Thank you macmillan audio for the copy of The Prisioner.
I looked forward to this books all year long and unfortunately this book was not for me. I truly can’t pinpoint the reason but we never connected. Unfortunately I had stop and DNF I also tried the physical book so it was not a narrator issue it was more the storyline that it wasn’t immersive enough.

I have read quite a few of B.A. Paris' books, in the hopes of one of them replicating the suspenseful page-turning quality of "Behind Closed Doors", alas, I have not found it in this one either. "The Prisoner" is entertaining and fast paced, but also a bit predictable (for this dedicated thriller reader, at least) and I felt that the characters all veered into the cliched territory, which prevented me from really connected to or caring about them. The plot became repetitive after the halfway point, and the ending felt too abrupt. That being said, I wanted something easy and fast-paced for the weekend, and this served that purpose well enough. "Behind Closed Doors" was one of the first thrillers I read, so if I re-read it now, maybe I would not be as blown away as I was at the time. It introduced me to a genre I have come to love (whatever that says about me...) and for that, I have to be thankful to B.A. Paris, even if her newer novels haven't quite done it for me.

A woman is kidnapped and realizes there's more to the story than she initially thinks. That's about all I can say about this without giving anything away :)

I'm a B.A. Paris fan, but this was not one of my favorites. I really didn't like the beginning. I think it was because it kept jumping back & forth between now (the kidnapping) and before (before the kidnapping). The sections were very short and the until about halfway through the book, they also weren't very interesting.

At about the halfway point, things started to pick up & I was interested in what was going to happen next. As things unfolded, I thought that it was going to lead to something that might really surprise me.

But then I ended up not liking the last portion of the book either. I never try to figure out who the culprit is or things like that. Part of the fun for me is being intrigued and surprised as things are revealed. It felt like it took too long to explain how everything was arranged/planned. Part of that was because it was a little complicated and needed explanation. But by having to explain it all, it lost the magic of be slowly realizing how clever it had all been.

All in all, not my favorite book by B.A. Paris, but it definitely won't keep me from reading the next one!

I would like to thank NetGalley, MacMillan Audio, and B.A. Paris for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Amelie is a survivor who lost her parents at a young age. She dreams about going to college to become a lawyer, but college is expensive. When she marries her billionaire husband, things seem like they may fall into place for her. Then, she wakes up to discover that she and her husband have been kidnapped. Amelie is determined to find a way to stay alive.

This story was told in dual timelines, alternating between the room where Amelie is being held hostage and the events leading up to the kidnapping. The first part of this book had real potential, but I felt something was missing in the second part. I wish there was a bit more showing and less telling at the end. I liked Amelie’s backstory and enjoyed her character overall. The concept of this book was interesting, and I always love snappy chapters.

I read and listened to this book. The narrator did a good job telling the story from Amelie’s perspective. Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin’s Press for these digital ARCs in exchange for an honest review.

The Prisoner - B.A. Paris
3.75/5⭐️

I am a fan of B.A. Paris books. This book was good, but not great. I guessed the turn pretty early on, but I still continued to read the book. I also firmly believe there is way more in the background than what was presented and wrapped up at the finish of the book. Amalie becomes an orphan while still a teen. Without any family she runs to London and is accepted into a group of women. Through this group she meets and starts working for a London magazine owner and playboy. He asks her to marry him while they are on a work trip, the plan is to stay married a month and then he will pay her money. When they arrive home, she is disconnected from her friends and discovers her husband is a horrible rapist. She is trapped. Eventually she and her husband are kidnapped and held prisoner, trying to get a ransom payment. Will she get free or will she die for for this awful man. I did like the book, but there were times where if felt really fast, and there were times were it really slow.

I was super excited to get an audio arc of The Prisoner. I really enjoy BA Paris. Behind closed doors is my favorite of all of her books. I loved the premise of the book, it had a ton of potential...

1st half of this book was great:
-starts off with a bang
-dark and scary
-suspenseful

2nd half dragged:
-a bit unrealistic
-long winded explanation
-I never grew attached to the characters

I felt the narrator did a good job. The chapters are short in this, which I prefer.
3.5/5 stars

This book kept me interested and not wanting to turn it off. I think there could have been another couple chapters as the way it ended keeps you wondering if the MC followed her dreams and if her love life grew. The book has suspense, real life possibilities and a little bit of a thriller. I am not sure if I would read this again but I am glad I read it once.

I have loved previous books by this author. This one though fell a little flat. The first part of this book was good with short chapters that alternated between the past and present timelines. Amelia is getting through her imprisonment day by day. The second part of this book was set after the kidnapping, with Amelie trying to piece together what had happened and why, and who was involved. The pacing was different in the second half and the storyline was all in the present. I didn’t love the ending either, but I did feel like Amelie was able to get some closure.

Initially, I struggled to engage with this listen and was quite confused by the timeline. Once I was able to figure out what was going on, it sucked me in and I *needed* to know what happened next! No complaint about narration - it faded into the background of the story, which is a sign of success in my eyes. Another excellent BA Paris story!

