Stephanie Sullivan: Review - The Paradise Problem

TITLE: The Paradise Problem

RATING: ★★★★

RELEASE DATE: May 14th, 2024

Summary (from Goodreads): 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.

REVIEW: I’m always excited when I get my hands on a new book by Christina Lauren because I know it’s going to be a fun ride, and The Paradise Problem was no exception. I laughed out loud SO many times while reading Liam and Anna’s love story, and there’s something in this book for everyone - romance, comedy, mystery - and the chemistry between these two characters is off the charts! One specific thing I was very glad to see is the way the authors didn’t sugar coat family trauma, and I loved that the conclusion wasn’t wrapped up in a cute little bow, like a lot of love stories. (I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but if you know you know!) Once I started reading this book I couldn’t put it down, and I highly recommend it to everyone!

(DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this title from NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.)