I enjoyed this book from the minute I started reading it. I laughed out loud. This storyline has a bunch of twist and turns but in the end romance and love wins. I recommend this book. Thanks for the advanced copy NetGalley. #NetGalley #ParadiseProblem

Christina Lauren is a great author duo who always goes on my to pick up list for any book they release. They never fail to deliver a fun, quick story that keeps me turning the pages.

Their newest release, The Paradise Problem, has some great romcom vibes. Fair warning, the premise is fun, but the storyline is definitely a bit over the top at times and will need you to suspend reality a bit. In a lot of ways, it really gave me classic romcom movie vibes.

While the first part of the story really had me caught up, the second half dragged a bit for me. It felt like a matter of two many competing elements and not enough time - it kind of muddled things for me. While this wasn’t my favorite CLo read, I definitely think it will be a fave for many readers. For me personally this one was more of a mixed bag.

What I liked:

🩵 Anna’s moments with Liam’s niece Reagan.

🩵 Anna’s relationship with her Dad, David and her love and devotion to him.

🩵 Tropes: Marriage of Convenience and Fake Relationship

🩵 Banter and interesting initial premise

🩵 Complex and varied familial relationships


What wasn’t working for me as well:

➖ The lack of likable characters - they were really all pretty toxic and awful. They had moments of good or redemption but overall I didn’t like any of the main or secondary cast really 🤷🏼‍♀️😅

➖ the spice, definitely a personal preference here. I’m not a spice person much anyway, but I need / want that emotional build up. Here it felt all sexual / physical with little relationship building, it was too much and cringy for me. (Certain references to naming things 🤦🏼‍♀️).

➖ Too many competing elements that didn’t feel fully explored, tied up and left the story feeling muddled for me. (Was this meant to be a romcom, a family dynastic drama, a social commentary…?)

➖Anna, she had likable moments but I found her overall to feel immature and irritating. A bit too much with her not like other girls, hot mess vibe.

Overall, it was a quick, fun read and one I think fans of CLo and the romcom Pretty Woman will really enjoy. A great pick for a poolside and/or vacation read. I look forward to seeing what they write next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the opportunity to read an early copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own and freely offered.

They’ve done it again. An absolute banger. Marriage of convenience at its best.

Come for the tropical location, stay for the only one bed sitch and dreamboats that are Anna and West.

My new favorite book of theirs!!

I ate this book right up. In typical Christina Lauren fashion, it sizzles and sears and downright bewitches you. Before you know it, it’s 2 AM and you realize you’ve read it all in one breathless sitting. Brimming with a host of tried-and-true tropes, THE PARADISE PROBLEM is simply addictively good romance.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Christina Lauren meets Crazy Rich Asians. Delightful story, great character development. Anna is the female character who I think comes directly from the authors: beautiful, intelligent, and potty-mouthed. Liam is the apple who fell far from the tree, which is beneficial for all readers. I never hated him.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of the story. Perfectly lovely.

This book took me by surprise as I wasn’t expecting to like the main character at the beginning, but the authors did a great job at making her become a real person and I had no choice but to like her and root for her. I loved how candid and down to earth Anna was, how authentic and rooted, and how she just rolled with the punches and kept smiling. I loved how she kept being herself without getting blindsided by the ostentatious people surrounding her. I really enjoyed the banter and the chemistry between her and Liam, and how they were just there for each other.
The beautiful description of the island of Pulau Jingga was so vivid, I felt like I was there in a vacation myself (and then I had to search whether it was a real place or not). That part reminded me a bit of The Unhoneymooners.
I thought the ending was great and loved that there was a long epilogue, and even though I couldn’t put the book down, I was sad for it to come to an end. This was a five-star read for me and I think it’s up there with The Unhoneymooners, Love and Other Words, and The Love Hypothesis, which are my favorite books by the authors.
Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery Books for the ARC.

Christina Lauren must be magicians who sprinkle their books with a captivating spell that makes readers stay up past their bedtime to finish their books. The authors are so great at writing charming female protagonists and Anna in this book is no different.

This is honestly a classic romance (fake dating, tropical island, rich people doing terrible things, steamy scenes, strong female friendship for the main protagonist, etc). A must read for CL and or contemporary romance fans.

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

OMG!! Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for the opportunity to read this early edition. Christina Lauren does it again. This one has everything- a fake (real ) marriage, a vacation in paradise, horrible in-laws, money, power and love. Anna Green and Liam Weston had a marriage of convenience in college. Anna thought they were divorced, having never actually read the papers. Three years later Anna is shocked to learn they’re still married and Liam needs her to gain his trust fund. Adventure on a tropical island leads Anna and Liam towards a love match.

I have been a long time fan of the writing Duo Christina Lauren and have read every title on their shelf. I was especially excited to get my hands on this one so thank you NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for my review.
Although to be fair, I knew I would love it before I even started! I had no idea what to expect and brought it on vacation with me. It will be the absolute perfect summer beach read of 2024. I can always rely on their books to give me two main characters who I will always root for, and whose banter and chemistry is always page turning. Which is surprising because I lost track of the amount of fake dating/fake marriage books I have read and yet I loved this one. It felts fresh even using a very common trope. I also loved the extended family characters and everything they added to the story. I also feel like the location was it's own character and I wish I was a guest at the wedding.

I’m forever and ever obsessed with this lovely duo!! Christina Lauren books never fail to make me swoon and this one is no different.

This is another absolute gem from Christina Lauren! I adored this book!

