“The Pairing” is the new novel by Casey McQuiston, a queer rom-com that follows the story of Theo and Kit, two bisexual exes who haven’t seen each other for four years and accidentally end up booking the same international food and wine tour. Trying to cope with their bad feelings about their breakup and to prove themselves that they’re over each other, Theo and Kit decide to start a hookup competition. However, it doesn’t end how they’ve planned.

Okay, this book was legitimately so funny? I can’t even explain how much it made me laugh in some of its parts. Just, here me out. I think this is not Casey McQuiston’s best work. Due to personal tastes, I’m still loyal to “I Kissed Shara Wheeler”, and sometimes I found “The Pairing” repetitive and excessive. In this book there were so many scenes about sex and talking about sex, and even though it was all good written, I couldn’t enjoy it at its fullness. Again, I say this because of my preferences, but I sure that for someone who likes some good old spice its quantity won’t be a problem (also due to fact that Casey McQuiston’s writing is exquisite).

“The Pairing” could be read in one sitting. I could have finished it in one day if it weren’t for my job. Maybe the first part of the book is slower (maybe I perceived it slower because Theo wasn’t my favourite character and the first part of the book is focused on their POV). Still, once you start reading you can’t put the book down. It is so entertaining.

Theo and Kit are two well written characters, and I came to this conclusion because, while I was reading their POVs, I could see that their thoughts and behaviours were distinct from one another. Theo’s journey is about affirmation and forgiveness (apparently forgiveness for Kit, but actually for themselves), while Kit’s journey is about learning and loving everything that surrounds him with a passion. I liked Kit more than Theo (sometimes I found Theo annoying. Still funny, tho). I also liked that Theo’s gender reveal wasn’t the very center of the story. I found their (second) coming out to Kit sweet and in-character, and I loved how it was treated so normally. It must be one of my favourite scenes in the whole book.

Side characters, on the other hand, seemed less memorable. I couldn’t get myself to grow attached to any of them (Fabrizio was the closest one to be able to enter my heart, but, I mean, he IS Fabrizio).

If I’m being honest, I don’t know if I liked the book finale. At some point, I was surprised with a spectacular plot twist and I thought that Theo and Kit’s story was going to end in a certain way (AND I WOULD HAVE LOVED EVERY BIT OF IT). I think it would have been a meaningful ending, even if sadder than the actual one. But, alas, if “The Pairing” ended like I wanted it to end, I’m afraid we wouldn’t have got a rom-com.

Overall, “The Pairing” is approved!

I was provided with an ARC of this book from the publishing house via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

I have been a Casey McQuiston fan since the release of "Red, White & Royal Blue" in 2019. I read every single novel that they put out in one breath, and still, "The Pairing" was an incredibly surprising read to me.
In all of their previous work, McQuinston introduced us to the beginning of love, the vibrant emotions and excitement that come with meeting someone and slowly uncovering every piece of them. They were a film of which we only get to see the beginning of.
"The Pairing" is drastically different because at its core, we not only have two people who already love(d) each other, but we have two people who already broke each other's hearts and trust.
Initially I was not incredibly eager to read Kit and Theo's story, as I believed nothing could ever make me root for a second change after heartbreak (still don't think it'd apply to me, ever), but McQuinston paints love in such a beautiful and radical way that one cannot help but excitedly turn every page.
This fourth novel reads like the queer summer movie we need, one that serves us a mix of "My big fat Greek wedding", "Letters to Juliet" and the Lizzie MacGuire movie. Every flavour that Kit and Theo taste, every bead of sweat they walk through, every breezy beach town they stop at is clearly felt through the pages to make the reader see it so clearly.
If I have one downside to this novel to present, is that I always loved McQuinston's talent for writing amazingly compelling and funny side characters that every queer reader would die to be friends with, and in "The Pairing", we do not really have that, not in a substantial way. We meet side characters, we like them and then they're left behind as it sometimes happens with new acquaintances during our travels.

OKAY.

