamy Lit, she had created Steam Box, an online book subscription service.
When she decided to open a brick-and-mortar, she wanted to show the diversity in romance. In the store, customers will see a selection of titles by queer, Latino and Black authors. Some shelves are labeled according to subgenre whether that be romantasy (a portmanteau of romance and fantasy) or regency romance. Other works are shelved according to common tropes — think, enemies-to-lovers, childhood friends or love triangles.
“ I want every single person who walks in here to be able to see themselves reflected in the media that they consume,” said Saavedra.
“The first time I read a book with a Peruvian character, I had never felt that kind of representation in any of my media. I think it's such a special and empowering feeling, especially in a country where right now, we are deemed to be more of a nuisance than anything else.”
That message has resonated with Paola Parreno, who works as a bookseller at Steamy Lit and spearheaded the Bad Bunny-inspired book club. She chose A Proposal We Can’t Refuse by the Puerto Rican author Natalie Caña for the club’s first read.
“ I'm not Puerto Rican, but this is the closest I've ever gotten to seeing my own family in a book,” she said. ”That's why, with this book club, I'm trying very hard to have different cultures and have different identities within [a book] … because a lot of times we overlap.”
READ MORE: A new anthology unwinds centuries of the Latino experience in America
Parreno went to California to get an MFA in creative writing where she was the only romance writer in her program. She had no intention of moving back home to South Florida, unless she could continue doing what she loved. Steamy Lit gave Parreno the opportunity to continue to share her love of romance writing in her hometown.
Just in the last month, Steamy Lit has hosted author signings, a book release party and themed book clubs. Oftentimes, the bookstore will focus on partnering with indie publishers, to sell books that you can’t find anywhere else. The bookstore’s success has led to a Tampa location, and soon, another one is coming to Miami.
Many of the popular romance novels on shelves today started off as fanfiction, with the most famous example being E.L. James' Fifty Shades of Grey series, which was originally posted as Twlight fanfiction online. Parreno, a longtime romance reader, recalls getting in trouble for writing and reading romance, and now she can enjoy the genre without shame.
“I can be like I read Fifty Shades when it was Twilight fanfic, and it's so fun to see other people like ‘Well I was reading it in secret, too.’ So it's not something that you have to hide or be ashamed of… it's a lot more open.”
Overcoming misconceptions
Over the past couple of years, there has been a surge in popularity for romance reads thanks to authors going viral on TikTok and a wave of successful book-to-streaming adaptations. Case in point: Court of Thorns and Roses author Sarah J. Maas became the top “BookTok” author in 2024 after selling 4.83 million print books. Meanwhile, fellow romance author Emily Henry currently has three of her books optioned for film adaptations.
“ Reading romance has always been something that society wants to belittle,” Saavedra said. “They want to say that it's not as serious or it shouldn't be considered reading — all of these things that are so untrue and so unfair about the genre."
Opening Steamy Lit in Florida was particularly challenging, where state legislation has led to increased scrutiny over what constitutes age appropriate content for books. For Saavedra, she ran up against local zoning regulations that initially wanted to categorize the bookstore as an adult store.
Saavedra said there is this misconception that romance novels are just erotica or full of sexual content, but she is quick to say that romance books offer more insight about the universal experience of love.
”[A romance novel] teaches you a different worldview and teaches you how to love yourself better and how to advocate for yourself, and how to love people better and how to communicate better. There's endless lessons," she said.
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