I read The Lowcountry Bride last year and enjoyed the setting of Charleston and the POC characters so I jumped at the chance to read Preslaysa Williams' 2nd book, The Lowcountry Proposal. I started the book a bit confused because I thought perhaps it would link back to the first book more than it did. There were one or two characters that made a reappearance, but overall it was a completely different story. So it took me some time to settle into this story.

I also wanted MORE backstory than what was given in the book. I wanted to know more about what happened to Jaslene's sister, Hope. And a bit more about the mass shooting that occurred in the back story. I just felt like there were some more details that could make the book a little more fulfilling to read. I think a quick prologue with descriptions of the two devastating events that affected the main characters so much would have made for a much stronger book. Even written as newspaper articles or something.

Definitely not a bad book at all, there is simply room for it to be a better, more finished product.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read this book. It is always appreciated!

Having recently read A Lowcountry Bride I had hopes that this would be another sweet emotional little book placed on the background of African American Cultural preservation and the aftermath of a community tragedy. Unfortunely, this had all the weaknesses of its predecessor with none of its true strengths. This book was boring, clearly didn't care at all for the romance it was proposing (heh) to tell and while it wanted to engage the reader about the mystery of one of the main characters ancestry it lacked skill in pacing or emotionality to make me care. This is a book where characters have a life time of trauma, and grief, haven't talked in two years after a very close family members death and then without even really talking about it solve all of their issues and move past their grief and trauma in less then 3 months. What?!

I think reading these two books that author Preslaysa Williams wants to tell stories of black history and how those stories of the past interact and impact the percent. These are important stories and she should be encouraged to do so. However, my issue is she claims to have written a romance and does not seem to want to or care about writing romance as her characters have no spark or romance to see. For me I think this is the last one of hers I will give a chance, I would rather read books written by people who feel like they want to be here.

Also the summary mentions our leads end up working together cause Jaslene needed cheap office space which is just factually incorrect to the plot of the book. So that's a thing.

Thank you to Net Galley and Avon and Harper Voyage for a E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Hate to start off on a negative, but, I was so bored with this one! 😐 It wasn't clear if this was supposed to be a romance between jaslene and Marcus, a save the museum focus, jaslene healing from her sisters death or the mysterious love story of Janey and solomon. There wasn't really any backstory on any of these options so the reader is left wondering and really in the dark. The overall plot was lacking and really unclear. There isn't any flashbacks pre wedding thst wasn't so we didn't even get a glimpse of what we were supposed to be rooting for, there's no spark, and not a spot of romance between the hero and heroine.

This had the potential to be a cute and quick read but too many plot options led to a story without real substance and missed a lot of important plot details.

Thank you Netgalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for my review!

This book is okay but it's definitely not a romance. The main part of the book is about them finding the story of the ring and Marcus' ancestors. It's important but I don't think this should be marketed as a romance.

I received an arc through netgalley.

This book was one that pulled at the heartstrings. It touched on heavy topics such as loss, however I think it also soured my mood and experience reading this book. This book was very cute an flowery anyone can fall in love with it!

Jaslene and Marcus had their wedding cut short when her beloved sister died in a car crash. After a two year separation, they are reunited and find the love is still there but hidden behind walls in their hearts.
A beautifully woven tale of African American history with enduring love.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

While I like the intention of the story, the history and culture it was a very slow build and I just couldn't get invested to finish it.

This journey has all the elements of a good book. Enjoyed the culture history lessons and friendly reminder that our history has a way of keep us connected to each other. I found myself wanting to take a road trip to South Carolina.- which is a great sign.

Marcus and Jaslene's love story felt predictable to me. This maybe due to the love story feeling like a side plot or a supporting plot to ensure Marcus and Jaslene did not over shadow Janey and Solomon's love story.

Loyalty, Family, second chances, small town and history is all over this story.