This book is so ludicrously horny that I'm convinced the writer threw any attempts at plot out of the window just so they could write more fucking and food scenes. And I slogged my way through almost half of this book before calling time of death on the whole thing because this is TERRIBLE. And I say this as a person who loved RWARB, but then...hasn't liked any of their books since.

'The Pairing' has an interesting first couple of chapters, but every time I picked this book up, it felt like I was wading through golden syrup. Everything was so slow, so overwritten, so dull! It's deja vu reading every chapter with no sense of movement in the plot - new location, snip snip snip, bicker, suddenly everyone these two characters ever meet wants to fuck them, emotions about their past, next chapter. FOR HALF OF THE BOOK. And then, I began to feel like things were moving very quickly considering we were barely halfway in and it did THE WORST THING POSSIBLE: it switched POVs. The first half is from Theo's, the second from Kit's and as soon as it turned, I gave up. Because I have sacrificed too many hours reading one horrifyingly boring story to go back and read it all again, this time from another person's bloody perspective.

The characters are entirely one note and irritating and ultimately, too much of the author's energy has been spent on writing endless descriptions of food and drink and talking about the most innane, unimportant things that have zero relation to the plot of the book than have actually been spent on crafting a decent novel that a person might not want to throw into a pond. I'm angry I gave up so much time slogging through this - it was not worth it.

I honestly feel quite sad to be reviewing this so low because I only request books on Netgalley that I genuinely think I'll enjoy so when I don't, it's really disappointing.

But to summarise, my main issue with this book was the way the trip was written. I love the concept of two exes going on a food and wine tour across Europe together... beautiful locations, learning about history and culture and food together... romantic summer vibes a la Call Me By Your Name. But in reality what I got was an Americanised view of Europe, so cringe worthy it had me guessing whether the most Casey Mcquiston has ever seen of Europe was a Pinterest pin board. I felt similarly with the way Mcquiston wrote England in RWARB but this was on a whole new scale. I beg they actually spend some time in the countries they're writing about before they try and write another book like this.

Furthermore, the stereotyping was truly horrendous and the side characters all came off as such bad caricatures I couldn't take any of them seriously. Like, what was up with every local person they met immediately wanting to shag both of them??? It was totally ludicrous and not in a fun way. I also think it leant into the stereotype of bisexual people being promiscuous which... yeah.

And onto the main characters themselves. Whilst I enjoyed having a n/b main character (as this is still reasonably rare) it would have helped if they weren't so deeply unlikeable. Theo was the definition of a whiny nepobaby who seriously needed to grow up. I swiftly realised I actually didn't care whether the main characters got together or not but frankly, they deserve one another if only to keep the rest of the public safe from having to date them.

As I said at the start, this was a really disappointing read for me and lacked any of the warmth of Red White and Royal Blue.

Two stars because I liked the concept and if you've never been to any country in Europe, it might be tolerable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC.

Casey McQuiston's new book, The Pairing, should come with a warning label:

CAUTION - This book could cause you to impulse book a holiday to Italy.

I mean I didn't but, after reading this book, my god did I want to!

Meet Theo and Kit, two twenty-something exes who have, rather awkwardly, found themselves on the same incredible food and drink tour of France, Spain, and Italy four years after they were supposed to take the tour as a couple; the journey to which led to their breakup. Eeek!

I would call myself a Casey McQuiston fan. Red, White & Royal Blue is probably my most re-read book ever (although my re-reads of Ali Hazelwood are quickly catching up); I thoroughly enjoyed One Last Stop and Shara Wheeler but nothing has captured my heart like RWARB. Out of Mcquiston's books so far, The Pairing has definitely come a close second.

It's not often that I read a book and want to be friends with the characters in it, or could actually see myself liking these characters in real life if they were real. I adored Theo and Kit. Even at their most self-destructive or self-sabotaging they were still incredibly likeable. McQuiston writes them in such a way that they both leap of the page and feel so completely real. I particularly loved and found Theo's attitude to art so refreshing - I just like to look at it too!

