Thank you so much to Simon and Schuster Canada and Netgalley for this edition of My Favourite Half Night Stand by Christina Lauren.

My Favourite Half Night Stand is full of the humour, banter and cute relationships that I have now come to expect from books by Christina Lauren. I love the trope in this book and I laughed out loud a number of times. I think I enjoyed the friendships and the group dynamic in this book more than the romantic relationship and I loved all of the scientific and academic talk ( I wish there was more of it)! I liked our two main protagonists but I felt uneasy about the fictional account Millie made, as did she, but could kind of understand where she was coming from from an emotional stand point. I thought it was interesting and important to have a character who had to work through emotional roadblocks based on things she had experienced and I felt this added extra depth to her character. I felt the ending wrapped up quickly and wish it had been developed a bit more! This book made me smile and I think it will be one that I will reread in the future. 3.75-4 / 5

Thank you to @netgalley and @simonschusterca for this book!!

For me, one of the best things about reading a Christina Lauren novel is the knowledge that going in, I’m guaranteed to get a light hearted, feel good read with characters I am able to feel connected with in some way. My Favourite Half-Night Stand did not disappoint.

I absolutely adored this book. In fact, it may be my favourite Christina Lauren novel to date. I appreciated that the story was told from a dual perspective and felt it brought more depth to the characters and the themes of the story overall. This book made me smile, it made me laugh, but more than anything, I saw myself in these pages. As a fiercely independent single girl in my 30s with a degree in Criminology and a deep appreciation for sarcasm, I felt especially connected to Millie.

For all the 30 somethings out there trying to live your best life and wondering if you’re doing it right, or if anyone else has ever felt the way you do, pick up this book. You won’t help but be able to connect with it and love it.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

This is a cute story about 2 friends that sleep together once and at the same time are trying to find new dates for an event that is months away.

It a light, easy and fast read. I could not help but think that it was based on the TV show New girl. I feel that she changed names occupation and roommates and its essentially the same thing. When i was thinking about the book i had. a hard time telling them apart...

This was my first Christina Lauren! It was a fun, quirky little book. I didn’t think the plot was too far-fetched, in fact in the ‘era’ of catfishing and various other online dating woes, this seems pretty plausible. As someone who has used online dating apps before, this book was a great take on the current state of dating and it was funny as well. Millie was a great character. I was honestly surprised with her complexities and her development. The relationship of the colleagues was so lovable, honestly, I wish I had a friend group like them. As for the romance, it was very cute. I felt that Millie and Reid lacked some of the steamy chemistry I was expecting from this author, but it was still sweet. Despite the plot being relatively believable, my issue with the book was that I don’t think this exact situation would happen to this demographic of characters. Age and occupation are a big part of online dating, and it seems highly unlikely a group of attractive academics would all be desperate for love at the same time at the same age. This came off more of a situation that people in the early stages of their careers in their early twenties would face. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a fun book about dating. I can definitely see this being adapted into a movie with “you’ve got mail” vibes.
 
*ARC provided by NetGalley

4.5/5 stars

I have been super obsessed with Christina Lauren books lately. So I was very excited to get to read this newest one. I would describe it as a romantic comedy, sort of a combination between romantic fiction and chick lit.

A half night stand is apparently when you only spend half the night together (you hook up then leave).

The story focuses on a group of friends who all teach at UC Santa Barbara (university) and their experiences with online dating.

The main female character is 29 year old criminologist Millie Morris. She is obsessed with female serial killers and teaches criminology.

I found Millie to be quite unique. She is the only woman in their gang of friends. But I found her very different from most book heroines. She is very closed off and secretive, mostly due to her past. But her best quality IMO is that she is completely obsessed with female serial killers. I actually wish that this had been an even bigger part of the story.

The friends in the group are: Chris. Ed. Alex. Reid. Millie. The guys in this group are all so fun and funny. I really enjoyed their friendships, especially their group texts/chats.

Reid is a professor at the university and a science geek. He is obsessed with work. His life consists of work, his friends, and his family. Dating has not been his priority.

I really enjoyed Reid. And his adventures with online dating were interesting. I absolutely loved his parents. Those scenes were so funny.

