I’m dizzy because of extreme amount of twists! Especially the final one hit me in the face so hard! I’m still numb, mentally black eyed but I’m also pleased and entertained a lot!

The mothers: polar opposite characters: one widower and one divorcee form an unhealthy relationship! Then they fell apart! Six years later an academic scandal brings them back together! But things get uglier! They find themselves into more lies, deceptions and unhealthily obsession patterns!

Ruth, wealthy, divorcee, raising her shy, introvert, quiet daughter Marley alone, wants to befriend new people by throwing a party for kindergartens but shoving her wealth into mothers’ face perceived as pretentiousness and arrogance by her fresh social circle. Being a social butterfly is backfired!

Only Gemma Howard who is widower, raising her popular, social, fiery, friendly daughter Bee by herself doesn’t push her away. Gemma’s life style is so different from her. First of all she works to make her ends meet, running a test center. She resents Ruth for paying everything for her because she is proud woman who doesn’t want to owe anyone for anything! She finds herself trapped in her way too much intense friendship with Ruth. She feels suffocating and she desperately needs to find a way out!

Thankfully Ruth’s new forbidden relationship with married man gives her a chance to pull away! But 6 years later an academic scandal brought Ruth into her life again. Ruth is the only one stands for her at this most challenging pace of her life and now she has no intention to let her go! Unfortunately Gemma’s new crush on a X Ray technician may piss her lovely longtime friend off! Things get heated and madness comes out of nowhere!

It was riveting page turner even though story telling via multi POVs was a little confusing at some parts! I enjoyed unhealthy, obsessive women friendship stories and I got excited about the outcomes! Luckily this one ended with satisfying conclusion! I’m rounding up 3.5 stars to 4 keep your enemies close,for the love of batshit crazy heroines stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Simon &Schuster for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.238 s Tina Loves To Read2,699 1 follower

This is a Thriller/Suspense Mystery. I have to say this thriller was not for me, but I do not think it was a bad book. I think it was just not for me. I found it hard for me to care about the characters not because they where not developed, but I found them just to act so immature. The kids in this book also acted older then the parents of this book. I also found this book to be very slow moving, and I a fast pace thriller. I did not guess the twist at the end, and WOW...I did not see the ending to happen how it did. If you a slow burn thrillers/YA thrillers then I may really enjoy this thriller. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher or author via NetGalley, so I can give honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.arc-copy kindle-books netgalley-2021 ...more89 s Melissa (Life Fully Booked)4,750 2,456

This is a compulsively readable psychological thriller with some really twisted characters. I'd to say that I didn't figure it all out ahead of time, but I did. Yet I still kept reading to find out if I was right.

Gemma is the single mother of her daughter Bee, and Ruth is the single mother of her daughter Marley. They became fast friends when their kids were young and now that the girls are going into the ninth grade, they have a lifetime of friendship behind them. Yet, all is not perfect--the moms and daughters are different--Ruth has a large amount of money and Gemma barely squeaks by. Marley is smart and not popular and Bee is wild and very popular. Things begin to happen and it is totally unclear who is telling the truth and who is lying.

This book is told from all four points of view, which gave really good perspective into the minds of each of the characters. However this book has many unreliable narrators and you don't know who you can trust until the very end. If you pay attention you'll definitely be able to figure it out, but it's still a pretty wild ride to get there regardless. I was hoping for a little bit more complexity to the story though, and that's where the four POVs are a drawback, because you can't really get a deep dive into each of them.

The one thing that I was incredibly happy about in this book is that the author has definitely done her research into college admissions, what things are online, basically knowing how things work in today's world. There are many details provided that are correct (even the mention of the common app for college applications is spot on) and that is refreshing to me because SO often these details are wrong and authors think that these things are the same as when they went to college and it always pulls me out of a story. So bravo Ms. Gideon!

I did find the mentions of "tribe" to be cringe-worthy, so I hope that they have been edited out in the final revisions. There are so many betrayals and unlikable characters there were points that I was wondering why on earth these people stayed friends with each other. So much co-dependency and really, money and bribery can only go so far--take out a loan to get your car fixed and don't let your rich friend buy you a new one so that you feel indebted and ingratiated to the point where you can't pull away.

Overall if you're looking for a domestic thriller with some twisted characters, this is a decent choice and filled with some wild events.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

72 s Christina550 206

I really enjoyed this well-written and haunting story of mothers and daughters, adult “best friends,” and dysfunctional and sometimes abusive relationships. The characters were so uniquely screwed up and well-drawn, and the plot was heartbreaking and uncomfortable to read while still managing to be compulsively page-turning.

