Skip to main content

Member Reviews

4.5 rounded to 5. I LOVE BA Paris. Her thrillers always have me guessing till the very end. It wasn't my favourite of hers but it was still face paced nerve wracking.

What is going on with Amelie. What is her story ? How did she end up being kidnapped ? Why is she there! You'll never guess the ending. I know I didn't. I was hoping she would escape from Ned. Although she is safer with her kidnappers o think.

Will anyone save Ned ? I hope not! His father shouldn't bother paying the ransom.

I really enjoyed the jumping back and forward in Time.

A great read by Paris. Thanks to netgalley and st martins press for this ARc

Was this review helpful?

rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

HUGE thank you to B.A. Paris, NetGalley, and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy of this book!

in this book, we are following Amelie who lost her parents as a child, yet still managed move from Paris to London and makes ends meet all on her own. a once-in-a-lifetime encounter in Paris leads to a new job and a new place to live, giving Amelie another chance at life.

things are looking up until she gets tricked into a marriage and everything starts going downhill from there. one day she wakes up in a dark room with nothing but the clothes on her back, and a mattress... she doesn't know how she got there or why SHE was taken.

I really enjoyed this book!!! there are dual timelines (which I LOVE) and the chapters were really short so I felt like I flew through it! I couldn't wait to see how it all was going to play out, and I was definitely caught off guard by some of the twists.

I've only read one other B.A. Paris book (The Therapist), but I cannot wait to read more!!

make sure to check this one out on November 1st!!! thank you again for the ARC!

Was this review helpful?

Read this is you like:

Short Chapters
Alternating Timeliness
Mystery and Suspense
Intriguing Premise
Math and Numbers

B A Paris books always leave me with many feelings. Mostly I feel annoyed that I didn’t like it more. I want so badly to love one of her books as much as I loved Behind Closed Doors. There was some similar themes in the two but this one fell flat for me once again.

I had a few issues with this book.
First the characters, I found them all extremely undeveloped, I didn’t connect with anyone. I didn’t really care what happened to them and I wasn’t even affected of the villains.

I found this book very repetitive, especially the first half and once we got to the second half I felt like we had nothing else to be excited for. There was no major twist or story arc that I was waiting for.

Then that ending 😐… I literally thought my arc was missing a chapter, it was that abrupt.

I did read this book very fast and I love my books with short chapters! I just wish this book gave us more as it did have a lot of potential! Yes I will continue on the BA Paris Journey.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Was this review helpful?

B.A.Paris has become one of those automatic read authors for me. I honestly don’t even read the synopsis anymore - I just add to cart. I was so excited to get to read this novel. I felt like it was a little different than previous novels but had an intriguing and “who done it” theme throughout. If you like twisty, psychological thrillers then this is for you.

Big thank you to @Netgalley & @stmartinspress for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Was this review helpful?

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Was this review helpful?

Behind Closed Doors by this author is one of my all time favorite thrillers (I always feel weird saying that because it is a very messed up book lol).

This book has similar vibes to BCD, but it didn’t captivate me quite like that one did. It does have some good plot twists that leave you guessing and I do think it’s worth the read; my constant comparing to Behind Closed Doors is what I think ruined it for me a little bit.

Was this review helpful?

Orphaned at 16, Amalie runs away to the London in the hopes of starting a new life. When the opportunity to marry an extremely well known, and wealthy man arises, she takes the chance to secure her future.
She wakes up one day in a dark room and realizes she and her husband have been kidnapped. The first half of the story alternates between the past and present of Amalie's life.
I can see why several people didn’t care for the book, but I enjoyed it. The first half was really good, the second half is all about finding answers and felt like a wild goose chase. Although a lot of it was a bit farfetched, it was fast paced and did keep my interest. I found myself unable to put it down. The ending was just ok, but we do get all the answers so I appreciated that. Overall, I think it was a quick and decent read.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

The Prisoner was 3.25 stars. I have read all of BA Paris’ books, she is an author I will read without having to see what the book is about. This was a unique story which started with so much promise and then the ending was a Lifetime Movie, it just fell short. The ending just didn’t add up, you had to suspend reality to make it work. I still love you, B.A. Paris!

Thank you, Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for inviting me to read The Prisoner!

Was this review helpful?

B. A. Paris is a genius at writing suspenseful thrillers. This one is definitely a must read. Amelie finds herself imprisoned without a clue as to why, but of course this wouldn't be a B.A. Paris novel without shocking twists and turns. It's gripping, nail biting, and keeps you wanting more. I absolutely loved this book. Definitely pick this book up.

Was this review helpful?

This is not your typical psychological thriller! This book is told in dual timelines and in two parts. I enjoyed the author’s twist on creating an atmosphere of suspense and how it kept changing my views on who the captor was and the reason why! Definitely not what I was expecting!

Was this review helpful?

Amelie has been married to billionaire Ned for under three weeks when she wakes up in a dark room and no clue who has abducted her and why. We slowly learn that Ned is not a great guy and that Amelie is hoping to make a mistake and never see Ned again. Ned feels similar and continuously offers up Amelie to save himself.

