One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston shares an intimate third-person, present tense style with her first, wildly popular novel Red, White, and Royal Blue. I really like her voice and the tight focus she brings to her sympathetic protagonists. I especially liked the cast of characters in this novel, and would liked to have seen more of Wes and Isaiah's story. They all might seem to be misfits in the wider world, but they are perfectly suited and integral to the core community they've built around themselves, and I think it's really quite lovely.

There are things I didn't like so much. First is the time-travel element, but if you're going to write a time-travel/stuck in time romance, then this was as good a way to do it I guess. It's just not my particular jam, and you can't really hold that against the author. Niko's psychic ability seemed like a shortcut way to get the story moving sometimes...like, how can this information come out? Just have Niko conveniently blurt it out. That was a bit deus ex machina adjacent for me.

There is also a huge plot hole (unless I missed where it was explained. I was reading on a Kindle, so I find it super hard to go back and figure it out):

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August, the heroine, carries a pocket knife that belonged to her uncle before he disappeared in the early 1970s. August's mother has most of her own and all of August's life looking for this uncle, but his letters to her were hidden by their parents because he was gay, so she never knew what happened to him and never heard from him again.
Jane, the other heroine, was roommates with August's uncle in New Orleans, after he left home but before he (presumably) died in the UpStairs Lounge arson attack.
What jogs Jane's memory into remembering her time in New Orleans is seeing August using this pocket knife that she remembers the uncle using.
How did the knife get from August's uncle to August's mother if she never heard from him again after he left home and Jane only knew him after he left home?

ARC graciously provided by #NetGalley, opinions my own.

This book is a bit of FF romance with some magic on the New York subway thrown in. I really enjoyed this book. The characters were fabulously developed and the pace was good. It has lots of interesting LGBQT character in it. What a great story.

WOW! Just WOW! Another wonderfully written, heart stopping, can't put down novel by Casey McQuiston. I immediately fell in love with ALL the characters, and the setting of New York City - it was a win from the start!

August has never found a place where she belongs. She finds home in New York City, with roommates she has never met, in a city too big for her, taking the subway daily for work. All things start to come together for her when she meets Jane, a punk rock lesbian stuck here from the 70s. She is everything August wants but can't have.

As they try to unravel Jane's mystery, and make her permanent life here and now, she begins to feel a part of something, and something more than just herself.

One Last Stop was an engaging and entertaining read. I wasn't quite sure was I was getting into when I started, but I have to say I really enjoyed the supernatural time travel aspect of the story. I read this book in one sitting, not wanting to put it down until I knew what was going to happen with Jane.

August and Jane were both compelling characters. August moves to NYC, trying to find a home for herself away from her mother and the baggage that entailed. She's not expecting to find Jane, the girl lost in time. Not fully realizing what's happened to her until August comes along, Jane's been stuck for years, on an endless loop on the "Q". I really liked how things kind of came full circle, as they worked to send Jane back to when she first got stuck. I thought the two of them together were so charming, I liked how August opened herself up to Jane.

I also really loved the secondary/side characters, the little found family they created and how welcoming they were to August. That's something she really needed in her life.
I was of two minds with how I wanted this story to end, and would have been happy with either one, but I am glad things worked out the way they did.

Thank you NetGalley for this early copy of One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston. After reading Red, White and Royal Blue earlier this year, I was so excited to see this author had another book coming out and even more excited when I got approved for an early copy. I loved this book!

August and Jane are the main characters and adorable! I loved seeing their relationship progress and trying to solve the mystery of Jane and how they were going to save her. But, what I really loved was the supporting cast of characters. I want them all to be my best friends! While this is a love story, it's also a book about found family, self-love and expression, and exploration into queer communities both present and past. One Last Stop is a heartwarming, hilarious, and entertaining book that I recommend picking up ASAP. You won't regret it.

August Landry has come to New York to either lose herself or find herself. She hasn’t decided which one yet. She only knows that the city somehow makes her feel less alone.

