My Favorite Half-Night Stand

If you’ve read my review on Autoboyagraphy you will have heard me singing Christina Lauren’s praises-actually two best friends who have been writing novels that top the charts together for years. You will have heard me herald in the wonderful characters of Autoboyography, the story line, the plot, the depth, the humanity, the pure and utter bliss that I found in a truly stunning novel. 

    You will not find me saying the same things for My Favorite Half-Night Stand (a title I can never even remember to be honest-was it half? One? favorite?). 

    The book was not bad. It has the same easy fluidity that Autoboyography has, the flowing dialogue, the mentality of write-what-you-know. But where Autoboyography shined brighter than a dazzling star, My Favorite One Night Half Night Stand (or whatever) gleams dully like a dying candle you got from Dollar Tree. 

    Now, I’m a big proponent of liking the book, not the author-meaning that just because an author has written one good book once does not guarantee they will do it again and vice-versa. This could not possibly ring more true for Christina Lauren. I was really excited about this book, a novel I was reading for a bookclub actually, and franky, in more ways than one, it was a huge let-down and I’ll explain why. 

    First off, the characters are unlikable. I say that specifically because they’re not necessarily bad characters, but I DON’T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THEM. In no way did I find them interesting, engaging, or any other way intriguing. I found them to be the cloying fatale of every cheap paperback romantic cliche. The whole novel I felt like Christina Lauren tried so hard to make them interesting and complex and cool and they just ...weren't.

More often than not, I felt like the authors were trying so extremely hard to output amazing characters and make me love how interesting it was that the main character Millie was into female serial killers and bad at emotions and liked Monopoly and it all fell flatter than bookmark I wasted on this book.

Okay, so those words are pretty harsh, but genuinely, it was as if Christina Lauren went on a random generator online that spit out likes and dislikes and hobbies and randomly attributed them to each of the characters in a failed attempt at creating dynamic characters. 

    Second off, the plot was nonsensical. Here it is in a nutshell: Millie sleeps with her out-of-this-world-cliche-Edward-Cullen-perfect platonic male best friend named Reid at the beginning of the book, which they like to tell you a million times is super weird and crazy for them, like OMG how could that even happen, continue to sleep together periodically (one time at his parent’s house-ew).

Then they both join dating apps in an attempt to meet people and get a date for a ball that doesn’t matter and Millie has the brilliant idea to make a fake-not-fake account under the name of Catherine (her middle name, how sly) and matches with Reid and while she knows they are connecting on an emotional level they never have before in person, they connect unbelievably well online and holy cow, she’s in love. 

    Meanwhile Reid has no idea that Catherine is actually his best friend Millie because he’s an absolute imbecile even though he’s somehow a professor at UCSB and is also apparently blind because he cannot even recognize that it is his best friend in the photo since it’s black and white which apparently completely distorts people’s faces and bodies and features. Okay.

And if you can’t see the ending coming a mile away, it essentially follows the classic formula of them continuing to sleep together (which, let’s be real only works well in fanficiton), ignoring their feelings of love, connecting online, Millie being a dick, and then being together in the end after a quick round of sex, as they do. 

    Yup, that’s the whole thing. If you think the plot is tired and ridiculous and recycled you would be right.

    You might be asking-are there other characters? Friends? Family? Other love interests? Yes, yes, and yes. Do they matter? Absolutely not. I don't even know why Christina Lauren bothered to add them as they matter that little to the plot and the other characters. 

    Now, that I’ve gone over most of the reasons that this book will be ripped to shreds when I show up at my poor friend’s bookclub (they won’t even know what’s coming), there are good things like I’ve mentioned. Christina Lauren is very good at writing funny situations, entertaining scenarios, and witty banter.

It is by no means a difficult read. Everything about this novel screams easy, an easy read, an easy predictable ending, and easy characters that you could have made in your sleep. Oops, this was supposed to be the positive section. Oh well. 

    Overall folks, this book isn’t good. If you hadn’t caught on by now, there was nothing to this book that made it an outstanding or worthwhile read. If you want something light and easy and slightly annoying and very forgettable, than this might be the perfect book to check out at the library for you. Otherwise, I would highly recommend you read other novels from Christina Lauren and pretend that this one doesn't exist. 

Recommendation: Imagine that Christina Lauren has only written one novel and that novel is Autoboyograpy, pour all your love onto that book and then move on. 

Score: 4/10