I read the "Coldest Winter Ever" when i was in high school and really fell in love with Sister Souljah at that time in my life. Now as an adult, reading her new releases I just don't feel the same way about her writing style. I don't know if its the book or if it's me but I just couldn't connect with the story line. It was a DNF for me.

Where do I begin. The coldest winter ever was one of my favorite books when it came out. And I was excited to finally get a sequel( which was a disappointment), so I thought maybe part 3 would help redeem the series. Winter has never matured and still making childish decisions. Lack of character development and character growth. You would think by book 3, this would’ve been figured out. The writing doesn’t flow. And at this point, the series needs to fizzle out.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was incredibly disjointed. I'm not sure if the author is a genius for creating such an unlikable character that you love to hate, or if the story has simply fizzled out can cannot capture the magic of the original urban fiction classic, "Coldest Winter Ever". Winter Santiaga's character can still enthrall the reader into her world and make you keep rooting for her, hoping she'll be a better person. Alas, she is not and there is absolutely no growth with this character, which you expect if novels are branded as a "series". The storytelling seemed fragmented and disorganized and after reading, you are left to wonder what it was all about and what did you get from the story. There was a cliffhanger or sorts and it seems another book is to come, but I don't know if I'll be reading it.

🎤 It's been a few years, Winter is back.
🎤 So, here's a conversation starter ..

"What Would You Do?!" A series where we reimagine the situations and ordeals Winter finds herself in and forever changed by.

Many young girls/fans (including myself) may have thought of "If I was Winter, I would have... or if I was Winter that could never be me.."

I enjoyed how much Sister Souljah forced her readers to think about reality in a very realistic and unconventional way.

I struggled to connect with Winter. I recognize what Sister Souljah is attempting to do—she is trying to offer a narrative style reminiscent of The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. I appreciated the writing style in her critically acclaimed book, The Coldest Winter Ever, which depicted the realities of urban life, I found the prose to be excellent. Through it, I could clearly see all of Winter's mistakes while also absorbing the author's warnings.

I just struggled to read this. I think that I like a lot of people are trying to get the same feeling they felt when we read The Coldest Winter. But we were all younger and we’ve evolved. And that might be a personal issue that the author cannot combat.

Reading Coldest Winter Ever as an adult, I definitely appreciate following her story as she gets older and seeing how she evolves. I think the book holds true to the feel of the first while leaving space for growth.

Unfortunately, I could not get into the book as much as I could the previous ones in the series. Perhaps it is because I am in a different space in my life. However, the book was nice and it was good to read about Winter's experiences now that she is older and has gone through life experiences. While this book is not for me, I appreciate the opportunity to have read it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read Love After Midnight! As someone who read The Coldest Winter Ever as a pre-teen, it was eye-opening to experience Winter’s world again as an adult. Sister Souljah has an incredible way of bringing her characters to life, and revisiting Winter’s journey after all these years was both nostalgic and eyeopening. This latest installment adds new layers and depth to her story, and it’s fascinating to see how she navigates love and self-discovery with the same confused spirit. I did enjoy this one more than the last installment, a compelling read for any fan of Sister Souljah. I am just in awe. Left speechless.

After reading this book - I was more lost than what I started out being.
I am a longtime fan of the original Winter Santiaga story in "The Coldest Winter Ever". When the second book came out I was excited to see where her story picked up at, but after reading the first few chapters it honestly was too much for me. Seemed a little demonic. So when I heard another one was coming out, I was hoping that she would switch the narrative and actually do the characters so justice. I will say it started out promising, but the more I read - the more I felt it was going nowhere. Quite a few times I had to go back and re-read pages because I wasn't sure what I just read. Then the ending. I could've did without this book. It just seemed very rushed and thrown together.

This was the book we were waiting for but it did not deliver. I’m appreciative of Atria giving me the opportunity to read, and my reviews are honest. This feels it’s was contractually written. The main character is flat and static. There was no growth and plot holes throughout the entire novel. It was disappointing.

Winter is and will always be the stereotypical hood chick we all loved from The Coldest Winter Ever. But this being the third installment even after the disappointing sequel I wanted more.

The last book with all “the last stop before the drop” mess lost me. In Love After Midnight, Winter is back seven months after being shot and waking up from a coma. It did take me a minute to get into the story but once I did, I was invested in what I thought would be Winter being the bad boss “b” taking the entertainment industry by storm. Winter figuring out the mystery of who shot her and having some growth and maybe even finding love.

That isn’t quite what happened. There’s no real plot that comes together. Just Winter running around being Winter. As childish as ever. Making the worse decisions ever. She has not grown and will not grow which I guess is the point. At her big age she remains self-absorbed, selfish and materialistic. Zero attempt at any kind of character growth. She’s such a hater of her own sisters and family. Like for why?

