This is a mixed review. I loved the plot line and the characters, and I think the diversity and representation (Black, Asian, military, chronic illness) will appeal to a lot of readers. This book is weak on dialogue (stilted) and full of long interior monologues. If awkward dialogue and unrealistic timelines don’t bother you, you might really enjoy this book. If you’re looking for witty romance novels a la Abby Jimenez or Talia Hibbert, this will not be the book for you.

If I’m going to be brutally honest, this wasn’t my cup of tea.

There isn’t anything wrong with this book, per se, but it was a bit slow for me. I found myself putting it down and reading other things multiple times. I even considered putting it in my DNF pile, but I was ultimately curious enough to finish the book and you know what? I’m glad I did.

In my opinion, there aren’t enough Black romances out there that depict facets of the Black experience without necessarily hitting you over the head with racism and trauma. Proximity to whiteness is a hell of a drug, and I’ve found that if I read a strong Black female protagonist, nine times out of ten, she’s going to be in an interracial relationship. Let me be perfectly clear: THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT. But as a Black woman married to a Black man, there’s something nice about seeing a love that looks like mine on the page.

Maya and Derek are lovely individuals facing their own trials and tribulations that are reflective of the Black experience without it feeling preachy or stereotypical.

Maya lives with sickle cell anemia, which is a disease that primarily affects African Americans. Because of this, she expects to have a shortened life expectancy and wants to make every day count toward realizing her dreams of being a leading wedding dress designer under the famous Laura Whitcomb label. I can only assume this is the in-story equivalent of a Vera Wang or *shudder* Pnina Tournai (I spent the entirety of my senior year of high school watching marathons of Say Yes to the Dress with my mother while she was in chemotherapy and I can’t see a sheer corseted bodice or hear the words “sexy wedding gown” without chills going down my spine). When her father fractures his hip, she leaves New York City for her hometown of Charleston, South Carolina. During her father’s convalescence, she finds herself working at the local bridal gown boutique, hoping to sell some of her designs.

The boutique owner, Derek, is desperately trying to preserve the legacy of his family by keeping the doors open despite looming gentrification and, quite frankly, deep seated trauma in the form of the sudden loss of his wife and navigating the tricky preteen years with his grieving daughter.

So the set up here is a woman who is living on borrowed time and a grieving man who is essentially dealing with abandonment issues caused by the unexpected death of his spouse.

This is about where the book lost me.

I read romance to escape from real world consequences. I had not anticipated having to process the fact that our heroine will die young (sickle cell anemia is incurable and the average life expectancy is around 48 years), nor did I anticipate having to think through the violent death (off page) of Derek’s wife as a result of the Charleston church shooting that happened a few years ago.

Admittedly, I’m probably just not the best target audience for this book. At the time that I was reading, I was waiting for test results to see if I carry the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes that would put me at elevated risk for breast cancer. My own mother was diagnosed at the age of 38 when I was in high school. I’ve had aunts on both sides of the family with diagnoses, as well as one of my grandmothers. To say that I was stressed would be a colossal understatement. (My tests came back negative, but I did not deal with the anxiety well at all.)

If I set aside my own neuroses, I can objectively say that this was a sweet book about living one’s life to the fullest and taking stock of the things that truly make you happy, rather than the things people expect of you. A meditation on grief, faith, and making room for love in all its facets, A Lowcountry Bride borders on the inspirational side of the romance spectrum and is a wholesome read with a couple of kisses shared between the protagonists.

This book was:

Sweet.

Clean.

Informative -I learned a lot about sickle cell disease, among other things.

Had a happily ever after.

Religious.

Some character growth.


These were the pros.


The cons:

Overly sweet, almost to the point of saccharine.

Repetitive -A lot of the book felt like filler.

The angst had me clenching my teeth.

*ARC supplied by the publisher and NetGalley.

