If you're a fan of long, drawn out family dramas, then you'll enjoy this one.

I walked into this one knowing it was a family drama, so there were no surprises there. However, I think fans of B.A Paris' thrillers, will be disappointed with this one.

What I liked:

- alternating POV's & timelines
- pacing. The story gets going from the start.

What didn't work for me:

While the pacing was quick, the secrets and lack of communication between characters made the story monotonous, and drag on longer than it needed to.

While I enjoy family dramas, I also hate when it takes too long to get to the highlight of the book. It's like, spit it out and tell me already!!
This will work for some readers, but for some it won't.

Let's start with I LOVE B.A. Paris. I was so excited when I heard about a new book.
I didn't read a single thing going into the story. I tend to do that for some reason.

This book was a bit slower in pace. I know it only spans a day in time but it feels like a drawn out day. I get the Dilemma each of the faces in their secrets. You think you know what is best for your spouse when really you probably should just spit it out. Deal with things together. They obviously didn't get the memo.

I liked the characters of the book. Well except 1. You'll know who later.
I cried at parts. And I felt all the feels. It's not her typical book but I'm okay with that!

Thank you to @stmartinspress for a copy of this book to read and review! I went into this book not really knowing much about it other than the author. I loved Behind Closes Doors by her. The opening note from the author talked about putting off telling loved ones about something difficult. Livia is planning to celebrated her 40th and planning a big party. Her daughter is planning to surprise her by coming home. The book follows her and her husband mainly over 24 hours or so. Without giving too much away, I 100 percent related to Adams feeling that something was wrong but hoping it wasn’t! I went through the same feelings as he did with an event in my life and those feelings really hit home. I’ve seen some mixed reviews but I was really impressed by this book and storylines came together. This was totally not what I expected at all but I was pleasantly surprised. Comes out June 30.

I devoured this. Not the mot unique plot and kinda meh at times, but I couldn’t put it down. And I loved the ending - which felt true to the novel.

In The Dilemma by BA Paris a married couple face a horrible decision. Adam and Livia have been married for years. They have two grown children, Josh and Marnie. Marnie is away in Hong Kong studying. This book takes place all in one day. The day is Livia’s 40th birthday party. She’s been planning for this her whole life. Unfortunately, Marnie will not be able to make it back. Also , Adam and Livia have horrible secrets from each other. They’re both trying to decide if they should tell each other the day of this party and possibly ruin everything. This was not as much of a thriller as I thought it would be. However, I very much enjoyed the story in the suspense. I identified with both main characters in different ways. I like the fact that the story took place in one day. That made it seem much more suspenseful. Thank you to the publisher and net galley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

THE DILEMMA is an intense, read-in-one-sitting novel that makes you think about family and keeping secrets. As they approach Livia's huge 40th birthday party, which she has been planning for nearly 20 years, the family is all holding onto secrets. Livia and Adam married when they were young and found out they were pregnant with their son, Josh. His birth was followed by a few rocky years until the birth of their daughter, Marnie.

Now Josh is 22 and Marnie is 19, studying abroad in Hong Kong. Everyone is getting ready for the party when Adam realizes he is facing a horrible decision. The secret that he is holding will rip everything apart- but it will come out, the question is when.

This was a really gripping story that was definitely drama with a touch of mystery but not quite thriller. I could definitely see this being made into a really intense movie drama. I was completely gripped by the family and the tidbits of their past that we learn along the way. Livia and Adam felt fully formed, and I was definitely invested in what would happen. This was a book that I found absolutely impossible to put down while reading.

I would highly recommend for people who enjoy family drama. This is an absolutely gripping read. I don't want to say too much to avoid spoilers, but this book is highly devourable and keeps you hooked until the end.

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

This is a very different style book for B. A. Paris. Her other novels are thrillers with lots of twists and surprises.
This book is a family drama with strongly drawn characters. The story is told from two points of view. That of the husband, and that of the wife. Although well crafted, this book will be a disappointment for those who have read other books by this author. It is slow moving, and not a compelling read. I would not recommend this book , but
would rather encourage readers to pick up her earlier books that have much more energy and excitement.

I’ve had the privilege of receiving an ARC of all of B. A. Paris’s books! What a phenomenal author! She is a master of suspense!