Thanks to her brash and lovable new roommates, she quickly lands a job at Pancake Billy’s so she can avoid becoming the poster child for starving students everywhere. She’s even getting the hang of the NYC subway system.

On her first day of class, everything that can go wrong does so in spades. She’s injured, tired and drowning in spilled coffee The last place that she expects someone to show her compassion is on the Q. But a girl names Jane gives her a scarf and a smile that upends her entire universe.

Every day that she finds out more about her Subway Girl, the more mysterious she becomes. August discovers that the universe is far more vast that she ever thought – and that love can truly hold it all together.

“She picked New York because she thought it would be every bit as cynical as her, just as comfortable killing time. She thought, honestly, she’d finally land somewhere that felt like her.
And it does, a lot of the time. The gray streets, people with their shoulders braced against the weight of another day, all sharp elbows and tired eyes. August can get into that.
But, dangerously, there are people like Niko and Myla and Wes, and like Lucie and Winfield and Jerry. There’s a kindness she doesn’t understand and evidence of things she convinced herself weren’t real. And worst of all, for the first time since she was a kid, she wants to trust in something.
And, there’s Jane.”

I began this book thinking that there was little chance of Casey McQuiston topping her amazing 2019 debut – Red, White & Royal Blue. Oh how fabulously wrong I was!

With One Last Stop, she strikes that rare balance of heartbreaking and hopeful with real precision. It’s a story that you just don’t read, you immerse yourself in it. From the unconditional warmth and acceptance of August’s newfound friends to the soul shattering longing and love that she shares with Jane – the words become feelings. And this book feels a lot like finally coming home…

I’m a sucker for any sort of time travel plots, and I really did enjoy the beginning of this. But after it’s revealed that Jane is a 1970s punk relic stuck in a subway car, the book just kind of spins its wheels. Also, I think the book is just not relatable for anyone over 25. The main character and her fabulously diverse “found family” are way more boring than their author realizes. I simply didn’t care to find out what happens with Jane. The author gave me no reason to.

I’ve read both books by this author (One Last Stop being a sophomore effort) and while I do feel there is improvement, many of the same problems persist, primarily smugness being prioritized over crafting an interesting plot. I won’t be back for a third helping.

ONE LAST STOP is an adorable, queer, supernatural, insta-lovey romance, and if even two of those 4 things appeal to you, you should give it a go.
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August Landry is as cynical as a 23-year old can be. Newly arrived in New York City, she hasn’t found a place worth sticking around since her deliberate disengagement from a mom who was her only family in the world, but too obsessed with the past to ever be truly present. Even landing a room in a Brooklyn apartment with odd lovable ducks for roommates and an unlikely job at a pancake diner can’t change her stance on things like belonging and ownership. But that hot girl on the Q train? She just might.
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To be honest, adorable and insta-love are among my least fave features in a romance. But McQuiston kept me reading with the girl-out-of-time element (a brand of “soft weird” that you don’t see much), and her ragtag band of chaotic queers charmed the pants off me by the end.

Read this one for the furious joy of found and fought-for family, an homage to the richness of queer communities past and present, strikes back against gentrification, and sapphic love. It’s out today if you’re looking to kick off Pride month with something sweet!

Thanks to @stmartinspress @netgalley and @librofm @macmillan.audio for the advanced copies.

🌈❤️Love is love. Love is love IS LOVE when it’s between two girls trapped in different time periods via a sci fi time warp. *sigh* I so appreciate the originality of this story.

The premise of One Last Stop is so unique, and all the characters felt genuine. - August recently moved to New York and is trying to find her way. She’s in a strange stage in her life, trapped within her own cynicism, when she steps onto the New York subway one day and meets Jane, the girl of her dreams.

Jane is a gorgeous, leather clad, converse all star wearing, cassette tape listening girl...from the 1970s. She is somehow stuck riding the same subway in strange time traveling circumstances. Everything changes the day she meets August and they begin sharing their daily commute. Then it’s fate from there. -sweet serendipity. ✨

This star crossed lovers story was so great. As expected, Casey McQuistin had me laughing and smiling throughout the book. I adored Red White & Royal Blue and this one lived up to my hopes.

