Wow!! This book was so intense I though I might have a heart attack!! It really kept me on the edge of my seat with my hand over my mouth as I read it!! My other half even commented on how white my knuckles were as I was gripping my kindle and my face!! Definitely not a light easy read but if you want something to really draw you in and make you want to keep reading then I highly recommend The Dilemma.

Great characters, both main and supporting, well written and with brilliant narration - I loved reading from two points of view and without that the suspense wouldn’t have been the same. The is the second B. A. Paris book I have read and I wasn’t that impressed after the first one but this has really changed my opinion. Can’t wait to see what she writes next.

This one had me hooked right from the beginning. If you are a BA Paris fan, you will love this, if you’ve not read anything by BA Paris - this is one to grab!

After marrying as teenagers both Livia and Adam had to make compromises but their family life is generally great. Son Josh is studying for a Masters and Daughter Marnie is studying in Hong Kong for a year. Finally Adam and Livia have some time for themselves. Livia has been saving to have the 40th birthday party she dreams of after her wedding was a cheap and hurried affair. However on the morning of the wedding Adam discovers something that could throw all their plans awry - should he tells Livia and spoil her big day?
After feeling BA Paris had got a little too melodramatic in recent novels this is a welcome return to form. The tension winds up beautifully and if the padding gets a little slack in the middle it is only for a short time.

I loved this book, I raced through it. I would definitely recommend it and will be reading more from this author!

This has the same layer of emotions on which As Far as the Stars by V. MacGregor is built, but Paris takes that layer adds the tension and builds a moral dilemma into the mix. The result is spectacular read, which will leave readers wondering whether it was the right decision or not.

Livia has been planning her 40th birthday party for a long time. It is going to be a huge expensive shindig. She never had her dream wedding, so this party is her do-over. I found her very superficial at times. She has a wonderful life, a loving husband and two healthy children. She has a good life, despite being rejected by her parents for her choices in life, and yet a party becomes more important than anything and anyone. It explains why Adam waits.

Adam knows, somewhere deep in his heart he thinks he knows, but denial gives him an escape route of sorts. For a few hours he can pretend and push the inevitable to the side.

When you find out something shocking or out of character about a loved one or a friend you have a choice - you keep it to yourself or put it out there into the world. As soon as you put it out there it changes the way that person is perceived. Every action, thought, word and conversation is replayed, which in turn changes the interpretation of the information one already has. The nice, loving bright shiny star becomes an irresponsible, vindictive liar.

This is a compelling contemporary read - it packs a visceral punch. It's really quite clever how the author ends the story and yet leaves it open-ended at the same time. Paris leaves her readers with the emotional dilemma.

I can imagine readers will find the dilemma quite divisive. The fear, the denial and the constant hold on a slither of hope is emotional torture. Do you say something and every moment from that point forward is tainted by the finality of the news or do you let your loved ones have one final night of peace? Either way the facts don't change or do they?

This book was AMAZING , already a fan of B A Paris this book confirmed why I love her. Finished in one day was testament to how good this book was . This book is a bit different to her others , this is more if a domestic suspense thriller , but still every bit as good. The story is told from the alternating points of view of Adam and Livia the main characters in the book taking you through the 24 hours of Olivia 40th birthday party , that she’s been waiting 20 years to have and the aftermath .A definite tension builder and emotional rollercoaster had me shedding a few tears
And I couldn’t settle until I found out . A family torn apart , secrets kept for the right reasons, grief ,anger ,resentment will keep you gripped to the very end, Can’t wait for her next book.

An amazing story where both parents have a dilemma- when do they tell?
Sorrow, guilt and disharmony trail grief and despair. Can a strong marriage overcome the enormity of these emotions. Takes until the end of the story to find out. Loved it!

The Dilemma is a book I feel very lucky to have got the chance to review, I was even luckier to find I had a spare afternoon which is exceptionally rare so I settled down with this book and didn’t put it down until I had finished.
Wow what a book it kept me on tenterhooks from start to finish! Fantastic plot, fantastic writing and believable characters make this a hard book to beat this year for me and we’re only in January!!
Livia is about to have the fortieth party she has been dreaming of for the last twenty years after having a very small wedding, her son will be there, Josh but unfortunately her younger daughter Marnie is studying in Hong Kong and won’t be able to be there but to some extent this a relief to Livia as she knows something about Marnie that she has kept from her husband, Adam but on the night of her party Adam is acting very strange and this is because he also knows something about Marnie that Livia doesn’t and that is all I’m going to say about this as you really need to come in blind here.
I would like to thank Netgalley and HQ for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Livia has been planning her 40th birthday party for the past 20 years, after she was denied the wedding of her dreams when she fell pregnant at 17 with her oldest son, Josh, and was forced to have a quick ceremony in the local registry office with a few guests. Her parents disowned her and they haven’t ever met Josh, now 22, or his younger sister, Marnie, aged 19.

