Thank you, Harper Audio, for this alc for an honest review. I enjoyed the audiobook a lot, the narrator did a good job with the story and made the plot more enjoyable for me.
This short and to-the-point novel is both the fmc finding herself again after the loss of her mother and a romance. It was a cute read the fmc is a single parent who left her hometown after getting pregnant and didn't really speak to her mom again until she got the letter that she had passed. She goes to the funeral and has to take care of the house her mom left. Her childhood friend who she had liked helps her with stuff and they close again and have some angst about her staying and them getting back together. I wish the book had been longer because I think it would have delved more into the romance which was a bit surface-level and didn't have enough time on page. I loved the aspect of her finding herself and getting back to a field and work that she likes and also I would have loved it to go deeper. Overall an okay and diverse read.

4/5 for the audiobook
3.45 for the story

Quick Summary: A women's fiction romance with a love, hope, faith restored theme

My Review: A Wedding in the Lowcountry by Preslaysa Williams is a 2025 novel. It is scheduled for release on February 18, 2025.

About the Book: "...a heartwarming friends to lovers story about the courage to fall in love again."

In My Own Words: Upon her mother's death, a woman and her daughter go back to their roots. While there, old friends, old dreams, old feelings, and more are encountered.

Question to Consider: Is it possible to grow beyond a shaken faith and a fear of surrendering to love?

About the Characters:

Avila - > Discouraged, unresolved, haunted, struggling, fearful, desirous of something that has evaded her, conflicted

Terrence - > Kind, good, caring, focused, tortured, responsible, empathetic, willing, open

Ebony - > Well-mannered, upset by circumstances, hopeful, talented, understandably emotional

The neighbor - > Wise, transparent, honest, present, soothing

About the Narration: This novel was narrated by Carmen Jewel Jones. She did an excellent job with delivery. As I listened to the story, I was drawn into the emotions and feelings of each of the main characters. It was beautifully done.

My Final Say: This was a wonderful story about life, family, second chances, reconciliation, choices, and love. It held a deeper meaning than I had considered going in. The lives of the mother, the daughter, and the granddaughter were especially telling. I found the story, quite honestly, to be of the realistic fiction variety.

Reasons I enjoyed this book:

Easy-to-read
Happily Ever After
Romantic
Realistic
Growth evident

Other: This would be sensational as a book club read. I highly recommend it. I think many readers will be able to relate to one or more of the characters.

Rating: 4/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Re-read: Yes
Status: Clean
Level: 💛

Appreciation is extended to the author, to the publisher (HarperAudio Adult | HarperAudio), and to NetGalley. Thank you so very much for granting access to an audio ARC of this title in exchange for an honest critique. It was a pleasure to review this novel. I look forward to reading more from this writer.

I loved what this story could've been but unfortunately, I don't think I was the target audience. There were a couple of moments in the story where it wasn't as cohesive as I'd hoped making it hard to follow along. That said, it touches on so many beautiful themes and the good moments were GREAT, there were even moments when I simply couldn't set it down. You'll grow to love the unspoken love story and root for the FMC as if she's one of your friends.

tropes:
- enemies to lovers
- parental friction
- grief and loss

3 stars.

"A Wedding in the Lowcountry" by Preslaysa Williams is a short and quickly paced PG-rated second-chance, childhood friends-to-lovers romance that, unfortunately, left me wanting more. I think Williams does a good job with three things. One, Williams explores what it feels like to find what you really want to do in life, especially with no parental support network in place. Two, she explains how childhood trauma and abandonment manifest within adults if left to fester. Avila did not have a relationship with her mother as an adult because of her treatment as a child. Ebony, Avila's daughter, is also going through a similar thing with her own father, who is not in her life because he did not have time to be a young father. Finally, she hones in on the main characters' shared history. Avila and Terence were friends throughout their lives/in high school, but something happened to stop their friendship in its tracks. Years later, at her estranged mother's funeral, Avila and Terence reconnect when she comes back to town with her daughter. But, I think their reconnecting felt a little too convenient. There aren't any stakes with their possible relationship. Everything felt way too easy. There's not a lot of pining or yearning going on between the two of them. The pieces of their relationship puzzle just fall into place with a lot of convincing by Terence and little to no fanfare. Terence is clearly obsessed with Avila, but she couldn't seem to care less about him in return. Avila is used to doing everything in her life as an adult and as a parent by herself because she has *had to,* but in the process, she isolates everyone else around her, including her daughter. After about 37% of the book, the plot gets extremely repetitive and a bit boring. Still, I stuck through it and finished the story, hoping it would get better... it's fine, but I definitely won't remember this book come year's end. It doesn't do enough to set itself apart from the other novels that I got much more invested in. I think that, without the addition of Carmen Jewel Jones's narration, I would have DNF'ed this one. She does a good job narrating these characters, though she cannot fix how weak the writing can get.

Thank you to NetGalley, Preslaysa Williams, HarperAudio Adult, and HarperAudio for the complimentary ALC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.