A Lowcountry Bride

Trigger warnings: sickle cell anemia, loss of a spouse, grief after a mass shooting, racism

Wedding dress designer Maya returns to her hometown of Charleston, SC to care for an ailing father.

I was excited to read this novel because it takes place in my hometown of Charleston, South Carolina. The action begins in New York City, where Maya is on her way to becoming a junior designer for Laura Witcomb. When her dad needs help after hospitalization, she agrees to return to Charleston for a while to care for him.

Her boss is a real ballbuster who forces her to go to Charleston without pay and asks her to also do work while she's there. Maya decides to also sell some of her dresses at a local shop where her father's girlfriend works. Her love interest, Derek, owns the bridal boutique.

Maya's story is different from many rom-coms as she has sickle cell anemia, and many of her romantic and professional struggles stem from her shortened lifespan. Derek also struggles with relationships after losing his wife Grace in a mass shooting at their church (based on the real-life shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church). His teenage daughter also struggles with Maya after losing all the females in her life.

Maya's journey is hard, with her illness causing psychological issues after suffering a failed engagement because of her sickle cell. She also has to deal with racism in her workplace where her cultural influences are stifled. This book shows the reader that life is messy and people aren't handed easy relationships.

While many of the locations in the book are made up, the strongest tie to Charleston is the church shooting, which affected so many Charlestonians who knew and loved the victims.

Recommended for fans of Southern romance.

Preslaysa Williams is an actress and author focusing on Afro-Filipina stories. She is a graduate of Columbia University and the University of South Carolina and is currently pursuing a master's degree in popular fiction writing from Seton Hill University.

Publisher: Avon

Length: 348 pages

Release Date: June 1, 2021

I received an electronic galley copy of this title from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.