The dynamic duo does it again! Christina Lauren books have quickly become an auto-read for me and this one i was another win!

Millie is a guys-gal. She is a brilliant professor and surrounds herself with male colleagues, turn friends. Emotionally, however, she’s a closed book. When her group of friends make a pact to join an online dating site with a goal of parenting up in time for a big university event, will she be able to finally open up? Not before making a spectacular mess of things!

This book is a light, fun, sexy read!

Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for this review e-ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Move over Kathleen Kelly and Joe Fox, Millie and Reid are my new favorite digital pen pals! I absolutely adored everything about this book from the friend circle, to the real talk about the online dating world, to the friends to lovers, to Millie’s journey of self discovery. MFHNS is Christina Lauren at their best: witty dialogue, steamy chemistry, relatable characters, and a few hijinks/shenanigans on the way to a super satisfying HEA!

Let me start by saying that there were things I liked, and things I would have changed. But for me to rate something a 4.. much less higher then that, there are A LOT more pros then cons, to say the least. First off, I really enjoyed that this book.. was about adults. Real and true adults, working single, and above the age of 21.. much less 29 + (I loved that) I really enjoyed that they dove into WHY they were single, the pros and cons of it, and they stuck together as a friend group and were okay with themselves. I really enjoy when a book switched between context and styles of writing, this book was a good example of that, it switches from thoughts, from multiple characters between chapters, while adding in personal texts being sent, emails, and group chats. And I really thought that added a lot of depth. On a less positive note, it was a bit.. dramatic and childish at times. We make mistakes in life, no matter our age. Millie made one, the whole friend group made one, and it was kind of all drawn out a bit too much for my taste. But over all, this book quickly became one of my favorites of the month. It was charming, witty, and because of the character build.. its relatable to nearly every reader that will pick it up. Whether it be to Millie's closed off, unique personality, or Reid's drive for all the best moments in life, Ed's sarcastic nature and brutal honesty, Chris' struggle with confidence, or even Alex's forever quiet and yet always backing you up personality.. there was a character for everyone. I know, there was a little bit of all of them in me; and I think you'll find the same thing.

Like Millie, I have had the Talk with myself: do I stay friends with this person or do I try to be more than friends? Is this regular "I've made a new acquaintance" excitement or more "I want to see you without your clothes" anticipation? Do I want this person to like me or do I want them to like me? As Millie asks, "are these spasms in my stomach what most normal people describe as love"—or are they simply just spasms?

As my first Christina Lauren novel, I went into My Favorite Half-Night Stand not knowing what to expect. The sexy times: great. The banter and accurate portrayal of friendship: awesome. The "I'm almost 30 and still don't have my shit together": I feel you. I legit read this in two sittings, desperate to figure out how Millie and Reid were going to get their HEA, both engrossed in the plot and amused by the antics.

But there were also a lot of "oh don't do that" moments, too. Millie came off as emotionally stunted, her behavior more suited to someone who's (maybe) in her early twenties instead of solid 29 with a super grown-up job. I'm sure that her duplicitousness was mostly manufactured for the plot, but it also went on longer than necessary. (Making a fake dating profile to ward off dick pics is one thing. Carrying on a correspondence with your best friend when a) he doesn't know it's you and b) you are both clearly developing feelings for each other's online personas is another.) Then there's Reid, who was guilty of one of my biggest pet peeves once he'd had his own Moment and then didn't talk to Millie about it. (Yes I understand this is not always easy but most things aren't and this is fiction and UGH JUST ACT LIKE ADULTS.)

Had I heard good things about other Christina Lauren books? Definitely. Did I enjoy the friends-to-lovers trope? Absolutely. Can I recommend a character who catfishes her best friend? Eh... maybe? My Favorite Half-Night Stand was one of those books that sucks you in and makes you desperate to keep reading. It's only when you've finished do you realize, "oh, maybe I didn't love it that much after all." So enjoy the post-coital glow—but maybe don't stay until morning.

My Favorite book of all time from Authors Christina Lauren!
They blew me away with this book!
It has everything!
I cried, I laughed, I fell in love with everything about these characters!
And yes I could totally relate to the emotional journey that Millie and Reid have with the dating scene.
I loved the build up of getting to know these characters.
Had soo much fun reading about the ups and downs of the dating scene & trying to find the one.
Well this book is a one click that will leave you smiling & loving falling in love.
Authors Christina Lauren give us another enjoyable and heart felt read that is one you will be telling all your friends that they must read!
5 🍒🍒🍒🍒🍒popped!

