Love After Midnight

November 1, 2024
Almost 25 years after The Coldest Winter Ever (1999), Sister Souljah returned to her protagonist, Winter Santiaga, first in Life after Death (2021), and now here. Winter is setting up her new fashion company and trying to figure out who among her old friends shot her. Her impulsive actions send her to Vegas, where she wins big, but there's a murder. She inks a million-dollar deal for a summer season of her reality show and also agrees to extra promotions, but things go awry with some of the rights. She starts hanging out with a woman, but she can't remember what transpired after they met. She dates a man who proposes in front of a huge crowd. Winter is struggling and losing ground; she finds no clear answers and knows few people can be trusted. Her family wants her to seek counseling, but she isn't ready to admit that the trauma is catching up to her. Though at times this story of psychological distress can be confusing, Winter, as always, is captivating, and Sister Souljah deftly shows her besieged character's intelligence and creativity. A cliff-hanger ending lets readers know that, happily, we are not done with Winter.

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