Release & Review - My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: My Favorite Half-Night Stand
Author: Christina Lauren
Publication Date: December 04th, 2018

Publisher: Gallery Books
Category/Genre: Adult Romantic Comedy

By the New York Times bestselling author who “hilariously depicts modern dating” (Us Weekly), My Favorite Half-Night Standis 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 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.

Goodreads

Buy Link: Amazon

3.5 “BFF + TBBT vibes” Stars

I wish I could say I loved this as much as Christina Lauren’s last releases. I didn’t, which is sad, because I’ve become a fan of these two amazing authors and I was dying, I mean DYING to get my hands on a BFF to lovers romance.

For some reason, this book and I didn’t connect on that next level that is necessary for me to really, really love something. Maybe I wasn’t in the right mood to read it (despite anticipating this and a BFF to lovers read for weeks), because when I think about the elements in the story, I truly appreciate them—especially the way the romance developed.

I feel like Christina Lauren added something different to the BFFs that fall in love dynamic by making both Millie and Reid unaware of their feelings for each other for most of the book. It wasn’t the typical “one loves the other and is just waiting for the other to get with the program” dynamic I normally see (and love) in books with this trope. Millie and Reid were surely attracted to each other, but they fell in love slowly and together while navigating the awkwardness that comes with falling for your best friend. That was fresh and interesting take, and I’m mad at myself for not appreciating it as much while reading.

Something else I loved about this book was the group of friends Millie and Reid had. Though I wish their personalities were a little more distinguishing—it took me a while to get who they were as individuals—I got some serious The Big Bang Theory vibe from this group. Was I the only one? And though I know TBBT is problematic, I still enjoyed their dynamic.

Speaking of problematic…Well, part of why I can’t rate this book a little higher was how bothered I was about the fact that Reid seemed to want to push Millie to change and become more open. I didn’t approve of the way he acted toward the end, and it felt a little too much like he was forcing her to talk about things she wasn’t comfortable or ready to talk about. I loved Millie because I identified with her in the sense that I’m also very private and keep my feelings and thoughts inside, so it irked me that Reid reacted the way he did.

 So, while there was tons to like about this book, I feel like I couldn’t connect with the romance in the level I wanted, which makes this my least favorite book of all the amazing stories these two authors have released in the past couple of years.

*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.