This book by Casey McQuiston, who most people know from Red White and Royal Blue, is like a foodie-travelblog mixed with second-chance romance.
Kit and Theo meant to go on this foodie tour through France, Spain and Italy 4 years ago but broke up on their way there. The vouchers they got are about to expire and when they meet on the bus, having both decided to do the tour at the same time by coincidence, they try to get along and find their friendship again and maybe more?
For me, the pacing was a little slow but then I am not that interested ingastronomic/travel reports.
If you love travel and local foods and second chances on both friendship and romance, and a foreign conquests contest, this book is for you!

(2.75 but I compared it with other books I had rated 2 and 3 and it was just so hard to place. I have read worse books that I have apparently given a 3 apparently but also much better books that I have given a 4*. So just take the ratings with a grain of salt)

I want to say big thank you to NetGalley for this ARC first. Since this is an unreleased book, I will put the entire review in spoilers. However, I am trying to keep it as few as possible but as with anything, you read at your own risk. I do encourage people to also read books and make their own views and assumptions instead. If you are excited about this book, do not read or get clouded by my review ❤

It's a bit hard to write this review because I realise I might be in the unpopular opinion. I really wanted to love this book. I loved Red, White and Royal Blue. I DNFed One Last Stop. I am pretty sure I am going to enjoy I Kissed Sarah Wheeler. So when I heard about this book - two bisexual exes, Europe, food and wine - I immediately knew I had to read it. It just sounded too be good to be true.

Which unfortunately, it was. It had it's strengths and enjoyable parts but the execution of it all just didn't make it up for me.

The story is about two people, Kit and Theo, who were once a couple and broke up. They meet again on a food and wine tour in Europe and decide to have a little competition on who can sleep with the most people during this tour. You can guess who they'll end up with in the end...

It started well and fun. I enjoyed the introspection, the first meetings again, the fascination with Europe, food, wine and people, the bantering, the emotional longing and so on. This continued on and on and on until frankly, it became a bit tiring. This book doesn't hide that it isn't European. It is very much a tourist postcard. In fact, at first it was endearing but then it just got really annoying. You know how you at first think "aww, that's so cute" when you first see romanticise ideals of culture and people? And then when you get those views constantly pushed into you that "this is French. This is an Italian. This is what a Spanish person acts like. This is how a Swede speaks (apparently with ü)" you realise just how harmful and prejudiced these stereotypical views actually are.

I wanted romance with culture and people. What I got was two horny white Americans who seem to think the world revolve around them and absolutely EVERYONE wants to bone them, packaged with European stereotypes.

Yeah no thank you.

And that's just not covering the whole romance aspects. This is a friends to lovers to exes, second chances kind of romance. I unfortunately had a hard time sympathising with Theo, a person born of wealth and fame (nepotism?) but filled with anxiety because they want to make it on their own without their friends and families help. I did love and enjoy Kit. He was sweet, kind and just so infatuated which you could actually tell. I often felt sorry for him and how he was treated. To make it even worse, the trope miscommunication is so strong and heavy in this. So many situations and emotions could be saved if they just actually communicated properly. Sadly, this just soured things and by the time they got together, I wasn't squeeing or giggling with joy. I was just thinking "finally" with relief. And the last 50-100 pages I honestly just want to forget. It had all started all fun and cute but I ended up just wanting to finish it as quickly as possible.

I did however think the biggest and strongest scene in this book was Theo coming out as non-binary. This scene makes the whole book. Not the romance, not the food and wine tour but this. I wish it had more. I wish I would have loved this. I think, if Casey had been given more time and done more research and not written the last pages of this in what felt like a hurry, it could have gotten better.

I sincerely hope others will enjoy this book more and will appreciate Theo and Kit's relationship and horny escapades in Europe. And if you do read this, do make sure to have a cup of wine or pastry together because if there is one other thing this book does well then it is to make you want to drink and eat. However, the book itself just wasn't for me.

I really wanted to love this book, and I did enjoy it but ultimately I didn't feel a connection with it in the same way as I have with Casey McQuiston's other books.

As always, the writing style is generally easy to read and flows well, the dialogue is in large parts witty, and we hear from a plethora of side characters (although I found a lot of them forgettable). Theo and Kit are messy, human characters, but they can be hard to root for at times. And if, like me, you're not someone who particularly looks for a lot of sex scenes, a general air of horniness, and the main characters wanting to sleep with almost everyone they encounter who is even vaguely attractive ... well, maybe this isn't the book for you. On the other hand, if those are your thing, maybe you'll love it.

3.5 stars

I savoured reading this book like a fine wine. In this absolutely gorgeous novel, McQuiston takes us on a decadent European food and wine tour, chock full of incredible sounding food, alcohol, and characters to fall in love with.
This book was utter perfection for me. I can’t wait to reread it in audio, too.

Two bisexual exes accidentally book the same European food and wine tour and challenge each other to an international hookup competition to prove they’re over each other. And they are over each other, right?"

