The Dilemma by B A Paris Blog Tour

Today is my stop on the blog tour for "The Dilemma" by author B A Paris, for my stop I have my review. as you can see it is a popular tour and many stops, please check out the other bloggers as we all offer different content.




The Dilemma by B.A. Paris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - approx 4 hours

Pages - 333

Publisher - HQ Stories

Source - ARC

Blurb from Amazon

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?


My Review

The book splits the chapters into us hearing from the main characters, Livia and Adam, told in first person narrative. Livia wants everything perfect for her big birthday, the amount of money spent it is lavish, over the top and on par with a wedding. It means so much to Livia and Adam just wants her to have her special day. He has arranged as a surprise for their daughter to come home and surprise them. But Adam has found out some news that will destroy the party, his wife's big night, he can't say anything but how do you act normal with something so huge weighing down on you. Livia finds out a secret that will devastate Adam and their close circle, how can she tell him, she knows she should, how can she act normal at the party? Both do what they feel is right, tensions are high and the reader is along for the ride as everything builds up and the party fast approaches.

The big theme of this one is families, friendship, love, secrets, lies and drama. Honestly so so much going on but family and friendship/relationships is integral to everything. Livia has been estranged from her parents for so long, Adam and their song have a very strained relationship, Livia is so hung up on grieving for her parents excluding her from her life, her children. As the book goes on you get a bit more clarity on why she is the way she is and why this party means so much to her.

As the reader you are a bit up and down, why would you do X, behaviours, choices - some of the characters you are scratching your head at but it is easy to judge when you aren't in the thick of it. How far would you go to protect the person you love. The book examines human behaviour, cause and effect and the lasting ripples decisions made can impact upon the person and those they love. 4.5/5 for me this time. It is no secret I am a fan of this author and I look forward to whatever she pens next.

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Bring Me Back by B A Paris Blog Tour

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for the newest offering by B A Paris "Bring Me Back". Please check out the other blog tour stops on the poster as you find, generally, all stops offer different content.





I have to include a picture of the book itself, the page ridges were yellow and I think small touches like that, matching the ink on the cover just draws you immediately to it.





Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 384

Publisher - HQ

Source - Advanced Review Copy

Blurb from Goodreads

A young British couple are driving through France on holiday when they stop for gas. He runs in to pay, she stays in the car. When he returns her car door has been left open, but she's not inside. No one ever sees her again.

Ten years later he's engaged to be married; he's happy, and his past is only a tiny part his life now. Until he comes home from work and finds his new wife-to-be is sitting on their sofa. She's turning something over in her fingers, holding it up to the light. Something that would have no worth to anyone else, something only he and she would know about because his wife is the sister of his missing first love.

As more and more questions are raised, their marriage becomes strained. Has his first love somehow come back to him after all this time? Or is the person who took her playing games with his mind?



My Review

Lets kick it off by saying I have read the author's previous books and really enjoyed them. I think she had a unique voice in her writing that draws you in quickly. We meet Finn McQuaid, talking about the night his girlfriend disappeared 12 years ago and the statement he gave the poilce, admitting it was not quite the truth! What a way to open a book eh, I am super nosey so needed to know why wasn't it the truth, why did he lie or omit details and of course what happened to his girlfriend Layla. We flip to the present day, Finn has moved on and has a new partner that may raise a fair few eyebrows. We flip from present to past, back and forth getting an insight into Finn's world, what things were like in the before and now with the past catching up.

Paris creates a great suspense, thrilling atmosphere, teasing the readers with snippets of details and you know very quickly something isn't right, but what? The chapters are relatively short which is great for dipping in and out however, if like me, one chapters turns into ten you will just race through. I wouldn't advise reading this if you are just wanting one chapter before bed as you will have a late night for sure.

There are three main characters really, Ellen the new(ish) partner of Finn, Finn himself and Layla, despite being missing she is still very there especially in the then throwbacks. We learn the kind of man Finn is, what he has endured and how Layla going missing has shaped him as a man. The breakdown of characters psych as they experience what I can only describe as a type of cat and mouse game and how that impacts not only on them but their relationships and interactions to those around them.

