A Lowcountry Bride by Preslaysa Williams has a STUNNING book cover. I personally love cartoon covers and this one is so pretty — particularly with the unique wedding dress which does factor into the story. So, based upon the cover, I was really enthused about picking this book up. As it turns out, this wasn’t QUITE the book for me. However, I absolutely do think there is an audience for this and want to recognize that I came into this book with a white gaze so may have not picked up on some things.
Maya is a junior wedding dress designer working for the IT brand — Laura Witcomb. However, Maya’s design ideas keep getting shot down by Laura — who has a more conservative brand image than Maya’s vision. As the book opens, Maya receives a phone call from her Pops that he has fallen and broken his hip. She immediately flies home to help take care of her dad. While there, she intends to sell a few dresses of her own design on consignment. Maya comes across a Black owned bridal shop called Always A Bride. There she finds a job to help her pay the bills while in Charleston.
The owner of Always A Bride is Derek – a single father struggling to keep the store afloat. Derek inherited the store from his mother who had died and also, his wife Grace died three years ago. When Maya starts working at the store and featuring her dresses, it is as though the store is revitalized. Maya, however, will have more trouble winning over Derek’s twelve year old daughter, Jamila. As the book goes on, we learn about Maya’s Sickle Cell Anemia diagnosis as well as some pretty big decisions she must make.
I guess the great part of A Lowcountry Bride was that this book delves into Maya’s heritage as she is the daughter of a Filipino woman and a Black man. Maya has learned different design techniques from her mother — but also takes inspiration in her father’s heritage. I absolutely loved this piece and found the aspect of design and launching a label as very interesting. Where the book lost me is that I just didn’t feel the overarching love story between Maya and Derek. There’s no real spice or chemistry.
If your taste runs toward zero heat romance, you will love this book. I am just glad that this book is put out by a major publisher. Personally, I do not have to be the biggest fan of a book or even really LOVE it to support it.
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I didn’t love the romance either, but I really enjoyed the setting!