This book had good momentum, and was definitely a pacy read - however the twists were predictable and the ending was very quick. I would recommend to a fan of domestic thrillers.

B A Paris’ latest novel explores a multitude of moral dilemmas. At its centre is a golden couple – perhaps a little too golden - Adam and Livia, married and with two children on the cusp of adulthood. Whilst Adam and Livia married very young because she became pregnant at seventeen, despite early problems they have stayed together and grown to love each other deeply over the years. Because Livia was disowned by her parents on falling pregnant, she feels she was cheated out of her dream wedding and has built up her fortieth birthday as the moment for an extravagant party, a replacement, if you will, for the wedding she never had.
In the early sections of the novel, I found it difficult to sympathise with this character. She appears indulged, extravagant, and rather child-like in her expectations. However, as the narrative progresses, we begin to appreciate just how heavy a burden she is carrying unbeknownst to the rest of her family. Her predicament is, ‘When is the right moment to reveal all?’ Her husband also learns of terrible news during the day of the party and is faced with a similar dilemma. Should he ruin Livia’s party with his revelation or wait until it is over and face her fury, her guilt and her despair when all have gone home?
As details of their secrets are skilfully revealed by Paris, this narrative becomes truly compelling and the reader is encouraged to ask themselves what they would do in the circumstances. One of the strengths of this novel is that there is no easy way out, no neat tying of any loose ends. The author reminds us that sometimes life brings us terrible issues to deal with and how we deal with them shapes our whole future.
Because the central issues are so effectively dissected through the characters’ thoughts, motives and conversations with others, it is easy to brush aside the weaker elements of the story. However, it is difficult to believe in Adam’s complicated relationship with his son; more exploration of the rift between the two would have strengthened this element and, in the circumstances, wouldn’t Josh have been just a little resentful of his father’s adoration (not too strong a word in this instance) of his sister, Marnie? And why did Adam begin to face up to his paternal responsibilities all those years ago when he had been behaving very badly indeed? I’m not sure that the damascene moment described rings true. However, all this aside, ‘The Dilemma’ is a gripping and thought-provoking read – perhaps BA Paris’ best novel yet.
My thanks to NetGalley and HQ Harper Collins Publishers Ltd for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

I have no hesitation whatsoever in giving this book 5 stars. It was fantastic. A gripping read full of suspense and intrigue.

After reading the other books by B A Paris I was so excited to receive an ARC copy of The Dilemma and it was fantastic. I could not put it down and was up all night until I had finished.

We meet Liv and Adam as they are preparing for Liv's 40th birthday party. This is something she has planned and dreamt about since her small, quiet wedding 23 years previously. Estranged from her parents and with one of her children studying abroad she is determined that everything will run smoothly. Adam knows how much Liv has lived for this day and no matter what it takes he is adamant nothing will spoil it and ruin her happiness.

As the characters and story unfold we come to find there is more than one person with a dilemma.
The story builds up slowly and then unravels at such speed I couldn't stop reading and found myself asking more than once - what would I do? I really don't want to give too much away about the twists and turns so highly recommend you read this book.

If you have read B A Paris's books then you know you're in for a treat. If not, it's a great place to start. Massive 5 stars.

I found this book hard to put down.
Each chapter alternates between Olivia and her husband with everything in between.

Olivia didn’t have a fabulous wedding. She’s longed and planned for her 40th birthday, what seems like, all her life. She’s saved and invested all her years focused on it.

But does her birthday huge party go off with a bang?

It sure does. But not in the way we think.

Olivia is walking around with a secret. And we get to read what she’s really thinking and feeling.

And a dark cloud of revelation is hanging over her husband that day.
And we get to read what’s going on in his head, and his emotions.

They have two grown children.
And we get some tearful times with Dad and his son that brought a lump to my throat. Emotional at times.

Picturing the birthday party in my head was so well played out with top “star” characters being there.
I grew to love Nelson. A best friend of her husband.

The parental family enveloping from her husbands side was lovely and all that it should be. Family support in crisis.

At one time I thought it was a bit drawn out that’s why it has 4* from me. But don’t be misled because I absolutely was invested in this book 100% and more.

We see about communication.
We learn about ‘good intentions’ that can go badly wrong.
We learn about family and relationships.
And we learn about love. Pure unselfish love.
And we learn about grief.

It’s one I’ll remember for quite some time.

This author astounds me with her abilities and insight to human depths of character

I can't believe I'm only giving this three stars as it's so well written, heart-breaking and sad. It's a tale of family love, separation, sorrow, misunderstanding and tragedy. That should make a wonderful read, shouldn't it? But something is missing. Once we discover the two threads that form the basis of the story it just dragged and dragged till in the end I just wanted to scream 'just tell her and get it over with'. I waited for the twist that would surely come. But no. It really went out not with a bang but a whimper.
But the other things that frustrated me. The party. I just didn't get it. Twenty years she had waited for a birthday party that would make up for the wonderful wedding she never had. It made her look a bit bonkers to be honest. They could have renewed their vows after 10 years or so. We got married in a registry office and renewed our vows after twenty five years in church because my husband knew it meant a lot to me (no wedding dress or anything over the top). Then there was Adam's treatment of her in the first few years. She forgave him so easily and put it down to his youth. Really? More selfishness.
Having said that I rocketed through it in two sittings but it would have been better if the whole thing had been cut by half. Then it would have been at least 4 stars.
Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC..

