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# I really enjoyed B.A. Paris’s other books, so I was super excited when I was able to get this book as an ARC! Probably one of my top 5 most anticipated books for the year

# The plot and characters kept me engaged and flipping through the book so quickly because it was so captivating and interesting, however the ending kind of came together too cleanly and abruptly for my liking. The book could’ve devoted more time to playing out the ending instead of how quickly it all came together

# If you enjoy thrillers and B.A. Paris’s other books, you’ll definitely enjoy this one!

Kidnapped. Held prisoner. Why? Who’s behind this?
Join Amelie as she tries to get answers, and get out!

After finishing it a few days ago, I now can't remember it that well, especially how it ended. That's not a good sign... I did enjoy it; it just wasn't that memorable.

Amelie is a young woman that I would think is very inexperienced, however, apparently she has some street smarts. She's had a rough life and was basically left to fend for herself after her dad dies. Later, after she strikes up a friendship with Carolyn, she is offered a job as her live in maid. However, once she meets the rich businessman Ned Hawthorpe, her life goes off the rails and she is in for a rude awakening. That part of the story is told from the past...

In the present, someone has kidnapped Amelie and Ned and is holding them prisoner. Who has taken them and what do they want? This was a quick read, but also a slow burn as we hear Amelie's story. In Part 2, everything is revealed in an almost WTF fashion. Wow! A lot of little twists (that apparently I couldn't keep track of).

I wish I could have heard more about some of these other characters - Carolyn and Ned in particular. Overall, I enjoyed the book.

Thank you to NetGalley for this early copy of The Prisoner on audiobook. I’m a pretty big fan of B. A. Paris, but this one was a little too predictable and slow for me. The buildup took too long, but the main plot line was decent.

I really enjoyed this book. It was fast paced and a very captivating read . The plot was very unique and had me on flipping the pages to find out what was going to happen.
Expected publication is November 1, 2022




Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital arc.

The Prisoner starts off really well; things haven’t gone well for Amelie in her short life and now, once she has a small semblance of normal life, she’s been kidnapped and held in a pitch black room.

The beginning is great, grabs you instantly, but then I just found the plot to get increasingly far-fetched. In alternating timelines, we see what lead up to Amelie being kidnapped and the short chapters definitely speed up the pacing. There is a point, maybe by the middle of the book, it felt like a good place to wrap everything up, but then I realized that there was still about half the book left and that is the weaker part of the book - just a lot of extra stuff thrown in. While I enjoyed it enough to finish, and did feel sympathy for Amelie’s situation, once the truth behind it comes to light; the whole thing just felt like a soap opera plot to me.

I am grateful for the chance to read this novel, and have loved other books by this author. That being said, this one fell a bit flat for me in the second half.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the advance copy to read and review.

Oh my goodness! I’ve been struck dumb. What just happened? I felt like a big piece of this is missing. Anybody??
It had a strong start and it moved along at a good pace. The mystery of the beginning kept me reading and then listening. It was like a boat with strong sails taking me out into the middle of the ocean and then died because the sea at no wind at all. And just when the promise of wind was coming the boat sank. Is there going to be a book 2?
Anyway, I was left to to many questions and am only giving this a 2.5⭐️. I will say that the narrator was excellent but the book was not.
Thanks St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio via NetGalley.

Expected Publication Date: November 1, 2022.

Following Amelie in this dual timeline, two part novel as she tried to figure out who kidnapped her, why she was kidnapped, how she can get out and where her husband is.
B.A. Paris is one of my favourite authors! I have loved almost every single book she has wrote.
However, The Prisoner was my least favourite.. The writing is very quick but the story line in parts felt very slow and repetitive. I do love the dual time line that comes together for part two.
The were some characters that were lacking in development. Main characters that should have had more backstory.
The story came to an end mostly wrapped up with questions answered.
I did predicted the ending, it was okay, a little off and far fetched.

Thank You to St.Martin’s Press via NetGalley for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 ✨
Author: B.A. Paris
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 / 5

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲:
Amelie Lamont is a survivor. She survives on her own after the loss of her parents, survives on her own in London, and soon will survive much more. Broken into two parts, part 1 is told from both past and present tense and details how Amelie got where she is. Part 2 is how Amelie moves on and why things happened.

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
Paris’ Behind Closed Doors is one of my favorites and I was hoping for another from her of that caliber. Sadly, this wasn’t it. The first part wasn’t bad and had me hooked, but it really fell apart in part 2. There felt like multiple explanations as to why the kidnapping happened and it all just seemed so unbelievable. I honestly felt like this was trying to be a little bit of every type of mystery/thriller.

Do I still love B.A. Paris? Yes. Will I read whatever she writes next? Yes.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the eARC!

What a RIDE! B.A Paris is brilliant at luring you into her books early on. I loved the premise and the pace of this book. I have loved all of her books and this might be my new fave of hers! 5 STARS from me! I loved!

