ONE LAST STOP by Casey McQuiston is a very good romance! It’s about August who recently moved to New York City and meets Jane on the subway. Right away I loved all the references in this book. There were so many witty lines! I also really loved the representation in this book. There’s people who are bisexual, gay, transgender and interracial relationships. The two things I didn’t love were the supernatural aspect to Jane’s character and the slow pacing. I found the middle part of the book to drag a little bit. I loved all the quirky side characters and their romances as well. Niko was my fave character! He stole the show! I didn’t love this one as much as Red, White and Royal Blue but I will definitely continue to read McQuiston’s work as she writes excellent romances!
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Thank you to St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley for my advance review copy!

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

One Last Stop was a pretty fun book to dive into. I was honestly surprised by the time travel elements in this because I kept thinking this was just going to be a cute contemporary book. Definitely enjoyed that little twist and devoured the book.

In it, you will meet August and Jane (aka Biyu). Both were very interesting girls to get to know. One was an awkward girl dealing with insecurity issues. While the other just happened to be from the 70s. No biggie - right?

It wasn't hard to fall in love with these two one bit. Plus them being together went from adorable to sizzling pretty quickly too. I'm not sure I will ever get over some scenes on a subway.. but I will be glad that I've never seen it happen while I was on at the same time. I'll just stick with loving them from afar and even falling in love with the great cast of side characters as well.

Without spoiling too much, just know that this book was just really cute. I also enjoyed the ending and I am still sort of left with unanswered questions. Also, I'm in the mood for some pancakes. Overall, I'm really excited and happy that I got the chance to dive into this. I loved it and I hope the next person does as well!

*Author-Provided Warnings from Casey's website*

On-page: Drinking, light drug use (weed), semi-public sex, exploration of depression and anxiety, memory loss and cognitive issues, familial estrangement, familial death, grief, missing persons, implied PTSD - Off-page, past, and alluded to: Homophobic violence and hate speech, police violence, the AIDS crisis, racism, childhood neglect, arson, historic hate crime resulting in loss of life.

''I don't know! It's ripped jeans and a leather jacket! Every lesbian I've ever met has that outfit!''

I read Red, White, and Royal Blue a few times now and I really, really enjoy Casey McQuiston's writing style and humor. So, obviously, when I heard about One Last Stop and how it was a sapphic, time travel sci-fi book it became one of my most anticipated releases for 2021. Because when Casey writes a sapphic NA book with this gorgeous cover, you read it...That's why I was really happy to get a review copy. To be honest it took me a while to actually finish this book since I'm not that great with e-books but, a confession: I bought a tablet just to read One Last Stop easily and I'm not even exaggerating. Now, I want to talk about the things I enjoyed about it!!

1 - The representation! We have a bisexual main character with anxiety, a Chinese-American lesbian love interest, black sapphic side character, Puerto Rican-American trans side character, gay Jewish side character, gay black side character, and a pansexual black side character. The diversity is really amazing! Almost every character in this book is queer and that is something we need in books. We deserve so much more than just token queer characters, we deserve casual queer representation and One Last Stop is the perfect remedy for that.

2 - Found family trope! Until very recently, I didn't realize that found family counts as a trope. I honestly don't know what things we as readers consider as tropes but frankly, found family is an amazing trope. It is something I really enjoy reading about as a queer person and it gives me so much joy and hope. It reminds you that family can be so much more than just being related by blood for so many people and that we get to choose our families. The friendship dynamics and the relations were done so beautifully and you are destined to fall in love with every character and the family they have built...I want to be friends with all of them...

3 - It is a science fiction book but still easy to read if you don't normally read science fiction books! Well, this one is self-explanatory but ... even though I'm not huge on sci-fi, it was really easy to read and understand since it is urban sci-fi. If you aren't sure that you can figure out what is happening in science fiction books and don't want to read about cishet people but still want to read sci-fi, One Last Stop is very unapologetically queer and an amazing urban science fiction book that you are definitely going to understand what is going on.

