When I first started listening to this audio book, I was not impressed. It seemed like a prolonged version of magazine fiction with too really much argumentative dialogue. However, it did improve later on, once the gritty subject of birth trauma (and here I don’t want to give too much away) was introduced. Personally, I am a person who values fidelity and commitment so I had no sympathy for the ‘one night stand’ culture portrayed nor the giving up on a relationship so easily because of past mistakes. It did not endear me to the supposed ‘heroin’ of the book, Charlotte. In my mind, Annabelle is the real hero! As a child care specialist and mother, I also found some of the inconsistencies in child development annoying, but that’s trivial I realise. I also didn’t like the narrator, although in retrospect, perhaps her voice does suit this type of fiction.

4.25⭐

Featuring ~ dual 1st person POV, 2 parts, betrayal, unplanned pregnancy, one night stand, married man, friendship, baby with life threatening illness

Charlotte is mad when she finds out her long time boyfriend has not been honest with her month after month when she hasn't been able to conceive. She gives him the boot because she can't forgive his betrayal. When on vacation with her bff, Annabelle, she has a drunken one night stand with a fellow guest that she'll never see again, or will she?

The Dilemma is the perfect title for this one since making a choice to save her baby could cost her one of her best friends. I think all mothers would agree that you would do anything for your children, so the answer is a no brainer.
I hated Zach's secret, but I really liked all of the characters and the way Tiffany handled things. All 3 women have a solid friendship and that shows as the secrets unfold. Overall, I enjoyed it and I'd be happy to read Julia's work again.

Narrated by Daphne Kouma for 8 hours and 1 minute, easy to follow at 2x. I have no complaints about her narration skills as a whole, but wouldn't have minded a little distinction between the 3 female characters voices.

The Dilemma by Julia Roberts
Earc and Audio:NetGalley
Publisher:Bookouture
Publication Date:26th October 2022
Genre: General Fiction /Women's Fiction

This is an emotional book, especially for women. What a bastard the Mr is. I hate him from the start Zač not a man but a git.
Charlotte, Annabelle and Tiffy.
Charlotte I feel for her after the relationship breakdown with Zač.

Tiff is a mam and has everything that Charlotte needs to want children.
Annabelle is Charlotte's best friend and knows her very well.

a family drama that looks at family dynamics, relationships and friendships this book achieves it all.

After a one-night stand, Charlotte finds herself pregnant the one thing she wanted for such a long time. Showing not all motherhood goes straightly as her child is diagnosed with a rare illness that would need a transplant, preferably from either of the parents. As the test results deem her an incompatible match, it leaves her with the only other option is to contact the child’s father. This is heartwrenching to read /listen to. Shocks and turns on this book are in the books.


The narrator does. great job on this book. I felt for Charlotte at times.

#NetGalley #bookstagram #bookreview #goodreads #womenafiction @bookouture

A great story about, friendship, keeping secrets, shared dreams, trust and honesty. After a night of passion with an stranger, Charlotte finally get pregnant. After ten years trying with the love of her life and finding a secret he kept from her she is now single again. But her child must destroy the friendship with her two best friend and shatter the family of life me of them. But a mother has to do everything to keep her child safe. Great as audiobook

The Dilemma by Julia Roberts
Narrated by Daphne Kouma

I went into this story knowing nothing more than the synopsis and really didn't expect the story to be so mature. Often the "dilemmas" in stories will seem too manufactured but I liked almost all the characters so much that I was invested in how they worked things out. In fact, I didn't think things could be worked out.

There is one great big coincidence that had to happen to make this story even be a story and it seems like it would be very unlikely but once I just let that one go, all I could do is to want for things to work out in the best way possible. There wasn't just one dilemma, there were a lot of dilemmas but Charlotte did make a mistake or two that got the dilemma avalanche rolling, exposing mistakes of others along the way. Recent and past secrets had been kept and if this story teaches anything, it's that in this world, it's better to own up than to keep quiet.

I really liked these characters. Even with their mistakes, I can see why they might be forgiven. So often it's impossible to see past what happens to think that the characters could ever be happy again. Or it will seem like resolutions are forced and don't really fit. I feel good about how this story played out and it gave me a lot to think about in regards to how I might have dealt with certain situations.

