Preslaysa Williams’ ‘A Lowcountry Bride’ Should Be a Hallmark Channel Movie [REVIEW]

She dreams of becoming a household name in the bridal gown industry. He just wants to keep his family’s bridal boutique afloat. When they find themselves working together, neither one of them is looking for anything more than a temporary business arrangement. But well-intentioned townsfolk have other ideas. Will a simple twist of fate result in true love or in total disaster? Find out in Preslaysa Williams’ charming new novel, A Lowcountry Bride.

Growing up, Maya Jackson knew she was destined for a career in fashion. After all, her mom made sure she worked hard and studied well, and insisted that one day Maya would become a well-known fashion designer. Life doesn’t always offer up our dreams on a silver platter though. Not only does Maya suffer from sickle cell anemia, but she has consistently put her personal life on hold while working as a junior wedding gown designer for New York icon Laura Whitcomb.

Then Maya’s dad has an incident with his health, she returns to her native Charleston to help him recover, and all without pay. To supplement her income while away from her job, she gets a temporary job working at a local bridal gown boutique where she encounters a very dashing military veteran and widower. But a few months in the Lowcountry isn’t exactly the perfect time to start up a romance.

Derek Sullivan is trying diligently to keep the family business, Always A Bride, afloat after his wife’s untimely death. But he has to learn as he goes along, and it doesn’t help that his right hand woman is retiring from the store. Additionally, he’s struggling to reach his 12-year-old daughter, who feels lost without her mom and grandmother in her life. And yet, when the beautiful Maya enters their lives, she touches places in both Derek and Jamila’s hearts that they thought were closed off forever.

A Lowcountry Bride is a touching, heartfelt story about finding the courage to love again in the wake of bitter grief and disappointment. It also inspires readers to to open their hearts to new possibilities, and to take chances on building new relationships and summoning the courage to blaze new trails. Most of all, it teaches us to never shelve our dreams, even when they don’t seem to work out the way we had imagined. Sometimes the best surprises come to us in unexpected ways.

This was the first time I have encountered Preslaysa Williams work, but I hope it will not be the last. She infuses A Lowcountry Bride with humor and compassion, and reminds us why we should always honor our heritage and remember those loved ones who came before us. She also creates wonderful, charismatic characters we instantly connect with, and some we love to hate, like Laura Whitcomb herself, a character who would give Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly (from The Devil Wears Prada) a run for her money.

This is the perfect story to escape with on a cool autumn day. Not only does it help us bridge cultural divides in an ever changing landscape, but it will satisfy audiences no matter what walk of life they come from, especially if you love a sweet Hallmark Channel romance. If so, this story will be right up your alley!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Preslaysa Williams is an award-winning author who writes heartwarming romance and women’s fiction with an Afro-Filipina twist. Proud of her heritage, she loves sharing her culture with her readers.

A graduate of Columbia University, Preslaysa is a professional actress, a planner nerd, an avid bookworm, and a homeschool mom who wears mismatched socks.

For more information, visit preslaysa.com, like her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.

A LOWCOUNTRY BRIDE
By Preslaysa Williams
352 pp. Avon Books. $15.99.

GIVEAWAY

Enter below for your chance to win a copy of Preslaysa Williams’ sweet story, A Lowcountry Bride. Winners must be residents of the USA or Canada and will be contacted via email once drawing is complete. At that time, winners will need to provide street address so book may be sent to them direct from the publisher. Sorry, P.O. Boxes are not accepted. All entries must be received no later than noon EST on October 24, 2021.