Livia has dreamed of having a special party for her 40th birthday! She never had a big wedding and this birthday party is meant to make up for that shattered childhood dream. Both Livia and her husband Adam have discovered something about their daughter Marnie that they have not shared with the other. These ‘secrets’ have the potential to tear the family apart. Both, for their own reasons, decide that the party should go on as planned. One last period of happiness before their lives are changed forever!

The pages of this book virtually turn themselves as we alternate between Livia’s and Adam’s perspectives as they struggle to protect one another from the devastation that’s ahead! I highly recommend this book!

3.5; not rounding up -- especially as last 1/4 of book a huge disappointment.

Livia and Adam, a couple who wed young [she was pregnant]; now with two children. She's having a 40th birthday party--and is treating it like the wedding she never had. Adam has a secret he's hiding from Livia--and vice versa. Most of the story revolves around these issues. It is, duh--"The Dilemma." And told over the course of 24 hours --though sometimes it seemed endless,

This was, at times, a perfect, suspense-filled diversion. A fast read--I was engaged--until I got bored with the back and forth. I felt quite manipulated--which I resented. Initially, I had no idea what the mysteries were--but they were revealed fairly early on and then--waaaay too much repetition, Told in alternating voices--Adam and Livia [though many other characters, all well drawn].

Because of the back and forth, I began wondering about he payoff would it be--good enough? A twist? For me, neither--just a downward spoiler. A plus--no cringeworthy prose.

So though many readers have high praise for this book, I do not, An easy escape, with not much of a payoff.

This domestic suspense is a tale of a birthday, a marriage, a family, a tragedy, and hope. It's completely different than B.A. Paris's other books, yet equally as enthralling.

The chapters alternate between Livia and Adam so that the reader is privy to both husband and wife perspectives. Livia and Adam are both holding huge, heartbreaking secrets about their daughter Marnie, and both are waiting for just the right moment to share what they know. The right moment never comes, and the reactions to the Big Reveals are exactly as I expected when a secret is spilled with ill timing.

Livia and Adam both hold back their secrets out of love for each other, and because they both feel that their spouse deserves to be blissfully unaware of the knowledge of life-altering events. They carry the weight of their secret throughout the party and it's impossible to enjoy the beautiful party. It made me think of what I'd do in the same situation... what would each of us do?

This book is about secrets, betrayal, love, marriage, friendship, family, tragedy, and resentment. There are many supporting characters in this story and sometimes it was challenging to keep them straight. It's a slow and steady burn, with the last 20% of the book making it all worthwhile. I spent the last few minutes of the book bawling my eyes out (all the feels!), and I suspect that many others will too.

This is a book about family secrets and family dynamics. Livia’s Fourtieth birthday that she has been planning for years is finally here and her daughter won’t be able to attend. How can she tell her husband that she’s relieved? The plot of this book was intriguing and the character development is very strong. I enjoyed that the story is told from different perspectives, which helps to keep the reader guessing at how the story will come together. There were so many pieces of storyline that came together beautifully in the end. The biggest difficult for me was that this story line was very different than what I expected After reading Behind Closed Doors, I expected more of a thriller storyline, and, while the story was interesting and had many interweaving plots that came together amazingly in the end, this book is not a thriller as I was expecting it to be.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book. My reviews can be read on my GoodReads account here: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1335387-kelly

I had all but given up on Paris books. Each new one was more depraved and gut wrenching than the last. The Dilemma was a refreshing change. It was a stressful read, but there was no sordidness. The story threads are woven so intricately a chart is almost needed at the beginning. Livia has been anticipating her 40th birthday party for years. It's a party that she will never forget. Someone arrives she thought was lost to her. Someone never arrives who will be lost to her. I didn't agree with Adam's decision and I wrestled with how that turned out. The Dilemma is a provactive read.

