Delayed Satisfaction

Always Satisfied #0.5

by Lauren Blakely

I’m not looking for love. I’m definitely not even interested in dating. But when I first see the handsome stranger singing on stage and our eyes lock, it feels like kismet. For seven blissful days, we fall into an intoxicating romance. Until one night when I learn just how forbidden we are…

Genres: Romance, Audiobook, Contemporary, Novella, Contemporary Romance, Short Stories, Fiction

110 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 22, 2019

About the author

You can find Lauren on TikTok at @laurenblakelybooks! A #1 New York Times Bestselling, #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling, and #1 Audible Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that’s sexy, feel-good and witty. Lauren likes dogs, cake and show tunes and she is the vegetarian at your dinner party.

Reviews

[Sophia Triad · Rating 4 out of 5]

*free almost everywhere*

I loved this short prequel of Malone and Sloane's love story from Satisfaction Guaranteed. It is written beautifully and it makes you want to read more despite its ambiguous ending. I am not sure I could have forgiven Malone after this ending and his choise.

[Cyndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delayed Satisfaction is the right name for this story. Our heroine and hero have an great meet/cute but before they can reach the Satisfaction they discover why they can't be together. Until the next book anyway.

[❤️ Nanda ❤️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

🎧 Audiobook Review 🎧

Well....
That's exactly what this Prequel is...
A delayed satisfaction.

It's just a meet cute that ends abruptly.

I'll probably listen to the continuation, because who wants to be hanging?

The narration is in duet format, and it's perfect! Lauren Blakely definitely have the best audiobook narrations.

[Alaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The novella that made me want to dive into the first book of this series!

Delayed Satisfaction was so freaking quick. It honestly went by in such a blur. In it, you will meet Sloane and Malone. If you didn't laugh at the rhyming.. then I didn't either? Anyways, things get hot and heavy but stop to a halt rather suddenly. I didn't really get the whole they can't have a relationship because he started to work with her dad? Yet, it did create some juicy drama that intrigued me enough to dive into the next book of this series.

[Sonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 prequel stars

This was nice. Of course, I wish we had a lot more detail. Good thing I’ve already read the book that follows this.

Malone (28) meets Sloane (22) when he’s singing. They hit it off and she finds out he’s a vet. They go on a few dates and make out, a lot, but then he finds out the new contract he signed with makes her father his new partner😅😬. Which means, they can’t date 😏.

Satisfaction Guaranteed is their HEA. I enjoyed it. Too bad we didn’t get to see all of their dates, but hey, it’s just a prequel.

⚠️safety squad⚠️
It’s safe lol nothing much happens

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon & on iBooks today (6/25/2019)! 🎁

[Christina (A Reader of Fictions)]

Let the title be considered a warning. This novella is not itself a romance but the precursor to one. It's like an extended prologue to the novel to come. That's mildly annoying since I'm now left with a cliffhanger for a series I wasn't reading, since the audio for Delayed Satisfaction was included in book two of another series. I enjoyed the novella, though it's very drama-free, until the abrupt conclusion that made me realize it's not whole unto itself.

[Veronica (Honey Roselea Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and short intro to Sloane and Malone’s relationship. Currently reading Satisfaction Guaranteed

[Avidez Literaria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sloane goes to an event to get new business contacts. Newly formed, she needs to get a job and direct her career. To end the night with a handsome man is all that she least desires ... at least until she hears the deep and sensual voice of a stranger with piercing blue eyes, who with his timeless voice sings and delights everyone in the place.

Malone is struggling for the job of his life. He did not expect the woman who captured his attention as he sang in a karaoke at a charity event turned out to be a great company on that and the next seven nights. However, destiny will play a part on the couple and a difficult choice will be made.

Think of a short, romantic story. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the romance is not dead. Not even chivalry. Smoothly and accurately, the author creates a couple that will win over your heart in a blink of an eye. And leave you wanting to know more of their story. Although the end is a little open, the reading is definitely worth it.

[Jess Brady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sloane & Malone, come on!! How adorable is that?

This novella was a little treat at what we can expect from the full-length novel featuring the same two characters, Satisfaction Guaranteed. This was before their love was forbidden, and before Malone knew who Sloane was.

Only complaint I had was Malone didn't have the courage to tell his boss the truth. Then again, he might make it up to me in the full-length novel. I loved the chemistry here though, seriously so good! If there is one thing LB never fails at it is chemistry.

The narration was fantastic too! With Andi Arndt & Jason Clarke at the helm would you expect anything less?

