By the New York Times bestselling author who “hilariously depicts modern dating” (Us Weekly), My Favorite Half-Night Stand is a laugh-out-loud romp through online dating and its many, many fails. 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 … 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.
Perfect for fans of Roxanne and She’s the Man, Christina Lauren’s latest romantic comedy is full of mistaken identities, hijinks, and a classic love story with a modern twist. Funny and fresh, you’ll want to swipe right on My Favorite Half-Night Stand.
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***I received an ebook copy from the publisher at no cost***
I love a good friends to lovers story, and that’s precisely what Christina Lauren delivered with My Favorite Half-Night Stand.
The storyline itself isn’t exactly original: Millie and Reid are best friends who end of climbing into bed with one another. They both give online dating a try following their night of debauchery because they’d rather get serious with other people than risk blowing up the friendship they both cherish. Christina Lauren put a little twist in the story at this point though, when Millie decides to create a fake profile and starts romancing Reid with it.
As always, there are all kinds of humorous moments in this book. The circle of friends is fantastic and uber relatable. I would gladly make myself a part of their social circle if they weren’t a fictional clan. Reid was great. He’s sincere and sweet and pretty much everything that I look for in a book boyfriend. Millie was good, but she annoyed me at times. She seemed kind of detached from her friends in some ways.
I laughed out loud a lot and of course, there was plenty of delicious between-the-sheets action.
If you’re looking for a fun, easy, and sexy read, My Favorite Half-Night Stand is for you.
4 stars to this novel!
This. Book.
I had to read this book because it sounded just too good. The cast of characters, the socially awkward and emotionally stunted heroine, the sexy nerd Hero, and the fun that is online dating. I felt like this book accurately portrayed the differences men versus women face in the whole online dating process. Men rush in to find gem after gem while women get unsolicited D-pick after unsolicited D-pick. (How is this even still a thing? And yet, literally, it is!) And how the men are oblivious to the struggles the woman faces and why she has to maneuver her use differently than they do.
But at the heart of this novel, as beautifully realistic as it all is… the romance, obviously. Millie is sort of this emotionally stunted introvert for reasons I won’t spoil, and Reed is this uber nice guy that you want to take home to meet your folks. But even the nicest and most understanding of men have their limits. At some point, they’re going to be pushed too far.
Toward the end of this book was kind of heart-wrenching in a way, when everything gets out in the open and Millie realizes she has to change (in a good, character arc kind of way – not an ‘I have to change so the person I like will like me’ kind of way).
Anyway, to wrap this up because I could seriously keep talking about this, I’ll just say loved the book, and if you were on the fence, definitely read it. <3 It's a good one.
You have to love a heroine who has a PhD in criminology and is an expert in serial killers! Millie and Reid are best friends and professors at the same university. They share the same friends and Millie is just one of the guys. One night Millie and Reid have a drunken half night stand (half night because Reid bolts right after) and they struggle to regain their normal best friend status. A black tie event at the university has them both navigating an online site trying to find dates for the event. The whole plot sounds kind of fluffy but it all comes together really well. I enjoyed the two main characters and their circle of friends. There was the right balance of heat and angst.
Christina Lauren has become an auto-buy author duo for me. Their recent romcoms have been fun and fresh, and the last one, Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, was a 2018 favorite. So I had high expectations for My Favorite Half-Night Stand, and while it didn’t live up to Josh and Hazel, I am happy to say I still enjoyed every word. It took me just two half-nights to read this unputdownable, unique and fun read.
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“Is it possible to be a highly functioning adult with a successful career, awesome friends and a lovely family, and still be a Level Five Hot Mess? I may be living proof.”
Millie is the only female in her group with 4 male co-workers. All university professors, this group of good-looking nerds are a little like “Friends”, all single, but they hang out together all the time. Millie is quirky. Obsessed with serial killers from a young age, she is now a Criminology professor. Talking about serial killers might be a bit of a turn-off for most guys, plus they are all workaholics with no time for dating. While they are all close friends, Mille and Reid are the closest, and after one night of hanging out and drinking with the group, Reid and Millie hook up. It was a great night, but neither wants to mess with their friendship.
