My Favorite Half-Night Stand

Lauren’s delicious newest standalone rom-com (after Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating) captures some of the perils of online dating by focusing on the alternating points of view of Millie Morris and Reid Campbell, two members of a small, insular group of friends who work at UC Santa Barbara. After the two of them enjoy the titular sexual encounter, Millie, using a half-obscured profile picture and her middle name, matches with Reid on a dating app. The two friends wind up entangled in an unexpected sexual and romantic relationship in the digital realm that threatens to destroy their offline friendship. The majority of the novel is told in prose, but text messages, group chats, and emails sent through the dating app solidify the world that Millie and her friends live in and shows the steady deepening of the romance between Reid and Millie’s alter ego. This is a messy and sexy look at digital dating that feels fresh and exciting. Agent: Holly Root, Root Literary. (Dec.)