I always enjoy novels with a dance theme and this has the added bonus of a strong community feel and the glitz of a televised dance competition. Eponymous Lottie unexpectedly finds herself single and helping Doris, a lady she has just met, convalese. Add in a sexy Italian and donkey called Denni and this had all the ingredients of a lovely romance.

This book unfolds as a delightful and heartwarming tale leading up to Lottie's impending wedding. Annette Hannah's storytelling is entertaining, engaging, humorous, and romantic, showcasing her clear voice in the genre. The book emanates a warm sense of community, emphasizing loyalty and friendship, offering uplifting moments in a sometimes challenging world. Readers, whether familiar with Hannah's previous works or not, can seamlessly enjoy this narrative. The diverse age range of characters, including vibrant older figures like Doris, challenges stereotypes and proves that romance is not confined to a particular age group.

The story is enriched by references to food, taste, and dance, with the vivid descriptions evoking strong sensory experiences. Despite occasional moments of tension, the overall narrative provides a respite and escapism, offering sheer enjoyment. Lottie's character, who leaves her fiancé at the altar, quickly becomes endearing, and readers root for her happiness. The sparks between Lottie and an undisclosed character add a sizzling element to the story. Annette Hannah crafts a sumptuous and heartwarming novel, seamlessly weaving characters from previous works into a community that feels inviting and familiar. "Lottie's School of Dance" is not just a book; it's a gorgeous and engrossing experience.

For anyone who likes dance and romance this book is for you. The main character is sweet. The storyline is good. Overall an enjoyable read.

Lottie loves Chad, enough to spend the rest of her life with him … or so she thinks … suddenly one too many red flags appear around the altar and the star of this book is hot footing it to Bramblewood to the sanctuary of her brothers house.

Little does Lottie know that Bramblewood is a gorgeous welcoming community that between a donkey, a lovely old dear and a misunderstanding about mirrors would capture this Canadian’s heart. No sooner has she settled into her temporary residence, Lottie quickly becomes part of the community giving dance lessons to eager pensioners.

I adored Lottie. Yes she did leave her fiancé at the altar but the more I learnt about Chad, the more I knew Lottie had made the right (if not remarkably late) decision to leave him. Her heart is definitely in the right place which I quickly learnt as she wanted to rescue Denni the donkey and then adopt Doris as her grandmother. I was desperate for this young woman to be happy, I wanted her to get her happy ending. But not all is fair in love, is it? But oh my the electricity, sparks between Lottie and…. 🤐🤐🤐 oh they were H.O.T. HOT!!!!! 🔥🔥🔥

Annette Hannah has written a sumptuous heart warming novel. I love the way she brings in the characters from her previous novels, creating a real sense of community around Lottie. I was engrossed and invested both in Lottie’s dance school, the Truly Dance competition and Lottie’s happiness. Lottie became my friend and so did the rest of the cast. I totally adored this new novel from Hannah! I want to go back to Bramblewood now and see what happens next to the dance school and Lottie!

My thanks to Annette for the tour invite and to the publisher for the copy to review. Annette has featured on this blog before, with a guest post for her debut Wedding Bells at the Signal Box Cafe and then with my reviews of her subsequent books The Cosy Little Cupcake Van (plus a guest post) and Poppy’s Christmas Wishes. It is always a genuine pleasure to read her books and I’m delighted to share my thoughts on the latest, Lottie’s School of Dance. Although all the books are standalones, there are some characters that do briefly reappear and it a nice feeling of familiarity to catch up much loved characters (Posh Panniers and the Signal Box Cafe anyone?).

For Lottie’s School of Dance, we are back in Bramblewood, an idyllic sounding English village. However, the story begins in Canada, where Lottie is about to get married to Chad, which doesn’t end well. You dodged a bullet there Lottie! Luckily for Lottie her brother and his fiancee live in Bramblewood and offer her a temporary home whilst she gathers her life and emotions together.

Whilst trying to rescue a donkey from a ditch, Lottie has her first encounter with the handsome Italian Marco and Denni’s elderly owner Doris. These two characters form a huge part of the story and I fell in love with them both. Doris treated Lottie like a surrogate granddaughter and the affection and respect between them was just wonderful. Marco had a reputation for being a cad together with deeper rooted issues.

It’s not just dance that is at the centre of Lottie’s story but there is a fabulous community spirit in Bramblewood with friendship and support in abundance. All ages came together through dance which together with the romance element was captivating.

Lottie is conflicted by an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, both pulling her in different directions. Her intentions to return to her Canadian home are weighed against the life and friendships she has built in Bramblewood and of course her dreams for her dance school. Not everything was straightforward however, there were obstacles to overcome both professionally and personally.

