Poppy McKellar moves back to her home town of Orange after falling pregnant and her partner not wanting to settle down and have a baby. The story goes from her moving back to Orange through to her baby Marvel almost turning one and all the dramas she goes through. From mothers’ group, to high school friendships, ex-boyfriends, being friends with her elderly neighbour and a grumpy male midwife who seems to annoy her at every step of the way.
The characters and events were relatable and it the book was a heartwarming read.

Special Delivery by Leesa Ronald is a hilarious, heartwarming rom-com and a strong debut from an Australian author.

Jobless and back in her home town of Orange, new mum Poppy McKellor, is riding the highs and lows of new motherhood, and doing it alone as a single mum after leaving the father of her daughter, who has zero interest in being a parent. The last thing she is looking for is love (and who would want her anyway, she thinks - with all her baggage and leaky boobs and a newborn in tow). She meets James, the grumpy, douche midwife who ends us delivering her baby, and who pisses her off every time she sees him (and who seems to enjoy doing it, too).

What follows is a heartwarming, life-affirming, sexy contemporary romance set in country NSW. I was blown away at how good this was and how much I loved reading it. It is well-written and incredibly funny. I laughed out loud and giggled at this book so much. This is a rom-com that has the comedy, along with the romance.

All the characters felt real and ordinary. Which doesn't sound like a compliment, but it is. It was refreshing to read about average people doing their best in life and falling in love. I felt such warm affection for the characters and were rooting for them.

I enjoyed not only the central romance, but the journey of Poppy as she came to know who she was, deal with the past, and make a new life for herself and her daughter.

Highly recommend. I can't wait to read more from Leesa Ronald. I hope she writes another book - she'll be an instant purchase for me now.

Thanks to Netgalley and Allen and Unwin for an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed following Poppy's journey of motherhood, finding community, herself and love! It was both a funny and heartwarming read. Lots of good character development and growth. While this was a romance and James a great love interest, I felt like Poppy shone as the main character and it was great seeing her storyline develop.

Thank you to Allen & Unwin and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eARC of this book.

I absolutely adored Special Delivery. It's so refreshing to read a male character who isn't a villian, who isn't toxic and just a genuine, real person.

Pregnant Poppy has moved back to Orange after breaking up with the father of her child and keeps running in to her midwife, James. Their relationship slowly develops and James is just wonderful and supportive and embraces Poppy for all her perceived 'flaws' and encourages her in all the right ways.

Leesa has painted an authentic picture of life in the Central West, as someone who grew up in the area I was immediately transported back to the wonderful things that living in the country provides.

A wonderful, easy read that will leave you feeling positive and happy.

A witty romcom with plenty of meat on the bones. I really enjoyed this book for its rounded, engaging characters, the lovely setting and, most of all, for the inside story on early motherhood, dirty nappies and all.... and for the romance too.

This story has such a clever start, with Poppy having t move back to the country town she grew up in, jobless and pregnant, but with a hilarious mother and a steady father. The birth of the baby happens fairly rapidly at the start of the story, and it's described really well. The mess and the exhaustion is new motherhood, as a single mum, is so accurate, with all the dark humour it deserves.

I'm not generally a romcom reader, and definitely related more to the older characters (how I loved Mary next door) than the star-crossed lovers, bit I was rooting for them and for the story with all its twists and turns.

In December, I will post to Facebook group and on social media.

Special Delivery was a really delightful debut romance by up and coming Australian author Leesa Ronald! I enjoyed reading this book, and thought it brought clearly showcased some of the delights of the rural town of Orange, with its warm community spirit and friendships crossing generations.

The novel follows the journey of a single mum Poppy, who is juggling the challenges of the newborn year, living in a new Town, making friends, and also discovering love in unexpected places.

James, a male midwife, adds an unconventional and refreshing twist to the narrative. His professionalism, as he surpress feelings of attraction, creates an air of emotional distance about him towards Poppy. However, the chemistry between the two is fun, filled with humour and genuine friendship that evolves to something more. As goes with the genre, there are moments of miscommunication and misunderstanding, but ultimately love triumphs.

Special Delivery, is a perfect blend of light-hearted romance, meaningful connections, and the trials of navigating the first year of motherhood as a single parent. It's a joyful read that leaves you with a smile, rooting for Poppy, James and Maeve, and their happily ever after.

Thanks NetGalley and Allen and Unwin for sending me this ARC in return for my honest review - I thoroughly enjoyed reading it!

Can’t wait to come back to review it before the release date ❤️ ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Special delivery

By Leesa Ronald

Pub date: 3 Dec 2024

4.5⭐️ / 5

The last page ache, the deep pain and emptiness after I have set the book aside.

I wish I wrote this book! Or wait! I wish I was in the book, to live as any of the sidekicks at-least. What i adored most about this book is how it doesnt take itself seriously. Like, there is some serious themes and content, but the overall vibe is very much enjoyable which will make you to finish the book in one go.

I often hope that the main female character will realize that the douche that she was with., but ... this one was cute just like the cover!

I would say, special delivery is the perfect delivery for a weekend getaway or to take a weekday off and relax😉 (I mean why not).

Thanks to NetGalley + Allen & Unwin for this ARC in exchange of an honest review.
























❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Poppy McKellar can’t believe her long term partners attitude when she falls pregnant, she’s thirty and Poppy decides to have her baby, and move back to Orange, in country New South Wales and be closer to her parents. Poppy rents a house, starts setting up the nursery and making plans for her bundle of joy's arrival in the hottest month of the Australian summer.

Poppy finds herself in labour and alone and except for the pesky midwife she met a few weeks ago and sometimes she feels like the whole universe is against her. Poppy has her baby, her parents take them from hospital, and let’s just say the first night of solo parenting is sleepless and stressful, Poppy can’t relax, she’s hears every newborn squeak and lays there doubting her capabilities as a mother and ticking off all the things in her head she's checked and double checked.

Poppy starts to go for a daily walk and because she’s going stir crazy, she meets her elderly next door neighbour who’s sweet and then she bumps into James the midwife who delivered her bubs and he still presses all of Poppy’s buttons and if she wasn’t a mother she would strangle the neat and tidy know it all.

I received a copy of Special Delivery from Allen & Unwin and NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased and honest review. This is the first book I have read by Leesa Ronald and it won’t be my last and it was hilarious and I haven’t laughed so much in ages. Full of realistic, wonderful, diverse and funny characters, a warts and all tale about being a single mum, covering the later stages of pregnancy and the first year of a baby’s life.

Poppy stumbles from crisis to crisis, suffers from baby brain and a bad case of saying the first thing that pops into her head, while dealing with a blast from her past, and then she starts to notice how good looking and tall James the midwife is, who she vowed to detest for the rest of her life and he makes an already flustered Poppy worse and she's in no position for romance and she's a new mother for crying out loud!!

Five stars from me, one of the best books I have read in 2024 and I highly recommend.