As I said I do really enjoy Paris's writing, I do hope her next book is already being penned and we don't have to wait too long for it. All the books are standalone's and I think Paris is an author for watching, she creates characters that despite liking or hating them you are left wanting more and more. I really enjoyed this book, 4.5 out of 5 for me, if you like page turners and being kept on your toes I think you will love this!

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The Breakdown by B A Paris

The Breakdown by B.A. Paris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 1 day

Pages - 352

Publisher - HQ

Blurb from Goodreads

If you can’t trust yourself, who can you trust?

Cass is having a hard time since the night she saw the car in the woods, on the winding rural road, in the middle of a downpour, with the woman sitting inside―the woman who was killed. She’s been trying to put the crime out of her mind; what could she have done, really? It’s a dangerous road to be on in the middle of a storm. Her husband would be furious if he knew she’d broken her promise not to take that shortcut home. And she probably would only have been hurt herself if she’d stopped.

But since then, she’s been forgetting every little thing: where she left the car, if she took her pills, the alarm code, why she ordered a pram when she doesn’t have a baby.

The only thing she can’t forget is that woman, the woman she might have saved, and the terrible nagging guilt.

Or the silent calls she’s receiving, or the feeling that someone’s watching her…

My Review

Imagine going along a deserted road through the woods, the weather is horrendous and you see a woman in a car alone pulled over, what do you do. Cass made a choice and is now having to live with that choice. Stressed out and going over everything Cass feels like she is starting to loose it, things are happening, her memory is going, she can't operate things she could yesterday and Cass has a secret from her past that is making everything worse. Is Cass losing her mind or is someone actually after her?

Ooooh this is the second book from this author, you don't have to have read the first to read this as they are both standalones. I started suspecting everyone and everything almost from the start, Cass got under my skin and initially really irritated me. As the book goes on I actually felt quite sorry for her and at times caught my breath as her mental state took a knock. As Cass starts to fall down a black hole the hairs on the back of my neck went up, imaging not being able to trust your own judgement or feel safe in your own home.

Paris has a skill for creeping the reader out and creating some of the darkest sides of humanity, I absolutely love it. Freaking out your reader and engaging your audience from practically the first chapter is no easy feat. 5/5 for me this time, I really enjoy this authors writing style and await her next!

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Behind Closed Doors by B A Paris

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 4 hours

Pages - 320

Publisher - MIRA

Blurb from Goodreads

Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace.

He has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. You might not want to like them, but you do. Though, you’d like to get to know Grace better.

But it’s difficult, because you realise Jack and Grace are never apart.

Some might call this true love. Others might ask why Grace never answers the phone. Or how she can never meet for coffee, even though she doesn’t work. How she can cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim. And why there are bars on one of the bedroom windows.

Sometimes, the perfect marriage is the perfect lie.


My Review

We open in the present, Grace is entertaining Jacks friends with a dinner party at their home. The opening chapter is very discreet, we are told of Jack and Grace's perfect meeting, how long they have been married & everything seems wonderful. The reader picks up Grace is very nervous but no obvious in your face reasoning why, my spidey senses where up though. We are told of Millie, Grace's seventeen year old sister, who has Down's Syndrome and who Jack has agreed to her coming to live with them once she is eighteen, everything is perfect. We flip between the present and past, Grace meeting Jack, perfect Jack, polite, attentive and accepting of Millie. As we flit between the two time lines it becomes apparent life isn't quite as perfect as it first seems and Jack and Grace are hiding a horrendous deadly secret.

I found this book hard to put down, I think depending on your background the more you will be drawn into Grace's world. I knew very quickly something was wrong and when it became apparent what was happening, how I loathed at least one of the main characters and became frustrated by others. You are desperate to find out what is truly going on and then enraged to be kept waiting for the outcome, what is going to happen, will there be an outing of it all.

I think Paris has done fabulously well to draw in the reader, engage them and handle some very tricky subject matter. So many people have loved this book, some not so much and you can appreciate how it can differ for so many. I was completely engaged, I couldn't put the book down, I went through a roller coaster of emotions and found the end came far too quickly for me. The author does what any good author should, leaves the reader wanting more, very impressive and packing quite a punch for their debut. 4/5 for me this time, I would absolutely read this author again, B A Paris is one to watch out for. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review!

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