The narrator was perfect for the story. Right off the bat she helped me like these characters and she took nothing away from them. Considering the subject matter of this story, this ended up being a feel good book for me, which I would not have expected when I started listening to the story.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.

This was my first book by this author and I think I would read another. The description made me think that this would be a suspenseful read but it was more of a family drama.

This story was different from any I’d read before. I will say I had to restart it from the beginning about 3-4 times because it was hard to give it my full attention but once I got connected I was engaged and wanted to keep reading. The characters are all likable people, even JJ surprisingly! I thought I’d hate him but I love that he was mature about everything & transparent with all parties involved.

Loved Tiff too because she was super mature & I love how the women supported each other even through the dilemma they were experiencing.

Overall great story!

The Dilemma by Julia Roberts gave me such a roller coaster of emotions! Man that’s was a ride!!

This book was so relatable on many things such a infertility/pregnancy/sick child.

I can’t imagine the choices Charlotte had to choose knowing she could loose so much with telling the truth

If anything this book shows being honest is always the way to go!

I thought the narrator Daphne Kouma was a delight to listen to!

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'The Dilemma' by Julia Roberts.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Julia Roberts, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 26th October 2022.

This is the second book I have read by this author. I have also read 'The Woman On The Beach' which I would highly recommend.

I was originally drawn to this book by its beautiful cover and intriguing sounding synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that 'Fans of Liane Moriarty, Amanda Prowse and Susan Lewis will love The Dilemma'. I am a huge fan of Susan Lewis so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a huge fan of Julia and if this book is half as good as 'The Woman On The Beach' it is guaranteed to be a page turner. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of 42 chapters set over two parts. The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture.

This book is written in a mix of third and first person perspective and the protagonist is Charlotte and Tiff. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. .

This book is beautifully written with vivid descriptions that really put you in the storyline and feeling the pain and joy of the characters. The cover and synopsis suit the storyline perfectly.

Grab the tissues ready before you pick this book up as yet again Julia has me in tears which is not an easy feat!! Congratulations Julia on making a tough skinned grown woman cry!!

The storyline is about the friendship of three friends and how the actions of one can change the dynamics of each other and their families. It is filled with friendship, love, tragedy, tears, secrets, loss and more, everything you could want in an unputdownable family drama. It was very fast paced and it kept me constantly turning the page until I finished with it in one sitting. This is a book that you can read curled up in front of a fire or laying on a sunny beach. I felt completely absorbed in the storyline and absolutely loved it. It is a story about forgiveness. It shows the strengths involved in keeping friendships, marriages, partnerships and helping an innocent child. My heart was in my throat on so many occasions and I found so many scenes very touching. I think it is absolutely beautiful that Julia has based this story on a friends son who suffered with Meconium Aspiration Syndrome. Not only is it a beautiful thing to do but by writing this book Julia also raises awareness of.Meconium Aspiration Syndrome which is something I have never heard of. Congratulations on raising awareness but also on doing plenty of research which shines through!! There's not much worse in a book than the author not researching the subject they discuss and ending up with a book littered with errors. Not only does Julia discuss Meconium Aspiration Syndrome but she also weaves it into an absolutely stunning storyline that brings up marriage vows, friendships, courage, forgiveness and so so much more. This book is absolutely filled with thought provoking dilemmas that had me wondering what I would do in each of the characters situations and it is a book that will stay with me for a long time. I would absolutely love to see this turned into a movie which I will definitely be the first in the line to watch!!

Congratulations Julia on writing a gorgeous story while raising awareness of Meconium Aspiration Syndrome. I always think that any book, whether fiction or non fiction, that raises awareness of any illness, disease or subjects such as domestic violence deserve an award as it could save at least one life by making people aware of these topics.

This is only the fourth book that I have listened 100% on Audiobook. If I listen to a book on audiobook I usually also read the physical book between but for the second time I listened to the whole book and I was impressed! I must say a HUGE congratulations to the narrator Daphne Kouma who did a great job bringing this story to life. I would listen to it in the car and while walking at any opportunity and Daphne did a fantastic job on both male and female characters voices!!! I'm not only looking forward to reading more books by Julia but also to listening to more books narrated by Daphne!

