I quite enjoyed this book although it is nothing like her three others. It is not a suspense thriller, more women's fiction, yet with its own kind of suspense. It turns out B. A. Paris is good at that too. The dilemma appears to be "when is the right time to tell my spouse what I know about our daughter?" The suspense will keep you on the edge of your seat. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

There are some intriguing aspects as you try to figure out what secrets the couple is hiding. However, the characters are also quite frustrating. The wife's obsession with her 40th birthday party to the point where you even made housing choices many years earlier based on it is absurd and actually doesn't seem to fit with the rest of her personality. The husband's situation is a little hard to bear as well. At some point the secrets just get depressing. Kind of a mixed bag overall.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martins press and the Author B. A. Paris for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Having read two novels already by B.A. Paris, I am already a fan and love her works.
The Dilemma was no different I actually loved it and read it in one day. A real page turner and the book lived up yo the title for sure!

B.A. Paris does it again! A family thriller that will have you guessing until the very end. A unique premise too!

The way to tell how much talent an author has is to read something from a different genre than what they are known for and see if the writing is just as good. Well, B.A. Paris nailed that test!! As many reviews have noted, this is a genre switch from Paris's usual fast-paced thriller - I would classify this has more of a family drama (and boy was there drama!!). The Dilemma is just as captivating and entertaining as her thrillers - she continues her great writing and storytelling in a new genre. I would recommend going in blind to this one (I wish I had!) to make the story even more dramatic!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

O.M.G. I was not expecting this to be the tear-jerker that it was!! Seriously, one of the saddest books I have ever read but loved every second of this story. B.A. Paris is turning out to be quite a multifaceted writer.

Thank you Netgalley for this amazing book. I give this review voluntarily.

Dive down deep into marriage...

Shortest summary ever: Livia has waited 20 years for her 40th birthday party - sort of the wedding she never had since she married so young. But on the cusp of the party, she’s keeping a secret. Her husband is keeping a secret. Secrets are going to collide...

Thoughts: This book has stayed with me since I finished it - in fact I’d label it more psychological than mystery because it delves into a marriage and how secrets are handled - massive secrets, the whys, whats, and hows, and begs the reader to ask “what would I do?” And I think that’s the most interesting part, because the truth is - we don’t know. No spoilers here - but it’s one of those books you’ll either scream “no one would do that!” Or you’ll pause and think “what would I do?” 🤔 and truly pause to consider the characters and their motivations, Paris does a phenomenal job there - peeking in at motivation, how love makes us protective and how we make decisions.

All my reviews available at scrappymags.com

Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Mystery/psychological thriller

Recommend to: Those looking for a “what would I do” experience.

Not recommended to: those looking for a “who-done-it”

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press and B. A. Paris for an advanced copy. Happy to provide my honest review. Note my parents - married 56 years were very happy to answer some “what would you do” questions regarding this book! 😲😲😲

I have some complicated feelings about this book. While it was well-written and the overall plot arc was interesting to me, I just hated the main characters SO MUCH. I did end up getting emotional at the end but it certainly wasn't because of the characters personally so much as the situation happening to anyone. Livia was selfish and shallow, Adam's relationship with his son was infuriating to me, and Marnie.... Well. It was pretty hard for me to feel bad about her at all. I get that complicated characters are popular now but in a book like this it would be nice to have someone to root for.

Fantastic book! Livia and her husband Adam both have lifechanging news they are keeping from each other until Livia's 40th birthday bash is over. Kept me reading into all hours of the night. Definitely different from any other books I've read lately--that's what makes it so special.

Another great novel from BA Paris ! This is the 3rd book I have read so far and it is definitely one of my favorites !
There were times when I was holding my breath, gripping the book intensely and it was hard to put it down. The dilemma is an emotional family drama. It grips you from the first sentence and keeps hold till the last.
The plot is very well thought and interesting to read from the different characters. I loved it and will recommend it to my students for sure !
Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for letting me write my first review !

