4.5

I went in to this book with very high expectations and they definitely were hit. I found that I couldn't actually put it down I was so interested to see how it all unravelled!

I found as I was reading I could actually picture the scenes in my head because it was very descriptive but without it being boring or dragging on, which is a great plus for me!

It is definitely a thrilling family drama with some great twists and dark secrets. I did find some parts a bit heart breaking and definitely tugged on my heart strings but overall this is a great thrilling drama full of suspense and hard to put down!

The only reason it is a 4.5 and not 5 ⭐ is that I felt it dragged a teeny weeny bit after the big reveal but other than that it was a fantastic read!

B A Paris is swiftly becoming one of my must read authors.  I have read a few of her books now and I absolutely loved ‘The Dilemma.’

We are introduced to Livia in the opening chapters.  She is in the midst of organising her 40th birthday party.  Her younger years saw her fall in love with Adam and unexpectedly fall pregnant prior to marriage.  Her wedding was not the stuff of dreams but her 40th will be the big day she never had.

She is living the perfect life, her two children are grown and independent.  Her daughter Marnie is studying in Hong Kong and her son, ??? about to go to New York but her life is about to be torn apart.

Adam has secretly arranged for his daughter to fly home for the party but this is about to throw him into a dilemma.  Bad news is on the horizon but can he, should he keep it to himself until after the party?

Livia is relieved that her daughter will not be home for the party,  A secret has been uncovered that would blow their world apart,  She is desperate to tell Adam but she just wants her party and her life to continue as normal, just for a little while longer.

This was not so much of the psychological thriller that I was expecting but more of a domestic drama.  That was fine with me as I love a good family that are not quite so perfect as they appear.

The characters in this book were likable in some parts but then as I was reading through I would think to myself actually, I don’t like you quite so much anymore and before I knew it, I was back to loving them.

This story revolves around family, love, heartbreak and strength. Was Adam strong enough to put his emotions on hold until after the party and would him doing so tear the family apart?

I am rating this book a 4 star.  This is not down to they story but more my only personal taste in reading.  The lifestyle that these characters were leading was somewhat Hollywood movie style and I do tend to prefer characters that lead a more down to earth gritty life style but that’s just my personal taste.

I did really enjoy this book and will be looking to read more from this author.

I loved it! Another fantastic drama from BA Paris who never disappoints.
Her first novel Behind Closed Doors is one of my favourite books ever and I continue to be gripped by everything she writes.
Highly recommended author and I will continue in my attempts to get everyone reading her this year.
Thank you very much Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for my review.

Riveting! This is a novel which lives up to it's title!

Livia never got the big wedding she had been promised; ever since she has dreamed of having a huge party for her 40th birthday, and finally that day has arrived. Her husband, Adam, has news he really should share with his wife but he doesn't want to spoil the party she has planned for so long so decides to hold fire. Unknown to him, Livia is in possession of something which she should also share, but has decided to wait until the party is over. Have they made the right decisions? That is their dilemma . . .

This is another gripping read from B. A. Paris, and I was hooked all the way through. Starting off upbeat, the day of the party is revealed hour by hour as we discover the family dynamics followed by some shocking revelations. The decisions and doubts are clearly displayed and it's inevitable that the reader will ask themselves what they would do if they found themselves in a similar position; honestly, I have no idea. The author has planned this meticulously, minute by minute, and I wondered how it was all going to play out. Full of twists and turns, this kept me glued to the very last and I was extremely pleased when everything was finished off so well. No unanswered questions, just a feeling of happy satisfaction that everything was tied up. This is a prime example of a well thought out book which has left no stone unturned and I really enjoyed reading it. Fully deserving of the 4 stars I'm happy to give it.

My thanks to publisher HQ for my copy via NetGalley; this is my honest and original review.

