I did enjoy this book, it was an easy read that did have me guessing for a while. I did guess what was going on towards the end of the book which was a little disappointing, It would have been a really good twist if it had remained a little more hidden

Two and a half star rating.
12 years ago the charmless Finn and girlfriend Layla were on their way home from a holiday in France when she disappeared. Now living with her sister, the dull Ellen, Finn is receiving a stream of emails from Layla and gifts of Russian dolls. Too, too many mentions of d o l l s! Sadly the "big twist" wasn't really - too easy to work it out early on. Looking forward to reading this after enjoying the previous books by this author, but this was disappointing and not nearly as gripping which is a shame.

Woah she’s only gone and done it again lol another rip roarer of a story full of twists and turns and edge of your seat stuff!....great story and characters I devoured it in 2 days and don’t move off the sofa! A must read

Twelve years ago Finn’s girlfriend disappeared.

He told the police the truth about that night. Just not quite the whole truth.

Now Finn has moved on. But his past won’t stay buried…

If you like unreliable narrators you’ll love this book. Plenty of secrets, plenty of tension; oh and I didn’t see THAT coming! 4.5*

Having enjoyed the author's other books I was disappointed by this. The plot is excellent but I prefer character driven novels and in this work, the characters are a little too thinly drawn for me. Sometimes it's the details that humanise characters and here, for me, the characters lack the little quirks or weaknesses that make you empathetic to their views and circumstances.

If you enjoy plot driven stories then this may well work for you and you could well enjoy it.

I love B.A. Paris previous novel The Breakdown, so was delighted to receive an arc of the latest book Bring Me Home.

Having read the synopsis I was looking forward to another exciting read. However I struggled to connect with the characters and I found it quite a struggle to read.

So 12 years ago Finn and Layla are returning from a ski trip and Layla disappears at a rest stop. Believing her to be dead Finn is now engaged to Layla’s sister – the pair having become close in the aftermath of Layla’s disappearance. Just before they are due to wed, Finn received a call from someone claiming to have seen Layla.

I felt like this book was so drawn out on trying to find Layla and I wasn’t keen on the Russian dolls. It took a lot longer than usual to preserve and finish this book and I was very uninspired at the end

I don't know how, but the authour have a way to lure you in . I couldn't stop reading as soon as I started , easy and fast pace book.

At the first half I had clear indication of what happened to Layla, until I got to the middle and was surprised. Why this happening ? I was very intrigued to know what and why ?
I loved the way it was written, from past and present and the thoughts of the characters.

very heartbreaking ending, I understand why ! but didn't like it anyway. this was very good, fast book. I absolutely enjoyed it.

As soon as I saw the chance to review this book I jumped for the chance. I'm a huge fan of B A Paris and this book is her best by far!! Kept me gripped and guessing throughout to the point I couldn't put it down!

Finn's girlfriend Layla disappeared twelve years ago on holiday in France and Finn has found it hard to move on. He has now done so and is engaged to Ellen, unfortunately Ellen is Layla's sister. Living a comfortable life in the Cotswolds, Finn's world is rocked when he receives clues and messages suggesting that Layla is not dead. This throws Finn off-balance, he loves Ellen he thinks but Layla's disappearance is always at the back of his mind, as is the truth about what happened that night.

There is a huge market for these type of novels, the psychological twister/romance, and B A Paris is a popular author within the genre. Indeed there is much to like about this book, unfortunately there is also much to dislike. The lead character Finn is not someone I was rooting for, a history of violence etc. I did not understand his backstory, where and how did he know Harry, the person who set him up with a job in the City? How could he not realise the truth about Ellen - I don't want to add a spoiler here! The plot was easy to spot from the start and had lots of holes in it. However Paris is also a very engaging writer and despite the fact that the whole book was complete hokum I devoured it in an afternoon! it's literary junk food, fun at the time but leaving not a great deal of nutrition for the mind.

The first book I read I still remember which for me is unusual..and I think it will be the same with this one. Fab!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

I was so excited to start on this book, having enjoyed the previous books from B.A Paris.

I thought I was enjoying it for the first part of the book but I was never sure what was coming.
I felt the story was dragging a lot with the emails and the constant appearance of the flipping dolls, the endless discussions about said events with various characters. I started to feel a bit bored but I persevered.
What lets this books down totally for me is the ending, the big reveal. In my opinion, it was just too unbelievable and I felt cheated as a reader that this was what everything was building up to. I am sure other readers would have appreciated the slow suspenseful build up and the psychological break down of the story after the last page has been read. I, however, expected a bigger payout.

I couldn't put this book down, I was on the edge of my seat and even got snappy when my family kept interrupting me it was that enthralling. An amazing thriller with a cruel twist of fate, one which I could never have predicted. Told through alternating chapters between the two main characters, the plot was very cleverly and expertly crafted. Layla was missing, Finn described things as before Layla and after Layla. He later found love with her sister Ellen and settled into normal life. After 12 years missing, Finn and Ellen were getting married and Layla or someone pretending to be Layla contacts him, leaving him clues and cryptic messages. The ending left me reeling and in a state of shock, it took me hours after I finished to reflect on the story, picking through it in my mind if I'd missed any clues or hints that may have given me a clue to this ending. I feel like I need to re-read the whole book now that I know what I know. Fabulous read !!