I love an alternating timeline in books, but in this one I did not feel particularly excited by either. The chapters in captivity got fairly redundant after awhile and the past chapters were a bit too slow to build. Then the last handful of chapters are so packed with excitement it felt too far fetched. I wish the details in the last few chapters were woven throughout the story better so I didn't have to suspend so much disbelief in the end. I have read quite a few books by this author and unfortunately this was my least favorite.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Paris' BEST YET. This kept me on the edge of my seat. Unique. I've already recommended this to friends, and I think it would make a fun winter book club selection!

Was this review helpful?

This is a book that will draw you in and hold you captive. Literally make you feel as if you are captive. Even the scenes that do not take place in the locked room where Amelie is feel confining, closed, suffocating.

Amelie has been taking care of herself for a long time, ever since she lost her parents in Paris. She’s street smart and naïve at the same time. In London she’s finally starting to make progress towards achieving her dream of going to school. She has friends that make her feel loved, cherished and cared for, a job she enjoys, and glamour surrounding her, glamour that calls to her. Maybe a little too much. She thinks she’s in control, what she’s doing may not be 100% ethical but it’s for a good cause, and no one will get hurt. But what she’s really done is make a deal with the devil.

The suspense starts from the reader’s first encounter with Amelie in the locked room and continues full on as the narrative switches between then and now. It’s exciting, thrilling, scary – and a caution about what you agree to. I received a free book from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley. I am voluntarily leaving this review and all opinions are my own.

Was this review helpful?

Seems fitting for me to post a thriller for this weekend. I am a big B.A. Paris fan whenever I am in the mood for a quick page turning thriller. The Prisoner fit that mold as it was the story of Amelie, a woman rebuilding her life after a childhood of tragedy, only to be married to a billionaire and end up being kidnapped. The chapters alternate between her present day confinement to how she ended up to be in this situation. There are red herrings, twists and turns, dark and creepy moments and highly icky characters. I always like seeing how the puzzle pieces fit together and the clues that I missed since I almost always guess wrong until the end. This one kept me engaged and I was rooting for Amelie and invested in her story and survival.

Was this review helpful?

I had a hard time getting into this one. The story was ok and flowed well but I just wasn’t connected to the characters or the plot as much as other B.A. Paris books.

Was this review helpful?

This book took awhile to get me hooked, but when it did, it got really good and fast paced! The short chapters and flashbacks between past and present helped keep me interested even before it started to speed up. I think what threw me off is that they started off right in the middle of the action instead of building up to it.

I loved the theme of friendship in the book, and I loved seeing the support network Amelie created after she was orphaned. Watching the antagonist going after her friends did get repetitive, and made the ending kind of bleak.

Overall, good spooky read. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC.

Was this review helpful?

I have always loved her book and they have always been 5⭐ to me. While this one was easy and quick to read, it left something to be desired, I guess.

First of all, the book is choppy. It goes back and forth between past and present. That usually doesn't bother me, but it just felt not right to me.

Second, the whole concept of the book, was just unbelievable. I'm not going to spoil it, but if you have read it, you probably know what I mean.

Lastly, the ending was just meh. Usually, she has an exciting ending. This one just was a dud.

Publishes November 1, 2022

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the Kindle Version of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

📚 Happy Reading 🙂📚

#netgalley
#stmartinspress

Was this review helpful?

I have never read any of BA Paris' books and The Prisoner sounded intriguing. It is a fast paced book, at least Part I was, about Amelie who went from being a poor, homeless orphan to being married to an ultra rich man. Amelie and her husband are kidnapped and kept in the dark, literally, for several weeks. Her strength and wit her to survive this ordeal. This was basically Part I. Part II started to fall apart for me. This is also where so many of the supporting characters that lacked development in Part I really showed, I quickly read the last part just to finish. This premiss is a little different so fun to read. Unfortunately, the author did not take advantage of the situation. I give it 2.5 rounding up to a 3.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Was this review helpful?

Star rating: 4 ⭐️
Genre: thriller
Pages: 304

Read if you like:
▪️Short chapters
▪️Fast pace
▪️Dual timelines
▪️Hostage plot
▪️London elite

I’ve seen a lot of mixed reviews for this book, but I enjoyed it overall. I read it on the plane from NYC to Antigua (4 hours), and it went by very fast. While I wasn’t shocked by anything that happened, it held my attention the whole time and I remember not wanting to put it down in the last twenty minutes. Although the ending was a little abrupt, and I would have liked a little more shock factor, I thought it was, all in all, a good book to binge in a day!

Similar: Behind Closed Doors, the Town

Thank you @stmartinspress for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

The Prisoner was a fast-paced thriller where we find Amelie kidnapped and locked in a small room. I was dying to find out what happened to her, why she was kidnapped, and if she would survive. This story had me hooked from the beginning, and the short chapters made it fly by. There was a good cast of characters, and the alternating timelines of past and present really brought the story together. I stayed up later than I usually do on a school night, just because I had to know how it ended. This was my first read by B.A. Paris, and it will not be my last!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the e-ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

This book releases today, November 1! Go snag a copy!

Was this review helpful?