I loved Behind Closed Doors and was really looking forward to this book. I struggled with a lot of it though. The subject was difficult for me (a daughter dying on an airplane) and much of the plot was kind of unbelievable. I found it hard to buy that a couple with such terrible communication were supposedly this wonderfully in love couple who somehow survived really difficult life events, and at young ages - without good communication skills. It felt very drawn out with nothing surprising happening in the last hour or so of the book. I would have enjoyed it more if there was some twist where Marnie was alive and it was an elaborate set up by Livia to get back at Adam for scaring her years before - would have been more believable if she had harbored some hard feelings over the years given their lack of communication. I also could not believe that Adam wouldn’t have called the phone number much sooner or gone the whole party without telling anyone.

I am having quite the dilemma trying to decide how to review this.⁣
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This was my first B.A. Paris book and I know that’s a dilemma in itself. I have all three of her others on my TBR, but haven’t gotten to them yet.⁣
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I expected this book to be a suspenseful thriller but felt like it was more of a family drama with poor communication, that took place over the course of 24 hours, but felt like weeks.⁣
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It was really well written, and the drama was good enough to keep me interested and reading, and wanting to find out what was actually going on with Marnie, but if Liv and Adam would’ve just had a conversation, this entire book wouldn’t have needed to be written. ⁣
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for the interest and fact that I did want to know what happened, and didn’t keep putting it down. #books #bookstagram #suspense ⁣
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Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the ARC for my honest review. #netgalley #TheDilemma

Very very good book like all of her books! This one I highly recommend and it’s going to be a summer must read!!

The Dilemma is totally different from the author's typical style. Not saying that's a bad thing, but it definitely wasn't what I expected from a B. A. Paris novel.

I have skimmed a few of the other reviews for this book, and I'm clearly in the minority by rating it a 2.5 rounded up to 3. Even after I realized that it was a family drama instead of a suspense, I was okay with that because I looked forward to reading Paris's trademark quality of writing. Instead, this was literally an hour-by-hour commentary about the 40th birthday party of the whiniest, most annoying woman who ever existed. Livia was so self-absorbed that I dreaded the chapters told from her perspective. Though it was a struggle, I made myself finish the book just so I could see how it ended. I should have stopped during the second, third, or fourth rehash of the "situation" because it never really got better. Ultimately, I was very disappointed in this story.

You can almost hear the scary music start to build as these parents decide to delay telling each other a secret. At first all of the focus is on the parents. They are planning a birthday party that is actually a huge celebration of their time together. Told from the separate POV of each parent, BA Paris has built this family and now gives them a scary big dilemma surrounding their youngest child. As the story progresses, it's obvious someone is not going to like their choices, a crack in the family unit is guaranteed. A great story full of tension and emotions. My book club buddies are going to love this one!

A special thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Livia is turning forty and is throwing herself a party. And not just any party, one that she has been planning for the last twenty years. The only person that will not be in attendance is her daughter, Marnie, who is in Hong Kong. But Livia has been keeping a secret from Adam because of the effect it will have on their lives. She has decided to wait until after the festivities to tell him, and is actually relieved that Marnie won't be there.

Adam wants the evening to be perfect for Livia because she never got to have a wedding. Livia and Adam were married in a registry office when they were teens because Livia was pregnant and subsequently disowned by her parents. On the day of the party, Adam learns of some news that could not only ruin the party, but devastate their lives, so he decides to keep it to himself until after the guests leave.

The Dilemma is a departure for B. A. Paris in that it is more of a domestic drama versus a typical thriller. At its core is "the dilemma" and it is an emotional punch right to the gut. Are the characters acting out of love and wanting to protect their family, or deception and being self-serving?

I ultimately struggled with the book for both it being marketed incorrectly as a thriller, and with the fact that the dilemma itself was not believable—Adam choosing to keep a life-altering secret from his wife is simply not plausible. The book was also too long. There were pages and pages where nothing much was happening, or that it was repetitive. I don't know whether this was because the story only takes place over a day and Paris needed to fill the pages, or because of the limited setting which was their home.

Paris did redeem herself with the ending—it didn't end the way that I thought it was going to.

Told from alternating POVs, I found the Dilemma to be much slower-paced than the author's other books. Should Adam ruin his wife's 40th birthday party by telling her the big secret? Should Livia ruin her own party by revealing her secret? The whole thing takes place over 24 hours and the big reveal was honestly, no big whoop. I didn't enjoy this one as much as some of the author's prior work but I will definitely keep reading her novels.