When there is an important function announced at the university the gang of friends all need to find dates. That is where online dating comes into play.

These authors have been writing a lot of books lately. And after really liking Josh & Hazel's Guide to Not Dating I was scared that this one would not be as good. I definitely prefer my romances to be quirky, unique and at least somewhat unpredictable. At first given the premise of this book I was not sure if this story might be too predictable for me. And while some of it was not the most original I think that the way that the story was told was so fun and funny.

In terms of sexiness I would say that this book is fairly mild. I would definitely not consider this book to be overly sexy. It is not overly graphic or steamy, which is why I would consider this book more romantic comedy/Chick Lit vs adult contemporary romance.

The last half of this book was my favorite. There are secrets and misunderstandings. There are a few serious issues, but for the most part this book was just lighthearted, amusing and humorous. I loved this gang of friends. The guys were so comical. Just when you thought that the story was going a certain way then one of them would blurt out something that would change everything. This book was super enjoyable!

Have you ever read a book and just smiled a goofy smile the whole time??? Well if not, you need this book.

I loved this story for many reasons, I mean its not as if it hasn't been done before, best friends to lovers, however, this one was perfection!

I knew when I started it was not going to take long to read this book., the flow of the writing was so easy. The banter simply perfect. Christina Lauren has given us some amazing characters, Reid, Millie, Ed. Alex and Chris are right up there with Bennett. These best friends, seemed to work effortlessly, I so wanted to be a part of their group. Ii was great to watch the change in characters, to watch them grow, into each other. I really felt like I was reading people, not characters, but people. They all had everyday life problems, they weren't insta millionaires, or boss./ secretary or hell even virgins. Real people!!!

Millie and Reid are the book, however, if not for the supporting cast this story would not be what it is. The sidekicks in this were great. In fact, I'm not even sure I would call them sidekicks, they all had such a huge role in the journey of My Favorite Half Night Stand. They all made me laugh so much, and so loud, Reid is amazing BBF material, complete package. Millie is your funny, strong, (even if she doesn't know it) female character.

Together the five in this story, will make you laugh out loud (deserves the full words) and it will also tug at your heart. If what you seek is an escape, a getaway, clear you mind, relax your being, and just laugh pick up this story December 4th when it releases. This is a must for your bookshelf. #amust

Thanks #netgalley

ARC kindly provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
W O W.
The storyline unfolded so beautifully and the characters were for sure unforgettable.
Millie was excellent, her humor, her confidence and her intelligence really amazed me.
Reid was thoughtful and selfless, the perfect love interest who kept me on the edge of my seat with his thoughts and feelings.
As for the rest of the crew each and every one of them warmed my heart and made me anticipate their next appearance.
Perfect!

This is the newest addition to Christina Lauren's foray into the NA genre - less steamy than either Wild Seasons or Beautiful series, but still populated with cute characters in fun rom-com (read: unrealistic) situations.
Millie and her chums Reid, Alex, Ed, and Chris make a pact to try a dating app so they'll have a date to bring to the end of year conference/gala at the university they teach at. Millie's initial stab at a dating profile is inundated with gross dudes, so she decides to burn it down (metaphorically) and make a new profile using her middle name and a photo where her face is obscured. She matches with Reid and then due to a lack of clarity in her initial message proceeds to semi-inadvertently catfish him.
This was an adorable story and I enjoyed the perspectives of Millie and Reid. I wish that this was the beginning of a new series, because I felt the rest of the friend group was underserved/undeveloped and I think they could've been up to some shenanigans like the guys in CLo's past series. I can't speak from an experienced position about the online dating, but Reid's messages seemed so wonky considering he had no clue that it was Millie he was messaging - it just takes a little extra belief suspension to deal with, though.
I would recommend this novel to rom-com fans, and anyone who was disappointed in the movie Sierra Burgess is a Loser - this story is what that film should've been.
Thank you to NetGalley providing me with an e-arc of My Favourite Half-Night Stand - this is no way influenced my review.

Easy perfect read for someone going through online dating. Funny, loveable and hilarious.. it has it all.