What a twisted web this book weaves! The beginning was so great for me and as things began to piece together the title felt so fitting! Though the ending began to fall short for me and I was so disappointed by the ending tbh.

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, B.A. Paris, and M<a Millman Audio for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

After reading the dust jacket blurb for this piece I was eager to get my hands on B.A. Paris’ latest novel. Full of some chilling psychological twists, Paris provides the reader with an addictive thriller that is sure to keep them up well into the night. Paris builds her story effectively and provides a clear path towards the unknown. Well-paced and surely something for fans of this genre!

Amelie is a woman with a great deal of resolve, having faced adversity from a young age. She’s lost both her parents while living in Paris and has now made a life in London, hoping for something fresh. Slowly creating a life for herself, Amelie gets caught up in a posh lifestyle and catches the eye of Jed Hawthorne, a man who has significant money in family wealth.

When Amelie wakes up in a dark room, she tries to piece together what’s happened to her. It takes a while, weaseling information out of her captors, but Amelie discovers that both she and Ned are being held prisoner. While Ned feel certain that Amelie is dead, he makes choices that prove that she is but a pawn to him. This leaves Amelie to wonder whether she has anyone backing her, or if she is left to her own devices. As the days advance, Amelie learns more about her supposed husband and his family, though it is anything but exhilarating. A chilling story that proves Paris has what it takes.

While this may be the first of B.A. Paris’ novels I have read, it will likely not be the last. Paris constructs a great piece, full of psychological thrills that are sure to impress the dedicated reader. Slow at times, the story has many ups and downs, but ends up working well, with a great ending that will keep the reader gasping late into the night.

Paris uses a great narrative to develop the story, keeping the pace throughout while leading the reader down many a rabbit hole. With chilling twists, the story evolves and turns into somethingthe reader will likely remember for a long time. Great characters and a setting that adds needed flavouring, the story is able to grow through these pathways. While I struggled with some slow parts, the overall experience was redeemed by the end and left me wanting to try more of Paris’ work. This audio version of the book allows the reader to use their imagination to picture what’s taking place, as the narrator weaves the layers of the story together for an impactful conclusion

Kudos, Madam Paris, for a great piece that is sure to impress many.

After losing her parents, Amelie has been on her own since 16. She moves to London, meets a group of special women, and starts to make a name for herself. But, a few weeks after marrying billionaire Ned Hawthorne, Amelie and her new husband are kidnapped.

After devouring B. A. Paris’ debut novel, Behind Closed Doors, I have since read every book released by the author. Unfortunately, none of the books have compared to her first book. Each time I would read a book by the author and was disappointed (which has been every time since Behind Closed Doors), I promised it would be my last. And, then another book was released and I’d give it another chance, only to be disappointed again.

The Prisoner started out strong. I was hooked from the beginning and enjoyed the alternate timelines – the first describing Amelie’s life leading up to the kidnapping and then the kidnapping itself. But the book quickly lost its luster when I started to realize that the author wrote unrealistic situations for the main character (while she continued to make horrible life choices), the villain was completely one dimensional and the plot started to go awry.

But the worst, and I mean the worst, was the ending. I won’t go into details but I will say it was one of the worst thriller endings that I have ever read.

This time, I really mean it. The Prisoner will be my last B. A. Paris book.

On a positive note, the narrator of the audiobook was amazing!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Truthfully, if this were the only book you had on a long flight, you might be wishing you'd brought something that kept the pages flying faster. For a thriller, "The Prisoner" crosses the finish line a little light on thrills and speed, but it does still provide more than enough suspense to keep it from landing in your DNF stack. I definitely enjoyed it more than I thought I would based on the leery feeling I had after reading others' ratings. Still, on the sliding scale from 1-5 stars, this one lands in the low 3s for me, and I've enjoyed other books from this author far more.

