Get ready for a fast paced, quick read. You can't help but to cheer on the MC while she navigates her confusing situation.

This book was great. Grabbed my attention from the beginning. I have only read one other book by this author and all I can say is, WOW. She really knows how to bring out the claustrophobic anxiety in me. I loved Amelie strength and courage throughout her ordeal but I was sorry she and Hunter went their separate ways. I think they could have made it work.

3.5 star rating
Another book by one of my favorite authors. After reading Behind Closed Doors, she has become an auto buy author for me. I will read anything she writes. Was so excited to get an advanced copy of this book. Another bingeable read. I needed to know what was going to happen. I had some theories, but was wrong like usual. I enjoyed this book and was invested in the story. There were two parts to the story and told in past and presents tenses. Did I find it 🤯?? No, but I did enjoy it nonetheless.

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Date Published: November 1, 2022

I was excited to get an advanced copy of The Prisoner. It did not disappoint. If you like B.A Paris you will like this book. From growing up middle class to poor, coming into unexpected money, and a new start. With lots of twists and turns throughout. Amelie is one tough brave young adult, not willing to stop fighting for the answers she needs.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC. Amelie's father passes away and she has no where to go. She decides to move to London and waitress until she can earn enough for law school. After that doesn't pan out, she is homeless when Carolyn meets her in a coffee shop and gives her a big break. She moves in with Carolyn as her housekeeper and cook. There she meets Lina and Justine who introduce her to the mega rich Ned Hawthorne. After he makes her a proposition, she can't refuse, she finds herself in the middle of a kidnapping nightmare. Man, BA Paris knows how to write a thriller! Read it! #ThePrisoner #BAParis #Nov2022 #StMartinsPress

This was a good read. There were maybe two proofreading errors and the rest was flawlessly written. It was a fast and enjoyable read.

Amelie has a bit of a sad story: Her mother died when she was younger, and now her father has just passed away and she has no where to go and no one to turn to. Now that she’s in London, she runs into some good fortune by finding a job, some good friends, and even a billionaire for a husband. So when Amelie wakes up in a completely blacked-out room, one that she can’t get out of, she learns that not everyone is who they seem, and that a trusting the wrong people can even be deadly. As with most of BA Paris’s books, I could not put this down. The suspense kept me reading this even when I probably should’ve been doing other things, but I loved it. At least until the ending. I wanted a bit more, which is why I couldn’t give a full 5-stars, but I still think it’s worth the read.

A dark locked room thriller with a naive unsuspecting protagonist. I wasn't grabbed by the characters and wasn't as interested in the story as I'd hoped.

The Prisoner is about Amelie, who has been kidnapped. She wakes up in a dark room with nothing but a mattress, small bathroom, and tray of food that is delivered daily. She doesn't know who has captured her, but she does know why--her husband, Ned. Amelie meets Ned after moving to London as a 17-year old with nowhere to go. He is a wealthy, high-powered businessman who propositions him to marry him early on in their unusual relationship. The story is told from alternating past and present perspectives, allowing the reader to unfold the reasoning behind Amelie's ca[tire. I really liked this book at first, and was intrigued by the kidnap/ransom plotline. However, about halfway through it just became too much. The explanations at the end were cumbersome and I found myself reading passages multiple times to make sure I understood. I also felt there were too many plot holes and unfinished side stories.

I enjoyed this book, however I feel like the ending was rushed and I would have liked more!

Ooh this was a page turner! This book is set up in a dual timeline of the past introducing characters and events and in the present where Amelie has been kidnapped and held prisoner in a dark room.

The suspense build up is excellent and the reveal of information as the chapters switch back and fourth keeps you glued to the book until you get to the very end.

I think the only thing I would add would be a chapter at the end in the future to see where things are at now.

This is an excellent thriller. It really keeps you guessing.

5 stars!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the E-ARC I’m exchange for an honest review.

"The Prisoner" by B.A. Paris

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an Arc of this book.

I was very excited to read this book based upon the description. I did begin reading the book with preconceived notions, and I must say that the book went in a completely different direction.

This book follows young Amelie Lamont who ends up homeless after the death of her father. Fate would have it that she meets a group of slightly older friends who introduce her to their world (and her future husband)– which ultimately led to her kidnapping.

The intensity of the book grabbed me in the beginning with Amelie describing what it was like being kidnapped and held. I think that the author was quite realistic in the fact that Amelie, just like any other person, did not have a hidden skill set that would effectively help her to escape her captors. You could follow her struggle quite clearly. There was only so much character development that could happen with Amelie. I think the most that she learned was not to trust people so easily. I do think (granted people have to make their own decisions), that her friends could have guided her a bit better, knowing how young and inexperienced she was.

The dual timeline allowed us to understand what led to her kidnapping. I think the whole marriage showcased how young Amelie was in terms of how the world works, perhaps that plot could have been fleshed out more. Also, before halfway through the book, I knew who at least one of her kidnappers was. I did not expect a part 2 in the book. It did give answers, but I do feel as if everything could have just been condensed into one part. I will say, it was great to see that all the storylines connect.
I do, however, think that the book ended the best way possible for a story of this caliber.

Overall, this book was a nice, on-the-go read for a psychological thriller.

Wow! Wow wow wow. B.A. Paris has done it again! I loved this book. From the very first page it sucks you in and doesn't let go until the last sentence. I even brought my kindle into the shower with me so I could keep reading, that's how much I couldn't put it down. I loved the characters, loved the suspense, the writing done so well you literally feel the claustrophobia of the "present day" chapters. 5 stars, eagerly awaiting whatever B.A. Paris has in the works next!