The Pairing is a dual POV book, starting with Theo's for the first half of the book and later switching to Kit's. While I've made it clear that I love both Theo and Kit, I have to admit to enjoying Kit's half of the story a little bit more. What can I say? I'm a sucker for a character that's head over heels but doesn't want to say anything for multiple reasons.
Whilst on the subject of Kit, I've read a few reviews where people have criticised the fact that Kit is clearly based on/inspired by Timothée Chalamet. Personally, I love Timothée Chalamalabingbong so I didn't have any problems with it but, if you're not a fan, it might irk you a little bit. I'm also a massive fan of Call Me By Your Name and could definitely feel it's influence in this book.

As well as Theo and Kit being the main characters, so are the locations and the food. I'm not a foodie and I'll confess to being a picky eater; I wanted to eat and drink everything (well...almost everything) described in this book. Sign me up for the tour! The descriptions are decadent and sumptuous and I could picture them vividly in my mind as I was reading. There definitely needs to be some sort of read-along or book club created where you get to try all of the dishes and drinks whilst reading.

If you want to travel to France, Spain, and Italy without leaving the comfort of your home with some messy bisexuals, then this is the book for you!

I really enjoyed this book, I was a little surprised by the characters as having heard little bits previously, they weren't who I expected them to be but that wasn't a bad thing at all. It made everything even more interesting. To see how a miscommunication could change the course of two people's lives and tear them apart, but fate brings them back together in the best possible way. The characters having learned so much about themselves in the time apart, but during the travels of this book continue to learn about each other and more of themselves. Of their enduring love for each other, never quite believing they could be what the other needed or deserved for one reason or another. The two main characters really were perfect together, some feuding, turned to friendly rivalry and competition leading to renewed love and it was truly a beautiful journey to see unfold. The cast of side characters were also brilliant, so many of them I would happily read books about their own escapades. I want to know the whole story of the Callum's! I want to see Fabrizio the tour guide but also the son and husband, how he becomes the character he is. They all had such depth, life and love to them that you cared as much for them as you do for Kit and Theo. I'll be honest, there was a point where I thought the book was going to disappoint me, but thankfully that didn't happen. The stress did have me on the edge of my seat and unable to stop reading though, so the author did something right there! I didn't want to stop reading this book (though sadly sleep meant I had to at times), because I was invested and I wanted to see how long it would take Kit and Theo to realise all the things they had to. Definitely a book worth reading. Solid 4.5 stars

2 stars

I'm sad to say this was not it.
This book lacked heart.
It was in one word: boring.
This is the tale of two bisexual/pansexual messes. One is a whiny nepo baby, by the way, and the other one... everyone wants him apparently, eventho he has no real personality(?) He's just hot and oblivious.
This book was very repetitive. They travel wine and dine and then ... talk and talk and make innuendos and talk a bit more. And that's it. The romance... it was a mess. These two had no chemistry. I got the "we're besties" part but romance? Not really. Also, the fact that the second chance part was fixed off-page? LOVED IT! *sarcasm*
This is sadly my least favorite book from CM, and that's a shame because I was so excited about it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5⭐️

I was so excited to read this book and it’s not that I didn’t enjoy it but I didn’t enjoy it as much as other Casey McQuiston books. Theo and Kit’s story was so sentimental but was beginning to get repetitive. This was due to the references and the wine descriptions and food descriptions. There was so many references to sex and everyone was basically hot and horny. I’m not a fan of wine so maybe I wasn’t the best person to read this.

I want to preface this whole review by saying I went into this with a fully open mind despite my lack of luck with Casey McQuiston's previous releases. (RWRB was okay, I skimmed my entire way through One Last Stop, and I physically couldn't get past page 20 of Shara Wheeler.)

While I have disliked some of their books before none of them have ever disappointed me quite like this one did. But before I get to the parts where the story fell flat on its face I want to talk about the places where it worked. (but rarely excelled)

I like Casey McQuiston's writing, I know people have different opinions on them, but I find that their writing is never the part I enjoy the least, which must account for something. There’s something to be said about it being nothing spectacular but I want to give credit where its due.

