Lottie’s School of Dance - Annette Hannah

About the book… 

Lottie Daniels is dancing up the altar in Canada when she realises her whirlwind wedding is a big mistake. Chad isn't the right person for her at all! And, in that moment, Lottie goes from dancing bride to runaway bride.

Much to her brother's relief, Lottie decides to return to Bramblewood in the UK. But life has more surprises in store for her. After rescuing both a donkey and a little old lady called Doris - all with the help of a handsome stranger! - Lottie suddenly becomes a big part of Doris's life. And in return for her company and doing bits around the farm, Doris offers her the barn to run her dance classes.

From broken dreams to second chances, Lottie finally has a chance to rebuild her life. And with an exciting dance audition to prepare for, who knows what might happen next?!

You are guaranteed to fall head over heels with this sweet and charming romance

Buy Links: 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lotties-Little-School-Annette-Hannah/dp/1398718467

About the author… 

I’m originally from Liverpool but now live in leafy Hertfordshire with my husband, two of our three grown up children and our crazy black cocker spaniel Toby. 

My books are set in the fictional market town of Bramblewood and they're inspired by the beautiful countryside that I'm surrounded by. There is always a nod to my home town of Liverpool too.

As well as being an author I am also a qualified Marketeer and Press Officer for the Romantic Novelists' Association, a fabulous organisation of which I am also a member.

Contact Links: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnetteHannahAuthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annette.hannah

Twitter - X: https://www.twitter.com/annettehannah

My thoughts…

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!!

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The Cosy Little Cupcake Van - Annette Hannah

About the book… 

'A charming, heartwarming romance with a serious feel-good factor' Helen J Rolfe

'Brimming with friendship and romance, this lovely book will charm your heart' Milly Johnson on Wedding Bells at the Signal Box Cafe

Camilla's delicious cakes are the talk of her little village. If you need a perfectly iced mouthful of joy, Camilla 'Cupcake' is your woman. But after losing her mother, she finds her home and her business in jeopardy. She needs a little helping hand...

Thankfully her friends are always there for her, and when she is given an old ice cream van, Camilla's dream of a cupcake delivery service is born. Now she can bring happiness - and buttercream frosting - to the whole town.

But when her ex Blake appears back on her doorstep, Camilla must decide if she can trust him again or if her heart might belong to someone else...

Bursting with romance and sprinkled with humour, this is a deliciously feel-good story about one woman putting her life back together, one cupcake at a time. Perfect for fans of Cathy Bramley, Ali McNamara and Rebecca Raisin!

Buy Links: 

Amazon UK: The Cosy Little Cupcake Van

About the author… 

Annette Hannah is a Liver Bird who relocated to leafy Hertfordshire in the 80’s and now lives near a river with her husband, two of their three grown up children and a crazy black cocker spaniel. She writes Romantic comedies in settings inspired by the beautiful countryside around her and always with a nod to her hometown.

She worked in Marketing for many years as a qualified Marketeer which she loved as it tapped into her creative side.

As an avid reader, she began to review the books she read, became a book blogger and eventually plucked up the courage to fulfil her life long dream of writing a book.

For four years she was a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s new writers’ scheme, during which time she wrote a book a year. 

After signing a two book deal with Orion Dash in 2020 she graduated to full member of the organisation and is also their Press Officer.

She loves long walks along the river, travelling to far flung places and spending time with her friends and family.

Contact Links: 

twitter @annettehannah

www.sincerelybookangels.blogspot.com

www.annettehannah.com

My thoughts…

Awww, another absolutely, totally delicious book by Annette Hannah.  The Cosy Cupcake Van is her second book and features some of my favourite characters from Wedding Bells at the Signal Box Cafe.   

Before I start, either book could be read as a stand-alone, but once you’ve read one you’ll ask yourself, why would you?  The central character in The Cosy Little Cupcake Van is Camilla, Lucy’s friend and maker of celebration and wedding cakes for the cafe.  That is until she suddenly loses her mum, her inheritance her car, home and business all at once.  She’s struggling mentally, has hit rock bottom, has lost her confidence but thankfully is surrounded by friends, not blood relatives, better than that - by the family we choose.  Adorable surrogate auntie Edie, best friend Lucy and friends Carrie and Ron. They hold her up like strings on a marionette.  

I absolutely loved how everyone rallied around Camilla, giving her the space and support, nudging her gently along - allowing her to move at her own pace, to rebuild her confidence and personal pride.  The way everyone had Camilla’s back was heart warming to read but, my absolute favourite part of this book was when Ron gifted Camilla, what was to become The Cosy Cupcake Van.  OMG I would love one of them in real life to be driving round the streets where I live, with a jingle jangle letting me know I could go out and get my cake fix.   The numerous flavours and combinations made me drool - I literally gained stones just reading this book. 

