My Favorite Half-night Stand by Christina Lauren
Leave a commentJune 24, 2019 by kissandtellbookblog
Friends to Romance by Christina Lauren
Stand Alone Novel
Book Boyfriend: đź’‹đź’‹đź’‹đź’‹
Reid is a catch to say the least.  He’s your typical nerdy professor on the outside but a fit, sexy stud underneath.  Reid cares about his friends and is searching for someone to connect with emotionally.  He has his pick of women but none of them really do it for him because he’d rather work than spend time with them.  Reid is married to his job until the right lady comes around that he’s more passionate about.
Strong Female Lead: đź’‹đź’‹đź’‹đź’‹
Millie is a fiercely independent woman with brains and beauty.  Her closest friends are four dudes who also are professors at the local university.  Millie keeps people, including her friends, at arm’s length because she doesn’t want to get hurt again.  She is hilarious and quick-witted while oblivious to matters of the heart. She would be a fun friend for sure!
Plot: đź’‹đź’‹đź’‹đź’‹
I feel like this was your run-of-the-mill friends-to-lovers storyline but what made it a four was the funny banter and personal connection to the characters.  So many storylines are overdone but this one was better than average. I appreciated Millie’s strong, independent woman persona and how that impacted her ability to get vulnerable.  It was very relatable which helped me connect with characters. That is one of the most important traits I look for in a book because I love the impact a well-created character can have.
Steamy Factor: đź’‹đź’‹.5
There’s always steam happening in a Christina Lauren book but this one was more subtle.  There are definitely steamy scenes but the “romantic” relationship takes place mostly via text and they are just friends in “real life”.
Overall: đź’‹đź’‹đź’‹đź’‹
This was a care-free, fun book to read.  It was your typical friends-to-lovers storyline with a little Christina Lauren flair.  I always find their books to be light-hearted and witty – this book was no exception. It was an easy read and well written.  I personally enjoyed the online aspect because that’s so relevant to today and completely true about being able to be more vulnerable via text than face-to-face.
Book Summary from author:
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.
