Name: Kellie Davis's review of The Dilemma by B.A. Paris
Item: The Dilemma
Rating: 2
Author: Kellie Davis

B.A. Paris

A woman's birthday party takes a dark turn in a poignant, heart-stopping new novel from the reigning queen of suspense, NYT and USA Today bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors, The Breakdown, and Bring Me Back. “A heartbreaking page-turner that will have you up at night reading just one more chapter.” —Catherine Steadman, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Something in the Water “The phenomenal B. A. Paris has done it again! I devoured The Dilemma in one sitting—it grabbed me from the very first page and wouldn’t let go until I’d finished. Secrets, guilt, shame and heartbreak—this story has it all in spades.”—Sandie Jones, New York Times bestselling author of The Other Woman Knowing the truth will destroy her. Keeping it secret will destroy him. It’s Livia’s 40th birthday, and her husband Adam is throwing her the party of a lifetime to make up for the wedding they never had. Everyone she loves will be there, except her daughter Marnie, who’s studying abroad. But Livia is secretly glad Marnie won’t be there. Livia has recently uncovered a secret about their daughter which, if revealed, will shake the foundation of their family to its core. She needs to tell Adam, but she’s waiting until the party is over so they can have this last happy time together. Adam, meanwhile, has his own surprise for Livia: he’s arranged for Marnie to secretly fly back for the party. But before Marnie arrives, Adam hears some terrible news. Now he too is faced with a dilemma: Does he share what he's learned with his wife? Is hiding the truth the same as telling a lie? And how far are Adam and Livia willing to go to protect the ones they love—and give each other a last few hours of happiness?

A Novel

The Dilemma

Amy Damaska

Kellie Davis

2.5 stars. My least favorite book by her so far. I’m not a fan of miscommunication troupes in books and this whole book could have been over on the first few chapters of the couple just talked to each other. I love her writing style though. It’s what kept me reading. I’ll continue to keep picking up her books just for the writing.

Toni Scola

Hate to say this, but I truly felt there was NO point to this story… I do not recommend this book to anyone, B.A. Paris has many more books out there worth reading.

Rebecca Shaffer

This could have been 100 pages, and I do not recommend for anyone with anxiety. It was an exploration of family dynamics, no murder or mystery to solve here. Also hard to love either of the main characters. Overall disappointing considering how much I loved this authors debut novel.

A woman's birthday party takes a dark turn in a poignant, heart-stopping new novel from the reigning queen of suspense, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors, The Breakdown, and Bring Me Back. “A heartbreaking page-turner that will have you up at night reading just one more chapter.” —Catherine Steadman, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Something in the Water “The phenomenal B. A. Paris has done it again! I devoured The Dilemma in one sitting—it grabbed me from the very first page and wouldn’t let go until I’d finished. Secrets, guilt, shame and heartbreak—this story has it all in spades.”—Sandie Jones, New York Times bestselling author of The Other Woman Knowing the truth will destroy her. Keeping it secret will destroy him. It’s Livia’s 40th birthday, and her husband Adam is throwing her the party of a lifetime to make up for the wedding they never had. Everyone she loves will be there, except her daughter Marnie, who’s studying abroad. But Livia is secretly glad Marnie won’t be there. Livia has recently uncovered a secret about their daughter which, if revealed, will shake the foundation of their family to its core. She needs to tell Adam, but she’s waiting until the party is over so they can have this last happy time together. Adam, meanwhile, has his own surprise for Livia: he’s arranged for Marnie to secretly fly back for the party. But before Marnie arrives, Adam hears some terrible news. Now he too is faced with a dilemma: Does he share what he's learned with his wife? Is hiding the truth the same as telling a lie? And how far are Adam and Livia willing to go to protect the ones they love—and give each other a last few hours of happiness?

Shirley Jones 

The Dilemma was such a great read, I was unsure when I first started this book on how it was going to turn out but the more I read, the addicted I became!

Fellowes Cynthia

After an initial period of getting in the groove of the book's rhythm, which took a little while to get used to, I found myself very eager to continue on the book's journey. I couldn't put it down. It was a compelling story about family, friendships and secrets. I don't want to give anything away - I personally hate, hate, hate knowing about spoilers and I am very sensitive to thinking that everything is a spoiler so I am treading lightly here. It is told from the point of view of the father Adam and the mother Livia - each chapter alternating the point of view - and although at times it is a bit tedious, for the most part I went along with it, didn't want to stop reading and couldn't wait to grab it and move forward. Very good read.

