The Paradise Problem
Christina Lauren
352 pages
Gallery Books
published May 14, 2024
Since I don’t have any kids and I am not a teacher, summer begins when the weather finally gets warmer. So it’s officially summer for me and what better way to start it off than with a rom com set on a private island. This had the equivalent of my favorite trope, a fake marriage.
I love Anna and West/Liam. They are opposites in so many ways, which played well for their slow burn romance. She’s out of work and poor from a small family filled with love. And he’s not only a professor but is first in line to run the family company from an over the top large dysfunctional family. I loved their banter as they learned about each other while pretending they’ve been married for five years.
Even though this is very much a slow burn, there is some spice, heartfelt moments, laughter and romance to root for. I enjoyed disliking Liam’s family in all their quirkiness and dysfunction and wanting him to land on top. There were moments that pulled on my heartstrings in hearing about Anna’s family.
This was a great read to start my summer reading. Everything coming up will have a lot to live up to.
Thanks @gallerybooks #partner for the early read.
About the book
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.
Rolé @ Hooked By That Book
Great review. I agree with you about enjoying disliking Liam’s family. It’s like watching something that disgusts you, but you can’t stop watching. I loved this book.