The characters were realistic and strong and I loved meeting them all. The friendship between Charlotte, Tiff and Amelia is beautiful and I loved reading the dynamic between them before the "dilemmas" and it was intriguing to watch how relationships grew and changed after the "dilemmas". My heart went out to each of them for different reasons. Charlotte seemed to be going through hell anyway and things just continued to get worse through the book with one Dilemma after another. I personally don't think she did anything wrong apart from maybe leaving things a bit too late to tell a certain person about something. However, I can see where she was coming from as she was just trying to protect them. My heart also went out to Tiff up until a certain point and then all I can say is pot, kettle. Amelia seems to be stuck in the middle and is completely innocent. It seems to be the two main males Zac and JJ that are far from innocent and are to blame for many of the "dilemmas". Again, the problem I'm having is saying too much without spoiling it for future readers so I won't go into their characters any more than that. It would be interesting to know how others feel after reading this book. Regardless of whether you love them or hate them each of the characters play their parts perfectly to make an absolutely addictive page turner!!

Congratulations Julia on yet anothet absolutely beautiful, emotional and thought provoking unputdownable page turner. I cannot wait to see what you come up with next!!

Overall an emotionally charged, gorgeous unputdownable page turner that will have you absolutely addicted.


Genres covered in this book include Women's Literary Fiction, Romance Literary Fiction, Literary Fiction, amongst others.


I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Liane Moriarty, Amanda Prowse, Susan Lewis and anyone else looking for a beautiful family drama.


292 pages/ 8 hours 14 minutes

This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle, £16.99 on audiobook and £7.99 in paperback via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5/5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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In a Moment of Weakness

Three friends, Charlotte, Amanda and Tiff have been friends for a very long time. They are best friends and have each other's backs. A Moment of weakness can change all of that as one of them commits an act that has life changing consequences for both herself and one of her friends.

The story has a lot of twists and a lot of reasons and soul searching by all the characters. I enjoyed the story and all of its twists.

I was glad to see that even when the friend found out what had taken place she was able to forgive her and to still be friends. They all learned a lesson that no one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes and sometimes you have to be big enough to forgive.

I listened to the Audio book, I liked the story, the narrator could have done a better job in differentiating between the characters. The voices were not so much different and it was sometimes hard to know which character you were listening to . The narrator had a pleasant voice but had a hard time separating the different characters.

I enjoyed this story and I would recommend it.

Thanks to Julia Roberts for writing the story, to the narrator for telling the story, to Bookouture audio for publishing it, and to NetGalley for allowing me to listen to the audio book and write a review.

Wow this one has some triggers and I mean right from the very first chapter! At first I wasn’t sure that I could handle it but I pushed through and I’m glad I did. It turned out to be a pretty good story with some interesting twists.

🌀Synopsis
Charlotte breaks up with her boyfriend when she finds out he had a vasectomy years ago but never told her. Not only did he not tell her but he let them try for a baby for months and she was devastated with each negative.

To help her move on she takes a trip with her best friend. When her friend is sick she goes to dinner by herself but ends up meeting a handsome stranger. Shortly after the trip she finds out she’s pregnant with a man she doesn’t even know.

Until she goes to a party for her best friend and meets her husband, who is the father of Charlotte’s baby. Charlotte tells no one but when the baby is born with a kidney condition he needs a transplant.

Charlotte isn’t a match and the father isn’t a match but now he has to tell his wife (Charlotte’s friend) what they did so his other daughters can be tested. In a wild turn there are a flood of secrets that come out and all of them realize they should have just been honest in the first place.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62241232-the-dilemma

I want to start with highlighting this amazing new-ish author, Julia Roberts, who is not our actor Julia, but a really amazing talent in her own right.

I listened to this novel on a well-done audiobook and enjoyed the English female narrator from beginning to end. Thanks to NetGalley, author Julia Roberts, and everyone else involved, I appreciated the opp to read and review this honestly. It's one of those books that you do a happy dance when you realize you get to read it in advance. So clap-clap-woohoo!

