My Favorite Half-Night Stand

My new favorite Christina Lauren book! I can always count on this writing duo to offer up a sweet, quick read…but this one had so much heart and the characters were so well drawn that it’s definitely my new favorite. The friendship dynamic and character growth in this book are so well done! I loved it. If you are in need of a light read, I highly recommend it.

Okay, this was really cute and fun. The banter is hilarious and I ended up liking it far more than I thought I would because I am generally not in for “cutesy”.

I didn’t really dig the whole catfish aspect, it felt duplicitous to me and no way to start anything good, but I realize I have to just let it go and enjoy it for the silliness it is.

Wow! I’m honestly floored. I figured I was going to enjoy this book, but I never would have expected to love it this much.

This is my first experience reading Christina Lauren and let me tell you, those ladies can WRITE!
I’ve owned a few of their books for a while now, and now I want to abandon my planned TBR and read them all.

The friends-to-lovers trope has always been one of my absolute favourites, and I loved how fresh and unique this plot-line was.

It’s always a wonderful treat when a book can be completely moving and emotional, and yet also be laugh-out-loud hilarious. Sometimes the funny parts in deep storylines can feel forced and unpleasant, but this book didn’t have that at all! It was completely realistic and fantastic.

That band of misfits is complete #squadgoals.
The best part of the book (and that’s saying something because the entire book was outstanding) was the relationship of the five friends. Their scenes made my heart feel so full and happy.

Trust me, you need to pick this book up. As soon as I reached the end, I said this out loud: “That was a really good story.”
I loved it completely.

When best buds Millie & Reid happen to have a surprisingly amazing night together, they have to navigate through the unfamiliar territory of stepping way over the friendship line. What happens after are two friends trying to figure out the next step. With Millie being closed-off, she finds it easier to be open & herself through an alter ego on a dating app. But when Reid becomes a match, the unintended lie to hide behind someone else’s image gets out of control until the inevitable happens. Will Reid be able to forgive Millie for her deceit? This was a great read with amazing side characters/best friends helping to navigate Millie & Reid’s bumpy road to love.

It should be clear by now that I’m slowly working my way through the Christina Lauren library. This one was adorable.

This the first novel I’ve read by Christina Lauren (writing duo Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings), but I have had Dating You / Hating You on my TBR list for 2 YEARS. Who knew I would love these ladies’ books so much? Why have I waited all this time! It was a coincidence that I came to read this book in the first place. So glad it happened, though. (Long story involving a mis-tweet, a comp title, and a lucky library visit.)

Premise/Overall
In any case, I’m here, and I loved it! I loved it so much that I could see a Netflix Movie made from it! It’s steamy, funny, poignant at times, and appealed to my nerd side.

Because I can’t seem to explain the premise correctly, I’ll let them do it. [from Goodreads] “Millie Morris has always been one of the guys. 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, Millie 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. 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.”

Characters
All of the ensemble has their funny moments, and you will love all of them because they’re so relate-able. But this is Millie and Reid’s show. This is a dual 1st person POV Millie/Reid. Millie is great at wrangling the guys in, but horrible at handling herself. Reid is the all-American guy, and one of those impossible combos of All-American hunk who’s super nerdy. It’s like a Clark Kent/Superman kind of deal but at the same time. Alex and Ed are comic relief, but together they are like the Odd Couple—one goofy and emotional, the other a straight man. Chris is the only one that’s ever been married out of the group and is pretty secretive. I would say he’s probably the most grounded of the gang. You know them, you’ve seen them, you love them. That is all.