At the start of this book, we're dropped right into what should be a tense narrative, with a woman who is being held captive in pitch black. She doesn't know who her captors are or why she's being held captive. These chapters are alternated with the her past story of how she got there: Amelie, a housekeeper at a magazine company who is invited by the gorgeous and wealthy owner to accompany him on a trip to Las Vegas. There, he makes her an offer she can't refuse: marry him, all for show, to help her pay for college and help him avoid an unwanted arranged marriage. Shortly after accepting and returning home, she begins to see a dark side to his personality, but before she can extract herself from the mess she's made, they're both kidnapped.

I found the imprisoned chapters oddly lacking in tension and was eager to get back to the historical narratives. This back and forth flow broke both the pacing and emotional anticipation for me, so I found myself wishing that the plot had been taken in a different direction and didn't actually include a "prisoner" at all.

While this wasn't my favorite B.A. Paris book and I truly wish I could be rating it higher, I enjoyed it as a light read and remain a fan. I'll look for the next one for sure! Thank you, NetGalley, MacMillan Audio, and St. Martin's Press for providing an advance copy for an honest review.

🎧 AUDIOBOOK REVIEW 🎧

The Prisoner
By B.A. Paris
Pub: Nov 1st
8 hours 41 mins
Narrated by Georgia Maguire

⭐⭐⭐⭐ • 4/5 stars

🔐 Synopsis: 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?

💭 Thoughts: The Prisoner was a gripping, bingeworthy, fast-paced psychological thriller that kept me engaged from start to finish. The narrator, Georgia Maguire, does an outstanding job with her performance of Amelie and the rest of the cast.

Per usual, I form hunches about twists and turns that may be coming. But despite my many theories, this kept me guessing until the end.

This wasn't my favorite Paris novel, but I still really enjoyed it. I finished and literally went "Whew!!!" 😆 What a story! In this case, I think the audio format really added to my experience and made it even more enjoyable.

Thanks to @marensreads & @brittanys_in_wonderland for the buddy read. Can't wait to read your reviews.☺️

Thank you @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for my advanced listening copy in exchange for my honest review. 💕

I want to start out by saying that you will not find a bigger B.A. Paris fan than me. After devouring Behind Closed Doors in one sitting, I proceeded to read every other book she every wrote over the course of one long weekend. It therefore pains me to say, I did not like The Prisoner. I was happy I chose to listen to the audio and I think that improved my view of it to a small extent.

I have so many issues with this book, from the lack of character development to predictable and the actual plot line. First and foremost, I found it to be a little too much of a slow burn. This is the outlier opinion as most readers find it to be quite bingeworthy, so take this with a grain of salt if you will.

One thing I love most about Paris’ writing is the depth and breadth of her character development. I always connect to her characters, whether they are locked in a room by their husband, witness a murder that has left them slowly going insane, or fear that their daughter may have been killed on a downed plane. In each and every story she writes, it is this connection to the characters that helps to propel me through the story and often leaves me on the edge of my seat.

I found this level of character development to be lacking in The Prisoner. As the conclusion of the story neared, I realized I did not care in the least about any of the characters in the book. Not. One. And as a result, everything that happened in the story felt very surface level. What you see is what you get, with no underlying themes or message, nor any aspect to analyze or dig further on. I also could not understand why the characters functioned the way they did. They themselves seemed like caricatures of thriller characters, void of emotion or heart that are usually present in her characters.

If you are on the fence as to whether or not to read this one, I would say start with her earlier work, but do give this one a try if you have wanted to. This book is getting very mixed feedback and you may find yourself on the side of those who love it. Paris remains an auto-buy author for me and I look forward to reading her next novel.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for the ARC and the ACL of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I love kidnapping stories so I was incredibly disappointed by this one. The past timeline felt contrived and the present (kidnapping) storyline was honestly boring. However my big complaint was the plot twist which didn't feel like a twist. It just didn't make sense to me.

