I love Casey McQuiston's witty writing style and I was so excited when she opted to set her newest book in NYC. What I loved most about this one, is the characters. Casey crafted such a believable friend group and I was completed invested in everything that happened with any of the side characters. I also loved the diner setting where August worked and often would crave pancakes after reading! While the romantic plotline required the reader to suspend disbelief, I found the story engaging and I was able to just go with the time travel aspect. The one thing I did not enjoy is any type of physical romance happening on the New York City subway because as someone who is forced to ride it often, I couldn't get past how gross that would be in real life.

Casey McQuiston knows how to write a book, folks. It feels almost impossible to express precisely just how ONE LAST STOP hit me, but suffice to say, their latest novel is a love story, a finding yourself story, a building a family story and a New York story. And it's brilliantly done.

I absolutely loved this book; initially, I had thought it would be difficult to follow up Red, White & Royal Blue, but Casey McQuiston absolutely delivered.

A lot of this book reminded me of my own time as a young adult, living in a major city and trying to make sense of the world and what I was doing; though by the time I read this book, I was already well on my way to having a stable Adult Job™ with Adult Responsibilities™, a lot of August's experiences resonated with me. Of course, I never met a cute girl bound to the subway, and more's the pity.

I could go on about the characters and the plot, but I assume everyone knows about that by now. This book is not RWRB, it's not a sequel, it's probably not even in the same universe, but it has the charm and heart as I'd expect from Casey McQuiston.

Also, props for the Wawa mention. Best convenience store.

I was offered an eARC of this novel by St. Martins Press through NetGalley.

I love Casey McQuiston's books! While I did not enjoy this to the degree that I loved Red, White, and Royal Blue, I can confidently say that McQuiston has a huge career ahead of them.

August and Jane are such memorable characters and they are supported by side characters that are just as dazzling and colorful. I felt that the plot lacked in some areas and the concept of the time-travel itself was extremely flimsy at best, but it was fun to suspend disbelief for the duration of this book and just enjoy the subway ride.

The romance is quite cute and the plot is extremely fun. I read this so quickly and was pleased by the ending. I can't wait to see what McQuiston writes next. I will be first in line!

One Last Stop surprised me. A book that looks, on the outside, like any contemporary rom-com set in NYC (but this time with two women) turned out to be touching, tender, and more innovative than many other books in the genre. Jane's dilemma of being stuck in time—a riot girl relic of the 1970s, trapped on the Q train in the 2020s—was an element I never expected to read in a book like this. I'm not sure if that's a flaw of the marketing, or if Casey McQuiston is simply smart enough to keep their cards close to the chest. August and Jane's connection is instant and delicious from a romance perspective, and the speculative elements of the plot are so compelling, I finished the book in one day. I especially loved the way McQuiston wove in details of 1970s pop culture and queer history, giving this book a sense of being part of a larger legacy of queerness that was delightful and important. I can't wait to see what fresh queer stories McQuiston writes next!

I swear Case McQuiston knows how to pull my heartstrings. This book is phenomenal and I love how both the timelines for Jane and August intersected well along wiht August finding out more about Jane. I also loved how their relationship grew throughout the story with their interactions and how the two showed their love and sacrifice for one another. Also I love how McQuistion not only highlighted the charms of New York City but also the incredible queer community.

A charming Sapphic romance with a time travel twist and many delightful and diverse side characters.

Bestselling author Casey Mcquiston returns with another love story. August moves to New York directionless. Another school, another major, a new place, all in an attempt to find herself. Her new friends are odd, but they toast her good energy. They get her a job and welcome them to their place, yet August still feels out f sorts. Rushing from her waitress job at Billy's to her first day of class, she spills coffee all over herself. At this point, she meets a beautiful girl who offers her a scarf. After several sightings on the Q train line, it seems like they have the same schedule. When the girl, Jane, balks after August asks her out, August is crestfallen. However, she soon realizes something far more mysterious is afoot.

The story is about a coming-of-age romance and finding your place in the world, even if that place is a person. TH romantic tension between August and Jane is intense (train stopping intense even). Mcquiston is a master of holding out moments for maximum impact. The mysterious part is also fun. Did August see Jane in a photo from when Billy's first opened in the 1970s? Is Jane a ghost? A vampire? And why does she never leave the Q line?

I enjoyed every component of this story. August's roommates and the LGBTQ community are loving and supportive. They are even coming together for a fundraiser to save their beloved Billys. The romance is very intense and beautiful.

A unique concept with an incredible found family and a sexy scene on a subway (alliteration at its finest) made One Last Stop such an enjoyable reading experience!

I loved August’s growth, the little bits of mystery threaded throughout, and Jane’s tender heart. I know the storyline might be a bit polarizing, but I really enjoyed the little bit of magic sprinkled throughout.