“Trying to be cool about banging your best friend is a lot harder than I would have anticipated.”
When they have a formal event to attend at the University, the 5 of them agree to try to get dates via an online dating app. They guys all wrote such bad profiles that Millie re-wrote them all, making them seem way more appealing. But Millie, who is by far the most closed-off of the group, had an awful profile. After some teasing by the guys, she decided to make a fake profile with an artsy photo. On this one, she was actually more open and honest about herself than she ever is in real life. Imagine her surprise when she is matched up with Reid, her best friend and favorite half-night stand. While she drops some hints about who she is, Reid doesn’t catch on, and so begins a catfishing relationship with her best friend and half-night stand.
“I’m lonely. I’m lonely because I don’t tell people what I need or what I want, and then get hurt when they don’t figure it out on their own.”
I usually have some difficulties with people who deliberately lie, and the lie goes on too long, and this was no exception. I loved Reid, and I really liked Millie. It was understandable at the beginning, but it went on too long for my liking. I didn’t lose interest or anything, but it went from an enjoyable book to waiting for shit to hit the fan.
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Likes:
•Another fun read with great characters.
•I absolutely love texting and online messaging in books.
•A great group of quirky and intelligent friends.
•Lots of modern online lingo (though I think it was still a bit lame for the younger set).
•Kept me completely engaged and I never wanted to put it down.
Dislikes:
•The deception went on too long.
•I can’t put my finger on it, but something was missing compared to Josh & Hazel.
Liked and Disliked:
I had a paperback ARC and an e-ARC. I loved the formatting of the paperback. I even liked the formatting on my kindle. But on my phone it was a mess. Hopefully only because it was an ARC. But even if it was fixed in the final version to look like the book, if you are like me and read white on black in the dark in bed at night, those heads are too bright because they are white.
Paperback
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Kindle
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The Down & Dirty:
I really loved My Favorite Half-Night Stand. It kept me engaged, smiling, and turning pages from start to finish. It didn’t quite live up to Josh & Hazel, but I still enjoyed the whole thing. I am not a fan of lying though, and a big lie went on a bit too long for me. There was something else I can’t put my finger on kept this from being a 5-star read for me, but I still wholeheartedly recommend it.
Rating: 4.25 Stars, 3.5 Heat
Once again Christina Lauren has blown me away. I barely picked it up and could hardly put it down, not to mention laughing so hard! So many times that I feel Millie should have come clean about being Cat, and I still feel that Reid maybe overreacted a bit when he found out it was her, but still, the hilariousness of the friends, the texting, instant messaging, all of it, make up for that. The fact that there was a reference to the movie Caddyshack in this made it even more a book that I adored, since that is a movie I have memorized and quote almost weekly if not daily. Love, loved this, funny, sexy, wonderful characters, a definite must read!
Also, hoping for maybe books for the other guys in the story?
After I read Roomies, I promised to add more Christina Lauren to my Mt. TBR and I delivered on it in 2018. I requested and received ARCs of all their new books and was delighted with all of them. Although I favor Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating the most, My Favorite Half-Night Stand is not far behind.
I know a little something about online dating as both my hubby and I had experience in it. Before our success with each other, we had to go through duds. The deception, the placing your best self onscreen, those were normal. The honesty, the freedom to be able to confide to a virtual stranger, those were present too. It’s the latter reason why we eventually clicked. This is why the build-up of Millie’s and Reid’s relationship touches a chord. As in, I can totally relate and understand both their motivations.
Fantastic writing, believable/relatable/lovable/fully fleshed-out characters who are strong yet vulnerable at the same time, loads of humor, enough angst and family drama, awesome friendship, steamy sexytimes, and a lot more. Easy five stars.