The Prisoner By B.A. Paris

When I first started to read The Prisoner I thought it started off well it pulled me in fast. Amelie the main character in this twisted thriller has grown up an orphan. She was rescued off the streets by a women who gave her a job, home and friendship. Fast forward to present day and she is starting a new job for a wealthy billionaire who gives her the opportunity of a lifetime. The opportunity is a marriage proposal that will pay her a sum of money after 30 days. The rich billionaire is Ned who wants to get his father off of his back so he suggests a quick marriage in Vegas. Off they go to get married. Ned wants to show the press that he can be a good family man.

Fast forward to the twist in the story the pretend married couple gets kidnapped and Amelie finds herself locked up in a dark room wondering what she got herself into. Who is behind the kidnapping? Why? Will Amelie and Ned survive the kidnapping?

To figure out this plot twist you need to read to figure out why all this happened to Amelie and Ned. I found myself conflicted as I read the story not sure what to think the premise of the story is good but somewhere along the way the execution to me fell flat. The story wasn't overly complex it was simple and quick to read.

I thought the ending is what pulled this book apart for me. It was over explaining the kidnapping and it just went to far with that. I felt like the story was good on its own until the ending came where the explanation of the kidnapping. Amelie was such a likable character I found myself rooting for her and wanting her to get out alive. She was offered a deal that lots of people would take a 30 day marriage with money at the end. What possibly could go wrong with that scenario well B.A. Paris gives you a tale of what could go wrong with that scenario.

Georgia Maguire narrated this thriller and did a great job bringing Amelia to life as well as other characters in the story each one had its own voice.

Thank You to Netgalley and Macmilan Audio for a free audio copy of this book for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Amelie and her husband wake to find themselves imprisoned in a dark space. And that is ONLY the beginning!

Paris takes us from past to present smoothly and swiftly in explaining how the couple reached this terrible circumstance. Of course, things aren’t what they seem and I was on edge throughout wondering who was pulling the strings and why!

Amelie is feeling defeated but she is not finished in her fight for herself, the ones she cares about, even in the face of deceit, greed, violence and lies.

I want to start off by saying that I received a complimentary audiobook copy. In return for my honest thoughts now and review. I wanted to go in listening to this without knowing anything. This is the first time I have read/audiobook from this author. The narrator does amazing job to keep me wanting to keep listening to this audiobook. I know it took me along time to listen to this audiobook. But I wanted to take my time listening to it. I do plan on adding more of this author books on my tbr.
I do like the alternating times past and present.
I love how brave Amelie had become after everything that she went through past and present. Losing her father at such a young age. How she meant such amazing women who took her in. But when she and her new husband are kidnapped. She doesn’t know why they have been kidnapped. Questioning if she or her husband will die. And her finding out what kind of man she works for/ new husband. And his relationship with his own father. I highly recommend this book. This book is set to be release November 1, 2022 my review will posted amazon and goodreads, bookbub.

I wanted to like this one but the ending was just a flop for me. I read tons of thrillers and have read all of this author's books. The story premise was a decent one but overall just not a hit for me. The narration was great though.

Amelie Hawthorne wakes in a pitch black room with no idea what's happened. As she tentatively explores her confines, she begins plotting her escape. Amelie is calm and observant and soon works out parts of her situation. She's been kidnapped with her billionaire husband so she assumes they are being held for ransom. Unfortunately for Amelie, she knows Jed's family isn't coming to her rescue. This latest thriller is an exhilarating, tense journey through Amelie's past and the events that led to her current situation.

B.A. Paris is one of my favorite authors and this book is no exception.

This story kept me guessing the entire time about who the kidnappers were, why was she taken with Ned and would she ever escape? An absolute page turner with so many great twists along the way that I couldn't put it down and read it in a day.

Thank you to the publisher and net galley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 🌟

Y’all know I’m picky when it comes to thrillers, right? So when this one started with a woman being held in a room, hands bound, a hood over her head, I thought -𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦!

The main character, Amelie, is a woman with a traumatic past, and she finds her way into a marriage of convenience with Ned, a handsome billionaire. But before she knows it, she is kidnapped and is being held captive.