I am saddened to say that I didn’t love this as much as ‘A Lowcountry Bride’, which I also had the arc for. This isn’t a “traditional” romance. It was more about grief, Christianity, an African American museums struggle with funding, an enslaved couple from the past and planning for a side characters wedding. I thought it would be focused on Jaslene and Marcus, them getting their second chance and what caused their relationship to end on their wedding day. However, it really wasnt.

I’d say the two main plots are, Marcus and Jaslene finding out about Janey and Solomon (the couple from the 1800’s) and them trying to find ways to keep the museum running. Their romance felt like a side plot. They did so much research on Janey and Solomon, their connection to a ring that Solomon stole and how it ended up in his possession, Marcus trying to convince his grandpa to give stuff to the museum, throwing a fundraiser for the museum and then Jaslene throwing a wedding for a friend also at the museum. A lot going on that isn’t romance.

My review is so negative but I didn’t HATE the book. It just read more as women’s fiction with a side of romance. And then once they finally get together, it’s not even satisfying!!!

Tw: both characters experienced the death of a sibling, one was a child death and the other was as an adult. Mentions of a shooting at a church. Brief mentions of slavery.

This book is set in the South Carolina by an author of proud African American and Filipino descent. This matters as many of the heroines written by Williams shares this joining of cultures. I think that including this detail can be a wonderful opportunity to showcase this blend and the inner workings of living and loving in America. However, outside of a few mentions of Filipino dishes and wedding traditions, this deeply cultural romance delves mostly into African American culture and the aftermath of chattel slavery. The story presented was fine but felt incomplete.

Having said that, the story had heart. Like Emezi's "You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty," this book explores love after grief. I enjoyed taking the journey alongside the couple to understand the world the reader was dropped in to.

A Sweet Lowcountry Proposal is the follow up to A Lowcountry Bride.

As a Charleston native, I love seeing my hometown as the setting for a love story. Charleston and all its history feels like a character in the book.

Overall, I liked the book. However, I didn't connect with Jazz and Marcus' second chance romance arc like I thought I would. It felt like something was missing. I loved the Soloman and Janey storyline and honestly would read a separate book about them. While not your typical romance, the writing is wonderful. I think if you liked the first book, you'll also really enjoy this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A wonderful second book by preslaysa Williams! What I really enjoyed about this book was being from the low country and recognizing places I knew. Really enjoyed

This book reminded me so much of one of my favorite movies ever, "Revenge of The Bridesmaids", so if you liked that movie I think you would LOVE this book! Truly hilarious, and all the little details of small town life really resonated with me.

I just don't feel this storyline and certainly the characters weren't as fully fleshed out as the previous book, A Low country Bride. It fell a little short of expectations and seemed a bit bland.

Jaslene Simmons is raising her niece, after her sister's death. She called off her wedding to Marcus, a local historian. She's in full grieving and has made some changes in her life when she meets Marcus again, planning a wedding for her friend. Marcus is having grief and guilt issues of his own and hermits in his work at the Black history museum, trying to put together a display for his grandfather's church.

I felt the story focused more on the museum and it's display way more than this "romance" between the main characters. They turned around quickly from not even talking to getting engaged again, it just didn't feel believable.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review. Really enjoyed the first book, just didn't enjoy this one as much.

'A Sweet Lowcountry Proposal' is the follow up to 'A Lowcountry Bride", which I read several years ago. I was fascinated by the premise of Jaslene and Marcus losing their HEA from the first book and what could bring them back together again. I will admit that this book was not what I was expecting, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I definitely don't feel like this is a traditional romance per say. What I mean by that is in discovering the tragic circumstances of Jazz & Marcus's parting, we expect to delve into a lot of the grief, loss, and sadness there while setting up for a proper romantic rebuild. I was surprised that that wasn't what we got out the gate.