What is not to love about this book! It's based in my hometown of Charleston. The cover reflects the beauty of the city. The main character has my first name. And the book is a wonderful story! I would recommended this book for those who like contemporary love stories such as Jasmine Guillory, Christina Lauren or Helena Hunting but don't mind if love scenes are left out.

Thank you to Avon Books Harper Voyager and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book for an honest review.

I was drawn to this book because of the cover since it looked like a fun spring/summer read, and I was pleasantly surprised by the deeper topics discussed in this book. I'm a sucker for any love story and immediately bought into their connection. Outside of their love story, I feel like Maya and Derek were both well-rounded characters who are continuing to manage their grief and understand the tragedies that have affected their life. It was also really lovely to read a story about people who know who they are and are working to understand what they want in love, family, and their careers.

Finally, I want to praise Preslaysa Williams for writing about a character with sickle cell anemia. I have never read a book that featured this disease, and I feel like I learned a lot about it from this book.

If you're looking for a sweet love story with well-rounded characters and somewhat high stakes, this is the book for you!

I was drawn to this book by the bright fun cover and the fact that when I put in for it on NetGalley I was about to fly off to South Carolina for Christmas. I should have known by the “a novel” on the cover that this book was not going to be a light summery romance despite what the cover makes it appear to be. I started the book as soon as I got it in December 2020, figured out that it wasn’t the romance that I wanted and put it down for 3 months. Honestly if I had gotten it from the library I probably wouldn’t have finished it.

I am very tired of books like this being targeted toward romance readers. I don’t want to read a book filled (and I mean filled to the brim) with trauma. This book has trauma from everything from references to a mass shooting at church to death of spouse/parent to emotional war wounds to racism to the fact that the heroine has a terminal illness. It was a lot. Life is hard and I read romances to escape the harsh realities of every day life. I honestly don’t know that I would even consider it a romance at all. Yes, Maya and Jackson fall in love, but she is living with a terminal illness and while some might consider it a HFN ending, having the book flat out say she has 10 years left means that their relationship has a definite expiration date. Also their relationship is secondary to their relationships with family members and their careers. If this book had been marketed as an own voices novel it would have been fine, but the fact that based on the description and the cover art it is clearly being marketed as a romance just annoys me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[ 4.5 / 5 rating ] Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the eARC to read and review!

"A Lowcountry Bride" is a wholesome contemporary romance that I loved reading. Stories involving weddings/bridals or fashion themes are always fun to read, which was the case for this story.

Maya is a talented designer who refuses to allow her sickle cell anemia to stop her from achieving her dreams and making what time she has left meaningful. She works tirelessly to keep her deceased mother’s dream for her alive and obtain validation for her personal Blasian-style designs. I wanted to jump into the story and tell her (maybe yell) how awesome she is and that she is enough. Her designs sound really cool; makes me wish there was art of her work. It’s hard for Maya to truly believe in herself. Putting her career first has kind of narrowed her focus, which made her stubbornly not want to consider other paths towards happiness. That is, until she meets Derek.

Derek is an ex-Navy Seal who is struggling to keep his mother’s bridal boutique - Always A Bride - financially afloat. His troubles are compounded by the rift in his relationship with his pre-teen daughter, Jamila, who he’s been at odds with ever since his wife and mother died tragically in a church mass shooting. Derek is a sweet guy and I admire how he’s been able to keep the store going for so long in an industry completely outside his wheelhouse. It’s clear how much being a single dad, running a business, and coming to terms with his wife and mother's death are taking its toll on him.

Maya and Derek’s romance was so lovely and adorable. I love how supportive they were of one another, which made them want to be/do better. They are both family-oriented and work hard to honor the memory of their lost loved ones. Maya eagerly helps Derek to save the boutique, knowing he has a lot to lose. Derek believes in Maya and doesn’t want her to compromise who she is or stifle her creativity for someone like Laura Whitcomb (who I dislike for her off-handed racial comments). Their relationship wasn’t easy because of their priorities and where they live, wary of taking a chance of something new and beautiful. Maya has her father, career, and disease to consider and Derek must save the story for Jamila sake and fight his growing feelings for Maya. This brings the right amount of internal and external conflicts.

