Oh boy- I’m so sad to say this wasn’t my cup of tea. This was fine until about the 50% mark, when it then became ridiculous with twists and turns :/

Wow! This book was a page turner! Full of suspense and will keep you on the edge of your seat. We got to hear about Amelie’s back story and how she came to be such a strong heroine, but we don’t know much about Ned. Why is he such a jerk? We get a little bit of information about his troubled past but I would have liked to known more about him and his family. I had so many questions towards the ends and I was glad how the full story unfolded.

Thank you NetGalley, B.A. Paris and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me access to this book for my honest review.

All I can say is "Wow". What a rollercoaster of a book, the twists and turns just kept coming. I've been a fan of B.A. Paris for a long time and this book definitely didn't disappoint.
How the kidnapping played out was definitely a wild ride. I also liked how the book went back and forth from past to present, it added to the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy I loved it.

I give this one 5 stars. But maybe I’m just partial because I LOVE BA Paris books. This one kept me on the edge of my seat with all of it’s twists and turns. As far as character development, I feel like I really got to know the main character Amelie. But for the other characters, there isn’t much development there. I wouldn’t say I really know anything about them other than what country they are from. I loved that this one kicked off with the action of Amelie being kidnapped in the very beginning of the book. After the kidnapping, the sorry goes back and forth from past to present to show the reader what lead up to Amelie being kidnapped. I think the story could have moved a long at a quicker pace. Roughly the last 25% of the book is an explanation of what happened to clear everything up. It felt a little Scooby-Dooish in the way it presented a mystery and then a detailed explanation at the end. Overall I enjoyed this book and definitely would recommend it as a quick read.

It’s always been hit or miss with B.A. Paris’s books. This one for me was a hit. I loved it and the emotional rollercoaster it put me through. The ending I was like eh but this was an exciting, tense, read. It definitely had me on the edge of my seat as I stayed up late to finish it

After her father’s death, Amelie tries to start over in France. There she makes a few friends who get her set up including the handsome and wealthy Ned Hawthorne. After a shotgun wedding, broken promise, a murder or two and a car ride later, Amelie wakes up in total darkness. Her world begins to crumble around her as she realizes that she has been kidnapped. Who has done this to her and why?

The Prisoner is available November 1, 2022

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I was so happy to get approval for this ARC. THe Prisoner loved up to all of my expectations. I enjoyed the fast paced, both parts 1 and 2 of the book, as well as the characters. This book kept me on the edge of my seat, I loved the fast and the suspense. Many thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for access to this book prior to publication. This book is guaranteed to be a huge hit,

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this early read!

Amelie loses her only parent left, her father at a young age. She has no other family and so she leaves. She spends quite some time struggling to keep a job and find somewhere to live, then she is offered a position she can't turn down by Carolyn. After working for her for a while, she makes a transition to work for a magazine company ran by a very wealthy man. She ends up marrying the owner for the wrong reasons and then she finds out he is a very bad man. Then they both get kidnapped...

This book is set up in two parts. The kidnapping and the reckoning. We get to see everything that happened up to the kidnapping and through it. Then we see what happens after the kidnapping.

I like how we got to see both parts. This book was okay. I just felt like I was gliding through the book. Nothing very suspenseful or thrillerish.

Read this if you like porridge, you know what it's like to be alone, and are looking for a lover--so you can see what not to look for lol

quick , who done it. Predictable, but sometimes having that superior " i know what is going to happen " is OK . My best part of Paris's novels is they are like eating candy out of a box...they aren't good for you , you know you should stop, but by the end you look down, they are gone and its way past your bed time.

This was a like not a love for me. It was a little slow going and the ending was a bit lackluster. I felt like the Carolyn story just ended. Hit and run and no further details.
That said, I liked the short chapters (like most of B A Paris’ books). It wasn’t difficult I keep track of if we were past or present. I liked the theme of prisoner as it went on. She was a prisoner to her kidnappers, to Ned and to her memories.