Livia is desperate to have the perfect party and her husband, Adam, knows how important it is for everything to go well. The build-up has been so prolonged and now it’s time for the main event and everything must be flawless. Livia is excited and happy but there is so much riding on the party and she feels guilty about the amount of money it has cost and the fact that they could have had a 25th wedding anniversary party in a few years time instead.

Despite all this, we learn that Livia is hiding a secret about Marnie from Adam and he is also hiding a devastating secret from her. While all the guests are having fun and enjoying the party, Livia and Adam are mingling but trying not to crack under the strain of keeping their explosive secrets to themselves. It is torture to watch the pair of them wrestling with their secrets, each afraid to tell the other as they want things to be perfect for the party and for everything still to be normal.

In an effort to protect each other, both Livia and Adam made some rather bizarre decisions but I think the run-up to the party had been so long and involved and Adam knew how much it meant to Livia that he didn’t want to do anything to ruin the momentous occasion. At the heart of it, they love each other and want to delay the upset as long as they can, but I think it would have been better for them just to be honest from the start, forget the party and support each other through things.

Poor Adam was going through such emotional turmoil and I almost felt like I was living his discomfort, fears, indecision and sheer terror over what he should do for the best. He did well to hold it together as much as he did!

Livia has been keeping her secret about Marnie for longer and she’s still trying to piece together all the parts of the jigsaw and work out what has been going on. Marnie is Adam’s favourite, as he has a rather tense and awkward relationship with Josh, and Livia doesn’t want to destroy their special bond.

I raced through this gripping, intense book in a matter of hours; frantically turning the pages to see what happened and hoping that everything would be resolved without too much heartbreak for all concerned. It was such a tense read at times and there was a sense of impending doom and apprehension running throughout the book, as well as some really awkward and uncomfortable moments for several of the characters!

I really enjoyed this book – it was so nerve wracking and gripping and I could feel my heart racing as the story progressed and things were revealed, and it made me feel very emotional, being a parent myself. The story was well paced and it flowed well, with just enough revealed over the course of the book/party to keep me hooked. It was very thought provoking and I was still mulling over it hours later, just wondering what I would have done if I’d been in either Livia or Adam’s position.

Overall, a great read; really absorbing, touching and fascinating! Would definitely recommend. I’m pleased that I’ve got a couple of B.A. Paris’ books still to read and I’m already looking forward to her next one!

Livia and Adam never had a big wedding so on Livia’s 40th birthday she is going all out to celebrate her birthday with a big party. Their daughter Marnie cannot make it because she is studying abroad and whilst Adam is upset over this, Livia is pleased because it delays her having to tell Adam her secret and spoil the party. Adam just wants his wife to enjoy her birthday, but he receives terrible news – should he tell his wife and spoil her party?

This book kept me enthralled from start to the finish. I could really sense that that Livia was living on the edge and at times she made me so cross that I wanted to give her a good shake. As for Adam, I was astounded that he could actually keep the terrible news a secret and carry on as if nothing was wrong.

I loved how the characters slowly unraveled and how my sympathies switched from Adam to Livia and back again. The story is a bit like a play, when one door shut, another door opened.

B A Paris does not spare us from the truth and I was left heartbroken and reaching for my tissues by the end.

This is the first book I've read by B A Paris, and I can honestly say I enjoyed it very much! I will say that it sounds as though this is completely different to her other books (focusing more on the family drama side of things rather than any sort of thriller element), so that may come as a surprise to those who have read and enjoyed her previous books. However, for me, this was a great read for me and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

I tried reading another B.A. Paris novel and just like the last one it was so predictable. I absolutely hated the wife. She was so incredibly childish and selfish about not having a wedding that she needed an extravagant 40th birthday party to make up for that. The husband I just felt sorry for.

