i absolutely loved this one and I was sad that not everyone loved it as much as I did. I get it's really weird that she catfished everyone but she at least went to therapy to fix it!

RATING: 3.5 STARS
2018; Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster Canada

I could so relate to Millie and her love of true crime, and failure/success with online dating, lol. I enjoyed the chemistry and banter with Millie and her guy friends, which at times overshadowed her chemistry with Reid. This one was difficult to rate, as I did like it a lot but there was something that stopped me from going on in. And, I am. not sure if this is one I would reread, so I am going to rate it 3.5 stars.

I am becoming a fast fan of this duo's rom/com and am going to be reading some of their backlist and definitely in for anything new!

<i>***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***</i>

Man, this book was a lot of fun to read! The whole idea of creating a dating profile and matching with one of your friends-and he doesn't know it's you, yeah, it had so much potential, and this book matched it and more! Such a great read!

One thing that was really great was their group of friends. Millie, Reid, Chris, Ed and Alex. They were a really fun gang, and awesome to read about, especially with their romantic adventures with the dating app. They were a great group!

The romance in this book was spicy and sweet in alternating times. The messages that they exchanged, getting to know each other, even though Millie already knew Reid pretty well already. They were a way for Millie to open up, which she really needed!

I can understand why Millie doesn't share basically anything about herself. And I can understand why her friends were a bit tired of it. Combined with the whole Catherine thing, something was bound to implode eventually. But I'm glad that they worked it out!

This book was a hilarious and awesome book and I really enjoyed it!

Thank you netgalley, the publisher and Christina Lauren.
This dynamic duo did it again, lovely story with great characters. I wish I could be friends with all of then and spend an evening together.
Great book. Recommend

The queens of Romantic Comedies have done it again! I aboslutely adore this author duo. They are a one click automatic buy for me. My Favorite Half-Night Stand was a fun and quirky read. I wanted to become friends with all the characters! They have a way with words and its so easy to read! Highly recommend.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am such a sucker for the friends-to-lovers trope, so when I heard that the writer duo Christina Lauren was putting out this story about best friends turned friends with benefits, I was dying to get my hands on this book.Luckily, I was right, because I was obsessed with this read and could not put it down.

“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.” 

The format foll owed alternating POV chapters from our main characters, Millie and Reid. This book follows a tight knit friend group of five people, with an important event coming up, they decide to try an dating app. Millie is not impressed with her matches, as you can guess there the messages you expect a woman to get online. She decides to make a second profile using her middle name and a picture not showing her face. She is surprised to find she has been matched with her best friend Reid.

Millie writes to Reid as "Catherine" allowing herself to be more open with him than she would be in real life as herself. Reid is also messaging another girl online, and Millie finds herself jealous. Soon things begin to happen between them in real life, causing them to question what they really want.

“Sometimes, the thing we want is right in front of us, and we’re the last ones to see it.” 

Millie: A university professor whose specialization is female serial killers. She likes to keep things light never sharing anything too personal. She is witty and intelligent, but she has these emotional walls. 

Reid:He is the opposite of Millie, he's in touch with his feelings and he's looking for a deeper connection. Among his friends he is know as the sensitive one.

The romance between Millie and Reid was so sweet and these two have so much chemistry !honestly can’t get enough of Christina Lauren’s writing. Their books bring me so much joy, I can’t get enough.

Contemporary romance isn’t necessarily a genre I’d call my “thing.” Romance in general tends to be a genre I largely avoid. But sometimes, you just need some fluff, and this book caught my eye as the perfect palate cleanser after finishing another less-than-stellar book. Fluff is what I came for, and fluff is what I got, but with humour and intelligence that I truly wasn’t expecting going in.

Millie is a criminology professor who surrounds herself with work and her crew of her best guy friends. She doesn’t really get out or date much following a bad breakup years before from the man who is now her boss. But when an important event comes up that requires a plus one, Millie and her four guy friends agree to try online dating together. Easier said than done when there are already feelings involved in the group…

This story was super cute. It’s predictable of course, but not in a bad way. It’s your typical rom-com with a side of catfish. Honestly, as far as fluffy romance novels go, this one was really well done. Millie actually feels like a well-rounded human being with real problems and dreams and feelings. Yes, there’s your typical “it’s all just a misunderstanding!” plotline but again, done in a way that felt fresh and realistic. And this novel was funny as hell. More than once I had to stop for a second because I was laughing too hard to keep reading. I found myself really involved in the story, and I read the book in two sittings because I couldn’t tear myself away! I needed to know whether things would work out for Millie.

