Did I Say You Could Go by Melanie Gideon

Published: August 3, 2021

Simon & Schuster

I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Melanie Gideon is the bestselling author of the novels Valley of the Moon and Wife 22, as well as the memoir The Slippery Year: A Meditation on Happily Ever After. Her books have been translated into thirty-one languages. Wife 22 is currently in development with Gidden Media. She has written for The New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Times (London), the Daily Mail (London), and other publications. She was born and raised in Rhode Island and now lives in the Bay Area.

“It’s time to start telling the truth.”

It all started when Ruth hosted a meet and greet for her daughter, Marley, kindergarten class. Single mom Gemma and her outgoing daughter Bee were just what Ruth and Marley needed. Ruth is wealthy, divorced, and looking forward to someone who needs her. Gemma is a widow and a struggling single mom. So when the ultra-rich Ruth starts financing her life, she is taken. At what point does friendship become toxic?

W O W . This book was impossible to put down. The plot is deliciously devious, wickedly fresh, and absolutely captivating.

The character build-up was so intense and so well done, we are in the author’s clutches until the very end.

As the story unfolds and gets more and more twisted, it becomes impossible to find a good place to pause. Things happen at such a subtle yet rapid pace. The situations are terrifying, authentic, and clearly well researched.

I found this story very unique. The relationships were so genuine and powerful. The subtle ways things shift from normal to dangerous were so well played that you do not see it coming. But when the dust finally settles- you definitely feel as though you’ve been punched in the stomach.

The power dynamic between the two mothers, the daughters, and everyone in between was so complicated and so thoroughly curated that your heart will explode. Everything about this book is a win.

Absolutely incredible okay on emotion. We are putty in Melanie’s hands from page one.