I was hooked from the start and absolutely loved the private island vacation vibes. It was fun to imagine the fancy parties, Anna’s expensive outfits, the bungalow and the gorgeous views that CL descibed so vividly. Anna was loveable and easy to root for, and I empathized with Liam and his tough situation. Their relationship seemed a little far-fetched, but the banter was cute and it was still fun to read about their paradise problem.

Until about 75%, I was thinking this would be a 4.5 star read, but the ending was so stressful to me. I couldn’t stand Liam’s dad, Alex was terrible and Blair was annoying. After loving so much of the book, I found myself wanting it to be over. The epilogue was also really long and while it definitely wrapped things up with every character, it felt like too much. By that point, I was ready to be done with the whole Weston family.

This book had a lot to love and I’ll still recommend it, even though I struggled with the ending. It’s a fun escape read and I’m really thankful to have had the chance to read it early!

I can always depend on this duo to deliver a great rom com. Set on a beautiful beach resort, Anna agrees to be Liam's wife for his sister's wedding. They were married few years earlier for saving money on student housing but never really knew each other. I loved the banter between the two and the tension of the attraction but trying to make it real. I loved that Anna stayed true to herself the whole story and Liam had a great growth journey. There is a lot of conflict in Liam's family and it felt like a bit of a distraction to the their love story. This will be a perfect beach read for the summer.

Thank you @gallerybooks for a copy of the book.

Christina Lauren have simply...done it again.

This was giving me Pretty Woman meets Crazy Rich Asians. You have a marriage of convenience, turned kind of fake (but still legal) relationship, opposites attract, only one bed and so much more. This was just a fun summer romance that you can easily devour by the pool. This book does have some good family drama as well - which definitely helps you get more invest in our MMC.

I really enjoyed our FMC - she is witty, a bit lost, artistic, caring and supportive. And honestly, she's funny as hell trying to fit in to this incredibly wealthy and intricate family.

The tropical setting is also just so great for the summer - the descriptions of both the tropical settings and the incredibly wealthy parties truly transports you there and helps you immerse in the story.

Overall, a fun book, a great romance on the slow-burn side of things, and one I know people will love.

The dynamic duo does it again. They had me at fake marriage. This book had a great mix of funny with a dash of family drama mixed in.

Almost five years ago Anna married West/Liam to get access to subsidized family housing. Two years after moving in together the divorce papers were signed and Anna was single once again. At least that is what she thought. Imagine her surprise when three years later her supposed ex-husband shows up on her doorstep asking for help and letting her know that they are still married. All he needs her to do it go with him to his sister's wedding and convince his family that they are a happily married couple. Easy right, what could go wrong???

Anna is the quintessential happy sunshine. Even when she losses her less than stellar cashier job, is buried in hospital bills as she tries to pay for her father's cancer treatments, nothing gets her down. She has such a positive outlook and spreads it throughout the book. She is a breath of fresh air in the midst of Liam's horrible family.

Liam is a reluctant heir to his family's business. He is closed off and secretive, and not willing to share even with his wife. All he wants to do is make it through the next 10 days and get back to his life.

The writing in this book was amazing. The descriptions were so detailed that it felt like I was right there on Pulau Jingga sinking my feet into the sand and looking out into the crystal waters.

There was just enough spice, and some angst sprinkled here and there. The banter between the main couple was adorable. I loved the way he called her a Muppet-human hybrid and she continues to call him West. Overall, this was a great story, that I highly recommend.

I'll be honest- anything these authors write I am going to read. I just like their stories and writing. That said, I also can look at it and have favorites. This wasn't my most favorite of their books but I did enjoy it and read over the course of 2 nights. There were many parts of it that I love- the lighter rom com feel weaved throughout but doesn't take center stage. There is some angst, but not overly heavy. And I did like the female lead. One reoccuring thought I had throughout the book is that this felt like there is more to come with other characters in the book that we meet. That there's more story to tell and we just got a glimpse of it. And usually for those I wind up liking the 3rd book best since I've become invested in those characters over the course of the other books. Some parts felt a little underdeveloped, but you can only fit so much into a book and the parts that maybe needed a little more weren't vital to the overall story. Definately will be on the list for customers and recommend it in our store- I've got it preordered and will add more. I wish that when they were released it went straight to trade paperback size vs hardback, bu that's my wish and maybe not everyone's. If you haven't read any of their work before, these authors (2 best friends writing together, which you can't tell who is writing what parts) I 100% recommend picking up their books- basically all of them!

