This book was FANTASTIC! Based off the description I wasn’t completely sold, but I loved Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour, so I took the chance and I’m so glad I did!

This story mostly takes place during one night in New York. Nothing goes right and the girls are separated. Each girl has their own adventure and they both learn more about themselves and about life. They may have even found some romance...

I loved this book for many reasons. I loved that this was mostly a friendship story. I feel like there aren’t a lot of stories like this and it is such a shame. I felt the friendship was realistic and I thought their tension was relatable.

I really loved that the girls discovered more about themselves but at the same time learned that they will still make room for the other.

I loved the pacing of this book so much! At one point in the book the story begins to be told from 3 different perspectives. At the end of each chapter I thought I had a favorite perspective, but I realized I couldn’t wait to finish all of their perspectives!

I really think that everyone will learn something a little different from this book. It is so rare to find a book that is FUN and meaningful. I am definitely going to buy myself a copy and buy one for all of my best friends. Thank you Morgan Matson for writing these much needed stories.

Morgan Matson at her finest! TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT is a quirky adventure full of wit, hijinks, and heart. Kat and Stevie are stranded in NYC with NO PHONES (gasp!), and they get into one sticky situation after another. The whole story takes place over the course of 24 hours, and I felt like I was zipping through the NYC streets as I read, it was SO atmospheric. It's also full of theater references galore, which I loved -- I was a musical theater kid in high school, like Kat and Stevie, and I still adore Broadway.

Check out TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT for that "whizzing through NYC traffic on the back of a cute boy’s motorized scooter" feeling!

I'm a huge fan of Morgan Matson, as I've read all her other books and I was eagerly anticipating this one! And let me tell you it did not disappoint! This book is so cute and so funny, it actually lifted my moods. Morgan Matson highlights the ups and downs of the teenage life; it highlights friendship, cute romance, and then mixed them up with comedy. But most of all, this book is more about finding yourself, and figuring out what you really want. It’s entertaining, relatable, light, and also fun to read.

I really loved the little cameos from other characters from her previous books! it was such a cute "if you know you know" moment. The writing was also really easy to read and enjoy. She does such a great job of creating certain feelings/moods and writing about the setting in a way that's transportive and immersive. I really felt like I was in new york and I spent the whole time wishing I was there with my own best friend. The different perspectives were really fun and interesting, and I think it really did a lot for the two main characters to show their individual character arcs.

Overall, this was such a fun read to really lift my spirits. If you want a book to cheer you up, this is the book to check out!

Take me home tonight by Morgan Matson was an entertaining homage to New York City. I had never read a Morgan Matson book before and absolutely loved it. The characters were all differentiated which considering there was a decent size cast was done really well. Revisiting the different parts of NYC was a fun read since I do miss it very much. The concept of not having a phone these days was funny especially the way it was done with it getting run over by a train. The part with

This book is a really beautiful story about growing up, friendship, and adventure. It was so cool to see two incredibly tight-knit friends drift apart for a few hours and then come together with wholly different perspectives and attitudes. This book was filled with lots of humor, adventure, and joking but also a lot of emotional moments between family, friends, and just internal processing and development.

I was definitely swept up by the fast-paced mishaps in NYC and the hysterical segments about Teri's night. Honestly, I don't know what those were but I absolutely loved them! The writing style and contents of those segments were too damn weird and funny.

I didn't have particularly strong attachments to either Kat or Stevie but really, really loved their individual arcs and seeing their relationship with each other and the characters around them change. To be honest, I found both characters mildly annoying for their own reasons (mainly, Kat was kind of rude and Stevie was too passive) but was so happy to see them grow as individuals and as a unit.

The book takes place in a short timeframe but nothing felt ridiculously rushed. The pacing was perfect; there was enough action to keep me interested and keep the plot moving while still leaving enough time for some more quiet and vulnerable moments to happen.

Overall this was an enjoyable book. It wasn't my favorite from Morgan Matson but was a fun story about friendship, relationships, and adventure.

Loved the setting of this book. The story started out very slowly for me and picked up a bit over time. I think I had a hard time with getting over my initial impression of the book; nothing really happens the first 20 percent of the book and there really isn’t much character development.
Just the main character plotting how to lie to her parents so she can sneak off to NYC with her friend. I loved MM precious books and I missed the emotional depth she usually has. I do think the fun antics in this would appeal a bit more to a younger YA audience vs older.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

Take Me Home Tonight was my first Morgan Matson book, so I was really excited to dive in! I've heard wonderful things about this author their books, which is why I jumped at the opportunity to be a part of this blog tour. I liked that this story was about Kat and Stevie's friendship, and enjoyed seeing the two of them become closer friends by the end. They had to take different paths, but both needed to learn certain truths about themselves. There were just a few things that irked me about the book, which is why I didn't give it more stars.

