There is no other way to say it: this book made me SWOON! I’ve read 20 books by this powerhouse duo and dare I say this is one of my very, very favorites? I dare!

I went into this totally blind and loved every single minute of it. I almost spit out my drink at the last paragraph of the prologue and at that point, I officially knew I was guaranteed a good time.

This book was seriously so fun. Every interaction between West and Anna had me melting! Or guffawing! Or both! The tension was perfect, and the banter was top tier.

The Paradise Problem was everything you expect from a Christina Lauren book and so much more. I struggled to put it down, I couldn’t stop smiling, I GIGGLED, I was genuinely sad when it was over. All signs of a five star book that I’ll definitely be recommending AND rereading soon!

Thanks to the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader! All opinions (and giggles) are my own!

I've read some Christina Lauren books that I've loved and some that weren't so great. This one was definitely a 5 star read. I loved the characters, the setting, and the story of the Weston family. This is a must-buy for public libraries.

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren tells the story of Anna and Liam.

After finding out his inheritance is on the line, Liam is forced to "fake marry" his brothers friend Anna. They have successfully avoided his family for several years but now they are being forced to attend Liam's sisters wedding on a private island and act like they are a happily married couple.

Anna has to learn that money doesn't solve all problems, Liam must learn to stand up to his father. Will they learn these lessons before time runs out, or will they risk everything and lose out on the inheritance?

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title!

Liam needs a place to stay as he finishes up his college and married housing is his only choice. Needing a wife, his brother suggests Anna, who needs help with the rent. After two years Liam moves out. Three years later he shows up asking Anna to attend his sister’s wedding. To get his inheritance, he needs to be married for five years and his family wants to meet his wife. I loved this book. Anna struggles trying to help with her father’s medical bills for cancer. Their love is heartwarming, and Anna’s dad keeps her centered. Liam’s family is wealthy but there is no love except for money. I loved the contrast of families and how Liam came to realize how pathetic his family was when it came to caring for each other. The 10-day partying at the wedding offered a lot of laughs and Anna’s attention to Liam's niece was sweet. It was fun to see Liam and Anna get to know each other and truly care. Wonderful setting, great characters, and love story.

Christina Lauren does it again! It’s almost 3 am as I write this, because I could not go to sleep without finishing. This book was so good I could not put it down. I truly loved both Liam and Anna’s characters and their connections. Christina Lauren books are auto read for me always, and I cannot recommend this one enough.

Anna Green and Liam Weston get married for student housing. Then something happens unexpectedly and he shows up at her doorstep three years later. They must pretend to be married to his whole family for the sake of his inheritance. Can they pull it off?

Fake marriage? Real relationships and love? Some steamy moments too? Yes please! Great book. I love the fun in all of the Christina Lauren books. A little too much spice sometimes but I can breeze over those parts. Love the relationship building and humor. Fun, great read!!!!

***TENTATIVE POST DATE ON BLOG: MAY 11***

'Problem' might be in this book's title, but I didn't have many problems with this book!

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren follows Anna, a struggling artist who is fired from her convenience store job. However, Anna finds a solution to her problems in Liam, the man she married in college to secure housing, who steps back into her life with one request. If Anna will act as Liam's guest to his sister's wedding, he will give her $100,000. But the more Anna pretends to like Liam, the more she develops real feelings for him.

Over the past several years, my reading experiences with the author duo Christina Lauren could be considered up-and-down. Overall, I think Christina Lauren displays solid writing across the board for their books. However, I am not always pulled in by the plots or characters. That being said, I recently read In a Holidaze, which I really enjoyed for the writing, characters, and plot. When I saw that they had two new books coming out this year, both with synopses that interested me, I knew that I had to add them to my TBR.

Ultimately, The Paradise Problem was everything that I hoped for in a contemporary summer romance and more. Not only was this book laugh-out-loud funny, but it contained interesting, complex characters with a tightly written story line. I can already tell that The Paradise Problem will be one of my favorite contemporary books of the year.

One of the biggest reasons that I enjoyed The Paradise Problem was the female main character, Anna. Even when books are categorized as humorous, I rarely find myself actually laughing. Anna had a strong voice with impeccable comedic timing in both her internal and external dialogue. Aside from her humor, Anna had an interesting backstory which was well developed throughout the novel. Anna's past experiences made her motivations throughout the story consistent and made her reactions towards problems in the story realistic. She was quirky without being cringe-y, strong without being condescending, and likeable without being a pushover.

Another reason that I enjoyed this book was the male love interest, Liam. Recently, I have seen a trend in romance books where the male leads are a little too perfect. They do no wrong and are always the perfect support person for the messy female main character. As a result, many male characters that I have read recently tend to blend together. I did not have that issue with Liam in this book. Liam is definitely not perfect. There are some actions in this book that readers will not like. However, his character is well-written and makes the relationship and struggles that he faced with Anna more authentic. Liam can react poorly in situations due to his complicated relationship with his family. While this makes his actions understandable, they definitely aren't excused and Liam takes ownership and makes corrections to his behavior.

Another aspect of this book which was well written would be the family dynamics of the Westons. Liam's father is a narcissist who emotionally abuses the rest of his family. Every family member has a clear role in this structure which is used to placate their father and deescalate his behavior. Due to the abuse that the members of this family has faced, they aren't extremely likable people. Christina Lauren could have easily made each character into a caricature, but they took a different route. I'm glad that, with the exception of the narcissistic father, I got to see all of the characters grow, change, and work towards breaking the cycle.

If I had to make one criticism of this book, it would have to be the ending. A lot happens within a very short time frame. It all seems to be solved very quickly for how big the problem is at the end of the story. Even though I knew as a reader that Liam was innocent, it just left a bad taste in my mouth. Additionally, while Anna and Liam are dynamic characters, they had little involvement in how the problem was actually solved, which was slightly disappointing since I loved them so much. On the other hand, I did like the little glimpse of hope that I got at the end of the novel.

Overall, The Paradise Problem is a solid contemporary and one of my favorite Christina Lauren books in years. Besides some parts of the ending, I really enjoyed this book. Typically, it takes me several days to finish a story, but I read this within one day. I give this book 4.5 of of 5 stars.

Christina Lauren does 👏 it 👏 again. I was hooked from the very first page! The premise was absolutely outlandish and yet so so good. The banter was top tier, the cast of characters excellent and the chemistry between Ana and West was top notch. I loved how it was an easy, quick read but also touched on topics most contemporary romance novels don’t touch. Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy!

I loved this. Although I felt the beginning was a little slow to start I overall loved the chemistry between the two main characters and loved how opposite they were ! 5 stars for Christina Lauren again!

This is the Christina Lauren duo I know and love! I hate to say it, but the last couple of releases just haven't been my favorites (something wilder, anyone?!) But The Paradise Problem reminded me why I love this duo and their books so much. It felt like they were going back to their roots with the one-liners, slow burn, steam (whew!), and overall fun! West Weston is the cutest and sweetest MMC and I could just squeeze him. And, seriously, Anna... I mean I'm not sure if I want to be her BFF, adopt her, or just live inside her head for a bit. She is the best! I love her resiliency and her strength - she is the perfect female lead.

My only complaint would be the use of a particular compound word to describe an anatomical body part - it became a little repetitive and unnecessary IMO. But if that's the only criticism I have - then I can look past it! This was a breath of fresh air and one that I could easily see being made into a screen play - the side characters (Blaire, Alex, Ray, Janet!!) are hilarious (and horrendous) in their own rights.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

As a reader of the full Christina Lauren catalog, I would say the Paradise Problem did not quite illicit the level of book hangover that I have had for almost all of their backlist (There are a few exceptions). This is still an entertaining read, . It will be a great vacation read to toss in the bag for the beach, etc, as the escape to a luxurious, island with a swoon-worthy man of muscles and morals is always a good time. Anna is pretty much flawless emotionally, and of course she is gorgeous (even with bright pink hair and a 5' 11" frame). West/Liam is even taller, a fit runner, and a super smart and ethically strong (and slightly older, though that isn't talked about) guy. The conflict here is that his family is filthy rich and toxic and they are trying to hide that while they've been married they haven't ever been in a relationship (beyond the first two years as roommates). The ending is nice and I was happy to see the way they chose to resolve it. The skilled writing is there - I love how these two can write characters that you can really get to know without the dreaded 'info dump' - and the alternating viewpoints are the best, we are never wondering about some miscommunication or lack of understanding on a character's motive. Would recommend for CL lovers or a patron seeking a vacation read.

I begin to think that I will like everything written by Christina Lauren : their books are litterally what I enjoy reading. They're the perfect mix between steamy romances, funny banter and cute characters.
I could have given "The Paradise problem" a 5 stars rate if I hadn't read "The Unhoneymooners". Unfortunately, I did. And then, I found a lot of similarities between the two plots...
Anna and West married when they were students, just so they could afford the rent of a family home in the campus. But almost 5 years later, when West (whose name is not West, but William) shows up in front of Anna's door to ask her a favor, she discovers that she's still married to him, and that he is one of the heir of the 6th biggest grocery company of the US. And as a parting gift, she accepts to play the role of the perfect wife during 10 days on a paradise island for the sake of Liam's family.
But relationships in this family are quite complicated, and Anna's personnality doesn't go well with that.