I surprised myself a little bit with just how much I enjoyed this book. Sure, it’s a total popcorn read and it isn’t exactly high literature, but man is it fun. I loved every page of this book, and it was just what I needed after my bad breakup with my previous read. Christina Lauren is definitely going on my list of go-to authors when I need something that’s fun and fluffy, but still intelligent and emotionally satisfying.

I ate this book up!! It was so wonderful, I was immediately invested in the story and the characters. I really enjoy the writing style that the authors have with each other. It was quick, and fun, and it all flowed so perfectly that I felt like I already knew these characters. I now want to read all of Christina Lauren's books as soon as possible.

I really enjoyed the character/relationship development between our two main characters, and I love when authors give us both characters perspectives in alternating chapters. It really helped to get the inside info on how they were both feeling throughout the whole book. I also really loved the side characters, and their group of friends in particular. They were all so different and unique, and I loved what they brought to the story.

Amazing book!! I can't to start talking about it with friends, co-workers, and especially my customers!

I received an e-arc from net galley and read it prior to release date, it has taken me a while to be able to sit down and write a review. This is my first Christina Lauren book I have read and it was enjoyable to read. One of my favourite parts of the book is that the group chat conversations have cute cartoon drawings of what each person looks like. Even though there is the trope of only one female in the friend group, the dynamic works well. Also I love the Millie is essentially a murderino being into true crime and female serial killers.

Ok, so now into the spoiler part of my review. This book was a very quick read that I mostly read in one day till like two in the morning. There are some clichés and tropes that work and some that don't. Out of Millie and Reid, I actually preferred reading from the guy's POV. While Millie is a fun character I wasn't a fan of how she was severely closed off about her family and past to her friend group; even her best friend Reid. I was surprised that the hook up part appeared pretty quickly and that they had multiple hookups, I had thought that there would be slower burn or that once they hooked up it would just be sexual tension until near the end.
I did like that there was minimal toxic masculinity with the male characters though of course everyone ends up in hetero couple pairing and very conveniently near the end for a couple of characters. When Millie creates the dating profiles of course everyone is amazing and she put like two lines of basic info before she goes back to create a second profile. And of course the second account finds Reid to be a close to perfect match through the app. I get that Millie was playing along hoping Reid would be able to recognize her personality through her writing but she let it go along to long. Plus her defending her fake account photo not showing her face was super obvious in my opinion. This book has one of my least favourite plots for keeping people apart due to EXTREMELY BAD COMMUNICATION!!!
The guys were pretty well fleshed out side characters and although there was one that I can’t remember the name of that seemed to be thrown in there. I did think it was convenient that both Ed and Chris were paired up with girls at the end, which came out of the blue. Like we got like one little intro to them before each pair got together but it doesn’t really leave much for possible companion novels. Which Christina Lauren seems to be a fan of doing…
There is one main issue that brings it down for me which takes place in the last quarter of the book, and that is related to Millie. When Reid finally figures out in his head that Millie is other girl he’s been talking with, he looks at her and Millie realizes that he knows her secret. They have an intense staring moment while Reid is giving her every opportunity to tell him the truth and she still won’t own up to the fact that she kept a massive secret from him. Though I haven’t been in a situation like this with a guy friend, I had a previous now ex best friend who over time I realized was keeping secrets that you normally share with best friends. Needless to say I was not pleased that Millie continued to be deceptive to her own best friend; who she was intimate with and was giving her an opening to be honest; that I was tempted to throw my phone at my wall. Yet I kept reading till two in the morning to see how everything would play out. Usually in romance the female main character is the person you want to route for but at this point I feel bad for Reid and almost want them to get together since Millie became such an unlikable character.
3.5 stars out of 5

Let me just start by saying, I love friends-to romance novels. They just make my heart purr. It’s that exhilarating feeling of are they going to realize what’s in front of them before it’s too late? In My Favorite Half-Night Stand we meet Millie who is a fun loving professor and best friend to four males but prefers to stay emotionally unattached and single. She enjoys giving advice to her friends but has a hard time “burdening” them with her feelings and life events. Millie is closest to Reid and begins looking at him in a more intimate way. Reid and Millie have a steamy half-night stand and rather than complicate things later on, they resume day to day activities. But not without their muted conversational stares and lingering glances. Millie and her friends decide that rather than attending a routine black-tie gala solo, they should all join the online dating scene and find dates. She however notices that she has pathetic matches. Her best friends kindly let her know that her profile “sucks.” Rather than being herself she decides to create an alias “Catherine” where Millie feels as though she can be her genuine self. “Catherine” then notices that she is a match with Reid. Millie starts to realize that Reid really likes “Catherine” and that he wants to take their matching to the next level. What began as a fun and harmless notion to Millie, becomes a whirlwind of shattering events she was not ready to handle. Millie is left to pick up the pieces of her choices and decide what is truly important to her before it’s too late. My Favorite Half-Night stand was truly one of my favourite books by Christina Lauren, it was funny, witty, short and sweet. Others were saying this would make a fabulous movie and I completely agree!
“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