The story/The sex/The movie potential
I can’t overstate how much this would be PERFECT as a Netflix rom-com movie. (JUST DON’T TOUCH THE DIALOGUE! It’s ridiculously funny and spot on!) You can say the F-word there, you can do the sexy stuff there, and lately as most of us Netflixers know, they are doing a lot of good Rom-Com movies. I’ve already got a potential cast below.
This is a great story line with a female protagonist emotional arc that is so #WomensFiction but is also delivering the erotic romance heat that we love. This is not your grandma’s romance story: there’s is at least 3 scenes worth of open-door sex. Not crazy graphic, but still steamy. Plus, these are a bunch of dudes and Millie hanging out, talking about hookups and such, so potty mouths abound. If you’re not hung up on that, then this is an awesome story. I read it in 1 DAY. And I’m a slow reader. Just get it, already. Geez.

Actor WishList for “My Favorite Half- Night Stand” (1st actor listed is my 1st choice where there’s more than one.)
Millie — Lucy Hale or Leighton Meester
Reid —Miles Teller or Zac Efron. (Henry Cavil, only because I’m getting a Clark Kent/Superman vibe from Reid as I write this.)
Ed —Seth Rogen. (He’s been nicknamed a few times in this book, but he called himself a pasty Seth Rogen, and that stuck with me)
Chris — Kofi Siriboe or Jay Ellis
Alex —Manny Montana or Ismael Cruz Cordova (except Alex doesn’t have green eyes, and Ismael’s green eyes are smokin’ hot.)
Reid’s Mom — Debra Jo Rupp
Reid’s Dad —Ed O’Neill

If you’ve read this one, what do you think about the movie cast? Comment below.

It took me some time to warm up to this book, but it’s a testament to my love for Christina Lauren than I did not set it aside. I eventually found myself identifying with Millie, but it took some time to feel as though I could see past the hard outer layers. The wait was worth it. Reid is utterly swoon-worthy and I really enjoyed the supporting cast of characters.

I say the same thing every time I finish a book by Christina Lauren.

I said it about Roomies. I said it about Beautiful Stranger. I said it about Love and Other Words.

It’s a pattern.

The premise of Half-Night Stand may be familiar to you: two people, who have been friends for years, realize that they’re in love with each other.

I have read some terrific Friends-to-Lovers books:

Head Over Heels by Serena Bell

Truth or Beard by Penny Reid

Some Sort of Crazy by Melanie Harlow

But I have never read a FtoL book like this.

The main characters are Millie and Reid. And Ed. And Alex. And Chris. A friend group that includes four guys and one girl. At first, I thought, oh no, I’ll never keep track of that many main characters. But I did!

Chris has it all together.

Alex is a player.

Ed is a 30-year-old kid who only has beer in his fridge, and answers the door in his bathrobe. (Ed is my spirit animal!)

Reid is loyal, and hard-working, and passionate.

And then there’s Millie. She’s quirky, and closed off, and not comfortable talking about her feelings. (Millie. Is. Me!)

These five friends are generally satisfied with their lives. They have jobs that they enjoy, they have a group of good friends, they have a comfortable routine. The shenanigans begin when one of them decides that they should bring a “plus-one” to an upcoming event, and figure the best way to find one is by using a dating app. This is very relevant to today’s environment, as it seems to be the only way to find a partner in this day and age. (I love that this book delves into this topic, as I’ve had some experience with online dating in the past few months, and I haven’t found many books that even bring it up as an option! People in books seem to meet other people “the old-fashioned way.”)

Each of the friends has a different experience with the dating app, called IRL. When Millie is matched with one of her best friends, she starts to look at her relationship with that friend in a different light.

I always see something new when I read Christina Lauren book. We see the group text conversations among the gang, each accompanied by an icon of each character. I’m a very visual person, so it helped my brain to have a picture to connect with each member of the friend group. This is unique, and fun, and very Christina Lauren.

With every CL book I read, I fall more in love with the style of this writing duo. They are clever, the sexy times are steamy, and they always make me cry at some point. That’s exactly what I’m looking for in a good book.

Awesome. Loved everything about this book. Can’t wait to read another by this author.

So much fun to read. Lots of interesting (online-)dating stories with wonderful characters. So heartbreaking but still very emotional.