I liked that the story mostly takes place in historic Charleston, South Carolina. The infusion of history, family, culture, and community made the story more meaningful. Maya infuses her culture and the techniques her mother taught her into her work. Always A Bridal is one of the last remaining black owned business in the area.

I liked how the story was told and how characters overcame obstacles. I really enjoyed this tender, slow burn story and would read more books by this author. "A Lowcountry Bride" was a beautifully written debut!

*Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this book in return for a honest review.**

I really loved that Maya was a wedding dress designer that used past down stitching techniques she learned from her Filipino mother, who also taught her West African techniques as well. I thought this concept was really cool and it was also very heartwarming to read about throughout this book. This book also had a very family-oriented center and touched on topics such as racism, chronic illness, grief, depression, and loss.

Derek and Maya both have their own secrets, but they share those secrets with each other pretty early in their relationship and communicate well which was FABULOUS and refreshing to read about. Derek deals with the loss of his wife in a tragic way and the struggle of trying to mend his relationship with his 12-year-old daughter that he doesn't mesh well with. He is also struggling to keep his Mother's bridal shoppe open because he has no idea how to run a shop on his own. Maya is dealing with her own struggles with her chronic illness: sickle cell disease, while also trying to make head designer at the company she works for in New York.

When Maya finds out that her father broke his hip, she chooses to go back to South Carolina to help him rehabilitate and she soon meets Derek at the bridal shop. They both help each other through issues that they have which ultimately opens the door for romance. They are both very respectful of each other throughout the whole book which I really loved.

Also, if you are looking for a very low angst,sweet romance where the love interests are a bit older, have established careers, and are attracted to each other from pretty much the first meeting, you'll LOVE this story.

Thanks to Avon and Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review,

“Why get close when people left? When people died?“

Both Derek and Maya have suffered tremendous loss. Derek is still grieving his mother and wife's untimely deaths, while Maya's sickle cell anemia diagnosis has her thinking toward the 10-15 years she has left to live. Determined to make the most of her life, Maya is dedicating herself to pursuing a top position as a lead wedding dress designer in NYC. But after her father falls and needs help rehabilitating his hip, Maya takes off to the Lowcountry of Charlestown to help him recover. It's there that she meets Derek and his teenage daughter Jamila.
Derek is barely hanging on to his mother's wedding boutique after her death has left the shop in danger of foreclosure. He is bound and determined to maintain mother’s legacy and late wife’s memory. Maya and her unique dress designs just might be the key to helping save the shop, but will they trust their hearts after suffering the pain of loss?

Although A Lowcountry Bride is a romance novel, it definitely tackles some heavy topics, including mass shooting, racial inequalities, grief and questions of identity. Not only does the book show the immediate impacts of death, it also shows the ripple effect that death is felt on a town and on other family members.

The book also gives insight into the mental and physical implications of living with sickle cell anemia. I have never read a novel with a lead character facing this disease, so I found it very enlightening and educational. I appreciated Maya having that tug of wanting to live out her dreams (or what she thought was her dream) with the fragility of her disease. Maya was forced to make decisions about her job, but also about whether or not to enter into new relationships with her diagnosis. I really liked Maya's character and how she treated Jamila so respectfully from the beginning.

The part I enjoyed most was the exploration of African traditions and what it means to families. How you carry on traditions and let those stories live through your actions. I also felt like the context of why the boutique was so important to the Black community was explained very well, but not in a "let's talk history" sort of way. It was relatable and real.

I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to access an Advanced Reader Copy of Lowcountry Bride by Preslaysa Williams. This book is expected to be released in July 2021, which is right in the. midst of the summer wedding season! Perfect timing.

So let me preface my review by saying that I was super excited to read this one because I am also a southern girl and I absolutely LOVE a good romance, especially one that feels like it takes place in my community. The cover is absolutely gorgeous so I was looking forward to seeing what the story was all about.