4 - QUEER HISTORY!! IN THE UNITED STATES!! Oh god. This is my favorite part about One Last Stop. While reading this book, I really wasn't expecting to learn more about queer history and cry about it which is totally my wrongdoing because...I mean Jane is from the '70s, what was I expecting? I honestly loved how Casey talked about Jane's experiences about being a lesbian in the '70s and how life was for queer people back in the day. It was heartbreaking and also so close to my heart, I loved every aspect of it. Queer history isn't seen as important as it should be and books like this make my heart warm. If you enjoy reading historical fiction books like me, then it is also a plus for the story even though it's not a big part of the story.

5 - Adult queer people in life who are happy...As someone who mostly reads young adult books, reading One Last Stop made me realize that I need more new adult/adult queer books in my life. In mainstream media happy queer stories aren't as common as they should be, especially trans characters. Reading about an adult trans man in a loving and healthy place and in a cute relationship was so refreshing. I need more of this in my life and I'm going to be reading more new adult books now.

6- The humor... Casey McQuiston has a great way with humor and their books make me laugh so much. If you want to laugh, then cry and then laugh and cry some more... Well, then One Last Stop has you covered.

7 - Drag queens. Lots and lots of drag queens. I am frankly obsessed with drag...''I will cry if I can't go to a live drag show'' kind of obsessed. And One Last Stop explores different types of drag in the funniest way ever which is amazing. to read about.

8 - NYC setting. I might be cliche but NYC has its charm, I won't lie. And even though Casey portrayed NYC very realistically with the not-so-glamorized parts included, you still feel an attraction towards it. Well, what can I say? It's the dream city.

* One little side note, there were 2 HP references that I didn't enjoy but since I read an early version I'm assuming they might get cut from the final version.

Pros: This story was queer and horny af and I loved it! It mixed humor with heart and made some excellent pop culture references. All the characters, not just the main characters were engaging, three-dimensional, and had me wanting to spend a day (or week) with them.

Cons: The first part was a bit slow to me in setting up the action. Once the action started though, it was nonstop! I wanted just a little more time travel explanation.

Highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed Red, White, & Royal Blue or is looking for a fun, queer, rom-com that will rip your heart out and then gentle put it back in.

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

[Thank you to St. Martin's Press for blessing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!]

OH. MY. GOODNESS. GRACIOUS. WHERE DO I EVEN START WITH THIS MIRACLE OF A NOVEL?!

I don't know what majestic mystical writing powers Casey McQuiston has acquired, but they have done it again (and even better this time, in my humble opinion)! If you are already a fan of "Red, White & Royal Blue" I don't need to convince you to read this, you've probably already pre-ordered. However, if you're new to McQuiston's writing, this book is quarter-life crisis, sapphic af, found family, sexy SHEER BRILLIANCE. The concept of "One Last Stop"—time-slips in a New York subway—is such a unique and intriguing premise for a love story, and despite my general aversion to time-travel narratives, everything about Jane and August's story just. works. Before more spoilery thoughts, I will say the one thing I don't think people praise enough in McQuiston's books (and there's much to praise) is their humour—this book genuinely made me laugh so much and perfectly captures zillennial humour in a non-cringe way! I WILL NOT SHUT UP ABOUT THIS BOOK UNTIL YOU GO PRE-ORDER IT SO GO GO GO!!!

