What a fabulous book, and the emotion in it really comes through when you listen to it as an audiobook. It’s not very often that I have an audiobook, but this is the kind of story that really lends it self well to that format. Very sensitive subject material, and not for everybody, but it was very well handled and turned into a well told tale.

It was a little hard to finish this book. Too many secrets that have zero reason to be hidden. It was hard to find anything likable in the main character.

So sorry but I just couldn't get into this book - I tried 3 times but just didn't connect with the characters.

Thank you for the chance to listen to it

The Dilemma is an intriguing and sweet story about love, heartbreak, friendship, and living with the choices we choose to make. I went into this book blindly and loved watching the choices be made and then evolve into how to deal with said choices. The secrets that the various characters had. The emotional toll these secrets hold. I absolutely loved the narration for this book. She read the book beautifully and very easy to follow. Many thanks to Bookouture Audio and to NetGalley for this audiobook for review. This is my honest opinion.

When she finds out that her partner, Zach, has been lying to her about wanting a baby, Charlotte leaves him. Her friends are extremely supportive and take her on a trip to Mauritius, where she has a one night stand with a handsome stranger. Coming home, she finds that she has brought back a nice souvenir of her trip - she's pregnant! The baby she has always wanted! Hooray! Except this is the start of a complex web of secrets and lies which will all be blown apart when the baby is born.

I liked the premise of this book, but I really didn't like the execution. Charlotte is a self-absorbed whinger with a chip on her shoulder about her mother and sister. She hides stupid secrets like the real reason she left her partner, but then tells other things which have much wider reaching consequences. The men in this book are forgiven far too easily for the things that they do, with woe-is-me Charlotte seeming to want to take on all the guilt and blame for things that aren't her fault, while not exactly taking on responsibility for the things that are. But it's fine because her posse of girlfriends are on hand to bolster her confidence at every turn with how it's clear she was "born to be a mum." There's hardly any opportunity for conflict which might make the novel more interesting since it is all taken so easily in everyone's stride. It was all so cliched and saccharine, not helped at all by the audio narration, and I don't really know why I stuck with it until the end when it annoyed me so much. Perhaps I was hoping for some sort of interesting resolution, but no, it's all tied up neatly at the end in a lovely pink bow and if there are any consequences at all for these largely awful people, it's that they all learnt so much from the experience, got what they want and are stronger than ever.

I enjoyed the narration of this book and Luke the premise of the story plot line. However I failed to warm to Charlotte as a character and thought some of the decisions she made were not very realistic! I ok thought the story could have developed faster and the start of the book was quite slow although did pick up towards the end

Not what I expected. Enjoyed the plot, would have liked more description for the setting. But overall a good listen. Enjoyed the narrator 3/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

**possible spoilers**

Charlotte has been desperate for a baby for years and when she discovers that her long time partner has been keeping secrets from her she abruptly ends that relationship. She is doing her best to put her life back together and has gotten a new job and apartment but is still feeling desperate over the breakup and not being able to fulfill her dream. She takes a girls trip with one of her best friends and meets a handsome stranger on her last night away, this one night stand results in a pregnancy. She is shocked to learn who the father is and decides to keep it a secret from her friends, that is until her baby's health is at risk and all the buried secrets start coming to light.

I was excited to get a copy of The Dilemma based on the description and I liked the concept of the story but really struggled with the characters. The idea that an unexpected pregnancy can disrupt lives and friendships is a great premise. The biggest problem I had was with the main character Charlotte, she is the most self-absorbed, rude, narcistic hypocrite who has no qualms about trampling on her friends and families' lives or feelings as long as she gets what she wants. She whines nonstop about how her ex lied to her but then keeps even bigger and more harmful secrets herself. She has these wild irrational characterizing about how Tiffany will react, including a "she's going to demand to raise my child as her own" and yet Tiffany is loving, forgiving, rational and never ones says anything remotely close. I liked Tiffany and was surprised by how well she handled every situation she was given. She should have ended her toxic friendship with Charlotte years ago. The ending was an "everything wraps up in a happy little bow" and was dumb.
I had the audio version which was easy to listen to and did help move the story along. I wish that there had been two narrators to differentiate the two povs that the story is told though.

I loved this story, especially the narrator. I could listen to her all day!
I've not read any of this author's other books, but will definitely check them out. This story of three friends at different stages of their lives, wanting different things, has plenty of twists to it. And if you're someone who thinks "that would never happen in real life," I can think of several real-life situations I know of that makes this story very plausible.
Regardless, I enjoyed these characters, these previous-model women who appear to have it all, and of course, do not. I enjoyed the way their relationships evolve, the underlying theme of friendship, trust, and forgiveness. And that narrator? Loved her!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an audiobook copy of this highly-recommended story.