I was delighted to be approved by the publisher to read The Dilemma ahead of publication via Netgalley. One of my favourite books of recent years was Behind Closed Doors by the same author, so I was excited to read where she would take us in this next novel.
The subject of the book is Livia's 40th birthday party. She has been planning it for years, a kind of replacement for the big wedding she never had. Livia and Adam married young due to a shock pregnancy which saw Livia's parents disown her and Adam is happy to indulge her in her dream. But events on the night before the party put Adam into the worst position of his entire life, yet nobody can help him decide what to do or how much to say to Livia because nobody else knows.
While all this is going on, we hear from Livia's point of view. She too has her own secret which she is holding back from telling Adam, also wondering when and how she is going to break her news. She knows what she has to tell him will have repercussions and she doesn't want to spoil the party as it won't just affect her husband. 
For a section of the book I did become a little frustrated by the amount of procrastinating Adam was doing but this was overshadowed by how strongly I felt sorry for him for what he had to tell his wife. Something nobody ever wants to be doing. The secret Adam was holding actually helped him deal with other issues in his life which he could have handled badly if he wasn't overwhelmed by the task in hand, which I felt strengthened the relationship he had with his son Josh after the event.  My heart broke for him and I admit to having shed a good few tears as the book came to a climax.
Once again BA Paris has created a cracking good read which I am sure will be one of this year's top selling novels.
*This review will be posted on my social media and blog on publication day*

Having enjoyed BA Paris's previous offerings, I was really excited to get stuck into The Dilemma.

First off, I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't quite this.  The immediate plot of Livia's 40th birthday was irritating, I didn't much like her as a character - but it was Adam's storyline that kept the book going for me.  I could really see how he reacted the way that he did throughout and the eventual confession was harrowing to read.

I did enjoy the book, but found the pacing to be quite slow and couldn't connect to Livia at all; she came across as very manipulative to me...but I'd still recommend the book, it certainly throws some curveballs.

I generally quite like a bit of domestic suspense so the premise of The Dilemma intrigued me. The story follows Livia and Adam, a married couple, on the day of Livia’s much anticipated and extravagant 40th birthday party. Both of them are keeping major secrets from each other which the reader slowly becomes aware of as the book progresses. The truth of these secrets and their reasons for keeping them is the big hook of The Dilemma and is sometimes successful and sometimes not.

I have to admit I was definitely compelled to keep reading The Dilemma. I wanted to know what exactly the secrets Livia and Adam were keeping involved. However the book does get quite repetitive after a while. I just felt like things were dragged out a bit and the story could have done with more action or tension throughout. The other problem I had was the slightly odd obsession Livia has with having a huge, fancy birthday party – ostensibly because she didn’t have a big wedding – although I couldn’t really work out why the two things were so intertwined. Livia’s intensity about the party came across as slightly juvenile and just didn’t make much sense to me personally.

On the more positive side, The Dilemma is  certainly an addictive and compulsive read, There are some really interesting situations that arise and the relationships between certain characters are intriguing to examine as they unravel. Overall I have to say I was a  little underwhelmed by The Dilemma and there wasn’t quite enough suspense for the repetitiveness to work. However the addictive nature of the secrets being revealed did keep me reading at a quick pace. A bit hit-or-miss in my view.

Yet again, another brilliant read from BA Paris. I don't know how she does it but the way it's written it doesn't take any time at all to read.
Rating: 4/5

Livia and Adam had got married when they had little money and no family support, not that they regretted getting married. They had worked hard ever since, had a 22-year-old son, Josh and a 19-year-old daughter, Marnie. Marnie was in Hong Kong at university. Livia had decided all those years ago that when she reached 40 she would throw a huge party that no-one would ever forget. She got her wish.
The story bounces between Livia and Adam, their thoughts and feelings and reasons for the choices that they made on the day of the party. Everything focuses on that day, although the story does jump to the past for background info. As the reader, I was privy to everything. The public face of each of them and the secrets that they were both keeping.
I was frustrated and angry, bubbling away in my own world of turmoil. I can't and won't spoil the story this is one that the slightest hint at anything could kill it and it just wouldn't read the same. It is edgy in a way that makes you hold your breath and feel light-headed. It is so much deeper than you could imagine. There are little sideline stories going on too, like all families, nothing ever just revolves around one event and so often they are all somehow linked. Like the 'butterfly effect'.
B. A. Paris brings to life characters with souls and what feels like real lives. It isn't a story that you can simply walk away from when you close the book. The characters kept coming back to me way after I had finished and my feelings were still as strong. Highly recommended
I wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.

Ahhhhh… I have a serious dilemma… I want to discuss The Dilemma with you, but I can’t because I don’t want to spoil it for you or give anything away.  So I am going to keep this brief and rather evasive, but you will thank me once you’ve read it.

The Dilemma is the latest standalone psychological thriller from BA Paris and like her previous books, Behind Closed Doors, The Break Down and Bring Me Back, it doesn’t disappoint.  In fact I think her books are getting better and more twisty.

