What a joy to read – The Dilemma by B A Paris, for my first blog post of 2020. My thanks goes to Isabel Smith at HQ Stories for inviting me on this Blog tour.
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?
‘Twists our expectations of the entire psychological thriller genre’ The Guardian
Our Author: B A Paris
B A Paris is the internationally bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors, The Breakdown and Bring Me Back. Having sold over one million copies in the UK alone, she is a New York Times bestseller as well as a number one bestseller on Amazon and iBooks. Her books have sold in 38 territories around the world. Having lived in France for many years, she and her husband recently moved back to the UK. She has five daughters.
Her fourth novel is out in 2020
My Review: The Dilemma
Livia has been saving up for her 40th Birthday party for 20 years, she never got the big wedding after she fell pregnant at 17 and her parents disowned her. She went on to marry Adam, father of Josh who was born and grew up never knowing his grandparents. His sister Marnie joined the family and they thrived and Livia went on to become a solicitor and despite Adam, never making it to university to study engineering, hes become an accomplished carpenter with many clients. Manie is studying in Hong Kong and Josh is just about to head off to New York to do his internship there. Life is good.
But as the day of the party nears, it seems they all have other things on their minds.
Adam has secrectly arranged for Marnie to fly home for the party, but then theres a problem with her flights and he has to tell Livia, but when should he break the news – before the party and risk it being ruined, after would be better, right? when shes had a great time, had the party she always dreamed of, a couple more hours won’t hurt. Will it?
Marnie has secrets she’s keeping from everyone, but Livia knows and doesn’t want to tell Adam, or it will spoil their relationship and the special bond they have.
Livia knows what Marnie is doing, and knows she needs to tell Adam, but doesn’t know how to tell him, he idolises his daughter and needs to hold onto that secret for the sake of their friends, Jess and Rob too.
Josh also has an announcement, he doesn’t want to go to New York, but his Dad sorted it all out for him and he doesn’t want to let him down, him and Livia are so proud of both Josh and Marnie and want the best chances their children can get, but at whose expense.
The twists in The Dilemma are sure to keep you reading late into the night, it’s a great read that will leave you reeling with decisions that they all have to make – are they doing the right thing, it’s hard to know, but all these doubts and worries come out and will be dealt with, one by one.
@BAParisAuthor @HQStories #TheDilemma
One Comment
Sabrina Ricks
I’m not sure I’ve ever read all of the books an author has published, however after reading “Bring Me Back” earlier this summer, I knew I’d have to read the remainder of Paris’ book collection. I just finished reading “The Dilemma” and it had a storyline that made me feel I was present in the story and I could feel every emotion. Paris is a talented writer. I love the depth of the storylines, the twists, the thrills, the ups, the downs, and every component of the stories.
I very rarely write reviews but after reading all four of these books this summer, I just had to congratulate Paris and encourage her to keep writing. I’d love to read more! Thanks for giving me the opportunity to explore some uncharted territories and open my mind to life circumstances that people do face although some ideas are frightening. Best wishes!