Book Description:
My child means everything to me. But saving his life means destroying my best friend’s family…
I didn’t plan to fall pregnant, but when I found out, I was overjoyed. Even though I’d be going it alone, I swore I’d give my baby everything they needed.
But I didn’t know who the man I met on that sweltering summer night, the father of my child, really was.
I decided to keep his secret to protect the innocent… but then my beautiful baby was born with a rare illness, desperately needing a transplant.
Now, as I gaze into my son’s wide and trusting eyes, I know the choice I have to make: for the sake of my precious little boy, I have to destroy my friend’s happiness.
But when the truth comes out, what if saving my baby means losing him forever?
An absolutely gripping and emotional read about the choices and sacrifices we make for those we love. Fans of Liane Moriarty, Amanda Prowse and Susan Lewis will love The Dilemma.
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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@JuliaRoberts @Bookouture @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86
Author Bio:
Julia was born in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, and began her career as a professional singer/dancer. This enabled her to travel the world in her late teens storing up experiences she has since included in her writing.
Following roles as a hostess on The Price is Right and a member of the Beadle’s About ‘hit squad’ in the 1980s, she became a TV Presenter and filmed features for Sky Sports before launching the QVC shopping channel in 1993 where she still presents today. Having always wanted to write, she penned her first book, a memoir sold on QVC, in 2013 and has since written seven full length novels, two novellas and several short stories.
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Buy Link:
Amazon: https://geni.us/B0B7NJ2ZS9social
Audio Links:
Listen to a sample here:
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