I loved the NYC setting and history portions, I loved the banter, I loved the supernatural aspect, and I looooved the LOVE story that develops against all odds. So special. So cute.

THIS. BOOK. IS. MAGIC. Every sentence Casey McQuiston writes sparkles. This book is a love letter to queerness and found family. You don't have to be part of the LGBTQIA+ family to fall in love with August and Jane, but for me personally, this book affirmed my existence. I see a lot of August in myself: her anxieties and fears, being a baby queer later than she'd like but being brought under the wing of a whole amazing, queer family. And Jane Su, my book girlfriend. Jane, fiery, dazzling, fierce, the power to make anyone fall in love with her, and only the lucky ones get to see her softie side. Jane and my partner are SO similar that I got to relive falling in love with my partner in reading about August falling for Jane - so Jane and Casey, thank you endlessly for the beautiful experience reading this book brought me.

There is so much more I could say about this book that has completely stolen my heart, but I'll end here for now: READ THIS BOOK AND TRY NOT TO FALL IN LOVE.

This author has been quite popular with another entertaining rom-com publishing today. Readers can relate to August, who moves to New York City and falls in love with a beautiful girl on the subway. She is determined to meet this girl, Jill, who is somehow stuck in the 1970s. Clever and fun plot.

I tried to go into this book with no expectations, but to be honest, I was more than a little nervous. I knew the story was about August meeting Jane on the subway in NYC, I knew there was time travel involved, and I know that I can count on one hand the number of books I've read with time travel because it is not for me. But! This is Casey McQuiston so I took a deep breath and just dove in.⁣
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In a surprise to no one, the writing was phenomenal. The dialogue was witty, the experiences were laugh-out-loud funny, and while this is the love story of August & Jane, this was also the love story of a found family, & the love story of feeling at home for the first time in a city that can easily swallow you up and spit you back out.⁣
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It did drag a bit for me in the beginning (again, time travel is not my thing), but once I got about halfway through it gained momentum, & I was reading whenever I could to see what happened next.⁣
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There was so much covered in this book I can't possibly do it justice in one post, but since Jane was from the 1970s, she brought a whole new dimension to seeing people on the subway. She was amazed to see gay couples and she talked to August about all the different activistim and events she had participated in. (I have some more nonfiction reading to do about a few things mentioned as well).⁣
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There are so many things that make me smile from this story - it was simply...wonderful!⁣
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"It's annoying, because Jane is just a person on a train. Simply a very beautiful woman with a nice-smelling leather jacket and a way of becoming the absolute shimmering focal point of every space she occupies." ⁣
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Happy pub day, 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘱!⁣

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

Thank you to @stmartinspress for the eARC and @librofm for the ALC. One Last Stop is available 6/1!

Casey McQuiston has done it again, solidifying herself as one of my absolute favorite authors. One Last Stop is nothing like her debut novel Red, White, & Royal Blue when it comes to the plot, but it has just as much heart, features lovable characters, and it’s wonderfully and unapologetically queer. This book has a little bit of everything:

found-family
heartwarming friendships
mystery
romance
time travel
drag queens
pancakes

This book squeezed my heart and wouldn’t let go. It was the perfect read to kick off Pride Month, and - rightfully so - I’m sure One Last Stop will be the next big thing on bookstagram. Pick up a copy as soon as you can and fall in love with August and Jane.

It took me a while to get into this. The story is written in third person limited point of view, revealing lost and lonely 23-year-old August’s thoughts and feelings in narration that often feels like a stream of consciousness. But as I adjusted, I fell in love with these quirky characters.

The plot is fun, with multiple overlapping mysteries to solve, multiple couples navigating love, and a beloved community gathering place to save. But what I love most about this book is the emotional tone. If magical realism and romantic comedy had a queer lovechild, it might feel like this.

