Author T.I. Lowe combines a story of loss with a home improvement setting as the characters in Lowcountry Lost work to resurrect both a ghost town and a broken marriage. Told from the viewpoint of Avalee Elvis, a renovation expert whose company — which shares the same name as the book— is beginning the impressive project of bringing life back to a former ghost town in South Carolina. She works with her friends, business partners, and team of misfits to create a vision for this newly renamed piece of real estate, calling it Somewhere. She finds herself shocked when the investors hire Rowan Murray, a structural engineer on the project, who just happens to be her ex-husband. Given their history of hurt, will the two of them be able to work together without incident? Will they overcome the unspoken hurts of their past relationship and move forward?
I felt the way the past was revealed to the reader could have been done more smoothly. Oftentimes I found myself confused about what had actually happened to the childhood sweethearts and why Avalee felt so much anger. Perhaps it was because of the first-person point-of-view the story was told in, since she herself had conflicting and unresolved feelings.
Lowcountry Lost definitely was meant to inspire hope and healing. However, unlike the first book I read by this author, Under the Magnolias, this one did not flow well for me. Where I could not put down Magnolias, this book took me much longer to finish. I would recommend it for someone who wants to read about renovations and enjoys all of the details involved. I honestly felt the story got bogged down with the color of paint and the type of flooring used. That being said, I gave it four stars because I found the final third of the story more interesting and focused on family dynamics.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tyndale House Publishers for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
Trigger warning: This story deals with multiple child deaths.
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