This is the second book I've read by this author. This story line is completely different from the other but is very well written. The story alternates between husband and wife and goes chronologically, so it's easy to follow and fly through. I ended up staying up late to read this story. I felt connected to the characters, which meant I was a bit emotional and empathizing what was going on. There were a lot of characters (friends) that I lost track of here and there, but the majority of the characters were relatable. Overall I enjoyed it and look forward to reading more from this author!

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this and provide my honest review.

What did I just read ? I liked two of B A Paris books enough to anticipate a good read but it was such a drag .For fiest 100 pages I had no idea what I was reading.
Eveb After skipping and skipping I was able to understand the whole story.There were no OMG moment .I couldn't even empathize with characters for everything happened to them.Such a waste of time .

Thank you St Martin’s and Netgalley for the opportunity to read The Dilemma and give an honest review.
Last year, I read Behind Closed Doors and really enjoyed it. So you can imagine my excitement when I saw Netgalley had The Dilemma. I went into this thinking it was a mystery/thriller (categorized under thriller/mystery in Goodreads and Netgalley) but it’s more domestic drama which I thinks affected my feelings toward it.

I love the writing style of Paris writing style in Behind Closed Door. Even though, the style was different here, I still enjoyed it. From the first page this had my attention however, over time it started to lose momentum. I really enjoyed reading from the perspective of Livia and Adam.
I understand both Livia and Adam reasons for keeping secrets but doesn’t mean I agree it was right. I think a lot of things could have been avoided with simply communicating with each other.
Even though, I really liked multiple perspective after a while it did get repetitive. I wanted more of “After Party”, I felt that part was rushed.
The really messy side of me wanted Marian secret to come out but understood why it wasn’t outed.

Livia is turning 40, and this is a party that she's been looking forward to ever since her wedding- which wasn't everything that she dreamed that it would be. Today is the day for everything to go perfectly and according to plan- until it doesn't.

This book wanders away from the type of books that B.A. Paris has written in the past. Yes, it is suspenseful, but this is more of a family drama suspense. This book is about keeping secrets from one another. Secrets from husbands, secrets from wives, secrets from fathers and daughters. This book is about the things that families do in order to protect one another from pain.

I really wanted to like THE DILEMMA more than I did. It was well-written, engaging, and there was never a dull moment. It was written in chronological order, hour by hour, and as the hours ticked on I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next. Perhaps the reason that I personally did not like this book as much as I wanted to was the gravity of one part of the subject, and my disagreement with one of the characters keeping a secret from the other members of the family. While I could understand the character's point of view, and why they chose to keep the information a secret, I did have a hard time with that portion of the story. It just seemed too monumental to keep that piece of information a secret.

While this wasn't my favourite of all of B.A. Paris' releases, this is still a worthy read and a fascinating dive in to one family's inner workings.

What would you do if you knew some devastating news but wanted to protect your loved ones? How do you know when it is the right time to divulge knowledge that you know will be the beginning of Before and After? Is it right to keep people ignorant when they are busy getting ready for a party that is the culmination of a long held dream?
Livia married Adam young and was pregnant with their son so had to forgo any big and fancy celebrations. Instead she has waited until her 40th birthday before getting everybody together for a well planned and prepared for garden party with family and friends.
The only sad part is that Adam and Olivia's daughter Marnie is studying in Hong Kong and can't get back.
Adam however keeps it a secret that he has paid for Marnie to travel back home as he wants his wife to be surprised and delighted.
Perfectly reasonable and well intentioned. Trouble is no-one could have predicted what might happen next.
The novel is set over just one evening and alternates between Adam and Livia's point of view. Neither are communicating very well with one another because of all the hustle and bustle of the party, but it isn't just Adam who is holding something back, Livia is too.
I was on the edge of my seat reading this novel, wondering how and when the two people who loved one another would eventually break and understand the enormity of what each of them knows.
This book had my emotions all over the place. I felt desperate, uncertain, scared, heartbroken, and frustrated, all in one paragraph!
An excellently written, nail biting book that also makes you think what would you do in the same situation , morally what is the right thing to do and how can we ever know?
A MUST read!

Huge thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and BA Paris for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this but for what the plot was- this was WAY too long and dragged out. This could and perhaps should have been a short story, I kept waiting for something (anything!!!) to happen and it never did. Nothing thrilling about this one. I couldn’t wait for it to be over.