This story is about Ruth and Gemma, adult best friends in a wealthy Bay Area suburb, and their daughters, Marley and Bee. Marley and Bee were best friends when they were little, just Ruth and Gemma, but adolescence and the nastiness of teenage girls in high school have complicated everything.

The most interesting part of this book to me was Ruth. Ruth is a wealthy psychopath who is obsessed with her best friend Gemma in a truly creepy way. From the beginning of the book she uses her wealth and position to manipulate Gemma. As the story progresses her behavior becomes more and more creepy. Ruth is also downright horrible to her daughter, obsessed with making her daughter lose weight, fix her complexion, and just completely controlling poor Marley in a huge plethora of disturbing ways, including padlocking Marley into her room at night to keep her from snacking.

This story had more depth and character development than the typical psychological thriller, and it really made me feel for the children of these two women for all they went through. This was a four-star plus book all the way though, but I had to dock the rating down to four stars even for the ending, which I was ambivalent about. It was not a hard ending to see coming, and it was good from a “twist” perspective, but I think the less twisty and more straightforward ending might have been more true to what the book was about. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this book, and it made me think, while also capturing the horrible pain and discomfort of adolescence alongside the true evil and manipulation of some adults. A thoughtful and carefully plotted psychological thriller. Four stars, and I’m definitely interested in reading more by Melanie Gideon!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this interesting and haunting ARC.51 s Jasmine266 427

UPDATE: I think “tribe” has been edited out of the text. I’m not certain, but another early reviewer informed me that they didn’t see it while reading. Thanks everyone for understanding.

I lost count of how many times the author used the word “tribe” to describe the characters’ friend group. As someone who is native, I find this word offensive when used by non-indigenous people. The word has been used by colonizers for centuries and is often associated with being “primitive” and “savage”, yet when non-indigenous people use it it’s trendy and cute. No, just no. Thanks.

I was going to DNF this book the first time I read “tribe”, but it’s an ARC, so I persevered. The story is replete with unable characters, which made me even less forgiving in this case. I guessed some of the twists early on.

I give the story three stars and the degrading term one star, for an overall rating of two stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review. Opinions are my own.47 s Jen873 86

his book was loads of fun- a quick, psychological drama about 2 frenemies, Ruth and Gemma. This is domestic suspense at it's best- even when nothing was happening, there was a thrum of drama throughout the narrative that kept me reading late into the night. The book primarily alternates between the POVs of Ruth and Gemma, with occasional chapters dedicated to their respective daughters, Marley and Bee.

A lot of the book is just bad behavior between the women, and neither is all that likable, though both are deep enough that the reader can empathize with them at times. I really felt for the daughters, who were navigating high school drama along with their own parental drama. There were some minor twists throughout the book and a bigger one at the end- I had a inkling of that twist but it played out a little differently than what I expected, and I felt that it was satisfying.

All in all, this is a really fun read that I had trouble putting down- I'd recommend it to those who domestic suspense. I am going to find out what else this author has written. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.35 s Carole531 129

It’s not often that a novel about female friendships is also a tense and suspenseful mystery. Did I Say You Could Go by Melanie Gideon is the story of Ruth, a rich divorcee, and Gemma, a hard-working widow, and their daughters Marley and Bee. The two women met when their daughters were starting kindergarten and became fast friends until a falling-out several years later. The moms reunite when Marley and Bee are teenagers but the friendships of mothers and daughters have changed in strange ways. The author efficiently uses tools Instagram and social networking. The characters are wonderfully original and well-developed and the plot leads the reader on a path that is confusing and tense. You will be astounded as the chapters zip by quickly and you reach the unexpected conclusion. Highly recommended. Thank you to Simon & Schuster, NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.28 s CarolG730 330

Ruth, a wealthy divorcé?e, and her introverted daughter, Marley, become friends with Gemma, a widow and single mother to Bee, starting in kindergarten. Gemma is taken in by Ruth's generosity in the beginning but as the years go by she feels she owes an increasing debt to Ruth. When Ruth’s affair with a married dad is exposed and she’s publicly shunned, Gemma uses it as an excuse to sever ties with Ruth. Six years later, when Gemma finds herself embroiled in a scandal of her own, Ruth comes to her defense and they renew their friendship. Once again, Gemma starts to feel trapped as Ruth grows more obsessed with their relationship.