The premise is not unrealistic; a wealthy tycoon’s wife being kidnapped is not unheard of. The question is: who are her captors and what do they want? And why does Amelie soon come to feel safer with them than with her husband?

Here are my thoughts and my opinions. The author wrote Amelie’s captivity scenes very well; it was tense and claustrophobic. But what I felt was missing was character development. I would have loved more backstory on both Amelie and Ned, and the secondary characters need to have more depth to give this a full-bodied, dramatic feel.

This book doesn’t come out until November, so I’ll be interested to see what some die-hard thriller fans’ thoughts are.

Thank you @stmartinspress for a gifted arc and @macmillan.audio for the complimentary audiobook.

BA Paris is an author whose books I have either LOVED or who has written books where I wonder- This was BA Paris?? I will still read everything she writes though, so I was excited to receive this copy to review. The Prisoner was a solid 4 star read for me. The chapters were short and fast paced which made it hard to stop reading. It is told in alternating perspectives from the present, being currently kidnapped) to the past (her struggles up until that point). I felt that there could have been more character development. I couldn't figure out why the characters did the things they did. They were either awful, indifferent, or naive. Also, Paris relies on one character unravelling the entire reveal like a villain monologue at the end of a movie.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

After the death of her father, Amelie is determined to make it on her own. She was doing a pretty good job until she was kidnapped and wakes up in a pitch black room with no idea where she is or who brought her here.

I love me some BA Paris, so I was super excited for this book! Honestly, it was a good read, but nothing that stood out to me like many of her books have in the past.I didn’t hate it, I just also didn’t love it like I wanted to. I enjoyed the dual timeline, and seeing how things got to where they are now, but it felt a little bit predictable. I would have been interested in learning just a little bit more about the characters, they fell a bit flat for me. Overall, this was enjoyable but not what I have come to expect from Paris.

Amelie, who became on orphan at just 17 years old, has to find a way to make a life for herself in London. She eventually meets and befriends Caroyln who invites her to come work for her as a live in housekeeper. This helps Amelie meet new friends and after a few years her future, wealthy husband Ned. The story is told in two time periods, present day, where we find Amelie kidnapped and locked in a dark room, and a few months earlier, with the events leading up to the current timeline. Sitting in the darkness with nothing to do but wait Amelie begins to wonder if she may be safer here than she has been living with her husband.
I was super excited to be approved for an ARC because I just absolutely loved BA Paris's first three books. Unfortunately the last few including this one haven't quite hit the mark for me. I would not say that it took the psychological thriller to new heights, as advertised. The book did move quickly and I enjoyed the short chapters and feel it had a good pace. A lot of times I did find it captivating and I was asking myself what the heck is going on here! Towards the end I felt very annoyed with Amelie and some of her choicies and had to keep reminding myself how young she is.. The only character we really get to know is Amelie. There really was no back story or character development for Ned or some of the other important characters. The story does come together nicely at the end but I found a lot of things very far fetched and still had some unanswered questions. I couldn't decide between 2 or 3 stars so I am rounding up to 3. All in all a quick, somewhat suspenseful read. I say check it out and decide for yourself.
Thank you so much to NetGalley for allowing me to listen to an ARC in exchange for my honest review!!

The beginning of this book started off really fast pace and engaging really caught my attention. The second half of the book I wasn’t particularly crazy about. I felt as if someone was telling me what happened rather than as the reader feeling fully engaged to try and figure it out type of thing. Over all it was a decent book once I saw this author I had to have it! Over all it was certainly a quick mindless read that kept me engaged. I do felt as if the book/story line as just missing something. I enjoyed the kidnap but I wasn’t a huge fan of the reckoning. His books tend to be a hit or miss. It’s worth the read for sure just not my favorite like behind closed door.

This book was interesting and had so much potential. unfortunately I just wanted more from it. There was so much lacking in development for me.

I absolutely loved this audiobook! Every time I thought I knew who was behind the kidnapping, I was wrong. The Prisoner kept me captivated the entire time and was fast-paced. The Prisoner would make a great movie!