The story is about a married couple, Livia and Adam who have been married for over 20 years with two children, Josh and Marnie.  Livia has been planning her 40th birthday party for over half her life and for reasons revealed throughout the book we find out why this party matters so much to her.

Adam loves his wife and his family and knows how important this party is to Livia, however he finds something out on the day of the party which will devastate them all, but Livia is also keeping a secret that potentially will blow the family apart.

This book kept me up all night reading and I went through so many emotions I felt physically and mentally exhausted at the end of the book.  The underlying tension throughout the story ensured I was unable to put the book down and my heart broke in so many places it was quite a traumatic roller coaster of a ride.  Highly recommended for lovers of psychological thrillers but be warned this book should come with tissues.

This is the third book I have read by this author now, and the second that I have loved. It is very different from her previous books though, which is something you should keep in mind before picking this book up. This is not a typical thriller, but instead more of a suspenseful family drama, which will keep you wanting to turn the pages, but has no major big twists.

The chapters alternate perspectives between a husband and wife, and the reader gets to see into their heads and see the full picture from both of their perspectives. This is especially entertaining and engaging as the book goes on and you start seeing more into the secrets that they are keeping from each other. The suspense is also built up beautifully by using this technique effectively.

The characters are engaging, they feel real and their actions throughout the turmoil within this book are relatable and realistic to the situations. The family dynamics are a strong feature, and the strengths and weaknesses within the family are excellent as a plot device. Other wonderful aspects of this book are the difficult subjects that it covers, which can't be mentioned due to spoilers, I loved how they were all handled though. The friendships are strong, and I love how people help each other through this book in various different ways.

I really can't say anything more about this book without spoiling anything, this is the sort of book you should go into knowing as little as possible.

It seems as though I am starting of 2020 already a little broken but in awe of this beautifully told story.  The only problem I have is that the more I tell you about the actual plot, the less you'll have left to discover by yourself and that is a huge party of the beauty of this book.

Livia and Adam are a married couple with young adult children, Marnie and Josh.  What I love the most about the way their characters and their relationship is just so close to real-life that I immediately fell in love with them both.  The narrative alternates between the characters which is so insightful and as a reader it's so powerful to get a glimpse of similar events through both characters' eyes.  I was torn between whizzing through each short chapter to return to the previous narrator or reading slowly and letting each precious word truly sink in.  I have to admit for once I did the latter and completely indulged.   

Despite being set mainly around the day of Livia's 40th birthday party, there are flashbacks and references to their relationship earlier on.  These snippets capture perfectly how a relationship can grow and two people can become so close and secure. 

The basis of the plot itself is that both Livia and Adam have a secret.  A secret that they feel will destroy the other.  The dilemma....How long do they keep it for before knowingly destroying the love of their life?  I'm telling you nothing else!        

This is a novel that is written with elegance and sensitivity and you will need tissues.  I cannot recommend it enough.

The Dilemma is simply a corker of a book and without hesitation I recommend this book going to the top of your ‘to be read’ pile!!
Unsurprisingly , I quickly became addicted to the storyline and immersed in the lives of Adam and Livia. Told from the alternative viewpoint of husband and wife,this novel takes place over the course of one day as the family prepare for Livia’s 40th birthday garden party. She’s been planning it forever since she married Adam very young, pregnant with Josh and therefore missed out on her fairytale wedding. Now with Josh and daughter Marnie grown up and embarking on their adult lives, this is one party Livia is destined never to forget. The only thing to mar this special occasion is the absence of Marnie, currently studying in Hong Kong, except unbeknown to Livia, Adam has arranged a surprise visit from their beloved daughter. What could possibly go wrong???
Proving that lives can change in a split second, we soon learn from Adam that all is not going to plan and so begins his dilemma. Decisions he makes to protect his wife and family and friends are perfectly logical and made with the best intentions but are they right?? How far should we go to protect our nearest and dearest from the truth?? These are just some of the questions raised in this rollercoaster of a read, with the tension palpable throughout. My heart was completely with Adam as he battles his inner conscience, wishing for all the world he could divulge his secret instead of feeling burdened and all alone. This novel is about secrets kept in the belief that you can preserve the status quo and had me literally screaming at both Adam and Livia to communicate with each other rather than continually make assumptions about why they were both acting out of character!! For it’s not only Adam that is hiding some terrible news, but Livia too. She is facing her own dilemma, unsure whether to impart her ‘secret’ to Adam for fear it will change him and his view of Marnie irrevocably.
I thought this was very cleverly written and thought provoking, posing the question of how anyone else might act in similar circumstances and would make a fantastic book club read in terms of its potential for discussion. Not content to pose the reader with a few moral dilemmas, this novel is also heartbreaking in its conclusion and brought a tear or two to my eye. These fictional characters are brought brilliantly to life by the author’s pen, with real and raw emotions and thrust into a situation that is entirely plausible so that I felt  their dilemmas,heartache and pain every step of the way.
This is a novel that is stunning in its simplicity and delves deep into the human psyche to reveal our flaws as well as our motivations behind our decisions.
Easily a 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️read for me. Thanks as always to the author and publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read in exchange for an honest review.

