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Soul Food & Secrets

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After both of their parents have passed away, sisters, Chelsea, Chastity, and Cynthia vow to honor their parents wish by agreeing to continue having Thanksgiving dinner together as a family, while also creating new traditions with the families they are all starting for themselves. However, things don’t quite go as planned after one too many glasses of wine are consumed and secrets start coming out around the dinner table…

38 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 23, 2019

17 people are currently reading
86 people want to read

About the author

J.L. Sapphire

31 books27 followers

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5 stars
47 (29%)
4 stars
40 (25%)
3 stars
55 (35%)
2 stars
12 (7%)
1 star
3 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
Profile Image for Annette Williams.
1,197 reviews426 followers
December 1, 2024
I sat in the back of an ambulance, my forehead bleeding profusely due to the deep cut compliments of Cynthia. “Man, how did it all go so wrong, so fast,” I wondered to myself.

This is Mike ladies and gentlemen. Mike has been cheating on Cynthia the entire five years of their marriage while, simultaneously, playing the victim. At this point, Mike doesn’t even try to hide his infidelity and, even if he did try, he couldn’t. He’s gotten another woman pregnant, he’s given Cynthia an STD, and lets not talk about the countless women pullin’ up on poor Cynthia on some “woman to woman” BS. Apparently, five years of cheating wasn’t embarrassing enough so Mike doubles down on the disrespect and hits Cynthia with even more embarrassment at the dinner table on Thanksgiving Day in front of her entire family. Chiiiiiiiile, Soul Food & Secrets was my kind of carryin’ on. This book was top tier family drama and I was here for all of it. The secrets were in abundance and everybody’s shyt was aired out. This the kind of mess you dream about unfolding in the living room at Aunt Jean’s house while you eat your collard greens and dressing. J.L. Sapphire is a NTM author. I wasn’t a huge fan of her writing so, she’ll probably be one and done for me. But, I will say, Soul Food & Secrets was entertaining AF and I’d recommend you give it a try.
Profile Image for *Ebony I*.
1,416 reviews155 followers
November 29, 2024
Family Secrets

Whew Chile the secrets were exposed left and right. 

Three sisters were supposed to be carrying on their Family Tradition of spending Thanksgiving together. They definitely did that, but it was messy AF. Each sister has secrets that impacted their relationships and ish was revealed. 

Cynthia was calm in my opinion because they took it too far. Novellettes are meant to be short, but I dislike when the stories aren't fully resolved and we are left with questions...that's how I felt with this story.
Profile Image for Rashawnda.
1,391 reviews1,143 followers
November 22, 2024
How it started: 🎶 I like being in the same room as you and your girlfriend.The fact that she don't know, that really turns me on 🎶

How it ended: 🎶 I know you mad, but so what? I wish you best of luck and now I’m finna throw them deuces up🎶

Insert blurb *Sooo you’re probably wondering how we got here * well shiiii Mike is wondering the same exact thing after he’s left sitting in the back of an ambulance nursing a head wound complements of his wife cracking him over the head with a wine bottle… yeah this book was THAT type of messy.

Chyyyy the secrets definitely outnumbered the soul food in this messy holiday read about three sisters Chasity, Chelsea and Cynthia. All I can say is that it really be your own family! I knew there would be scandal but nobody at the dinner table was worth a damn 😵‍💫

The things that always come to light during thanksgiving dinner never ceases to amaze me…. Pass the sweet potatoes and carry on 😆

*P.S. I love the fact that we can bond over books… even the foolish ones 😂😩😆🫠😵‍💫 Thanks for putting this craziness on my radar Bookie
Profile Image for Bookishrealm.
3,262 reviews6,428 followers
November 29, 2020
This book was freaking CRAZY! Ya'll hear me?!? Freaking crazy. I can't believe what I just read. Please be advised that this book does have cheating in it, but not in the way that you think and I promise the author does not attempt to overlook or justify it. This book is all drama and quite honestly the drama is not what I expected. There is no explicit romance that occurs in this book. Actually, I'm not even sure how to categorize it. If you enjoy drama and high stakes this book is for you!
Profile Image for Erin Rae.
374 reviews23 followers
November 22, 2024
This was so messsssy! 🤭 Everybody caught a stray at the dinner table on Thanksgiving 😂
Profile Image for Symone.
105 reviews11 followers
November 29, 2024
38 pages full of pure craziness…
Profile Image for BrownBookNerd.
240 reviews36 followers
November 20, 2024
38 pages full of pure craziness! I was not expecting any of what I just read. I enjoyed it tho ☺️
Profile Image for ohnelreads.
213 reviews60 followers
November 11, 2023
Mhmmm this was Cheatersvillie ! Honestly a lot was packed into these 38 pages. These sisters need some deeper level help😭.

