**We were gifted an ecopy of this book in return for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are our own**
Another blog post, another book review and today I’m sharing my thoughts on newly released novel The Dilemma by B A Paris. This is my first taste of her work and with an intriguing synopsis I couldn’t wait to get reading! Thank you to HQ for gifting me a copy of this book to review.
About The Book
It’s Livia’s 40th birthday and she’s having the party of a lifetime to make up for the wedding she never had. Everyone she loves will be there except her daughter Marnie, who’s studying abroad. But although Livia loves Marnie, she’s secretly glad she won’t be at the party. She needs to tell Adam something about their daughter but she’s waiting until the party is over so they can have this last happy time together.
Adam wants everything to be perfect for Livia so he’s secretly arranged for Marnie to come home and surprise her on her birthday. During the day, he hears some terrible news. He needs to tell Livia, because how can the party go on? But she’s so happy, so excited – and the guests are about to arrive.
The Dilemma – how far would you go to give someone you love a last few hours of happiness?
Review
It’s the day of Livia’s 40th birthday party; a party she has been envisioning for 20 years and she wants everything to be perfect, but something is praying on her mind. She has been keeping a secret from husband Adam that will change the life they know forever and she MUST tell him after the party- she just has to get through it first.
Adam wants Livia to enjoy her day and has even arranged a surprise he knows she’ll love, but his day doesn’t go as planned. Like Livia, he too has a secret that must be told, but can it wait until after the party? Will he be able to stand by and watch Livia having the time of her life knowing he will soon have to break her heart? What will the consequences of his decision be?
This book is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! I don’t want to give too much of the plot away for fear of spoilers, but I could talk endlessly about this novel!
The story takes place over a 24 hour period and is told from Livia and Adam’s alternating perspectives as they prepare for the party right through to the aftermath. It is a nail biting tale that had me literally sitting on the edge of my seat from start to finish as I rode the waves of anticipation and tension that Paris has cleverly created. I finished tis book in a day as I just couldn’t put it down!
Despite being told over such a short time span this is a very deep and thorough story that gives a fully rounded picture of Adam, Livia and their close friends and family. With well developed, fully formed characters that I felt an emotional attachment to I quickly became fully invested in their story, really feeling the emotion that drips from the pages. I could completely understand and relate to both characters perspectives when it came to their retrospective secrets and felt the weight of their individual dilemmas which was often heartbreaking to read.
Having never read anything by this author before I was unsure what to expect but this page turning family drama exceed any expectation I could possibly have had. It’s a non stop amalgamation of relationships, love, family, friendship and secrets which together create a thrilling, compelling read from start to finish. I can’t wait to read more from B A Paris and I added her already published works to my ‘want to read’ list immediately. I adored her writing style and in fact everything about this book; it’s one I have thought of constantly since I finished reading, a sign of a fantastic read! Highly, highly recommended.
About The Author
B A Paris is the internationally bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors, The Breakdown and Bring Me Back. Now approaching 1.5 million copies sold in the UK alone, she is a Sunday Times bestseller, New York Times bestseller as well as a number one bestseller on Amazon and iBooks. Her books have sold in 38 languages around the world. Having lived in France for many years, she recently moved back to the UK. Her fourth novel is due for release in 2020.
The Dilemma is available to purchase now from Amazon*
Fraser’s Fun House 