Happy Pub Day to 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿 by B.A. Paris!

𝘛𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘺, 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦!

Secrets, lies, twists and turns, a story that will keep you at the edge of your seat, you’ll suspect of everyone and when you think you have it figured it out, you find out you are wrong. Only this author can write this kind of psychological thrillers. Fantastic.

Thank you St. Martin's Press l and NetGalley for this gifted copy.

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The Prisoner by B.A. Paris completely captivated me from the start with a kidnapping in progress, but once I reached the second part of the novel the story began to wane. I felt as if the book lost it's momentum.
I did love the short chapters and dual timelines and the amount of suspense kept me engaged til the end.
Overall, this was a unique and likeable story but I felt there could have been more.
I thoroughly enjoyed Georgia Maguire's narration.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The Prisoner
BA Paris

I have to start this review with a statement. I like B.A. Paris books. However, there are always exceptions.

The Prisoner. B.A. Paris’s latest release (out today) stars Amelie. Amelie has had a harder life than most. She meets a man; we’ll call him Jed. Jed is more mysterious than he should be and has his own agenda, which may not align with Amelie’s.

Jed proposes while on a whirlwind trip and Amelie feels she cannot refuse. Before you know it, she’s a married woman and things seem set.

Until one day Amelie is taken hostage and as the mystery behind her kidnapping comes into full view, she learns that everyone is worth a price, some more than others.

This book is full of characters like frogs in boiling water. Their predicament becomes more perilous as the book progresses to a fateful climax, Every. Single. Chapter.
It was daunting.

There was a sandwich quality to every chapter. The chapter starts off well then there is a whole middle piece to the chapter where not much happens and then it ends on a cliffhanger. Sending you off to another POV.

This book was built for skimming. However, I had an audiobook copy. So, there I listened. Please don’t make the same mistake I did.

I finished it in just a couple of sittings. It would’ve been one if not for unnecessary and repetitive information. This book is 300 pages, it could have easily been cut down to at least 250.

This is not where I would start with Paris and I feel her loyal fans will be the ones that like it the most. A bit of a disappointment for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy!

Out Today!

THE PRISONER...⭐️⭐️

You were missing many chapters of the audiobook. Unable to read this but I was approved for the eBook copy which I'm grateful for because I was able to piece the story together.

Definitely not her strongest book. Could have been a little more engaging. I think it was just the time and maybe it's a me problem and not the book problem. While this wasn't a bad book, it wasn't memorable. Like there's nothing in the book that would make me scream to my friends to read it. It's just decent?

Thank you, NetGalley, for an audio-ARC of The Prisoner by B.A. Paris, narrated by Georgia Maguire.
The Prisoner is a novel written in alternating timelines. The present informs the reader of Amelie's confinement after being kidnapped. The other timeline is the past, in which we learn how Amelie ended up in her current situation. Paris does a good job keeping the reader in suspense; however, the ending was slightly predictable. Maguire's voice and tone work well with the audio version.

I’ll be completely honest, I feel like this book could have been a smidge shorter? And I am not the hugest fan of the way the main character is portrayed at certain points.

That being said, the idea of this story is good, and I can’t think of anything I’ve read exactly like it, at least not in a while. I am a long time lover of B.A. Paris and I will continue to stan her always, this one just wasn’t my absolute favorite.

I still suggest giving it a try, because it was good despite my personal qualms! I also really enjoyed the narrator!

The Prisoner is another super twisty, engaging thriller from B.A. Paris! The story is told by an intriguing character named Amelie who becomes an orphan at a young age and has to find her own way in London. Her story unfolds in 2 timelines, before and after she wakes up as a disoriented prisoner in a dark room. I was riveted from the very first line, but the many twists at the end did get a bit confusing, I wish I had a copy of the physical or ebook as well as the audio to follow along!
The audiobook narration by Georgia Maguire was fantastic, she truly became Amelie and I could feel the fear and anticipation in her voice.

The Prisoner is another mystery/thriller win for B.A. Paris. Following a woman in an unhappy marriage with her millionaire husband, they are both kidnapped for ransom. She’s being held against her will-so why does she feel safer with her captor than with her husband?
I enjoyed the way this story was told but it did seem repetitive at times just by nature of the narrative.
3.5 stars

☆☆☆.5 Stars

What would you do for money?

This thriller is a quick read. Short enough to read in one sitting but not as fast-paced as I like. While I appreciate the author’s wonderful writing, this one didn’t pull me in the way some of her other books have.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing this ARC through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

B.A. Paris fans need to be prepared to read this one in one sitting as they will be taken on a fast paced adventure!!!

Amelie goes to London after she loses both of her parents. She is pretty much homeless when she meets Carolyn who needs someone to cook and clean for her. Amelie snatched up the job quickly as she is given free board too! Carolyn begins to introduce her to her friends which leads to a job with a magazine owned by a billionaire. Ned. What will happen when Amelie goes to Las Vegas with Ned? Can money buy you happiness??

This book is told in alternating past and present chapters. The pacing is very good and the chapters are short. I was very invested in the story from the beginning!!

I received an early audio copy.

B.A. Paris is one of my favorite authors. The Prisoner is a wonderfully entangled story with incredibly complex characters and a surprising ending. This book is so disturbing and thrilling. It’s sure to be a bestseller.

Amelie is a young woman, alone in the world who starts work as a house keeper in a live-in position in order to save for her college education. She decides when her employer gets married, she will start a new job and happens to secure one with a man (Ned). Ned gives Amelie a proposition that she can’t refuse and soon after, her whole life has changed.

