Book Review of Lottie Loser by Dana L. Brown

by April | Feb 13, 2018 | Book Reviews

It's been twelve years since Lottie Luce ran away to Indiana, three weeks before her classes were to begin at IU, to avoid a confrontation with her best friend, and secret love, Nick Greyson. On the night she'd believed he was going to tell her that he wanted her for more than a friend, Lottie caught Nick in a compromising position with her long-time nemesis, Ashley Marshall, and the hurt and humiliation were more than she could bear.

Now a product of personal reinvention, Charlotte Luce is the youngest, and first female market president of Olde Florida Bank, and her life is nearly perfect. That is until Nick comes home to Anna Maria Island, hoping to save his father from financial ruin, and Charlotte's carefully created world stands still.

Lottie Loser vacillates between the present, and the memories of the young girl who thought she had found love, lost it, and is now forced to examine the decisions she made, as well as the chemistry she and Nick still share.

Lottie Loser is a contemporary romance novel written by author Dana L. Brown. The story follows Charlotte, otherwise known as “Lottie”, who works as a bank manager in Florida. In the beginning of the story, an old love interest from Lottie’s youth-Nick- breezes into her office in need of assistance. The sudden entrance of Nick in her life causes a lot of emotional upheaval- and inadvertently thrusts Lottie on a mental journey into past events that led her to where she is, and the woman she is, today. As the story alternates between past events (Lottie’s childhood, Highschool, College, and the early stages of her current career) and today, Lottie and Nick begin the plunge beyond friendship and into something more. As moments of the past begin to unfold before them, Lottie and Nick find themselves working through old heartaches, misconceptions, and insecurities. With a relationship, in its infancy and built on a fragile and stitched together foundation, the mere hint of deception or turmoil could send it crashing to the ground- and, unfortunately, a metaphorical bomb dropped in the story may have done just that.

I have only read a few stories where the current day events of the protagonist’s life and the past events alternate so frequently. Surprisingly, these frequent glimpses into the best helped me to understand the importance of Nick’s sudden appearance into Lottie’s life, as well as helped me better understand the protagonist herself. What I particularly enjoyed about Lottie Loser was how relatable Lottie’s character was. She isn’t perfect- her childhood wasn’t unbearable, but it wasn’t ideal either. Lottie was awkward as a girl and struggled daily with her self-appearance. These insecurities follow her into adulthood, though are better managed. Even Lottie’s burgeoning relationship with Nick is far from “fairytale perfect”. Both characters are learning how to communicate (as it was a lack of communication in the past that caused a great deal of avoidable heartache), and both are trying to navigate the fragility of a new relationship. Lottie questions her decisions a lot and does a lot of reflecting. I loved that these characters were real and flawed.

Whenever I read a story with a romantic storyline, I look for chemistry. Not everyone can make me feel the tension and interest pouring off the pages. But I felt it with Lottie and Nick- while their passion didn’t leap from the pages, it did slide beautifully off at a nice languid pace- sort of like their love.

And finally…plot twist!! Those get me EVERY time. Naturally, I need to see how this fall-out plays out in the next novel…

Oh! And let me tell you- if I learned anything from this novel, it’s that a cold beer can be used for more than just drinking *wink*

Five stars for Lottie Loser!