The Dilemma, pulled me in immediately. It begins with a compelling story and the strong voice of a young woman, Charlotte, the main character, and her heart breaking issue with her current long-time bf Zach. She discovers he's been living a huge lie. Ugly and UGH. As one who went through infertility, and really, really wanted a child, this pained me and made me cringe! Regardless, the lie IMO was too big to forgive. But let's keep going because it's a very compelling story...what happens next???

Charlotte and her BFF Annabelle go on a premium vacation to get away...to Mauritius. (Hello, I'd love to go there someday before I'm too old to enjoy it - lol!!)

What happens on vacation stays on Mauritius. Right!? Charlotte comes home different than expected - some thrills and excitement along the way with some twists and turns and perhaps a love interest.

And yes, once she's back and things are back to normal..... there is a big, elephant in the room, and it's called a DILEMMA. There's a lot of deep convos amongst those important enough to be involved. Almost like a sit-com of FRIENDS - lots of honest and heart opening and heart breaking convos.

There is also much heartache and pain coming up, and yet love and kindness.....with this small group of friends who somehow weathers the craziness that envelops them. I am beyond impressed. Perhaps this should be THE guide to how to deal with a very F-'d up situation for normal, and not really crazy people? Regardless....You'll grow to love them all - Charlotte, of course, Tiff, Annabelle, JJ....the way you would hope for people and loved ones in your life.,.

I almost gave this 5 * but just couldn't at the end. I was disappointed in (and somewhat appalled at) the ending. NOT A DEAL BREAKER in this beautiful novel. It's personal for me and probably others, but read it, you will get it on one end or the other :)

Thank you so much for this gift, NetGalley and Bookouture, and for sharing this heartwarming novel with me. Your kindness is appreciated! It's absolutely one of my recent faves for #2022. I would happily read another by OUR AUTHOR, Julia Roberts!!

My review is also posted on Goodreads under my username: Colleen Chi-Girl - the link when added below doesn't seem to connect, so here it is: https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/62241232

There’s no spoiler to add a trigger warning to this novel, for severe illness in a newborn and organ donation *opt in for organ donation.

This is a complicated story of love, lies, heartbreak, deception, infertility, miscarriage, traumatic birth and of course fatal illness and organ donation. The characters in this novel are far more forgiving than me, maybe even better people, but above all they are wonderful friends. I really enjoyed this novel, it’s well written the characters are fully formed and well rounded the narration is lovely. It covers all of these topics that make you really think, yet it remains light hearted and intriguing. I liked Charlotte, who is recovering from a broken heart and an achingly empty womb, I loved straight talking honest Annabelle, I found it hard to hate JJ the cheating husband (personal plot twist) because at the root of it all he actually made a mistake and clearly adored his wife Tiffany. Who is by far the kindest most compassionate character in the book, but not without her own back story to justify it. All round a lovely book with a hard hitting message. There were a few parts where I thought the story skipped a little, but it didn’t devalue the book at all.

It says a lot when you finish a listen in one go. A family drama that looks at family dynamics, relationships and friendships. It’s definitely not what I was expecting after reading the blurb but I really enjoyed it. It’s an interesting storyline that definitely looks at ‘The Dilemma’ from all angles and points of view. Really well written plot and characters that I felt I really got to know. I really liked all of them and found myself rooting for them when it came to there own personal lives. Would recommend…

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read #TheDilemma

This was a surprisingly intriguing read! A well-written women’s fiction themed on friendship and motherhood.

Charlotte has always wanted to be a mother, but her hopes of embracing motherhood are shattered after she ends her ten-year-long relationship. While having a girl’s trip to another country, she has a one-night stand with a stranger whom she later finds out to be married. Devastated for sleeping with a married man, Charlotte is shocked to learn that she is pregnant. Her road to motherhood isn’t easy as her child is diagnosed with a rare illness that would need a transplant, preferably from either of the parents. As the test results deem her an incompatible match, it leaves her with the only other option is to contact the child’s father.

