I've been a big fan of Christina Lauren's books for a while now and The Paradise Problem is one of their funniest! I fell in love with Anna & Liam. Two really good people, one unhinged family, spending days on an incredible island , with a billion dollars. What could go wrong? Literally everything! Thank you Christina Lauren for writing believable characters, with real feelings, and lots of spicy build up.

Seriously… I DEVOURED this book! There’s something about the way these authors write characters and dialogue that just scratches the perfect romance itch!!

Although I have to admit that “fake dating” is my favorite of the romance troupes, I’m still going to double down and claim this as my prediction for THE romance book of 2024.

Overall, the main two characters, West and Anna, felt fully developed and realistic. Anna feels like a girls girl in the best way possible, and I know we’d be friends IRL. The conflict West faces over choosing his family or himself is so real. Somehow, these authors make the conflict heart wrenching, hilarious, and a tad bit spicy. I’m absolutely here for it.

Thanks to the authors, publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC. Can’t wait to reread at the beach this summer!

“The Paradise Problem” by Christina Lauren is a delightfully complex romance that captivates from the first page. Received as an ARC from NetGalley, this book earns a well-deserved 4 stars for its unique blend of humor, heart, and the unexpected twists that Christina Lauren is known for.

At the heart of the story is Anna Green and Liam “West” Weston, whose marriage begins as a mere convenience for subsidized housing at UCLA. The plan? Divorce upon graduation. Yet, three years later, we find Anna as a struggling artist and Liam, a Stanford professor and an unwilling heir to the Weston Foods conglomerate, bound by a bizarre clause in his grandfather’s will. Liam can’t inherit his fortune unless he’s been happily married for five years. With his family’s pressure mounting, Liam has no choice but to reintroduce Anna into his life, not as his ex, but as his wife.

Christina Lauren crafts a narrative that’s as much about the complexities of love as it is a critique of wealth’s corrupting influence. The real charm lies in the development of Anna and Liam’s relationship, evolving from a marriage of convenience to something deeply authentic. Anna’s transformation from a “feisty, foul-mouthed, paint-splattered” individual to someone who captivates with her purity and loyalty forms the crux of the storyline. Meanwhile, Liam’s struggle with his family’s toxic wealth and the fear of its impact on Anna adds layers to his character, making him more than just the average romantic lead.

The story brilliantly navigates the dichotomy between genuine affection and the superficiality associated with immense wealth. It prompts readers to question the true cost of financial gain, especially when it threatens to erode something as precious as true love.

“The Paradise Problem” is a testament to Christina Lauren’s ability to weave humor with poignant moments, creating a narrative that’s engaging and thought-provoking. It’s a romance that doesn’t just satisfy the heart’s yearnings but also offers a critical look at societal norms and the true essence of partnership. For anyone seeking a story that’s rich in character development, bursting with emotional depth, and sprinkled with the right amount of comedic relief, “The Paradise Problem” is a must-read.

Thanks to Gallery Books for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions below are my own.

Ok, usually I am not a fan of the messy girl who has nothing being "saved' by the rich, well put together guy trope. But the premise around this one seemed like it could be funny, so I gave it a shot, plus Christina Lauren can make any plot compelling. I'll admit, the first 10%, I was definitely uncomfortable by Anna's lifestyle, or lack thereof. But then I had my first laugh out loud moment and never looked back. This story has the sharp banter that I like in a romance. The main characters also ended up being quite nuanced and the put together one and the not put together one flipped roles quite a bit. Anna felt so authentic and I really liked that. West's family definitely had Succession vibes, a total car crash but hard to look away from.

The Paradise Problem was a fun, lighthearted read set in a beautiful location with a marriage of convenience, a slow-burn romance, and two people who have been married for five years finally getting to know each other. I'm usually a fan of Christina Lauren's books and this is no exception. A lot of whether I like a contemporary romance novel depends heavily on the main female protagonist. From the beginning of this book I really liked Anna's character. She feels like a real person and not just a caricature of the "quirky girl" or the "funny girl." Even though they are from wildly different social classes, their relationship felt balanced. Liam starts off a little cold, but he definitely warms up as we get to know him. There's no insta-love here and I feel like we actually get to see the characters get to know each other and build something together.

Liam's family is terrible. Even the ones that the book tries to portray as not so bad are horribly selfish and purposefully oblivious. We did get a satisfying scene where they get told off a bit, but I would have like to see a little more.