One of the themes of the book is finding the place and the community in which you belong, and my favorite scenes are sweet, funny depictions of August and her friends forming a family. For me, this was the literary equivalent of comfort food.

Thanks to St. Martin's Griffin for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley, which I volunteered to review.

3.5 stars! This was a really fun book! The characters were amazing and the cast diversity was so refreshing. I was a little let down by the storyline - it was not my favourite but it was quirky and kept me engaged enough to keep going. I think this will be a hit for a lot of people. It would make a great summer read! The narration of the audiobook was really great. Overall it was enjoyable and I recommend giving it a try!

Thank you to the publisher and @netgalley for providing a free advanced copy of this book & audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the eARC to read and review!

One Last Stop is an enchanting, unforgettable story that takes your heart on a journey where two lost souls find themselves and love defies the laws of time at every stop.

I didn’t expect this story to go the way it did. One Last Stop is more than it appears on the surface the same way the mystery surrounding Jane is. The romantic suspense was high but doesn’t overshadow all the other parts that makes this story so beautiful.

August and Jane are amazing main characters and super relatable. The lack of true family connections, of a place to plant roots, have left them feeling lost, almost going through the motions of living and never quite fitting in wherever they wandered. In that, I felt a profound kinship to August and Jane.

August has vehemently wanted out the quote unquote family business of helping her mother find her runaway brother. So I was surprised by how quickly and eagerly she latched onto solving why Jane - a punk-rock style queer Asian girl from the 1970s - is stuck on the Q train. Yet I kind of get it because of the kind or person Jane is.

Jane is a bright, shining star. She’s colorful, kind, effervescent and funny. Her presence draws you in and once within her orbit you can’t help but feel happy or loved. I don’t think she realizes just how great of a person she is and how much of herself she’s left on people, places, and time.

Really the entire cast of characters in One Last Stop are amazing, endearing, dynamic, and diverse. August’s roommates are so chill and made me smile a lot with their antics and freeing way of life. August’s co-workers at a pancake diner are tough on the outside but inside they are so much more that it’s hard to describe. I want to be friends with all these people who are so supportive of one another.

Of course, this story isn’t without its share of heartaches. There’s how much of a toll Jane being “present” has on her. The life Jane and others have lived prior to the start of this book. The hate towards LGBTQIA+ community and the resentful disappoint some of the characters have experienced. And ultimately how time hinders the growing love between August and Jane.

I had some trouble getting into the story and really feeling something for what was happening. It felt slow going, as if the story could have been wrapped up much earlier. In hindsight, the story was fully told and what took place made the plot and characters richer.

My favorite parts were Isaiah’s annual drag family Easter brunch and the Christmas in July party. Those scenes were so much fun and allowed August to really consider and experience things for the first time in her life.

In the end, I enjoyed reading One Last Stop. It’s a unique, time-travel romance with a well-written mystery to be solved. All of the characters are wholesome, lovable, and vibrant. A beautiful story.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

While Red, White & Royal Blue was a bit of a hate read for me, I had a lot of faith One Last Stop would be different, as this one had a premise that wasn’t bogged down by weird mixed messages of idealized American politics and heightened British stereotypes, thus allowing McQuiston’s strengths at crafting a lighthearted romance to shine. And while I did have some issues with this one, I enjoyed it a lot more.

August as a protagonist took some time to grow on me, and part of that was due to the once-again jarring habit of McQuiston’s of writing in third person present tense. I got used to it after a while, but it took time, and it did result in feeling a bit disjointed from August. She also felt rather underdeveloped compared to the much more colorful characters around her.

Jane especially sparkles as a love interest. Being a time traveler from the 1970s, she’s experienced racism and homophobia, which has shaped her and made her vulnerable, yet she has an outer layer of charm that is incredibly endearing. The romance between the two is full of yearning and a good balance of sexy and heartfelt moments, so even while I felt fairly meh about August, I was still fully invested.