The story is told from the POVs of the two moms and the two daughters and it gets more and more difficult to determine what the truth is. For some reason I had a terrible time remembering which mom was which in this book. To me it felt Gemma was more a wealthy person's name rather than Ruth which is silly I know but I had to keep reminding myself Ruth = Rich. Same with the daughters' names; it seemed more ly that Marley would be the name of Gemma's daughter rather than Bee. This is a pretty good book though and I enjoyed it more than I expected. It was a fast read that had me marvelling at how mean some people can be ... and not just the kids! I didn't find the ending much of a surprise but it was nicely done. One thing I did learn is that pho is pronounced "fuh" and not "foe". I'm glad I never had the opportunity to embarrass myself by requesting it in a restaurant!

I'm so far behind in my Netgalley reads that the library got copies of this before I could read it so I borrowed a copy from the library as well. Some readers will be disappointed to learn that the word "tribe" is still included in the paperback version that I got from the library. It is rather jarring to read the word but it actually only appears 5 times according to the count on my Kindle and I personally don't think it's all that offensive. The paperback I read has an interesting tactile cover, kind of roughened and looking rain running down a window.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada via Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel. All opinions expressed are my own.netgalley23 s Theresa AlanAuthor 10 books1,115

This is a delicious romp through the valley of the mean girls. Not all are mean, Gemma, who might lose her business because an underling was taking bribes. Yes, Gemma did quietly unfriend Ruth several years ago after her scandal with the married man, but basically, she’s a nice woman with a troubled 14-year-old daughter.

Now that Gemma is in trouble, Ruth sees a way to renew their friendship. Vast amounts of wealth go a long way in being able to help a friend. If only Ruth could get her daughter to stop eating so much, life would be great.

I thought this was a lot of fun. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES AUGUST 3, 2021.23 s Crumb189 638

Slightly sweet. A tad salty. And very spicy. If this book were a food, it would be a trail mix. And let me tell you… I gobbled it right up!22 s Denise509 396

This book was a mixed bag for me. To be YA or not to be YA - that seemed to be the question. I kept looking at other to see if it was intended to be YA or not, and in the end, I don't think it was, so that was a miss for me.

Being the only two single moms at the kindergarten meet-and-greet, Ruth and Gemma connected immediately. Their daughters, Marley and Bee, also became BFFS, but teen years can be rough, especially when one girl, Bee, is popular and one girl, Marley, is not. Ruth doesn't let that deter her friendship with Gemma though and tries to keep their bond by constantly buying Gemma lavish gifts and giving her all of the financial help she ever needs. But after Ruth's "indiscretion" with a married man, Gemma decides to cool things off a bit; however, a scandal at Gemma's test prep company brings Ruth and Marley back into their world once again, only with more strings attached than ever before, and Ruth's not about to let Gemma go again - no matter what.

Unreliable narrators and unlikable characters are par for the course in this genre, and many times they work, but honestly these are some of the most unable characters ever. Ruth is hard to stomach, as she is over-the-top toxic and is constantly looking for ways to belittle her daughter and further ingratiate herself with Gemma. Gemma is pathetic and a bit of a user, and the teen girls storyline gives a whole new cringe worthiness to the term Mean Girls. The story is told from alternating POVs of Ruth, Gemma, Marley, and Bee, with the majority of the emphasis on the drama between the daughters, and how their relationship affected Ruth and Gemma's friendship. There is bullying, body shaming, and abusive parenting in spades (hence, the YA feel).

There are a few twists and a somewhat shocking ending, although it's pretty easy to see the ending coming the entire time. I think the biggest issue I had though was with the characters - I just didn't any of the four of them. Not to mention, the back stories about their friendship in the past didn't do anything to make their present friendship any more credible or relatable. Also, Gideon went a bit heavy with the "tribe" references - "mom tribe," "girl tribe," "glad you're in my tribe," etc. It was often enough that it would have made for a great drinking game, but that's about it. Hopefully a good editor will change it up before publication date.

Overall, not an awful book by any means, but just a solid middle of the road read for me. 3 stars. 21 s Melissa Borsey1,663 34

Two single mother’s, one a widower and one a divorcée, latch on to each other and develop a somewhat unhealthy, on and off friendship. This is one of those “with friends these....” type books that will leave you wanting to know what this train wreck is going to look at the end. A little long-winded but interesting enough to hold my attention. I thank Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.18 s alka 207 548

As soon as I read the book's title, I knew that I had to get my hands on it. And it did not disappoint!

