From Pals to Wow: Catfish Tales That Tip the Scales

Christina Lauren's novels are fun.  Breezy and clever and steamy and sweet, these rom coms get right to the heart of romance.  And now I count 2018's My Favorite Half-Night Stand as one of my, well, favorites.

Millie and Reid have been friends for years.  They're both professors at UC Santa Barbara; Millie is a criminologist with a focus on female serial killers (so don't mess with her!), and Reid is a neuroscientist.  Millie is a hoot but closed off, whereas Reid is introspective and -- holy grail of men -- in touch with his emotions.  Three other academics round out their Y-chromosome-heavy circle: earnest Chris, sexy Alex, and never-quite-grew-up Ed.  Which is just fine with Millie.  As a tomboy with no female friends, she feels at home with "her boys" and their antics, right down to a running gag that involves gifting Chris with rooster paraphernalia.

Then one drunken night, Millie and Reid end up in bed.  As if this doesn't throw enough of a monkey wrench into things, the five friends sign up for a pricey but vetted online dating app called IRL to find plus-ones for an upcoming gala.  Millie adopts a fake persona in an attempt to weed out the creeps (of which there are many, even in this Cadillac of matchmaking platforms) and discovers that she's 98% compatible with none other than, you guessed it, Reid.  Under the guise of her made-up moniker Catherine (chosen because it's her middle name, not because it sounds like "catfish," which she thinks is "just a show on MTV"),  Millie feels free to open up to Reid in ways she can't in real life (pun intended).  Reid is instantly hooked and finds himself falling.  Still, he doesn't know whether to pursue this "new" woman or Millie or Daisy, the buxom bimbo (hey, it wouldn't be a rom com without one!) with whom he also matched on the app.

Is a mistaken identity plot a little contrived?  To be sure.  Yet Christina and Lauren (for this is a writing team) deftly craft theirs to reveal the depths of their characters, so I gave it a pass.  Plus, as a sucker for friends-to-lovers tropes, getting-to-know-you love letters, and sweet and nerdy (but still cute!) male leads, I triple-hearted My Favorite Half-Night Stand.💖💖💖