The supporting cast is also full of queer and BIPOC supporting characters, so there’s lovely found-family vibes.

When I heard about the time travel aspect, I did wonder how this would be handled, especially given McQuiston let me down with world building on a high-concept premise in the previous book. For the most part, however, I did feel like it was well done, especially with the way the story tied in queer history, so it felt more grounded.

This book is a delight, and I’m so glad I decided to kick off Pride Month with this book. Regardless of your feelings on her debut, if you love queer contemporaries, you’re definitely going to want to pick this one up!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

<i>One Last Stop</i> really fell flat for me, which was a huge disappointment. A lesbian romance with fucky time is generally right up my alley and yet!!!!

I really liked the ensemble cast, I thought they—especially Niko, my fave—were really bright and interesting and fun. I was less sold on August and Jane honestly. They were both characters I really liked at certain points of the book but at others they just felt like a loose collection of actions and oneliners in a trenchcoat that didn't have a lot of feeling behind them. That being said, I genuinely cried when they brought the party to Jane on the Q—the book had its moments for sure. I felt its strongest parts were these moments of community and group dynamics. Another strong point for me was the real conflict of what Jane would lose if she never went back to the 70s, especially because I already had a feeling those things were already lost and the past couldn't be changed. That loss was really potent.

The romance left me feeling lukewarm overall but I can't say it's unrelated to the thing that grated on me the most about <i>One Last Stop</i>: the writing style. It was a real downgrade in quality from <i>Red, White and Royal Blue</i>. I stand by the philosophy that books should aim to be quoted rather than to quote others, and I felt RWRB was the former while OLS was the latter. <i>One Last Stop</i> felt rather derivative to me—not of RWRB but of Twitter, Tumblr, probably TikTok too. I felt like the book was supposed to be funny, but like, I've seen all these jokes before on Twitter years ago. It wasn't a one time thing that characters made jokes that were viral tweets I'd seen ages ago, it happened pretty consistently. I think there's a way to write an up-to-date, relevant book for a Very Online audience without the jokes being ones that already went viral. I never really stopped being aware of Twitter's influence on this book and when that became too hard to ignore, that's when characters stopped feeling like original people and fell flat.

I also just felt the book was way too overwritten; I ended up skimming scenes because I knew when the dialogue stopped we were in for another bout of endless similes. It got really repetitive, and didn't really help the romance for me at all. Way more than RWRB, I felt things were shown to me in August's narration rather than shown to me through conversation and actions. A lot of conversations between August and Jane were condensed down into a sentence summary in August's narration; so much of Jane's past came through the lens of August's narration in a way that we never really got a closer look at it. Given that I already found the narration grating, offloading a lot of the romance into it certainly didn't help there.

I'll definitely be checking out the next McQuiston but yeah, this was a miss for me.

Just minutes after finishing this book I am writing this review because I loved it so much and I don't want to forget all the great things I have to say about it. The very best thing about this book is the community and family August creates. All the characters are created with what seems to be so easily done on the page that I found myself laughing at their conversations and wishing they were a part of my friend group. They are all people I want to know and stories I wish to read one day. August finds that families can be made wherever you go if you put down roots and let yourself grow into the place. August and Jane were a lovely couple to follow them falling in love and helping to find a future together. Going into this book I was super excited by the premise and it did not disappoint at all! I found myself having a lot in common with the characters and I found authentic representation from the queer identities portrayed. Also, I enjoyed the clippings of the spotting of Jane that appeared in each chapter. This is a book I know will stay with me for years to come and I will love it more and more after each time reading it. I can't wait to get my own copy to annotate all my favorite moments and I am already getting my girlfriend a copy so she can share in my happiness!

This book is everything I needed PLUS everything I never knew that I needed!!

This is definitely a romance, but it also has so much more, like queer history and found family. It's practically a love letter to New York in all of it's messy glory.

And somehow Casey McQuiston made the subway a romantic place... kudos to them. I'd like to live in that world please.

In summation: this book is perfect and I have a deep love for August and Jane.