It was ok, a little predictable and typical storyline. and I could not really engage in the story and the characters.

This year, I’ve really been loving romance books. When this book popped up on Goodreads, I immediately turned into a heart eye emoji and made grabby hands at it. It sounded hilarious and very current. I was right, she said all humble-like.

The thing I love the most about this book? It is so funny. Like it literally had me laughing out loud. Millie is so relatable, and all her text typos and quirks only made me love her more. Her typos honestly make her a kindred spirit because I, too, often have typos when I’m texting friends. Reading the witty comebacks and the funny group chats between Millie and her friends was everything. It felt real and it was HILARIOUS. The book makes you want to be friends with these characters.

The topic of online dating felt very relevant. How do you meet someone these days? If you choose to online date, there’s the pressure of making an ‘appealing’ profile, dealing with creeps and unwanted pics, and the disappointment when a lot of the men are only interested in hooking up. Women definitely get the short end of the stick, and you really feel for Millie. The fact that the book touches on how hard it is for women especially on these apps and websites is important and balanced out the comedic side very well.

The romance? Well *fans self*. It was hot. It was funny. It was swoon-worthy and definitely had its sweet moments. Yes, both Millie and Reid are flawed. But that made the story feel more realistic.

That being said, the only thing that really detracted from my enjoyment of it was Reid’s behaviour. At times he was very hypocritical and it made me mad at him. Hard to root for a couple to be endgame when one person is being a douche and not acknowledging said douchiness. Sir, step up and admit you have flaws too! But aside from me being mad about this, I think Reid is adorable. Don’t judge me. What Millie does is wrong, but you understand her motivation for it and she certainly does own up to it and admit it was wrong.

My Favorite Half-Night Stand was such a fun read (but don’t worry, it had its share of angst too). It definitely made me want to read other Christina Lauren books. I got this eARC months ago, and devoured it in like a day…immediately after I got it. I’ve been waiting for FOREVER to scream about this book. That alone should convince you to read it.

4.5 stars — This book was just really endearing. I laughed a lot, but I also felt a lot, and it made me think about myself a lot…which in my opinion makes for a pretty great book.

I had a hard time with our heroine, Millie, but I loved her all the same. What’s weird is that while I had a hard time with her, I also empathized a lot with her struggles and how her childhood loss affected her. I have this strange balance of too many emotions over fictional things, and not enough emotions over real life things. There was a moment in the book where she talks about after you’ve gone through this huge a tragedy, nothing else seems big enough. I get that. I feel that. I still wanted her to do better though. But I do understand distancing yourself from loved ones to protect against another huge loss.

So yeah, I guess I found her fascinating. Even the way she interacted with friends, constantly diverting attention back to them…wow. I’m like 50% Millie I think. Just without the smarts and fascination with serial killers.

I think it’s weird how you can be frustrated with a character, and the choices they’re making and how they’re hurting the other main character, but still understand how they got there, even if you’d like to believe you would have chosen differently.

Reid was absolutely adorable, if a little clueless. But I loved that he was the genuinely caring, cuddly person in the relationship (another real life similarity?). I loved how much he loved his family. I grew frustrated with him too, because he got frustrated with Millie, but I felt like his expectations were unrealistic at times.

They had such a weird relationship…it’s not often you read a friends to lovers story where they mostly didn’t see each other as more (at least consciously) until sex was on the table. What a strange twist. Fantastic chemistry right from the start, both in friendship and steamy-wise. My heart hurt for them. There is a part of me that felt like the ending was longer than necessary, but I can’t get into details without giving away spoilers.

The true star of this story was actually the whole group of 5 friends. They were all so different, but they melded together into their friend group just so seamlessly. I could honestly picture them all, and I loved how they genuinely cared for one another, even if a lot of their interactions were pretty light. I also loved that we got glimpses of depth in a lot of these secondary characters… My heart particularly went out to Ed. I just really wanted to hug him. And the funny thing is, while I would always enjoy a book about any of the 3 other friends, it was kind of nice that I didn’t feel I needed one. I felt like I could be confident in their happiness.

