The Paradise Problem

I pretty much love every Christina Lauren book so it was no big surprise I loved this one, too. It’s a perfect summer read! 

This follows Anna and Liam, almost five years after they got married to take advantage of family housing in college. Anna thinks they’re divorced, only to find out years later that not only are they still married, Liam needs her help to convince his super rich family that they’ve been happily married this whole time so he can inherit a buttload of money. She needs the money he offers in exchange for carrying out the ruse to take care of her sick father, so she agrees and he whisks her away to the private island where his little sister is getting married for a week of family shenanigans.

I genuinely enjoyed this so much. We’ve got marriage of convenience, forced proximity, and opposites attract, all mixed in with a lot of family drama and rich people problems. Anna is so fun, she’s a free spirited artist who is loyal and true to herself despite the lavish world she is suddenly a part of. Liam is more straight-laced, a serious professor who grew up in the toxic world of extreme wealth but still has a good head on his shoulders. I loved their opposites attract relationship, Liam enjoys Anna for who she is and Anna is on Team Liam the whole way.  

There is a ton of family drama and I ate it up. Liam’s family is seriously full of terrible people and I loved watching Anna and Liam navigate them. They all had me laughing out loud, especially Liam’s sister in law Blair. We also get some steam which isn’t a guarantee in modern CLo so that was a nice surprise! 

I did the audio of this (on Spotify!! I always forget to check there) and it was great. Both narrators did an excellent job, the delivery on the funny parts was just so good.

I really can’t recommend this one enough if you’re looking for a wildly entertaining beachy read! 

Mid Year Favorites

Whew can you believe this year is halfway done already? Like what?? 🤯

I’ve read 180 books so far this year (which I fully acknowledge is a silly amount) and here are my favorites so far! Ten 2023 releases and two backlist reads. The awesome thing is that I got to meet six of these authors this year (Lucy, Teagan, Abby, Karla, Sarina, and Christina Lauren) and hang out with book friends! How cool is that? 

Let me know if we have any in common, or if none, let me know what your favorite read(s) of the year so far!

In A Jam- Kate Canterbary 

Things We Hide From The Light – Lucy Score 

Moth – Lily Mayne (really the whole series)

Glove Save – Teagan Hunter 

R’jaal’s Resonance – Ruby Dixon

Yours Truly – Abby Jimenez 

One and Only – Karla Sorensen 

Good as Gold – Sarina Bowen 

Georgie All Along – Kate Clayborn 

Crimson River – Devney Perry 

The True Love Experiment – Christina Lauren

Berries & Greed – Lily Mayne

20 Travel Romance Recommendations

I love a romance set in a great travel destination, especially when one or both of the characters are there on vacation. It’s the perfect getaway when you can’t actually get away, no passport required. I have read and enjoyed all twenty of these!

  1. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren. Destination: Maui
  2. One Hot Italian Summer by Karina Halle. Destination: Tuscany, Italy
  3. The Simple Wild by KA Tucker. Destination: Alaska
  4. The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by Elizabeth O’Roark. Destination: Hawaii
  5. Frenched by Melanie Harlow. Destination: Paris
  6. Wild Highway by Devney Perry. Destination: Montana
  7. My Life in Shambles by Karina Halle. Destination: Ireland
  8. Truth or Dare by Danielle Allen. Destination: Punta Cana
  9. The Romantic Pact by Meghan Quinn. Destination: Germany
  10. Broken French by Tasha Boyd. Destination: French Riviera
  11. The Tourist Attraction by Sarah Morganthaler. Destination: Alaska
  12. Shipped by Angie Hockman. Destination: Galapagos Islands
  13. Where Sea Meets Sky by Karina Halle. Destination: New Zealand
  14. Love Lessons by Sarina Bowen. Destination: Lake Como, Italy
  15. Perfect Strangers by JT Geissinger. Destination: Paris
  16. Starting Back by Stephanie Rose. Destination: Florida Keys
  17. Much Ado About You by Samantha Young. Destination: England
  18. A Place In the Sun by RS Grey. Destination: Cinque Terre
  19. My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey. Destination: Cape Cod
  20. Bright Midnight by Karina Halle. Destination: Norway

The True Love Experiment

I got to see Christina Lauren in person last night through a local bookstore and and my local library. Christina and Lauren are just as funny and charming and delightful as you’d expect them to be. 

Also funny, charming, and delightful? The True Love Experiment. 

If you’ve read The Soulmate Equation, you know what a bold and hilarious character Fizzy is, and she finds her match in hot single dad Conner, the executive producer who recruits her for a new reality tv dating show. Get this – the premise is a romance author looking for love, with each of the contestants a romance hero archetype (cinnamon roll, hot nerd, cowboy, vampire, etc). 

Fizzy and Conner’s relationship was adorable and funny and full of forbidden chemistry. This was a tiny bit spicier than I’m used to for modern day CLo and I was obviously here for it. I loved revisiting Jess, River, and Juno, and really enjoyed all the new characters as well. 

If you are a reality tv lover, you are sure to love all the behind the scenes aspects of this. I am not a huge reality tv show lover but I still found it enjoyable, though slightly hard to keep all the contestants straight. 

Overall, I had a great time reading this! It was delightfully funny and romantic and felt like a big love letter to the romance genre. From the fans to the tropes, to the bucking of patriarchal norms, it just felt like a big warm hug to this romance lover. 

And if you’re wondering, yes. I did drag every book pictured into the signing line afterward 🙃