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

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.