You know that moment in Outlander when Claire is sucked into another world by the screaming stones? Well, that’s how I ALWAYS feel when I open a Christina Lauren book. This book sucked me right in and I had to stop everything to focus on it, sleep be damned. Seriously. I’m writing this review on less than five hours of sleep because I HAD to know what happened between Millie and Reid. I couldn’t go to sleep without knowing.

Here’s something else: I rarely cry when I read books. When other readers say that certain scenes made them cry in other books, I usually kinda nod without adding a comment. At most, I add an crying emoji.

But this book? This book made me cry not once but twice. Maybe because I understand Millie a little too well. Maybe because Christina Lauren writes characters that steal my breath away with their complexity and bravery. Or maybe because allowing yourself to be seen—really seen—by someone is frightening, exhausting, and so worth it.
​

Sassy, Quirky, sexy, and so freaking fun I had a hard time putting this down to get anything done like sleep or work! Millie and Reid...I'm not sure who I love more but I could go either way! Millie is the lone woman in the group of friends surrounded by four men who all are in academia at UC Santa Barbara and the book starts with celebrating Reid's tenure and while celebrating they also come the realization that Obama is the speaker at graduation and they all need a plus one to what will be an "event." This starts the talk of online dating after they realize they are all in a rut. This can only be good, right? Oh, the fun, the catfishing, the mistakes, the jealousy, oh, and don't forget Reid and Millie keep sleeping together along the way. What could go wrong! Twists and turns and so much fun from cover to cover. I definitely recommend this one!

**Received this ARC for review from the publisher via NetGalley**

Loved this quirky romance

Millie Morris teaches criminology at the University of California Santa Barbara, specializes in female serial killers, and her best friends are all male and work at the university too.

Reid Campbell is an Associate Professor of neuroscience, just received tenure and both he and Millie are finding they might want more than a platonic friendship.

The five friends decide to sign up on a dating app to get a date for a black tie dinner and the fun really starts.

I loved Millie and Reid's characters especially but all five of the main characters were funny and great friends.

I highly recommend this romance to you if you want a good dose of humor in your reading experience.

I received this book from Gallery Books through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

Laughing, literally, out loud is not something I usually do but I couldn't stop it. The sarcasm, subtle humor, and honesty was too much to hold in. Reid and Millie are a bit predictable but the ride is hilarious and heartwarming getting there. Their friends are really awesome and genuine. The graphics in the formatting are wonderful and gives a light feeling to the story. My first Lauren book, these two partner up fabulously, and hoping to read more. I was lucky to receive a copy through Netgalley, my review was voluntary.

Five educated people who are close friends. They work at the same university. Four great guys and one great girl. Just friends. Millie is just one of the guys. You know the kind who go out for coffee and play Monopoly with. There's a big party that they all have to go to and they need a date. Reid is a tenured professor in neuroscience and Millie teaches criminology. She loves serial killers. While playing Monopoly, Millie sees Reid as more than her best friend. One night they hook up, but promise that It won't change their friendship. Since all five are single, they decide to join a dating agency. Mollie creates a fake profile as well as one in her real name. Her alter ego gets matched with Reid. Will he be mad that Millie deceived him? Will they get a second chance for love? Really fun book. Loved all the guy friends. I want friends like that. I received this book from Net Galley and Gallery/Threshold Books for a honest review. The opinions expressed are my own.

My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren is a fun friends to lovers romance.

Millie is the only female part of a group of best friends who have a ton of fun together and can always rely on each other. One night when too much wine has been consumed she takes a leap and has amazing sex with her best friend Reid. Both of them are smart and decide that they should keep it a secret and seemingly return to friendship mode quite easily.

When the five friends need dates to an upcoming work gala, they decide to join a dating app in hopes of finding plus ones to the event. Millie decides to make a secret profile and when she matches with Reid she decides to have fun until her little white lie spirals out of control. In person Millie remains as detached and unemotional as always but her online persona grow more attached and open with Reid. It's not long before her secrets aren't secrets any longer and things in the group will never be the same.

I loved the dynamic of this group of friends. They were funny and ridiculous yet well-balanced. Reid was adorable and such a sweetheart, even though for being brilliant he was a little oblivious to the things right in front of him when it came to Millie. My feelings towards Millie were indifferent, I understood her reasons for being the way she was but at the same time I didn't view them as valid reasons. However, I did appreciate how she was able to eventually admit to her faults and try her hardest to improve.