I think Kat was a crutch for Stevie and vice versa. Stevie never wanted to feel like a burden, so she always said things were fine even when they weren't. If Kat was around, she wouldn't let Stevie suffer in silence, and oftentimes forcefully took charge of a situation. Stevie's coffee was made wrong? Stevie says it's fine, but Kat ignores her and has the barista remake the drink. When Kat is obsessing over a casting or wanting to run lines for a play, Stevie indulges her instead of telling her she's being insane. I completely understood Kat's dedication, but hated how consumed she was by one thing. She didn't allow herself to have other hobbies or a life outside of theater.

Of the two characters, I preferred Stevie. Her problems were more relatable and she was easier to tolerate. They both were incredibly frustrating characters, and it took the better part of the book for them to grow on me. I think losing each other in the city was a much needed wakeup call for them both. They may have initially jumped to the wrong conclusions, but their experiences helped bring certain aspects of their lives into perspective.

Unfortunately, I had to suspend my disbelief for this book to work. Everything that happened was either too convenient or too unbelievable. I can understand certain things happening unexpectedly (like running into someone you JUST met at a bodega later on). It wasn't likely to happen, but still possible. However, there were a lot of these moments peppered in throughout the book. Like what happened to Stevie after getting off the subway (super weird and not at all believable), or how they both kept running into people they knew in a city that was as unfamiliar as it was large. The characters were confronted with coincidence after coincidence, and everything seemed to work out for the best.

I also hated Teri's storyline and wish it didn't exist. We don't know enough about her as a character for her to have this strange subplot. What happens to Teri is totally unexpected and hits you in the face like a foul ball off a broken bat. It was as shocking as it was painful to read. I cringed every time we flashed to what was happening with her while Kat and Stevie were off on their separate life-changing adventures. It made absolutely no sense and wasn't even remotely realistic. I would say more, but I don't want to spoil anything for those of you who want to read the book.

I always struggle with books when I don't like the main character(s) or have trouble relating to them. Kat and Stevie were interesting enough to read about, and I also think the author captured their ages and level of maturity really well, but there was something off-putting about them both. They're still young and figuring themselves out, and I think that's what this book is really about. Kat and Stevie have an authentic high school friendship, one that grows and changes over time. They aren't the same people they were four years ago, but they're also not the same people they were yesterday. They both say things to each other that cut deep, but that are also true and come from a place of love. It's hard to hear sometimes, but I have hope for their friendship after the end of this book. They've both learned so much about themselves in a single night, and hopefully that means certain changes will take place in the future.

I absolutely loved Cary and all of his various jobs! However, there's a REALLY BIG spoiler for Top Gun, if you haven't seen the movie. I also liked Mateo (Matty) and thought his friends were funny. I would've enjoyed seeing more of them.

Did I absolutely love and swoon over this book? No. Was it an authentic portrayal of teenagers lost in New York City? Eh. Was it fun to read? Mostly. I may not have liked Kat and Stevie, but I do think they are characters people will be able to relate to (especially people around their age). Additionally, the formatting for this book was weird, but you get used to it. The random flashes to Teri (ugh), the fact that we only get Kat's perspective for the first part of the book and then randomly get Stevie's POV (though much needed), made this book feel unorganized and all over the place. Again, you get used to it, but you really have to pay attention the the chapter headers.

I honestly can't say whether or not I would recommend Take Me Home Tonight, because I don't have strong feelings about it either way. I didn't love or hate it, but did enjoy it enough to keep reading. You should see my copy of the book - so many sticky notes! Maybe I'll post pictures later, haha. If you've liked the author's previous books, you might like this one, but I don't have anything to compare it to. If you've already read this one, I'd love to chat about it. (★★⋆☆☆)

I have been enjoying YA lately, so when I seen this on @netgalley and the synopsis sounded super fun, I knew I wanted to read it! Kat and Stevie are 2 best friends who live in the suburbs of NYC, and they sneak away for a few hours of fun in the Big Apple! This was a pretty fun read! It was like taking a little trip to NYC! 2 friends, lots of entertainment, adventure, boys, animals!! It was enjoyable and I always love a book set in NYC!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy! All opinions are my own!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book for this honest review!

This book was super cute! I almost always enjoy books set in New York City, and this one was no exception. I especially loved the emphasis on Kat and Stevie's friendship, and how the two girls developed throughout the book. I even liked the romance, even though it wasn't the focus! Teri's subplot was also wildly hilarious. Overall, this was definitely a cute and funny novel, and I'd recommend it.