I wasn’t a fan of the plot, but the execution blew my mind. Despite the story sounding like a recipe for utter sadness, Roberts had a fantastic grip on the flow of emotions. The friendship between Charlotte and her girls was the backbone of the book, and clearly the best part of it. I can’t say that the story was believable, nor were the decisions made by the characters, but I could <I>almost</i> understand the justifications given. The book screams the importance of honesty in our relationships, and I can’t agree more.

I would’ve enjoyed it more had Annabel stuck to her original decision of remaining childless. Not all women want to be mothers, and it is high time we let them be. The climax was too ideal and had ‘let’s make society happy’ vibes. I know ‘kindness wins’, ‘forgiveness is the key to a happy life’, blah blah but I had an overdose of all the niceties.

The audio was brilliant, and although it took me a while to adjust to the narrator’s accent, I enjoyed her voice modulation and varied pitches. Great narration!

Overall, a quick, heartwarming story!

Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.
Publication Date: October 26th, 2022.

4/5🌟(an additional 0.5🌟 for the great audiobook experience).

TW: Struggling to conceive (not infertility), Miscarriage, Divorce, Infidelity, Infant illness, Breakup, and lots of drinking (not alcoholism).

This book was so good that I could not stop once I started! I loved all of the ups and downs! I predicted some things, but other things, I never would’ve imagined! I truly enjoyed not only Charlotte’s journey but also her best friends’!

I requested this ALC (thanks to Bookoutre and NetGalley) after the recommendation from a GR friend who gave it 5 stars. I’m glad I listened to the book as the narration was superb!
Based on the blurb, I was surprised that it took 1/3 of the book before the main character was pregnant and 1/2 way through until the baby was born. But all the relationship set-ups in that first half of the book paid off in the second half! I usually don’t love the “close friend” whose husband you’d never met before trope in domestic fiction but this one was better than most. What would you do to protect your newborn child and what might be the consequences of those choices?

3.5 stars thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!
The Dilemma is a tough one for me to rate because parts of it I loved and parts I hated. I will try to write a decent review without giving anything away.
I really hated the Zach and Charlotte "dilemma". It's so unrealistic to believe that they could be in a relationship for 10 years and that would never come up! The other unrealistic thing was that Charlotte wouldn't at least know what JJ looks like. In the age of social media, it is SO unlikely that she wouldn't have, at least, seen a picture!!! I also felt that Tiff's secret was wholly pointless and was only added for a tit-for-tat scenario, making it easier to accept her take on the situation.
What I liked was the reaction each character ended up having surrounding Charlotte and George. No unnecessary drama to drag out the story, everyone acted like rational adults, and there were reasonable resolutions.

This book has more than one dilemma with a capital "D." It was a bit slow getting off the ground, but once the pieces were in place I could not put it down. Found lots of good stuff to do around the house giving me an opportunity to hear some more from Charlotte and Tiffany. What I most appreciated about this book was the respect for new life and for keeping a marriage intact. All three characters made mistakes and were sometimes not in tune with one another. Ultimately they respect vows and promises as well as being aware of the impact their decisions have on others. There is plenty of confession and lots of forgiveness all around. Would be interested in trying another Julia Roberts title in the future.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

After 10 years, Charlotte’s boyfriend finally tells her that years before he had a vasectomy which is why she has not been able to get pregnant after all this time. Charlotte is heart broken but knows that she can not be with him anymore. After struggling for a while, her friend takes her on vacation. While on this vacation, Charlotte has a one night stand with someone that she learns is married after the fact. She decides to put it behind her but months later when she finds out she is pregnant, she has to revisit the situation. She has no plans to tell the father, but when she finds out that her son George has a rare illness that requires a transplant for him to live a long life. She knows that what she is about to do will change multiple people’s lives, but she knows she has to do what is best for her child.

The twists of The Dilemma were amazing and kept me wanting to listen. I was not expecting the turns that Roberts wrote. I will now look for her books in the future for sure. (@annas.book.reviews)

Great book! The narrator did a great job holding my attention. Although it's a little odd to me that everyone would just deal with the situations and move on, the story itself was wonderful. Happy endings are always a good thing! First book by Julia for me, but I will be waiting for more!