Yep, that's right! This seriously popular and loved book was a DNF for me. Why can't I be normal and like what other people like? I managed to read 70% of this before I couldn't take it anymore and skim read the rest... so you can't say I didn't give it a good shot!

From just a couple of pages in, I could already feel this one was going to disappoint. Behind Closed Doors was clearly a one-off for me, and I have resigned myself to never be sucked in by the hype of a B. A. Paris novel again. We just don't gel.

I'll start off by saying that right from the start, the whole story didn't excite me, and maybe that was a telling sign for me not to pick up this book, but I hate missing out on something that's potentially mind-blowing! I mean this book came with the slogan '#FORGETSLEEP', so it certainly sounded like it was going to be gripping and exciting. The plot sounded super samey for a dedicated crime thriller reader like me, and once I actually got into the story, everything became super cheesy.

The chapters are told through alternating POV's and from different times. First of all, we just hear from past and present Finn, but later into the story, chapters from Layla start appearing too, and that's when things started getting really sickly over-the-top. The chapters are all very short, and so it's definitely a quick book to get through because of this. Each one ends in it's own mini cliff-hanger, which is clearly used to build tension to make you want to keep reading, but I was rolling my eyes at each one. It was almost painful at how cliche they were! For example: "YOU HAVE TEN DAYS" - OK Samara 
But look, sometimes I can get on-board with a novel that's got a samey plot and is cliche when the characters are interesting in a likeable or dislikeable way. Unfortunately for me, the characters in this novel were simply uninteresting in every way. Finn, for starters, is horrible person. Within a couple of pages you can already tell he's arrogant and full of self-pity, not to mention, naive as anything. Then there's Layla, who's horribly selfish and childish, and at times like a comical Disney villain. As for some of the other characters, like Ellen or Harry, you don't ever get to know them well enough to grow any attachment to them.

I skim read the ending, as said earlier, and it was an unoriginal ending to an unoriginal story. There was one particular plot device planted right near the beginning of the story that was such an eye-sore, it was almost a relief when Paris used it at the end. As for the "twist", I could see it from a mile off. Not to mention, it didn't make much sense? (Spoiler on Goodreads for what I mean)

Overall, this novel was overly frustrating and boring for me. I didn't like any of it. What happened to B. A. Paris? Her first book was so well written, filled with creepiness and tension, and had an amazingly clever story... and now we're here.

I'm clearly in the minority for this novel, and just because I didn't enjoy it, doesn't mean you won't. Hence why I did a giveaway with my copy (congrats to Misty @Misty's Book Space for winning) so someone else can enjoy it!

Thanks to HQ for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Sorry I didn't like it!

Another great read from B A Paris!

I loved all the twists and turns and couldn't wait for the final revelations.
Well written, with great characters and plenty of suspense.

To be honest, it didn't quite live up to Behind Closed Doors - but then it would struggle to, as that was one of my very favourite reads of recent years, but Bring Me Back was up there amongst my favourites.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy

A twisting and turning gripping page turner. I couldn’t put this book down! It was edge of your seat stuff that left me breathless when I’d finished it. Highly recommended

Thank you to Net galley for the proof copy of this move. There are some really good reviews for this book about a girl who goes missing in France and then turns up some years later. I thought the writing style was good and easy to get immersed in at first. However there is something missing for me that would elevate it to a higher rating. It didn't, in my opinion, have enough suspense, too much was set out before you. The ending had a couple of twists but they were not big enough for me.

Having read others by this author, I had high expectations and it is well written and highly descriptive. The plot was intriguing and twisty, with a few red herrings along the way, which kept me pushing through to the end. About two thirds in, I did wonder if it was going to end a certain way, but thought, no surely not..... I was shocked to find I was correct and found it hard not to be a little disappointed as it was quite an unbelievable twist. Despite this I did enjoy the book and would recommend it to those who enjoy a good psychological thriller.

I was a massive fan of Behind Closed Doors and The Breakdown so I was really eager to get myself a copy of Bring Me Back. Like both of it's predecessors, Bring Me Back was a quick read. It did grip me right from the start and I couldn't put it down. The tagline for the book's promotion is #forgetsleep and if I had not been so exhausted, up reading at 1am, I would have finished the book in one sitting.

Protagonist Finn is living in the aftermath of his girlfriend Layla going missing during a rest stop on a holiday in France. Twelve years on, Finn is now living with and engaged to be married to none other than Layla’s sister Ellen. When Finn starts getting taunting emails from someone reporting to be Layla, he is tasked with finding out if after all this time she has really come back safe.

