REVIEW: The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

In The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren, It’s at one of the lowest points in Anna Green’s life–which takes some doing, considering her history of bad luck–that a blast from the past shows up at her apartment door: her ex-husband Liam “West” Weston. And he has a proposition for her. After dropping a huge bomb that they aren’t divorced after all, he offers Anna what seems like a mountain of money to go on a family destination wedding trip with him. The problem? They’ll have to act like the married couple they were supposed to have been for the past four plus years. Not so easy considering they’re virtual strangers. And to top it all off, West’s family is super rich. Like, have a butler and multiple houses across the world type rich. If she agrees, Anna will only have a few days to prepare for the trip of a lifetime. But how do you get ready to be thrown headfirst into high society when you’re an unemployed former convenience store cashier who aspires to be a full-time artist?

“Hi.” I wave awkwardly. “Can I help you?”
“Anna?” he says, like he’s not entirely sure.
“Hey,” I say, pointing. “You were my husband. West, right?”
The expression he makes is like the meme of that one kid who smiles and then immediately bursts into tears.

West knows he’s throwing a lot at Anna in a very short span of time. But he has no other choice. If he wants to finish receiving his full inheritance, he has to prove he can stay married to her for five full years. Plus, there are other factors involving his siblings that means he has to make this ruse work. West hopes to lie low once on the island. That way Anna won’t have to see his family’s brand of crazy in full swing. And it would mean he can continue to (mostly) avoid his snob of a father. But good plans aside, things go sideways, leaving West to wonder who could get hurt worse if things don’t turn out well: Anna seeing the gross decadence of his wealthy family and their friends, or him, now that he’s losing his heart to the sassy artist, one tropical sunset at a time.

‘For as mortifying as my family has been, the island truly is paradise, and being here with Anna has been one of the most wonderful experiences of my lifetime.’

A romance I would give six stars to, if possible, THE PARADISE PROBLEM was classic Christina Lauren, all the way: giggle-worthy humor, lots of spice, and multidimensional characters I think readers will adore.

‘No matter how good the kissing is, we aren’t really married. I mean, we are legally, but not, like, emotionally or–even sadder–biblically.’

CW: View Spoiler »Gaslighting, child abuse & neglect (historical), cheating (secondary cast), drug use, misogyny, blackmail. « Hide Spoiler

THE PARADISE PROBLEM might just be my new favorite CLo book. It had all of the things I love about the duo’s writing plus a spunky, hilarious heroine and a swoony hero who will sweep you off your feet. The level of humor and heat alone, to me, was reminiscent of CLo’s earlier work like the Beautiful Bastard or the Wild Seasons series. And it worked so well for this marriage of convenience storyline.

Anna and Liam’s predicament–to prove to his uber rich, toxic family that they really were a solid married couple so he could inherit his trust fund–had disaster written *all* over it. But I think readers will simply have to cheer them on because even though they were polar opposites, Liam and Anna were perfection. Her creative, free spirit, naivety, and penchant for saying whatever was on her mind was nothing but delightful to Liam. And Anna found him to not only be delectably hot, but also the most thoughtful, sexy, dependable, intelligent, did I mention sexy?, man she’d ever met. Their worlds could not have been further apart. But that’s what made their connection so special.

Can we just talk for a moment about the exquisite slow burn buildup CLo created between Liam and Anna? Throughout the entire book, their attraction grew bit by bit. It went from a quick acknowledgement of how sexy they were to each other to slowly becoming an attraction so undeniable, so all-consuming that there was no way Anna and Liam were leaving that tropical paradise without some quality time. It was the perfect example of how to *show* the reader that the main characters were falling in love instead of *telling* us. And even though Liam’s family (boy were they a messed-up bunch!) made things pretty much as difficult for him and Anna as possible, the way the couple had each other’s back and best interest at heart was utterly heartwarming.

QOTD: If you could go to a destination wedding anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Book Info:

Publication: Published: May 14th, 2024 | Gallery Books |

Christina Lauren, returns with a delicious new romance between the buttoned-up heir of a grocery chain and his free-spirited artist ex as they fake their relationship in order to receive a massive inheritance.

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.