I, for the most part, also enjoyed all the wine and pastry talk when it wasn’t horny to an ungodly extent.

Also, Kit was a pretty inoffensive character that I found almost as interesting as a piece of rye bread. Which is the extent of everything that I’ve enjoyed.

Now onto the parts I hated

I DESPISE THEO. The first half of the book is from their perspective, and you can do nothing but just suffer your way through, hoping it would end, which it thankfully does. I am someone who quite enjoys unlikeable characters, especially when they’re the protagonists. So, my problem with Theo wasn’t that they were unlikeable, it was that they were insufferable. Early on into the story you learn that their entire family consists of famous directors, actors, and they’re the Chet Hanks of the family. Which could’ve been so interesting to explore if only they had any real problems. Theo’s family is meant to make you feel sympathetic towards Theo’s struggles with keeping their part-time-back-of-a-Volkswagen bartending gig off the ground by refusing money from their multimillionaire sister when it does the exact opposite. Multiple times throughout the story Theo’s sister offers them an obscene amount of money and each time I found myself wishing Theo would just accept the offer so that we could be done with hearing about the bride with the custom cups and everything else that I can’t remember right now because I was busy willing myself through the end of the paragraph.

Oh, also WHAT happened to books having believable side characters? You mean to tell me that the entirety of Europe wants to fuck these two random nobodies at every stop of the trip? They just get off the tour bus and there are multiple people trying to hump them in every corner like we’re in some “Sexy Locals in your Area just 3km away” ad on a dingy movie pirating site. Don’t even get me started on the tour mates… Calling them side characters would be an exaggeration when they’re side caricatures at best.

I guess in an attempt to gather my thoughts without dwelling on the more on my personal critisms what perplexes me the most about the story is that I can’t decide if this is a labour of love or not. The characters (by that I mean just Kit and Theo) seemed liked they were carefully crafted with enough attention to their backstories and personalities until a certain point where they were just given up on. All of the growing and maturing they do happens just off the page with us only reading about the aftermath. We’re told to believe that they’re still so in love with each other when all we’ve shown is how much they want to jump each others’ bones. The characters don’t come across as 28 year olds with their constant miscommunications and stupid bets. They’re still stuck in the ages they were when they broke up, with non-developed frontal cortexes. (The telling-and-not-showing part might just be a problem with second-chance romances in general but I have no way of confirming or denying that since this is the only one I’ve ever read so this can be taken with a grain of salt.)

SO

In the end I’m not mad that I read this and I want it to be known that my dislike for Casey McQuiston's work is not for a lack of trying.

Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Theo and Kit used be to best friends, crushes and lovers. Now, they are just estranged exes after a fight on a flight to Paris to start their European food and wine tour. The fight was several years ago and they have finally to make use of the voucher or the money will be forever gone. When Theo boarded the tour bus as one of the last participants, they didn't realise that Kit would be there as well. Three weeks through Europe, visiting three countries that are deeply connected with delicious food and wine, but also with love, passion and romance: France, Spain and Italy. Of course, they are fine with having to do the tour together - they are over each other. They are so over each other that they have a competition to see who can hook up with more locals.


My experience with McQuiston books is a mixed one: 5 ⭐ for Red, White and Royal Blue, 4 ⭐ for I kissed Shara Wheeler (despite unlikeable characters), and 2.5⭐ for One Last Stop. So, on average: 3.8 ⭐ for her books. I did not expect another 5-star read but the book's summary made me think "ah, yes I think I will like it". Fun fact: by ~20%, I realised how much I dislike the book and I wish it would have become better instead of worse. By ~50%, I just resigned to my fate of forcing myself through it to finish the eARC.

The Pairing is an extreme case of "expectations vs. reality". I did expect a second-chance romance where two male lovers realise, while touring through France, Spain and Italy, that they still love each other. The reality is that it is an over-sexualised book with copy-paste parts from food and travel blogs, and with two bisexuals (1 non-binary and 1 cis but both are white) main characters as lovers. The entire book gives me #EuroSummer vibes because it is an over-romanticised view of Europe. As a European who knows some stops from the tour: yes, they can be beautiful but every description of a town/city sounded as if McQuiston was never there and just read three travel blogs (that tend to glamourise their trips to France/Spain/Italy) before copy-pasting those descriptions into the book. Right now, I'm a very tired European. Europe is not a theme park, guys!