As Jane and August's self-proclaimed wasian love child, this story made me feel so seen in every possible way. I was expecting a fun and flirty time, which I definitely had, but I also felt so deeply reading about our characters internal dreams and fears. Since joining BookTok about a year ago, I've definitely seen an improvement in representation; however, what the publishing industry currently lacks is intersectionality. For me, I often feel like I'm forced to choose between Asian books with no queer characters, or queer books with no Asian characters. McQuiston didn't make me choose this time.
*SPOILERS*
Jane is an adventurous, sex positive, incredibly loving Chinese-American butch lesbian thrown into the 21st century from the 70s. Her search for time, place, and person is anchored in these identities past and present. I swooned over her the same way August did and I connected to her in real world ways as a kid of immigrants. August, our leading lady is an adorably nerdy, searching soul who's bisexual and absolutely beautiful to read through the lens of. So many times, in the expositional moments I felt like August was calling me out on my fears about young adulthood and leaving the familiar halls of academia. Unlike RWRB, OLS's protagonist is building multiple new relationships and her fumbles through love and friendship were so wholesome to witness. Her friendship with Wes was probably my favourite dynamic besides Jane and August—I love that they're all the chosen children of Myla and Niko. I loved the inclusion of drag culture, Chinatown, the discussion of gentrification in New York, and just about everything else McQuiston managed to weave into her words. The last thing I will rave about (for now) has to be the wonderfully tender and compassionate love between Jane and August. Their relationship is such an important example of healthy communication and mutual adoration, I had absolutely all the butterflies, especially in that last scene where they're finally able to be together fully. Oh, I am so grateful this book exists and I'm so happy everyone's going to get to read it very soon. I honestly could go on forever... also I cannot wait to move to New York now. I'll just leave you with my absolute favourite line,
"Bella Swan, eat your horny little Mormon heart out."

Okay, everybody deep breath and say it with me: THANK YOU CASEY MCQUISTON!!!

Content Warnings:
*I note these while reading, some may be missing
- anti-semitism (mentioned)
- gentrification
- rats (musophobia)
- death (mentioned)
- police brutality (mentioned)
- racist and homophobic harassment on public transit
- anxiety
- family trauma

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me access to this ARC.

There were so many good things about this book that I don't even know where to start. I think my favorite thing were the characters; I loved all of them. Not only main characters August and Jane, but all of the side characters too like Niko, Myla, and Wes. They were each unique with their own stories and flaws, but they were all so dedicated to each other and I loved that. I also loved the setting. I've never really wanted to visit New York city before, but this story made me want to go to wild New York parties and drink and see things that I've definitely never seen in rural Michigan before.

However, I hate to say it, but I didn't love it as much as Red, White, and Royal Blue. There were aspects I loved as much or even more, such as the set of characters. But as much as I loved and rooted for August and Jane, it just wasn't as swoony for me as RW&RB. The story was a little slower too...at points I just felt like I was waiting for something to happen. What I wanted to happen just took a little bit too long.

But I would still 100% recommend this book, because it's so enjoyable. There were points where I was literally giggling to myself, in public. Also, it's rare for me to read a book and love the characters as much as I do in Casey McQuiston's books. I'll read anything by her, and while I didn't enjoy it as much as her debut, it was still a great story with a great cast.

Casey McQuiston outdid themselves! I am one of the people that is on the Red White & Royal Blue bandwagon, so when I saw that McQuiston was releasing a new book I needed to get my hands on it. I had super high expectations going into this book, and those expectations weren't only met, they were blown out of the water. Before I get into the rest of the review I will preface by saying this is one of the best books I have read all year.

Right off the bat I loved the mystery in this book. Prior to reading One Last Stop I had not read the synopsis, so I really didn't know what I was getting into. Without spoiling anything, there are two different mysterious circumstances that August, the main character, is dealing with throughout this book.

I love the found family aspect of this book so much. The relationships that August forms with the people she meets in New York is so heartwarming. There are characters from all walks of life, and the representation of the LGBTQ+ community is unmatched!

My head is a jumbled mess as I write this review, because I can't form a better thought than "just read it."

One Last Stop is breathtakingly, heartachingly perfect. It's a joyous, and tender, and sharp celebration of queerness, of found family, of creating a home. The writing is stunning, and I found myself re-reading paragraphs and pages to bask in the lyricism and the imagery and the intense emotion. The characters are messy and beautiful. Every word is full of such love.

I started this, expecting a quirky, laugh out loud fun romp like Red, White, and Royal Blue was. This...was not.