I really enjoyed this marriage of convenience story with a twist. The characters are great, and their romance is opposites attract with a vengeance. The story is amusing and clever, the pace is good, the setting lush and gorgeous, and the slowly growing romance is sweet, funny, and touching. The couples' antagonists are suitably evil (talk about dysfunctional families!) and tension is high as the novel approaches its climax. Christina Lauren's writing is engaging, as always, and the humor and banter sparkle. This is perfect summer reading!

I loved this, and once I finished reading it I rewatched Pretty Woman because I just wanted the vibe to continue. Wonderfully written, with plenty of romance and on page, more explicit scenes. I would not recommend this to anyone who prefers closed door romance. However, I think this book will be very loved and appreciated!

Dare I say this might be my new favorite Christina Lauren rom com? Fake dating, close proximity, opposites attract, this book hit on the romance, steam and banter on all counts - set amongst a beautiful tropical island. Another absolute winner from this dynamic duo!

4.5. Stars

The Paradise Problem is another CLo hit for me!! I loved it! I think Liam & Anna may be my new favorite CLo couple (after Will & Hannah!). I thought this was a fresh twist on the “fake dating/fake marriage” trope and a perfect beachy/summer read! There were a few minor quirks I could have done without, other than that it was a great time!

Literally how do they keep doing it?! Another CLo winner that ranks in my top favorite CLo books.

This book really has it all: laugh out loud comedy, squeeze your heart depth, an “I want to go to there” setting, my favorite tropes (marriage of convenience/fake dating), and so much girly GLAM to enjoy. I loved Anna and Liam so much and they felt like real, well-rounded people. The whole thing played like a movie in my head.

HIGHLY recommend this one to anyone and everyone. Can’t wait for it to come out in May and already eagerly awaiting CLo's next book.

Anna is such a hot mess. I’m loving that the woman is the hot mess this time instead of the man where she has to put him together. Her life is a total mess and it turns out that he needs her to come to a wedding with him. They are trying to wait out their five year marriage so he gets his inheritance/trust fund early.

She has to dress up and pretend like she’s been around for five years to convince his terrible family that even though they’ve never met her, she’s totally been married to Liam this whole time. Results are mixed.

I never really felt like they had an emotional connection until after they left Indonesia despite how they were the other’s anchor through this bananas wedding trip. His family is horrible to each other and horrible to her and he commiserates afterwards but doesn’t really shut anything down in the moment. I didn’t love him for that.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy.

Christina Lauren will always be one of my favorite rom com authors. I read this while on my honeymoon in Indonesia (fitting for this plot!) and loved every second of it. I was rooting for Liam & Anna from the start, and loved that this book was so much more than a love story. Just the right amount of family drama but not too over the top. Add this one to your TBR list in May!

This felt like Crazy Rich Asians meets fake wife trope - and I'm still not sure how I feel about it. I think this was another great Christina Lauren novel, and I will still read anything written by the duo, but I wasn't as wowed with this title as I have been with some of their previous work. Don't get me wrong, I was eating up Anna and West's relationship, but I feel like West never really beat that rich boy attitude. I do recommend this for any Christina Lauren lover - read it and make it yours.

while it had interesting ideas, I think this is a case of lots of potential that never could have come to fruition in a contemporary romance novel with a dual pov. I think a lot more could have been explored but CL were never into that so it's on me. also I think the expectations set up by this book are very inaccurate with its title and blurb. It is not in any capacity, a second chance or a marriage in trouble

Christina Lauren does it again with their newest book The Paradise Problem! Thank you for the advanced copy. Although I don't love how Anna Green and Liam West get together (a marriage so they can have a cheap apartment while they are both in school), I did love where the story went for this "couple" to keep up their charade in front of Liam's family. Who wouldn't want to go to an extravagant rich family's wedding on a private island and have EVERYTHING paid for!? I was rooting for Anna and Liam to fall in love and of course they did. I will definitely be recommending this for some summer reading with my friends!

Christian Lauren has been my auto read author for long, and unsurprisingly, this book slays
the marriage of convenience book we didn't know we needed

Anna Green and Liam Weston get married to access subsidized family housing at UCLA. While Anna thought she signed divorce papers, Liam calls her three years later to help prove to his family he's happily married so he can access his inheritance.

