‘Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive…’ – Sir Walter Scott

DID I SAY YOU COULD GO, an unputdownable page-turner centered around family, friendship, secrets, and lies.

Highly Recommend!

Thank you, NetGalley and Simon & Schuster, for loaning me an eGalley of DID I SAY YOU COULD GO at the request of an honest review.

Did I Say You Could Go is my first read by Melanie Gideon, so I was not sure what to expect.

A woman is obsessed with her best friend to be point of being controling. In school they become outcasts. Later on they reunite when their girls become friends. The girls soon part ways as well. There are a lot of lies and deception, which make you wander were they truly friends.

I liked the change in point of view, but the characters were not likable, and nothing really blew me away. It's more of a family drama than a thriller, but was pretty good.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for this opportunity.

I really didn’t enjoy this, it felt convoluted and redundant which… I sound sounds like a strong reaction, but all I felt reading this was annoyed. The characters were annoying, the drama wasn’t engaging. This felt like a waste of my time.

I absolutely love this book. I would give it 5 stars. It's more drama then thriller but still really good. There was a few twisted I didn't see coming. I liked it had 4 different views of the mothers and daughters.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Where to start with this one… this book definitely had some very unlikeable characters but I really loved all of the drama in it. I loved the short chapters and alternating POVs. This was a good read with some twists and turns but I wasn’t really blown away by any of them. However it was still a good book that I would recommend to thriller readers.

A woman is completely obsessed with her best friend, where she does everything in her power to be cruel and completely try to control her life. When they both become outcast at their school, they reunite like nothing has ever came between them. Their girls were also best friends at one time, but drifted apart. Lots of lies and deception in this book to make you wonder about the people you call "best friend". There was a delicious twist at the end you don't see coming, but you can't help but think she deserved it. Fun read for my honest review.

I really liked this book! The women were ruthless and cut throat! I was truly not sure where this story would take me, and I loved the ride. Thank you for the advanced copy!

Absolutely gripping!
What would you do to make sure your best friend would rely solely on you?!

If you aren't sure then this book is a must read for you!

Wow. I am exhausted after listening to this audiobook!

Picture Mean Girls but all grown up with children...

This was such a wild ride. Who wants a ticket to the psycho circus? Oh, the obsession! The lies! The betrayal! The bickering! The abuse! All . The . Crazy 🙆‍♀️🤯

There are 4 narrators: 2 single moms, and their two daughters. I'm normally not a huge fan of several narrators while listening to an audiobook but man, it worked here and there are short chapters and included some of my favorite narrators!
I did have to slow down the book at times but I didn't mind because of the content and execution. Also, FYI: I found this to lean more YA.

I felt manipulated by every single character in this novel. It felt very sinister. The deeper I dove in, the darker it got. The kids in this book made my head spin and their mothers? even worse! Then supporting characters were just the cherry on top. There are some triggers so be aware if you're eyeing it up.

There are 4 parts to this story and while I did call it a twist, it lead to a much different ending...
This book is the exact reason why I don't go to "Meet & Greets" at my daughter's school. Leave me be in my cocoon. Now, excuse me while I go pour myself a stiff drink.

You can read this now. I'm slowly clearing out my Netgalley shelf! 🙌

Thank you @netgalley & @simonandschuster for this galley.

People can be so creepy.. and friends can be too close.. Did I Say you Could Go?, by Melanie Gideon is so good.. Ruth is wealthy divorcee, who is trying to make friends at Hillside Academy, kindergarten meet and greet. What a great way to make connections and fit in. Also her daughter, Marley, who is shy could meet some other children. The last person who arrived in a single mom named Gemma & her daughter Bee. Ruth, immediately befriends Gemma and the two families become inseparable. Mothers and their daughters become the best of friends. They all complement each other. The haves and the have nots. But Ruth is very generous and shows Gemma and Bee, a whole new world. Ruth feels blessed to go to all the high end restaurants, vacations & events.. but also feels like it is starting to be too much. It’s overwhelming to know she could never jeep up or reciprocate. Years into their friendship and things start to go wrong and Gemma doesn’t know how to break up with Ruth. Ruth is in her own mess, she gets caught having an affair with a married father from her daughters school.. this is Gemma’s out. But could it be that easy? She feels like she is finally free & yet a few years later Gemma finds herself in a scandal of her own. Gemma reaches out and the two connect again. And both of their reputations seem to be mending. But once again Gemma feels trapped & Ruth becomes obsessed with their friendship and how things used to be. I couldn’t put this book down, I kept reading to see how this book would end? To see how crazy Ruth could get and to see how badly people will behave to get what they want. Some people will do just about anything to get what they want.