There was so much about this book to love including the superb writing injected with warmth and humour throughout and the cast of engaging characters (well mostly!). The competitive edge of the dance competition sat alongside community kindness and of course there is the romance element, a will they/won’t they situation. This story is all about second chances and all the way through I was hoping that everyone would get theirs. It’s a gorgeous uplifting story and one to recommend.

Lottie’s about to get married.

Lottie’s School of Dance is a lovely story, being entertaining, engaging, humorous and romantic. Indeed, I think Annette Hannah has found her voice in this genre very very clearly. There’s always a warm sense of community in her books and a strong sense of loyalty and friendship that I find so uplifting in what is often a depressing and aggressive world. Lottie’s School of Dance is the kind of uplit we could all benefit from. I loved the way characters I’ve met previously in Annette Hannah’s books popped into the narrative but anyone reading this book could do so perfectly happily without ever having read other books by the author.

Equally, I so appreciated the age range of the characters because many, like Doris, are older but show that they still have life, interest and vitality. They prove that romance isn’t merely the domain of twenty to thirty somethings. That said, I was totally invested in Lottie’s story and found myself more than a little in love with Marco too. I thought using Denni as a catalyst for much of the action was inspired. Who couldn’t help loving him? You’ll have to read Lottie’s School of Dance for yourself to find out why!

I do have one issue with Lottie’s School of Dance because Annette Hannah appeals to the reader’s senses and has such glorious references to food and taste that, frequently, reading the book made me ravenous. However, given that she also made me want to get dancing too in order to burn off the calories I think I consumed just reading about Lottie, I’ll forgive her. I loved the reference to real singers and songs because they added a layer of authenticity to the story. The descriptions here are totally convincing.

I think what I enjoyed so much about Lottie’s School of Dance is the way it made me feel. There’s drama and tension resulting from the dance competition, but there was never a moment when I thought things wouldn’t resolve themselves satisfactorily, and in the present climate of war, climate change and general negativity, this book gave me sheer respite and escapism. I highly recommend that you give yourself a break from life and simply enjoy meeting Lottie for yourself. It’s a gorgeous story.

Oh my goodness, there was so much I loved about this book that I don’t know where to start! But perhaps at the very beginning, when I heaved a sigh of relief as – after a moment of sheer unadulterated joy as she dances up the aisle – Lottie realises that there’s no way she can be happy trapped in a marriage with Chad, and flees from her wedding. And there can be nowhere lovelier to run to than Bramblewood, for the support of brother Blake and his cake-making wife (how lovely to see them again!) and some time to think about the future.

Then, on a walk, she comes across a distressed donkey trapped in a ditch and tries to help, only to find she can’t get out either – but along comes a rather gorgeous Italian guy to rescue them from the mud. And that episode brings Denni the donkey’s owner, Doris, into her life too – an elderly lady, living alone, and offering her a place to stay, where the loveliest friendship ensues as she becomes her surrogate grand-daughter and her life takes a few unexpected turns.

Lottie – rather unintentionally, when she was only looking to buy some mirrors – finds herself entering a televised dance competition, bringing her into much closer contact with her handsome rescuer. And the barn she’s staying in – with the addition of a barre and those mirrors – proves the perfect place to start giving some dance lessons. At first, it’s just Doris – but then a few of her friends, then a few more, and she slowly finds herself drawn into the lovely community. And as she heals and begins to make a real difference to the lives of everyone around her, she needs to make some big decisions about where her future lies.

I’ve always loved the Bramblewood setting – it was a special treat to catch glimpses of some of the familiar characters and locations from the earlier books, and I still feel I’d like to live there. And then there are the many relationships, and they’re quite wonderful. The slow-burn romance – with a few ups and downs along the way – was just everything I wanted it to be, but I particularly enjoyed Lottie’s friendship with Doris, the warmth and love and mutual support, the smiles and occasional tears. There are other lovely friendships to be found along the way too – a wonderful collection of well-drawn individuals, across the generations, some with their own stories, who became involved with the dance classes, often bringing laughter and a few moments that brought a happy tear to the eye. And then there’s the dancing – the progress of the competition with its uncertain outcome is just fascinating to follow (and perfect for a Strictly fan like me!), but what really came across was the way Lottie found something that brought her such joy and put her on the path to happiness.

There’s some sadness along the way, but there’s plenty of humour too and this was a book that made me smile from beginning to end – it’s tremendously uplifting, beautifully written, and one of those rather special books that really touched my heart. I loved it, gorgeous in every way, and it’s a book I’d strongly recommend to others.