I still love you and all of your other books BA Paris but this was not one to write home about for me. I look forward to reading your next book!

The Dilemma was not exactly what I was expecting from B.A. Paris. I was so wanting another thriller that she does so well. While the writing is excellent as always - this book is not a thriller at all. It is a family drama so I hope that this book is properly marketed to avoid disappointment. This book is about a family with a terrible problem with communication and misunderstandings. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book - sadly it was a miss for me this go round.

Yikes! That’s a heck of a lot of lies for one small family. It definitely makes for an interesting story, though! “The Dilemma” is very aptly named.

I really liked how the book was laid out… most of it takes place in one day and the chapters are titled by the hour and perspective. The day is Livia’s 40th birthday. A day she has been looking forward to for 20 years. And she is throwing a huge, extravagant party… for herself.

We all know that something untold just gets harder to tell the longer you let it go on. That’s the dilemma… to tell or not to tell and when.

Lesson learned… just because you dislike most of the characters in a book, doesn’t mean that it isn’t a great read! At 40, Livia is still butt hurt over not getting an expensive dream wedding after becoming pregnant out of wedlock when she was young. Don’t get me started on Adam… at least he matured, kind of. Their children are no better. Their daughter, Marnie, is a spoiled brat and rotten friend. The son, Josh, has extreme Daddy issues.

B.A. Paris is an excellent storyteller. I have read all her books; you should too!

Publication Date: June, 2020
Genre: Suspense, Mystery, Psychological Thrillers
Cover: Good
Rating: 5 stars
Source: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to read this great book!
#TheDilemma #NetGalley

I wasn't a fan of The Dilemma during the first half of the book. Liv came across as selfish and Adam came across as a tool. But, once certain key details were revealed (which should have been made more clear in the beginning), my first impressions of Liv and Adam were slowly turned around. By the end of the book, I admired both of them for their strength.

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to the publisher and author for the chance to read this ARC. This is BY FAR my favorite book by B.A. Paris. This storyline was unbelievably good, the plot drew me and kept me up until 1:45 a.m. as I could not go to sleep until I finished. I read this book cover to cover the day I started it. I cannot express how much I loved this book. You could feel the anguish of characters, especially Adam, the title perfectly describes the story! I enjoyed the twists throughout the book as well. This book will remain with me for a long time! I have already recommended it to so many of my reading friends and family members. Do yourself a favor and pre-order The Dilemma so you don't have to wait one minute after publishing, you will not be disappointed!

Thank you St Martin's Press and NetGalley! BA Paris writes such great thrillers. The Dilemma did not disappoint! I was on my seat for the entire book. Highly recommend if you are looking for a good distraction!

I started this book and loved the beginning. I was gripped from the first page. Unlike Paris's other books, which are thrillers, this book is more of a suspense/ drama. It is an in-depth look at a 24-hour period leading up to Livia's 40th birthday party. Livia and Adam are a couple who married young and her birthday party is in Lieu of the big wedding that she had always dreamed of having. I do not want to give any spoilers in the book but, the story is centered the secrets that they are keeping from each other.

The book has so much going for it:
Family relationships
intent vs. outcome
communication or lack thereof
the impact of secrets

The book also had a few things that sent it downhill for me:
Livia's secret was not worth the wait. It was anti-climactic for me.
The book was drawn-out
I couldn't come to terms with Adam and Livia's relationship. For a couple who has been married since high school, I thought that they would communicate better after twenty-something years of marriage.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this book. All thoughts are my own. Overall, I liked the book but not as much as her other books and not as much as I loved the beginning. 3 stars

Beautiful story of love, loss family drama heart-wrenching. Slow in the beginning but picks up speed and you just want to read one more chapter.
#Netgalley offered early copies for review

I read this in one sitting because I had to know what happened, and it's a good book if I can't put it down! This deviates from Paris' other books in that it's not a thriller, but rather a suspenseful family drama. Told from the alternating perspectives of a husband and wife, the reader unfolds the layers of the story like the layers in an onion. The story takes place during a twenty-four hour period leading up to and including the wife's 40th birthday party. As someone who will very soon have a 40th birthday, it's hard to believe this wife focused so heavily on the planning and execution of this party to such an extent that I thought of Mrs. Dalloway. However, I'll suspend my disbelief and accept that perhaps I have peers who will do the same. The author created realistic characters, complete with flaws, who faced challenging decisions over how and when to reveal secrets to their spouses and families. While not the most memorable novel, it was entertaining to read and provided a nice (albeit slightly tense) escape. Thanks St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the eARC in return for an honest review.

