Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Special Delivery: A Fun, Festive Sapphic Short

Rate this book
Christmas Eve. A cottage in Wales. A strange woman in a Santa outfit.

Samantha Cole wakes in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve to the sound of thumps, bumps, and bangs.

To her horror, she finds a strange woman in her house, dressed in a saucy Santa costume.

The woman insists she is Santa’s granddaughter, Holly, and is there for a special delivery to that address.

Holly is tall, Amazonian looking, and sexy as hell. Sam’s instantly attracted to her, but she doesn’t trust her. Or anyone.

Everything Holly represents rubs Sam up the wrong way. Brings out her defences and shrouds her in disbelief.
Especially Holly’s flirty nature and the insistence that she’s there to leave the present.

Sam lives alone in her little Welsh cottage and the nearest police station is over an hour away.

It is all too much. Besides, Sam doesn’t do Christmas.

Sam lost her beloved mother on Christmas day when she was little. Since then, she has closed herself off, shut the door, and cancelled Christmas for good.

Enter Sam’s world today.

58 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 25, 2022

28 people are currently reading
67 people want to read

About the author

Sue Still

3 books15 followers
Sue Still writes sapphic speculative fiction and action-adventure stories.

She loves creating new worlds, populated with diverse characters and creatures.

She is a graduate of the Golden Crown Literary Society (GCLS) Writing Academy and a member of iReadIndies.

A neurodivergent geek, Sue loves all things: sci-fi, fantasy and superhero.

When she is not searching for dragons or mysterious artefacts, you can find her walking Cassie, her black Labrador, in the New Forest, England.

Sue's Newsletter - https://www.subscribepage.com/freebie...

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
37 (19%)
4 stars
36 (18%)
3 stars
78 (40%)
2 stars
28 (14%)
1 star
15 (7%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
Profile Image for AnnMaree Of Oz.
1,510 reviews131 followers
November 28, 2022
Kindle Unlimited.

Another adorable sapphic short read, for the Christmas festive period.

Cute and touching, heartwarming and sassy. Just lovely!
Profile Image for Anna Avian.
609 reviews136 followers
February 6, 2023
An adorable and light-hearted short story, I really wish it was longer. The idea was great but at the end it felt like it was too insufficient.
Profile Image for Jamie (TheRebelliousReader).
6,886 reviews30 followers
November 29, 2022
4 stars. Sue Still really manages to do great things in such a short amount of pages. This was super sweet and charming and the characters of Sam and Holly were both very likable. They have a very soft romance and the plot itself was light and the chemistry and banter between the characters was fun. A really nice read and I really like this author’s writing style.
Profile Image for Deb Cardinale.
39 reviews1 follower
November 26, 2022
Festive Special Delivery

An enjoyable holiday read. Sue Stills has delivered another holiday classic that captures what it is to make choices and find love.
219 reviews9 followers
November 30, 2022
Rekindled Christmas Magic

Sam suddenly awakened on Christmas Eve to strange noises finds an oddly dressed woman stuck upside down in her chimney. Holly, decked out in red with black boots laced with leather and bells, claims she's Santa's granddaughter trying to make a special delivery.

Sam's adamant she's done with that childhood fantasy but is mysteriously drawn to the annoyingly charming and unexpectedly warmhearted woman who stirs up a past Sam has long ago buried.

Delightful surprises and rekindled magic abound as their hearts are drawn together wondering about possibilities when one of them lives in the North Pole and the other in Wales. Still, aren't there flying reindeer? This is a wonderfully fun Christmas story!
873 reviews3 followers
November 26, 2022
So what, the delivery was a little late!

Imagine waking up in the night and discovering a woman upside down and her skirt covering her head. So starts this short but very well written story. Sam finds Holly stuck in her chimney. Sam has given up on Christmas! She lost her Mum when she was younger at Christmas time and a wish to Santa could not bring Mummy home. Holly knows a little magic can go along way and until Sam confronts her grief then Christmas will be no more. Follow along and Enjoy!
493 reviews15 followers
November 25, 2022
Terrific Brief Fun Interlude

Need a quick break? Something that's a terrific brief fun interlude on the way to Christmas day? This is it! Suspend your age induced "reality" and just enjoy childlike belief in joy and the ability of wishes come true. It's fun, well written, and worth an hour of your time.
Profile Image for Mark S.
32 reviews
November 27, 2022
fun

This was a really nice short story. I’m glad I read it. Looking forward to next book form his author.
Profile Image for SJ.
206 reviews46 followers
December 29, 2023
This was a very quick and quirky read. Sam doesn’t do Christmas. So when a strange, albeit very attractive and flirtatious, woman gets stuck upside down in her chimney, wearing a sexy Santa suit and claiming to be Santa’s granddaughter…things get a bit weird. It was cute and fun, but I just wasn’t invested in the characters and it’s very much an insta love story which I’m learning more and more I just don’t vibe with.
Profile Image for JAYNE.
206 reviews12 followers
November 27, 2022
Special Delivery by Sue Still is a light-hearted Christmas novelette which gives you all those feel-good feelings for the festive period.