I have been so excited for this book! i really enjoy all of her book and this one did not disappoint, everything about it just hooked me from the beginning. i love her writing style, and her books are always so easy to read, and hard to put down.

I really like the back and for Amelie, it told all of her story with a few surprises, Ned was just awful, he thought he was smart but she was smarter.

This was definitely a great psychological thriller and Amelie was also in her own head alot. There were alot of different players in this one that i liked it and it made for a story with surprises that came full circle as well.

Huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a great story! #THEPRISONER

Ehhhhh, this is a tough one.

This one had a lot of possibility. I really wanted to love it. It could have turned out fantastic. I did love the premise, it was just the execution that didn’t do it for me.

It was a quick read, and I felt like it was fairly fast paced. But it was choppy, with very little character development. I feel like I’m going to open a new book and never give any of these characters another thought. Their relationships, which with a little more work could have seemed realistic, just felt forced. Why is Amelie such good friends with a woman who hired her to be a housekeeper? Why is she now besties with all of this woman’s other friends? Why is she marrying this guy that she seemingly just met? It just didn’t make much sense.

Also, the end… it just DRAGGED.

I didn’t hate it, and I finished it even though by the end I wanted to do anything but, but I definitely didn’t love it. For sure it wouldn’t be high among my list of recommendations.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and BA Paris for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. The Prisoner will be available in the US on November 1st, 2022.

This was a hit and miss for me so I think the easiest thing to do is hit you with the pros and cons:

Pros:
-The plot was unique and inventive, and I'm not sure I've read anything similar, which I believe is an accomplishment for a thriller (I've read so many thrillers that stick to the same tropes that it's sometimes hard to differentiate)

-Amelie was a strong character, and I liked that she stood up for herself

-Quick, punchy chapters that leave you dying to find out what happens next

-The present and the past narratives worked well together to tell us how Amelie ended up kidnapped

-The ending provided closure and ended on just enough of a cliffhanger

Cons:
-While the plot was inventive, it suffered a little by being far fetched at times. It all works out too well; I found it hard to believe that these people could pull all that together in a few hours.

-Given what happened the day of the kidnapping, I found it hard to believe that Amelie didn't piece together who was behind it earlier

-I need to know more about Ned and his back story to make him a credible villain. Why is he so terrible?

-The whole marriage plot. I find it hard to believe that Amelie would just agree to that without any input from her friends

-It all gets to be a bit much. Event after event happens to Amelie, and I'm not sure all of it was necessary

Overall, though, I did really enjoy this novel. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Amelie is twenty-one, penniless, and orphaned when she meets Ned Hawthorpe, a wealthy, unscrupulous billionaire. He proposes a marriage of convenience for both of them- one that Amelie will soon regret. She finds herself held prisoner in a dark room with unknown captors and her new husband being held captive on the floor below her. What happens next is a story filled with twists and turns that leaves you wondering who the real villain of the story is.

I have read all of B. A. Paris’s previous novels, and this is one of my new favorites from her. It starts out with incredibly tense scenes that leave you wanting to read more to find out what’s going on. I couldn’t put this book down- I just had to know what would happen next and why! The only reason I didn’t give this book 5 stars is because I guessed a major twist and I always prefer the shock of not being able to guess. However, it didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the book. I’d recommend this to anyone who loves a fast paced, suspenseful thriller where things are not always as they seem.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to preview The Prisoner. I enjoy BA Paris’ novels and this one will capture the reader immediately
This book takes the reader to the past and present with a young woman who is alone in the world and is suddenly captured and becomes a prisoner
Each chapter reveals her story and provides insight to how she got there. Very tense and will keep you guessing.
Quick read and I liked it. For me 4 stars.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC of B.A. Paris’s The Prisoner.

This book started out as riveting to me, as I am fascinated by stories of the downtrodden who make it to the elite via luck or circumstance, as Amelie does via Carolyn and her friends and then through Ned.