This book is a wonderful combination of betrayal, lies and obsession. The plot revolves around two single mothers, Ruth and Gemma. Ruth is a rich divorcee who hosts a meeting at her daughter’s kindergarten class in hopes of a fresh start. She uses her wealth in an attempt to do so, but her audience does not approve of it. As a result, Ruth and her daughter become a reject in the community.

Only Gemma, a widow, seems to accept her. To impress Gemma, Ruth again uses her wealth and gradually gets obsessed with her. At first, Gemma does enjoy her company, but after a while, a feeling of debt seems to bug her and she decides to give their friendship a break.

Years later, when Gemma gets caught up in her own scandal, the wealthy Ruth shows up and openly defends her. Gemma now feels that she owes her more. But when Gemma decides to move on and indulges in a relationship romantically, Ruth seemingly disapproves of it. The question here is: WHY?

Although I've read many thrillers with such backgrounds, the author's writing style kept me hooked. Because of the missing originality, it was a bit predictable for me. Otherwise, I'd definitely recommend this book.

3 on 5 stars!

*Many thanks to Simon and Schuster for providing my review copy via Edelweiss. All opinions are my own.arcs horror-or-thriller17 s Barbara Schultz3,355 253

Backstabbing, Cyber Bulling, Abuse & much more all in one dark story!
Story stars with Gemma Howard, owner of “Study Right, Test Prep” is recovering from a big cheating scandal. One of her most popular brilliant tutors had a side business of actually taking the college qualifying SAT and/or ACT for students! Ruth Thorne was best friends with Gemma six years ago and is experiencing déjà vu when she sees her in the grocery store.

The main characters in this story are Ruth and Gemma, both single mothers who each have a young daughter.
Ruth is a wealthy divorcee and daughter Marley is a shy little girl who doesn’t make friends easily.
Gemma Howard is a struggling widower and daughter Bee is popular and very social.
Ten years ago Ruth volunteered to host the Hillside Academy kindergarten ‘meet-and-greet’ at her home ~ a catered event with valet service. She had hopes that both she and daughter Marley would be accepted. However, the opposites happens, most believe Ruth was just flaunting her wealth.
Gemma and outgoing Bee were at the event. Since Ruth and Gemma are the only two single moms there, Ruth decides they should be best friends and sets out to do just that!

Ruth soon presents Gemma and Bee with lavish gifts, vacation trip to places Aspen expensive dinners even a car etc.At first Gemma cannot believe her good luck as she is living paycheck to paycheck. As this continues Gemma knows there is no way she can pay Ruth back so tried to break off the friendship.
When Ruth has an affair with a married man and here is a big scandal, Gemma sees her opportunity to dissolve the relationship.
However, six years later when Gemma is dealing with the cheating scandal, Ruth comes to her rescue and the friendship is renewed. Now Ruth is even more controlling.

The story is told form the POV of the moms and daughters. Typically when that happens, I have a favorite character and look forward to those chapters. But that wasn’t happening with this story. I really didn’t any of them. True I felt sorry for Marley. I found myself rolling my eyes saying, “Really?”

I was well into and still struggling and thought ~ this is not working for me” I decided to read some in hopes of encouragement. I saw many 4 and 5 star ratings. I looked for a 2 or 3 star review as I was sure I would agree with that rating. I found one where the reviewed said she was sure this was going to be DNF for her. I thought “Yes”! However, she said she was glad she hung in there ~ it took a while but was glad.
Yep! It did take on a dark twist which saved it for me!! Bumping my 3.5 up to 4 stars!????

I look forward to Melanie Gideon’s next story.

Want to thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for professional review purposes only.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for August 3, 2021

2021-gr-challenge arc netgalley ...more15 s Amy2,060 1,922

4.5/5

Don’t you love being surprised by a book? I don’t just mean by twists and turns but more you go into it not knowing what to expect and then what you get kinda blows your mind? I freaking love and that’s exactly what happened here. I didn’t see many of this, nothing on bookstagram so maybe that’s why I ended up enjoying it so much, there was no preconceived ideas!

I love a good dramatic story about frenemies and this one was great, Ruth and Gemma are both pretty questionable as far as morals and values go but there’s something so delicious for me about reading about people behaving badly. This was fast paced and had lots of devious little twists and turns and was just overall a really wicked read. If you books with unlikable characters and juicy and gripping plot lines check this one out.

12 s Sandy113 37

Whew. Hard to put down.

A story about relationships. Mothers and teenaged daughters, two um..... best friends. The four main characters were developed in a way that made me sympathetic to one family, not as much to the other. I'd love to hear the authors take on that!