What a perrrrrfect honeymoon read!! I mean reading about a tropical paradise island while on a tropical paradise island?! 🌺🌴🍹🐠🍍🦜🏝️🌊 the vibes were 10/10!!

The story itself not quite perfection but still solid!! 💘

✨fake marriage (for an inheritance in trouble!)
✨opposites attract - he’s beyond wealthy, she’s a struggling artist
✨banter and humor👏
✨a little spiiiccy🌶️ with some palpable chemistry
✨one bed!!
✨pop culture references
✨emotional growth!!
✨the most TOXIC of TOXIC families (FU RAY for real)

My main issue is that the cliches were cliche-ing 🫣 especiallyyy to start! And I wish Anna and West (AKA Liam) had more of a before relationship. But still fantastic as per usual from the dynamic duo🫶

Like every Christina Lauren before, “The Paradise Problem” was a wonderful read. It touched on real issues and dysfunctional families dynamics. Liam/West and Anna were excellent MCs and I loved being able to watch their stories unfold. The conflict was fairly expected, but it didn’t diminish the storyline.

Christina Lauren's The Paradise Problem is a masterful blend of unexpected plot twists, balanced humor, and raw emotion. It took me on a rollercoaster ride of laughter, tears, and anger, leaving me completely satisfied. I was left in awe, wondering what more a story could possibly offer.
When Anna Green discovers her marriage of convenience to West (Liam) Weston is ongoing, and he needs her to go to his sister's destination wedding with him; it begins an adventure nobody could have foreseen. They married in college for affordable housing, and Anna thought the paperwork she signed upon graduation was the dissolution of that marriage when, in actuality, it was an agreement to stay married for three more years. She didn't know he was from a wealthy and influential family. He didn't think she had changed her major from pre-med to fine arts, so when he needed her to travel to Indonesia for his sister's wedding, there may be too many lies to pull off the deception of a happy marriage.
I love the Pretty Woman vibes and how the author owned it with a hilarious scene in which one of the characters inadvertently quoted the movie. The whole grumpy/sunshine, fake marriage, and one-bed collection of tropes is the perfect storm for an utterly entertaining story.
The setting of The Paradise Problem is a true delight. The beach backdrop, always a favorite, is elevated to new heights with a private island resort and a bungalow over the water. The vivid descriptions allowed me to fully immerse myself in this picturesque world, feeling the warm sand beneath my feet and the gentle sea breeze on my skin.
But what truly captivated me was the emotional journey of the characters. It was a flawless blend of authenticity and perfection, drawing me into their world and making me feel every emotion. The opposites attract dynamic between the characters was a perfect match, and their love was palpable in every word and action.
If you are looking for a story you can fully invest in, look no further. The Paradise Problem will be a story you will be sad to see end.

Get ready for another great Christina Lauren romance! They are auto-read authors for me and this one didn't disappoint.

"The Paradise Problem" is follows a marriage of convenience with major long-term consequences. Liam Weston and Anna Green get married in college to get family student housing. After 2 years together, they go their own ways. Then 3 years later, Liam finds Anna to ask a major favor, come to his sister's wedding so his family will believe in their "relationship" and he can inherit $100 million dollars. Oh and turns out, they never were divorced, why would Anna read the fine print.

This story was very sweet and enjoyable, although I did only finish this book a few days ago and I feel like I forgot parts already. Anna was fun and fierce. I liked her and Liam opposites attract dynamic. I did not understand how they could be fake married and roommates for 2 years and know basically nothing about each other. That part of the story line bothered me. But overall, this was a fun read just in time for summer.

📚✨Book Review✨📚

The Paradise Problem
Author: Christina Lauren

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.💫

Notes: I received a copy of this book as an advanced reader, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

What I Liked:
🌺 This was your classic marriage of convent story, done in a modern way. That’s always been one of my favorite tropes in historical romance so to see it successfully done as a contemporary really made me happy.

