Expectations are at the core of this bow string tight novel. Livia has planned this birthday with precision and longing. Adam her husband has a secret that could blow her fortieth and their lives apart. Each decides to hold onto their secrets till after the big day. Forces set in motion will push issues to the surface and give readers a thrill to remember.

The only thing that kept me reading is the author at least has a good and engaging style of writing. I disliked our MCs so much. And allllllllll the lying was not only frustrating and annoying, but stressful. My fault for requesting a book with that as the main trope. I was not a fan.

First things first, this book is NOT a thriller or a mystery but more of a Family Drama. The entire novel unfolds in a 24 hour period and revolves around a married couple- Livia and Adam.

It is Livia’s 40th birthday, and her husband Adam is throwing her the party of a lifetime to make up for the grand wedding they never had. Everyone she loves will be there, except her daughter Marnie, who’s studying abroad. But throughout the party, both Adam and Livia are in mental turmoil. Because both of them are withholding a secret from each other and in a dilemma, whether to reveal it or not… A secret that could tear their lives apart.

First the good part. This is a story about miscommunications that overtime keeps getting bigger. The story unfolds slowly with each chapter over a one hour time period, told by either Adam or Livia. The story is tragic and B A Paris has an amazing writing style that keeps you hooked.

Now for the not so good part. If you read this expecting a thriller you will be disappointed. It’s more of a family drama. I found the entire premise of Birthday party and husband not sharing a secret really hard to believe. The story gets very repetitive with both husband and wife struggling with their ‘secrets’ over and over and over without any resolution in sight. Entire scenes and chapters start feeling repetitive after a while. Both Livia and Adam came across as immature and self-centered. There was no twist in the ending either. This could have worked as a short story but felt unnecessarily dragged.

3.5 Stars

Entertaining with a hint of suspense. A good family drama filled with secrets.

I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.

This book kept me interested. Love this author although parts of this book felt repetitive and it dragged a bit too much.

This was seriously disappointing. I’m not sure this writer’s style is for me. Meandering storyline that didn’t pay off for me.

Begins with Liva getting ready for her 40 birthday party but her daughter doesn't think she will make it. that is not the only thing there are past decisions that are now coming back to her and this story is told from her and her husband's points of view going back and forth. You will be connected to the pages and the characters will become people to you as you read this book, you will not want to stop until the end to find out.

Whew, that was one frustrating, suspenseful race to the finish for me. I found myself in a dilemma with wanting to give up on this one or control my frustration with how dragged out the story felt at times. The suspense won out and I kept turning the pages as fast as I could and ended up enjoying this one.

I loved the idea of the dilemmas here our main characters Adam and Livia face that left me in a dilemma with my thoughts on their dilemma. Did that make sense? lol I loved all the questions it left me with that I wanted to talk about with my friends in this buddy read.

The characters and their actions are questionable and at times I thought they were convincing and others not so much. At times it was hard for me to empathize with the characters and I went back and forth with liking them and not liking them. The ending left me with some mixed feeling but overall I liked the way it wrapped up.

As you can see I was in a bit of a dilemma with this one! Can you tell I love the title???

This book had a good storyline, but heavily lacked suspense for me. I think I went in expecting a thriller when maybe I should not have. The characters were very hard to find likable, although maybe that is what the author intended, I'm not sure. While it was somewhat suspenseful, I just can't put my finger on what it was about this book that made me disappointed in it. I will always read anything B.A. Paris writes, but this was definitely not my favorite of hers.

I am a huge huge fan of BA Paris and I have loved absolutely everything I have read. I would highly encourage anyone and everyone to pick up a copy and check it out.

I was expecting a thriller, but ended up with more of a domestic drama. Which is fine, just not what I was expecting. I’ve read other BA Paris books and really enjoyed them, so this doesn’t dissuade me from reading more of her work. This one just wasn’t my favorite.

Livia never had a wedding that she has wanted, so for her 40th birthday she throws a huge bash. Adam plans to have Marnie to fly from Hong Kong to surprise her mother for the birthday. However, to not spoil her, Adam makes Marnie takes three connecting flights instead of a direct flight. However, the day of the bash, Adam sees a flight from Cairo crashes and kills everyone and Marnie may or may not been on the flight. Livia finds out a secret about Marnie. Adam and Livia both hold their secrets from one another.
I thought the suspense was good. However, I felt like it was very anticlimactic and a disappointing ending. I find this to be forgettable.

