All I want for the holidays is the secret potion that’ll help me resist my brother’s new business partner. You know, the super hot, super sweet, super smart guy I now have to plan the holiday party with.I mean, really. Who thought THAT was a good idea?Oh, me. Yep, brilliant, strategic me who raised her hand and said yes I’d love to hang mistletoe with that sexy former sports star. I’d love to … love to taste test spiked hot chocolate with that charming, flirty man. I’d love to get snowed in with the one guy I shouldn’t fall for.
As long as I can make it through the holidays I’ll be on my merry way, fa la la la la. But the holidays have a surprise for me.
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DNF. Not very engaging. Skimmed then skipped several chapters and still could not finish.
Not very good and not worthwhile reading. Pretty dumb as far as I was concerned.
Lauren Blakely’s first foray into holiday romances was exactly the kind of swept-up-in-the-magic-of-the-season love story I’d expect from her. A standalone novella in the Always Satisfied series, Special Delivery was deliciously sweet and steamy, and I devoured it in an afternoon. Quinn, a party planner, and Vaughn Channing, a former NFL football player and current business partner of Quinn’s brother, are tasked with planning his company’s Christmas party.
Blakely takes readers on a right person, wrong time jingle all the way to happily ever after. Quinn is on a man-break while she focuses on her business, and Vaughn is on a love diet after his last disastrous relationship—not to mention he’s gearing up for a move to Miami after the holidays to head up the firm’s expansion efforts there. But what neither one was expecting was the triple holiday treat of instant connection, natural chemistry and magnetic attraction between them. Agreeing to spend Vaughn’s last few weeks in the New York together, they may have agreed to a casual fling with an expiration date, but everything about their time together screams that it’s so much more than that.
Nicely developed yet still a fast-paced read, Special Delivery is bubbling over with all of the sexy, swoony romance that I love from Lauren Blakely. With all the charm of a Hallmark Channel holiday movie—that was directed by the good folks at Cinemax—Lauren’s first holiday romance was fiery, frisky and festive. Special Delivery by Lauren Blakely gets 5 smooches from me!
~Danielle Palumbo, Red Cheeks Reads
4.5 stars
Quinn is a party planner and loves everything about Christmas. Her brother has asked for her help in throwing his company’s Christmas party this year and she is full of ideas. Planning parties is a natural extension of her need to plan and prepare for everything. She does not do impulsive or unexpected and thrives on control and organization.
Vaughn is a former pro-football player turned sports agent who has come to enjoy all aspects of his life outside of pro-sports. He enjoys his new line of work and is looking forward to moving to help the company expand. When his best friend asks him to help plan the Christmas party, he is game.
Quinn and Vaughn have quick chemistry, falling into a pattern of witty banter mixed in with their enthusiasm for planning this party. They find they have a lot in common, including a love for the upcoming holiday season and a desire to avoid romantic entanglements. But as their planning meetings continue and begin to feel more and more like dates, they decide to cross that line and have some fun with Vaughn’s move as the expiration date.
This book was so much fun to read. From the holiday atmosphere to the couple’s chemistry, this put a smile on my face. It also helped jumpstart the holiday season for me, and I found myself wondering if the 1st week of November was too early to start decorating for Christmas. Even though this is set during the holiday’s, I feel like it will translate well outside the season simply for the easy way these two have with each other. No matter the season, Quinn and Vaughn are the life of the party!
ARC provided by the author in exchange for review.
Lauren Blakely gets a jump start on the holiday season with this delightfully fun, sexy rom-com that readers will adore. It’s the perfect story to jump into the Christmas spirit any time of year and I seriously loved everything about this one! As with her other stories, Blakely brings back familiar characters to make guest appearances. But don’t worry…..if you are new to her stories, you can jump right in because Special Delivery reads as a complete standalone.
I must say that I absolutely LOVED Quinn and Vaughn! They were nothing short of magnetic. Quinn is adorable—she’s fun, flirty and self-assured. I just loved her energy! And Vaughn….le sigh……I swear I fell hard for him right from the start! He’s smart, strong and focused and was immediately drawn to Quinn. As these two set out to plan a party together, their attraction was overwhelming in all of the best ways. Their coupling burns slowly and the payoff is spot on. And as is typical, Blakely’s trademark witty banter is evident throughout. I found myself laughing and smiling constantly. Grab this fabulous read today! 5 stars
This audio was AMAZING!!!
I loved Dan (Bitner)! His voice is similar in style to Jason Clarke’s–soft but deep and smooth. He was so perfect for Vaughn!
I loved the Birthday Suit connection too!! Hi Lulu!!
Andi Ardnt, Jason Clarke and Emma Wilder were wonderful as well!
Snappy dialogue, a story flow that keeps you engaged, and a happily ever after. Can’t get any better than this.
Quinn wants a secret potion that will help her resist her brother’s new business partner, Vaughn. He is super hot, super sweet, and super smart. She is brilliant and strategic but agreed to plan a holiday party with him. – This is a romance novella. There is not much of a story, just fast and sweet.
This was the perfect mix of sweet and salty goodness! A Rom-Com with a full cast that in my mind was perfection!
The story was a feel good, boy meets girl meet cute with some sexy sexy good times!
If you’re new to audio books, it’s a great way to try them. I highly recommend it!
This is the 1st book I read by Lauren Blakely. I’m sorry I stopped reading this story at chapter 3 because it didn’t grab my interest.
Audiobook Review:
What a fun, short, holiday story. It had a little bit of a lot of tropes I like, but I don’t want to give away any spoilers. I really liked both main characters and the overall flow of the story. It was short but fulfilling and I didn’t feel like I was missing anything.
The narrators were awesome. Andi Arndt is already a favorite but Dan Bittner was new to me. I really really liked his performance though. I wouldn’t hesitate to listen to more in future. The other two special guest narrators were fantastic as well and this was an overall enjoyable experience.
No stress in this one…just a quick read with HEA.
Great characters! A quick read, really enjoyed the story!
I loved the interactions between the two main characters. It was a hot and flirty relationship in a Christmas romance. What else could you ask for? Maybe just some hot chocolate. Good story, great characters and wonderful dialogue. You just can’t go wrong with a Lauren Blakely story.
Loved all the characters, they were fun and likeable. Both stories were happy and straightforward, and I’m a sucker for a HEA!
A quick entertaining afternoon read,
Yesss!! A thousand times yes! This was super adorable and cute. I loved the lack of drama. I also loved that It was short but complete. I loved both Quinn and Vaughn, and I loved the glimpses of their families we got. Lauren Blakely was one of the first romance authors I read, and I have no idea why it’s taken me so long to read something else from her!
Special Delivery was a fun, flirty, insta-love Xmas romance read with a special delivery! Loved Quinn and Vaughan together! The other characters were wonderful!
This was a fun and steamy short read. I enjoyed it!
This book was short but sweet. Lauren Blakely is hands down one of my favorite authors and storytellers. I loved this cute Christmas themed romance. Only, the instant love kind of annoyed me and was very predictable. I guess it just takes a lot for me to really believe love at first sight situations. They have to be done extremely well and it kind of didn’t convince me 100% right at first. I loved how sassy and headstrong the main heroine Quinn was. Some parts of this book really made me think about life and what matters most. Even had a few teary-eyed moments in there for me while reading. All in all, for such a short story it was very much enjoyable, and let’s be honest I will read anything that Lauren Blakely writes.