Special Delivery by Lauren Blakely Audiobook Review

Special Delivery by Lauren Blakely

Full Cast Narration starring Andi Arndt and Dan Bittner

Holiday Novella. Standalone part of a series.

Sigh…Lauren Blakely and a Christmas novel is like a match made in heaven! Add to that a full-cast audio, and I’m officially in the holiday spirit. Special Delivery by Lauren Blakely is the 5th book in the Always Satisfied Series, but can easily stand alone, that’s what I love about Lauren’s books.

Vaughn works as a sports agent in New York, but his family is in Miami. When the firm decides to expand to Miami, Vaughn is asked to head up the office after the holidays. In the meantime, one of his partners, Josh, tasks him with coordinating the office Christmas Party with his sister, an event planner. With only 2 months to go in New York, Vaughn was on a strict no-women diet. But when he spotted Josh’s sister, he knew he was in trouble.

“Deck the halls with my greatest temptation, and fuck me sideways with a nutcracker.
Fa-la-la-la-la.”

She ticked every one of his boxes, especially the most important one.

“And she likes Christmas. Man down. Man officially down.”

Vaughn and Quinn had wonderful banter and their love of Christmas was so adorable! I love how their differences (she’s an organizer, he’s a pantser), and their similarities (extroverted Christmas lovers) worked so well together and they had fantastic chemistry. There was just the right amount of romance and steam, and I never felt like it was too short to be fulfilling which is really hard to do in a novella.

Likes:

Special Delivery checked all my boxes for a perfect Christmas novella that can be read year-round.
The length worked, the story felt complete and not rushed.
So much holiday stuff happening!
I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.
I loved her aversion to surprises.
Great chemistry between the couple.
The tie-ins with previous books are there for Lauren Blakely lovers, but stands alone great too.
Witty banter.

Dislikes:

There was nothing to dislike.

The Narration:

Lauren Blakely has such a gift with audiobooks. She knows how to pick the perfect narrator, and her full cast ones are such an experience to listen to. I think this is the first time Dan Bittner has narrated a main character for her, and let me tell you, I have a new voice crush! He was perfect. I loved this cast!

The Down & Dirty:

It is so rare to finish a novella and feel like I had a complete story that didn’t feel overly rushed. While I wish it was longer because I didn’t want to leave the world, it was honestly timed perfectly. When I rate a novella, I usually use a different scale in my head and rate it for a novella only, in this case I don’t even need that caveat. Sweet, cute, sexy and it totally got me in the holiday spirit early, Special Delivery by Lauren Blakely is a new holiday favorite.
*NOTE: Make sure you listen to the end! There were some bonus bloopers and interviews.