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kelseyfontaine's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I really loved this book! A perfect summer read that I was able to fly through. I’m a sucker for a tropical island setting, and while I’m not normally into a marriage for convenience trope, this book had me hooked! I loved the chemistry and build up between Anna and Liam, and it was interesting to read not only a heartwarming romance, but to also see a bit of money/power dynamics within rich families. With a heart-throb male lead, a beautiful setting, and a story different than what I’ve read in the past, this was my perfect beach read! My only complaint would be some of the cringy language used, like “Goddamn” in the place of ~something else~ and “lol” used normally in a sentence. Other than that, a great read for my few days on the beach!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Classism
Moderate: Cancer, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity, Medical content, and Sexual harassment
pantslint's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was super corny, but cute. I just love how cartoonishly evil Ray Weston is. He's truly super-villain terrible. I just love the messiness of the Weston family; I would watch a reality TV show about them.
The Paradise Problem is one of the perfect examples for why I read romance—there are clear divisions of who and what is good vs. bad, the main characters are flawed but lovable, the banter between the lovers is funny and cute, the love/sex scenes are hot and sweet, and everything concludes in a happy ending. Yes, the tropes are repetitive. Yes, the FMC is the same quirky, messy gal in almost every contemporary romance novel. Yes, things are unrealistic.
But I simply do not care, because I'm having a good time regardless of it all. The Christina Lauren duo love to write drama, and I'm just going to keep eating it up.
The Paradise Problem is one of the perfect examples for why I read romance—there are clear divisions of who and what is good vs. bad, the main characters are flawed but lovable, the banter between the lovers is funny and cute, the love/sex scenes are hot and sweet, and everything concludes in a happy ending. Yes, the tropes are repetitive. Yes, the FMC is the same quirky, messy gal in almost every contemporary romance novel. Yes, things are unrealistic.
But I simply do not care, because I'm having a good time regardless of it all. The Christina Lauren duo love to write drama, and I'm just going to keep eating it up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Classism
Moderate: Cancer and Alcohol
Minor: Medical content, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
abeautifulshelf's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Sexual content
Minor: Cancer and Sexual harassment
emetrock's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Cursing and Gaslighting
Minor: Cancer, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
snipinfool's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Anna and West married to qualify for married student housing at UCLA. The marriage was in name only and as soon as they both graduated, West gave Anna papers to sign for their divorce. Almost five years later, Anna was working as an artist and was struggling to make ends meet. She hoped she would find some bit of success and sell some of her paintings before she had to find a career that paid her bills.
West had a difficult relationship with his family because he had not gone into the family business. He was happy teaching economics and cultural anthropology at Stanford. When his mother called to fill him in on the travel plans for his sister’s wedding, she made sure West knew that he was expected to bring Anna as well. The family felt it was time they finally met his wife since they had been married almost five years. West had let them think they were still together. He had to contact her to see if she would be willing to go to the wedding and pose as his wife. Anna didn’t know it yet, but West never filed the divorce papers. He had his reasons and hoped Anna would understand why and agree to go to the wedding.
This was a fun twist on a "Pretty Woman" type of storyline. As roommates, West and Anna rarely saw each other, so they were barely friends. Each had to take a crash course on the other’s likes and dislikes and Anna had to be filled in on how to navigate the choppy waters surrounding West’s family. West’s family was quite horrible, but I loved Anna’s best friend and her father. They offered all of the love and support Anna needed. West and Anna’s romance was a bit insta-lovey, but it worked ok with this plot. Christina Lauren continues to write main characters I love. I closed the book at the end with a smile on my face thinking about their happily ever after.
West had a difficult relationship with his family because he had not gone into the family business. He was happy teaching economics and cultural anthropology at Stanford. When his mother called to fill him in on the travel plans for his sister’s wedding, she made sure West knew that he was expected to bring Anna as well. The family felt it was time they finally met his wife since they had been married almost five years. West had let them think they were still together. He had to contact her to see if she would be willing to go to the wedding and pose as his wife. Anna didn’t know it yet, but West never filed the divorce papers. He had his reasons and hoped Anna would understand why and agree to go to the wedding.
This was a fun twist on a "Pretty Woman" type of storyline. As roommates, West and Anna rarely saw each other, so they were barely friends. Each had to take a crash course on the other’s likes and dislikes and Anna had to be filled in on how to navigate the choppy waters surrounding West’s family. West’s family was quite horrible, but I loved Anna’s best friend and her father. They offered all of the love and support Anna needed. West and Anna’s romance was a bit insta-lovey, but it worked ok with this plot. Christina Lauren continues to write main characters I love. I closed the book at the end with a smile on my face thinking about their happily ever after.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Classism
Moderate: Cancer, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity, Medical content, and Sexual harassment
rqdreads's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was sitting at a 4.5 for me and then the epilogue sent me to a 5! I love healthy, willing to learn emotional maturity type people in books! So healthy!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual harassment
kendra_taylors_version's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Medical content, Stalking, and Sexual harassment
greatestheights's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Cancer and Sexual harassment
abby2207's review against another edition
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Sexual harassment
purplepenning's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
A rom-com that makes me laugh out loud and startle my sleeping dog is almost always a 4+ star read. This one got multiple laughs (Anna Green, you delightful muppet!), was a slow enough burn to make me believe the unbelievable chemistry and subsequent steaminess, incorporated ethical considerations while portraying the lifestyles of the rich and famous, and had a pretty satisfying conclusion (including the well-deserved comeuppance for a super-rich super-toxic asshole. yay! ). Christina Lauren's books don't always work for me, but this one was fun! Recommended for fans of Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Infidelity and Sexual harassment
Toxic relationship: