REVIEW: A Lowcountry Wedding by Mary Alice Monroe

A Lowcountry Wedding by Mary Alice Monroe follows the wedding planning of half-sisters Carson and Harper Muir. As the sisters work together, along with their other sister, Dora, to plan their weddings, they’re also surprised by the discovery of an unknown family member who enters their lives.

I feel that this is a book you should only read after reading the previous books in the series. I hadn’t read any of them, and I’ll admit I had a very hard time getting into this story. I had no background about the relationship between the sisters (they didn’t seem very close, and at times it felt like there was a lot of tension between Carson and Harper), or about the relationships with their significant others, and none of it was covered in this book. To get the backstories, you really need to have read the previous stories.

Because I hadn’t read the previous books, I didn’t really understand the characters and their motivations. For example, Carson wanted a beach wedding–which Harper was having–and Harper wanted a plantation wedding, which Carson was having. It was their weddings, they should have stood up and told everyone what they wanted. I couldn’t figure out why they didn’t.

The relationship I disliked the most in this book was between Dora and her boyfriend, Devlin. They weren’t featured much in this story, but when they were I felt like Devlin was putting too much pressure on Dora to get married. While she loved him, she had just gotten divorced not too long ago and wasn’t ready to jump into another marriage. All she was asking for was time, which he didn’t seem to want to give to her. Other people, including Atticus, seemed to side with Devlin.

“You want to know what I hear? I hear you give a lot of reasons why you can’t get married. I hear you being cautious and practical…and selfish.”
“Selfish?”
“Yes, selfish. While you’re compiling that long list of things you want to get done before you get married, have you ever stopped to ask yourself what Devlin might want?”

There could have been more compromise on both sides, but it seemed that Dora was expected to cave to what Devlin wanted.

Overall this was an ok read for me. Between the bouncing around between the characters and not knowing anything about them, it took a while for me to get into the story. If you’ve read the previous books in the series, you’ll most likely want to read this one as it concludes the journeys of the sisters.

Book Info:

 May 3, 2016 | Gallery Books | Lowcountry Summer #4

Nothing could be more enchanting than a summer wedding—or two!—in Charleston’s fabled lowcountry. A centuries-old plantation, an avenue of ancient oaks dripping moss, a storied ballroom, a sand dune at sunset…

Yet when a stranger arrives, a long held family secret could silence the bells ringing for the Muir sisters. Scandals surface, family bonds are questioned, and promises are broken and renewed. In A Lowcountry Wedding Monroe delves into the heart of marriage, commitment, and family ties.