My Favorite Half-Night Stand was another great story by Christina Lauren and I can't wait to see what they write next!

My Favorite Half-Night Stand is a fun read. I found myself laughing several times while reading this book. The characters were easy to fall in love with. His is my first book to read by Christina Lauren. The book is actually written by two people. I like reading books written by two authors. I find myself trying to figure out how and who wrote each chapter.

Loved this quirky little story! The characters were unique and fun, although slightly neurotic. I enjoyed their chemistry, banter and dynamics. They kinda reminded me of the crew from The Big Bang Theory. There were several times I wanted to smack the heroine when she made certain decisions as I screamed at her through the pages, LOL! But overall I really enjoyed this book, definitely a recommended read!

This is my fourth book by Christina Lauren and my lowest rating for a book of theirs. Which is a huge disappointment! I generally enjoy their books, but this one was a big miss for me. And even though I rated Josh and Hazel 3 stars, it was still TONS more fun than this book. There was just no life in this one. None of the characters really came to life and shined. It actually makes me reevaluate my feelings towards Josh and Hazel, because at least those characters stood out and had strong personalities and fun dialogue. Let me further break down why this book wasn’t for me:

1. The characters. Like I said before, bland, unbelievable characters. There were ZERO standouts as far as characters go. That’s... not good. I’m pretty certain I’ll forget all of them and their names in just a few days. They’re that forgettable. Most forgettable of all is the love interest, Reid! Could they have made him any more boring?????? And Millie got on my nerves. The whole thing was just really cringeworthy. I can see why she has literally zero friends that are women. We can see through this bullshit! And while the cast was *slightly* (not very) diverse, it was very heteronormative. I just thought they had an opportunity there to put out some good rep because there’s a lot of people looking to date, but whatever. Just a missed opportunity there.

2. Not fun. I realized after I read this that I didn’t have any fun, despite a fun premise. It was too melodramatic without the romantic comedy aspects. It was just sad, more than anything. I felt like I was being promised something that wasn’t delivered. I guess I was expecting something as fun as Roomies or Josh and Hazel, but that wasn’t the case here. Not even the sexy bits were all that. I ended the book feeling NOTHING. Nothing at all. This book was supposed to be exciting!!! With cute and flirty texts, but no! It’s just a huge bummer.

3. No banter. No chemistry between the main characters. Okay this may be more specific to my tastes in the romances I read but there’s NO BANTER???!!!! REALLY? There’s just nothing believable between Millie and Reid. I didn’t buy it. I didn’t root them on, even though that’s the whole goal. My cheeks didn’t heat up when they were together. It wasn’t sexy. It was meh.

4. The writing is odd. It’s mostly just bizarre dialogue that’s unrealistic to me. Honestly, I skimmed so many paragraphs. I just kept cringing. The “funny” bits aren’t funny, either. Which is weird for Christina Lauren because I usually enjoy the humor in their books. It just felt SO stiff here. The back and forth of conversation in their messages on the dating app were incredibly unbelievable.

5. No plot. There’s a little bit of plot in the beginning before it dissipates to nothing but drama and lack of communication. I understand that lack of communication creates tension and longing, but it went on for too long. Dear god, I was sick of them by the end. I empathized with Millie for her past and why she is the way she is, and so glad for her trying to change, but 200 pages of no one communicating how they feel becomes so obnoxious.

6. The catfishing is weird. Had roles been reversed, we’d be even more weirded out. I GET WHY but it is just not the most effective way to build a lasting relationship. It’s toxic.

I will say that I read this fairly quickly even though I ended up disliking it. I’m certainly not going to give up on Christina Lauren books for this one rating. I’ve enjoyed the majority of them so I’ll keep looking forward to what they put out. I just think they should have approached this one differently, or taken more time with it, or focused on making better, more exciting characters and plot... it felt lazy. There’s just a lot lacking here. It didn’t work for me, but I think a lot of people will enjoy it and I definitely don’t wanna totally dissuade people from reading it.

Millie Morris is a professor at UC Santa Barbara. Her four best guy friends—Reid, Ed, Chris, and Alex—work at the university, too. They’ve all been close for a while—and managed to stay close even after Millie broke up with one of their buds way back when. Now it’s just Millie and the guys, all hanging out with each other when they aren’t focused on their careers.

When the university announces an upcoming black-tie function, the five friends get serious and decide that they need to find real dates, and maybe even real relationships, STAT. They all create online dating profiles, cross their fingers, and hope the universe throws something good their way. The only problem is that Millie and Reid have a drunken hookup one night, and things get awkward. Even though they both try to laugh it off the next morning and move on without telling the others, there’s no denying that their relationship has changed. Unfortunately, neither one knows how to handle the situation, and things get…complicated.