I absolutely adored this book. Everyone's so effortlessly chic, horny and beautiful. Kit and especially Theo, could have easily come across as pretentious but he's incredibly loveable and gentle. Yes, they're very privileged individuals, but they're also complicated, a tad self-destructive, passionate, incredibly endearing and undeniably witty so I could look past this.

The Pairing is genuinely funny too, although I would have appreciated it if the supporting cast of characters were fleshed out a little. They seemed a little one dimensional and were continuously objectified. That being said, the way the scenery, sex and every crumb of delectable pastry is described was perfection.

It's hard to describe The Pairing other than in terms of how it made me feel. I read the last quarter in a bath heaped with lavender, and - just like this book - the combination was decadent and delightful. There were more sex scenes than I would usually enjoy, but also so much heart. As always with McQuiston, this was a book which made me laugh out loud, and made my heart unfurl. I adored the full cast of characters - all of whom, even those who appear only briefly, felt fully realised. As well as being chock full of humour and emotion, there's a huge sensory aspect to this book - it made me pine for summer and the feel of sunlight and sea salt on my skin, and also inspired me to add some interesting choices to my next wine subscription box. I had a brilliant time reading this, and can imagine revisiting it in its own season, with a pastry and appropriate drink pairing in hand!

Of course I was very excited to get to this one, and as soon as I got approved on NetGalley I devoured it!

The Pairing has all of the drama, emotions and romance of a classic romcom, but with the characters, depth and humour we’ve come to expect from Casey McQuiston. There were laugh-out-loud moments, there were emotional ups and downs, and a larger than life cast of side characters.

The book switches perspectives half way through, and while at first I was dubious, I quickly changed my mind! It came at the perfect point in Kit and Theo’s story as well as their individual arcs, and allowed for us to really see them from each other’s perspectives, complete with blind spots. I loved both characters, and I loved seeing not just their growth across the book, but flashbacks to how they were a few years earlier as well.

I was completely hooked from the first page, and by the end my partner was second-hand hooked too as I was giving her constant updates as to what was happening! I was so invested in what was happening that I was desperate for every opportunity to pick it up and read some more. Honestly, this book became my entire personality the whole time I was reading it, and will probably remain that way for a while longer.

I received a free copy for review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'The Pairing' by Casey McQuiston.

It's official, I've finally found a Casey McQuiston I like. 'The Pairing' is McQuiston's latest Adult Romcom is a fun one that features travelling. With 2 bisexuals as the leads, this romcom occurs when our leads - Kit and Theo - accidentally booked the same food tour around Europe. To make things worse, they are exes of course and the breakup wasn't exactly a nice one. With a charming writing style and great side characters, even if you've never found love in McQuiston's works before it's worth giving this one a go.

This is the second book I read about this author. Even if I like the nonbinary and bisexual representation, the plot of the book was rather predictable, and the pace was slow at times. The story is very descriptive when it needed it. Nevertheless, the pairing of Theo and Kit was quite appealing, and I like their journey.

As a fan of Casey McQuiston's previous work, I eagerly dove into "The Pairing" with high hopes. However, I was left feeling underwhelmed and ultimately disappointed with this novel.

First and foremost, while McQuiston's writing style is still engaging, the plot of "The Pairing" felt incredibly boring

Additionally, I found the pacing of the novel to be inconsistent. There were moments where the story dragged on, and others where it felt rushed and underdeveloped.
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I felt like I didn't get to know Kit and Theo as much as characters from Casey's other books.

After having read and loved all other books by Casey McQuiston so far, I'm rather surprised how little I enjoyed this one. I'm sure there are plenty of fans of hers that will love "The Pairing", but unfortunately it didn't really work for me.

It started off hilariously with McQuiston's characteristically fun writing style and humor. I was so sure I would love the story, that sounded really appealing in theory, but it lost me along the way, inbetween protagonists that I couldn't warm up to and way too many descriptions of food, art and wine snobbery, that just felt pretentious.

Despite being really excited about the bi and nonbinary representation at first, the two main characters just fell so flat for me and generally every character lacked the endearing and approachable qualities I have grown used to from the author's other books.
I was very put off by the main character's stilted, weird interactions that I couldn't really relate to. In fact I didn't feel any kind of genuine connection between any of the characters. Everybody was basically just characterized as super hot and super horny all the time and defined through their passion for one particular thing they were really good at best. There was so much objectification directed towards everyone. It was uncomfortable to read how almost every side character seemed to be mainly defined through the sexual attraction the main characters felt towards them, mainly by looks alone. Also way too many casual emotionally detached hook-ups that they didn't seem to really be into.

Plotwise there wasn't much going on either. The main story is rather predictable generic romcom slop and other than that it was just going from one place to the next without leaving much of an impression on me. I've been to almost all the places they visited during their tour of Europe myself, but none of the descriptions really managed to resonate with my personal experiences and authentically express the vibes of those cities. Maybe I'm just not enough of a foodie for this book? It also doesn't help that I don't like wine and don't want to jump every attractive looking person I see, so these particual brands of hedonism were lost on me, I guess.

Mainly I just missed the heartflutter, the feeling of comfort and connection and somewhat being seen that I got from the books. Going by the other reviews I've read so far it seems like I'm in the minority with my opinion, so probably it's just is my personal preference towards what I'm looking for in a story and its characters.