There were a couple times I had a hard time following the plot. It jumped a little between characters, the pods, the scenes. I wish I could blame it on my wanting to get to the ending, but I was confused more than once.

Still, a very interesting read. I'll pursue another book by this author.12 s dd474 277

4.5 stars

omfg

this is why i read thrillers

ive never read anything this honestly this was such a good thriller because it didn’t follow all of the formulas and rules that thrillers and mysteries usually follow.

i love how we get such insight into everybody’s mind and perception of things and how everybody has their issues. the way it all comes together is just excellent.

the twist was pulled off so well i barely even realized it until the last second. if it had ended there i would’ve been impressed even without that last twist but HOLY SHIT i wasn’t expecting THAT.

it just shows how far people can be pushed until they break. and it was so fitting for the storyline and everything that happened. nobody really got caught either and it was such a good case of karma and wrapped everything up so nicely.

the way the characters were intertwined was so interesting, seeing everyone’s effects on each other and everything that was going on separately, too.

reality was so hard to see as well, there was so much stuff that made you think one thing and everyone was so smart with all of their plans but in their own ways and NOBODY EVEN FOUND OUT ABOUT THE END

I WAS SO HAPPY ABOUT THE ENDING TOO HONESTLY YOU COULD READ THIS JUST FOR THE TWIST

i don’t wanna give spoilers but shit that had such an effect



tw for suicide attempt, emotional abuse, eating disorders, etcbook-hangover fucked-up read-in-sept-2021 ...more11 s Lavins1,025 38

2 stars

A few things that need to be clarified: this is not a mystery book or a thriller or a suspenseful one.
This is a family drama about people that are bored and obsessed.
I am in minority here but this book is quite terrible. Putting aside two thirds of the book that has the dialog expressed in a teenage language of texting which is okay if you want to read for a few lines, but a completely different story when you compose entire chapters in this way. It feels one is reading the conversation of idiotic people. But the book is beyond predictable and there are no major twists. There are no twists. Unless you are twelve and this is the first book you are reading. 10 s Cortney - The Bookworm Myrtle Beach922 199

I typically stories about toxic female relationships, but this one was just OK. None of the characters felt very developed, and throughout the entire book I had to keep reminding myself who was who.

Decent story with decent writing. 3.25 stars9 s Brittinee ? bookswithbrittinee204 62

This book was soooo delicious! I ate it up. If you’re looking for a good, fun, dramatic thriller, this one is for you!

There are multiple POV and short chapters.

Highly recommend!9 s dona92 3

Obscenely rich but socially unaccepted Ruth decides to host a meeting of young mothers for her daughter’s kindergarten class. She has no idea how put off the mothers are with her ostentatious display of wealth and her intentions completely backfire. She and her daughter become pariahs in the small Bay Area community.
The only mother to seemingly accept her is Gemma and Ruth latches on to her a spider to a fly.

Ruth uses her wealth as a tool to ingratiate herself to Gemma who enjoys the benefits but is slowly feeling strangled by the debt and strange friendship she feels she owes Ruth and eventually she shies away making a break.

Now years later, Ruth, still an obsessive, unhappy divorced mother is looking at Gemma, a young widowed mother caught up in an academic scandal as her way in to popularity, dependency and neediness. She comes to Gemma’s defense in a very public way after her private tutoring academy suffers through a scandal. Now Gemma owes her more. When Gemma meets a young X-Ray tech and strives for a new relationship, Ruth is wildly angry, or is she?

A story of relentless obsession, betrayal, and secrets that will tear apart these two women and their daughters and the community where they live.

4 stars, easily. You will not see all these twists coming!9 s Amber1,165 40

You know how they say keep your friends close but your enemies closer. Well this is one of those types of stories, Ruth and Gamma have that kind of relationship. They are frenemies, they have a very twisted relationship. Now this story has more twists than tornado alley in tornado season!
Ruth and Gamma had a falling out when but when Gamma is involved in an academic scandal at her testing center. Now this scandal brings the two frienemies together but his relationship suffocates Gemma and she is looking for an out! Beginning to think that she has found the perfect out to leave the friendship with Ruth  when Ruth starts an affair with a married man. However this is not the case Ruth is not willing to let Gemma end the friendship that easily!
I loved this book, it kept my interest and at points kept me turning the pages as fast as i could read! I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves twisted thrillers! Thank you Netgally and Simon and Schuster for the ARC and the opportunity to read this one! 9 s Charity1,430 31

I picked this up because it was recommended by a reviewer that I follow. She promised that this book was full of twists. Maybe, but twists are only fun if you don't see them coming.

