The Paradise Problem is a book centered on a fake marriage in order to access an inheritance set in place by Liam Weston's grandfather. The marriage took place for one reason and then was picked back up a few years later for Charlie's (Liam's sister) destination wedding. This book is jam packed with dysfunctional family dynamics, fake marriage, billionaire status, and a bit of grumpy/sunshine.

This book gave Dreamland Billionaire's vibes as it has the same concept but different reasonings. I think the Weston children having to be happily married for 5 years in order to gain access to their inheritance doesn't really make sense (I know his grandfather wanted the business to stay in the family and divorce not affect it but it could've just been included in a prenup). This book was enjoyable and easy to read but I didn't connect to or favor any of the characters. I was more focused on how they were going to make it through the wedding/if they were going to get caught and not on their relationship. I do wish we would've gotten more of Liam and Anna's relationship but overall it was a quick and easy read!

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A fake marriage trope on a tropical island? Sign me up! I love Christina Lauren's works and The Paradise Problem was a perfect addition to their catalog. Anna Green is a quirky, fun-loving artist who has been struggling to get by and Liam "West" Weston is a college professor and heir to a multimillion-dollar company. The two have history due their college marriage to get subsidized family housing. Anna think that this marriage has since been dissolved, but when West shows up on her doorstep asking for her to play the role of dotting wife to his sister's wedding - things get a little more complicated. In this grumpy/sunshine vacation romance you should express humor and spice. I definitely recommend this to fans of Rom Coms that enjoy cheeky banter and characters who are still growing into themselves.

I really wanted to love this, but I just didn’t vibe with it. I’m usually a big fan of Christina Lauren’s books, as the duo has written some absolutely fantastic reads, but this one fell short for me. I feel like the FMC had that “I’m quirky and different” vibe a little too hardcore and I found her pretty insufferable. I felt like her relationship with the MMC was just completely impossible. Their romance didn’t seem as strong as one would expect and I just didn’t see it being plausible, especially with how they became married in the first place.

It’s rare to see a romance that’s lush and dreamy AND problematizes wealth. Christina Lauren took a bold swing and they nailed it.

I just absolutely love and cannot get enough of Christina Lauren, so to say thank you to Netgalley and Gallery Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review, would be a huge understatement.

SYNOPSIS: Anna has always thought her “marriage” to West was purely to get cheaper housing during college. When he shows up on her doorstep three years later, she finds out there is a lot more than that… West is actually Liam Weston, grandson of the Weston Grocery empire, and in order to access his trust fund he needs to be in a successful marriage for five years. What Liam’s family doesn’t know is that they do not live together and haven’t spoken in years. With the five year “anniversary” soon approaching, and his informed his sister Charlie getting married on a private island, he comes to Anna with an offer she can’t refuse to help him convince his family that they are, in fact, happily married.

REVIEW: Let me start off by saying The Paradise Problem absolutely did not disappoint, so suffice to say the ‘reigning romance queens’ are at it again!! This book is signature Christina Lauren filled with laughs, steamy romance, and wit that makes you want to not stop reading (for literally anything), but also makes you want to slow down because you don’t want the book to end.

The Paradise Problem is a ~marriage of convenience~ trope that unfolds into an entirely unique romcom (raise your hand if you like forced proximity and fake relationships!!!) with magnetic characters, and a private tropical island backdrop. There are several emotional layers for the reader to slowly chip away at as you get lost in the humor, swoon, sarcasm, and family drama… it’s giving Succession (but WAY sexier, and with even more improbable circumstance and wealth). The unique family dynamics added an extra layer of unpredictability, just adding to the already magnificent plot. I thought Blaire (Liam’s sister-in-law) was perfectly placed throughout the book and she made me freaking laugh!!

I fell in love with Anna and Liam. They are the perfect pair and gave me butterflies. I liked how we get to see Anna and Liam’s relationship from beginning to present because it was such a true reflection of how enraptured you become when you first come to understand, respect, and love someone. It felt like they truly do belong together.

I will recommend this book forever to everybody!
5 STARS!!!!

Bestseller duo Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, writing as Christina Lauren, absolutely crush it in their latest rom com release, THE PARADISE PROBLEM. Yes, it’s a rom com with a ridiculously silly plot (marriage of convenience with a sexy millionaire who needs a wife to get his inheritance). But there are some very weighty concepts beneath the surface fluff of this delightfully fun story. The exploration of betrayal, dysfunctional families, and crushing life events is very skillfully done. Once again, Lauren proves to be a can’t-miss author.

Anna Green is a down-on-her-luck aspiring artist who just lost her convenience store gig. She’s juggling several dead-end jobs while paying for her dad’s cancer treatment and painting when she can grab the time. Anna had married fellow grad student Liam Weston five years ago so they could each take advantage of married housing while in school. Anna thought they had divorced at the end of school (who reads those long lawyerly contracts anyway?!). But Liam shows up at Anna’s door begging her to come to his sister’s wedding and act like they’ve been happily married for the last five years, so that he can cash in on his multimillion dollar inheritance. Off they jet to tiny private island for the destination wedding, where Anna must pretend to be the rich and pampered wife of a grocery empire heir, rather than the desperate starving artist that she is.

Crazypants, right? But oh my goodness, this story is just so fun! Despite the premise and many of the characters being cheerfully over the top, THE PARADISE PROBLEM nonetheless has exquisite emotional depth. Liam’s family is, quite frankly, horrific. Despite years of therapy, Liam still struggles to deal with his incredibly toxic father as well as the rest of his terrible nuclear family. Anna has had many agonizing struggles of her own, but with the assistance of a marvelous dad and a great best friend, she’s come through with a well-grounded emotional base and a pragmatic attitude that provides such a great foil to Liam’s angst.