This book took me awhile to get into, and I was not into the characters. I have enjoyed her other books, so thought this would be in the same vain. I actually did not finish it.

THE DILEMMA
BY B.A. PARIS

Livia has been planning her fortieth birthday party ever since her parents refused to attend her wedding. Their reason for not going to Livia and Adam's wedding was because Livia was pregnant with her and Adam's first child. Adam is a kind husband and learns a potentially tragic event regarding their daughter Marnie that he is at first not sure if Marnie is is involved or not. Adam is coming from a kind place when he decides to postpone telling Livia about what he has learned so that she can enjoy her last hours of her much anticipated birthday party. Adam's decision to delay the inevitable is partly because he is hopeful that he could be wrong about their daughter being involved in what would be every parents worst nightmare. By not telling Livia and delaying in confirmation of whether or not Marnie is involved serves a two prong solution for Adam. One is he wants Livia to enjoy her party because after all these years she has prepared and looked forward to this event. The other reason is Adam doesn't want to hear what by the hour seems likely to be bad news and he is afraid to get the consequences.

This was a big departure for B.A. Paris to cross genres of usually crafting psychological thrillers to switching to domestic family drama. I am a huge fan of B.A. Parris and have read every single book she has written. My two favorites were, "The couple Next Door," and I believe I loved even more the, "Break Down." I may even pick up the,"Break Down," and re-read it over the up coming holiday. "The Dilemma," did not disappoint one bit. I really enjoyed it. It was fast paced and an easy read. I couldn't put the book down. I had to find out what happened. Although my one tiny quibble was towards the end when I was getting to the climax and the tension and suspense was building it was slightly annoying to re read the same version just told by alternating points of view. Otherwise this was an extremely compelling and interesting experience reading about domestic family drama from B. A. Paris. I look forward to her next book and hope I am an early reader. Thank you to the publicist that alerted me by email that "The Dilemma," was available.

Thank you to Net Galley, B.A. Paris and the publisher for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own. Thank you also to the publicist who alerted me.

B. A. Paris never disappoints! The Dilemma was great. I love this author. I will read anything she writes!

I LOVE B.A. Paris. One of my absolute favorite authors. She is always able to keep my drawn in and holds my attention. The Dilemma is probably on my top 5 favorite books. I thoroughly enjoy the back and forth telling of the main characters story. Wasn’t as “twisty” as I would of liked but her writing is so intriguing I almost don’t need those twists. Such a great book. 10/10 recommend

Olivia has been planning her fortieth birthday party for years, especially since she married Adam Harman in haste after becoming pregnant in her teens with their son, Josh, who is now twenty-two. Liv's big day arrives, but it is not an unalloyed pleasure. She knows something about their daughter, nineteen-year-old Marnie, that will likely devastate Adam. Meanwhile, Adam is hiding important information from Liv. He rationalizes his behavior, hoping that his fears will turn out to be unfounded. Liv and Adam are desperate to spare one another unnecessary pain, but when is silence toxic rather than golden?

"The Dilemma," by B. A. Paris, is a harrowing domestic drama that focuses on Adam and Liv's internal struggles. In alternating and relatively brief chapters, they narrate their stories in an hour-by-hour timeline before, during, and after Liv's celebration. Paris demonstrates that keeping secrets can weaken our relationship to our loved ones, sometimes irrevocably.

This poignant but, at times, implausible and melodramatic novel explores the challenges that all married couples and parents face, and our hearts go out to the well-drawn primary and secondary characters. The momentum builds until the climactic finale, when various people must face harsh realities that could destroy their peace of mind for years to come. Overall, "The Dilemma" is an engrossing and thought-provoking work of psychological suspense that poses a thorny question: When is honesty the best policy?

Very drama centered. Not as much as thriller. Because it is drama based, it is heavily character based so at times it moved slow.

Holy moly!! I I think I am going to need some time to process this one. When I started the book, it had been some time since I read the synopsis, so I was a bit blind. The story is a bit like an episode of 24, where each chapter takes you through one of the characters prospective of an hour during a party that was years in the making.

Each character has their own secret they are holding back on, and I often found myself pondering how I would have acted or what h would have done in their shoes.

Definitely an interesting read!

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

It makes me sad that B.A. Paris's books are no longer some of my favorites, because they really used to be!