Wow, wow, wow! I loved this book. It was just creepy enough to keep your thriller interest but it also had that sensitive human touch. You were pulling for Amelie after her father died and she was all alone and to meet such a wonderful friend in Carolyn. Who knew that Ned, the creepy boss could be so cruel. This is the type of book that pulls you into turning the pages to see what happens next but sometimes you really are a little spooked to see what happens next. It is explosive, creepy, thrilling and intriguing. I especially liked the ending even though I did not want it to end. Would highly recommend.
Thanks to #netgalley, #stmartinspress and @baparisauthor for an arc of the great read.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an advanced readers copy of this book for my honest review.

This thriller from B.A. Paris is fast paced and addicting. It has lots of twists you don't see coming (and maybe a couple that are obvious). You will root for Amelie while you deliciously loathe Jed. The need for sleep is the only reason I put this book down.

Highly recommend this enjoyable thriller!

The Prisoner by B.A. Paris gave me mixed feelings and I’m still not quite sure how I feel about it. This author has written 2 of my favorite thrillers, The Breakdown and Behind Closed Doors, and just love her books but this one…ah hard to say.

What I did like about it: I wanted to know what the heck was going on so I read it quickly. I love books that keep my attention and keep me up at night. I also liked the alternating past and present layout of the book. The story line was also unique and haven’t read anything like it.

What I didn’t like: It felt too unbelievable. Too many people died. And the ending was too much “telling” versus showing. I just didn’t feel right.

Regardless, I look forward to the next B.A. Paris book and continue to be a fan.

3.5 stars (rounded up for rating purposes). I really liked most of the book. It's a fun read. Lots of twists and psychological terror. Amelie is a great character - she finds reserves of strength and she is feisty. And even most of the second half was good. But the ending. That's the cause for my 3.5 rather than 4 (or more) stars.

"Amelie has always been a survivor, from losing her parents as a child in Paris to making it on her own in London. As she builds a life for herself, she is swept up into a glamorous lifestyle where she married the handsome billionaire Jed Hawthorne.

But then, Amelie wakes up in a pitch-black room, not knowing where she is. Why has she been taken? Who are her mysterious captors? And why does she soon feel safer here, imprisoned, than she had begun to feel with her husband Jed?"

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

As a huge fan of Behind Closed Doors and The Therapist, this was one of my most anticipated books of the year. The character development in this book compared to her other was lacking, which left me feeling detached and uninterested in how it would end vs. flipping the pages as fast as I could like I usually do with her books. It was interesting, but overall disappointing.

All I can say is...wow! This book hooks you in right away as you are drawn immediately into Amelie's story. LOVED the first part of the book. I was on the edge of my seat wondering how she was going to get free.
I've seen other reviewers dislike the ending - the fact that it's basically two people talking about what happened and why (and yes, I figured out pretty early who would be talking!). I agree with them, kind of, but it was sort of necessary in this particular book to go over all the details, since the reader was not privy to many of them. The explanation was a little convoluted, but everything did make sense in the end.
Another hit for B.A. Paris!

BA Paris is one of my favorite authors and I would definitely recommend this book. The first third was a slow burn, but then it really kicked up and I couldn't put it down. I would never have expected the twists that came and that is the best way to keep my interest in a thriller.

This is my first B.A. Paris novel. I’ve been looking forward to reading one of her novels for a while and when I got approved on net galley, you can bet I was excited. Since this is my first novel, I didn’t know what to expect, especially with her writing but I liked it. This was suspenseful and kept me up way past my bedtime.

The novel is split into 2 parts with dual timelines in the first part. I got through this pretty fast considering I had midterms and assignments but the first half was exceptional. I was hooked and I couldn’t stop reading. I was so worried for Amelie and her situation. I kept wondering who her kidnappers were and why this was happening. I think Paris did a fantastic job of creating that scary and nail-biting environment in the novel.

As the story progressed, things started making a lot of sense. One minute I thought I knew something and the next minute I felt lost because the predictions I made didn’t make sense until the very end. The ending could’ve been better. I think the explanation could’ve been a lot more dramatic but ultimately I was happy with the ending because I was right about everything (love that!) I also liked how the ending was not concrete because we don’t know what’s going to happen with Amelie but we know she’ll be okay.

I will be checking out more of her books. I think this is one of those novels that are going to have mixed reviews. Mainly because the first half was really good but the second half kind of did not have the same standard. Either way, I enjoyed it a lot and hope to read more of her books.

The short chapters and alternating POV between past and present make this move quickly and keep you turning the pages. I am a sucker for flashbacks to tell a story and keep you guessing and this was done so well. My very favorite thing about this book was Amelie. She is damn strong even in the worst of circumstances. I didn’t love the “tell all” renewal style at the end, I prefer putting the story together in pieces, but that’s just personal preference.