5 ⭐

What to expect:
• Marriage of convenience → fake relationship
• One bed
• Tropical summer vibes
• Private island in Indonesia setting
• Opposites attract
• Wealthy hero

The setting of this book was amazinggggg, I could read about this private island in Indonesia all day! And this book had so many funny moments, especially at the beginning.
I loved the characters (particularly West — we love a hero who has gone to therapy!) and I thought this take on the marriage of convenience trope was really fresh.
The family dynamics were so well done, and the drama was great intrigue, there were times when I couldn’t put this book down. And the ending was very satisfying!
Not to mention that the cover is also gorgeous!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley and for this ARC

Love love love this one! Last few new releases from Christina Lauren didn't hit for me but this one was great! Was a little slow in the middle but picked back up. I also just fell in love with Anna. She's so creative and brash and flirty and just knows who she is in the world. Ugh L-O-V-E. I'd definitely read more of Anna if given the chance.

This book grabbed you from the first page and you couldn't put it down until you finished it. What an amazing story and the good news is that the good guys win!!! The characters were well developed and you felt both their joy and their pain. I highly recommend this book be added to your summer reading pile. You will not be disappointed.

what an incredibly far fetched premise that was actually kinda very amusing and entertaining. loved this so much despite picturing ray weston as galen weston the entire time and thinking they were the owners of loblaws (all of this??? for loblaws?????)


anyway thank you to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review

IF you are already of fan of Christina Lauren, look no further for your next read. While this does not have the exceptional story of The True Love Experiment, this definitely fits the bill. The story may be one we've all ready before, however the lessons within - staying true to yourself for one - are important ones. Sure, it's a predictable ending but the journey there was a fun one.

This was SOOOOO good. I love Christina Lauren and this might be my favourite yet - it felt like the Unhoneymooners mixed with Crazy Rich Asians! The main character, Anna, is a bit manic pixie dream girl at first, but she is so well-rounded and delightful. I also loved Liam/West, and their relationship had SO much chemistry. The fake dating plot was a slam dunk.

PERFECT.

I really enjoyed The Paradise Problem. It had great characters, lots of twists and a bit of a surprise ending. I was a bit surprised at how spicy it was. I had read some of Christina Lauren's books in the past and didn't remember that level of spice. But it was a great book that I would definitely recommend.

I was excited to read this book, but sadly, it was a disappointment. Seeing that this book falls into the fake-marriage trope, I thought I was going to love it. I thought it would be similar to fake-dating romances. However, there was no tension, entertaining banter, or a solid backstory to help you root for the characters. The chemistry just felt like lust.

Anna and Liam got married for personal gains in the past, but besides being roommates, they had no real relationship romantically or platonically. Anna didn't even recognize Liam when they reconnected and she also didn't even know his name was Liam! I can't imagine sharing a space with someone for a few years and not knowing a thing about them. But, that's not the only reason why I don't like Anna.

"What number would make you sweat a little?" These are the words Anna asks Liam when negotiating compensation after he tells her he needs her help to convince his family that they are actually married. I understand that Anna needs the money and with good reason, but her saying this made her such an unlikable character. I can't love a character who takes advantage of a situation like this.

My rating: 2.75 stars

Thank you Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC!

This was another great book from Christina Lauren. I loved the setting and the chemistry between Anna and Liam. The family dynamic made me wonder if the authors were inspired by Succession, and I was happy that the father was exposed and brought to justice in the end. Overall, a satisfying romance that kept me engaged until the last page.

A fake marriage , a huge inheritance , narcissistic father and a broken family.

Well this all leads to a great story — I enjoyed the characters especially Anna and their love story — the sex scenes are definitely on the fantasy side but great people who enjoy hot and spicy sex scenes —
I enjoyed this book , funny moments , witty banter , realistic and fantasy aspects of relationships — this would be a fun beach read romance ! Recommended!

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for this ARC. This is my honest review .

4.5/5 stars

The Paradise Problem is a contemporary romantic comedy. I loved this book so much.

The book has a dual POV. Anna is a 25 year old artist. Liam is a 31 year old professor.

I went into this book completely blind. And I would honestly recommend reading this book without knowing too much about it. I was so engrossed in this story right from the start.

I really thought that the first chapter set up Anna's personality perfectly. She has very bad luck. I definitely found her to be such a unique heroine. She was irresponsible, disorganized and really a hot mess.

The book takes place at a fancy wedding on a private island. And I really loved this setting. Also I thought that both Anna and Liam's families added a lot to the story.

The romance was amazing. And the plot was so fun. I was super curious to see how everything would play out. And I was not disappointed. I absolutely recommend this book!

Another great read by Christina Lauren! I had a hard time putting this down, I read the whole book in 2 sittings.

I absolutely loved the relationship between Anna and Liam (aka West). Liam was exactly what Anna needed, and Anna was exactly what Liam needed. They made a great pair!

The banter between them was 🤌🏻 chefs kiss, it had me laughing all through the book.

I’m sure hoping for a sequel, Jake needs his own book!

The Paradise Problem follows Anna, a pink-haired struggling artist, as she is dragged into paradise by her fake husband, Liam, to attend a family wedding. Anna and Liam's relationship is complicated, but their chemistry is undeniable, and I had a great time reading this book! It takes awhile to get into the excitement and fake dating, but once it did - I couldn't put this book down! Anna made this book quite the romantic comedy, and I found myself laughing out loud a lot. I thought the ending was a bit lackluster; however, overall this was an entertaining romance!

I would recommend this book to fans of Emily Henry and Sarah Adams!