As for the over-sexualisation: every character is portrayed as bisexual/pansexual and is down to fuck after meeting Kit/Theo for a second. Every character is either young and beautiful or older and attractive (e.g., Émile as a salt & pepper billionaire who is a bisexual yacht owner who wants a threesome). Everything is so beautiful that it makes characters horny/makes them think of sex. Likely, I am by far too asexual to understand it but why do allosexuals look at food and think "oh yes, I want to fuck now"? The fact that everyone wants constantly sex (to the point that a foursome/orgy is going on with 4 - 5 side characters) makes the entire book so vapid and pointless. I hated it. My best friend received several voice messages of me ranting about the book and how much I hate it. Please, do not get me started on the fucking peach scene ... it will haunt me forever.

Concerning Theo and Kit: I hate them. Theo (actually Theodora) is a non-binary (playing with the concept of being trans) bisexual who is a nepo baby and the definition of "woe me" who acts like the victim despite being the one who is responsible for the bullshit. Their part is the first part of the book and I hated every second of it. When they are not horny and try to fuck someone/Kit, they describe alcoholic beverages in extensive terms that mean nothing to someone who doesn't drink but they all sound like they come from a pretentious food blog. Their struggle with being a nepo baby (as their parents and siblings are famous) is basically "I act like I am poor because I cannot accept the help of my family to start a business". I can understand it that they don't want to accept money from their parents but their sister offered it multiple times, no strings attached, as a loan or an investment into Theo's business idea but they keep saying no because "I do not want to rely on my connections". If I would be able to meet Theo in real life, I would be like "Theo, fuck you. Your family loves and cares about you. Stop acting as if you have no options and need to be poor/do everything on your own when your family would help you to start your business. Not everyone has such a good support net!" because they are insufferable as fuck. Kit is also a nepo baby and his part of the book, the second part, is slightly more acceptable than the first part but I might think like this because it was easy to skip due to extensive scenes of: sex, sex, sex, architecture/art described in food terms, Kit being whiny about how much he loves Theo, sex. Both of them are vapid and their main characteristic is "being horny". They are so horny for each other and other people, it does not even occur to them that someone wants to spend an evening with them as a friend.

As for the side characters: they are not developed. If they were removed from the book, the book wouldn't be any different. With each chapter, the tour group becomes smaller or there are suddenly side characters that have never been introduced. Fabrizio feels like a caricature of a tour guide/an Italian.

As for the romance: I do like second chance romances when they are well done in terms of emotional development and growing to realise "Ohh, it's always been you". Unfortunately, The Pairing is a horrible case of second chance romance as the emotional development of falling in love again (or realising the "Ohh, it's always been you") happens mostly off-page as McQuiston considered never-ending sex scenes as more important. All I know about their romance is that they function well when it comes to sex but have zero ability to actually communicate with each other. Their fight on the plane that led to the break-up? Happens because of bad communication and a lack of communication afterwards. The only positive scene in the entire novel that concerns their relationship is Theo's coming out as non-binary to Kit and Kit easily accepting it because "you are bigger than one gender", and from there onwards, Kit uses they/them for Theo. (Previously, it is she/her and other characters consider Theo as female as well.)

Spice level: 3 🌶️

TW: alcohol consumption, graphic sex scenes, death of parent, difficult parent-child relationship, toxic relationship (bullying of each other, it is a kink for them)

Tl;dr: A romance book with two vapid, two-dimensional main characters who want to fuck everyone but especially each other, who are extremely entitled nepo babies who do not realise their privileges while they fuck their way through an over-romanticised portrayal of France, Spain and Italy where everyone and everything is down to fuck with them. The research that went into the book feels just as vapid and as if the author read 3 - 5 travel blogs and food blogs. Harmful portrayal of bisexuals who want to fuck everyone (plays into "they see prey, not people" stereotype) to top everything off.

