My Favorite Half-Night Stand,

by Christina Lauren

Publication: Gallery Books; December 4, 2018

half night stand About the book:

Millie Morris has always been one of the guys. A UC Santa Barbara professor, she’s a female-serial-killer expert who’s quick with a deflection joke and terrible at getting personal. And she, just like her four best guy friends and fellow professors, is perma-single.

So when a routine university function turns into a black tie gala, Mille and her circle make a pact that they’ll join an online dating service to find plus-ones for the event. There’s only one hitch: after making the pact, Millie and one of the guys, Reid Campbell, secretly spend the sexiest half-night of their lives together but mutually decide the friendship would be better off strictly platonic.

But online dating isn’t for the faint of heart. While the guys are inundated with quality matches and potential dates, Millie’s first profile attempt garners nothing but dick pics and creepers. Enter “Catherine”—Millie’s fictional profile persona, in whose make-believe shoes she can be more vulnerable than she’s ever been in person. Soon “Catherine” and Reid strike up a digital pen-pal-ship…but Millie can’t resist temptation in real life, either. Soon, Millie will have to face her worst fear—intimacy—or risk losing her best friend, forever.

My Review

I love Christina Lauren! If you are not yet familiar with this incredible author, it’s actually two people! These besties churn out some amazing novels and I’ve been a fan for a while, therefore, I was super excited to see this new novel, My Favorite Half-Night Stand. This story is about Millie who is best friends with four guys. She is happy in and successful in her career, loves her times with her best guy pals, but isn’t the most open and honest person. With a huge, upcoming event coming to UCSB, they all decide that they need dates and that the best way to find them is a dating app. But when Millie and one of her guy pals Reid end up hooking up one night, everything changes for Millie, her online dating profile, and the dynamics between her and all of her best friends.

Let me begin by saying that I absolutely loved this novel! I love the hilarious banter, the moments that are supposed to be embarrassing just for the character(s) but embarrass the reader also, and the incredible honesty within the writing. Now, if you have read this already, you will know that this book is not a shining example of honesty, but I’m talking about Christina Lauren’s uncanny characterization that I could spot anywhere without even knowing who authored the book.

I loved the cast of characters in this book, including the distant family that had appearances, however, I was not a fan of Millie’s overall persona: guy’s girl, funny, successful, yet refuses to acknowledge any real emotions whether dealing with family or friends. I feel as if I’ve read too many female characters over the years that are a great time, funny, smart, yet emotionally stunted. Nevertheless, I loved how Millie was willing to throw herself out there with Reid and continue to develop an honest line of communication even after rejection.

I think the primary theme in My Favorite Half-Night Stand revolves around love being right around your nose, but you didn’t realize it because you weren’t ready or receptible. I doubt there are many of us that haven’t been there at some point, whether we realized it in time or they ended up being the one that got away. Regardless, I was cheering for Millie and Reid the entire time, and also hopeful for Ed, Chris, and Alex. This was the perfect read at the end of a busy and hectic day, and one that I devoured in only a few hours. I loved this and highly recommend this one, especially when you need a good laugh!

*Thanks to NetGalley and GalleryBooks for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review!