Also I feel like that HIV bit could’ve been left out😬.
My rating is 2.8 honestly.
Profile Image for Danielle Marcia.
119 reviews14 followers
November 18, 2025
These are the kind of holiday novellas I like… short and entertaining!!! This one was super messy… a Thanksgiving to remember! 🫢😲
Profile Image for bree.
67 reviews
Read
November 23, 2024
don't have a rating... this is tyler perry coded!!! a hot ass mess!! i probably lost some brain cells but i couldn't stop reading!! they were really having a hoe (derogatory) off!
Profile Image for Toya  Davis-Stokley.
2,567 reviews103 followers
November 24, 2024
I couldn't wait to dive into this one after some of the reviews I've read. But honey nothing could have prepared me for all the secrets that were spilled, at the Thanksgiving dinner table no less! 👀
These sisters have some deeply rooted issues with each other, that I would love to be privy to.
The ish quickly hits the fan, it was every woman for herself. When the pressure is on, the sisters wasted no time tossing their sister and her secrets under the bus! This was some messy goodness, and I wanted so much more. Especially regarding Miss Chelsea. 🤯 Enjoyed this quick read.
Profile Image for Whitney.
556 reviews81 followers
November 26, 2022
Definitely come with the drama, though the HIV moment was a bit much (in my opinion)
Profile Image for ShayBooks.
803 reviews18 followers
November 27, 2020
Family Drama

This page turner Holiday novella was funny, engaging and full of drama. This table scene was way worse than the table scene in Why Did I get married? These sisters definitely have some underlying issues the need to resolve and thereby and the lord is the only thing that can help them. Great quickie.
Profile Image for Whit.
3,665 reviews52 followers
November 28, 2020
Add 3 sisters, one husband, two boyfriends, some wine, the turkey and a whole lot of deceit and betrayal and you end up with one crazy Thanksgiving!
Although this was laugh out loud funny, the sisters should have had different names because Chelsea, Chasity and Cynthia soon became quite confusing.
Profile Image for Shades N Pages .
1,002 reviews28 followers
November 23, 2020

Keeping the promise to their deceased parents, sisters Cynthia, Chastity and Chelsea continued the tradition of having thanksgiving dinner together. However, the sisters are blindsided by deceit, jealousy and exposed secrets neither of them expected. I was totally caught off guard by this story. I wasn’t expecting it to hit me so hard from the first page yet I couldn’t stop reading. The drama was on 100! Chelsea is a hot mess, Chastity foul AF and Cynthia slicker than baby oil. This book is a perfect example of no loyalty and jealousy among siblings. This is very short story, but it will take you on an entertaining and drama filled journey. One-click and get your life!
Profile Image for derrellee.
214 reviews10 followers
November 28, 2024
a lot of drama for a small snack

Charity, Chelsea and Cynthia are the worst kind one of sister . They literally do not likrle each other and this thanksgiving it shows in the worst way. I really enjoyed this ,
Profile Image for Wind.
347 reviews3 followers
November 21, 2025
Well with a sister like that who needs enemies! Chelsea, Chastity, and Cynthia are getting together with their significant others and a surprise guest for thanksgiving dinner where all hell breaks loose when secrets after secrets are revealed. A short messy read!
Profile Image for LaChelle Weaver.
Author 7 books61 followers
December 3, 2019
Chile...these sisters were off the chain and I loved every minute of it! Lol! This quick read was not short on drama. Thanksgiving dinner goes south when secrets get exposed. I was thoroughly entertained! I love this author’s writing style and have become a fast fan of her work. Good read!
Profile Image for Books & Locs.
577 reviews13 followers
November 30, 2024
This gave me exactly what I came for 🤣🤣🤣 Mess on top of mess 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Profile Image for ..
Author 2 books20 followers
December 4, 2024
I was told that this book is ‘Tyler Perry coded’ and that is the perfect description of it lol if you’re looking for something quick & messy, you found the perfect book.
Profile Image for RedVillainxREADS.
235 reviews13 followers
November 29, 2025
lol whewww piping hot with drama. Messyyyyyy. Family therapy my a$$! They suck.
Profile Image for Melanin Readss.
197 reviews18 followers
November 23, 2022
MESSY!