I enjoyed the narrator. The book itself started off slow but picked up about 1/4 way through. The character ms felt real and what they went through seemed more real life than other books I’ve read/listened to.

What would you do in the same position? Bit of a chick lit themed book revolving around friendships, relationships and the mothers love of her child.Few twists and turns and not quite the ending i thought. Does raise some interesting questions around dilemma and decided which way to go. Don't want to give too much away. Nice quick read. Thank you #NetGalley for the audiobook to review.

3.5 stars
This is one of those times in which I dearly wish we could give half stars on the rating system as this book is worth more than 3 but I wouldn't quite give it 4.

I will admit, I was expecting more drama when I read the publisher description. Given that the dilemma involved infidelity between a woman's husband and her best friend, it could've gone off the rails onto cray cray land...but it didn't. It was a civilized story in which the characters were mature and thoughtful in dealing with the outcomes of the infidelity. Way more mature and thoughtful than I could ever be if presented with that same situation. For this reason, the plot was a tad vanilla for me and didn't ring absolutely true. I expected (and wanted) more extreme emotions from the characters. Another reviewer described this book as "feel good" and I would agree. The dilemma(s) are tackled seamlessly and the characters are all presented as "nice" and "likeable."

I think readers looking for women's fiction with some big interpersonal dilemmas (as there were a few that arose throughout the plot), and likeable characters who say and do "the right thing" with a feel good ending (that was admittedly hard to believe), will want to pick this one up. I was keen to know how the dilemmas would resolve themselves and this kept me engaged.

The audio performance was good. The narrator portrayed the characters authentically, which added dimension to the story.

Thank you to #bookoutureaudio and Netgalley for an advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This story begins with a woman learning her long road to get pregnant with her partner has failed because he didn't tell her he had a vasectomy before they started trying. She leaves him and starts over in another location. When she goes on vacation with a girlfriend, she has a one night stand with a man and then becomes pregnant. But, the drama begins when she learns who he really is. Events then spiral into a big mess! How do they get out of it without causing hurt to people they care about?

This was an intriguing story with characters that are believable. My only disappointment was in the ending, which seems to come on very suddenly, leaving a big gap between the end of story and the epilogue. A good listen, though!

Charlotte didn’t plan to fall pregnant, but when she finds out,she decides to go through it as a single parents since she found out that her Ex betrayed her in not the usual way one might think.

She doesn't know the man she spent one night away on a holiday with and intends to keep it this way. Until she finds out that he is closer than she would have thought. Still all would be okay if it weren't for her baby being born with a rare illness, desperately needing a transplant.

If you thought the Dilemma was about keeping her affair a secret this is where it seriously starts.

I particularly enjoyed the narration of this story although I couldn't connect that much with Charlotte then I wanted to.

Thanks #NetGalley #Bookouture Audio for a listening version

Wow, I really really enjoyed listening to this one! It hooked me from the very beginning and kept me hooked.

I did enjoy this book and thought it was well narrated: it had good pace and narration was clear. The story was interesting and plausible - to a point. I liked the twists and there were some unexpected plotting. However, I am not sure that I am truly convinced by some of the characters' responses as the twists were revealed: they did not feel true to how I would expect humans to response to some of the revelations. This book includes husbands and boyfriends lying and cheating, unplanned pregnancy and medical emergencies. The ending neatly ties up the story but again I was left wanting more. It was an easy enough read but I wanted more emotion - 3 and a half stars.

Is there anything a mother wouldn’t do to protect her child? What if it means breaking the heart of her dear friend and changing the landscape of her life and all she holds near and dear? So begins the road to doing all a mother can do to save her child, even if it means destroying a family and friendship. It’s a beautifully written story of truth, honesty, maturity, kindness, love and understanding under the most difficult of circumstances. Lovely narration added to the listening experience.

This one was ok. Was definitely not my favourite audiobook. The narrator was good, but the story just wasn't as engaging as I would have liked.

3.5 stars

I enjoy when a book has me wondering what I would do if I were one of the characters. With this story, every one of the characters were put into a position and I could identify and empathize with all of them. Considering the content, I did expect to have a more emotional reading experience but it's okay that I didn't. I think the characters dealt with everything in a mature manner, which I appreciated.

The Dilemma By: Julia Roberts Narrated by: Daphne Kouma Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins was an excellent book and you will need tissues as its a big tear-jerker. Julia writes from the heart and this book was beautifully written from start to finish and was brilliant a page-turner.

I highly recommend this book. Just beautiful

Big thank you to Bookouture Audio, Julia Roberts and NetGalley for the advance audiobook. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review