Anna opens the door one evening to find the last person she ever expected: her husband. In college, she married the brother of a friend in order to qualify for student housing. After graduation, they parted ways and she never expected to see him again. Turns out though, he’s been lying to his family this whole time that they’re not only still married, but happily so. It’s complicated, but he’s there to beg Anna a favor – come with him to a private island in Singapore to his sister’s wedding and play into this farce he’s built. Turns out his family is ungodly rich – the exact opposite of Anna, who is a struggling artist with debt up to her eyeballs. When he sweetens the deal with some cash, she can’t say no. Shenanigans ensue!
This is a very fun summer romantic comedy. Christina Lauren novels have a very easy and compelling readability to them, and this one is no exception. The Paradise Problem reminded me a lot of The Unhoneymooners…like, really reminded me of it (maybe too much). But I only recently read it, so I’m probably in the minority there. I mean, both are ‘fake dating’ tropes (essentially, I mean marriage of convenience is the same thing, right?) in an incredible tropical setting.
Anna is basically a stoner artist who has throw away jobs to make ends meet to pay her father’s hospital bills. She doesn’t take life very seriously. Liam has a terrible relationship with everyone in his pretty horrible family, and has an enormous hero complex driven by his traumatic history with them. It was really fun to see them getting to know each other for what is really the first time, with Anna so completely out of her comfort zone.
The chemistry between them was pretty steamy. Anna is very outgoing, and Liam would rather be anywhere else, and that really made for a fun dynamic. Anna, as the outsider, is quite perceptive to the problems within the Weston family, and their backgrounds are crafted in a way that juxtaposes the root of Liam’s issues. Most of the conflicts are very situational, so it’s not heavy to read, staying firmly in the romantic comedy territory, but the overall message is a meaningful one: live an authentic life.
You can’t go wrong picking up a fun summer romantic comedy. Absolutely this is a great choice if you’re in desperate need of a vacation – this might just be the escape you’re looking for!
Summary:: GeneticAlly is a new dating service, pioneered by Dr. River Pena, that uses your DNA to find romantic matches. The science appears to be undeniable. The more genetic markers you have matching with someone, the more likely you are to find a successful relationship.
Jess’ best friend Fizz loves the idea. River frequents the same coffee bar Jess & Fizz do (them – to work, J on freelance statistics work, F on romance novels, Dr. Pena – for the lattes), and when he tells them about it, he gives them his card for them to stop by and check it out. Fizz is all in. She jumps in – vag first – into her pool of potential suitors. She and Jess discuss the ethics and ramifications ad nauseum (literally, I think they covered every question a reader could possibly have about the tech), and on a desperate, lonely night of single motherhood, Jess finally decides to submit her spit sample, too. What’s the harm? Her parameters are sky high. She only wants to see a match if their potential is essentially off the charts. Cut to, GeneticALLY calls her in for a meeting, and instead of a statistical analysis job offer, like she’s expecting, turns out she’s matched with the highest numbers the company has ever seen…with donor #1 – River Pena himself. With all of Jess’ responsibilities, is she willing to finally put her heart at risk? What about if the company offers her a big fat wad of cash to go on a few dates and see what happens, as a marketing ploy?
Book #2 | The True-Love Experiment
Summary:: Serial dater “Fizzy” Chen has been off her love game ever since she found out she was ‘the other woman’ in the one romance she thought might actually go the distance. That’s a problem, for a romantic novelist. The words aren’t just uninspired, they’re not coming at all. With her next novel due soon and fans chomping at the bit for whatever comes next, she’s feeling the pressure. When an offer comes out of left field for her to be the star on an upcoming reality dating show that uses GeneticALLY technology to find her matches, it might just be the thing to push her out of her funk. And when she meets the producer (who is really a documentarian forced to make something popular work in order to get the funding he needs for his ‘real’ job), a hunky single dad, they work together to design a show that will be a smash, until it becomes clear she may not need to meet any of the contestants to get her mojo back after all. Except she has to. For weeks. And then go on a super romantic getaway with the winner. All with the man she really wants looking on from behind the camera.