Overall, it was just okay. I feel like there was so much more that could have been done and it seemed to miss the mark. The actual romance was lacking and the inner dialogue of the characters was a bit annoying and excessive. I REALLY wanted to love it, but I found myself wondering when I’d get to the good part. It took entirely too long for the storyline to develop. I also didn’t feel like the characters were relatable. I wanted to know so much more about Maya and Derek and how they fell in love, but this book only seemed to scratch the surface. The entire book focused on whether or not they felt like they should let go of their inhibitions and allow themselves to fall in love. I wanted to read more about how they fell in love and what happened next. They had a total of two dates the entire book and the affection between them was minimal. I was looking for passion and romance and the warm tingly feeling that usually comes from reading romance novels. I didn’t get that with this one.

I was really excited about this book's storyline, but unfortunately, it just wasn't for me. The writing style wasn't my favorite and it all seemed a little too predictable, and a little cheesy for me.

This book appealed to me because of the setting of Charleston, SC (where I was born and raised) and having a BIPOC author and main characters. I really enjoyed the representation of chronic illness and the drive that Maya has to continue to have a life and career. Being raised by a single father myself, I really enjoyed the relationship between Maya and her dad, as well as the relationship between Derek and Jamila.

I was not a huge fan of the inner monologue of either Maya or Derek, especially the romantic thoughts they had about each other immediately when they first met (which was very brief). It was unbelieved and felt forced. But, I absolutely loved when they did start to interact with each other and the build up to their relationship was very believable, especially given the grief and relational issues in their backstory.

I really loved the inclusion of Jamila in this story as a major factor in the communication and relationship between Maya and Derek. Using kids as a plot device does not always work out well, but this time it did. Again, as a woman raised by a single father, I know all too well the care that must be taken when beginning a new relationship and making your child feel as if their other parent is not being replaced.

I am looking forward to reading this author's other work, Healing Hannah's Heart, and reading other books to come in this series.

**See link below for video review on my YouTube channel as part of a weekly wrap up.

I’m glad I judged this book by its radiant, gorgeous cover and took a chance on this story. This book was so sweet! Maya is a big city bridal designer who meets Derek, a bridal shop owner and single dad in Charleston, SC. I appreciate any book that wants to subvert a trope, and having the male main character as the one who sells wedding dresses was an interesting take. Both main characters have significant heartache and grief in their backstories (CW here for discussions of gun violence in the past), and their eventual HEA felt so, so good and well deserved.

While the main relationship of the story was good, the other workings of the plot didn’t work perfectly for me. One minute Derek is days away from losing his shop, the next a single day of good sales means he’s back on track. I skimmed through every scene involving the preteen daughter. I also wish the release date was sooner, as this is exactly the type of book I would pick up as a gift for my mom for Mother’s Day. But overall, this was an enjoyable, easy to read book that has wide appeal. Thank you to netgalley and avon for the ARC in exchange for a review.

I like the story but the writing isn't my thing, very expository and lacks subtlety. The characters are winning and I enjoyed the plot but overall I didn't love it, I don't think I'd read more in the series.

The Lowcountry Bride by Preslaysa Williams

Thoughts: This is such a sweet read! The description reads like a classic feel good Hallmark movie but with a sad undertone 💜 This darker romance delicately and wonderfully handles grief and loss, racism, culture, and mainly chronic illness.

First, the way Maya handles herself with sickle cell anemia and still wanting to follow her dreams is inspiring. Maya is used to sucking it up and downplaying her illness in front of others. I like how the book shines a light on Maya’s difficulty of having an invisible illness and the struggle to make it public, such as people not treating her the same way when they find out. She gets her monthly blood transfusions, takes her daily medications, and continues to hustle for her promotion and then to make her dreams come true for as long as she has left.

Second, I loved the loving relationship between Maya and Derek. Sometimes while trying to achieve your dreams and handling tough situations you can find love. Derek's love for his daughter and the shop was sweet, and Mayas relationship with her father is also inspiring. I love her dad!