Anna and West had a marriage of convience in college, but what Anna doesn’t realize is that they are still married three years. West now needs her to play the role of devoted wife at a major family event. I loved what a hot mess that Anna was in the beginning! The interactions between Anna and West were top notch!

I will be buying a copy when it is released and recommending to everyone!

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for an eARC!

A perfect summer read!

A new take on the bajillionaire romance, plus a touch of rags-to-riches, complete with hilarity and unnecessary opulence. I absolutely devoured this one! I always love a good Christina Lauren romcom, but this one is such a good time. The drama and dysfunction in the too-rich-for-their-own-good Weston family was ridiculous and entertaining but just sad enough to hit you in the feels. Definitely the best marriage of convenience trope I've ever read. Bring this book to the beach, you won't regret it (:

Well, this duo has done it again. The romance, the banter, the family drama, the lush setting, the spice--just delightful. I simply could not put The Paradise Problem down and finished it in a day. The chemistry between the main characters was delicious and I love how they supported and stood up for each other. I'm always a fan of forced proximity/one bed (hello, overwater bungalow!!) and fake dating/marriage. But I cannot stand insta-love. Thankfully, this plot addressed that by giving them a solid background which made the progression of their relationship more believable.

The side characters added a lot to the story. West's deeply toxic family had me yelling at the book and I'm so glad he got to experience a loving father figure by the end. I enjoyed reading this island romance during the cold winter months, but it would be even better as a beach read with a fruity drink in hand.

I really really loved this book!! So good and such a page turner. Best book in a long time! Thank you for the ARC!!

Thank you to Gallery Books and Christina Lauren for my eARC copy via NetGalley.

Anna Green is struggling. She just lost her job, her dad is getting treated for cancer (which she is having to try and cover the bills for), her lifelong dream of being paid to paint isn't seeming to come to life, and now she finds out that the marriage of convenience she <i>thought</i> had ended in divorce is still very much legally active. Now, her "husband" West needs her to pretend they are happily married (and have been for nearly 5 years) at his sister's wedding. What's in it for her? Well she will get 100K of West's inheritance money. Liam has been riding out his fake marriage in order to get closer to the day he gets his inheritance from his Grandfather, an inheritance with a clear stipulation that you do not get a penny until you've been <i>happily</i> married for at least 5 years. Now with his parents asking about his marriage to Anna, and requesting they bring her to his sister's wedding, he feels there is no other choice but to ask his clearly-not-wealthy wife to play a part so well that she can convince his whole family they're really in love and have been so for 5 years (even though she doesn't seem to realize his name isn't West). What can go wrong?

I am a big Christina Lauren fan. I'm working through all of the duo's novels, have enjoyed each of them in their own ways, and this is no exception. The marriage of convenience, with very high stakes, we see played out on the pages of this book is such a charged relationship that I felt the tension between the two was palpable. I think they did a great job of writing the complexity of Liam's family, each of them negatively effected by the pressure of their family's legacy and wealth in different ways. The development of Liam and Anna's relationship felt very natural, and the choice to show how little they knew of each other by explaining that Anna didn't realize his name wasn't West was freaking hilarious.

My main annoyance was the "goofy girl" vibes we get from Anna's character. Her calling his penis his Goddamn seriously made my skin crawl every single time, and there were A LOT of times it was said. Her "not like other girls" dirty, trash-panda vibes didn't come across as endearing to me, it felt forced and self centered at times. A person can be artsy, choose not to attend medical school, not be a millionaire and still not be a disgusting unserious person (wow I clearly was more annoyed with this than I realized lol). I did enjoy the book otherwise, it was just hard not to knock down stars for this when I found myself rolling my eyes every few pages.

Overall this was a fun read, exactly the enjoyable experience I've come to expect from a CL book, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun romance that dives deep into a difficult marriage of convenience. The spice was spicing, I'll say that. The FMC is quirky, so if that's your thing you're bound to love this as well.

I'm always excited for a new Christina Lauren book, and this one didn't disappoint. I love the banter between the characters, and I just couldn't help falling in love with both of them. One of my favorite Christina Lauren books to date.

The sexiest book I have ever read, but not for the reason you think. The build up of plot and tension between the characters is the stuff of my Rom-Com dreams. This is by far my favorite CL novel and holds the top spot for 2024. While we have seen the poor girl/rich boy trope before, but this felt original, fresh, and chic. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. Can't wait for everyone to dive into this one.

4.5 stars. I look forward to a new Christina Lauren book every year, and this one was so fun! It felt like Crazy Rich Asians + Unhoneymooners with some marriage of convenience + lots of family intrigue added in.

First off. I loved the characters! Anna & Liam are darling. Anna is just the right amount of chaos and kooky to balance Liam’s orderly and serious. The banter was so good!

The setting of the story is stunning. The descriptions transported me!

There are some heavy things handled really gracefully (see TW below).

There were a couple things that didn’t flow well for me, but overall this was a lovely, steamy read that all CLo fans should have on their lists to read this summer!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the chance to review an advance copy.

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TW BELOW! Possible mild spoilers.


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Last chance to avoid any mild spoilers.



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TW: parent with cancer, verbal abuse and gaslighting from parent, parental abandonment.

Christina Lauren is must read author for me and this book was no exception. Great character development and interesting storyline. Keep me invested and entertained the entire time. Would highly recommend.

This is my new favorite Christina Lauren book! I loved it! Fake marriage, frienemies to lovers, set in a tropical paradise where all hell breaks loose, what’s not to love? It was rich (literally) in my favorite tropes and I loved the banter between Liam and Anna. So good! If you love a feel-good rom-com, this is your next five star read!