Thoughts
Let’s just get this out of the way – both of these books are charming, wonderful reads. I’m learning Christina Lauren (a pseudonym for a best-friend writing duo) can be relied upon for that. I’m not even sure I could pick a favorite, under duress. Luckily, I don’t have to.
The premise is intriguing – what if all you needed to do was swab your cheek to sift the wheat from the chaff in your dating prospects? Was it fair? Did it mean you might be closing yourself off to real potential love because some computer said you weren’t compatible enough? Did a high match number make you more likely to fall in love, or stick with it longer, just because you both know there’s a big chance it’ll be worth it in the end? Did the results dictate the result just by knowing what they are? Do the numbers even mean anything at all? All of these questions and more are discussed in detail, lending itself to some deep philosophical ponderings about what love is, how we find it, and what makes it stick. I loved the depth this offered in the background of both stories. Honestly? Brilliant.
Jess and River’s romance is fraught with uncertainty. Jess is a cautious gal – she has to be, as someone shouldered with so much responsibility – her young daughter & her aging parents. She’s also a statistician. She’s not one to take risks. She’s done the math. There is some true romance in this book – River really steps up, once he accepts that the results are valid, and gives this connection the chance he hasn’t given love since he was burned in college. There’s a lot of pomp and circumstance, instigated by the company, but ultimately, their connection proves true, and despite the hiccups and whatever the test results may be, love is always a risk. It’s fake dating without it being fake. It’s a chance, just like love in real life.
On the other hand, Fizzy and Connor share a forbidden spark they both know they shouldn’t pursue. The timing is way off. Both of them need this show to be a hit, or their careers could be in ruins. But the sizzle between them refuses to die out. Maybe they just need to get it out of their systems – then they’ll be able to move forward with clear heads and do what they need to do…right?
I’m so impressed with Christina Lauren’s talent for crafting compelling love stories. They are romantic as hell with secondary plotlines playing into the bigger story so naturally while supporting the themes and complicating the stakes like the stories couldn’t be told any other way. One, or both of these ladies knows a lot about story structure, and it’s wielded like a weapon. Just try putting one of these down. I dare you.
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren is a fun and hilarious quick summer read that will have you turning page after page to find out what happens next. From the get go, this book grabs hold of your attention and doesn’t let go until the third act, where I personally felt it had some problems. Not enough to ruin the entire effect though, and of course, we get our happy ending.
Olive is the unlucky twin. Cursed, really. Ami is the one who seems to get any and everything she wants. So when Olive is (almost) the only one who doesn’t get sudden and graphic food poisoning the night of Ami’s wedding, and is the only one who can redeem the honeymoon to Hawaii Ami won, it seems too good to be true. And it is. The only other person at the wedding who didn’t eat the tainted dinner, is the groom’s brother, Ethan — the one Olive has never gotten along with — and he’s taking his brother’s spot on the honeymoon trip. They’re reluctant to go together, but figure they can avoid each other and enjoy the tropics individually…that is, until they have a few run-ins with people they know and need to team up to navigate the complications.
This thing is built on tropes, folks. Enemies to lovers, misunderstandings, forced proximity, fake dating, one bed (it is the honeymoon suite after all) — I may even be missing a few. For me, sometimes the fake dating trope can be done real badly, but I think in this book the logic tracks, despite the extremely high likelihood they wouldn’t run into anyone they know there, let alone two such someones…in the same day. It may require a bit of suspension of disbelief, but if you can get there, the antics are pretty sweet.
It all works so well — until it doesn’t. When Ethan and Olive get back to real life and the unhoneymoon is over, things, of course, start to fall apart. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the third act conflict rubbed me the wrong way in this one. The trust between the two characters was broken (no cheating – can’t leave you guys hanging like that), and for me that’s hard to recover from. However, it was one of the more fun, funny, and entertaining books I’ve read this summer. Compelling, too. If you’re anything like me, you’ll fly through it. If you’re a fan of romantic comedy or just looking for a fun vacation read, this one is a great option!