Theo and kits story is another amazing one from Casey!

The boys are find themselves back together after a few years after a breakup to use a tour voucher before it expires

And hilariously this one is a funny spicy read.

The plot was really good and easy to follow the characters are lovable I believe this would make a great movie!

Absolutely adored this. Horny bisexual chaos AND deliciously gorgeous descriptions of the places and food Kit and Theo encounter on their big European adventure. Great cast of supporting characters too (three cheers for the Calums!) and of course all the places are supporting characters in their own right. I loved that McQuiston wrote just as loving and luscious descriptions of dive bars and family restaurants as of the famous art and museums.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy

To be chosen as an ARC reader for The Pairing is a dream come true for me! I love Casey McQuistons books and let me tell you, this one did not disappoint me either!

The Story follows Kit and Theo, childhood friends that become a couple and later broke up on the way to their culinary bus tour through France, Spain and Italy. 47 months later, shortly before the voucher is about to expire Theo decides to use it and do the tour by herself. Surprisingly she wasn’t the only one that had that idea because Kit, her Ex, is also on the bus.

To describe the book, it is a Bisexual summer romance that has all the cliches, people say about Bisexuals in it.
It’s a book about finding yourself in your twenties and growing into your person.

This is the first book I have read that has a Non- Binary MC and Casey McQuiston did the transition beautifully. Because in the beginning of the book you don’t have that information yet.

I honestly loved this book so much and felt so seen. I felt all the emotions and laughed so much. Not gonna lie, there were also some tears. The ending is bittersweet and perfect! I can’t wait for it to be summer and read this book again!

Spoilers ahead.


It's difficult to review this because while I didn't hate it, I am starting to think that romance books aren't for me really. I'm quite a direct person and spending a whole book with characters who fanny about not telling eachother stuff really annoys me. I do like fluffy, silly love, but I don't like drama, especially drama that could be so so easily avoided.

Also. Turns out sex wagers irritate me too? That seemed like a pointless plot point, and even within the story it just sort of fizzled out?

I also think I just enjoyed RW&RB so much that this wouldn't live up to the same standards. At least, though silly and chaotic, the drama of that is sort of political and media based, whereas this book it was all just based on nothing. And then when they finally (spoiler) do say how they feel there's a random few pages where they mutually agree to end it all again! Needless.

Again, I'm probably just the wrong audience. I might just need to stop trying with all out romances. Though I may have to go and book a European tour and quit my job...? :)

Thank you for the ARC.

I’d like to start of by thanking netgalley and the publisher for granting me a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own

I literally audibly gasped when I got the email I was accepted for this arc. Casey’s debut ‘’Red White and Royal Blue’’ is the very book that got me back into reading after I refused to even get near a novel for close to six years.

So you can probably understand I was just itching to get my hands on this one and oh boy am I glad I did!

The book started off in Theo’s pov and somewhere halfway in the novel it switched to the other main character’s pov, whose name is Kit. I gotta be honest I struggled a bit with the switch, cause I was pretty attached to Theo and had gotten used to being in their head. Don’t get me wrong I still massively enjoyed Kit’s pov and I’m glad we as readers got his side of the story but the change felt a little abrupt to me and I found myself mourning the loss of Theo’s thoughts and reactions to certain situations.

Other than that I literally flew through the book and found myself wanting more (i’m sorry but the ending of the epilogue?? Evil). I just really admire the way Casey handled topics such as change, gender identity and growing apart and then growing back together. I recently found out when done right, i’m a massive fan of second chance romance so Casey definitely hit all the right buttons for me.

While I definitely loved both main characters just as much, I can’t help but feel extra fondness for Theo. Especially their view on their gender identity felt like they just took pages out of my own diary, I felt so SEEN. And ahh just the way, that even in your late twenties, you can still have no idea what you’re even doing with your life is just very reassuring. It’s never too late to just get up and change your life around.