I had to DNF this title at 20% I’d really love to give it another go, but it was just not something interesting to me

Casey McQuiston is a new find for me. I am enjoying the writing and the content.
I look forward to reading the next title by this author.
Recommended for fans of light romance and LGBTQ

This was a cute, fun read. If you're willing to suspend reality and believe the unbelievable, you can really have a lot of fun reading this book. The characters were likeable and I was rooting for all of them. The outcome was pleasant and cute. I would recommend to those who are looking for a sapphic read.

Update: I gotta bump this down to a 3, I read back this review and I’m so confused because I couldn’t tell you a single characters name in this. And when comparing this to other 4 (and even 3) star reads, I don’t like this as much. Sooooo yeah. I won’t make a habit of editing ratings because I do like keeping my gut rating, but this one felt really off to me.

RATING - 4 STARS

<I> Hey, Subway Girl </I>

This really was a treat. I didn’t love the overall plot of this as much as RW&RB but I loved the characters just as much. I can’t lie, I’ve never been much of a friendship group gal, I’m all about the romance. And while I almost? liked this group of friends more than RW&RB - the romance just wasn’t everything I wanted it to be.

HOWEVER, I still really enjoyed this and especially as the plot progressed I was super interested in the sci-fi aspect of this novel.

Regardless, I highly recommend.

Thanks so much to the author, St. Martin's Press, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts. And thanks as well to Macmillan Audio and Libro.fm for the advanced audio copy. { partner } All opinions are entirely my own. All of my reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on my blog at tacklingtbr.home.blog

TW: homophobia, memory loss and cognitive issues, familial estrangement, familial death, grief, missing persons, implied PTSD.
Includes discussed or implied TW: Homophobic violence and hate speech, police violence, the AIDS crisis, racism, childhood neglect, arson

Okay, so after how much I loved Red, White, and Royal Blue I was both incredibly excited and also incredibly nervous to read this book! I was so excited to get more from Casey McQuiston, and I love a sweet female-female love story, and this one sounded so cute! But I was also trying really hard to go into this one with realistic expectations, so that if it didn't live up to RWRB I wouldn't be too disappointed.

So I am very happy to say that I absolutely loved this book! And the book hangover from this one was REAL. I was absolutely not ready to say goodbye to these characters and their lives. I would have lived in them for a good long while, believe me.

I will also say, I read the e-copy of this book, but after how much I was talking about loving it (and after watching me cry while reading the ending) my husband decided to listen to the audio format. I listened to a good portion of the book with him, and the audiobook is seriously delightful! The narrator is so talented - it sounded like an entire cast, and it was so easy to get invested and wrapped up in!

I would absolutely recommend this book to friends and readers, and honestly already have been for about a year. Yes, I'm catching up on quite a few reviews. So trust me when I say, I've been recommending it like crazy! I think that the perfect way to read this book would be on audio during a long commute. What better way to pass the time?

Even though I'm someone who doesn't love romance books, I adored One Last Stop! Casey McQuiston's second novel is fantastic

No real words, just feels. Okay, some words. Looked forward to this tremendously and it delivered. Loved every bit of it, can't wait to reread it just to experience it all over again.

Ooh time goes by and if i don't write the review right away...sigh. I'm trying to be better. The best i can do right now is give a star count...

I really enjoyed this book, but I am not completely surprised. McQuiston’s writing is easy to fall into, and even though this one took me a little longer to get into, I still really loved it. The ending was so asdfghjkl.

August is new to NYC, where she's sure that the city will prove her that the magical romances in romcoms don't exist. But then she sees Jane on the subway. Jane is everything that August is looking for in a partner, but it turns out that she's been stuck on the subway since 1970. August is willing to do whatever it takes to get Jane off the subway.

I was anxious to read this because I loved Red, White, & Royal Blue so much. While still compelling, One Last Stop fell short of that. The characters aren't quite as developed and lovable. I think the supernatural element took me out of the story a little bit, and just wasn't for me.

I wish I could put my finger on why this didn't quite work for me. Maybe I went in with my expectations too high: I loved Red, White and Royal Blue and I was so excited for McQuiston to put out a sapphic romance as well. Most of my friends -- people I share reading tastes with -- gave the book five stars. But I was able to put this down for four days after hitting the halfway point because I didn't feel compelled to continue.

Looking back, I think I found August a little unbelievable as a character. In fact, her whole group of friends made me feel more like I was reading a sitcom than a story I could really immerse myself into. I read plenty of sff and horror, so I don't necessarily need realism in my books but I do need to feel like the characters are real people and I just didn't get that here. I found myself skimming a lot throughout the second half of the book because I really just wanted to finish it.

That being said, this book still made me really emotional! That McQuiston can tug on my heartstrings in a story I'm not attached to is a testament to their writing. I had to put down the book at one point because I was reading during downtime at work and didn't want to cry in front of any customers. I think if I had read it earlier, I may have gotten along with it better so I would definitely take my outlook with a grain of salt -- especially because I'm in a clear minority.