It was better. Jane has been stuck on the Q line of the New York City subway since 1977, not really understanding what has happened to her until the day August steps on the train, late for class and covered in coffee. What unfolds is a beautiful love story that spans all the way back to the 1970s. It's packed full of larger than life characters from the drag queen accountant across the hall to the trans roommate and his girlfriend to August's immigrant boss and her pansexual boyfriend and even more. Every character, well, except for Myla's ex (who is exactly who he should be) is just amazing (though, being set in Brooklyn, I was a tiny bit disappointed when Thorgy Thor didn't appear to complain about Bob the Drag Queen). You can see the plot twist coming from the Manhattan Bridge, but the book is just so wonderful that doesn't even matter.

I can't wait to see what magical story Casey brings us next!

This book is a bit of an odd one, because though it is well written and I thought the plot and the romance were well done, I still didn’t find myself fully immersed or engaged with any of it. After completing it, I realized that part of this disassociation was due to the lack of urgency in the novel. The other part of it had to do with the characters themselves.
To me, One Last Stop seems to check all the boxes of a supernatural sapphic romance, but reading it, it reads like a contemporary. That is, if you kindly ignore all the strange time loops.
I think, as a reader, I’m just not that into magical realism because the overall predetermined nature of the world, being as it is mostly based on the real world, provides little to no distraction away from a character centric plot. As such, if I’m not fully on board with the characters (which I wasn’t in this case), nothing really comes together.
Though Jane and August felt fully developed, I just wasn’t that interested in them as people. “Mid-twenties, not sure what to do with my life, but I’m learning and growing” isn’t really that quirky to me, and I’m not super fascinated by that kind of energy. However, the novel itself seems to be focussed on that phase of someone’s life.
In terms of urgency, I never really felt like the journey presented by One Last Stop was progressing towards a finite conclusion, beyond a sort of vague sense of self-discovery for the characters.
So, in the end I am conflicted. Is this a good book? Probably. Is it a good book for me? I don’t think so.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

So, let me be a bit honest here and say I have a hard time finding sapphic books I really, really love. I've found a ton that I enjoyed, but not many that I've just absolutely fallen in love with. Casey McQuiston has taken care of that for me.

One Last Stop is the story of August, a college student and New York transplant who's been struggling to find a place where she fits. Cynical, logical, realistic August knows there's no magic, no meant-to-be moment for her in how she lives her life. She finds an apartment with a bunch of weird roommates and a blow-up mattress on the floor and goes about her life. Then, Jane. Jane on the subway, all punk 70's rock lesbian vibe with dimples and a leather jacket and a sharp jaw. August's crush blooms until they both realize the 70's vibe is not a coincidence - Jane is stuck on the subway, displaced in time. August makes it her mission to help Jane get back to her own time, and possibly take August's heart with her.

I think this book is about a lot of things. It's about learning how to be yourself away from a toxic influence, about how sometimes you don't find what you're looking for - it finds you instead, about recognizing that sometimes the greatest things in life can't be explained and they wouldn't be near as fun if they were. But most of all, this book to me is about Joy.

The absolute joy that radiates from these pages is something I cherished so much while I was reading. The imagery was so incredibly clear in parts, I felt like I was there. The description of a drag show at an underground club, of being surrounded by people like you who love you even when they don't know you, made me so emotional with that same joy. A brunch party, morning hungover on the couch in a pile of people, jumping from train car to train car - it radiated absolute joy and life and it was everything to read it unfold.

The cast of characters here are all absolute gold. The found family aspect of the story is breathtaking in its simplicity. Sometimes you meet people who are nice, and sometimes those people become friends, and sometimes they become family. The cast is diverse and queer and hilariously funny. More than once I sat cackling like a literal witch at the words on the page because they were absolutely ridiculous, and exactly what my friends sound like.

The relationship between Jane and August is one that we get to watch grow as the book grows. It's crush at first sight and we get to see how the little crush seed that's planted is nurtured, bit by bit. It's lovingly tended with honest conversation and kisses for research purposes and a connection that's electric and warm. It feels so right and Casey McQuiston has once again brought me an OTP that will never die.