Also, I had the worst time remember who was who between the two main characters Ruth and Gemma, and then I couldn't remember which daughter belonged to which mother. That should not happen when you really only have to keep track of four people.20219 s Reading With Ghosty81 20

Sooo much drama! Gemma and Ruth (the mothers) have their own drama while Bee and Marley (the daughters) have theirs. Everyone is supposed to be best friends, and they are....mostly. Pretty much when it lines up perfectly for them. I felt really bad for Bee, she got it the worst. Ruth is a pretty crappy mom.

Would recommend.8 s Diane OLeary352 9

Two mothers, two daughters and just about all of them are unreliable narrators having lives filled with dysfunctional and abusive relationships. Secrets, lies and manipulation abound so it was a good read although I was far more interested in the mothers than the teen daughters. Some of the twists were predictable, some not so much. The fact that so much of the teen angst did not interest me brought the book down for me rating wise so it was a decent suspense novel but not outstanding several I have read this year. My word on this would be you could do worse but you could also do much better.8 s Alex Stroud189

First off, this is neither a suspense nor a thriller. This is contemporary fiction, and terrible. Whoever didn't see that "twist" coming clearly doesn't read thrillers. Bye.8 s Lori Boyd606 80

4.5 Stars rounded to 5

Twisty, curvy, jaw dropping, emotional, scary, and in this day and age, all too realistic! Characters are not what they seem. Storyline has been played out in different ways in the newspaper, and yes, I did figure out the ending, but it in no way changed my enthusiasm for this book. Great domestic suspense…once you start reading, you won’t be able to put it down! Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Ruth and Gemma bond over being the only 2 single moms in their daughters Kindergarten class at an upscale school. Gemma runs into a social issue and becomes blacklisted, Ruth reaches out although Gemma wasn’t as gracious when Ruth ran into issues earlier on. Ruth is quite well off and loves to flaunt her money around and plays the good friend when she helps Gemma out. This makes Gemma feel obligated to Ruth. Mallory and Bee (Ruth and Gemma’s daughters) have been besties since they met. As it happens, they grow apart while in middle school. One is popular the other more book smart. But opposites attract right?

Thanks to Ms. Gideon, Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.





Simon and Schuster7 s MaryannC Victorian Dreamer518 110

Wow, what a trip, ending was unexpected!

Ruth, a wealthy, divorced mother decides to host a meet and greet for Kindergarteners at her home in hopes that she and her daughter Marley will be welcomed into the community, instead Ruth's wealth is considered too showy and off putting to other parents and her plan backfires leaving Ruth and Marley ostracized.
But one parent Gemma and her daughter Bee reach out to Ruth and Marley and soon they are the best of friends.
Gemma struggling financially is the perfect project for Ruth to shower her wealth on and come to her rescue but it seems that Ruth's overbearing nature is too much to bear and Gemma is looking for a way out of this chokehold of a friendship. When Ruth and a married dad from the school are discovered in an affair Gemma decides this is the perfect time to distance herself from Ruth but the tables are soon turned when Gemma's business venture is involved in a scandal and Ruth once again comes to the rescue solidifying their friendship. As Gemma proceeds to move forward from the scandal and reenergize her business venture she meets and becomes involved with a single dad and soon Ruth's overbearing jealous nature once again rears it's ugly head leaving betrayal, secrets and a shocking reveal in it's wake. Recommended.

Thank you to author Melanie Gideon and Edelweiss for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review, this was a perfect companion during these bitterly cold, snowy days here in Wisconsin.contemporary drama edelweiss ...more6 s Danielle B935 166

Ruth is a wealthy divorcee who is looking for a fresh start together with her shy daughter, Marley. At a school meet and greet Ruth and Marley are introduced to single mother, Gemma, and her daughter, Bee. These four become fast friends and soon Gemma is joining Ruth on lavish vacations and fancy restaurants. As a single parent, Gemma is barely able to make ends meet so she really enjoys this royal treatment at first. But Gemma has a nagging feeling that there will be payback for all of these freebees in the future. What are Ruth’s motives for the red carpet treatment? Will Gemma ever be able to return the favors?

Overall, I thought this book was good. The story flowed well, had plenty of drama, and held my attention throughout. And the final twist was the perfect ending!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.) on July 30, 2021.2021 netgalley-arc7 s Sarah605 14

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