I love B.A. Paris’s writing, and The Dilemma, her fourth book, is no exception. But this one FELT different. One of the most interesting things about sticking with an author and faithfully reading every book they write, is the journey and change you see in their writing book after book.
Like I said above, I love B.A. Paris. She is for sure one of the best writers in the Thriller/Psychological Suspense Genre today. But The Dilemma, it felt richer. It felt multi-dimensional. It felt wiser.
We meet Adam and Livia on the day of her 4oth birthday party. She has been planning to throw herself a birthday party for years and has diligently squirrelled away money for years to throw the party of a lifetime. She gave up a lot as a young mother, and as she reaches 40, she is ready to finally live.
But as we follow the couple through their day, we realized that while they both have separate concerns, they are both on a crash collision course with events that will forever change everything about their lives. And both in their own ways are completely oblivious.
I normally don’t love books that take place over one day, but Paris so intricately explores each character and the events leading up to the that day that I didn’t feel I was really just getting that one-day snapshot. The Dilemma is a compelling page-turner that will leave you thinking long after you’ve finished the book.
Special thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one is out June 30, 2020. This review will appear on my blog, Women in Trouble Book Blog on May 30, 2020.

Very quick and fast paced read, but not as interesting as I would have hoped. I liked the unique writing in the book, how it was paced within a day, but I felt that the storyline wasn't interesting enough for me to really enjoy it. The main characters were hard to like, frustrating and annoying with their selfishness. I would have liked to have the grief explored more in the end, instead of mostly in an epilogue. Overall, it was a bit boring and difficult to understand why Liv was so obsessed with this party.

This was interesting book - a family drama that was really a character study on one married couple. Adam's secret felt a bit forced for the plot, but I appreciate that they tackled the fallout of him doing so. As much as we got to know Adam and Livia, I wish we'd had more insight into Marnie and especially Josh. Overall though, I would say I enjoyed this book and the way it made me think about marriage and family.

Thank you St Martins Press and Netgalley for the free advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I think it’s important to note that this book shouldn’t be considered a thriller. Sure it’s got some secrets and a plot twist or two, but if you go in expecting something dark like her book Behind Closed Doors, I think you’ll be deeply disappointed. Luckily for me, I didn’t have many expectations going in, I just knew I wanted to read her newest book.

It definitely felt like more of a family drama or dilemma as it’s so appropriately named. It’s a fun story that kept me engaged and even really surprised me a few times. I enjoyed it and will continue to add future B.A. Paris books to my TBR.

I didn't love this book. It was really slow and not really what I was expecting. I wouldn't call it a thriller as much of a drama, and I felt that it got too repetitive and was too long for the reveals we got. I think if I had known what it was rather than thinking it was a B.A Paris thriller I would've come in with a better mindset, but I felt like it dragged on and some of it unrealistic for what the resolve ended up being.

Thanks to NetGalley, publisher and author, for letting me review a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. I always look forward to this author's books. I loved her first book, Behind closed doors. It will always me one of my favorite books ever. This one, I'm so sad to say, I did not like that much. I didn't feel the grip I had with her previous books. In my opinion, the main character was Livia's party. I felt that Livia did not care as much about her family as she did about her 40th party or her friends. I'm older than 40. I can't imagine caring more about a party or friends than about my family. The husband's character felt so weak and indecisive. Their son's character felt distant and like a stranger. So sad, I wanted to like it but I didn't. I still look forward to this author's next book.

Another great book by B.A. Paris with a similar deeply disturbing undertone throughout the book. This will be a book that keeps you up at night, because you want to finish it

I have read three of this author’s four novels and this is by far the weakest. It is not a thriller. It is the story of a family and how they handle tragic news (or not handle it is more like it). Their behavior was absurd and I could not understand any of it. The characters were weak and selfish and totally unaware or in denial of the consequences of their actions. Normal people in these circumstances would never act this way. I’m finding it harder and harder to read books with characters like these. I actually thought the book might have a twist at the end and redeem itself! Nope!

There was a lot of filler and repetition because there really wasn’t much to the story. Despite the length the characters are poorly drawn and appear totally shallow and unidimensional. The story is told from two points of view, husband and wife, and this seems to be becoming very common. I think it is a poor way of telling a story in most cases. It makes it easy for the author to avoid writing a complex and nuanced story that requires a strong plot and character development. I’m finding this very disheartening.
I liked this author’s work until this book. Next time I’ll wait for the book to come out and see if my time is worth reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review

This is just not a good book concept. It’s not a thriller, but a weak family drama. Completely dragged out storyline - if all of the repetition was cut out, it would be half the length it is, if that. Completely different than her other novels.

The Dilemma has the same great writing style I’ve come to know from B.A. Paris. The descriptions, dialogue and character development are so well done. The storyline remains suspenseful and you can feel all the emotions of the characters. This was such a complex story, perhaps a few too many interconnected pieces to the puzzle for it to be 100% believable. Also while it had my attention the whole time and was tough to put down, I would not classify it as a thriller and wonder if Paris is venturing out into new genres. Overall a very satisfying read.