🌺 I enjoyed that regardless of the situation, whether there was money involved or not Ana always seem to be true to who she was inside. She never compromised who she was or her beliefs. That’s especially hard for anyone particularly when there are large sums of money involved.

What I Didn’t Like:
🌺 There were so many times throughout this book that I wanted to just yell at Ana and Liam to shake them. I wanted them to wake up and realize what was right in front of them. While not a specific trope, there was a little bit of miscommunication that would have resolved some of the attention between the two of them.

Final Thoughts:
🌺Christina Lauren always writes books that are a perfect blend of comedy, family, and friends, and spice. This one is certainly no exception. I can always count on this dynamic writing duo to come through with a great read!

#bookreview #reviewsneedlovetoo #readforeverpub #unpopularopinion #booktok #bookstagram #bookfriend #books #bookish #booklover #instablog #romancereader #romcom #fantasybooks

Anna - down on her luck, penniless, aspiring artist

Liam - “West”, extremely well off, crazy family

They got married for student housing and that’s it. They barely knew each other then and still don’t years later when Liam seeks out his “wife” with a proposition. They must pretend to be in love and attend Liam’s sister’s extravagant wedding on a beautiful island. If they can pull it off Liam will pay Anna a large sum from his inheritance. She says yes and the adventure ensues. There’s tons of family drama, finding and being true to yourself, falling in love…all in a dream setting. Another hit from Christina Lauren that will make for a great beach read 🏖️ !!

✔️marriage of convenience
✔️one bed
✔️forced proximity

4.25

It’s that age old trope where boy marries girl to circumvent archaic trust fund stipulation, boy and girl split up with girl thinking boy and girl are now divorced, a couple of years later, boy discovers that he suddenly has to introduce still-wife to family on private Indonesian island, chaos ensues, boy and girl fall in love.

This book is (dare I say) a typical Christina Lauren, in that it’s all in the name of sappy, far-fetched romance with some, we’ll call it, “adult time”. If you like Christina Lauren, you know you’re in for a good time with this. Well maybe not so much for “Love and Other Words”, but they can’t all be as beautifully torturous and lovely as that. This is in the vein of the last few, though I didn’t care too much for the one in the desert, “Something Wilder”. I appreciate the ways, though, that they try toinclude unique settings and this island was nothing like my trip to an Indonesian island.

This is a book that people who say money doesn’t buy happiness will give you when you say “It sure helps!”. West’s family, particularly his father, is reprehensible. And of course, since there is a happy ending, we know things don’t turn out so bad after all.

If you can get your head around everything else, you will probably still get hung up on the ideas that a) Anna is really so much of a hot mess that she doesn’t know she’s married, and b) they didn’t bother with any crash courses to learn about each other. All in all, though, it’s a winner for those who wait for these as soon as they finish the last.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

Not just a fake dating trope romance novel, but a fake marriage one! I knew Christina Lauren would do a great job with this premise. Anna and West got married in college in order to access subsidized family housing. Anna is a free spirited artist working crap jobs to pay for her father's medical bills, and West is trying to escape his incredibly toxic narcissistic father and the slightly less toxic but still pretty awful rest of his family. West shows up years after he and Anna moved out of the housing and reveals 1) that they're still married, 2) that he is in line for an absolutely obscene inheritance if he and Anna stay married for an upcoming 5-year deadline, and 3) that she has to come with him to a luxurious private island for his sister's wedding in order to sell their marriage to his family. He offers her a nice chunk of change in exchange for this favor, which she will of course use to pay for her father's medical bills, and she has a "Pretty Woman" style spree getting ready for the trip. The over-the-top tropical setting (Indonesian island) was lots of fun, and I was in the right mood for a rich-people-behaving-badly story (there was a lot of that!). The ending may have been a little pat but it was satisfying nevertheless. Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for a digital review copy.

Thank you to NetGalley & Gallery Books for an ARC of the book.

Like many other Christina Lauren books before, I enjoyed the Paradise Problem. I stayed up (way to) late reading it because I became so immersed in the characters & their plots. Like some of the pairs in their previous books, Anna & West seem like opposites who quickly realize they balance each other. Through a series of (unbelievable but fun to read) events, Anna & West find themselves supporting & encouraging each other during a very awkward family wedding. I did feel like the Epilogue was almost like a few more chapters smooshed into one, but I appreciated tying up lose ends as all rom-coms should. ;)

I've yet to come across a book by Christina Lauren that I don't love and The Paradise Problem might just be my all time favorite. With a dual- pov, marriage of convenience paired with an astronomical amount of delicious tension and banter. We've got two characters who are simultaneously opposites yet hold so many similarities. The personal growth each go through, the growth together that happens. This was honestly a real winner in terms of recent releases from this duo author team.

