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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
10 de boek.Het was goed,een spannende ontknoping,mss wel wat verwacht maar ok.
B.A. Paris, for the most part, is an auto-read for me. I’ve enjoyed almost all of her books and while they don’t typically make it to the top favourites list, they’re always enjoyable and easy reads. The Prisoner was one of my favourites of hers, I enjoyed the back and forth timelines, explaining who the main character is and what happened in her past to land her where she is now. I loved how it all unfolded into a neat little package. I listened to this book, so maybe that’s part of the reason why I enjoyed it more than most of the reviews I’ve seen. Either way, the twists and turns kept me guessing and interested in where the story was headed, the unlikeable characters worked for this book and it was an easy listen. If you’ve got time, I would definitely say give it a chance!
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am a massive fan of psychological suspense. I love having my mind messed with while reading a book (outside the book, not so much). I have my favorite authors and B.A. Paris happens to be on my top ten list. So, any book from her gets automatic approval on my end. And I am thrilled that I got to read this book. It was that good!! In one of my WWW Wednesday posts, I said it took under 2 hours to read. I could not put it down.
The Prisoner had an exciting plotline. Amelie is a tough cookie. She has to be, surviving the death of her parents and trying to make it on her own, at 16, in London. Thankfully, she meets an angel named Caroline, who takes her under her wing and allows Amelie to flourish. After getting a job working for Ned Hawthorne, a billionaire playboy, Amelie is approached by him with a business deal: Marry him for one year, and he will pay her enough money to cover all of her university fees and beyond. But there is a sinister reason why Ned wants to marry her, and Amelie finds that out soon after the wedding. With Ned becoming unstable and isolated from her friends, Amelie wonders when he will kill her. Things come to a head when Amelie and Ned are kidnapped, blindfolded, and taken to an unknown location. But, for some reason, Amelie feels safe with the kidnappers. Who kidnapped Ned and Amelie? What is their end game?
The Prisoner is a fast-paced book that mainly takes place in London. But the last scenes take place in New Zealand (for reasons I cannot get into, spoilers!!!).
There are trigger warnings in this book. The most obvious one is kidnapping. The other ones are the death of a parent from cancer, the death of a parent during childbirth, the death of a sibling, sexual harassment, talk of rape (several times), physical abuse, mental abuse, murder, and discussion of murder. If any of these trigger you, I suggest not reading the book.
I enjoyed the main characters in The Prisoner. They were well-written and, for the most part, well-fleshed out.
- Amelie: I liked her a lot. She cared deeply for her friends and never stopped trying to protect them from Ned and his cohorts. I loved her post-nuptial prenup. It was brilliant!! I also loved how she tried to stay one step ahead of Ned after discovering what a scumbag he was. There was a point in the book where I kept yelling (in my head), “Trust your instincts” regarding the kidnappers. She turned into a total boss at the end of the book too!!! I loved her.
- Ned: God, was he sleazy. He didn’t come across like that at the beginning of the book. Instead, Ned was very charming. It was strange how he asked Amelie to marry him and how he laid it out. But his sleaziness wasn’t on display until after they married, and Ned isolated her from her friends. The things he did to her and threatened her with made my skin crawl. And after they were kidnapped, Ned quickly told them to kill her instead of him. He deserved everything he got and then some in this book.
- The kidnappers: I can’t give names, but I was shocked at who they were. After I got over that shock, different parts of the kidnapping made sense. I also understood why they did what they did. If someone I loved had been targeted by Ned and then disappeared, I think I would have had the same reaction. Plus, they had the resources (all I will say about that).
A bunch of notable secondary characters added extra depth and understanding to the kidnapping storyline and Amelie’s recovery storyline. I wish some had stuck around and the author had introduced others earlier in the book.
The Prisoner was a perfect fit for the psychological suspense genre. It messed with my head pretty well. Also, add to that is that I didn’t want to put the book down. I needed to find out who the kidnappers were, why they did what they did, why Amelie was treated differently (even though I had a slight suspicion), and what Amelie’s recovery would be like.
The storyline with Amelie and her life before the kidnapping was well written. I loved seeing a carefree Amelie who had a great life and friends. She might have been a little naive, but her heart was in the right place. She had endured so much up to meeting Ned that all I could think was, “Man, she needs a break.” Then she met Ned, found out what her friend accused him of (along with a couple of other girls), and her life went sideways. Still, it was nice to see how she was before.
The storyline with Amelie, her kidnapping, and her life afterward broke my heart. This bright, cheerful girl who had her life ahead of herself turned into a shadow of herself. It didn’t matter if her kidnappers kept her safe from Ned; it was still a kidnapping. She still had to deal with everything by herself. I did like the two twists that the author threw into that storyline. One was about her deceased parents, and the other was about the kidnappers’ identity (plus why they did it). Both made me go, “Oh snap,” when it was revealed. And you know, I don’t blame her for thinking she had Stockholm Syndrome. I would have felt the same way.
