I wouldn't call this mystery/thriller but more of a domestic drama. This was the first book in the thriller genre to actually make me feel quite sad, but really connected to the story. I enjoyed the format of short chapters separated by each hour, and it felt like every new chapter unwrapped a new aspect to the story. It was really hard to put this book down - I've only read one other book by B.A. Paris but this is my new favorite of hers.

I really enjoyed this book, it was easy to read. The characters were relatable. It had a “real” feel to it.

Easy 4.5 stars from me. This book navigates difficult issues as well as complicated family/friend life. I was instantly sucked into the lives of the characters and couldn't wait to see how it ended. I will definitely be recommending this one to my family and friends.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found this one to fall rather flat. I enjoyed the “suspense” for maybe 5 chapters and after that the only thing I did was scream at Adam and Livia in my head. This novel could have been a 5 paragraph essay if the husband and wife could pull their heads out of their butt and just talk to each other. I found the book to be frustrating and annoying, not in a good way. I struggled to finish. Compared to this authors other books, this one was extremely dull.

The Dilemma by B.A. Paris a suspenseful story that takes place over 24 hours. Adam and Livia are hosting a party for Livia's long planned 40th birthday. It is supposed to be like the wedding Livia never had, and she is hoping it is absolutely perfect. Adam is busy trying to make sure that everything is in place; the caterers, decorations, gift, and the surprise of their daughter, Marnie, coming in from Asia to surprise her mother. No one knows about Marnie's surprise except her father. As the day unfolds, the reader gets a glimpse into Livia's mind, as she grapples about having to tell Adam a secret that will shatter his world, but decides to wait until after the party. Adam is waiting to hear from Marnie about which flight she ends up making, and is panic stricken when there is a plane crash leaving from her connecting airport. As the party draws closer, Adam and Livia become increasingly anxious as they try to keep the other calm.

This book was not a thriller like I was expecting, but it is a raw look into one couple's relationship. Adam and Livia's relationship has been tested over the years, and this party comes at a time when they are truly happy. Neither wants to break that. I am giving 4 stars only because this book built up the suspense quite high, but it didn't really have the climax it should have. Otherwise, this book is genuine and well written. Thank you the NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy!

The Dilemma is an amazing domestic drama by B.A. Paris. It deals with hot topics such as marital affairs, pregnancy loss, infertility and the death of a loved one. In short, it has it ALL.

if you like detail in writing this is for you. Me? I prefer getting to the point at least a little more quickly than Th Dilemma. The book slowly smoulders on and on, until final the story breaks.

The narrative flips between the two main characters: Livia and Adam, who are married so that you see the their lives through two sets of eyes. Now here is the part I don’t get but I’m not one who’d ever want a big party or wedding.

Livia has been waiting for, and organizing her own party for as long as she can remember. She even chose their home based the garden where the party would one day take place. Now the pressure is on her husband, Adam, to make sure that it’s perfect for her.

Adam and Livia seem to have it all: they have a beautiful home and a boy and girl child, Marnie and Josh, and a host of extended family and friends. But wait not all is perfect, Livia was disowned at 18 when she became pregnant out of wedlock with Josh. Later Marnie is born into wedlock and maybe that’s kinda okay with Livia’ s dad, but after 20 years there has been no contact.

Now for for Livia’s perfect and extravagant fortieth year old birthday party! Livia is planning the celebration of the century, but it’s more than just a party to her it’s is her one opportunity to be self-indulgent; to make up for the wedding her parents never provided her. Rather she and Adam were married in a fifteen minute ceremony at the courthouse. I am struck by the love between Adam and Livia after marrying so young and under not so wonderful circumstances. Can this love endure the worst event to ever happen in the life of parents?

The party comes and eventually goes with Adam harbouring the most devastating news. Why does Adam wait til after the party to share? Does he really want to spare his wife’s grief until after her gala or is he just afraid to confront it! This is the point this reader became frustrated as The Dilemma drug on and on and on. I guess the author wanted to impose on the reader the difficulty of such a dire decision.