The prisoner section of the book had me feeling like I was in that room with Amelie, the detailed tension carrying the story quickly even though it was slowly paced.

The second part of the book was disappointing to me. It simply became convoluted and confusing, but I kept turning pages as I wanted to learn what had really been behind her and Ned’s capture.

The ending was also a let-down, as it was expository instead of action driven. At least I then understood what had been going on, though.

Three stars, and I will always read anything by this author.

This was such an original and creative story! The writing style was fantastic - I liked the present/past storylines and enjoyed how they connected. The twists in the story were very unexpected, but were a bit far-fetched, especially near the end of the story - which seemed to drag on, as past incidences were re-visited and retold which I grew tired of reading about. Overall a great, fast-paced, easy-read thriller!

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a great book! This story captures you from the start and draws you in. Amelie has some rough times in the beginning when her father passes, but then meets Carolyn and her life takes a turn for the better. Then she finds herself tangled in Ned's webs and get taken by kidnappers who want to make Ned pay for things he has done to people. It is a great story line that weaves between the past and the present.
I love how B.A. Paris isn't afraid to not give you the typical ending with everything tied up in a neat bow. You can come up with some of your own conclusions on how things will work out. You will latch on to this book within seconds and not put it down until you are finished.

This is a super fast read by B.A.Paris and I thank NetGalley and ARC for allowing me to read and review this book. I cannot wait to see what this author has next!

B.A. Paris has done it again! So many twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat. Super short chapters that makes for a really fast paced read. Highly recommend this one!

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Amelie is young but has not had an easy life. Her mother passed away when she was a child and she was the primary care giver to her father who passed away of cancer when she was sixteen. With nothing and no one left, Amelie moves to London hoping to be able to save enough money to attend law school. After some rough luck in London, Amelie’s fortune finally changes when she meets a kind stranger. Carolyn whose husband recently left her for a younger woman, offers Amelie a job as a live-in housekeeper and cook. Amelie and Carolyn become fast friends and Amelie is also drawn into Carolyn’s inner circle and soon finds that she has a support system of her own in London.

When Carolyn decides that it is time for her partner to move in, Amelie knows she must find a new job and create her own life apart of Carolyn. When Amelie meets Ned Hawthorpe who owns the successful magazine Exclusives, he offers her an assistant job and she quickly accepts. Soon after Amelie starts her new job at Exclusives, Ned invites her on a last minute “business” trip to Las Vegas where he makes a proposal that she does not feel she can refuse at the time. This is Amelie’s first big mistake. She then becomes ensnared in Ned’s world and can’t find he way out. With the casualties piling up around her, Amelie can only think of one way out . . .

Shortly after, Amelie is taken prisoner and kept in a small, dark room. She can hear that Ned has been taken as well and he is being held in a separate room. Their captors are waiting for ransom to be paid by Ned’s father, successful philanthropist Jethro Hawthorpe. As the captivity continues, Amelie feels drawn to her captor in a strange way that she doesn’t understand. Why does she feel that he is keeping her safe rather than putting her in danger? When she is finally released, she is determined to find who held her prisoner so she can get closure and finally feel safe again.

The story is told entirely from the point of view of Amelie (past and present). I enjoyed getting to know Amelie in the chapters set in the past but most of all, I enjoyed the chapters in which Amelie had been taken prisoner (dark right?). I thought that B.A. Paris did a great job of describing the room Amelie was held in through frightened eyes and I found myself flying through those chapters to find out what happens next. This was a quick and easy read. I didn’t find that there were a lot of mysteries for the reader to solve other than who Amelie’s kidnappers were. B.A. Paris will forever be on my always read list and I look forward to what she comes out with next :)

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The first half of the book was engaging and unique, felt like I was experiencing the situation with the main character. The last half of the book felt rushed & convoluted, trying to wrap a wild tale that needed more time & thought to do it justice