Christina Lauren is a must read for me but this one fell a little flat. I'll be checking out the next one.

I genuinely love everything I read by Christina Lauren & this was no exception. This book was great, sexy, funny & romantic. I will impatiently waiting for the next book these ladies craft & produce.

I've always been a massive fan of Christina Lauren and I absolutely adore the their books! This one was okay, not my favorite, but super appreciative of the ARC!

This book was such a fun read! I love a good fake dating/marriage when both are attracted to each other and you just watch the growing tension. Liam or “West” has his PHD and is a professor at Stanford who can be very serious and comes from immense wealth. Anna is an aspiring artist and she’s just always looking on the bright side and tries to be happy, and far from rich. It was very touching watch Anna be the stability and voice of reason Liam needed in order to put his happiness first when it comes to his family. Anna was able to show him that there is so much more to life than money.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. It was a really fun, zippy read with great character development - I loved the family dynamics between the Westons, especially between Ray and his sons. He was such a despicable man and his influence on each of the boys was an integral part of the story. Overall, it was a light read that I kept wanting to return to. A perfect poolside choice!

I love all of the Christina Lauren books and this one was no exception! Anna and Liam have been roommates but have never really “known” each other. As the each find themselves in a bind, what are they to do but become a fake couple… on a romantic island….at a wedding. Fun and romantic, this is the perfect summer read.

An automatic author name for the Bookish Brunch Club is Christina Lauren, when we saw this new ARC was set to release we immediately requested! This was such a fun and atmospheric summer read that set you into the tropical atmosphere.

Anna Green thought she was marrying Liam “West” Weston for access to subsidized family housing while at UCLA. She also thought she’d signed divorce papers when the graduation caps were tossed, and they both went on their merry ways.Three years later, Anna is a starving artist living paycheck to paycheck while West is a Stanford professor. He may be one of four heirs to the Weston Foods conglomerate, but he has little interest in working for the heartless corporation his family built from the ground up. He is interested, however, in his one-hundred-million-dollar inheritance. There’s just one catch.Due to an antiquated clause in his grandfather’s will, Liam won’t see a penny until he’s been happily married for five years. Just when Liam thinks he’s in the home stretch, pressure mounts from his family to see this mysterious spouse, and he has no choice but to turn to the one person he’s afraid to introduce to his one-percenter parents—his unpolished, not-so-ex-wife. But in the presence of his family, Liam’s fears quickly shift from whether the feisty, foul-mouthed, paint-splattered Anna can play the part to whether the toxic world of wealth will corrupt someone as pure of heart as his surprisingly grounded and loyal wife. Liam will have to ask himself if the price tag on his flimsy cover story is worth losing true love that sprouted from a lie.

We loved this fake, but not so fake marriage between our MMC and FMC. The FMC was your classic golden retriever who pulled our black cat MMC into the light. We love some character development and the settings that Christina Lauren creates. The MMC's family was the pits, but overall this was a great book that our bookclub thoroughly enjoyed. An enthusiastic 4 stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC

Anna and Liam got hitched in college for cheap housing. Anna thought they were divorced, Liam knew they weren't. Now Liam needs Anna to to to a family wedding with him. . . as his wife.

What's in it for Anna? Cold hard cash.
What's in it for Liam? Maybe a chance to tell his wife his the really feels.

This was very cute lighthearted romance.

Christina Lauren does it again! I loved The Paradise Problem and it's probably my new favorite book by this author duo. The banter, the angst, the laughs, the swooning, the spice....it's a perfect rom com. Highly recommend

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! This gave me major summer vibes and I definitely think it is a great beach read. I loved getting a glimpse into the lives of billionaires and I enjoyed the "marrying to get my inheritance" trope. I also enjoyed the witty banter and the chemistry between Anna and Liam. I really liked this book and I would totally recommend this to anyone looking for a good summer read!

Thank you so much @GalleryBooks for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 14 May 2024)

SYNOPSIS | Anna marries a grad student (West) to secure student family housing whilst attending UCLA. They both acknowledge this is a temporary thing and Anna believes that when she graduates they become divorced. 5 years later, she is still struggling financially when West comes back into her life and propositions her to continue to pretend to be his wife at his little sisters destination wedding for a large sum of money so that he can access his trust.