No romantic novel would be complete without a love interest, but Annette gave us not one, but two in the form of ex - Blake (ex broke my heart Blake) and Canadian heart throb Ged, the Irish god. They were as delicious as the cupcakes Camilla baked and both good for her in different ways - I swayed back and forth, fingers crossed second guessing who she would end up with in the end and if I say she got the best of both worlds, romance and a new best friend - total mushy heart stuff, I wouldn’t be wrong.

This really is the perfect antidote to the year we’ve all just lived, every part of the story eludes positivity, sunshine, colour and friendship.  It’s a total pick me up, heart warming and lush in every way - the descriptions of the cakes will make your taste buds tingle, you’ll wish you lived next door to the wonderful Eddie and her hilarious parrots -  they brought back memories for me of visiting my aunt and uncle - when you walked in the front room you had to cover your ears and duck as they were always flying around swearing!  Oh and Jackson, oh boy I love that kid.  If feel good was patented it would be called The Cosy Cupcake Van.

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Weddding Bells at the Signal Box Cafe - Annette Hannah

Author: Annette Hannah
Published By: Orion Dash
Publication Day: 6th July 2020

About the book… 

When single mum Lucy Woods moves to Railway Cottage to be near her grandad, the last person she wants to bump into is her childhood crush and best friend’s brother Dom. Whilst he is as arrogant as ever, he has grown up into an absolutely drop dead gorgeous hunk. Dominic Cavendish is a bitter divorce lawyer who doesn’t believe in Happy Ever Afters but when his Gran meets Lucy’s Grandad in the nursing home, hilarity ensues, and the sparks begin to fly.

Buy Links: 

UK: http://ow.ly/YUSB50A4M4k

US: http://ow.ly/VcZv50A4NT5

About the author… 

Annette Hannah is a Liver Bird who relocated to leafy Hertfordshire in the 80’s and now lives near a river with her husband, two of their three grown up children and a crazy black cocker spaniel. She writes Romantic comedies in settings inspired by the beautiful countryside around her and always with a nod to her hometown. As an avid reader she became a book blogger and eventually realised her dream to become an author in 2020.

She loves long walks along the river, travelling to far flung places, the odd glass of Pinot Blush and spending time with her friends and family.

Contact Links: 

Twitter: @annettehannah
www.sincerelybookangels.blogspot.com
www.annettehannah.com

My thoughts…

Oh my!  Where do I start?  When I heard Annette Hannah had written a book and was asked to be part of the cover reveal for it I couldn’t wait to read it, the cover is just gorgeous.  Oh boy and when I did read it it was good - everything I hoped for and more.

The story centres around Lucy a single parent to an adorable son Jackson.  They have gone to stay in her grandads cottage - Railway Cottage to be close to him whilst he recuperated from an illness.  It kills two birds with one stone and has come at just the right time for Lucy who is looking for a fresh start, she’s bit the bullet and is setting up a new venture as a Wedding Planner. Stepping into her grandads cottage is like shrugging on a cozy coat for Lucy - it rekindles all of the happy times spent there as a child visiting both her grandparents.  She also feels a semblance of guilt because she hasn’t visited as often as she should have since her gran passed her way and since she had Jackson to care for.

Wedding Bells at the Signal Box Cafe is an absolutely delightful read.  Annette has created characters that are diverse, colourful and totally believable.  The adventures that Jackson and Baxter the family dog go on are nothing compared to the antics that Lucy’s granddad gets up to with Violet another resident in the home where Douglas Lucy’s grandad is staying.  She is also the grandmother as it happens of Lucy’s childhood crush Dom, brother of her childhood best friend Abbie.

The story flips back and forth between the various characters as Lucy finds her feet and decides to also set up in business with her grandad to renovate the old Railway Signal Box that is no longer used but, owned by her Grandad - he was the signalman when Lucy was young and it’s a place of happy memories for them both.

This book has it all it has there’s lots of hearts and flowers and romance as you’d expect but there’s also serious aspects to the story that are tempered by total hilarity.  It was a dream reading this and brought back so many memories of my childhood too.  I travelled on a train from the village where I lived with a few other children to another town every school day and on the way home if we managed to get on the platform early enough before our train was due the signalman would let us into the signal box to help pull the levers for the train going the other way.  Winters evenings eating scouse, which ironically I ate only last week - proper homely comfort food; just like this book -comforting, warm and totally delightful.  There was plenty going on and the descriptions are so vivid it wasn’t hard to imagine myself popping into the Signal Box cafe or strolling along the tow path.

Annette you’ve nailed it an amazingly wonderful read that I highly recommend - now when’s your second going to be published?

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