When Anna Green agreed to marry fellow student Liam “West” Weston she thought it was to gain access to affordable housing while studying at UCLA. She also thought that when they graduated she had signed the divorce papers, allowing her and West go on their merry ways. So when West shows up on her doorstep three years later and tells her they aren’t technically divorced yet, Anna is just a little bit surprised. But that’s not the only surprise in store for Anna as West has another request; pretend to be his loving, caring wife and join him and his family on a private island for West’s sister’s wedding.

Oh, and the Weston family has a lot of money (if you hadn’t guessed it already) and money is the exact reason why West is making such a request. Due to antiquated clause in his grandfather’s will, West will lose his sizable inheritance if he gets divorced from his spouse after less than five years of marriage which, for his fake marriage to Anna, is a few months shy of hitting. So, would Anna be so kind as to do West this small favor?

Well….alright.

Thus begins a fun, tropical, and sexy journey for Anna and West who not only have to keep up the facade of a happy marriage but also navigate the landmines that is the Weston family. But at least there is a pretty ocean to look at.

I’ve only read one other Christina Lauren book before The Paradise Problem and that was The Unhoneymooners, a book I absolutely loved and would recommend as a great summer read. The Paradise Problem has very similar vibes to The Unhoneymooners such as a fake relationship scheme, a tropical location, and plenty of laughs along the way.

Oh, and some pretty hot scenes, if you are into that (wink wink).

As the summary and book cover suggest, this is an excellent poolside or vacation getaway read. It is easy to read, entertaining, and not something that requires intense concentration. Anna and West’s relationship is fairly well developed and their character development throughout is good. Both learn lessons and have satisfy conclusions to their story.

All that being said, the reason why I didn’t give The Paradise Problem five stars is because, at times, the narrative became a bit too serious. I’m not against fun books, particular romances, having serious parts and on the contrary I do find them helpful to move the stories along. After all, The Unhoneymooners had some pretty serious parts, but they didn’t linger for too long. In The Paradise Problem, the last 20% of the book became overly heavy, to the point that when the ending came, it didn’t seem like many of the problems were solved.

There is also a strong narrative weaved throughout the book about being rich vs. poor and while I am certainly nowhere near being in the 1% and can certainly agree that members of that group can spend their money in stupid, foolish ways and should redirect some of their wealth to helping others, I did grow tired of that constant discussion after reading half the book.

I get it. The rich suck. We can all agree. Let’s move on.

Of course one may argue that was the entire point of the book and I can respect that but, again, it didn’t need to repeated as much as it was.

All that aside, I did really enjoy this book and will read future Christina Lauren books. I would recommend this for a quick getaway read, whether you are actually going somewhere or are dreaming of sandy beaches and blue skies. It certainly gives off the paradise vibes.

4 out of 5 stars