Another quick and enjoyable read from the duo, Christina Lauren. It took me a couple chapters to get into the story and love the main characters, Anna and Liam. Once they were on the plane to Liam’s sister’s private island wedding, I was hooked! Fake marriage plus Succession level family drama…count me in. Some parts were unbelievable…but maybe not so much for the 1%. It felt like I was watching an episode of RHOBH on HBO! Chef’s kiss to the banter and spicy scenes. If you love Christina Lauren, this is a perfect beach read! I might just devour it again this summer on a lounge chair with a drink in my hand.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC.

I think this is my most favorite Christina Lauren book, and I’m fairly certain I’ve read them all. Anna’s character literally had me laughing out loud. The premise of the story is that Anna and Liam are legally married out of convenience to obtain married student housing. Where she thought they had split up, they were not legally divorced because of a prenuptial agreement that stipulated the marriage to last a fixed amount of time. Because of their legally married status, she and Liam agree to act as a loving married couple when he is forced to attend his sister’s wedding. I won’t say anything more for fear of spoiling the book, but the way that Anna navigates Liam’s broken family is laugh out loud comedic, poignant, and humble. I’m totally going to buy this book to put on my shelf when it is released.

I really enjoyed escaping into this one! It was a fast and easy read, with a good mix of humor, romance, and lots of rich family drama.

Liam Weston is the heir to a nationwide grocery chain who has been trying to distance himself from his toxic family to chart his own path. Anna Green is a free-spirited artist who lives paycheck to paycheck. While in college, they got married at the courthouse so that they could live in cheap family housing on campus- even though they didn’t know each other. After two years as roommates they went their separate ways, only to be reunited when Liam needs her to play the part of his wife at his sister’s wedding on a private island three years later. To Anna’s surprise they never actually got divorced, and according to his grandfather’s will, he can only access his inheritance after he’s been married for 5 years. The only thing is that nobody can find out they’re faking it or him and his siblings will lose everything. Cue the drama!!!

This book reminded me another book by Christina Lauren (The Unhoneymooners) with its humor, spicy scenes, and tropical setting. The plot was silly and dramatic (with some serious parts involving a narcissistic father and very toxic manipulative behavior) with outlandish characters, and it totally sucked me in. I think it will be a great summer read for lovers of romcoms once it’s published in May. Thank you NetGalley and Gallery books for giving me early access!

Rating:
4.75/5 ⭐️s

I was so excited when I saw that my request for this book was accepted in NetGalley. Christina Lauren is an auto-purchase other for me and once again fabulous book.

This book is a mix of fake dating with a sprinkle of close proximity. Yes, you know that they are going to fall in love but the journey to get there is wild.

This is the perfect read to pre-order for this summer. I would definitely have binged it poolside or at the beach.

As a huge fan of the dynamic duo that is Christina Lauren, I had high hopes from the beginning and they did not disappoint! I laughed and swooned and enjoyed every second of it!

"The Paradise Problem" follows the unconventional journey of Anna Green and Liam "West" Weston, who marry for practical reasons in college but believe they've divorced post-graduation. Three years later, Liam, an heir to a wealthy conglomerate, discovers an inheritance clause requiring five years of marriage. Pressured by his family, he turns to his unpolished ex-wife Anna, sparking a humorous and heartwarming tale of love, lies, and second chances.

I feel so lucky to have obtained an advance copy of "The Paradise Problem" on NetGalley! The experience of reading it was both enjoyable and quick. While acknowledging the plot's far-fetched and unrealistic elements, I found these aspects to be precisely what added an intriguing flavor to the narrative!

The pacing of the book was positive, maintaining a smooth flow without relying on major plot twists or overly unpredictable turns. This simplicity contributed to the book's ease of consumption.

However, my primary critique centers around the authors' incorporation of "Gen Z language." At times, it felt forced, overly intentional, and just awkward. Yet, I managed to reconcile this by attributing it to Anna's distinct personality. Along these same lines, the inclusion of real-life events, such as references to "The Barbie Movie," felt slightly awkward within the context of a fiction novel.

Despite these minor reservations, "The Paradise Problem" ultimately delivered an enjoyable and undemanding reading experience. It served as a pleasant escape. The book succeeded in providing a satisfying and light-hearted narrative.

This lived up to all the best of Christina and Lauren. It captivated me within the first 20 pages and kept me on the edge of my seat all the way through. What a fun, exciting and steamy romance.