Title: The Paradise Problem
Author: Christina Lauren
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication date: May 14. 2024
Length: 352 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction/romance
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

It’s no surprise that a new Christina Lauren book is fun, fast-paced, steamy, and full of delicious plot twists… right? I’m happy to share that The Paradise Problem continues this author duo’s winning streak — CL fans will be over the moon.

In The Paradise Problem, Anna Green is having a Very Bad Day. She’s been fired from her terrible convenience store job by its terrible 18-year-old manager. Her decrepit car has been sideswiped and damaged. Worst of all, her crappy job was her one means of attempting to pay off the mounds of medical debt related to her father’s chemo treatments. And that’s not even mentioning the fact that her artwork has failed to sell, and she hasn’t heard from her agent in a year.

So Anna is not in a great place when “West” Weston (aka Liam) knocks on her door needing her help. Five years earlier, she married Liam (on paper) so they’d qualify for campus housing… but when he moved out, she signed divorce papers, or so she believed. It turns out that the papers stipulated a divorce further in the future (along with a nice buyout) — and while Anna thinks it’s weird that they’re still technically married, she doesn’t see the problem. The time is almost up, after all.

The catch is, Liam’s sister’s wedding is coming up, and his family is demanding that he attend with his wife. Yes, his fake wife (that would be Anna), who he’s also told them is a busy medical student (okay, well, she was pre-med back when they shared an apartment.) Liam desperately needs Anna to come to the wedding, play the part of loving wife, and get him through the big family event. Once they make it to their five-year anniversary, Liam’s inheritance will be secure, and they can safely divorce. As incentive, he’s offering Anna a huge payment in exchange for her play-acting, which will more than cover the medical bills, and even give her enough breathing room to focus on her art. How could she say no?

Once they zip off to the private island (via Singapore) where the wedding will be held, it’s like something out of Crazy Rich Asians (if it had a baby with Succession). These people are so elitist and over the top that it’s impossible not to just laugh at how ridiculous they are. The money is insane… and Liam’s family is just awful. His father is a controlling pig, and his mother exudes wealthy passive-aggressiveness with every breath she takes.

And yet… Anna actually starts to enjoy some parts of this little escapade, especially sharing the over-water bungalow with Liam and getting to appreciate the hotness she never fully noticed back when they lived together.

I won’t go too far into the details — but use your imagination, and picture two hot, interesting, awesome people forced into constant close proximity on a gorgeous tropical island. To say sparks fly is putting it mildly. But on top of all this romantic chemistry, there’s a non-romantic plot too! Liam’s family is messy (and not in a good way). With Anna’s support, he has to navigate the awful family dynamics and try to come out of it unscathed, and no, it’s not just about the money. There’s more at stake than initially meets the eye, and getting to the bottom of it all is a big piece of the fun of this book.

My quibbles are truly very minor. Within the big lie about being happily married, why maintain the lie about Anna being a medical student, with stories about fake med school attendance and projects overseas? This seems like a detail that Liam could have explained away — the family has never met Anna and Liam has kept his distance from them, so surely he could have said she changed careers at some point? As is, this is the piece of the lie easiest to trip Anna up with, and it seems like it needlessly complicates an already complicated situation.

Another minor issue for me — Liam’s name! He’s introduced as West, his family calls him Liam, his name is actually William… Even writing this review, I wasn’t sure which name to use!

For those who like to know the steam levels in advance: Some scenes are more explicit than suits my taste, but fans of the open door approach will love it. I tend to enjoy the “implied” rather than “shown” approach to these scenes, and in The Paradise Problem, we see all! This didn’t stop me from enjoying the book in the slightest… I just sort of wanted to look away from time to time.

Overall, this book was a terrific read, and I finished it in one day. Seriously, I just couldn’t stop!

The Paradise Problem revolves around an intriguing set-up, opposites-attract characters in a fake (but getting more real by the second) marriage, an ultra-luxury setting, and crazy family politics. It’s a blast, plain and simple.

Christina Lauren fans will be delighted… and for anyone who hasn’t had the pleasure yet of experiencing one of their novels, The Paradise Problem is a great place to dive in. Definitely recommended for anyone who enjoys contemporary romance with more than a pinch of humor and outstanding chemistry between lead characters.