I admit it: as a 19-year-old hopeless romantic who has never celebrated an anniversary, Romantic comedies may be a secret vice of mine, but it doesn’t have to be.
Like most busy Vanderbilt students, I struggle to find time to read during the school year. Luckily, from May through August, I often have far more free time than I can use. After spending my evenings after summer camp browsing the large section labeled “romance” at my favorite bookstore, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get my hands on a recently released romantic comedy novel by one of my favorite authors.
Christina Lauren—a pseudonym creatively coined by not one but two authors—has published over 20 novels in her writing career. Until now, I had only read two of them: The Unhoneymooners and The True Love Experiment. These titles are also the first I recommend to friends looking for a romantic comedy. From the classic genre tropes woven into creative storylines to the seemingly life-changing happy endings, Lauren puts a whole new twist on the traditional romance novel.
The latest novel is The Paradise Problem, published last May, which revolves around the decision of two impulsive young adults who enter into a marriage of convenience in order to qualify for a family flat, which is, of course, cheaper. In fact, it is nothing more than a business arrangement – Anna is stunned to later learn that her flatmate’s full name was never “West Weston”. They live shoulder to shoulder for two full years, making no effort to get closer. The graduation caps are thrown away, and they go their separate ways.
At least that’s what they think.
Three years later, Anna is a struggling artist with bubblegum hair who recently lost her fast-food job, while Liam is the heir to a multibillion-dollar food empire. As it turns out, the divorce was never finalized, and they’ve been married for nearly half a decade. Not entirely coincidentally, Liam has never been completely honest with his wealthy and snooty family members about his sham marriage.
The Westons have spent all these years hearing stories about Anna: But instead of a self-described Muppet living paycheck to paycheck, Liam has turned her into a wealthy woman who just graduated from medical school. An introvert who is relatively estranged from his family, he has avoided contact and further questions about his alleged wife for nearly five years – exactly what he needs to pay out his inheritance as stipulated in his late grandfather’s will.
Just one summer before receiving that generous down payment, Liam receives an invitation to his younger sister Charlie’s wedding on a remote holiday island. When he sees the envelope, which has not only his name on it, but also that of his supposed wife, his heart sinks.
WARNING: SPOILERS
I loved this story for so many reasons. It’s written in first person, switching between the eyes of Anna and Liam, allowing the reader to see the development from both points of view. The setting is relatively modern – the references to Tiktok, AirPods and Uber put me off at first – but as the chapters went on, I got used to it.
The only time I rolled my eyes was when Anna and Liam landed on the island and first stumbled upon the bungalow they would be staying in. In typical romantic comedy fashion, there was only one bed. For these two posing as a married couple, it was obvious that it would stay that way, although neither of them expected it. Despite my dislike of cliches like this, I was already too far into the story to stop.
My favorite part of novels like this is the unfolding of love between the characters. I find it beautiful and insightful when their truest thoughts, dreams, and urges are put on paper for everyone to read. The sparks between Anna and Liam transformed when they went from simply Acting like a married couple in front of their family to kissing and touching and everything in between (watch out for spices!) in the privacy of your own bungalow.
In this book, there was no doubt about how the love story would end. Right from the beginning of the story, it was clear that the end would be about our protagonists Anna and Liam.
The climax of the “will they make it or not” story is reached when Liam’s eldest and most snooty brother reveals the truth about his fraudulent marriage to Anna in front of the entire wedding party. “The Paradise Problem” uses this moment not only to outline the couple’s love story, but also to comment on the absurdities of living a rich life. Hailing from the kingdom of Weston Foods, Liam had both strained relationships with his family members and a first-rate perspective on how dangerous the power of money can be. The decision he must make before the novel’s denouement is to either continue his life with Anna, which would bring him joy for the first time in ages, or go along with his corrupt father’s business strategy and still earn his grandfather’s inheritance.
For the first time in his life, Liam chooses happiness and says no to the family business. His toxic father immediately blackmails him, framing him for a scandal that Weston Foods had previously escaped. But then Liam’s previously self-centered siblings stand up for him and speak out against their father – who is sentenced to prison because he was the one really behind the scandal. While the villain is behind bars, our protagonists get their happy ending by the standards of traditional romantic comedies.
All in all, I think Lauren has once again hit the nail on the head with The Paradise Problem, and I can’t wait to see what comes next from this team of authors. The novel was the perfect summer read for me, and I highly recommend it to any college student who needs a beach read before the start of fall semester.
