Pages

Pages

Friday, April 12, 2024

ARC Review: The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

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.

Title: The Paradise Problem
Author: Christinas Lauren
Publisher: Gallery Books
Expected Publication Date: May 14, 2024

Review:
Thank you to Gallery Books and Edelweiss for providing me with an egalley of this book to read and give an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Christina Lauren are back at it again with another romcom about a two people who marry for convenience that ends and the couple later fakes their relationship to receive a huge inheritance. 
I'm pretty sure there is nothing these two can write that I won't love. To say I look forward to their books being published is an understatement. There is just something about how their characters grow together and bond that gets me every single time. It's a slow burn with tons of tension and tense moments. And you just know there will be a happily ever after, even if there is some hell to get through to that finale. Their formula just works for me!
Anna Green is a starving artist who was married to West to secure easy housing during her time in college. But she and West divorced three years ago. Or at least she thought they did. When he shows up on her doorstep telling her otherwise, you can bet she's surprised. But even more surprising is that his family still thinks they are together! Anna is fun but quirky character. She has great sass and she is totally relatable. And her heart is so big. She wants to give and give and give and never takes for herself. She also has no idea how beautiful she is or what effect she can have on men.
Liam "West" Weston is heir to a fortune, but only if he meets his grandfather's clauses for the inheritance. He's desperate to get his hands on that money, but not at all for the reasons you might think. Enlisting Anna is the only way to do it. How could he know he'd fall for his wife during the process? I love Liam. Yes, he comes from wealth. And, yes, you definitely can see it. But he's so much more under that fancy clothing and car that he drives. 
Who would turn down the chance to go to a wedding as a fake wife on an exclusive island for a ton of money when you can't afford to pay your rent? I don't think there are many who would not want to step into the role. Lauren not only brings together two unlikely to fall in love characters but they do it with great finesse. It's a slow burn that has you rooting for the characters to just get together already! And they do it with humor, as well. I had so many laugh out loud moments. It's sweet how the characters learn about each other in playful ways.
Lauren definitely rips out the emotional in me. I'm always on edge with their books because I know eventually there will be a third act whoops before the characters finally realize they are meant to be. Pretty sure I create that tension in myself. But I love how they do it because it's never this huge scene and the authors are masters at making it realistic.
Another thing these author do so well is the description of the world they build. This book primarily takes place on a tropical island. The descriptions truly made me feel like I was right there (also they made me a little jealous because who doesn't want to be on an exclusive island with a hut over the water?). 
And the side characters! Some are totally fabulous. You want to them be on Anna's side, and they are. While others are just downright mean and you'd be more than happy to throw the off the pier into shark infested waters!
If your looking for a fun romantic book where the characters aren't likely to be a perfect match but end up complimenting each other, this one is that book. So grab this one and your favorite cold cocktail, it's the perfect Summer read.

Authors:
Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of long-time writing partners/best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. The coauthor duo writes both Young Adult and Adult Fiction, and together has produced nineteen New York Times bestselling novels. Their books have been translated into 30+ languages. (Some of these books have kissing. Some of these books have A LOT of kissing.)


We don't respond to private messages here, so please contact us via twitter (@seeCwrite for Christina and @LolaShoes for Lauren) or our site. Thank you!!




 

No comments:

Post a Comment