Incredible follow-up to Red, White, and Royal Blue. I'm already so excited for whatever McQuistin brings us next!

This book was such a fabulous LGBTQ read! It was the perfect amount of fun, corny, spicy and cute! A must read!

Suspend reality and step onto the Q train!

The characters and banter are what made this sweet story shine! The diversity and representation are off the charts (drag queens, straight, bi, gay, trans, black, asian, latinx, european, psychics, timetravelling punk rockers, etcetcetc). They way they interacted with and supported each other was fantastic. The sapphic romance was also really electric and vulnerable.

I do think the story could have used another edit to condense the plot into less back and forth and overlapping storylines. Including time travel, which is a big ask in itself. There were so many subplots that it got a little bogged down and distracting. However, I do feel like each storyline was wrapped up nicely - just a bit long for me.

Overall, a great addition to the queer romance genre, but a bit of a miss for me on length and multiple plot lines.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the advanced read!

Another great book by McQuiston! So happy to have been given an arc.

The way that they write characters and their relationships with one another is my favorite thing about McQuiston's writing. In OLS the friendships and relationships were so fun, so real, and had such heartfelt moments.

I feel like this book paints such a vivid picture of New You and what it's like for a young 20 something to live there.
McQuiston perfectly captures that failing again and again to find one's path in life with Augusts .The fear and difficulty of living in that time in life that a lot of people go through, still are going through, and how one can find still find love and real friendship smack dab in the middle of it.

The mystery surrounding June kept me reading. It was so satisfying to watch it unravel as characters were further developed. The mystery isn't following one clue after another but instead, there are all these details that slowly piece together the mystery of June's past and how she ended up where she is.

August is a 23 year old, bisexual, full-time student who wants absolutely nothing to do with mysteries or solving them. She has spent her whole life being her mother's assistant trying to solve the disappearance of her uncle and wants out of the game.
What should find her on the New York Q train than the biggest mystery in the form of Jane, an attractive woman who always happens to be on the Q every time August gets on.
New York was supposed to prove August's cynical side right, not help her find an amazing group of friends in her roommates and neighbors and a woman to fall for on the Q.
I think my favorite part of this book was the found family. August finds herself responding to an ad for an extra room and finds an eclectic mix of roommates (and neighbor) who become so much more to her in the end. They work together to solve the mystery.
The inclusivity of this book was *chef's kiss*. The book truly was magical and such an amazing read. I had not read Red, White and Royal Blue but am thinking I need to remedy that situation ASAP to see what started the Casey McQuiston hype because they most certainly deserve it.

This book took me way longer than I thought to finish. I think it just took me a bit to get into it because for the first few chapters, I found the idea of the subway being only place they'll ever interact to be a bit boring. As I kept reading though, I became more invested in the characters. The bits and pieces of their lives and the history they share, both with each other and the world around them, creates an inviting atmosphere. The friend group is beautifully realistic, especially for a city as big and diverse and alive as New York. The plot, though it seems to not go anywhere sometimes, still kept me interested enough to want to know what will happen and how they'll solve the problem.

The romance was definitely cute and I think what helps is that both of the characters are uniquely interesting in their own way. Jane was a dream. There's a scene where August is talking about drag shows and one line that stuck with me was "...all the things they share and all the things they don't, the things she has that people like Jane smashed windows and spat blood for." It just got me to think about how everything we, as queer people, have now was fought for. People died for our right to exist and people are still dying for that today. I don't think a lot of young queer people today understand this history is just as much a part of us as it is for the people that went through it. I think bringing Jane into the present is beautiful. I like the idea that she fought and bled and this is her reward. The fight isn't over but it's people like her that made it a bit safer for people like August and now she gets to reap the benefits.

Overall, I think the writing was fun and engaging. I don't usually enjoy contemporaries as much, especially because sometimes the slang and language don't age well, but I did enjoy this book. The beginning did feel a bit slow but once you get into it, it's beautiful all throughout. I think I'm just happy that sapphics are finally getting the spotlight we've been waiting for.

