Special Delivery (Leesa Ronald, A&U)

Leesa Ronald’s debut novel, Special Delivery, is an enemies-to-lovers rom-com with some hilarious side characters, steamy love scenes and a snarky, highly relatable protagonist. Poppy McKellar is unexpectedly pregnant, and her party-boy ex has bailed. She has left Sydney and a high-flying marketing job for her regional hometown of Orange, where she can be near her parents during the transition to becoming a single mum. Enter the rude and ‘robotic’ Ken-doll-lookalike James, the unlikely midwife who delivers Poppy’s baby. Poppy hopes this is where their acquaintance will end, but their paths continue to cross. Soon, Poppy cannot deny their growing attraction. Ronald has a true talent for comedy, which she uses to great effect in Poppy’s wry narration and the portrayal of Poppy’s interfering but well-meaning mum, a golf-obsessed chatterbox whose idea of a post-birth gift for Poppy is tattered hand-me-downs. James and Poppy’s romance has a satisfying build-up: witty banter, awkward misunderstandings and flashes of sculpted stomachs abound. Yet James’s aloof behaviour in the novel’s opening scenes transforms quite dramatically within a few chapters, and he becomes a kind and easygoing dreamboat a little too conveniently. His profession as a midwife also quickly loses relevance, mostly serving the story as a quirky meet-cute rather than a defining part of the plot or his character. Nonetheless, Special Delivery is a delightfully funny read that will appeal to fans of Emily Henry and Nina Kenwood.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Charlotte Callander is a freelance writer and an educator at Melbourne Museum. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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