The plot is not a complex one, yet engaging as you desperately hope that things will work out as the party, parties on. Even though the book unfolded slowly and in great detail, I was hooked by the decisions that had to be made hoping that relationships can be salvaged and lives will not be destroyed. But that’s not true life.

I recieved this book from netgalley and St. Martin's press in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely love B.A Paris and have read every single one of her books. The Dilemma is a switch up from the psychological thrillers I'm used of hers. This is more of a domestic drama with a hint of thriller. While it was totally different than I thought it would be, I throughly enjoyed and loved the story told from 2 different point of views between Livia and Adam. The layers of this story are so emotional and heart wrenching at times. I felt for both Adam and Livia as well as their entire group of family and friends!! 5 stars for me!

BA PARIS HAS A NEW BOOK. I have always loved B A Paris. Her books always twist and turn and the ending is What I didn’t see that coming. The dilemma is such a great disappointment. It is a vanilla book. With vanilla characters. It comes out in June so a good beach book. To waste time while you work on your tan

Livia never got to have the dream wedding that she and her mother always wanted because she got pregnant at seventeen and her parents disowned her and refused to pay for a wedding. Ever since, Livia had been tucking away money and planning for the day that she turned forty so she could throw a lavish party that would compensate for never having a wedding. Now she was turning forty and it was finally time. Preparations were made for an extravagant celebration and all of Livia’s family, friends, and co-workers were invited to the bash. Her husband Adam planned a big surprise for the celebration with their daughter Marnie’s help, and their son Josh had a few surprises up his sleeve as well. It seemed that the party would go off without a hitch, but then things began to unravel. There were several bombshells that threatened to ruin the day and as the party continued, the secrets started to drop in rapid succession. Like a game of dominoes, as each secret fell, it seemed to impact the next. Before the party was over, no one would be the same. This highly emotional novel demonstrates the secrets that families keep protecting those they love, and the repercussions that can result. Readers should be ready for a nail-bitingly tense read.

This was one book i could NOT put down. It pulls you in from page one and keeps you wondering on the edge of you seat.

My favorite book from this author! Totally not what I expected...the author kept me guessing the whole time.

This book left me overwhelmed with emotions. It should probably come with a trigger warning with regards to its subject, but then that will probably be a bit of spoiler. I have enjoyed the previous books written by BA Paris and this was no exception. This is by no means a thriller or mystery. it did not come with a blurb of it's own so I had no idea what to expect. It is more emotional and dramatic in a way. As you read this book you can feel a myriad of emotions. You can feel Livia's burden, confusion, anger, grief through each phase. You can feel Adam's burden due to his duty-bound behavior, the dilemma he faced in deciding what to do, his despair and grief too. The book is aptly named since!
As a mother, one can't imagine how torn Livia must have been between protecting her daughter and sharing her daughter's secret wit her husband. At one point I could not believe how a married couple had such important things that they kept from each other, and how it caused confusion when they assumed they knew what secrets the other was keeping. But it is not all that unbelievable. It happens, you want to protect the ones you love, you want "fix" things and so you give yourself more and more time before sharing things and life happens. It is not that hard to digest. I had my moments of frustration with the way Adam reacted, or did not do something as simple as making that phone call right away, but then again, each person processes facts differently and needs their own time to deal with emotions and logical, practical actions.
I have seen movies that made my heart wring and my head hurt, but the last 20% of this book made me spill actual tears, maybe because I could relate to the sadness this couple shared on a deep and personal level.
One lesson i learn though is that for any relationship to work, the lesser secrets you have the better, in the end the key to an easier relationship is to communicate, communicate and communicate!

Thanks NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with the ARC for my unbiased review.

I loved Bring Me Back. Paris' writing style is effortless and engrossing, so I was thrilled to receive an eARC of The Dilemma from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley in exchange for review consideration.

I was no less disappointed by the writing in The Dilemma. Livia, a loving mother and devoted wife, is in the final stretches of planning a lavish fortieth birthday party for herself. Years of saving and months of prepping, hard work, and dedication lead to the ultimate dream party she's always wanted, and her husband, Adam, is determined to make it perfect.

Whatever it takes.