On a side note, I actually loved the way all the group chats were laid out…that’s something not a lot of books make super clear, and it was really cutely formatted in this one.

So yeah. This is a kind of weird rambly review…not that that’s new. I was sucked into this one from the first page, and invested until the end.

So this is going to probably come as a complete shock to everyone but this is my first Christina Lauren book. I know right !!! How is this even possible. All I can tell you, is that I'm positive it will not be my last in fact I have another one from them sitting on my bookshelf right now waiting for me to dive into.

My Favorite Half-Night Stand was a quirky, fun friends to lovers romance that to me really reflects dating today. This book grabbed my attention early on with the dynamic between all the characters. Millie's relationship with these four guys is one that I enjoyed reading. Just a group of friends who get along and I loved that Millie was the only girl.

So when Reid and Millie cross that "invisible line" I of course was dying to see how this would all play out. With them being the closest it was clear that this would be a tricky situation. Once they all decided to join a dating app things get a bit more blurry. And when Millie becomes "Catherine" well then things become very messy. The line's been crossed and it's anyway's guess how things are going to turn out but it clear this won't be easy.

I found myself invested in these two, and at times felt myself talking out loud to these characters. Particularly Millie, who in my opinion just kept digging herself a hole that I wasn't sure she would be able to get out of.

And Reid, OMG I loved him. I'll admit there were times where I too was screaming internally at him saying look what is right in front of you. Mind you I didn't blame him for his actions during the course of this book. It was more Millie for me that had me wanting to jump in and shake the girl.

There were also times that I could feel Millie's emotions as though they were my own. It's never easy being that friend who's feelings become more. You never know if those feelings are reciprocated and then worse you worry how that will affect the friendship you so dearly cherish.

Overall this book was fun, it had it's fair share of heart pounding moments and I loved the dynamics with all of the characters. I'm not sure if this is a series or not but I would love to see books with the rest of the guys from this story. While this was the first Christina Lauren book I've read this certainly won't be the last.

Please see the following link for my blog's review of My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren: https://wordsofmysteryblog.wordpress.com/2018/12/05/midweek-mini-reviews-19/

Norma and I read My Favorite Half-Night Stand with five of our Traveling Sisters and we all really enjoyed this story—except for me. Norma and I had very different reactions to this story. Lately, I have been reaching out of that normal type of read for me and really surprised at how much I enjoyed them. Well, I was surprised again here with this one too but by not enjoying it as much as I thought. Norma knowing me was even thinking as she read this story, Brenda is not going to like this. lol . She was right. I am feeling a little like I am the only one who has read this book and didn’t enjoy this story. I almost feel a little uncomfortable here writing this review. I really do think my opinions here on this one will definitely not be the normal reaction to this story.

The story started off entertaining and fun for me and I was loving the humor and dynamics between these friends. About 3/4 into the story, the humor took a turn to not so funny for this over sensitive Momma’s heart. The dynamics between these friends and other characters took a sideways turn for me and what started off as fun and entertaining just left me feeling sad with the way they treated each other and especially one character in the story.

So enough from this too serious and oversensitive reader.

Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster Canada for the opportunity to read an advance reading copy of this novel.

My Favorite Half-Night Stand is a light romantic comedy about a group of friends in their late twenties/early thirties, all UC Santa Barbara professors or academics, who try online dating. Millie, the only woman in the group, has a special bond with her best friend Reid. Everyone but Millie and Reid can see that it’s obvious that they should be together (especially after their half-night stand) but when the group needs dates for an upcoming banquet, they turn to a dating site called IRL. Millie creates a profile under her middle name called Catherine, and matches with Reid, who starts to fall for this imaginary persona.

This is a quick, funny, enjoyable read about two friends exploring their relationship. It’s styled very similar to a rom com movie, and probably would make a great movie! The story is predictable- if you read the synopsis, you know where it is going. I don’t have a problem with this, predictable isn’t always a bad thing, but I thought the plot was a bit drawn out. However, I loved reading about university professors around my age, as I could connect with their life style (though I’ve never tried online dating!). This is the first Christina Lauren book I’ve read, and though I didn’t find it to be ground breaking, it captured my attention, and was entertaining. There were times I actually laughed out loud and I loved the ending! I will definitely pick up another of their books!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first book by the writing duo Christina Lauren and I am a big fan!