I LOVE CHRISTINA LAUREN BOOKS! So much so that I read everything I could get my hands on in a 6 week period–all 22+ books!
A book that helps soothe the sting of online dating…. and the first one I’ve been able to read in two months. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
I’m a big fan of Christina Lauren, and of this book in particular. Great characters, witty dialogue, and an engaging plot make this friends-to-lovers romance a winner!
Sophomoric and ridiculous
I am such a huge fan of Christina Lauren. They always deliver books I devour and get excited about.
Millie is a professor who is fascinated by serial killers mainly women. It has been a while since she has been in a relationship. Her four best friends are all men who teach at the college with her. When they find out they have work function coming up they decide they need dates. This is where it gets interesting!
Going through the dating process for all them was very entertaining and had me laughing at times. Reid and Millie have a different relationship than the rest of them. They do not want the attraction they have toward each other to affect their friendship.
I really loved this book and could not put it down. I highly recommend this book and all the other books by Christina Lauren.
4.5 stars for this friends to lovers from Christina Lauren. There was something that I really connected with about Millie and Reid. Maybe it was the fact they were the best of friends and had the most easy going chemistry. Maybe it was the use of the dating app and the way that they were able to connect emotionally behind the veil of someone else, well at least for Millie. I so got Millie’s emotional struggles to open up, both to herself and her friends. Reid and Millie together were so good, and I was rooting for them to find their way. I too loved all the guys, because they were just a super circle that everyone hopes to have.
My Favorite Half-Night Stand is my third exploration into the amazing duo that is Christina Lauren. Millie and Reid are best friends who partake in a bit of liquid courage and cross the line, at least for the half-night, into lovers. While thrilling, even better than they imagined, it was an itch to scratch, and the friendship just isn’t worth jeopardizing. Riiiight…that’s hardly a solid foundation…said no one ever, .
What ensues is a warped amalgamation of miscues, half-truths, and boundless joy to twist and churn as true love dictates. Right from the start, Millie’s frenetic energy was comparable to Hazel’s from a book ago (as was Reid’s equanimity in comparison to Josh’s). That similarity wasn’t a criticism. Chemistry was firing on all cylinders for Millie and Reid. Only this book was a much slower-paced story with occasional meandering scenes. Millie is stunted this way, I suppose. She stops and goes, giving off conflicting vibes.
This is how Reid was caught so unawares. But back to the story… Millie and Reid are surreptitiously savoring their night that shall not be mentioned, but both are forging ahead with their circle of friends on joining a dating app to find plus-ones for a departmental soiree. When the guys meet with relative success, but Millie is being propositioned by shallow suitors, Millie thinks outside the box, and sets up a second, anonymous profile. Here, she reveals deeper truths and puts herself out there like never before. Guess who turns out to be a match, like “98% compatible”? Duh…Reid. Only Reid believes her name is Cat. Millie’s great, their night was great, Reid could maybe want more of those nights, but Cat…she’s open and stimulating. Their messaging compulsive. Oh! What a tangled web we weave… Fear of rejection or admitting real feelings propelled Millie into creating the nom de plume. But making Cat so appealing, genuinely catching Reid ‘s interest, is now Millie’s cross to bear. “I mean, let’s not forget I basically catfished my best friend.” Now Millie has to reconcile those subsequent emotions, fallout?, and only herself to blame for the original deceit.
What a mess. Her heart might have been more ready than her head. Reid and Millie are extraordinarily compatible. Their shared sensibilities and hopes aren’t carefully crafted, they’re innately driven. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out the ending and that HEA will be achieved — Christina Lauren are goddesses of romance. But it’s pulling off that threat, the very real danger to your forever ever after, that is significant to a reader. Millie’s vulnerability is a feat in and of itself; tremendous and pivotal to the success of earning trust. Does she possess the strength to go for what she wants or will she sit back and lick her wounds?