Narrated in two alternating points of view, Finn's and Layla's, the book goes back and forth between present day and 12 years ago to get into the relationship of Finn and Layla from the beginning. at quite an early point in the story I thought I had it figured out, and I had. This did spoil the story for me, it's not unusual that I guess what is going on, but with Bring Me Back, I cottoned on very early, maybe only after a quarter or third of the story, and the only thing that compelled me to keep reading was the curiosity to see if I was right. I still think the author is extremely capable of writing an excellent book, and the premise of the story and conclusion was fantastic, but there was just too much given away too early on in the story. Had that been kept till maybe two thirds of the way through it would have changed the whole dimension of the book.

I'm still a massive fan of B.A. Paris and will still buy her next book but for me the excellent writing in Bring Me Back was overshadowed by the glaringly obvious plot. The twist should have been kept wrapped up so much tighter.

Every once in a while, I discover a new writer, or at least new to me that is, and I am left asking myself ‘Why have you never read anything by them before?’ Well B. A. Paris is one of those writers. Rather embarrassingly I have ‘Behind Closed Doors’ and ‘The Breakdown’ on my ever expanding ‘To Be Read’ mountain but I just never seem to have got around to reading them. Rest assured that both books won’t be on that ‘To Be Read’ mountain for much longer. I absolutely loved reading ‘Bring Me Back’ but more about that in a bit.
I’m not sure that I took to Finn at all. He seems to be a big control freak who can’t control his temper, which has caused some disturbing scenes in the past. The man just can’t seem to decide which of the sisters he wants to be with. Of course Layla disappeared and he seemed obsessed with trying to find her, which is understandable. (At the same time though I didn’t blame Layla for leaving and if I could have, I would have helped her escape from Finn). I wondered too if Finn was perhaps viewing the past through rose tinted spectacles and only remembering the good times. I think that he saw being with Ellen as the second prize and thought that if he couldn’t have the favourite sister (Layla) then Ellen would have to do. He treats Ellen appallingly and I wasn’t surprised that she was more than a bit miffed by the time I was over half way through the book. In fact I felt my own temper starting to fray at some of the stuff that Finn was doing. At the same time I can’t say that I took to Ellen much either, although at times I did feel sorry for her, having to compete with a disappeared, presumed dead person for her boyfriend’s attention. Even though Finn and Ellen are due to get married, Ellen can’t seem to settle and feel as though Finn is all there (in the sense of that his mind is elsewhere with Layla rather than concentrating on Ellen and their impending marriage). Why did Layla disappear and where did she go? Will Finn find Layla? Which of the sisters does Finn decide that he wants to be with? Well for the answers to those questions and more you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves to find out as I am not going to tell you.
To say that this book is well written is putting it mildly. I absolutely loved reading ‘Bring Me Back’ and it certainly kept me guessing all the way through. I had my own ideas as to what had happened regarding Layla’s disappearance but with each new piece of information that came out, my mind kept changing as to what had happened and why. By the time I finished the book I was suspecting everybody and believing nobody. The author’s writing style is such that you can’t fail to be drawn into the book and indeed that’s what happened to me. I was hooked on the book from the moment I opened the front cover and time just seemed to stand still whilst I was reading. By the time I realised that a few hours had passed, I had cleared over half of the book but I didn’t notice the page numbers flying by because I was so enthralled by the story. I managed to shut out all other distractions, which is unusual for me as usually I am easily distracted. Reading ‘Bring Me Back’ was much like riding on a rollercoaster ride that has lots of hidden twists, turns, moments where you can’t believe what happened so you have to have another go/ read of the previous pages and moments where you just want to put your hands over your eyes as you dread what is going to happen next. There were certainly moments where the tension of the book got to me and I felt my heart rate increase and I held my breath. ‘Bring Me Back’ is certainly a book that messes with your head.
In short, I absolutely loved ‘Bring Me Back’, which was my first read by B.A. Paris and I can assure you that I will be reading her other books as a matter of urgency. I can’t wait to read what comes next from her brilliantly, twisted mind. I would have no hesitation in recommending this author or her books to anybody and everybody. ‘Bring Me Back’ is one of those books that will stay fresh in my memory for a long time to come. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is an easily well deserved 5* out of 5*.

This is definitely a case of your past catching up with you! B. A. Paris very cleverly writes novels with a knack of lulling you in so you think you know what is happening, or how it's going to play out. Only then do you discover you were so completely wrong it's laughable!
A couple are away on holiday when they stop for fuel. While he is paying, his girlfriend layla disappears without a trace from the car, leaving him distraught and initially under suspicion of wrongdoing.
Fast forward ten years later and he has finally found happiness again. Albeit with Layla's sister who he eventually proposes to.
This seems to trigger a series of strange events, causing doubt that Layla may be alive and well, although unhappy about their new relationship and subsequent engagement.
This book will erase everything outside of your mind while you try and decipher what's coming next, is Layla alive, will she reveal herself? There are so many questions needing answers, however it all comes together, only god knows how, although I suspect he shared it with the author or she would never have been able to construct such a brilliant, edge of your seat thriller.