It sounds ominous when I type it, and that's exactly what I expected: ominous. Something disastrous, yet fantastical. A serial killer. A stalker. A long-lost sibling hell-bent on destruction.

What I got, however, was much more terrifying: wanting to be there for her mother, Marnie, decides to fly home from where she's studying in Hong Kong for the party, organizing the surprise with her father with the expectation of arriving at the party.

Only Adam knows she's coming, and when he sees that the plane Marnie was supposed to be on has crashed, he's the only one who knows of the potential devastation.

What ensues is a heart-wrenching look at what happens when the past and the present collide, when people show their true selves in the midst of tragedy, and how people deal with catastrophe and all the different layers. For this, I loved The Dilemma. Airing more on the side of suspense rather than thriller, I found this to be an emotional journey into depression and guilt. "Secrets," in this genre, have become synonymous with crime, murder, and obsession. The unreliable narrator instills this distrust where we think something horrible is going to happen because of an outside force or an intention to do harm.

Here, the villain isn't a manipulative stalker or a premeditated murder serving as a means to and end.
Here, the villain is guilt and how people cope with mistakes they make when they're younger. It's wanting so much to atone for the hurt you caused before you're unable to see the potential hurt you're causing.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and BA Paris has shown this proverb to be never more true than this story.

In spite of the beautiful sadness Paris creates, I had a really hard time getting over the lack of common sense. Adam draws out the purgatorial sense of doom for no reason. He ignores common sense. He creates drama for no reason. Nothing irritates me more than when characters choose to do something so easily solvable and pretend like it's not an option.
*spoilers*
Adam could've called the airline. The emergency number. He would've known right away whether or not Marnie was on that plane instead of hemming and hawing. I just couldn't understand why he wouldn't find out before he went to Marnie. Why he would've gone the most round-about way to finding out the information--even when someone tells him that's exactly what to do. Countless excuses of illness and lies when the answer was so simple. I wanted it to either be a more concrete reason to not touch base with the airline or to have him attain this information and hold on to it alone, struggling with the cold-hard fact that his daughter was dead and whether he should tell Livia before or after the party.

Overall, The Dilemma was a wonderful read. Well-paced, taut with suspense, and emotionally conflicted, add The Dilemma to your 2020 TBR if you love suspense that focuses on complex family relations, bloodless thrills, and hypothetical situations that leave you questioning your own choices.

I was so intrigued by this story, and yet completely disgusted with these characters at times. I had to keep reading though to find out what would happen with them. That is pretty much how I felt the entire read. It definitely held me captive, though it was a little drug out at times. It was such an unexpected story and I definitely look forward to more from this author.

I love BA Paris! This book was not at all what I expected. The characters were so relatable and could not figure out how to deal with the dilema they were both in. I did not expect what happened in the book at all. It was such a good read, and I totally devoured it in a day.

This book took me away from my typical genre. It was well worth it. It is definitely a tear jerker and makes you think about family dynamics, and your own moral compass. Great job!

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

Who does it hurt more when you keep a secret, yourself or those around you? Livia, Adam, Josh and Marnie are a family. Each of them has a secret. They all tried to find the right time to tell their family what is going on in their life or a secret they know of another. Without going into much detail, this is a must-read book.

This novel differs from B.A. Paris previous novels. This isn’t a mystery novel or a thriller. This is about a family and the struggles that take a toll in each character’s life as they tried to find the right time to let go of this secret. Even though it’s not a mystery, there is a constant attraction of enigma that kept me reading. The characters are fascinating as they try to convince themselves why they should not tell others about what they know. There were so much emotions within this novel, I didn’t realize I was crying as I read.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this fabulous ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was so thrilled to be invited to read a galley copy of B. A. Paris's latest novel, The Dilemma. I got the invitation to read it, downloaded it, and read it all in a single day. I just couldn't put it down until I learned how the dilemma would be resolved. That night I had dinner with a friend and told her the basics of the story because I found it fascinating. A week later, I met another friend for dinner and did the same with her because The Dilemma was still with me. It's on both of their To Read lists now.