Can’t wait to force my friends to read this one :)

Theo and Kit have been thru so much together. They went from childhood friends to in love and ended up as estranged exes after a brutal breakup on the way to Europe. Years later both of them have found their footing, Theo works as a bartender and is an aspiring sommelier. Kit graduated from pastry school and is currently a baker at one of the finest restaurants in Paris. It’s been four years since the breakup and the voucher for the European food and wine tour is about to expire. Letting that opportunity go to waste isn’t an option, a nice trip alone would do them good. Imagine their surprise when they board the bus only to find out both of them had the same idea and are stuck together for three weeks.

OMG. I didn’t think anything would ever match up to RW&RB but Casey McQuiston has done it again. Prepare to be swept off your feet and taken on a journey with this extremely emotional, funny and sensual novel.

Theo and Kits story is captivating, they’re so lovable and quickly stole my heart with their wit and undeniably chemistry. Their long history brings a complexity and depth to the story which made me as a reader so invested in the characters respective journeys. They’re here, they’re queer and I’m so here for it. The other characters they meet along the way, in different cities and in the tour group are also amazing.

The dual pov is one of the main points that stuck out to me. I’m so happy we got both of their stories from their own viewpoint. And of course the journey throughout Europe, all the beautiful scenery, delicious food and drinks.

This is easily one of the best LGBTQ+ and queer romance books I’ve ever read. Trust me when I say this is one of the must read romance novels of the year!

Everything happens for a reason.

It was everything I wanted it to be.
I really enjoyed the duel narrative and it felt fast paced without being rushed.
I think Theo and Kit might, just be, my favourites and I’ll recommending them to everyone.

This is a sweet, hot second chance romance between childhood friends and former lovers, a soon-to-be sommelier and a French patissier on a romp through southern Europe filled with food and flirtation. The voicey-ness of the prose was delightful. The food was divine.

I think this will have a narrower audience than some of McQuiston’s other books, for a couple of reasons: it frequently reads like fanfic (affectionate); the main characters hookup with other people (their relationship is still the central point of tension while the hookups are happening, but I know some people don’t like to read anything except the couple with each other); the second chance aspect means there’s quite a bit of their love story that happens in flashbacks or off-page altogether; Theo has hang-ups about being the kid of rich, famous parents and ‘making without their money.’ None of these were a problem for me, so I enjoyed it.

The things that did bring it down for me were the lack of a strong supporting cast I’m used to in the other McQuiston books I’ve read, and the fact that what we do get of a supporting cast are largely stereotypes. I once again feel sorry for Italians for the butchery of American authors.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Pairing is a globe trotting romance novel starring exes Kit and Theo. Unsure how to handle spending weeks together touring around Europe, they decide to have a competition to see who can hook up with the most people. As one might expect, this leads to complications for both Kit and Theo.

I am a MASSIVE fan of Casey McQuiston's debut novel, Red, White and Royal Blue, so I was quite excited to see what else they had written. Unfortunately, I am slightly disappointed with this book. It felt like such a departure from what was so good about RWRB (I am not saying that they should only write about Alex and Henry or only write about certain types of people when I say this) moreso it lacked a strong and engaging plot and likeable, fully fleshed characters you actually want to root for.

Whilst the descriptions of all the different locations were very engaging and painted a pretty picture, I felt like I was reading an adaptation of a day time travel tv show featuring two slightly annoying characters with first world problems that I just didn't really care for. The side characters felt more interesting and fun to me (shoutout to the Callums and Fabrizio) I do appreciate a will-they-won't-they story but with Kit and Theo it felt dragged out for no good reason.

This book feels extremely modern in tone, vocabulary and references so there will definitely be an audience that will enjoy this book a lot more than me. I do respect the safe spaces that Casey McQuiston creates for LGBT+ readers in their novels but with that aspect put to the side I really think this book was overlong and lacked a truly strong plot and narrative.

As much as I have loved this authors previous work, I did not vibe with this at all. I don't know if it was the lazy bi writing or if it was how a lot of the second chance element was done off page and it was extremely frustrating