I have read very few 'marriage of convenience' stories, but really enjoyed this one from CLo. Anna is a broke, struggling artist who is trying to keep up with her dad's medical bills. When Liam offers to pay her to join him at his sister's wedding on a private island, she can't pass up the chance to get caught up financially. This was a fun story that was a blend of opposites attract with some fake dating, and messy family dynamics. You will hate the wealthy Weston's who basically light money on fire, but love soft Liam who has worked on himself over the years to escape his family's toxic lifestyle.

There was a slow burn build up as they got to know one another and acknowledged their mutual attraction, and I loved the tension and banter. The family chaos in the end was a bit much and took a little away from the romance, but loved the epilogue and resolution to the story.

If you're looking for a fun summer read that's full of pop culture references, humor, and set on a tropical island, I recommend picking this up.

Thanks Gallery Books for the advance copy - hits shelves May 14.

It’s giving Succession meets Pretty Woman.

If you like either of those, and I love both, it will definitely be a fun entertaining read for you.

Paradise Problem takes us on an adventure with 25-year old “starving artist” Anna Green who just lost her convenient store job for stealing a pack of gum (aka turning down her boss for a date) and Liam Weston, son of billionaire parents and heir to the 6th largest Grocery Store chain in the US. In college, Anna and Liam got married without knowing each other just to qualify for subsidized housing after Liam’s dad kicked him out and cut him off. Upon marrying Anna, he found out that he would in fact get a great inheritance after 5 years of remaining married due to a stipulation in his grandfathers will. He and Anna were basically strangers and went their separate ways after college despite staying married (unbeknownst to Anna). A few months away from the 5 year inheritance is set to arrive, Liam’s younger sister Charlie is getting married in Singapore and his family INSISTS Liam bring his “wife” on their 12 day absurdly lavish destination wedding. Realizing he can’t put their suspicions off any longer, he flies out to find his “wife” and see if she’ll be willing to tag along….

Overall, this wasn’t my favorite of Christina Lauren’s. I think it felt lacking a bit in the plausibility and actually romantic connection. There was definitely chemistry between the two main characters but it felt a little more surface level to me than in their previous books.

This also may be because this book was more spicy than I remember theirs being in the past. And I don’t mind that, I thought it was well done, but it was frequent and detailed. I wonder if the multitude of sex scenes took a bit away from the overall emotional connection.

That being said, I still read this in under 48 hours. I loved the main characters personalities, Liam’s family reminded me so much of the Roy’s that I almost started calling Charlie Shiv and who wouldn’t be interested in seeing that family stuck together on a private island and throwing a romance. I loved it. If you’re a fan of Christina Lauren’s other books I absolutely think this is one that will have you flipping pages into the wee hours of the night just like I did.

I don't think I've read a marriage of convenience trope quite like this one. It was laugh out loud funny yet tackled some serious subjects.

Anna is one of my favorite protagonists, a broke artist with pink hair who is willing to give anything a try. Liam is her opposite, uptight and serious, and from an incredibly wealthy family. The two of them together are so fun. It's a slow burn but when things finally heat up, it is HOT.

Highly recommend.

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘈𝘙𝘊!
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘓𝘢𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘺 14

First, it is clear that Christina and Lauren have a mastered a writing formula that is unmatched when it comes to co-writing.

The Paradise Problem follows Anna Green, a rather unique and quirky character, and Liam West, a socialite professor who is an heir to his family fortune.

Anna is a former bio major turned struggling artist who meets Liam in college and they get married to qualify for affordable student housing. The pair get divorced (or so she thinks) but he shows up years later with a proposal: play the part of his loving, classy wife so he can get his family fortune and she can get money to pay for her father's medical bills. These two come from totally different worlds (and personalities) but we get to see them slowly realize they don't have to pretend to be in love as much as they think.

The Paradise Problem is a slow burn, opposites attract, marriage of convenience rom-com. It features complex family dynamics, witty banter, and some spice! It was a relatively quick read. It does have a 3rd act breakup and lots of family drama.

Cons: while I do think this writing duo executes their books very well together, I think there was a total missed opportunity on the plot here. This could have been a fantastic second chance romance in which the readers could have felt the chemistry between Anna and Liam more. This was a true marriage of convenience in the sense that it was just that, convenient. While they lived together as roommates in the beginning, it is clear there was zero development between them.

Overall, if you are a fan of Christina Lauren's previous books, I think you would enjoy this just the same. The book is centered around Liam's sisters wedding on a lavish private island. Since this is a light, rom-com, I truly think it would be best enjoyed as a fun summer read on the beach!