Millie Morris has always been one of the guys. As a professor, serial killer expert and emotionally closed off person, she hasn’t had much luck in relationships, just like her 4 best guy friends. Millie and her friends make a pact to join a dating site to find dates for an upcoming university function, but it’s not as simple as it sounds! Millie and one of her friends Reid Campbell have a steamy, sexy half-night stand but agree to keep their relationship platonic. After a disastrous response to her first profile (think creepy internet guys and unsolicited nudes), Millie creates a second profile to start fresh - enter ‘Catharine’. What started off as a joke soon leads to 'Catharine' and Reid developing an emotional bond, and Millie as 'Catharine' is able to be vulnerable in a way she can’t in real life. But when Millie and Reid continue to hook up in real life she will have to face her fear of intimacy or risk losing her best friend!

I adored this book. Millie was a great character and had such a healthy and fun friendship with her guy friends, especially Reid. It was interesting to see a reversal of typical gender roles emotionally in this novel where Millie is an emotionally unavailable woman, and Reid and very emotionally intuitive male! Aside from the wonderful characters and friendships this story had an emotional depth that took my by surprise. I teared up a few times and laughed and smiled at many others. With hilarious depictions of the struggles of online dating and tender messages about vulnerability and friendship this is a must-read for all you romance lovers!

Sitting down to read My Favorite Half-Night Stand was like sitting down with a close-knit group of friends. Once again, this writing duo has created characters that you can’t help but feel connected to. I felt as though I knew each one of them personally. This book was exactly what I had hoped it would be, it was entertaining, witty, emotional, and delivered a story that I was completely invested in.

The lone woman in a group of friends, Millie is just one of the guys. They all work for the same university, they are intelligent, successful, and single. When an upcoming event makes them feel as though they should each have a plus one, they decide that trying an online dating app may be the best way to go. After writing less than inspiring profiles for themselves, Millie is persuaded to write the online profiles for each of the guys, but Millie’s skill seemed to be better served for writing the profiles of others, her own, not so much. When her own profile doesn’t seem to garner any wanted attention from potential guys she’d date, she decides to make a new profile, one using her middle name, and lo and behold, her best friend Reid is a match for her. While this group of friends is as close as close can be, Millie and Reid have always been that little bit closer, even stepping out of the friend zone a time or two…or three.

When Millie, aka Cat, and Reid begin communicating through the dating app, Millie drops hint after hint to let Reid know that it’s actually her, but Reid, as smart as he is, doesn’t pick up on the many clues dropped for him. Millie is able to reveal parts of herself to Reid that she could never do face to face. Using this app has taken her guard down, and Reid soon finds himself falling for Cat, too. Mm hmm.

I’m not going to lie, watching these characters trying to maneuver in the dating world had me so glad that I’m not a part of that scene anymore. Swiping this way and that, making profiles, and wading through the endless pools of single people seems like a harrowing activity, however, reading about it in a work of fiction was just a whole lot of fun!

My Favorite Half-Night Stand was everything that I’ve come to expect from Christina Lauren. It was highly entertaining, had me laughing out loud, and had my heart pounding. I adored the camaraderie between the characters. They were brought to life within the pages of the book and, I, for one, felt like I was a part of their gang.

*5 Stars

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. My Favourite Half Night Stand by Christina Lauren is a delight of a book to read. It’s funny and sweet with quite a bit of steam, tender and silly and heartbreaking when it looks like things won’t work out... basically all the feels. Millie Morris lost her mother when she was quite young and her coping mechanism has been to bury everything that she feels and pretend that everything is okay always. This leaves her feeling safe until the night that she and her best friend Reid Campbell have a really hot Half Night Stand because maybe they could have more but he wants someone who will be open and honest with him and not always deflect when asked about her feelings. Their group of friends in need of dates for the university black tie gala decide to try online dating. The first profile she creates attracts only weirdos so she creates another one with her middle name and is matched with Reid. She makes a joking response to him assuming that he will know it’s her but when he doesn’t the new personna a takes on a life of its own because she can finally be open with him and talk about all those buried feelings. But sooner or later Reid is going to want to meet Catherine and then all of Millies carefully built walls will come tumbling down. I loved not only the relationship between Reid and Millie ... but also the strong friendships they have with their group and hope that the other guys get stories too. Publishing Date December 4, 2018 #netgalley #myfavouritehalfnightstand #simonand schuster #gallerybooks #christinalauren