The Dilemma by author B.A. Paris is yet another thrilling novel by the famously popular author Paris! This one did not disappoint! I cannot recommend this book (or author) enough!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Livia and Adam are the couple that everyone likes to be around. They are devoted to each other after 20 years of marriage, have 2 grown children, and are surrounded by close friends. But what happens when lines are crossed and relationships coming to light threaten their perfect circle?
Livia has dreamed about a special party where she is the central character for as long as she can remember. Since she couldn't have that with her wedding, she decided it would be her 40th birthday, so she prepared for nearly 20 years. The day has finally come, and Adam is thrilled to see her so radiant and excited. He knows he can amp it up even more with a surprise he and his daughter Marnie have concocted. Adam loves Livia so much that he will do anything to keep her happy for as long as he can.
Livia is relieved that Marnie is out of the country and unable to come to the party, because Livia has stumbled upon a secret that threatens to blow apart their world. Perhaps she might seem a bit selfish, but she loves Adam so much that she decides to withhold the secret for just a little bit longer. She really wants to preserve his relationship with his friend, after all.
When The Big Day finally arrives, an unexpected event exposes secrets this family has hidden. Will they survive the fallout or not? Either way, they learn a devastating lesson.
Paris writes another gripping tale, reminding us that relationships can never be taken for granted. What will you do to save yours?

I liked this novel a lot. It takes place over a short period of time and goes back and forth between the two main characters. It is beautiful in its relative simplicity. As the tension builds you can really feel it.

Wow! What an emotional roller coaster ride of a book. It is the story of good intentions that backfire in a horrible way and how good can come out bad. Bravo!

Thank you, NetGalley for this interesting story! How far would you go to give the person you love a few extra hours of happiness before you destroy their life? Livia's 40th birthday is going to be quite the bash, she has been planning it for years, and It's coming together brilliantly. The only person missing at the party is daughter Marnie who is studying abroad, but secretly Livia is glad Marnie can't make it because she has learned some very disturbing news about her daughter that she doesn't want to share with husband Adam yet. meantime, Adam has his own secret - he's arranged for Marnie to surprise her mother at the party. Then he hears some very disturbing news about a plane crash that could bring this whole event to a sudden halt. Well told and I kept reading late into the night to get to the finale.

2 stars, down from 3 when first reviewed.

I've previously enjoyed all of BA Paris' books that focused more on domestic issues but I can not recommend this book. The storyline is utterly ridiculous. A grown woman obsessing with a birthday party that much is hard to swallow. But then you add the fact that 80% of the book is the characters deliberating between talking vs. not talking to their significant other and you have a book that struggles to say anything. I skimmed through 20% of the book because it was just the characters thinking to themselves and making up scenarios in their mind. No actual action or dialogue until the last 10% of the book! Found all of the characters boring without enough real background information that makes you care about them. You learn about their life "before" but it all seemed so unrelated to who they were now. I was just waiting for anything to happen for majority of the book. And then when it did, it was wholly underwhelming. What a bummer. Was looking forward to another BA Paris book! Maybe the next one will be better.

B. A. Paris has done it again!! I was engrossed from the beginning of the book and found myself - cheering on the characters, offering advice (sometimes in a very emotional out loud voice) and sharing their emotional roller coaster of emotions.

What I loved about the book is the simplicity of the story is deceiving because of the way the author approaches the topics and the characters. When each character was speaking - I was either on their side or not but there was no way you could be in the middle.

This is a book that you want to read in one sitting because the suspense is palpable but there is a richness of detail that will make you slow down and ensure you are experience all the emotions fully!

I'm thankful to the publisher and to Netgalley for an ARC of The Dilemma by B. A. Paris! I've been a fan of Paris's since her first book a couple years ago, and her latest does not disappoint! Anyone who loves thrillers will adore this book, and i plan to recommend it often.

I received this book "The Dilemma" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. This book was okay. I didn't really care for the characters at all. The storyline was kind of boring because of Adam I think. Should I tell her? I don't want to ruin her big party. Then she gets mad at him. Not really suspenseful but more of a drama.

All Livia has ever wanted was the wedding she never had so her 40th birthday party is the event she's been planning for almost 20 years now. As the day finally arrives, she has a secret from her husband Adam that she knows will change everything for them and their close friendships. She plans to tell him after the party and knows how upset he will be that she's waited so long to tell him. However, now that the day is here, Adam has a secret of his own. He wants Livia to have the amazing day she's always dreamed of but the longer the day drags on the harder it is for him to hold himself together for Livia. Told from the 2 view of Livia and Adam, this one caught me from page 1 and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. This one will not disappoint.

I am sad to report, this is the first book by this author that I didn't love as much as the others. Livia is celebrating her 40th in a lavish way to make up for a party she never had 20 some years ago. The only person not going to be in attendance is her 19 year old daughter. And Livia is secretly happy for that because she is keeping a huge secret.

Only, her husband Adam is also holding back a horrible secret too. Will the party end in madness?

I must admit, I stayed up until 2am reading this because I was interested to see what the secrets were and what would happen. However, that's kind of where the pros end. I felt like the book was repeating sooo much just to add a word count or something. It got boring and I thought every character was just plain stupid. The ending had me feeling a mix array of emotions. Karma, sadness, anger. I don't like how a certain person got away with things and the book was basically about a husband and wife who suck at communicating.

This book fell flat for me because it isn’t your typical B.A. Paris book with twists and turns you don’t see coming. I actually spent most of the book waiting for a plot twist that never came so I was left really underwhelmed and disappointed at the end of it. Instead of the typical psychological thriller this book can only be described as a portrait of a semi-dysfunctional marriage dealing with tragedy. And really, if the 2 main characters had just communicated this book would have been over in 3 chapters.