I’m not even going to sugarcoat it. Before you read this review you need to know I am a Morgan Matson fangirl. She literally has never written anything that I haven’t loved. (I even reread Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour and upped my rating!!) There is just something about her books that I click with. And that was even more the case with Take Me Home Tonight. And the more I am removed from reading it the more I find myself loving it. It was utter perfection!

Take Me Home Tonight is about best friends Kat and Stevie, both theater kids, but both with different personalities. When their plans change on a Friday Kat convinces Stevie they should go to NYC for the night. They’ll hang out and laugh and enjoy a dinner to celebrate Stevie’s birthday. Sure Kat had an ulterior motive for going but Stevie doesn’t need to know that. The most important thing is that they get back to Grand Central by midnight. Too bad the universe is working against them. Not only do they end up without their phones, they end up without each other. But a night apart may be just what they need to understand more about themselves and their friendship.

What a journey Matson takes you on in Take Me Home Tonight. On the surface it appears to be a story about two friends spending the night in New York without their parents knowledge. But the book is so much more than that. Stevie learns to standup for herself and to say how she feels. She learns that she is capable to be on her own without Kat. She can handle situations and not stand in the shadows. And Kat learns that not everything has to be about her. She doesn’t need to be in charge or front and center. She needs to think about others and how her choices impacts them. It is about 2 girls standing on their own away from each other and staring life in the face. Kat let’s go some of her control and finds magic in a boy she never expected. And Stevie finally says what she needs in her life. Each girl grows in the span of a night and it is magical to experience and it leaves you wanting more and more and more.

I don’t know if it is because I haven’t been able to go to New York in almost 2 years, or if it is the friendship aspect of the story, or the Morgan Matson character cameos, it is cameo heavy and I love it. Whatever it was, Take Me Home Tonight is right up there on the top of my Matson love list. It is a book that gets better and better the more you think about it…even the weird, whacky part (especially if you are a fan of 80s movies and you can recognize which one the whacky part is based off of). No matter what though, you need this book in your life. Actually you need all of Morgan’s books in your life.

This YA novel follows two-best friends-- Kat and Stevie as they sneak away from the suburbs to have a fun night in New York City. Their plan is simple: they'll see their teacher's play, eat dinner at a famous restaurant and have the best night ever! And with a plan like that, nothing can go wrong, right?

But they're barely in the city when they're plans get turned upside down. Between broken phones, a cute Pomeranian, family drama, old flames, cute boys, crashing a party and exploring the city's best museum, their night turns into way more than they ever expected.

I loved this book so much. If you're looking for a book that is filled with a fun adventure and gives you 90s movie vibes in the best of ways, this book is for you.. This coming of age book about two best friends will give you all the feels. From learning about themselves, their friendship, their relationships with others and their future, this book will capture your heart.

I'm officially a Morgan Matson fan!

Special thanks to Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing and NetGalley for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for an honest review.

I get frightened in all this darkness
I get nightmares I hate to sleep alone
I need some company, a guardian angel
To keep me warm when the cold winds blow
I can feel you breathe
I can feel your heart beat faster
Take me home tonight
~Eddie Money

Yes. I’m starting this review of Take Me Home Tonight with lyrics from Eddie Money. Why? Because if I’m honest that is the song that ran through my head throughout the entire book. Although, I did also have a little bit of Out Tonight from Rent in there too at a few different points due to the multiple NYC and Broadway references. So basically this book had everything that I love right from the beginning.

For those of you who may not be aware, I am a theater person. Specifically Broadway. My favorite place to visit is NYC especially if I’m going to see a show. It doesn’t have to be a new show – it can be a show I have seen multiple times (like Come From Away) – and I will always be hyped to go. So, when I heard that Take Me Home Tonight was a young adult book that involved two best friends who were theater kids and a NYC background, I knew I was going to be hooked.

Kat and Stevie are best friends but they are complete opposites. Kat is the outgoing, active, and driven one while Stevie has always been more of a background character never really standing up for herself. The two of them decide to sneak off to NYC for the night to celebrate Stevie’s birthday with a picture perfect plan. Except you know what happens with a picture perfect plans – they have a tendency to fall apart – and show you different adventures along the way.

What I really enjoyed about Take Me Home Tonight is the message about trying new things and not being afraid to expand your horizons. Kat and Stevie are at that point in there lives where they are trying to figure everything out and prepare for the next step in their lives. This can be a very messy time. You don’t always know the right answer right away and even if you do sometimes you have missteps along the way. I know I did! The important part is being able to take part in the journey of discovering yourself and accepting whatever it is that is ahead.