What's behind your eyes can be your worst prison.

B.A. Paris has always been a favorite. I'm a card-carrying fan from the beginning. But The Prisoner just didn't rise to the occasion for me. Let me explain:

Amelie Lamont is a young soul wrapped in responsibilities. She's been burdened with the care of her alcoholic father who is dying of cancer. Her mother passed away when Amelie was a child. After her father's death, Amelie leaves Paris for London. At sixteen, she doesn't have many options. It is her hope to earn enough money to continue her education.

Hope comes in the form of Carolyn Blakely who finds Amelie in her now homeless stage. Carolyn invites Amelie to be her housekeeper after Carolyn's husband left her. Coincidences will line this novel like wallpaper. Amelie will soon become friends with Carolyn's friends who are in their 30's and work at the exclusive magazine, Exclusives.

Amelie will meet the magazine's owner, Ned Hawthorpe, who will offer her a job there. Ned will eventually offer Amelie a marriage proposal that Amelie can't turn down. You get the picture.

But then, both Ned and Amelie are kidnapped and held in separate dark rooms with only a mattress on the floor. The kidnappers' plan is for Ned's billionaire father, Jethro, to pay a high stakes ransom. Hours and hours and days and days pass by without a ransom. Paris will give us a rundown on every splitter and every dust bunny creeping in Amelie's room.

Finally, Amelie is released, but she is forced into secrecy of what happened. When dead bodies start turning up in the peripheral, Amelie still doesn't have a profound sense of danger. Our gal is determined to kick some butt. And so it goes.

But what really did The Prisoner in for me was the concluding chapters in which we have a long and tedious explanation and a bundle of clarifications of what went down and why. Every incident was re-visited and retold. Too much of being too much.

Let me just say that you may have a completely different take on this one. The Prisoner stands with some very high Stars in the ratings. So I encourage you to take it out for a spin. It may handle the road far better than it did for me.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to St. Martin's Press and to B.A. Paris for the opportunity.

Amelie has no family left. After the death of her father, she moves to London. Down on her luck after losing her job, a chance encounter with Carolyn changes her life. She moves in with Carolyn as a live in housekeeper and builds a new “family” for herself with Carolyn, Lina, and Justine. After some time passes, Carolyn’s partner is moving in and Amelie feels it’s best for her to find her own place. While attending a fundraising party, Amelie meets billionaire Ned Hawthorpe who offers her a job. When he asks her to accompany him to Las Vegas, she accepts. Ned, knowing she is working to save money to go to law school, offers her a marriage of convenience that will give her enough money to earn her degree. Amelie accepts, not knowing how much her life will change.

What follows is how the book gets its name. As I was reading, I related so many instances that one could be a prisoner of another person. You can be a prisoner of greed. A prisoner of love. A prisoner of manipulation. A prisoner of control. A prisoner of destitution. A prisoner of a sadistic person. Amelie is a strong female character who doesn’t give up on herself (though sometimes tempted) based on her circumstances. This book is exactly what you would expect from B.A. Paris.

This book is written in two parts. The first part sets up what happens to Amelie when Ned becomes a part of her life and what unforeseen happenings occur. You ask yourself how much can one person take as you are reading it. The second part, while shorter is exactly what it is entitled: The Reckoning. Amelie’s quest to take control of her life back, even when at the direction of others. Amelie’s quest for answers to all the pieces of the puzzle presented in the book. Highly recommend to readers when published in November 2022. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#netgalley #arc #baparis #theprisoner #stmartinspress

I was nervous about how I would like Paris' newest, as the last few by this author have been a flop for me. This one still wasn't as good as Behind Closed Doors, but I still really enjoyed it! I flew through part one and found it to be very suspenseful. The conclusion of the book dragged a little for me, but overall I would recommend this book to others.

Amelie doesn't know how she ended up in this pitch-dark, boarded-up room. She doesn't know her silent captors or why they took her from her glamorous home. For all she knows, time could be running out, but Amelie isn't all that eager to escape. In fact, what her captors don't know is that she's feeling much safer as a prisoner than she was in her marriage.

And as far as a synopsis goes, that's all I'm able to spill without spoiling the unpredictable and wild ride that "The Prisoner" becomes. Somehow my first B.A. Paris novel, it sets the bar high in so many ways for a domestic suspense/thriller.

Told in alternating perspectives from the present of Amelie's kidnapping to her past as a young woman alone in the world, the story is fresh, plausible, and one of the faster-paced ones I've read in a long time. Trust me when I say that this isn't going where you think it is, "The Prisoner" is chock-full of heart-pounding twists in both the past and present perspectives.

My recommendation is to go into this as blind as possible, it was a much-needed breathe of fresh air with its elaborate (but utterly perfected) plot and whiplash twists. Definitely not one to miss!

This was a really unique take on the psychological thriller drama, how often do you have a kidnap victim that would rather be kidnapped than return to her husband! I really enjoyed the alternating timelines, and slowly finding out why Amelie hated her husband. Wish the ending was a tough more resolved but still enjoyed it!

I really wanted to like this. I loved Behind Closed Doors. For me the character development just wasn’t there.

I really wanted to like this. BA Paris’s first novel impressed me so much that I’ve been a loyal reader of all her books (thank you for the ARC!). But none of the subsequent books she’s written have done it for me. This one especially. The plot seemed too simple and vague. Character development lacked. Motivation was distilled. I could see the threads of it, the seeds planted, but nothing grew from them to be a believable plant of a story. I will keep reading Paris’s work, but this one was a bore.

Really enjoyed this story. Have read several from the author. This story didn't disappoint. Held my interest and kept me guessing. Definitely recommend. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.