All in all, a cute prequel that has me even more excited to start Satisfaction Guaranteed.

[Eve · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

This is definitely a prequel to be read AFTER reading the original book methinks (which I did not do). I’ve had good experiences with Lauren Blakely in the past but the writing in this just wasn’t for me. It just felt a bit **off**. Also, the reasoning at the end is completely stupid and made zero sense whatsoever. Sigh.

[Jo - •.★Reading Is My Bliss★.• · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun and steamy introduction to the Always Satisfied series. This is a prequel to Satisfaction Guaranteed and shows us how Sloane and Malone first meet each other. The attraction and connection between them is off the charts so I'm excited to read more about this couple.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute start to the series. Can’t wait to see where it goes.

[Micky Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

How hot is it when a man crooning old bluesy style songs is singing them right at you especially when he looks like a cross between a cover model for all male magazine and a god of men? Pretty freaking hot especially when he finishes his song and zero's in on you and sweeps you off your feet....until he figures out that you are his new bosses daughter. This is a short intro to the story of Sloan and Maloan that will have you definitely wanting to read the full book to find out the "rest of the story" and both are definitely entertaining enough to delight you with excellent narration and delightful storylines!

[Carlos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book: 2.5/5
Audiobook: 5/5

[Sana Zameer · Rating 2 out of 5]

They have such silly rhyming names, lol.

[Marina · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5*

Delayed Satisfaction?? How about no Satisfaction. I'm very annoyed that this is where it ended. Unless this was written afterwards to build backstory? Still though

[Pam Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great prequel! I adore Sloane and Malone story. Going back and listening to this reminded me what I loved their story so much.

Again Lauren picks great narrators.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was sweet and romantic. I did not know it was a to a series but now I need to read the series. Was it love at first sight? Or I would say attraction at first sight? However, as the author said it was Kismet. 😂 anyhow, I loved it. Malone is such a gentleman and did I mention romantic?! The audiobook was great. Only 56 minutes and it sold me to read the whole series. I can't wait to read more of Sloan and Malone.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The short free novella introduces Malone and Sloane from Satisfaction Guaranteed. I loved seeing their past with their budding connection and rapport. It is witty, romantic, and swoony. It's full of sexual tension and general tension as I was trying to figure out what would happen to set them off course. And it leaves you wanting more and in the perfect place to begin their full story.

[Rochelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick Read

This was a nice prequel to Satisfaction Guaranteed. You get to see how Sloane and Malone meet. It was a sweet, quick read and it can be read before or after Satisfaction Guaranteed because it won't take away from the story.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice prequel to Satisfaction Guaranteed which makes your mouth water for more!

[Kate McMurry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This audiobook offers a terrific duet performance

This audiobook is a short prequel, which provides the backstory of Sloane and Malone, who are the romantic protagonists of the reunion romance, Satisfaction Guaranteed, the first novel in the Always Satisfied series. The author is offering their breakup onstage, presumably to convince romance fans that we should be relieved and delighted when these two, who couldn't be bothered to fight for their relationship when they were first together, finally, and totally by accident, run into each other again seven long years after their breakup. It is important to note that their breakup in this prequel means that it has, by romance-genre standards, a tragic ending.

The reason given for the breakup is one that I, personally, find quite irritating. Similar to the "forbidden love," romantic-conflict trope, "brother's best friend," the romantic conflict here is that Sloan is "the boss's daughter." Sloane and Malone are intensely attracted to each other, mentally, emotionally, and physically, and they have come to respect and trust each other's character and the mutuality of their affection, even though they have only been dating for a week. This is because they have spent more time together during those seven marvelous days than most couples would have dedicated to each other in seven months. And as further proof of the seriousness of their intentions, they haven't yet had sex, as they might have been doing all along if their connection were merely a fling. In addition, Sloane's father views Malone as an honorable person, sufficient to hire him, as a fellow veterinarian, to be a junior partner in the father's vet practice. For that reason, I find it difficult to accept that Sloane's father would have put the kibosh on their relationship if either Malone or Sloane had bothered to mention to him that they were already together and serious about each other before he hired Malone.

My other gripe is this: Given that this love story is set in NYC, a bustling metropolis of over 14 million residents, the coincidence of the connection between Sloane's father, Sloane, and Malone is so massive, it defies credibility. As does Sloane and Malone's randomly running into each other seven years later in that same gigantic NYC. Given that Malone has been working for her father all this time, in order to have no contact with Malone, Sloane would have had to make a point to never go near her father's veterinary clinic, which in itself would have seemed strange to her father, because Sloane is a huge animal lover. In short, if Sloane and Malone were ever going to run into each other again, the clinic would be the only likely location.