I’ve really liked B.A. Paris’s other books so I was pretty excited for The Dilemma. Unfortunately, I just didn’t end up liking it all that much. The story got too detailed at rambled at times. It held my interest until about the 40% mark but after that I got bored and felt it could’ve been shorter. I don’t like giving reviews like this, but I do my best to be honest while also being gentle about it.
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While this just wasn’t for me, I hope you’ll check out some other reviews and see what others have to say. And definitely check out her other books!

Summary:

Livia has been dreaming of an amazing 40th birthday party for years. She got pregnant and married young and never had the wedding she dreamed of having. She has had the details in her mind for years.

Now that it is approaching, a nagging secret is eating her alive. She can’t tell her husband why she secretly is glad that her daughter, Marnie, cannot attend.

Adam is set on having the perfect party for Livia until he find out information that will change everything. Both Adam and Livia are faced with difficult decisions.

My Thoughts:

I was lucky enough to receive an Advanced Reader’s Copy is The Dilemma from Netgalley. The Dilemma is completely different than any other BA Paris book. If you decide to read this, you need to go in with the mindset that this isn’t a twisted psychological thriller like the past books. This is an intense domestic drama that does a great job with the character study of the main characters involved.

It is difficult to say much more without giving away the plot, but it is a realistic and somewhat tragic story that is not what you would necessarily expect from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. I am a huge B.A. Paris fan - her novels are generally a great mix of just enough to keep you on your toes, but not enough to make your heart race. Unfortunately, this one will be at the bottom of my faves list by this author.

Livia has been planning her 40th birthday party for almost half her life and the night has finally arrived! Will the secrets Livia is hiding overshadow her big event, or will be she able to make it through? Adam, her husband, wants to be supportive and let his wife have this party, to make up for the fancy wedding she missed out on, but he has discovered his own secret the day of the party, and needs to decide if he should keep it a secret or spill to Livia before the night begins.

I am really, truly struggling as to how I felt about this book. It was boring, to be honest. About 90% of the book is across the span of the one day and it's incredibly repetitive of the same 'woe is me, what am I going to do about these secrets?'. It was exhausting and tiring to continue reading the same thing over and over, however I quite enjoyed the actual story and the points being made, they just weren't delivered in the best way. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the other books I've read by this author, but this one felt like an essay with a specific word count that needed to be met. If I could give half stars, I might even say 2.5 star, because I did enjoy the premise and the characters were decently likeable, it was just a lot of nothing. If you want a quick read, fly through this one and enjoy the story, but don't invest too much time in reading it.

Misunderstandings and miscommunications abound in Paris’ latest. I’m usually a huge fan of her, but, unfortunately, I couldn’t get into this one. It was the same ruminations of the main 2 characters over and over and over, reminding me of a bad song repeatedly playing and stuck in my head. I didn’t care at all about any of the characters, the plot didn’t hold my interest and nothing really happened. By the end, I was just skimming so that I could move on to the next book. I think most of Paris’ books have more of a suspense aspect, which I find much more appealing. This was more of character-driven domestic drama, which obviously works for many readers because this received a multitude of excellent reviews. With that said, I will continue to be a fan of B. A. Paris and read of her books.

Many thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and B. A. Paris for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I have read nearly every book that BA Paris has written. Her thriller Behind Closed Doors legitimately messed me up. But if that intensity isn't your thing, don't worry, this one isn't so... scary or horrifying but it was still SO good and such a page turner. The story centers around an everyday sort of family that is getting ready to celebrate their mom's birthday and go to the big party she has planned. As it approaches a lot of secrets come out. It is not the typical cheating secrets either- just throwing that out there. I wish I could sort of tell you each secret that the family knows, but they unfold so gradually and naturally you'll want to find out during the novel. Watching the family weather the many storms brought by these secrets was fascinating. Definitely recommend this one.

I received an electronic ARC through NetGalley.

I liked this story, but it did seem drawn out and repetitive. It is different from what B.A. Paris usually writes - more of a family drama than a suspenseful thriller.