I enjoyed My Favorite Half-Night Stand (3.75 stars) Falling in love is as exciting as it is nerve wracking and Christina Lauren know their way around its pitfalls and swoons. You are treated to hilarious moments and painful introspection on the road to fresh perspective. I did feel like certain plotlines lingered too long while some could’ve used more passion to pack a punch, but it’s a satisfying read. These ladies deliver and I hope it’s not too long before the next journey of love arrives.
Fans of “She’s the Man” will LOVE this book! When 5 best friends agree to sign up on a dating site in order to procure a plus one for a special event at the University they all work at, hilarity, deception and hijinks ensue. One of my favorite RomComs of the year!
One of the things that Christina Lauren excels at is writing characters that are utterly adorable, likable and so easy to connect with. I would have given anything to be part of this group of friends. They had so much fun playing boardgames, meeting for lunches, going out for a drink or celebrating intimate birthdays. Since they were such a tight knit group, they also decided to go online dating to get themselves a date for an upcoming event – which ended in all kinds of emotional turmoil.
It was entertaining to see the differences between Millie’s take on dating and the guys. And of course it didn’t take long until ‘Catherine’, Millie’s secret persona, complicated everything. I understood where Millie was coming from. !I also commiserated with her on why she was the way she was. lI just could have told her from the very beginning that lies never end well, and much of the heartache she went through could have been prevented. (That’s were my pragmatic and logical side comes into context.)
I also must mention that CL has a knack for writing incredibly charming and swoon worthy heroes. Reid, as well as Josh in JAHGOND, were characters I would have loved to call my own. I’m impressed and awed by how dreamy all of CL’s heroes are, because Reid was all kinds of awesome!
My Favorite Half-Night Stand was a wonderful friends to lovers novel with lots of laughter, witty and smart dialogues and a cast that I would have loved to know in RL. So, if you love the friends to lovers trope, and you love to laugh – grab this book asap!! And any lover of CL won’t regret picking up My Favorite Half-Night Stand. I’m already looking forward to the next book.
Christina Lauren takes on the friends-to-lovers trope in a new way. Combining current trends in online dating and a group of friends looking for dates we get My Favorite Half-Night Stand in a big and hilarious story. The camaraderie between this friends group was perfect and the tension between the two main characters who start feeling more was palpable. It made for a fun, relaxing romance.
The story started off really strong for me. In the middle thought it stalled out a bit though. Dialogue become a lot and the back and forth of what happened in the plot became a little cumbersome and a bit cheesy to a point. It held me back from really loving the story but not from truly enjoying it. The writing team of Christina Lauren always pulls readers to the connections of people through lasting friendship and the overwhelming love through those friendships. It’s a favorite of mine to see two friends become more while navigating how to maintain that friendship within a new context. The tension and hilarity with which these authors connect those elements is always a satisfying and romantic read. Additionally, it’s an easy read in which you feel eager to continue and finish.
A romantic comedy where friendship abounds and the writing keeps you attuned to the story as you feel a small part of this friends group – that’s what you’ll find in this newest release from Christina Lauren. My Favorite Half-Night Stand is as fun as it is important in showing the true meaning of understanding, friendship, forgiveness, and coming into one’s true self.
This is a funny sexy laugh out loud tale that follows Millie and her friends on their on line dating escapade . Millie has always been one of the guys but when her place of work decides that they are having a gala she is now required a plus one. Reid and Millie share quite the half a night and decide that they should still only remain friends but the world has other ideas for them !!!
Funny sexy and so much fun to read!!
~~Michele McMullen ~~
This was my first Christina Lauren book and these two authors made it straight to the top of my auto-read list. Everything and everyone in this story was lovable that the book felt almost a little too short which is by no means the authors’ fault and only my love and enthusiasm for this wonderful friends-to-lovers novel.
