Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren Narrator: Patti Murin, Jon Root
Published by Simon & Schuster Audio on May 14, 2024
Genres: Romantic Comedy, Life Fiction
Length: 11 hours, 36 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble, Apple
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.
I always enjoy the life fiction I read from this author. The stories are romances but much more, with realistic aspects of issues people have. The Paradise Problem goes a bit off the believable since the hero, West is a multi-millionaire. The badly behaving wealthy are a bit cliche in some aspects.
West, despite his money, lives a more ordinary life with an average home, working as a college professor. Other than his fake wife, Anna. They married in college to secure family housing. But it also worked for him in the matter of his grandfather’s will and trust. I don’t think West completely understood that initially. He’s somewhat estranged from his mostly horrible family.
Anna was friends with Jake, West’s brother and needed housing. She started as a medical student and switched to art. Her wonderful parent, her dad, is a mechanic, who now has cancer. She is struggling to support them and pay his medical bills. Anna is so transparent, honest and fun.
So when West needs his wife to go to a 2 week wedding event for his sister, he makes a deal with Anna for it.  Anna is so refreshing; she didn’t even know he had money. But she is happy to get some of it to pay the medical bills. They do a good job as a couple and of course, they fall for each other. But it’s their emotional support and care for each other that really steals the show for me, rather than the sexy scenes.
Narration:
I have listened to this narrator combination previously.  I really enjoyed the performance and the emotion it inspired in me. I was able to listen at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip:Â HERE
About Christina Lauren
Yes, there are two of us! Lauren (on the left) and Christina (on the right).
Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of long-time writing partners/besties/soulmates Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. The #1 international bestselling coauthor duo writes both Young Adult and Adult Fiction, and together has produced fourteen New York Times bestselling novels. They are published in over 30 languages, have received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal and Publishers Weekly, won both the Seal of Excellence and Book of the Year from RT Magazine, named Amazon and Audible Romance of the Year, and been nominated for several Goodreads Choice Awards. They have been featured in publications such as Forbes, The Washington Post, Time, Entertainment Weekly, People, O Magazine and more. Their third YA novel, Autoboyography was released in September, followed by a contemporary romance, Roomies in December, and their first Women’s Fiction, Love and Other Words in April.
Lauren Billings (but everyone calls her Lo) has a Ph.D. in neuroscience and before she made writing her full-time job, would spend her days doing nerdy research-type things wearing a lab coat and goggles. She is silly Mommy to two littles, wife to one mountain biking homebrewing scientist, and an unabashed lover of YA and romance.
Christina Hobbs (but you’ll always hear Lo call her PQ) used to spend her days in a junior high counseling office surrounded by teenagers. These days you can find her at her desk, writing or watching BTS videos. She grew up in Utah and is absolutely not old enough to be the mom of a 17 year old (right??), thinks she’s the luckiest person in the world to write books with her best friend, and is an unapologetic lover of boy bands and glitter.
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 24-COYER
Love the sound of this, especially Anna’s character. It’s been quite a while since I read a Christina Lauren book!
I absolutely LOVE Anna and how open she is and caring for others. She is great with West’s niece and nephews too.
I usually have a really good time with books by this author. They are often a comfort read.
Me too. Anna’s whole attitude on life is refreshing.
Love the set-up. I’ve enjoyed this writing duo and hope to listen. Great review Anne,
Thanks Kimberly. I always enjoy this author.
You’re right, this does sound like a good romance grounded in the realities of life, but enough of a fictional twist to make it enjoyable.
The wealth is unreal to Anna and to me. But the personal relationships around that are the heart of the story.
I’m glad you liked this one and continue to enjoy the authors. I don’t recall exactly when or why, but I just kind of stopped reading them several years ago. Hmmmm….
I enjoy their later, more recent books, much more than their early ones.
” But it’s their emotional support and care for each other that really steals the show for me” LOVE THAT!
IKR? Anna’s absolute ride or die support of West was everything.
I’ve read one book by this author (The Unhoneymooners or something like that) and enjoyed it and have had my eye on this one. It does sound fun and I don’t tend to mind a bit of unbelievability if I’m enjoying the rest of the book. I will definitely have to pick this one up.
I love this story.