There are several laugh out loud moments in Take Me Home Tonight. I found the tone of the book to be very comforting. Morgan Matson knows how to write her characters and for her audience of choice. These characters are not flawless. And the fact that they make mistakes throughout this book makes them even more human to me. I also enjoyed the interactions with the secondary characters as well. There is a touch of romance, a touch of reality, a touch of forgiveness, and of course, a touch of shenanigans. And who doesn’t love a touch of shenanigans?

I really feel like Take Me Home Tonight is going to be a book that people are going to love. I could see this being put on the big screen – in fact, I would love to see it on the big screen – it would be so much fun! And I would love to see that themed dry cleaner service too! It really is a fantastic contemporary that is relatable for teenagers and non-teenagers alike. Go check it out!

Morgan Matson’s books are eclectic and magical and outrageous in the best way possible. I loved every storyline, all the characters, their journeys, and the way she masterfully tied them all up at the end. So much love for this book. I am quickly finding that anything Matson writes I want to devour. Her stories are sweet and delightful, like the best dessert you can imagine. Eat them up. PLEASE.

Thank you, NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

It was a bit of a slow start for me - not enough to throw in the towel because the characters and their bond kept me reading. Once the main characters got into the city, all the craziness was activated, I couldn't stop! It was laughing and cringing the whole time. Some of it was off the walls "that couldn't happen" but I think that made the story even better. Great read!

""I will absolutely be your John Cusack in this situation."
"Just no stalker-y boom boxes.""

A fun adventure read where two friends are driven to a journey of growth and self-discovery. Kat and Stevie are two very different people and in there life and rolls they constantly live in that works, until it doesn't. Kat is the goal driven, more out going, and take no blame kind of girl. Stevie is patient, always accepting the unacceptable, and never faces the things that trouble her in life.

"If your friend was complaining about their parent, you could agree and sympathize, but you could never criticize their parent without it being initiated. It was just one of the rules of friendship"

One night in New York changes both these girls forever. This book was entertaining with rotating POVs that kept the pacing very fast. I read this book in one day and enjoyed the journey. I definitely related to Stevie a little more then Kat and enjoyed reading her personal growth. However both were almost equally enjoyable.
I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.

This is my fourth book of hers; I can’t safely say that it wouldn’t be a Morgan Matson book without chaos, friendship, adventure, and dogs, and Take Me Home Tonight is no exception! I love her particular brand of writing that perfectly captures the in-transition-ness of young adults in all its beauty and awfulness. Kat and Stevie’s misadventure in New York City was so much fun to watch unfold. It felt like a love letter to the city and to the spontaneous moments that could only occur there. While I could have done without Teri’s chapters (they felt a little disjointed and jarring) I loved that she got her own adventure, too! I think the best way to describe TMHT is as a romantic comedy, except the love story is of best friends finding their way back to each other, which is kinda amazing and something I’d like to see way more of, please!

Morgan Matson’s latest work takes readers on a wild ride through Manhattan and elsewhere. Like Manhattan, the story is busy: it’s visual, constantly in motion. The bustling scenes happen so quickly and move on to something new, something equally outrageous and entertaining. Matson has given readers a modern slapstick comedy à la Bringing Up Baby with hilarious characters and witty dialogue that’s so smart and lots of fun.

The incongruous on the road scenes with Teri and the kids are just as extreme, if not more so. Readers may wonder how on earth these wildly different storylines could possibly fit together. But Matson makes it work through her careful, meticulously executed plot.

Matson also manages to weave in characters from her previous stories. Readers are offered brief glimpses into the lives of Amy, Roger and Lucien from her debut novel, which will whet the appetites of readers who enjoy following her works.

Besides the romps, Matson provides readers with thoughtful insights into fallen idols, self-knowledge, family relationships and friendship. This is an excellent work, and for readers like me, we’ll be on the lookout for whatever this talented writer produces next.

This book is one of the most fun reads I've experienced in 2021! It tells the story of two best friends from the suburbs who decide to embark on an adventure in New York City on their own, going to a play and dinner at one of the city's top restaurants. What could go wrong? It turns out everything, as the main characters soon find themselves without their phones and encountering a series of obstacles that seem destined to ruin their nights. As they navigate the (mis)adventure, learning more about themselves and each other, they begin to reconsider what they want out of their senior year and beyond.

