christmas reunion picks up a year after the thanksgiving chaos from soul food and secrets, and honestly… a year later and they are still on bullshit 😭. chelsea really tried to do a good thing by bringing her sisters back together after everything blew up the last time they shared a table. covid gave them all the perfect excuse to avoid each other, but with christmas coming up, chelsea hoped time and distance had cooled things down enough to attempt a reunion.
and for a minute? it actually felt like it might work. the vibes were decent, the tension felt manageable… until a pregnancy bomb gets dropped. if you read book one, you can put two and two together very quickly, so the shock wasn’t really the reveal — it was the fallout. by the end of the night, emotions were high, fists were flying, and somebody ended up in the hospital. very on brand for this family, unfortunately.
my biggest issue was how quickly some things were forgiven. i understand wanting to keep family close, but chasity would’ve been on ice for me. there is absolutely no way on this green earth i would’ve moved past her transgressions as easily as cynthia did. that grace was… generous, to say the least.
overall, this was a decent continuation — messy, dramatic, and stressful just like the first book — but it didn’t hit quite as hard. solid 3/5. if you liked soul food and secrets, this gives you closure and lets you see where everyone lands, even if you’re side-eyeing their decisions the whole time.