I’ve read all of Casey Mcquiston’s books so far and this is right up there with the others.

Kit and Theo embark on a cross-Europe tour four years after a breakup at the start of the exact same trip. And to prove just how over each other they are, they add in a hook-up competition. Sex, heat waves and the bliss of a foodie adventure across a continent - what could possibly go wrong?!

Theo sounds like an absolute dream, and I loved growing with them throughout the book, as the trip became less a journey through the tastes of Europe and more a gender journey, which was both surprising and entirely inevitable, to the reader, to Kit and to Theo themself.

Kit on the other hand comes across as a pretentious, Rilke-reading wanker and I wanted to slap him a bit. Ok, a lot. But each to their own!

The only slight let down for me in this book was that I didn’t jam with the supporting cast quite as much; in Casey’s other books, the friends and family are so well written and round out the narratives so you feel like you’re spending time with friends. This was missing for me in the Pairing, but as the characters are on a bus with people they’ve just met, perhaps this is understandable and was a choice by design so you focus on the MCs instead.

Kudos to Casey Mcquiston for also getting in the pinnacle of British slurs, by having a character call someone an absolute fucking wet wipe in the first few pages. Thank you for understanding our culture.

This book appeals to all of the senses. It is a delectable read!

The Pairing is about two bisexual exes, Theo and Kit, who end up by chance on the same European wine and food tour, years after their breakup. This trip was one they were going on together while still in a relationship, but ended up breaking up on their way there. This book is definitely about the pairing of Theo and Kit, both romantically and as friends, but it is also very much about harmonizing food and drinks and the game both played with that all the time, as Theo is a sommelier and Kit's a pastry chef. There are so many incredible descriptions of food from each place they visit on this trip.

This book is also very much about gender fluidity and their sexuality, and I loved that aspect of it as well. It's very descriptive in various scenes, but I think this suited these characters and the story. Without giving any spoilers, I loved that the author seemed to avoid gendered descriptions of the characters at the start of the book because it added to the characters' journeys dealing with their queerness.

If you're looking for something similar to Red, White & Royal Blue, this is probably not the one for you, but I'd say this one is even better. The author's writing felt much more mature in this one.

Thank you very much to Macmillan and NetGalley for this e-ARC!

I do understand why some people might not like this book. But it IS exactly what it described itself to be. It’s a story about two bi exes going on a European food and wine tour, eating and drinking a lot, and sleeping with other people as a way to distract from their feelings for each other. And – in my opinion – it does all of that excellently.

It’s a gloriously slutty, richly descriptive book that’s clearly been very well-researched, and it made me want to quit my job and open up a restaurant despite me having none of the skills required to do so. But I will also settle for just sampling some of the amazing food that’s mentioned in the book.

I will say, I wasn’t a huge fan of the switch of POV half way through the book. I get why they did it, but I still think I’d have preferred the chapters to alternate so that it feels less jarring. And the side characters could also have been more developed for my tastes. We never really got to know anyone in depth, and there were times when I felt like they were caricatures rather than real people. (That being said, I was obsessed with Fabrizio by the end.) Theo and Kit were also both extremely privileged. There were moments where it was hard to root for Theo and their ‘I’m too proud to accept a large amount of money from my famous family’ plight.

So, to conclude, this book is for: people who love good food and drink, hedonists (or people that enjoy reading about them), anyone who’s been looking for a beautifully handled exploration of gender and fluidity, anyone who enjoys reading about messy people, people wishing for some sun, and people that enjoy reading about hot people thoroughly enjoying themselves in any way they can.

I adored this book and would like to immediately book a trip to travel around Europe! This feels quite different to Casey McQuiston’s other books while still maintaining the elements of their writing style that I have loved before. The dynamic between the two leads characters was great and the descriptions of the wine and food left me wanting to be there with them!

This is, without doubt, Casey's best book yet. They're an author that grows with every book and I am OBSESSED with The Pairing. The break up of the story telling through each character, the YEARNING, the humour and the love just jumps off every page. I wanted to step into this book and I will be billing Casey for the European holiday I am now looking to book. The Pairing is the perfect summer read and they deserve all the accolades!

I was hooked on the 'will-they-won't-they' aspect of The Pairing and just had to keep reading to find out if Kit and Theo would ever stop pretending they were both still madly in love with each other. Throw in Europe, delicious food and lots of wine and you have a great read.

Thanks netGalley for an advanced copy.

i have always loved casey mcquiston books, her ability to write about queer characters in such a way to make people realise that love has no gender ... review to come

The slow burn, the queerness without it being about coming out or homophobia, the consent in every sexual encounter, the timeline. I loved this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC of this book.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I loved the characters and their dynamics, though Theo and Kit's relationship and communication skills did annoy me a bit in the middle. The humour was a lot of fun and the writing was lyrical, with lots of vivid imagery, especially with regards to the things the characters tasted and smelled (which made sense, one's a sommelier and the other's a pastry chef). I loved the bi-for-bi relationship and the non-binary representation too, I think they were well done.