It was lovely to be back in Bramblewood and to catch up with some familiar characters, but don’t worry, this book can easily be enjoyed as a standalone story. As the synopsis explains, the book opens with a grand wedding in Canada as Lottie makes a statement entrance down the aisle. It’s such a statement that it helps to open her eyes to the huge mistake that she’s about to make.
Thankfully, Lottie’s brother lives in Bramblewood, so she has an escape route and somewhere to go and lick her wounds. It also presents an opportunity to catch up with the characters from earlier in the series and learn more about how their lives are turning out. Of course, it’s also a chance for Lottie to meet a handsome stranger, a lovely senior, and a gorgeous donkey.
Annette Hannah’s writing just flows, and I thoroughly enjoy the beautiful way that her books unfurl before my eyes. I admit that I guessed from early on, the essence of what was likely to happen, but the twists still caught me out, and I loved them all. Maybe most of all, I loved the friendships that were made with the community, and in particular the seniors.
Lottie is a gorgeous addition to the village, and I particularly enjoyed her metamorphosis from having been forced to hide her talent to becoming the dancer that she was destined to be. I don’t dance myself but was able to imagine her spinning and twirling across the stage. There’s a real romance about dancing and there’s a wonderful slow-burn connection between these pages.
If you enjoy well-crafted stories with beautifully developed characters then I can certainly recommend this book to you. It is absolutely gorgeous and guaranteed to help you escape for a few hours.

What an absolute delight of a book, from the cover to the contents. This was just fabulous, the perfect pick me up for a rainy Bank holiday weekend in the Lake District whilst the sun shone back at home! Ending up back in Bramblewood with some of my favourite characters from Annette’s previous books, including the parrots and the idyllic canal boat cafe - Serendipity was just perfect 💗

Lottie’s School of Dance centres around the lead character Lottie and a whole host of supporting characters that I loved in equal measures.

We first meet Lottie at the church just as she’s about to marry Chad, her rich, handsome fiancé. Having lost both her parents Chad’s family had stepped in to help organise her wedding - ‘read’ takeover organising her wedding!! As a reader you can feel Lottie’s anxiety rising, going through the roof after seeing her brother in the foyer - despite this she makes her show stopping entrance into the church only to pull up short when she sees the look on her future husbands face, a look equally shared by his mother. She makes a hasty exit reminiscent of Julia Roberts minus the horse.

Lottie leaves her home in Canada to pay a surprise visit to her brother and sister-in-law in Bramblewood, England, the perfect place to quietly lick her wounds, let the dust settle and heal her broken heart. They are beyond excited to see her, but within two minutes of arriving she finds herself being hauled out of a ditch by a handsome, Italian after landing in there trying to rescue a trapped donkey. Both of which come centre stage in the story as Lottie finds herself an unexpected job as surrogate grandchild to Doris who encourages her to take baby steps towards healing her broken heart and inadvertently ending up in a televised dance competition.

As the story unfolds, relationships of all kinds abound - donkey love, friendships of all kinds, love, loyalty and trust all come together, to see Lottie slowly healing herself without realising it by focusing on and giving love and support to help heal the hearts and lives of those around her.

As ever with Annette Hannah’s books the characters grab ahold of your heart and I found myself totally buried in the story, believing each and every person and place to be real - I so wish it was, I’d love to be part of this little village, love, friendship and support are at the heart of this gorgeous little community and are given and taken in equal measures by everyone.

This book has it all it has there’s lots of hearts and flowers and romance as you’d expect but there’s also some serious aspects to the story, as well as tears and sadness that are tempered by total hilarity. I did wonder what animal Annette would introduce into this story before I read it as there is usually a pet that sits centre stage and forward in Annette’s books. How could she top Edie’s parrots - by introducing Denni, Doris’s donkey that how!!

I loved every single page of this story and was gutted when I finished it. Annette, once again you’ve nailed it. A wonderful read that I highly recommend - now when will we get our next Bramblewood fix - not too long I hope!!

A truly stunning book from Annette and good to have a different subject written about. Annette's books get better and better. It is beautifully written with lovely descriptions.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I enjoyed reading this book.

After her wedding doesn’t take place, Lottie comes to visit her brother and live in a small town.

One day, she tries to help a donkey who’s stuck, as well as an elderly lady who’s had an accident. In the process she meets someone who she assumes is the owner of the donkey, but later the confusion is cleared. She then enters a dance competition with the stranger.

The story is about finding what’s right for you.

I recommend this book.

I loved this sweet romantic read! Lottie a runaway bride returns to small town life in the ul and lands up rescuing both an elderly lady and a donkey! Stay with me here…..she lands up meeting a handsome stranger along the way and taking part in a dance competition. Lotties school of Dance is a feel good read that will allow readers to escape and start carving out their own happy endings! It’s about learning what isn’t right for you and the search to find what’s meant for you.