I’ve recommended Paris’ books to other readers but I won’t be recommending this one.

Wow! B. A. Paris just keeps getting better and better. 'The Dilemma' is easily my favorite book from her and one of the best you are likely in read in 2020. It is an emotional tour de force. A riveting read with flesh-and-blood characters the reader can identify with. Paris skillfully alternates the narrative between the couple at the heart of her story. Their decisions are akin to runaway trains heading towards each other with a collision inevitable. Can they cope with the damage they cause each one another? That's the question. This is a book you can't put down once you start. Many thanks to Marissa Sangiacomo of St. Martin's Press for the digital ARC of this truly wonderful book. #TheDilemma #NetGalley

4 stars
For years Livie saved up to give herself a 40th birthday. Everyone she knows, including herself, has a secret which causes their lives to become destructive. A sad story that kept me riveted, as BA Paris’s books always do.

The was one of the fastest yet slowest progression reads ever! I was reading and turning pages quickly to get to the "main event' but was amazed at the amount of twist and turns the story took while still technically staying on a direct path to the "main event". Even then, it kept twisting...loved it!

Whoa.... When tragedy strikes (or does it?) right before a woman's special 40th birthday bash, her husband, Adam, struggles with keeping it together and with the decision to tell his wife about the situation... or not. Livia, the aforementioned woman, has learned some information about her daughter Marnie, and Livia's"dilemma" is keeping the information to herself and trying to keep the world from falling down because of that information. Really, there are several dilemmas all rolled into one in this novel, and I still somehow wasn't really prepared for the emotional ending. I liked this, book, absolutely.... but I'm not sure i would call this mystery or thriller, which is kind of what I was expecting; definitely more fiction/woman's fiction. Well written and emotional.

Ranting ahead. This was... not good.

First of all, it's not a thriller. It's a family drama.

Secondly, it's a short story. It never should have been made into a novel. Half of it is pure repetition, disguised as suspense-building.

Thirdly, I didn't like it.

B.A. Paris' other novels have been fantastic, with the exception of Bring Me Back, which I loathed. Her best was her debut, Behind Closed Doors, which was grotesque, creepy and utterly absorbing.

What's strange is that the central premise behind The Dilemma could have been interesting. What if you had a secret that could change your entire family? Would you want to wait to tell them? Or would you throw the bomb and let it explode?

Adam and Livia both have secrets. It's the day of Livia's long awaited 40th birthday party, and they're both intent on having the perfect day. You see, Livia didn't ever get to have her extra-special wedding day (gag), so this party is a stand-in, complete with her wearing a white dress and carrying around a bouquet. I can't even, you guys. The notion that a grown woman would care this much about a birthday party is ridiculous, as is the amount of money and time they've spent on it. Not to mention, we get glimpses of this extravagant party throughout the novel, and it's not even impressive? There's some basic food, a big tent, and a crappy DJ. GAH.

But Adam is determined his wifey is going to have a night to remember. He's even arranged a surprise - for their daughter Marnie to travel from China (where she's taking a gap year) and get all wrapped up in a box for her mother to open. Little does he know that Livia would rather eat glass than see her daughter. Because Livia has a secret too, and it's to do with Marnie.

So we have a maddening set-up right from the get-go - no one talking, lots of inner hand-wringing and turmoil, and tons of Livia being oddly invested in a birthday party. Again, A BIRTHDAY PARTY. That is some next level regression, folks. She's so invested that when Adam finds out shattering news, he doesn't tell her because...

Because...

I HONESTLY DON'T KNOW WHY.

The fact that he doesn't tell her this particular news is just... it's beyond belief. It's beyond imagining. It doesn't make any sense.

In the meantime, Livia is agonizing over her big secret, which isn't even that huge of a deal... yes, it's tough and it's not going to be pretty when everything falls apart, but for her to even contemplate never speaking to Marnie again because of it? Whoa nelly, your priorities are skewed, girl. I have a suggestion for Livia: get your head out of the party-planning clouds for one single minute and pay some attention your daughter who is obviously struggling. MY CHRIST.

The audacity it takes to judge anyone's life choices when you've made this big of a hairy deal over your 40th birthday...

*piercing exhalation*

The ending is also completely superficial. It might as well have a bow on it. It's like a year later, and they're all fine. I didn't buy it. I didn't buy a single word. Again, as a short story, this might have worked. It might have worked if the central event that Adam was trying not to spoil had been bigger - like, what if it had been Josh's wedding day? But the very idea that he would be so psychotic as to not ruin his wife's little party is just beyond the pale. How could he even function, knowing what had happened?

How could he not have made the call?

I just couldn't, with any of it.

The only thing left to say is... poor Marnie. You were the only person I wouldn't have minded hanging out with. And you deserved better than a slut-shaming mother and a father who would rather his wife's birthday party go ahead than face the truth.

The End.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Of course I would read about the crash as the flight attendants were giving safety instructions as my flight to Balmaceda was taxiing... But hey, this was gripping enough to get me through a flight and the subsequent bus ride, so.
This was so much dramatic tension, with one character knowing information another didn't. Paris has pivoted from the traditional eerie psychological thriller which is good as I think we're all a bit thrillered out. I was impressed by how she handled the emotions here. While at times I did struggle to really connect with the characters, I teared up multiple times and she handled all the conflicting feelings and guilt around extremely well. The cast of characters wasn't entirely drawn, but they all had clear motives and problems that made them a fascinating one to deal with. Another really solid book! Glad to see the genre pivot and curious for the future.

I've read every B.A. Paris book so far, and this one is my favorite! I was completely immersed in the book from page one and I didn't stop until I finished. It was a great way to spend the last day of my winter break before heading back to work.

The best book of 2020 so far. Loved the suspense but also the family drama. Great book.

Thanks to author,publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free,it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.