Books by Christina Lauren (aka Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings) have become my favorite guilty pleasures. Their stories are light, fun, and sexy, but with just enough depth and intrigue to keep me hooked. My Favorite Half-Night Stand is no exception. I know the story sounds predictable—and yes, the ending definitely is, but getting there isn’t. The authors move things along at such a quick pace, you don’t have a lot of time to guess what happens next. I was genuinely surprised at several points, which, for a rom-com-type book like this, isn’t typical.

And I love the characters. The “one girl in a group of guys” dynamic is unique and entertaining, and reading the group’s conversations over chat is hilarious. Those vignettes, almost more than anything else, helped give each of the characters their own individual personalities. I felt like I knew them, for better or worse.

Ultimately, this is such a fun book. I zipped right through it and loved every second. It was exactly the kind of escape I was looking for. 🙂

You guys, THIS is my all-time favorite CL book.

(Yes, even more than JOSH & HAZEL'S GUIDE TO NOT DATING, which I really liked overall but had some issues with, particularly the ending.)

Why did I love MY FAVORITE HALF-NIGHT STAND so much? Honestly, I'm not sure. Yes, it's a BFFs-to-lovers romance, which I'm a HUGE sucker for, but it also had a women's fiction bent to it, with the HEA hinging on the heroine's character arc. Yet it still solidly felt like a romance, not WF, and somehow really worked for me.

I liked the university/academia setting, which felt fresh and different from what I've read recently, and I cannot overstate how well these authors write. I have a short attention span these days, and it's hard for my editor-brain to really get lost in a story, but this one successfully pulled me in, leading off with the camaraderie and humor among the main cast of characters, and held me hostage with the developing romance and conflict that was so authentic and realistic, I *felt* the emotional impact when everything unraveled.

I think the pacing was so much tighter in this story than in JOSH & HAZEL'S, and if you want a master class in how to not rush an ending, look no further. The HEA here felt *earned,* which made it even more emotionally satisfying.

Maybe it was the right read at the right time for me—we all know how infrequently I give a book 5 stars—but my guess is I'll find even more things to love about MY FAVORITE HALF-NIGHT STAND when I inevitably reread it.

RATING: A

My Favorite Half-Night Stand drew my attention from within the first few pages, with Millie’s fascination when she was little. Can’t say many kids are fascinated with serial killer’s, more specifically women serial killers.

I liked that Millie was just one of the guys. But of course Millie really wasn’t letting them in to her personal life. I felt like she was too closed off for someone who was close with these guys. I still liked her though. Reid was also a great main character, I liked how genuine he was. I really do think the authors did an amazing job of creating distinct characters with real characteristics. I always enjoy books where not just the main characters make the story but also those who surround them.

I’ve been a fan of most of Christina Lauren’s novels and this one is no exception. Each is unique but all of them are amazing.

This novel was funny, emotional and steamy.

An advance complimentary copy of this book was supplied by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

After reading Josh & Hazel's Guide to Not Dating, I had high hopes for this. I loved the way the book opened, with the group of best friends and the best friends to lovers troupe. However, I failed to connect with the main character Millie, and was annoyed with how she continued to mislead and catfish her best friend and member of the group, Reid. Maybe this is better for someone a bit younger then myself, but I felt that the pop culture references didn't hit the mark and the description of the dating apps a bit cringey.

A fun, light read that I devoured in one day! I enjoyed getting both perspectives through first person, I had assumed I’d get only Millie and was pleasantly surprised to hear Reid’s perspective in the first person too. Loved the friend group dynamic. Overall a sweet romance that had me rooting for a happy ending.

So, here’s the thing. I admittedly love Christina Lauren and already think the duo can do no wrong. I’ve enjoyed almost everything they’ve written! This book is no exception. The premise is classic and something my tomboy self would have daydreamed about in high school. I relate heavily to Millie for more than just her “one of the guys” type personalities. Though I didn’t go through anything quite as traumatic as she did, I often found myself being quiet and observant. I built walls and not many could surpass them. This is where Christina and Lauren excel in their writing. They build characters up from nothing until you can do nothing but love and relate to them! They always seemed to know how to tug at the heartstrings without being too devastating. The book overall is playful and fun; a lighthearted romance that I could easily see turned into a rom-com. Another winner for me!