The beauty of The Dilemma is that it's such a simple story. Most of the book takes place in a single day. The primary characters are Livia, her husband Adam, and their two children Marnie and Josh. Marnie is a college student in Hong Kong, and Josh works in NY. The setting is Livia and Adam's UK home on the occasion of Livia's 40th birthday. Livia and Adam had had a quickie wedding when they were just teens, and she's always felt cheated out of that All-About-Me Day. So for 20 years she's been putting away money to save for a lavish 40th birthday celebration with all of the important people in her life, all of her family and friends.

Now the day has finally arrived, but both Livia and Adam each have a dilemma. Livia knows a secret about their daughter that will crush her husband when he finds out. Adam also knows something about Marnie that could destroy Livia and change everything for their entire family. What would you do? Would you be honest with your spouse and face the fallout or would you hold the secret for just one day knowing that nothing can be done to change the consequences anyway? One more day of happiness is the consequence of keeping the secret to yourself. Then again, when the secret comes out, will you be able to repair the broken trust that is the consequence of the secret you kept?

Paris's prose will pull you in tight and keep you turning the pages. I felt for both Livia and Adam, but you will be particularly empathetic for Adam and the decision he needs to make. As I said, it's a very simple story, but it just broke my heart. I loved every moment, and it has stayed me in the weeks since I read it. That's the hallmark of a great novel. Five bright stars from me.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an electronic ARC of The Dilemma.

I should rename this book with my another favorite Led Zeppelin’s song name: “Communication Breakdown” or we may call it “Anatomy of Marriage” and deliver this heart wrenching, soul crusher, touchy story into talented hands of Noah Baumbach to turn this into a tear jerker movie. What do you think if we may have another realistic, memorable movie after Marriage’s Story.

I have to admit, I didn’t expect a dramatic family fiction when I started reading this book. When I saw B. A. Paris’ name, I thought I was about to devour a nail biter, eyes wider, grey cell crusher thriller story. So I may have given two stars after the disappointment but... I couldn’t because this is really good written fiction.

I truly loved Livia as a character, Adam and her marriage story made me cry, affected me deeply because in my opinion you’re not growing up till you get married and spend your life with someone, discovering yourself and learning more about your partner in crime! When you get married, you learn how to share, how to fight against tremendous challenges life is throwing at your way, because your marriage teaches you to be selfless, mature, logical. Mostly marriage also teaches you to be blind, mute and listen more, act lesser.

Livia and Adam were so young when they put their rings on and took their first steps to the parenthood when they were also young adults.

Livia is shunned by her family emotionally and financially. And Adam had real hard time to adapt his new life. He acted like spoiled brat/ baby boy who wanted to hang out and play with other boys, riding bikes, rejecting responsibility and put entire parenthood burden on his wife’s shoulders. He made so many mistakes and now he was adamant to pay his dues and atone his past marriage sins.

So our story starts at the 40th birthday party of Livia. She’s finally having quality time with loved ones and being pampered by her friends and family. But Livia is not really happy. She’s keeping a secret from her husband about her daughter. Her husband’s favorite, Marnie, their daughter, betrayed their trust and Livia is not ready to face to her daughter who is still in Hong Kong for her education. This secret could change everything about their family dynamics, their social circles and close friendships.

But guess what! Her husband is also keeping a secret, too. Their daughter is planning to make surprising appearance at her mother’s birthday. Adam is so happy and determined to compensate his faults and wrongdoings throughout their marriage by giving his wife the most special night she deserves.

Then he checks the news and finds out there is a plane crash and their daughter might be in very same plane. But he can tell it to his wife and ruin his day. Maybe their daughter missed the plane. Maybe she was alive, wasn’t she?
You wanna know what’s gonna happen? Go on and read it! It’s getting better at each page.

I enjoyed book’s realism about marriage, friendship, parenthood and the author’s way of questioning those matters with honesty. Only thing I didn’t like is the couple’s lack of communication because of their own reasons could be more frustrating than you could ever imagine.

And of course ending ripped my heart apart. So I’m giving my happily ever after four stars and recommend this heartbreaking journey to you. But please keep your napkins, tissues, any kind of tear driers closer and do not wail way too long like I did not to traumatize your lovely neighbors!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this meaningful ARC COPY with me in exchange my honest review.