Millie loves her job and her small circle of four friends who consists only of the XY-chromosome variety and are all scientists. One of them is Reid, her best friend, and their relationship is truly amazing. The ease with which they treat one another almost could have fooled me into thinking that they are really solely platonic. But while they have a beautiful friendship, Millie keeps Reid and everyone else at arms length, so far that Reid wonders at some point if she has the emotional capacity to feel deep emotions.
But one night Millie is a little tipsy and feels a little frisky so she makes her move and they end up spending, you guessed it, half a night. Apparently the underlying attraction they’ve felt for one another has been brewing and neither of them has acknowledged it. So how do you go back to friendship when the night you had with your best friend rocked your world? How do you keep the awkwardness out?
Trying to be cool about banging your best friend is a lot harder than I would have anticipated.
When the five friends need to attend a black tie function for work and don’t have dates they have the glorious idea to register for an online dating platform. Millie signs up with a name none of her friends are aware of and finds herself being a 98% match with Reid. They start messaging each other, with Reid being none the wiser that he’s talking to his best friend. For so long Millie has kept everything she feels inside: about her sick dad, the way she’s dropped the ball with her sister. For the first time Millie can be herself, but she does it on the sly and as we all know…secrets always have a way of coming out at some point.
Often times emotionally closed off characters come across a little distant, maybe even cold. Not Mllie – she has a warmth about her that I found enchanting. She is wicked smart and has a kickass sense of humor, she just bottles up her feelings. The way she explained them totally resonated with me and I think this is what made this book so special to me. I saw myself in a lot of things Millie said and did. Her loneliness, not being able to say the things that moved her…in her mind she voices things many of us aren’t able to admit.
***I’m lonely. I’m lonely because I don’t tell people what I need or what I want, and then get hurt when they don’t figure it out on their own.***
Reid is dreamy and so so swoon-worthy. Ahhh he has this charming, humorous and intelligent way about him I love. There is also an innate kindness that makes him stand out. And don’t get me started on his nerdiness. I LOVE a hot nerd. I adored Millie and Reid’s friendship. It was easy, sweet, and strong enough to overcome mistakes made on both sides.
***The way he smiles up at me is the same way he always looks at me: like there is nowhere else he’d rather be. There’s no awkwardness or tentative touches. It’s just us.***
Their circle of friends is a hoot, totally quirky, endearing and nerdy and when they interact you can feel the love they have for each other. You can also feel a sort of reverence they all have for Millie.
The graphic format of the friends’ online chats is extremely well done – so hats off to whoever decided to make the book look interactive and alive!
MY FAVORITE HALF-NIGHT STAND is a beautiful and enchanting study of characters and online dating with surprising depth and a little angst towards the end. I had such a ball reading about the friends’ antics and Reid and Millie’s path to love in this modern and crisp writing style. So as always, when I find a new author to love, I’m desperate to catch up on their other books. If you love a cute, delightful friends-to-lovers story that will have you swoon and make you think then grab this. You’re welcome.
“I love you, too.” He punctuates each small phrase with a kiss lower on my throat. “All of you. The silly, the quiet, the argumentative, the sarcastic, and even this side.” He kisses my shoulder. “The softer side.”
OMG I just fell in love with Reid and Millie!
Millie is my soul mate…I heart serial killers…and crime.
I kind of love how she is half closed off, but has a deep connection with Reid. I love that they both love each other and neither of them know it, I love that they are so happy being best friends. I love that they are each other’s automatic plus one’s. There is not much I don’t love about them.
I did lose my shizzzz on Reid at one point, but you will just have to read it to see if you agree with me on that.
Also the strong friendship between this group is amazing…I esp loved the texts and how they fed off each other.
#SerialKiller #Dishes #MorningAfterCupcake #HalfNightStand #Eggplant #Catherine
My Favorite Half-Night Stand is a perfectly charming, witty, hilarious, quirky, heart-felt, emotional, feel-good, sexy rom-com that will make you laugh, cry, and swoon. Well done! I can just picture it on screen; hey, Netflix 😉