Carmen Jewel Jones narrates a sweet romance about finding love in unexpected places and making the most of every moment. Maya Jackson is not looking for love when she comes to Charleston to help her father after surgery, but a relationship with boutique owner Derek Sullivan blossoms regardless. Both Maya and Derek have suffered relatively recent losses, and Jones allows them sufficient space to dwell on their grief without becoming maudlin. The two find common ground in their shared devotion to family, which Jones adroitly highlights in subtle ways. She also skillfully portrays various secondary characters, including Maya’s gruff and lovable father, Derek’s precocious yet sensitive daughter, and a malicious frenemy from Maya’s past. K.M.P. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
A Lowcountry Bride: A Novel
Narrated by Carmen Jewel Jones
Preslaysa WilliamsUnabridged — 8 hours, 50 minutes
A Lowcountry Bride: A Novel
Narrated by Carmen Jewel Jones
Preslaysa WilliamsUnabridged — 8 hours, 50 minutes
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Overview
There is love, and then there is L-O-V-E. We hope that life brings you the former. The latter, in the hands of a talented writer, gives us a world we’d all like to inhabit. Through care, patience and vulnerability, Williams delivers a genuine “happily ever after”.
""I absolutely adore this book...love story begins slow-like a delicious lowcountry boil-but heats up to the perfect ending."" --Kathleen Y'Barbo, bestselling author of The Black Midnight
A heartwarming Avon debut of love, forgiveness, and new beginnings set in the beautiful South Carolina Lowcountry.
Maya Jackson has worked for a renowned New York City bridal gown brand for years and dreams of becoming Head Designer. She has the talent, she just needs a chance to showcase her unique style. Due to an illness, she's always prioritized her career over her personal life until Maya's father fractures his hip and she returns to Charleston, SC. While home for only a few months, she's thrilled to find an opportunity at the local bridal gown boutique, never expecting sparks to fly with its owner...
A military veteran and widowed father, Derek Sullivan hopes to save Always a Bride from bankruptcy in order to preserve the legacy of his family. He also wants to reconnect with his estranged, twelve-year-old daughter, who is still recovering from the loss of her mother. The last thing he needs is a relationship with a beautiful, smart, complicated woman who will be leaving soon.
When Derek begins to fall for the lovely Maya, he knows there's no future. But destiny has its own plans, and these two lonely people with big hearts discover that coming home to love is the best gift life can give.
Editorial Reviews
03/08/2021
A struggling bridal shop owner finds love with a wedding dress designer in this inspiring romantic romp from Williams (Healing Hannah’s Heart). Maya Jackson returns to Charleston, S.C., to help her father recover from a broken hip. On unpaid leave from her N.Y.C. bridal gown brand, she accepts a temporary job at a bridal shop while she’s there. Derek Sullivan’s wife died in a mass shooting three years ago, and now he’s working to save the shop he inherited from his mother and reconnect with his 12-year-old daughter, Jamila. Maya’s experience and eye for style breathes new life into Derek’s almost-bankrupt business, and her presence gives Derek and Jamila hope for a brighter future. Meanwhile, Maya gets a chance to showcase her designs, which have always been rejected by her famous boss. But as Maya, who has sickle cell anemia, grows close to Derek and Jamila, she worries her prognosis will be too much for them to handle. Maya’s determination is admirable as she manages her illness and works for the happy ending she deserves. With this heartwarming tale, Williams has created a budding family that readers will root for. (June)
"Twenty twenty-first is bringing us the Black romances we deserve!" — Essence
“With this heartwarming tale, Williams has created a budding family that readers will root for.” — Publishers Weekly
"With superb character development and great emotional depth, Afro Filipina writer Williams stitches together a quietly powerful love story that is beautifully enriched by the deft and insightful incorporation of weighty issues such as grief and medical conditions into the compelling plot and brightly enhanced by glimpses into the vibrant culture and history of Charleston." — Booklist (starred review)
"I absolutely adore this book...love story begins slow—like a delicious low country boil—but heats up to the perfect ending." — Kathleen Y’Barbo, bestselling author of The Black Midnight
"Full of heart and faith, Preslaysa Williams's A Lowcountry Bride marries weddings, identity, second chances in all forms, and sweet romance into one lovely book." — Tif Marcelo, USA Today bestselling author of The Key to Happily Ever After
“Emotionally stirring debut.” — Oprah Daily
“A sweet and chaste romance featuring an ambitious wedding dress designer who takes a break from her intense career in New York City to return home to Charleston to care for her father — only to find love and her ideal career too.” — NPR
Emotionally stirring debut.
"I absolutely adore this book...love story begins slow—like a delicious low country boil—but heats up to the perfect ending."
"Twenty twenty-first is bringing us the Black romances we deserve!"
"Full of heart and faith, Preslaysa Williams's A Lowcountry Bride marries weddings, identity, second chances in all forms, and sweet romance into one lovely book."
"With superb character development and great emotional depth, Afro Filipina writer Williams stitches together a quietly powerful love story that is beautifully enriched by the deft and insightful incorporation of weighty issues such as grief and medical conditions into the compelling plot and brightly enhanced by glimpses into the vibrant culture and history of Charleston."
A sweet and chaste romance featuring an ambitious wedding dress designer who takes a break from her intense career in New York City to return home to Charleston to care for her father — only to find love and her ideal career too.
"Twenty twenty-first is bringing us the Black romances we deserve!"
Carmen Jewel Jones narrates a sweet romance about finding love in unexpected places and making the most of every moment. Maya Jackson is not looking for love when she comes to Charleston to help her father after surgery, but a relationship with boutique owner Derek Sullivan blossoms regardless. Both Maya and Derek have suffered relatively recent losses, and Jones allows them sufficient space to dwell on their grief without becoming maudlin. The two find common ground in their shared devotion to family, which Jones adroitly highlights in subtle ways. She also skillfully portrays various secondary characters, including Maya’s gruff and lovable father, Derek’s precocious yet sensitive daughter, and a malicious frenemy from Maya’s past. K.M.P. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
2021-03-17
A wedding dress designer learns to trust her professional instincts after returning home to Charleston to care for her ill father.
Maya Jackson has a dream job in New York working for Laura Whitcomb, one of the most prestigious wedding gown designers in the world. Although Maya has been told she’s in competition for a promotion, Laura denigrates every single one of Maya’s designs, which are inspired by her Filipino and African American background. Maya also hides her sickle cell disease from her boss, recognizing Laura’s pattern of discriminatory behavior and fearing retaliation. Nevertheless, Maya continues to hope that becoming Laura’s junior designer will open future opportunities in the wedding gown industry. When Maya’s father becomes ill, Laura agrees to let her take an unpaid leave of absence to care for him. Worried about her loss of income, Maya takes a job at the first Black-owned wedding boutique in Charleston to make ends meet. Having inherited the boutique from his mother, Derek Sullivan is struggling to keep the business afloat while also raising his teenage daughter. Three years earlier, his wife was killed in a mass shooting at their church, which is presented as a muted backstory rather than an active emotional factor for Derek. Maya’s original designs and her knowledge of the bridal business breathe new life into the boutique. Derek and Maya go out on a few sweet, bland dates, but the barely-there romance feels like an afterthought; their relationship lacks chemistry and is woefully underdeveloped. Maya is torn between hoping for Laura’s seal of approval and honoring the legacy of her heritage, and this dilemma drives the plot and timeline of the novel. Williams’ choppy, stilted prose is not strong enough to carry the emotional weight of the novel.
A simple story about learning to trust yourself to achieve happiness.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940176320169 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins |
| Publication date: | 06/01/2021 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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