Amelie is abducted in the night and brought to a dark room/small very dimly lit bathroom. Her abductor is silent and won’t speak, but doesn’t seem to want to cause her harm. He brings her food, water and blankets. Amelie comes to realize that she wasn’t abducted alone, but with her new husband, Ned.

Told in two timelines, past and present, fast paced psychological thriller did not disappoint. I have read all of this authors previous books and was very excited to have the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Definitely recommend and it is a solid 4.5 stars for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this complimentary audio copy of The Prisoner by BA Paris. I did enjoy this audiobook very much, but felt that the author spend the last quarter of the book trying to tie up every loose end. The story was interesting and an unusual, story plot, but there were several points at which the author could have ended the story, but didn’t. To me, that’s why the average is 3-stars, not 4. Would I recommend this book, of course. Well written, plenty of twists and turns, enough to keep this reader listening.

I read the first couple of chapters of this book and thought I knew what.l was going to happen. It seemed similar to another book. So I stopped listening for a bit. I am so glad I went back to it!! It was a fun read and twisty. Somewhat predictable at points but a good read! 4.5 stars!

Thank you Net Galley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book early! I am a big BA Paris fan and this one had such a great set up, but unfortunately I felt like it fell a little flat for me. This book is about a woman named Amelie. At the very beginning of the book we open in the present day as she is being held prisoner in a dark room with no idea where she is, who took her or why. She's 20 years old and married to an uber rich guy who is known as a bit of a scumbag. She can hear that he's in the house too, but they are not in the same room. We also get a past timeline that is 2-3 years ago. She's young, broke and has no family until she meets a woman named Caroline who offers her a job as a live in housekeeper of sorts and they become very close. I really liked the short chapters in this book because it made what would've been a really slow plot line flow quickly and enjoyably. The reason I didn't love this book like some of her others is because the 'plot twist' and ending just felt dumb. The whole reason for the book felt unnecessary on completion and there was a lot that felt convenient just for the sake of furthering the plot. Its hard to say much more than that without spoiling so I'll stop here! So much missing to make this a great story, but it was very readable.

SPOILERS:
Everyone around Amelie kept dying and most were by the hand of her scumbag husband. This was a revenge plot and she was just a pawn. There was no suspicion around all of the deaths and the whole marriage set up was full of holes.

“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 Ned?”

This book was a bit of a head-scratcher. As in: Did I like this book? I think I liked it. Maybe? Most of it? I think?

The first bit was really interesting. I thought the lead up to her being alone in London (the world, really) and her friendship with the three women was well fleshed out. I think someone offering a job to a girl who’d basically stalked her was a little odd, but, I can suspend disbelief enough to get past that.

The abduction part, and the two timelines, I really enjoyed. Finding out How The Got Here was a wild ride doled out in bite sized pieces. I thought the descriptions of her inner thoughts, and her interactions with her captors, was compelling.

The story broke down a bit, for me, after that. First off, I honestly thought the book was done at one point, only to have another 1/4 of the book left. That 25% was far-fetched, even for me. The thought of Amelie pulling a Liam Neeson, except ENTIRELY WITHOUT a “very particular set of skills” was absurd, and the “Is it Romance or is it Stockholm Syndrome?” question made my eye twitch.

The book was decent. I just wish more of the good stuff was at the end, so I could have finished on a higher note.

6.5/10

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and MacMillan Audio for this captivating ARC.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the copy of this ARC!

The first half of this book was incredible! It started off with a bang, held my attention, and was honestly just a really gripping thriller with a kidnapping, an array of shady characters, and a girl with a broken past. However, elements of this book started getting a little more outlandish as the book went on. I did still want to see how it all ended up and was hopeful the thrilling elements of the first half would pick back up, but was definitely let down by the second half. The narration by Georgia Maguire was really excellent.

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and B.A. Paris for this advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was really looking forward to this novel after reading the synopsis and was very excited when I received my copy. However, unfortunately my excitement didn't last long. The plot had so much potential but I felt it just didn't deliver. I found myself unable to connect to the characters with the minimal character development. Sometimes I found myself going back and re-reading portions because it felt like I had missed something but it was just that there wasn't as much explanation as I like in thrillers. Some parts were just too unbelievable or predictable. I had hoped for more but again this is my personal opinion and I think everyone should still read it. I've seen other wonderful reviews so maybe I'm just the outlier!

Have you ever read a book via audiobook? I struggle a lot of times with listening to a book on tape because I am totally a visual processor rather than auditory. It is hard for me to really pay attention and absorb the information; however, I was still able to absorb some of the information in this one.

Paris is a great author in general and has you guessing in the book. I really enjoyed this story of Amelie and Ned. It does switch from Past and Present, which at times can be confusing. Amelie and Ned get married as Ned sort of tricks her into the marriage, but she blackmails him into giving her money if the marriage does not work out. They get kidnapped separately but are held hostage together. When they discover they are together, they explore their relationship and how Ned tricked Amelie and is not who he says he is. Many women disappear whether by death or just leave after encounters with him and he's in the middle of a sex assault scandal. Ned is also very rich from a lot of family money which poses some issues for Amelie.

Amelie is finally released and Ned is dead. Definitely read this one for the twists and turns after Amelie survives being kidnapped. It gripped me even though audiobooks are not my fave. Five stars for sure.

How do you prefer to read? Audiobook or physical book? How is an audiobook different than a podcast?

#ThePrisoner #NetGalley