Finally, I personally have trouble enjoying reunion romances in which both people have been having sexual relationships with other people during their separation. This completely violates the expected romance premise that the protagonists are soulmates, whose lives will be forever blighted if they can't be together, and for whom no one else could ever possibly take the place of each other, their only possible chance at true love. Not so for these two indifferent lovers. Both Sloane and Malone have been doing just fine without each other. Their lives are going great and the memory of each other has existed as merely a minor twinge of regret.

I gained access to this audiobook free, through my Audible membership, and the entire series this prequel is part of is also free via my membership. Otherwise, I certainly wouldn't have wanted to use a credit to obtain this prequel. (Or any other similar, reunion-romance prequel that an author offers. Doing so seems to be a regrettable, growing trend for authors who write reunion romances.) I'm not feeling at all charitable toward this passive pair, so I'm skimming my way through their reunion in Satisfaction Guaranteed.

The main thing I liked about this particular audiobook is that it is a duet performance, with the talented male narrator, Jason Clarke, reading the dialogue for all of the male characters and Malone's internal monologue, and the equally talented female narrator, Andi Arndt, reading the dialogue for all of the female characters and Sloane's internal monologue.

Unfortunately, this terrific production choice for the narration is not carried into Satisfaction Guaranteed. It provides a frustrating, but all too typical, use of a male and female narrator. For the chapters in Sloane's point of view, Andi Arndt performs the dialogue of all of the characters, female and male, including Malone's dialogue. For the chapters in Malone's POV, Jason Clarke performs the dialogue of all of the characters, male and female, including Sloane's dialogue. It's a strange choice by Audible Studios, because they raised our expectations that it would also be a duet performance since this prequel is.

I rate the story as 2 stars and the audiobook performance as 5 stars, for an overall score of 3 stars.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novella was included at the end of another Lauren Blakely audio book. It's a short read ... a little over an hour on audio. As a novella it is not a satisfying one. This is a prequel to Satisfaction Guaranteed, the first book in the Always Satisfied series. As such, it ends on a major cliffhanger. But leaving that aside, there isn't much to this story other than two people who randomly meet, get along swimmingly, and (sort of) fall in love over the course of one week. There's not a lot here to satisfy any demands for depth of plot. We don't really get to know either Sloane or Malone all that well, but I will say that they both seem like lovely characters, and there is some chemistry between them. This is just a short story about two people who like each other a lot. That's it. There are some leaps into depth that fall totally flat because it is so obvious that these two don't really know each other so well. After all, the big cliffhanger reveal that derails their intentions could have been discovered pretty early if they were really interested in getting to know each other a little more deeply. An example of the leap into depth that failed ... Malone encourages Sloane to reach for the stars and not settle for the job she was planning to take. He says she seems more fitted for something grander. Why? How does he know this? They haven't communicated long enough for him to know this. A little later in the relationship this would be great, but in this story it seemed like a stretch. All things considered, this was a good lead-in story for what is coming up. I was intrigued to see how the next book would go, until ... I guess it takes place SEVEN years later. Seven years! And all this time they are still in proximity to one another. After reading this novella that makes NO SENSE at all. I'm not feeling like I want to know more, especially after reading the blurb for that story which makes Malone seem like more of a tool than this one does. Oh well. But I give this story three stars. For what it was, it was enjoyable.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short prequel story about Slone and Malone, who meet at a charity event for animals. He is singing, and Slone falls for his voice and feels like he is singing to her. It turns out he was, and he asked her to go on a walk with him. They are falling for each other so fast that he asks her for another date while on the walk. They go out to dinner for date two, and still, the connection is their. The third date is a walk to sight see flowers, as they get to know each other. In the end, we find out that Malone just got a job with Solne's dad. Then he decides they have to break up. That's kind of bullshit. Poor Slone.

[Becky Rendon · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a tease!

A chance at magic. A romance at its brightest...snuffed out and the reader left hanging. Good thing Satisfaction Guaranteed is already available!

I am very excited for Sloane and Malone to get their HEA.

[Bree Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh Nooo! The cliffhanger ending.

[Lucy Leigh J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audible: 3.5 short, cute.

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable sneak peek into Sloane and Malone’s story.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very satisfied with this prequel. Looking forward to read more.