The writer, Ms. Williams bypasses much of it and focuses on the forward momentum. We know that Jaslene is still mourning and guilty, but many of the plot points within the book aren't completely explored and satisfactorily completed. I still am a bit fuzzy on the angle of Hope exploring the family tree and Jazz's guilt there along with the niece and her trauma. I wish I knew more about the separation with Marcus as well.

What we do get is an intense and passionate examination of how the past can tie into the future and fulfilling what your ancestors worked so hard for. I felt the history with Soloman and Janey could be its own gorgeous book. I knew more about the museum and the history of Soloman and Janey than I did our protagonist.

A well written book and an interesting premise, but I did feel the reunion and relationship was too simplified and not enough for me to feel like this was a romance. I felt my mind wandering a bit and though I love Charleston, and it is almost a character in the story, I felt some of the relationships and issues were glossed over and rushed, while other aspects went on a little longer than necessary.
If you loved the last book, jump in and enjoy this one, but temper your expectations a little and allow this to be a fictional story that embraces history and doesn't rely on the romantic aspect to sell it.

This ARC was provided to me, from Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for an honest review

Synopsis:
It was supposed to be the happiest day of Jaslene Simmons’ life, the day she’d say “I do” to Marcus Clark. But when her sister dies in a tragic accident everything changes—including her once rosy future with Marcus. Jaslene instead pours all of her energy into caring for her now-motherless niece and running the wedding planning company she and her sister had built, wanting to honor her sister’s dream even if she has to sacrifice her own.

As an archivist at Charleston’s Black history museum, Marcus shines a light on the stories of forgotten people. Researching history is better than dealing with his own heartache—and the guilt he has over the role he may have inadvertently played in the death of Jaslene’s sister.

Jaslene never thought she’d cross paths with Marcus again, but her need for an affordable office space brings her to the museum which is faced with the threat of closure. As they work together to save it, their buried feelings slowly reignite. They soon realize there is still room in their hearts for love...if only they can overcome their past.

This book was so cute. This author is now definitely one of my auto reads now!

Grief is a tricky situation one day you could feel completely fine and the next you could be stuck in bed overwhelmed by it. I feel like Jaslene falls somewhere in the middle, her life changed in the blink of eye. She became a guardian to her niece, lost her sister, and fiancé in all at once. I felt her pain, her apprehension when being asked to step out of the self preserved comfort that she built around herself to survive. I would recommend to experience the emotional journey but would only read once because of how emotional the story made me feel.

It was supposed to be the happiest day of Jaslene Simmons’ life, the day she’d say “I do” to Marcus Clark. But when her sister dies in a tragic accident everything changes—including her once rosy future with Marcus. Jaslene instead pours all of her energy into caring for her now-motherless niece and running the wedding planning company she and her sister had built, wanting to honor her sister’s dream even if she has to sacrifice her own.

As an archivist at Charleston’s Black history museum, Marcus shines a light on the stories of forgotten people. Researching history is better than dealing with his own heartache—and the guilt he has over the role he may have inadvertently played in the death of Jaslene’s sister.

Jaslene never thought she’d cross paths with Marcus again, but her need for an affordable office space brings her to the museum which is faced with the threat of closure. As they work together to save it, their buried feelings slowly reignite. They soon realize there is still room in their hearts for love...if only they can overcome their past. - Goodreads

Short review!

I really wanted to like this book but I couldn't get into it. It was slow. The romance felt non-existent and I understand that the couple had a past but you would think that after not seeing each other for x amount of years there would be some form of spark or even when they started to get close again there would be some form of heat, need or literal want but nothing. It felt like we were just supposed to assume that their relationship was amazing and due to circumstances it ended.

Overall, this book was not for me, which was unfortunate because I did enjoy the premise and what connects the two again.

Overall,

2 Pickles

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Avon and Harper Voyager and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

This will satisfy even the most cynical romantics out there.

When I think of romance, I think of books just like this one, that gives all the feels and satisfies every romance junkies' heart. This is a perfect books to snuggle up with on any day.