Neisha Gabrysiak

Ever since I read The Couple Next Door 2 years ago, I've been a huge B.A. Paris fan. I've read each of her other books as they've been released, quickly devouring both The Breakdown and Bring Me Back. So when I heard she had another book coming, I was thrilled. This page turner held my interest from the first page through the last - finishing it in just 4.5 hours.

The Dilemma had me feeling a range of emotions throughout the story, which takes place over the course of just one night in the life of married couple Livia and Adam. 

It's the day of Livia's 40th birthday - a day she's been planning for 20 years. She and Adam married young, in a quick courthouse wedding after they found out she was pregnant at 17. Her parents disowned her and she never got the big wedding she'd dreamed of her whole life, so she planned a big, splashy 40th birthday party to make up for that loss. 

Despite the odds of marrying and becoming parents so young, Adam is completely devoted to Livia and wants nothing more than for her to have the best time at her party.

Both Livia and Adam are keeping secrets from each other : Livia, a secret about a betrayal by their daughter, Marnie - a secret she's been keeping for several weeks. Adam, a surprise for Livia for her birthday - a visit from their daughter, who has been studying abroad in Hong Kong.

As Livia spends her morning being treated to a spa day by her best friends, Adam is preparing for her surprise and running some errands in town. That's when he gets the news that a plane has crashed - a plane that their daughter might be on.

Adam struggles with the dilemma of whether or not to tell Livia before or after her party that their daughter may have been on that plane - while Livia struggles with the dilemma of whether or not to tell him her secret before or after her party.

The events of the day/evening are told in chapters alternating between the POV of Livia and Adam, jumping between their secrets fluidly and holding your interest through the very end. 

**I am so very grateful to St. Marten't Press and Net Galley for the ARC of this book. I was given this book in exchange for an honest review, and all opinions posted are my own.**

Amanda Autumn Berrey

ehh

i was really excited about this novel because i thought it was going to be a psychological thriller with a huge twist but it’s more of a drama. it’s not bad for a drama but it’s definitely not a thriller. i didn’t like the way a lot of the plot dragged out.

Megan Oiler 

Welllll, I demolished this book and it demolished my heart in return. 

I picked up this book off the shelf because I enjoyed her thrillers. Welllll, I went in blind and this was not a thriller. 

My heart is broken.

Lauren Attaway

I am so nervous for the readers of this book! I was so stressed out by the setup that after a few days of reading a chapter here or there, I finally made myself sit down and finish it in one sitting. A married couple is keeping secrets from each other, and everything they haven't said is all coming to head at a party that that the wife has been planning for the last twenty years. That's about all I can say without saying too much. The good news about my vagueness is the author wastes no time in getting right to the central conflict of this novel. 
 This is so, so different from the other B.A. Paris novels that I've read (Behind Closed Doors and Bring Me Back) that I am recognize some readers of her past novels will not be fans of this. It is not really a domestic thriller but a family drama. It is very familiar to the stylings of Lisa Jewell, as the suspense in this novel comes from an extreme version of a real life scenario. I still couldn't put this book down, and I respect when authors try something new, although my finger are crossed her next book is another crazy thriller one!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Ruth Parker 

I’m a huge fan of B A Paris and have read all of this author’s pun loaned books so far. This was a little bit different from her usual books, less fast paced thriller and more domestic drama. I really enjoyed this book, found myself feeling the worry and fear and horrors of the characters.

Liv and Adam were two awful people though... making it slightly hard to follow what they were going through. I find so much secret keeping strange although it’s well explained throughout the book as to why they decided not to tell each other these major life changing events.

Overall this was a good book, moving and raw and tough to deal with but I enjoyed reading it, finding it difficult to put down, desperate to find out what was going to happen and how things were going to resolve themselves. A great read.

Reading With Chris

I love a great thriller. I love great domestic thrillers, but this just wasn’t that. It lacked the mystery and suspense I look for in this genre. If you like books where “everyone here sucks”, everyone is hiding something but you know what it is, soap opera type drama with a sad ending then you may enjoy it. I did not. 

I’ve read other books by this author and loved them. I just wasn’t a fan of this plot. The writing is solid.

Megan Leprich

Yuki Reads

3.75 stars

I was expecting a thriller, and this definitely wasn’t one (I went in blind but I loved BEHIND CLOSED DOORS so was expecting a similar genre). 

This novel tackles love and loss in a really heartbreaking way. It definitely was suspenseful (not sure why but my heart rate was past 100 BPM at some point lol) but not a thriller. I liked how it was a page turner but I didn’t like how some problems could’ve been solved with some verrryyy simple communication.

Amy Damaska &
The Dilemma by B.A. Paris

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Amy Damaska &The Dilemma by B.A. Paris

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Amy Damaska &
The Dilemma by B.A. Paris