The duo of Christina Lauren have another hit on their hands with "The Paradise Problem". I've just finished the story of spunky artist Anna and straight laced Liam, and I'm already wishing for more. Perhaps a spin-off with Liam's brother Jake?!?!

"The Paradise Problem" finds Anna and Liam just shy of 5 years since they agreed to a marriage of convenience, that secured family housing while they both attended UCLA, and unbeknownst to Anna, would help Liam secure his trust fund. When Liam shows up asking Anna for just one more favour - to attend his sister's wedding on a private island, still posing as his wife, Anna has some questions, but also uses as this an opportunity to deal with her recent unemployment and mounting medical bills for her father.

This book moved at a nice, fast pace thanks to some hilarious banter, palpable chemistry, complicated family dynamics, and a fulfilling epilogue.

You will adore this book if you're a fan of:
- forced proximity
- only one bed
- marriage of convenience
- fake relationship
- dual POV
- opposites attraction


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

"The Paradise Problem," by Christina Lauren is certainly one of their best! Liam Weston, heir to a grocery store magnate, and Anna Green, a struggling artist, get married in university to take advantage of cheaper housing. After 2 years, they part ways, with Anna assuming that divorce paperwork was completed.

Three years later, Liam reappears admits that the divorce never happened and asks Anna for a favour - pretend to be married to him at his sister's destination wedding, so that he can gain access to his trust fund. Anna, struggling to take care of her sick father, agrees for a price.

While away on a private island, both Anna and Liam come to see wealth, love, family, and loyalty in a completely new way, and develop feelings for each other in the mix.

The book is replete with fun dialogue, sensual descriptions and interesting observations about the nature of wealth, family and love. It is a quick, easy, and fun read! Highly recommended.

Definitely a new fav CLo book for sure!! I really, REALLY enjoyed this marriage of convenience, fake dating, only one bed, vacation romance that has Anna and Liam pretending to be happily together in order to fulfill the conditions of an inheritance clause.

Full of their trademark great banter, tons of toxic uber-wealthy family drama, an exotic locale and all sorts of forced proximity chemistry. This was also good on audio narrated by Patti Murin and Jon Root. Highly recommended for fans of authors like Meghan Quinn or Katherine Center.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and ALC copy in exchange for my honest review. Fans of Christina Lauren are not going to want to miss their latest, especially the epic grand finale romcom worthy ending!

Steam level: some open door scenes

Christina Lauren books are hit or miss for me. And this book lands somewhere in the middle. The book's first half was a challenge to get through with Anna’s cringey behaviour and language, and Liam’s boringness. The relationship between the main characters reads as more lust driven than as an emotional connection. And in general, the plot is quite standard and the books follows a typical romance book narrative arc.

It’s fine. It’s not a remarkable romance book that I will want to read again, but it’s not a bad time either.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC.

I was excited to receive a complimentary copy of The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren from NetGalley. Opinions in this review are completely my own.

Possible Spoilers:
The story starts out with Liam moving out and Anna wishing him well after divorcing. They do not really know each other. Fast forward to a few years later when Liam needs a favour. I loved that Anna agreed to help him and that her friend Vivi helped her get ready to take on the role of fake wife to help Liam. I spent a lot of time smiling as they interacted with each other and I just loved how their relationship developed so naturally.

As well, I loved the Pretty Woman vibes of this movie, even down to the fact that Anna's best friend was named Vivi. I liked how Anna just left it up to her to buy her wardrobe for the wedding trip and then was shocked every time that she would pull something out to wear. Anna's reaction to the prices of things made me laugh, and how she would try and keep the tags on things so she could take them back to save Liam money. I also liked how there was an underlying theme of the effects of the way we are raised by our parents can affect us in the future and the importance of therapy to help deal with that. I love that each of Liam's family members were redeemed by the ending, except for Ray, and you could see that they were starting to feel real joy in being a family together finally.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story from start to finish and basically devoured it in a day. I have enjoyed most of the novels written by Christina Lauren, so this is not surprising. This was the perfect book to read during spring break.

I found this book enjoyable from beginning to end! The characters, the plot, the romance!! All of it kept me hooked and it is officially one of my favourite novels by these talented authors.

I've never read a Christina Lauren book I didn't enjoy. The three of us just need to be best friends because I can't take it anymore. Sometimes they write characters that feel like they're picked directly from inside my head. The Paradise Problem gave us Anna, who I felt like although we were so different, I felt so connected to her. Now, it may be because I love these authors so much that I latch onto their books so quickly but WHATEVER.

Anna, despite her chaos and what looks like a mess of a life she lives, is Liam's answer to the one problem he has been semi-running from his whole life. The two's not-so-divorce comes in handy for Liam and the inheritance he is in line to get but Anna has no clue she's still been married all these years. Now Liam's at her doorstep asking her to do something ridiculous but as she is short on funds and desperate to help her dad, she accepts under her own conditions. The two set off on their adventure the Liam's sister's destination wedding - attended by the family he has no interest in spending a prolonged amount of time with. Anna has no idea how much money these people truly have until she is off of the plane and in awe and disgust over the world she's unknowingly married into.

Anna and Liam enter this with rules and a pretty firm understanding of what this trip will look like but the more time they spend together, the more the lines blur. They really had no idea who the other was when they made this deal and I LOOOOVED Liam's constant surprise at how wonderful Anna was. He was hooked from the start.

Despite the mess of a family, I liked the drama of it all. Jake was obviously a favourite but I was pleasantly surprised that Blair was not made to be a villain in this story. I liked the unlikely pair her and Anna made. I felt as though we missed time with them as the pacing felt off towards the end of the book but it wasn't so bad that it bothered me completely.