This book is a terrific combination of an exploration of a friendship and an adventure novel. It makes good use of New York City, and paints a fun and interesting world through the supporting characters. I was rooting for both of the main characters, and also eager to see how their night turned out. Highly recommended!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book by Morgan Matson that I heard about through my TLA conference. This book is Adventures in Babysitting meets Serendipity meets High School Musical. Having a senior and sophomore in high school very involved with the theater program, so much of this book rang true and it was a delight to read and make connections while reading it. I loved the three story lines that were woven together and how you became so engrossed in one that you almost forgot about the others, especially Teri, until the book switched gears with "meanwhile back in..." and you remembered that she was having her own issues. I think this book is definitely geared toward a certain demographic but when that specific type of reader picks this up, they will love it from the beginning!

I adore Morgan Matson and her books. I think I've given her five previous books all five stars. I've reread all of them (save her before TMHT) at least once. I've been following her since her second books. Her books are a big part why YA contemporary and YA contemporary romance were my favorite genres for years, but this book...I thought was a mess. And that's me being nice.

I do want to give a slight disclaimer here, I'm an adult reading YA, I understand that these books are not written for me. Which is okay.

But a little part of me still thinks this book was written for me. I've been a Matson fan for at least 10 years. I've met her 3(?) times. I may not be the targeted audience, but I haven't been for her last three books. I still think I should have enjoyed it more. She also included an almost absurd number of cameos from her other books. This is something Morgan does, but in this one it felt overdone to the point that I was asking myself if every character the main characters ran into was someone from another book.

Some of the cameos made sense, we are following a theater lover in Stanwich where all her books take place. It would be natural for the other characters who are involved with theater to be mentioned or around. But, I thought it was too much.

All of Morgan's prior books are first person with one narrator (I think) and this one starts this way. I was wishing for Stevie's POV because Kat was a lot and it was very hard to like her in the beginning. When suddenly we get their friend Terri's POV? Terri stayed home in Connecticut and was their cover since they had to sneak into the city. Her POV came out of left field since she seemed to be a minor character and it is some sort of mystery plot? Then around 25-30% we get Stevie's POV. Kat and Stevie get split up pretty early into their NYC adventure, so we basically needed this POV, but I was happy to get it as it helped the story and Kat was easier to like in smaller doses.

First of all the Teri plot. This was unnecessary and I really did not like it. I honestly would say I hated this plot line. It did nothing. Terri was not important to Kat and Stevie's character arcs and tbh they didn't even seem like good friends. I ended up skimming these chapters at the end because they did not seem real. First of all, she is babysitting, and they get kidnapped, there is a CIA agent, and a scene with a gun. Look, I'm reading YA contemporary I DONT WANT THIS. WHY WAS THIS HERE MORGAN? WHO LET YOU DO THIS? In her other books Morgan has done things like having chapters from fantasy books etc, but this was way too much.

Kat just seemed and unbelievably clueless. There is a scene where she runs into a guy who is like "college is expensive got to work" and she is like "wow I had never thought about college like that". Which is dumb. Even when I was a senior and thinking about college, which was before I saw people on the internet calling to cancel student loan debt daily, I still knew college was freaking expensive. I knew I didn't have to work about paying for (most) colleges, but still ended up going to a school that was reasonably priced because IT STILL WAS EXPENSIVE AF. Saying a college student isn't aware of the financial implications of college is dumb and unrealistic.

First of all MM is known for her cameos so I get that there should be alot of them. I even really like the cameos in her other books. But, this was wayyyy over the top.

But, we get Beckett!! Emily (from SYBG little brother) AS A SENIOR!! Which made me feel okay af. HE is supposed to still be playing at the rock-climbing place!!! I did like him and thought this was cute.

Then we have Amy Curry. I adore Amy. Amy & Roger is my second fave MM book. I thought it was cool she was mentioned, but I really did not need it. AND THEN MORGAN MATSON RUINED MY LIFE AND BROKE UP AMY AND ROGER. THIS RUINED THIS BOOK COMPLETELY FOR ME. I already did not like it but I was growing to like the last 3rd ish BUT THEN THIS HAPPEEND. Can I ever Trust MM again??? NO WHO IS SHE GOING TO BREAK UP NEXT? EMILY AND FRANK??? Look I know most people don't stay with their HS BF BUT LUCIEN????????

Overall, this book disappointed me on many levels. It leaves me questioning how Morgan has written five books that I adore. She seems out of touch with her readers and teens of today. She tried something different here and it did not work. I'm scared to read another book by her because will she break up Taylor and Henry? Emily and Frank? Etc. This book was just ALOT and not in a good way. There were moments that I truly liked and thought were important, but they are buried under so much blegh that most people won't appreciate them. I do not know how this got published.

I say this again as a big fan of Morgan's. I am proud she wrote another book, but...who let her do this.