This book was MESSY. A Thanksgiving dinner turned to terrible for sisters Cynthia, Chastity and Chelsea as they attempt to honor their parents wish to continue Thanksgiving dinner together as a family. I’m not sure what I was expecting while reading this book, but the title speaks for itself. Pass my mama’s biscuits and the secrets too hunny🥴😭. All three sister had their own secrets that they were holding on to, but as we all know what’s done in the dark comes to the light. And someone turned on them bright stage lights and said 🗣️ACTION! And the truth spilled immediately. Chelsea was my least favorite character. As the baby sister, of course she was written as immature and self centered. Chastity POV had me speechless the entire time. I was waiting on her to get slapped from at least two people at the dinner table😭. The ending had me paused for a second because the type of secrets that came out to me were unforgivable. Cynthia deserved to have her Bernadine, “Well guess what Mike!? You’re the muthaf***in improper influence! Get yo things..” & what ladies? That’s right! GET OUT!🤭 This was my first book by the author and I enjoyed it. It was a super quick read that was entertaining. It was a group read over in Melanin Book Babes Bookclub on Twitter & we ate this book up lol. This was a start to the authors work and I would read another book by her.
Profile Image for lexi.
330 reviews5 followers
November 29, 2025
babyyyy this was STRESSFUL 😭 the book is not even 40 pages and somehow every single person at that dinner table got hit with a stray. JL Sapphire said “happy holidays? absolutely not.”
we have the spotlight on mike. cynthia’s unfaithful, conniving husband with a chronic cheating problem and an undetected nerve condition that clearly pushes him to make the worst possible choices at the worst possible times.
and WHO he decided to cheat with along side the audacity to talk divorce on top of that?? that was wild behavior. like… astronomical levels of delusion. i had to stop and blink a few times because the math was NOT mathing.
the drama was entertaining and quick, but it was a lot packed into a tiny space. the pacing was smooth, secrets were flying like plates at a thanksgiving brawl.
definitely messy, definitely dramatic, and definitely a holiday you’d never want to attend in real life.
Profile Image for Topeka.
6 reviews1 follower
December 4, 2024
Scandalous! These three sisters are a mess!! smh Chelsea, the youngest, is a spoiled, entitled, cheating hoe, who uses men to take care of her. Cynthia, the eldest, has been pretending to have a perfect life, and marriage, all the while dealing with a cheating, lying ass husband, for several years. And Chasity, the middle sister, is cheating on her baby daddy, with her older sister’s husband! Drama!!
And that Jeffrey?!?! Wow 😮 No words. 😱
The story line was interesting, very entertaining, but the amount of grammatical errors, for a 38-page short read, was just overly unnecessary. 🤦🏽‍♀️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Crystal Luckey.
752 reviews31 followers
November 24, 2020
hanksgiving dinner is supposed to be a time for families to be together and celebrate and with their parents deceased, Cynthia, Chastity and Chelsea decided to keep up the tradition. During dinner secrets were revealed that ruined the entire dinner and lives as well. This book was short, but it packed a powerful story. The secrets that were revealed had my jaw dropping and giving the side eye. Loved the book and will be checking out more from this author!!!
Profile Image for Sisireia .
50 reviews
November 18, 2025
Short and sweet

And by sweet I mean packed full of drama and secrets. It's giving a mix of the movies "Soul Food" & "Why did I get Married." The plot immediately draws you in and definitely leaves you wanting more. This was a good appetizer, (pun intended). Hopefully this story is continued. There is enough development here to want to know more about the sisters and about what happens to Mike and Cynthia after this Family meal flop.
Profile Image for Reading_Utopia!.
274 reviews12 followers
December 20, 2025
SUPER MESSY & I LOVED IT!!!!

OMG, Soul Food & Secrets was such an incredible train wreck!!! I seriously couldn’t tear my eyes away! J. L. Sapphire absolutely knows how to catch your attention and keeps blowing your mind again and again! I feel like I have whiplash from all the CRAZY twists in this SUPER MESSY drama! So grateful to my book bestie on TikTok for the recommendation, and I’m beyond excited that I grabbed this book during BRAE!!!
Profile Image for Ciera Mona’.
105 reviews10 followers
November 22, 2022
Messy! Messy! Messy!
To be sisters these folks acted a hot darn mess! And i loved every minute of it. Lol there wasn’t enough wine bottles being used as weapons but everybody who was foul got what they deserved, i would have dished out quite a bit more karma.. a nice quick read to kick off Thanksgiving! If this was my family dinner, I’d be appalled lol
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews

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