Sam lives alone in a cottage. During the night of Christmas Eve, she hears noises and goes to investigate, only to find a woman in a rather precarious position in her fireplace!

What’s not to love about this well-written story and the appearance of a cute animal?
1,269 reviews
November 30, 2022
Festive, magical, childlike belief!

Sam wakes up to find Holly stuck upside down in her chimney. Is this real? Sam hasn't celebrated Christmas since her mother died, but can Holly convince her to believe? This novelette is a fun little escape from reality to put the reader in a festive mood!
Profile Image for Tarrant.
106 reviews7 followers
November 27, 2022
Magical little short

This magical little short is a perfect pick me up. Really just a lovely read for those who like a good magical realism
87 reviews3 followers
Read
December 26, 2025
I really loved this book. It was just what I was looking for at just the right time that I wanted to read a story like this. I've read a few Christmas themed books so far this Christmas season and I've enjoyed all of them but I was looking for something fantastical, magical, whimsical and I found that in this story by Sue Still. And... if she ever thought of making this into a full length novel I'd buy it in a second. I thought she wrote a unique story about believing in Santa. From a person like me who eats up movies like The Santa Claus and the sequels I so enjoyed reading this. If you love Christmas and Santa and just the wonder of this season you should read this short book. Definitely recommend.
Profile Image for Siddie.
548 reviews10 followers
January 4, 2024
A sweet short story, full of fun and wonder.
Sam is laying in bed trying to sleep. She lives alone in her cottage miles from the nearest town in rural Wales, when she hears noises downstairs. Holly is one of Santa’s granddaughters - a cute, flirty woman out doing deliveries.
This is a short story, taking place on Christmas Eve night, the whole action takes just a few hours. It’s very much an instant attraction between Sam and Holly.
It’s fun, full of humour, but also has serious and emotional parts. The descriptions bring a smile, especially of Holly coming down the chimney.
This brings back the wonder and childlike innocence to Sam, making her believe in Santa once more.
8 reviews1 follower
December 15, 2022
Crash Landing To Love

I really enjoyed this story. It was great fun to read even though it brought a few tears as I remembered Christmases past. Really looking forward to reading more by this writer. Another great addition to my library.
216 reviews3 followers
January 5, 2023
Cute

A neat, quirky story that makes you want to believe in Christmas magic. The characters were cute and the premise behind Holly's role with Santa was intriguing. I would recommend this if you are looking for a heartwarming, easy read.
Profile Image for Neen Cohen.
Author 38 books86 followers
December 24, 2023
This was a super cute and quick Christmas short read. There is insta-love, magic, overcoming the past, living for the now, and a super cute reindeer.
I enjoyed the writing style which made the story fun and delightful to read.
Profile Image for Alison Mia.
584 reviews16 followers
December 2, 2024
This was a bit disappointing for only 58 pages! It was cute but almost juvenile in the dialogue, the 25 year old protagonist literally leaves her life to go with the female Santa Holly, after one conversation! She was like “no one had shown her such kindness” (????) There was nothing spicy about it and their romance was nonexistent. Too much reindeer content!
Profile Image for Chelles.
664 reviews
October 15, 2025
Special Delivery

I feel like this could be a nice little intro to a Sapphic Christmas romance. As it stands, it's already pretty cute, but it has the potential for so much more. Cute, funny banter, a sad back story, a lost awkward reindeer... no spice, but lots of innuendo. A quick read.

Let the holiday season begin!
Profile Image for Stephenie  Miller .
93 reviews
February 1, 2025
Cute story

It was a cute story. Outside of a few spelling errors, the story was cute. Very hallmarky. For a short story it was decent and would recommend a read if you have some time to kill.
Profile Image for Betty Jo.
786 reviews5 followers
December 26, 2022
This came up when I was getting other Christmas novellas on KU and I’m always ready for a sapphic one but this was so damn cornball. Just not good at all.

TW: death of parent in past, controlling grandparents
Profile Image for TJ Phillips.
204 reviews15 followers
December 18, 2025
Oh that was bad. I was expecting something fast and shallow and then it skewed into immediate spilled childhood trauma and growing old together? You just met this woman 30 minutes ago in your fireplace, what? #tonedeaf
Profile Image for BookishKB.
844 reviews211 followers
January 9, 2023
holiday short

I was really excited to read this lesbian holiday short. Overall the story was cute but I felt like there were some parts that did not make sense. I also really hated how the MC kept using pet names. It felt very forced.
Profile Image for TrixieB.
840 reviews16 followers
December 11, 2023
Quite awkward and juvenile

The premise and the writing were overly simplistic. There’s no depth or definition to the characters. I don’t care about them or any relationship because it’s all so flat and hurried. Really it is akin to what a young teen would write.
Profile Image for Bethany Lipscomb.
29 reviews1 follower
March 8, 2023
Fun concept, but i felt like the whole story was one long romantic moment we walked in on.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.