Compelling, full of suspense but not my cup of tea! Which is a personal thing. I prefer something more uplifting. The story is a contradiction. Livia is preparing for her 40th birthday party. She has been planning this party in her head for two decades and it has dominated her life, which is mostly perfect. It is a substitute for the fairy tale wedding that she never had. It should be a fun, joyous evening but there are too many undercurrents and it appears this party will bring many of these secrets to a head. Both Livia and her husband carry tragic secrets and the reader waits in suspense as the secret unfolds and as we wait for them to be delivered.
Its not easy to sustain suspense, mostly this is attained, and admittedly I was too curious to put it down. That said, there were times I wanted to shake the characters into action. I also felt a bit frustrated with these seemingly perfect lives and loving relationships, despite the cliched hardships in the past. As a result I didn't feel invested in the characters. The emotion is well captured and definitely pulled at the heartstrings but overall I'm not racing to recommend. A solid read if you like this genre.

This isn't always an easy book to read, and there are quite a few thought-provoking passages throughout. This was my first of BA Paris' books, and it has made me eager to check out their back catalogue – although I've heard this is a rather different style to previous works.

There are some moments of predictability, but there's a fantastic ending waiting for you.

Such a difficult book to review... I *really* couldn‘t put it down but it‘s rather unbelievable.

It centres around two dilemmas - both parents think that they know something terrible about their daughter, but don‘t want to tell the other so as not to ruin the Mum‘s 40th birthday party.

Be warned - one of the ‘dilemmas‘ is so much more than that, which is what made the book rather implausible. Also, all of the characters were rather obnoxious, particularly the mother who seemed to want the party at all costs.

4 stars though, for unputdownability!

This was totally different to this authors previous books & I really enjoyed it. Heart breaking & thought provoking I’d recommend it to anyone.

I found this quite a quick and straightforward book to read, practically reading it in one whole sitting, and whilst the topic may not be the cheeriest at points, I would class it as an easy holiday read by the pool. We are told the story from the viewpoint of Alex and Livia, a couple that have been married together for many years with two grown up children, Marnie and Josh. They had their first child whilst having only been together a short while and still relatively young, and so whilst not having a great deal of money had a very small and simple wedding. Livia has always wanted a 'big' day in her life, and feeling that she missed out on this with not having a lavish wedding day, so her big day is now to be her 40th birthday. The book is based around the whole day of Livia's 40th, including all the preparations, and as the story unfolds between Alex and Livia, the backstory to the party and to their lives does too. It is well written, and the two different viewpoints of events by Alex and Livia keep you interested as a reader. Whilst the book cumulates in a dramatic ending, the leading up to the events at points seemed slightly predictable, which until I got to the latter part of the book was disappointing and came across as an average storyline in parts. However, I found the ending to the book was written not only in a very sensitive way to the subject matter, but also very powerful with some excellent and realistic dialogue, as you would ask yourself what you would do if faced with the same dilemma. Overall this was an enjoyable book which leaves you musing over the end. My thanks go out to netgalley and Harper Collins providing me with the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book.

Another stunner of a story from B.A.Paris and this one centres around the hidden cost of keeping a secret, so as not to spoil a big day - one of those that has you constantly thinking 'what would you do in the same situation?'. And I still don't know what I'd do, and if there's a wrong or right way of dealing with such a traumatic event.

Livia is eagerly awaiting her 40th birthday party. When many want to forget their age and not make a big fuss, she's been planning this for years. It's a big deal to her! And her husband Adam knows this, that is why he's faced with an awful decision when he hears horrific news. Dare he tell her straight away? Maybe if he waits, then things won't be as bad as he first fears? He's in a no win situation.

The story is told in alternating points of view - from the wife and the husband - and I found myself totally immersed in their lives and seeing the story unfold in this manner. The tension really builds up as you get caught up in the excitement Livia feels for her party, alongside the devastation that her husband feels as he waits for news on the horrific event that has caused him so much worry and anxiety. You live every moment with him and my heart kept breaking as he tried to put a brave face on things knowing he and Olivia's world could be changing forever and there was nothing he could do about it.

There are darker secrets revealed along the way which just add to the complexities of family life and how tragedy can often reveal a side to people that you may not wish to confront. It explores the dynamics within a family and how relationships are pushed to the extremes.

This story briliantly portrays the toll a devastating secret takes on the person in the know and I loved every single second of it!!!

I literally devoured this book in one sitting on Saturday night, started at 9.30pm and finished at 12.30pm. I just had to keep on reading. The main bulk of the story takes place during one day from two different view points. It covers heartbreak, lies, deceit, hope and much much more. Very powerfully written and I was in tears at times.

Such a good read, a solid five stars from me and I am keen to seek out other stories by the same author.

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book via NetGalley.

I've loved B.A Paris's previous books and was excited to read this one but it honestly felt like a different writer. The story was boring and i had to force myself to continue. The characters motivations were rather preposterous and there was no tension in the story because you just didn't care about any of them.