Library Loans

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The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren
Published by Gallery Books on May 14, 2024
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Goodreads

Christina Lauren, returns with a delicious new romance between the buttoned-up heir of a grocery chain and his free-spirited artist ex as they fake their relationship in order to receive a massive inheritance.

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.

Years ago, Anna agreed to a marriage on paper so that she could get into married housing. Fast forward, her life is sort of imploding and her ex-husband shows up at her door. Only, they were never divorced and now he needs a favor - he needs a date for his sister's lavish wedding. Let the games begin!

This was another fun one from Christina Lauren. I know when I pick up one of their books, I am guaranteed laughs. There sure were laughs aplenty, but I also felt a lot for these two.

Anna bore some scars due to her mother's abandonment, but was lucky enough to have been raised by a wonderful and loving father. She was happy with her very small family, but always wondered what it would be like to be part of a bigger one.

Liam had that big family and great wealth, but they were all pretty miserable. Liam did his best to stay out of the family drama since "the betrayal", but he could never miss his sister's wedding. I felt for Liam during this event. His family was terrible (other than the nieces/nephews), but I was glad he had Anna by his side to prop him up and be the light in the darkness.

I found this coupling to be such a great one and may have fist pumped when they finally acted on their feelings. I mean, it was either get together or combust because there was some serious heat between them. But there was also caring, kindness, and true affection.

The island setting was wonderful, too! It seemed breathtaking, but also forced all parties involved to interact. Though there was lots of humor, some of those family scenes were painful because, as I previously stated, Liam's family was terrible.

I will give CLo some credit though. The ending was fabulous. It didn't just give me closure with respect to Liam and Anna, it also closed the loop with all the major players in this tale. I was left with some hope for Liam and his family which made me happy.

Overall, this was another hit from Christina Lauren. Filled with hijinks, great banter, a fantastic romance, and plenty of feels, this one hooked me immediately and left me in a bubbly state.

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Ghosts by Dolly Alderton
Published by Knopf on August 3, 2021
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Fiction

Goodreads

A smart, sexy, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy about ex-boyfriends, imperfect parents, friends with kids, and a man who disappears the moment he says "I love you."

Nina Dean is not especially bothered that she's single. She owns her own apartment, she's about to publish her second book, she has a great relationship with her ex-boyfriend, and enough friends to keep her social calendar full and her hangovers plentiful. And when she downloads a dating app, she does the seemingly impossible: She meets a great guy on her first date. Max is handsome and built like a lumberjack; he has floppy blond hair and a stable job. But more surprising than anything else, Nina and Max have chemistry. Their conversations are witty and ironic, they both hate sports, they dance together like fools, they happily dig deep into the nuances of crappy music, and they create an entire universe of private jokes and chemical bliss.

But when Max ghosts her, Nina is forced to deal with everything she's been trying so hard to ignore: her father's Alzheimer's is getting worse, and so is her mother's denial of it; her editor hates her new book idea; and her best friend from childhood is icing her out. Funny, tender, and eminently, movingly relatable, Ghosts is a whip-smart tale of relationships and modern life.

I was dazzled by Alderton's Good Material and was driven to seek out more of her work. Once again, Alderton won me over with her wit and humor as well as her keen observations in Ghosts.

On the surface, this was a story about a woman beginning her 33rd year of life. Nina had decided it was time to get back into the dating game following a hiatus. After a short time of online dating, Nina thought she had met "the one", but then Max just disappeared.

This part of the story was interesting enough. I found myself appropriately angry at Max and feeling bad for Nina, but I found myself more interested in the storylines that were peripheral to this one.

Although I am quite a bit older than Nina, I am intrigued when adult friendships are explored. It can be quite challenging to maintain those old friendships when your life is evolving. Jobs, marriage, kids -- these are things that can alter the friendship dynamic, especially when all your friends are moving in a different direction from you. That was the case with Nina, the lonely single person in their friend group.

Another thing that happens as we get older is so do our parents. With her father in his 70s, he was beginning to show signs of dementia/memory loss. This storyline was heartbreaking, but a reality for many of us with aging parents. It was something that deeply affected all parts of Nina's life and was something she needed to come to terms with. 

But what stuck with me, as with her other book, were the astute observations and commentary on life, love, family, and growing older. This was a story that was interesting and entertaining while also being thought provoking and emotionally satisfying.

I won't pretend I really understood or agreed with all the choices that were made, but I definitely felt a sense of contentment when I finished this book and was quite hopeful for Nina in the end.

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