THE PARADISE PROBLEM provides plenty of gloriously steamy romance. The fish bowl setting of the Richey Rich destination wedding with the marriage of convenience aspect is splendidly zany and provides lots of laughs. But what could have simply been just a hot and fun rom com has amazing emotional complexity. This book is firmly on my Keeper Shelf, and I know I will return to it over and over to revel in the engrossing romance that Lauren’s THE PARADISE PROBLEM delivers in spades.

Thank you netgalley for an ARC of this book. Christina Lauren does it again! She brings the characters for life and has you rooting for Anna and Liam throughout the entire book.

I completely loved this book from page 1. Fake marriage? Swanky private island? High amounts of steam? Um, yes please. I really loved Anna. Give me a strong female character who isn't afraid to be her true authentic self any day of the week. Highly recommend. It's a perfect book for your Summer tbr.

PLEASE if you listen to one review I write, make it be this one. Add it to your TBR immediately!! I could not stop laughing and giggling and getting butterflies.

This is my second Christina Lauren book (first being Love & Other Words) and they are both easy 5 star reads for me. They just don’t miss!! This is a perfect book to read for the summertime since it takes place on a tropical vacation to Asia. The relationship between the two characters was so unique and I enjoyed every second of it.

I also enjoyed reading about subplot of family dynamics and it reminded me of how you never know what someone is going through and how their family life might look like at that point in time.

Overall I couldn’t put it down. ILY Christina Lauren and I will be reading everything that you write lol

Thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of this book, I cannot wait to pick it up as a trophy on release day!

Tropes:

Fake dating
Slow burn
Millionaire romance

READ THIS BOOK. ITS SO GOOD 🥰🥰🥰

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC! This was one I was incredibly excited to read and it did not disappoint.

I LOVE the fake marriage/marriage of convenience trope and the setup for this one was fantastic. Anna Green and Liam "West" Weston had fantastic chemistry and banter throughout the whole book. Anna handles West's dysfunctional family with her sarcastic and slightly crude sense of humor that had me snort laugh a few times. I feel like I would have been as awkward as she was trying to fit in with that kind of wealth and it was incredibly relatable.

Well done to CL for another fantastic book!

The Paradise Problem is like a refreshing breeze. I don't typically read romances, but Christina Lauren does them so well, with such great dramatic plots throughout that I get hooked every time. This book had me salivating, addicted to Anna and Liam’s relationship and though it has been 5 days since I have finished it, I still feel hungover from this lovely book. Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Could be my new fave Christina Lauren book! It was just so good. Loved the setting and the rich family drama. Ugh! Write more like this!!

I devoured this book like I do all of Christina Lauren's new releases! The setting, the family backstory, the miscommunication trope, all of it was pitch perfect. I read this book on vacation and could not put it down. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys romances and has a love of travel.

I am typically a CL fan, but this one was a miss for me. The characters were just not very likeable for most of the book. It was a very insta love feeling, and mostly just physical. I am not a prude but the sex was way over the top, and I feel like most of the books humor was too raunchy. Just wasn’t my favorite, I felt like it could’ve been better.

You can always count on Christina Lauren to write the most amazing contemporary romances that make you feel like you’re living a life not your own, even for just a short period of time. I found the main characters of the paradise problem to be equal parts, dynamic, interesting and so lovable it wasn’t even funny even when they made me mad I was so glad to read about them.

This book was predictable but cute! A perfect light read in between heavy thrillers. Likeable characters.

Thank you Gallery Book and NetGalley for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

Christina Lauren’s The Paradise Problem is a fake marriage, opposites attract, slow burn romance. It is perfect for a summertime, beach or poolside read.

May we all be as comfortable in our own skin as Anna Green and have less family issues than West Weston.

What an incredibly delightful read. Christina Lauren continue to be my favorites! The chemistry between Liam and Anna, as well as the world-building made this such an easy and fun read. I loved the tropical setting, too! Highly recommend this read to anyone looking for a light, romantic read that still has plenty of depth.

Think: Sexy Succession. Christina Lauren always hits no matter what, just like pizza. This was so addicting that I did not realize it was 2 am and had to peel my kindle out of my hands and force myself to sleep. I got up and immediately finished it as soon as I could. It's not perfect - sometimes the characters were a little millennial cringe (but so am I), but it is going to be a must read on vacations this year!

The Paradise Problem is one of the best romances I have read this year.
Anna Green is an up and coming artist, works at a local convenience store, and takes care of her sick father. All she wants to do is get by in life without all of the fancy things. Liam "West" Weston is the heir CEO of the family grocery store chain. He wants nothing to do with the business and wants absolutely nothing to do with his father. Liam and Anna met in college and got married to afford student housing. After Liam graduated, they went their separate ways. 5 years later and Liam is attending his sisters wedding where all of his family will be. His family assumes he is still married and he is to bring Anna to the island. Liam must convince Anna to come to the island for 12 days to act as his wife. The loophole? there is a will written by Liam's grandfather that says a couple must be married for 5 years and they will then receive their inheritance. Can Anna and Liam pull off a believable stunt? Can Anna act as a rich wife? Can the Weston's work through their problems?

This book was so good! It had everything you wanted and more. I loved the family dynamic and that it was not only focused on the relationship part. I loved the idea of them faking a marriage but then falling in love. I enjoyed the banter between the characters and truly enjoyed the story as a whole. Overall, this is such a cute read and I highly recommend to anyone looking for a good summer romance.