The end of The Prisoner both blew me away and disappointed me. It blew me away because of who the kidnappers were. I did have a slight feeling it was those people but nothing concrete. The disappointment angle came with what Amelie decided to do at the very end. She had to get home because of an incriminating letter, but at the same time, she made plans to see that person again. I was like, “Are YOU SERIOUS? No wonder you think you have Stockholm Syndrome.” It was 100% frustrating for me to read because of the hint of a love connection. Ewww, no. Girlfriend needs therapy, not dating that person!!!!
Three Reasons You Should Read The Prisoner:
- It was a good read. It kept me glued to the book.
- Amelie. She was a tough cookie.
- The twist at the end of the book
Three Reasons You Shouldn’t Read The Prisoner:
- Ned. He was a dirtbag.
- The triggers.
- At the end of the book, the implied love connection (well, at least to me, it was implied).
I would recommend The Prisoner to anyone over 21. There is language, sex (implied but not discussed), and moderate violence. Also, see my trigger warning.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent
Minor: Sexual assault, Suicide, Sexual harassment
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and B.A. Paris for the advanced copy of The Prisoner in exchange for my honest review.
I enjoyed the short chapters and in the beginning I was hooked as we went back and forth from past to present to figure out why Amelie was taken.
Unfortunately I found the story to be really disjointed, with a main character who is so naive it suspended reality too much for me. This one just goes in the category of "Not For Me," but I appear to be in the minority on that one!
I enjoyed the short chapters and in the beginning I was hooked as we went back and forth from past to present to figure out why Amelie was taken.
Unfortunately I found the story to be really disjointed, with a main character who is so naive it suspended reality too much for me. This one just goes in the category of "Not For Me," but I appear to be in the minority on that one!
I really liked the short chapters. It felt like it took no time to read, but unfortunately that's about it. None of the actions of the characters seemed believable and the "twists" were nothing to be shocked by. I'm glad I did not spend money on it and wouldn't really recommend it when there are better thrillers out there right now.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my copy in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my copy in exchange for my honest review.
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
I loved that each chapter alternated between the present and the past and that we just jump right into this story. The story moved quickly and I was engaged throughout, as I hoped that Amelie would make it through this ordeal.
Georgia Maguire did a great job of narrating this novel. I was able to listen to it at 2x speed and still understand everything that was being said. I would definitely listen to more books narrated by Georgia Maguire in the future.
A quick mystery, highly recommend.
Georgia Maguire did a great job of narrating this novel. I was able to listen to it at 2x speed and still understand everything that was being said. I would definitely listen to more books narrated by Georgia Maguire in the future.
A quick mystery, highly recommend.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
medium-paced
This is told is two storylines – past and present.
Present: Amelie has been kidnapped, along with her husband Ned. She is in a basement-type room in the dark. There is a small bathroom which has a light that comes on only when the bathroom door is shut. She does not know where Ned is nor where they are being held prisoner. She has started marking days off on the wall in the bathroom. Sometimes, she can hear Ned somewhere in the house.
Past: Amelie has no family and goes to London to get a job. She meets Carolyn who hires her as a housekeeper of sorts and they quickly become friends. Amelie finds herself hanging out with Carolyn and her friends, Lina and Justine. They all work at a magazine owned by Ned. Amelie gets an entry-level job at the magazine and is both surprised and baffled when Ned asks her to come to Las Vegas with him. While there, he presents Amelie with a plan that he hopes will get his parents off his back about marrying someone they want him to marry. That plan involves he and Amelie getting married in Vegas but divorcing a month later. It is during this time that they are married when they are both kidnapped.
The last few chapters were just a back-and-forth between two characters, with one asking questions and the other providing the answers to why everything happened the way it happened.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’ve always wanted to read a B.A. Paris book since I’ve heard such great things, so when I saw this on NetGalley, I jumped on the chance to read one.
The story follows Amelie who married the billionaire Ned Hawthorne. One day, she wakes up in as a prisoner in a pitch black room, not knowing why she was taken or who her captors are.
The book did not keep my interest. To be honest, I found it to be quite boring and not very suspenseful. The scenes where Amelie is held in the dark room were very repetitive after a while.
While there were some plot twists sprinkled throughout, some of them were very predictable and they didn’t really pique my interest.
I also couldn’t get invested in the characters - everyone was just kind of boring While Amelie does show some character development throughout the book, she still was just “meh” and I wasn’t very attached to her.
Overall, this story just fell flat to me. I’m hoping that I enjoy some of her other books a bit more.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!