Marrying West Weston may or may not have been the greatest plan. But Anna Green needed student housing at UCLA and West found a great deal in subsidized family dorms. At the time it seemed like a win-win. Anna and West were excellent roommates, stayed out of each other’s way, their paths barely crossing. He was an introverted intellect finishing grad school and Anna, an eclectic party girl with pink hair who ultimately dropped pre-med for life as a starving artist. One small hitch to the hitch. Anna wasn’t much for details and she barely glanced at the documents West had her sign. Three years later, long after they went their separate ways, West appears at Anna’s door. Now a Stanford professor and more handsome than ever, West is trying to protect his inheritance from the Weston empire (i.e. crazy family) and he makes Anna an offer she once again cannot refuse. $100,000 to accompany him to a remote island celebration for his sisters high profile society wedding. Oh, and by the way, they are still legally married. Shocked but in desperate need of cash, Anna agrees. The young couple begin a two-week whirlwind adventure with the Weston clan to show the family just how married and in love they still are. A breathtaking setting and real/hot fake/marriage make this the absolute steamiest beach read of the summer.

I really enjoyed this one! I gave it 4 stars because a lot of it was unbelievable and convenient. Beautiful, perfect, and rich is just out of touch and hard to feel relatable to. However; the chemistry was great and well written. I’ll recommend it to friends.

This was such a fun read, I loved every second of it. Id rate this as my second favorite Christina Lauren book right behind The True Love Experiment. It’s basically got everything you could want in a romance. Modern marriage of convenience, forced proximity, fake marriage, messed up rich people, titsoak references, steamy scenes and a swoon worthy slow burn romance. Anna and Liam are a new favorite OTP for me.

Anna is a starving artist who thought she just married Liam for access to subsidized family housing while she was at UCLA and thought she signed the divorce papers when she graduated. 3 years later Liam is back due to an antiquated clause in his grandfathers. Liam won’t see a penny of his inheritance until he’s been happily married for 5 years. When his family pressures him into finally meeting his mysterious wife for his sister’s wedding on a private island he has no choice but to return to Anna and ask for her help. There is just something about how Christina and Lauren write characters. Anna is feisty, foul mouthed and always ready to poke fun at Liam and make him blush. They had such great chemistry. It’s that kind of romance that feels like opposites attract but you realize they aren’t opposite they are actually just made for each other. I also enjoyed how we got to see Liam open up and break away from his crazy family and their suffocating expectations.

Overall this was such a fun read. It’s goofy at times but has depth. I highly recommend it and it’s definitely a new favorite for me.

Huge thank you to Gallery Books and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC.

Anna Green is a quirky artist with pink hair, while Liam West is a proper guy set to inherit a lot of money from his family's grocery store. They get married while in college to get cheaper housing, but they soon split up. Three years later, Liam shows up again, and it turns out they never finished their divorce. Now he needs a date for his sister's wedding. Anna's dad is sick, so she's tempted by the chance to get some money from Liam's family to help with medical bills. But can she pretend to be in love with someone she barely knows? Even though they're total opposites, sometimes opposites attract.

Christina Lauren, the authors, usually have a certain way of writing, which I really like. "Paradise Problem" has their usual humor and clever talk, but it feels a bit different. It's not an instant love story; it takes its time to develop. But when it gets romantic, it's really romantic. It's a bit predictable, but most happy endings are, right? I didn't feel super connected to the characters, but it's a great book for the beach. It's funny, a little spicy, and has some heartwarming moments.

Thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for giving me this book to review honestly.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. I’m not exactly sure where I net out in this one. It was a quick read with all of the tropical summer vacation vibes, but I just didn’t like the characters all that much or believe much of the story. The whole thing with the trust and the vile dad was too convoluted and messy. I think I would have just preferred the fake marriage trope without the toxic family drama thrown into the mix.