WHAT I LIKED:
- Anna's snarkiness and sarcasm stole the show
- the tropical island summery setting

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- the marriage of convenience trope is not my favourite generally but specifically here I just didn't feel the emotional connection
- I find it laughable that Anna + Liam had been married and living together for over a year, yet she didn't even know his actual name...
- it kind of felt like the same conversations were happening over and over and over
- the nickname for his you know what... no.
- unnecessarily long epilogue

I apologize for being so late with this review. Going in, I wasn't sure I was going to like this book. I've read a lot of Christina Lauren books and was afraid this would be more of the same. But it wasn't. The characters were fresh and memorable, the conflict made new, despite being a trope, and what was supposed to be funny actually was. I appreciate being allowed to read this early. Thank you.

this was such an amazing romance book and so perfect for the summer. I really enjoyed the main character and really connected with her. will 100% recommend to customers and can’t wait to read more by these amazing authors!

Christina Lauren delivers another captivating romance with The Paradise Problem, a sparkling tale of opposites attracting under the most idyllic—and chaotic—circumstances. Packed with humor, heart, and plenty of tropical vibes, this novel is a delightful escape for fans of contemporary romance.

Overall, The Paradise Problem is a delightful, feel-good read with just the right amount of heat and heart. Christina Lauren once again proves why they’re a powerhouse in the romance genre, crafting a story that’s as entertaining as it is emotionally satisfying.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

This was such a pleasant surprise! For one, I wasn’t expecting to like the two main characters so much (and so fast). Anna was really fun! And Liam sounds hot 😏

I’m not a fan of rich people (just in general), so I was very much in tune with Anna for the entire book—and happy with the (twisty!) conflict resolution.

What I wasn’t expecting though, was ALL OF THE SPICE! Like, damn. There was so much!! I’m not complaining (really I’m here for it), but I guess I was expecting low levels of steam since that’s what Love and Other Words was like. But here 👏 for 👏 it 🥵🥵 Spice level was definitely 4-4.5/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Overall, really enjoyed this one: it kept me entertained, made me laugh, and made me sweat (see: spice above)

(Thank you, Gallery Books and NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review?)

I love these characters and the plot. It was a perfect escape. It was a little too smutty for me at times but otherwise it was another fantastic book by Christina Lauren!

Christina Lauren’s The Paradise Problem is a charming and sun-soaked romance that blends humor, heart, and just the right amount of emotional depth. Set against the backdrop of a picturesque tropical island, this novel offers escapism at its finest, with a story that’s equal parts lighthearted fun and deeply satisfying.

The plot follows a workaholic protagonist sent on a forced vacation to paradise, only to discover that relaxation isn’t so simple when a charismatic and annoyingly attractive local keeps appearing at every turn. True to Christina Lauren’s style, the banter between the leads is sharp, witty, and utterly delightful. The chemistry is palpable from their first encounter, and their slow-burn romance is filled with moments that will make readers laugh, swoon, and maybe even tear up.

In my opinion, a genuinely perfect romance. Two very flawed characters with two wildly different experiences of desperation end up fake dating. All the perfect escapism a private-island set romance is bound to have, but with two really rich leads who you genuinely get to know over the course of the book. Sometimes with romance I feel like I have to suspend disbelief, accept that they're falling for each other - even when they're definitely written as a good match - without ever getting to actually see on the page how it happens. This one gave us the whole feeling, all the right bit and little moments, in this perfectly sized package. One of my favorite romances of the year

Ok this shot right up into my top three Christina Lauren books! Anna + West forever. I loved them together. Anna is hilarious and confident and quirky and hot and exactly what West needed. It was so refreshing how they freely communicated with each other—no annoying miscommunication here! The island setting was dreamy too! 🌴🌺
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There were a couple things that kept it from being five stars for me—one, the dad was so asshole-ish that it almost felt like a caricature of a real person. It was a little overdone and I found myself rolling my eyes. Two, the epilogue was too long and I don’t think we needed a spicy scene in there. 🫣
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Overall, a solid, enjoyable read! Thanks so much to Gallery Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy! I will read anything Christina Lauren writes! Four stars for this one! 🌟🌟🌟🌟

I'm not usually a huge fan of let's-fake-this-relationship books. I'm constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. But I love Christian Lauren, so I decided to give this book a read, and I'm glad I did. Anna Green thought she was marrying Liam “West” Weston for access to subsidized family housing while they studied at UCLA. And she didn't actually read the divorce papers she signed when they graduated and moved out.

Come on, girl!! You've gotta read the fine print! 

Three years after graduation, Anna is a struggling artist and West is a college professor. He's also due to inherit 100 million dollars— if he can prove he's been happily married for five years. Just before their fifth "anniversary," West is invited to his sister's wedding on a private island in Indonesia. The catch? His family wants to meet his wife. After getting over the shock at learning she's still married, Anna agrees to accompany West to the wedding in exchange for paying her father's medical bills. Will a fake marriage turn into a real romance when surrounded by real luxury and fake people? We'll find out!