Next, I love the way Maya handles the systematic racism by bridal star designer Laura Whitcomb. I'm not a fan of Laura and tbh would likely run into employment law issues. She's the worst!

Lastly, I love that Maya keeps her culture in her techniques for dressmaking. The Filipino and West African stiching she learned from her mother growing up inspire her to keep designing in her own style.

Thank you NetGalley, Avon Books , and Preslaysa Williams for this ebook in exchange for my honest review!

Trigger Warnings: talks of death, chronic illness illness

Maya was always wanted to be a wedding designer, but currently work for Laura Whitcomb Inc is not all that is cracked up to be. When her dad fractures his hip Maya has to return to care for him and in the progress discover her true dream. This a quiet romance that deals with loss , chronic illness and the courage to love again through the fears that stand in the way. Slow paced, but satisfying.

I don't think this book was for me. I really was excited after reading the summary, but the story was just so...Lifetime/Hallmark-esque that I couldn't really enjoy it due to all the clichés.

While ultimately this will appeal to some that enjoy sweet romance novels, this was not for me.

Thank you Netgalley, publisher, and author for this ARC.

The writing is sooo clunky. The plot is so cliche that I have to wonder if it didn't start life as a Hallmark movie. The protagonist is a Sourthen girl in NYC and overworked by her demanding boss. Then she gets the call that her dad is the hospital so she has to go back home. And she has Sickle cell anemia - which gets mentioned several times in the first chapter alone. I was bored to tears. Its got a great cover and is bipoc author - thats about it.

Maya's dream is to be the head designer for bridal designer superstar Laura Whitcomb. She's in the running for the job when her dad breaks his hip so she returns to the Lowcountry in SC to help care for him. Maya needs a way to earn money during her unpaid leave so she visits a local black-owned bridal shop, hoping to sell some of her wedding designs.

Derek is trying to keep the doors of Always a Bride, the shop his mom started, open. But as a widower with an almost teenager on his hands, there's already a lot going on in his life. But it's hard to deny his growing feelings for Maya.

As someone with a chronic illness, Maya, with sickle cell anemia, was thoroughly relatable. Worrying about when or even if to tell employers, coworkers, dates is difficult. People do treat you differently and some are uncomfortable being around a chronically ill person.

Maya and Derek's grief felt very real to me. Maya wants the head designer in part because she and her mom, who's passed on, shared a bond over sewing. Her mom shared Filipino and West African techniques that Maya works into her bridal designs.

Derek's wife was killed in a church shooting. He's dealing with his grief as well as his daughter Jamila's.

The plot handles difficult subjects like racism, grief and loss, and chronic illness with a soft touch. Preslaysa Williams treats her characters gently, knowing they've already suffered a lot. But she's also made them strong. Instead of anger or resentment in the face of racism or other setbacks, Maya and Derek are full of determination and grit. They're willing to fight for what they want.

The romance is sweet, chaste and gentle. I enjoyed seeing all of the characters attending church events.

A Lowcountry Bride is a heartwarming own voices story with likable and relatable characters. It's about unexpected loss, grieving and taking steps to heal and still having the strength to pursue your dreams.

This was an okay read. The relationships felt forced (Derek/Maya; Maya/Jamila) and rushed and that hampers the storyline. Too much emphasis was put on Maya’s importance towards Jamila and it ended up feeling hollow and falling flat. Kids as plot points either work or don’t, this is a case of don’t.

The internal monologue was cringeworthy and repetitive. The word fancy is overused and makes Maya sound like a hick, not someone who lives and works in NYC. We have plenty of fine dining in the Lowcountry, from Hilton Head to Charleston.

What I did enjoy about the novel was Maya working independently and getting the chance to work in Derek’s bridal shop. The concept was great. Also the inclusion of SCA was refreshing, anemia is often overlooked and SCA more so. Kudos to the author for capturing that.