This book was extremely refreshing and full of queer family love. It gave me bohemian Rent vibes with the LGBTQIA+ individuals in their 20s living in a cluttered apartment in New York City. The characters were so lovable and I would give anything to hang out with them, eating stir fry and playing Rolly Bangs. The love between Niko & Myla, Wes’s stubbornness and flat toned one liners and I could talk all day about Annie Depressant. I loved them so much.

That being said…it was hard for me to connect with August which I think affected my view on the main love story. I just wasn’t as invested in them as I should have been. I found myself caring more about the interactions between the side characters and the hilarious banter. August annoyed me at times, I felt that I couldn't get a good read on her and her guarded personality irritated me. But! I will say as the story went on and August’s character developed I found myself rooting for her. I am so stuck between a 3.50-4 because of how much i loved the side characters but found myself less interested in the main story,

I wanted to love this SO MUCH. Some of my favorite and most reliable friends loved it. But it was a miss for me.

Ladies, gents, and all of my non-binary babes - Casey McQuiston has done it again! And in a completely different light than her debut novel! How does she do it?

There's some weird time-space continuum shit going down in this book, and I like it. August moves to New York City to start fresh. Away from her PI mom, away from the story that's haunted every case they've ever worked on - only to find herself with a case of her own. And because August is who she is, she can't just let it go. Especially because the case happens to be totally smokin' hot Jane, who may or may not be from the 70s, stuck on the Q line for some unknown spooktacular reason.

Yes, there's a 24-hr diner. Yes, there's a beautifully diverse cast of characters. Yes, you will laugh out loud. Yes, you will probably cry. Yes, you will definitely sweat. Spoiler free, but important note: THE!!! MANHATTAN!!! BRIDGE!!!!!

I can't wait for this book to come out so all of my friends can finally scream about this book with me. Thanks for existing, Casey. Can't wait to read everything you ever write.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for advance access to this title!

“That’s the way it happens on the subway - you lock eyes with someone, you imagine a life from one stop to the next, and you go back to your day as if the person you loved in between doesn’t exist anywhere but on that train. As if they could never be anywhere else. Maybe, with Jane on the Q, it’s actually true.”

ONE LAST STOP is the sapphic time-slip romance you absolutely knew you needed as soon as you heard about it. McQuiston’s sophomore novel, following her wildly popular RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE (of which my only complaint is the lack of Oxford comma in the title) does not disappoint. Given the significant scale of her first novel - international relations, providing a healing balm for US politics in the 45 era, gay disasters - I’m glad she chose an equally grand, if completely absurd, stage for this book.

August, of hardened heart and CSI-level investigative skills due to her mother’s obsession with her lost brother, has moved to New York City and found herself part of an eclectic & queer trio of roommates. Finishing college under the weight of student loans and scraping by with her pancake diner job, August is just settling into her new life when she stumbles upon Subway Girl during her commute on the Q train: beautiful, retro, rebel-punk Jane, of leather jacket and wicked smiles. As their flirtation grows, August realizes that Jane isn’t just old school but is actually displaced from the 1970s. Mystery, seances, electrical systems research, pining, steam, emotional growth, and general shenanigans ensue.

While there is so, so much to love about this book - diverse cast of quirky and supportive friends, tributes to our queer history, witty & sexy banter, utterly compelling romance - what strikes me most is the analogy for queer love. August and Jane have to literally bend the laws of space and time and electricity and who knows what else to have any hope of being together, and the rest of us queers also have much to defy: laws, religious doctrines, family expectations, internalized homophobia, and any other number of barriers to discover ourselves, find each other, and live happily ever after. This novel celebrates the obstacles we overcome and the work we must put into our relationships and reminds us: it’s worth it. This book is EVERYTHING and I can’t wait for it to be out in the world. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the eARC!

Content warnings: homophobia, police violence, death of a loved one, arson/murder/hate crime, passing/joking suicidal comments