At times this dragged on, but it definitely took you places you weren't expecting—especially that ending! This story is the perfect example of the mean girls in school never actually grow up.

I feel like I am in the minority here, but this book was just not for me. Marketing as a thriller and suspense novel - this is really a family drama. I feel like if I'd have known that going in, I probably would have enjoyed this a little more. Also, while the twists abound, a lot were pretty obvious which took away the suspense. The main characters were also very unlikable and the ending was lackluster and predictable.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m not quite sure where to begin with this one. I was expecting an unputdownable thriller, but it was anything but. For most of the book I was internally screaming at Gemma just to grow a backbone. I’m not sure what to characterize this book as, but it was neither thriller, not suspense. When reading a thriller, I want twists and turns and to be guessing to the very end. However, I figured out the ending for this one, almost exactly, very early on - and there was only one reveal that I was mildly surprised by. There were some darker moments with the teenagers which did add some depth to the story, but overall Did I Say You Could Go totally missed the mark for me.

TW: bullying, suicide, eating disorders

Thank you @netgalley and @simonandschuster for the complimentary ebook.

Obsession, betrayal and suspense are a perfect combination in this story of toxic friendship.. This story is told from multiple POVs. Appearances are deceiving and the truth is questioned around every twist as the story unfolds. The characters are creepy, psychopathic and heartbreaking. I was enthralled and surprised. Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for my copy.

So, this was a ride! It didn't entirely captivate me but I was intrigued and invested enough to go along with the story! I devoured the second half of the book — could NOT put it down! I will say, the writing did not at all blow me away but character development was definitely there and the final twist was a *chef's kiss* ending! I just wish the writing was better — expect short, quick chapters with simple sentences and a lot of social media jargon.

|| 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖

Did I Say You Could Go
Melanie Gideon
★★★☆☆

|| 𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒:
Ruth and Gemma meet at a kindergarten meet and greet. They are the only single moms in the grade and both have daughters. For having so much in common, they also are so different. After not talking for 6 years, how will the reunion for these 4 women go.

|| 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄:
•Psychological thrillers
•Family drama
•Lots of twists
•Desperate Housewives

|| 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒:
This was a great psychological thrillers told from the POV of 2 women and their 2 daughters. Ruth, Gemma, Marley, and Bee. These 4 have a complicated history starting at a kindergarten meet and greet hosted at Ruth’s house. These 4 all have weird relationships with one another and not in healthy ways. It was a lot of drama, I could see this having triggers for people, so definitely look into that before reading. Lots of twists and turns. While I guessed somewhat the ending, it was still a crazy story that kept me waiting to find out what would happen next. I enjoyed the alternating POVs with the mothers and daughters so you never knew what the next person would say. I had the e-ARC but also listened to this. I think the audio was done well with 4 narrators and each woman did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life!

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for a copy of this E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ruth and Gemma have been friends for years. Ruth has money, Gemma does not, so when things go bad for Gemma, Ruth is always "there for her". This book is full of twists and turns. A few I did not expect. In a way, you feel bad for one of them, but she gets hers in the end. Which one? Read to find out!

This book is very different than I expected from the cover alone. I guess that should teach me to not judge a book by its cover! I really liked the mother’s behaving badly aspect and the flip that the wealthy daughter is the nerd no one likes and the girl from the struggling family is the popular one. I enjoyed this book and it reminded me a lot of “are we there yet?”

Thank you so much to @simonschuster and the author for my ebook copy.

I loved reading this! The suspense and mystery throughout the story were great and I alway love a novel with different POVs. While I did have the ending guessed by about half way through, it was still a great read that I flew through.

Thank you Net Galley for a copy of Did I Say You Could Go by Melanie Gideon. This novel was so engrossing. Melanie can write a really good evil manipulator! I really enjoyed this!