I love B A Paris but The Dilemma was a total disappointment.

I can’t point out exactly what went wrong with this story it was just lacking. I was waiting for an event to happen and set the plot off. Well written but something is missing.

It was very exciting and frustrating at the same time waiting for him to tell his wife what’s happened I wanted to shout at him myself, although I did feel for him, what a dilemma. I was shocked to find out the story about his daughter and never would have guessed that story line.

Wow what a great book! Compelling and intriguing right till the end!
Livia is planning the most lavish 40 th birthday party for herself to make up for having a small wedding! However she has a dilemma in wether to tell her husband something she has found out about their daughter Marnie or not!
Her husband Adam has found out some devastating life changing news and is in a dilemma about when to tell livia, the suspense as they both struggle to come to terms with their actions and the sense of what they are doing is borne out of love for their family will stay with you long after you have read the book! Totally unputdownable, thank you so much net galley for this early read.

Wowsers what a read.... I sat and read The dilemma in one sitting, I just could not put it down. BA Paris strikes again, a little different to her previous books, but it’s just as good if not better. Our full review will be published in January on the blog tour.

As soon as I read the blurb for this book I was intrigued and having read the author’s three previous books and given them all five stars I was so excited to have my hands on a copy and couldn’t wait to get started!!

I started reading and was hooked by the first few chapters – this is a book that makes you think, you go through a fair few emotions with the main characters and they do make you start to question what you would do if you were in the same situation. It was emotional and heart-breaking in places too.

This is quite different to the author’s previous books and I was really excited to see how the story would pan out and I have to say that I thought that the characterisation in the book was superb, I loved some, disliked others, exactly as the other would have planned and wanted – she did a great job at bringing everything to life.

It was a very well-crafted book and she had an additive writing style too. This was definitely a book that I read more than I had planned too in each sitting as I wanted to read just a few pages more each time and I read it over the course of an evening – staying up late to finish it off!

It is 5 stars from me for this one - this is an excellent story and very well developed, it had me gripped and it was such a good read, very highly recommended!!

I am usually a great fan of B A Paris’s books but this one definitely had something missing. It was a good. well written story, but dragged in places and lacked any twists or surprises.

I did enjoy this book, however I also feel slightly disappointed. Compared to B A Paris’s other books, I feel like this one was quite uneventful. The whole time I was feeling like something big was going to happen, but then it didn’t. I liked the characters and liked reading about them, although at times I did find some of them a bit annoying. I thought Livia was very selfish and Adam was quite a weak character. It was a very easy to book to read and did have me hooked. It was definitely a page-turner. The build-up was there but the main event was missing. I also wish there was a bit more information included as to why certain things happened, as I feel like some parts were lacking explanation. I’m still a fan of B A Paris and will be reading their future books.

Review
Livia is obsessed with holding her perfect 40th birthday party. She has been dreaming of this day for over 20 years. All the plans have been made and she’s ready to celebrate her day.

Husband Adam has been planning his own surprise - arranging for daughter Marnie to fly home from Hong Kong to join the party.

This whole book was about preparations for a party and two people who are happy and have been married for many years who cannot find the right moment to speak to each other about important matters.

It dragged on and could have been condensed into a couple of chapters. Really surprising and disappointing for this author as I’ve loved her previous books. I continued reading the book to the end because (a) I don’t like to give up on a book and (b) because I expected there to be a twist at the end. Spoiler: there wasn’t.

I rate this book 2 stars 🌟🌟 because I do like B A Paris’s writing style and it is consistent throughout this book.

Thanks
Thank you to the author B A Paris and publishers HQ for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an independent review.

Oh my god this book! I was absolutely gripped from start to finish and I couldn't wait to see what happened. My mind kept swinging from one decision to the next all the way through and it was written so well that I had no clue. I loved all of the characters, all of the tangled plot lines and thought it so realistic - who knows what any of us would do in that situation - that I felt for them all too. A brilliant story of family and choices but full of suspense and emotion too. BA Paris has done it again....amazing.

This is a difficult one to review, as the plot is so intricately woven and reliant on the gradual unravelling of multiple secrets that I can't say much for fear of spoiling a reveal or a plot point for another reader. What I will say is that this is a beautifully plotted, brilliantly written, and emotionally complex novel that I absolutely loved.

It's very different from B A Paris's other novels (which I also read and loved); this is a family drama played out over the course of a birthday party, with several secrets woven through the plot and complicating matters for our two main characters, Livia and Adam. It's a novel exploring family and friendship and grief, but it's also so much more than that, with themes of love, loss, sacrifice, and ultimately, redemption.

