Melania and Me

I’ll admit: I approached *Melania and Me* skeptical of yet another Trump-adjacent memoir, but Wolkoff’s narration sold me within the first 30 minutes. There’s something hypnotic about hearing her recount these stories in her own voice—like listening to a friend spill secrets over wine, if that friend had once coordinated a $30,000 floral arrangement for Anna Wintour. Her delivery is controlled, almost clinical, which makes the rare moments of frustration (like her recounting of the ‘I really don’t care’ jacket fiasco) land like a gut punch. The production is clean, with no distracting flourishes, letting Wolkoff’s words—and the absurdity of the situations—speak for themselves. The book’s strength lies in its specifics: the way Melania would ‘disappear’ for days, the bizarre power struggles over something as trivial as a Christmas decor theme, the quiet rebellions of a woman who seemed to understand her role was to be *seen*, not heard. That said, the pacing drags slightly in the middle, when Wolkoff delves into the logistics of event planning—fascinating for fashion nerds, but less gripping for those here for the political drama. And while she’s refreshingly honest about her own complicity, there are moments where her self-awareness feels convenient, like she’s retroactively distancing herself from the chaos. Still, as a fly-on-the-wall account of how image becomes currency in the Trump world, this audiobook is catnip for anyone obsessed with the intersection of power, performance, and sheer, unapologetic ambition.