So many potential storylines that could have been explored, like her relationship with her estranged brother? Also, Pretty?? There was so much more there not explained. And how do we gloss over the shooting at the club and who was shot (don’t want to spoil the story by saying who). And we are no closer to knowing who shot Winter. The ending with FKR left me confused. The ending was very open ended but I’m not seeing the point of more if Winter never has any growth like not even a smidge a teeny tiny bit?

When I look at it from the perspective of “Winter is who she is” and will never have growth I guess it is what it is. Because Sister gives other characters growth and Winter is just Winter. Stuck in time, Pretty said it best “You really are still a teenager.” I didn’t mind the 90’s feel that’s the timeframe in which the book takes place. The breakdown of every outfit had me rolling my eyes though. All in all, an okay read if you just want a continuation of Winter’s antics with no self-reflection, accountability or growth.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria for the eBook.

I feel like this was four storylines in one. There were so many storylines that were started but left unfinished. Initially it was unclear where we were time wise and it felt like this should’ve been released before the last book, but eventually there are enough thin threads to place it after the book

Winter is back! I love The Coldest Winter ever series. Ignore the bad reviews! This is an amazing book by sister souljah. Some are missing the point of this book. Winter is definitely the stereotypical hood chick, but that's who she was in the original book that EVERYONE loved! Amazing work Souljah!

Sister Souljah has redeemed herself with this one. The last book fell a little short for me but in this latest installment. Love after midnight brings back the one-of -a-kind, unpredictable Winter after her near death experience. The story was very face-paced and took a moment for me to sink into, but once I did, it was filled with drama and suspense, that kept me reading and wanting more.

A worthy read.

I think because I read the Coldest Winter Ever when i was so young, that it has colored my opinion of the last two books in this series.

The last book...I can't even speak on it. Lets just say against my better judgement, I decided to try this one.

While not as polorizing..to me..as the last book, this installment showed me that although I have grown up, the character Winter..has not willnot and ..i guess that's the point.

So in this installment, Winter is capitalizing on her fame as a Reality show and all that comes with it. I was intrigued.

But then it quickly devolved and became hard to follow, i got annoyed with the complete Narcissistic behavior and thoughts of Winter and it almost felt like a caricature of every black/hood/ghetto/reality star you've seen on tv.

Basically i don't now what the point is of this series anymore. I managed to make it to the end by the grace of God and seriously screamed AND WHY?

If there is another book, I finally give up. I won't be reading it. Ill keep my fond memories of the first book.

2/5.
And that's being generous.

Thank you to NetGalley for the Arc. all opinions are my own.

Book Review: Love After Midnight (3/5 stars)

Love After Midnight, the final installment in the trilogy, is a step up from the second book, but it still falls short in some key areas. While the pacing and writing improved, I struggled with the direction the author took with Winter’s character. As a reality TV star, Winter’s new life feels far-fetched, especially when you consider her roots—she was just a regular girl whose father was a drug dealer, living off “hood-rich” status. Now, her sudden wealth and fame seem forced and detract from the raw authenticity that made her character interesting in the first place.

There were also a lot of unanswered questions, leaving me to wonder if the author even knew what to do with Winter by the end of the story. The book could have gone in a more grounded, realistic direction, but instead, it leaned into the fantasy of fame. While I appreciated the character growth and some of the plot twists, I couldn’t fully connect with the choices made for Winter’s journey.

All in all, Love After Midnight is a decent conclusion, but it left me wanting more depth and realism. If you’re a fan of the series, it’s worth a read, but don’t expect it to resolve all the lingering questions from the previous books.

Love After Midnight by Sister Souljah was better than before!
Very well written and extremely captivating I was hooked and didn’t want it to end so soon.

Thank You NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Winter Santiaga is back and once again proves that she is the baddest b*tch. Her cunning ways, street smarts, and ability to get money and attention for herself are all front and center in this book.

Winter is learning to navigate life and love in this new time after spending years in prison and after coming out of her coma from the last installment. I love her hustle and spirit, and I loved seeing other members of her family.

I really hope there are more books to come in this series as I can’t get enough of Winter Santiaga. Thanks to the author and Atria/Emily Bestler for an early copy to review.

Can you say redemption? Because that’s exactly what this is. Sister Souljah returns with another book in the Coldest Winter Ever series. That last book was just not it, but we’re gonna leave that in the past, and we’re gonna focus on this one!

Love After Midnight gives us everything we were hoping for. Winter is back, and doing her OG stuff while finding love and trying to learn how to make money on her own. This book was everything I didn’t know I needed, and more. Sister Souljah did her big one with this, and I am excited that she is back where she belong.

I’m not a spoiler type of person, but let’s just say if you liked the first book in this series, then you will definitely like this one. I will warn you though, it will leave you with even more questions than you had before, but I will tell you, I think we have another book in the works here. So don’t feel as if this is the end of the road, because there’s some things that will let you know it’s not.

Winter is back you guys!