The tension is almost unbearable in places, and having to wait so long to find out the outcome/implications of one of the biggest secrets in the plot had me biting my nails to the quick. I'm not ashamed to say that I bawled my eyes out (I won't say when or why because again, spoilers), and believe me when I say this is a book I will be thinking about for a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley, who provided me with a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley for the loan of this book.
I love B.A Paris and have read all her books. I love the way the book flows and is easy to speed through, especially if you cant wait to get to the end, which I found I couldnt. The story starts with a family of 4 and the husband is hosting a big party for wife who's turning 40. Daughter is away at uni and son is due to go too. They have friends in abundance and initially life appears perfect, but they're all hiding a secret, one of which will ensure that life is never the same again.
I was holding my breath the last few chapters wanting it not to be so. This is not just a suspense story, it is the story of love and loss and the heartbreak that ensues when fate changes your life forever. I finished this book with a heavy heart as it was sadly too close to home for me but a good read nonetheless


HQ@harpercollins.co.uk

A dilemma no one would want, Livia has a huge secret that she has kept for a few weeks. She feels guilty but she knows that once it's out in the open nothing will be the same again. She tells herself that once her big birthday bash is out of the way she will tell her husband Adam and she hopes for the best that he won't do anything too drastic. On the day of the birthday party, Adam is faced with his own dilemma which is of a much greater magnitude, it is something he doesn't want to acknowledge and he just can't bring himself to find out the truth because he also knows that once he learns the truth nothing will be the same again. Apart from toilet breaks and food and drink I read this book in one sitting, I thought it was an amazing read.

I have a read a few books by this author, but The Dilemma was completely unexpected.

Livia has been planning her 40th birthday party for years as a way to make up for the lavish wedding she wished to have. All her friends and loved ones will be there to celebrate with her except for her daughter Marnie who has been studying abroad. Livia pretends she is sad that Marnie won’t be there but in reality, she is relieved because she knows a secret about Marnie that will devastate her husband Adam. Livia has known for weeks but she wants them to have this one last happy time before she drops her bombshell.

Adam has secretly planned for Marnie to travel home for the party. Before it begins though he hears some terrible news and has to decide whether to tell Livia or let her enjoy one last moment of happiness.

The Dilemma is written in split person narrative from the perspective of both Adam and Livia and suits this novel well as the reader can get to grips with the character’s motivations.

The book begins on Saturday 9th June at 3.30am with Livia waking to hear her husband leaving on his motorbike.

“The guilty beating of my heart slows when I see, behind the marquee…He’s there, he hasn’t gone to settle scores.”

Adam’s first chapter is full of anguish, you can tell he is really battling some strong emotions.

“The drag of the wind on my face is intoxicating and I have to fight an overwhelming urge to let go of the handlebars and freefall to my death. Is it terrible – that Livia and Josh aren’t enough to make me want to live?”

He is pulled over by the police and tells them it is about his daughter Marnie.

The next chapter begins the day before on the morning of the party.

We learn that Adam and Livia had their son Josh at a young age and for a long time afterwards Adam struggled to adjust to life as a parent whilst his friends were at university and out every weekend. He was a poor and absent father to Josh but then Marnie came along and Adam realised what being a father should be like.

“I’m reminded that Marnie is on her way home.

Smiling at the thought of seeing her again because nine months is a long time.”

Adam is paying for Marnie to come back for the party via Cairo and then Amsterdam as he knows if he gets her a direct flight Livia will not be impressed because he wouldn’t pay for Josh to have a direct flight to New York a few weeks later.

He swears Marnie to secrecy because he doesn’t want Livia to find out before the party.

“There are quite a few surprises lined up for Livia today, but Marnie turning up at the party is going to be the best surprise of all.”

Livia hasn’t spoken to her parents for many years, but she is thinking of them on the morning of her party because it Is partly because of them that she is having the party.

“When I became pregnant, not long after my seventeenth birthday, they refused to have anything more to do with me. And the lavish wedding became a hurried fifteen minute ceremony in the local registry office, with only Adam’s family and our best friend’s Jess and Nelson as guests.”

Right from the beginning Livia’s secret intrigued me. She clearly is close to her daughter and loves her very much so why doesn’t she want her home?

“Although I miss Marnie, I’m glad she won’t be here tonight. I feel terrible because I should be sorry that she’s missing the party, and I was at first. Now, I don’t even want her home at the end of the month.”

The reader is left wondering what could have possibly caused this change.

I don’t wish to give any spoilers so I will just say that I had very different reactions to Livia and Adam withholding information from each other. I think Livia did the right thing in her decision although her motives were questionable and more likely selfish.

Adam, on the other hand, did not do the right thing but his motives were likely more to do with shock and I need to not know what he knew.

There were times when I wanted it to speed up, but I am not sure if it was because I found it so gripping or because it felt a bit stalled.

Having said that I would definitely recommend this book.

Really good family mystery that I couldn’t put down. Lots of intertwining events to keep you hooked until the end.
Livia has been planning her 40th birthday party to make up for the big wedding she never had. Everything is planned down to the last minute detail the only fly in the ointment is that, Marnie, her daughter cant make it. She is in Hong Kong studying and can’t afford the flight.
Unbeknownst to Livia, Adam, her husband has arranged for Marnie to come home but something dreadful happens. Should Adam tell Livia before the party or let her enjoy herself and tell her after.
I really enjoyed this but do question Adam’s course of action - not what I would have done!