Oh man, this book did not hit me well at all. I found the pacing to be off, the ending abrupt, the characters unlikable and not a bit compelling, and the audio had some weird pauses. I've liked BA Paris a lot in the past but this one missed the mark for me.

I’d say this is 3.5 stars. I like BA Paris’ writing style a lot and find her books very easy to read. If you are new to thriller/mystery, I can see how this would be a very hooking/thrilling storyline. I read a lot of this genre and found that I knew the ending about 25% of the way through the book.

I do think Paris did a good job developing the characters and their storylines. I had a deep understanding of each character and how they fit into the plot and narrative.

The ending left me wanting more, not because of the stellar storyline, but because I felt it didn’t close with enough detail. I just wanted more information and more of a wrap up, which I did not get. For a longer winded story, it seemed odd that the ending was rushed!

Amelie is an orphan after losing her father and is forced to fend for herself. She grows up to hav me a decent but fairly uneventful life. That is until she meets Jed Hawthorne, a very wealthy man, who appears to be enamoured by Amelie. Jed suggests they get married and they quickly do. When Jed and Amelie are kidnapped and.a substantial ransom demand is made to Jeds father it’s anyone’s guess if they will survive.

This is my third book by this author and I thought this one was amazing. The premise was very unique and it had some unexpected twists and turns that keep me reading. The author did a good job of developing the characters and building the story in a detailed way. I would say for me some of the ending got a bit confusing but was still satisfied how it ended. I liked how the book had multiple narrators who were all great. I don’t always love narrators with British accents as I find it hard to understand but these ones were really good. I will certainly be recommending this one to all my family and friends and anyone else who enjoys psychological thrillers.

B.A. Paris is a master of crafting tales you didn't see coming, from the titles that have deeper meaning at the completion of the read, to the twisting and turning of the story within. And this newest, "The Prisoner" is no different.

Paris immediately drops readers into the depths of this story from the opening pages as Amelie is kidnapped and held Prisoner. What unwinds from these opening pages has readers wondering who the real villain of the story is, up until the very last sentence.

Always well done, always fast paced, and always leaving readers wanting for more, B.A. Paris' signature style.

3.5 stars!
Amelie wakes up after being abducted to a pitch black room. As she struggles to adjust to her new reality, she realises how grateful she is to be away from her new husband. As someone who has previously survived becoming an orphan in poverty, she’s not ready to give up her life that easily.

The beginning had me hooked! The premise was so interesting to me and I loved the tension building in the first half as the past and present timelines started to weave together. However, by the end I was just frustrated with Amelie’s naivety and how predictable the story was. My rating is pretty much based on the first half.

I want to say I loved this book, however it seems I got a bad file. It stalls at 37.2% and won't allow me to continue reading. What I was able to listen to was suspenseful and engaging.

I enjoyed this The Prisoner by B.A. Paris!! In fact, much more so than The Dilemma, which is the only other book I've read by Paris. Amelie, our MC, is put in an impossible position and must fight to unravel the mystery involving her new husband upon their recent kidnapping and demand for ransom. During the days of her kidnapping, Amelie shares that she feels safer with her abductors than with her own husband. The Prisoner shares bits and pieces of Amelie's life up until the point of her abduction, parsing out clues as to who she is, where she came from, and her aspirations in life to provide for herself and desire to create a sense of family after losing her parents as a child. Amelie is definitely not dense, though she may seem a bit disconnected from the world and its atrocities. She is strong and she is definitely a fighter! My kind of character!

Pick this one up if you enjoy reading books with:

- dual timelines
- a headstrong FMC
- mystery and intrigue
- this or that scenarios
- the concept that things are not what they seem

I'm excited and grateful for the opportunity given to me by Netgalley and the publisher, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio.

Pub date: Nov 1, 2022!

2.5 and this kills me to write that.

I felt like I was reading a different author.
I am at a loss on what to write.

Story is different, with shadows of her past work. It felt rush and some key components missing.

Amelie is on the brink of her life. Unfortunately she has no job and no money and very few resources but she’s determined to make it in her own in London. She wants to go to college but it’s quite expensive. Go into student debt or could there another way? She marries Ned Hawthorpe, “one of the most eligible men in England,” whose father is a billionaire philanthropist. Soon after her marriage, she’s surprised in her bedroom by a kidnapper and driven off in a car to an unknown destination, where she’s imprisoned in a dark room. Ned has also been taken by these unidentified captors. The kidnapping feels suspicious to Amelie. After all, they were both taken just three days after Ned’s primary protector was murdered. This thriller is told in flashbacks letting the reader in on the true nature of Amelie’s relationship with Ned. It’s complicated to say the least.
Slow burn sizzler that takes a bit to figure out.

Just, WOW! This is a crazy, story that keeps you guessing. It grabbed me within the first page and didn’t let go. Each character plays a part and the details to each we’re done superbly. This will be one that I will recommend.

I both read this book and listened to it on audio. The narration to this story really added to the enjoyment and atmosphere.