I feel let down by this book. I could not understand why Adam went through with the party. He should have told Livia what was happening and cancelled the party. I am normally a fan of B A Paris’s books but I could not warm to this one at all. Sorry.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Fantastic book and very gripping. Had you always wondering what was going to happen but also had you questioning if the characters were right or wrong and what might you do? Really enjoyable and would recommend to anyone for a fast paced thriller read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and read it in two sittings as I really wanted to know the outcome of ‘The Dilemma’
 The characters were believable and well described, switching the narrative between the two main characters Adam and Livia.. The reader could then see things from both sides and feel empathy for both. The storyline proves that communication is key in any relationship and what is it they say about good intentions...?
An addictive read.

A dilemma is quite often do we have a coffee in Costa or tea?
This novel follows a family all having to deal with a life changing dilemma 
Livia is going to be 40 and as her and Adam didn't have the wedding they wanted Livia is going all out for her birthday but her daughter Marnie who lives in Hong Kong is hiding a secret one that Livia saw on a recent Skype call, Marnie had no idea that her mum had seen the man naked in the background Livia decides she can't tell Adam it will break his heart 
Adam and son Josh have been arranging for Marnie to come home as a surprise for her mums birthday she has arranged flights and they have prepared a huge box she can jump out of 
Perfect ? 
Life is very rarely perfect is it and Adam is put into a situation that involves the biggest dilemma of all will he tell Livia ??

This was one I hated to put down and the surprises were not always what I was hoping for. Some huge plot holes that I do think could have easily been improved but even so it’s well worth a good four stars.

Livia and Adam have been happily married for twenty years and have two children in college. For months they have been planning and organizing and now the day they have been waiting for is finally here. For Livia, it is supposed to be her day, the celebration of her fortieth birthday, a big party to replace the lavish wedding she never had. The food and the music are ready, family and friends are on their way, but there are secrets that could ruin everything. Adam and Livia are both keeping a terrible secret from each other, but they both want the other to have one last happy evening before revealing the truth. As the night goes on and the party is in full swing, their secrets are a burden that it’s hard to keep hidden.

This is such a remarkable book!!! I was completely engrossed in the plot and the characters. The story is slow-paced, intense, and heart-breaking. My heart was pounding as I read and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I liked the short chapters that alternate between Livia and Adam’s perspectives and how the author managed to pack the story into two days that are full of emotions and suspense.

The characters feel very authentic, with all their flaws and bad choices, and I really liked the characters of Livia and Adam. At the beginning, I couldn’t see why Livia was so obsessed with the party, but the more I read the more I understood her past and why it was so important to her. It was difficult to agree with Adam’s choice to keep his secret from Livia, even for just one night, but I could understand his need to protect her.

The Dilemma is different from B A Paris’s previous novels, but I think it is also my favourite so far. It’s not only a story of secrets and lies, it’s also a story of family and love and how far would people go to protect each other. It was very difficult to put The Dilemma down and I am sure will stay with me for a while!!!

The Dilemma

Another breath taking book by B A Paris. The Dilemma is an exciting story that held my attention throughout. The chapters alternate between Adam and his wife Livia, who are both harbouring secrets and guilt. Decisions and discussions must be made but deciding on the right time proves to be a difficult dilemma for them both. Their lives and those of others are to change forever and I really felt for them all. Strong characters are plentiful in this book that was almost impossible to put down.

My thanks to Net Galley for the ARC digital copy , a worthy 5 star read.