REVIEW: The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary


Anna and Liam used to be married – in college, and in name only. Just to qualify for married student housing. She was friends with Liam’s brother, Jake, who came up with the plan that helped both Anna and Liam out of a jam. When they graduated, they divorced and went their separate ways.

Except there was no divorce. Because Liam being married triggered a family inheritance. And he needed to stay married for 5 years to keep it. So what Anna thought were divorce papers instead was an agreement to stay married until the 5 years were up. But 4 months before that deadline, Liam is forced to attend a family event. And his “wife” has to come with him.

Liam is desperate enough to pay Anna a lot of money for her time. And playing along with his wealthy, dysfunctional family is worth what Liam’s money will do for Anna and her family. But the stakes for keeping their secret are higher than almost anyone understands.

Review


Wow! This was SO good! I’ve been surviving a 2-month reading slump with re-read after re-read. But this felt like running into an old friend. I zoomed through it in two days, staying up past my bedtime on  a weeknight just to know how it was all going to wrap up.

This was the second book in a row that I read with toxic parents, and it’s not a trend I want to maintain. Those story threads are stressful! But the creation and execution of this particular toxic family is stunningly “good.” Wow!

There are fascinating interpersonal dynamics through the book. And the authors call it all out – the toxicity, the narcissism, the gaslighting, the “brokenness.” But there are also these fantastic moments between Anna and many of the book’s characters. And that’s because Anna is such a fantastic character. I loved her – her sass, her no f’s to give, her focus on caring for her father, her groundedness. She really sees people, and in the Weston family that’s unheard of, at least in positive ways.

While Anna brings a fantastic relationship dynamic to the whole destination wedding, it’s her relationship with Liam that really shows off who she is. I adored Anna and Liam together! I was so grateful for the extended epilogue to see what happens to these characters. The whole story is supremely satisfying! If you love fake relationships stories like I do, you won’t want to miss this one. And if you are a long-time Christina Lauren fan like I am, I’m sure you already have this on your TBR. Bump it to the top of the pile, friends, because you won’t regret picking this one up! If you haven’t tried a Christian Lauren story yet, I highly recommend starting here – this was excellent! (Language, sex)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥♥½ = I loved it! Would re-read.

REVIEW: The Wedding Plot by Paula Munier

Summary


Mercy Carr and her Malinois, Elvis, should be consumed with wedding festivities instead of reporting a dead body. But when the spa director at her grandmother’s destination wedding goes missing, Mercy says she’ll check things out. She gets more than she bargained for.

Pretty soon, it’s a toss up over which situation is more troublesome – the pre-wedding antics of the wedding party or the trail of violence that is centered around the resort. But Mercy and Elvis – and Troy and Sugar Bear – are on the case!

Review


This was outstanding!! Mercy and Troy are in a good relationship place in this one, and it sets a lovely tone for the whole book. The dogs are in excellent form here, as always. And the mystery is truly top notch. I even started taking notes, trying to put all the pieces together for myself. (Ended up about 50/50 on my guessing.)

I have enjoyed the Mercy and Elvis mysteries since book one, A Borrowing of Bones. For me, this is the best of the series (so far). In fact, I can say for certain that this will be one of my favorite books of 2022 when the year is done. This book has everything I love – great characters, brilliant plotting, and a quest that propels the characters and the reader forward. I read this start to finish in one day and enjoyed it all. Highly recommend!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥+++*

♥♥♥♥♥+++* = Best of the best

REVIEW: Terror in Taffeta by Marla Cooper

Summary


Kelsey McKenna is a wedding planner. Destination weddings to vacation spots like Mexico are her specialty. And if she can keep herself from strangling the mother of the bride, she’s going to give Nicole and Vince the wedding of their dreams.

When one of the bridesmaids keels over during the ceremony and dies, the mother of the bride says it is Kelsey’s job to take care of it, including cleaning up the woman’s belongings and arranging for the body. And when the sister of the bride is arrested, Mrs. Abernathy seems to think it’s Kelsey’s job to fix that, too.

A wedding planner with a limited Spanish vocabulary is not particularly well-suited for solving a murder in Mexico. But Kelsey likes Nicole and Vince. She wants to help them have a happy ending to their wedding that has not gone at all to plan. So she’ll keep appeasing Mrs. Abernathy to get to the bottom of this murder – even if it puts Kelsey herself in harm’s way.

Review


This was a fun, fast read. I liked Kelsey and Brody as a sleuthing team. They seem to have a long term relationship and that felt genuine. The fact that Brody is gay means there’s no romantic tension between the two to complicate the relationship which kept things simple on that end.

Plenty of the other relationships in the story are complicated, though! There were several good suspects and motives for the crime to keep me guessing. The mother of the bride made me crazy, and I longed for someone to put her in her place. But she works well as a plot device to keep a wedding planner investigating a murder.

The theme for this cozy – destination wedding planner – is great. It gives options for awesome settings, diverse characters, and plenty of murderous shenanigans. Book 2 is Dying on the Vine and I am adding it to my TBR list!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