Casey McQuiston's debut novel, Red, White, and Royal Blue, was, by far, my favorite book of 2019, so it should come as no surprise that I was eager to get my hands on a copy of her latest work, One Last Stop. I was lucky to be able to snag an ARC (or should it be ALC, advanced listening copy?) of the audiobook (thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley), so I dove right in.
Because of my deep, undying love for RW&RB, I'll admit to being a bit nervous as to whether McQuiston's latest would live up to the hype. I'm thrilled to tell you that it definitely does! I hadn't read any reviews or summaries of the title before I started reading, and I'm glad I didn't because this book has a super big twist that I was fully able to enjoy knowing nothing about the plot going in. I'm not really going to say more about the story or characters, because I'd like everyone to be similarly surprised.
I will only say that One Last Stop certainly confirms McQuiston's reputation as a talented novelist and that any reader who enjoys quirky characters will enjoy this heart-warming, life-confirming novel that takes some amazing twists and turns along the way. As someone who also adores audiobooks, I believe that Natalie Naudus' narration only enhances the story.

So so good!!! Love this second novel from the author of my all-time favorite book Red White and Royal Blue. I immediately started listening from the beginning again as soon as the audiobook ended. I loved all of these characters and hope we get to see more from them in the future!

I began listening to ONE LAST STOP on the train this week... and the experience was so special. I think McQuiston is a great writer, who is able to truly capture the thoughts and feelings and anxieties of her New Adult characters in a way that feels profound, relatable, and true.

The narrator, Natalie Naudus, does an incredible job bringing this book to life. I did find some of the world-building/maneuvering to justify the sci-fi logistics a little unbelievable... but I really did believe these characters, which made the read enjoyable in the end. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this great listen!

Another very fun romcom from Casey McQuiston! I loved the ensemble of characters and relationships, loved to see how her writing has gotten stronger even since Red White and Royal Blue (which I also really liked). I still experienced some of the frustrations I get when I read any romance novel (resolutions come pretty easy, prose is sometimes sacrificed for plot) but that’s just me. Overall, I would definitely recommend this to any romance reader and anyone at all looking for a new adult coming-of-age

OKAY WE ALL KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE GOOD

Casey McQuiston works some serious magic and OLS was no exception. Not only is her writing incredibly clever and funny, it also just NAILS so much of what is *real* in people and life, even in this (somewhat) suspend-your-belief story. Like you'd expect, it's just so well done. AND! THE! FOUND! FAMILY! GOODNESS! BE STILL MY HEART. The whole story just leaves you feeling like...um...WOW? *heart eyes*

It did lose a little steam for me by the end, though. I think it was a bit too long. And because RWRB was my first *true* romp into adult romance, I'm not sure anything else could even come close. That one just....did something to my body and soul. BUT. I still enjoyed this and think it deserves the hype. Unique and hilarious and steamy and generally tug-on-your-heartstrings lovely.

Audiobook-wise, though, I think I did myself a disservice by listening the audio first. I think I prefer to create the character's voices in my own head and enjoy Casey's writing on the page first. The narration wasn't a complete slam dunk for me, but I thought overall, it was enjoyable and well done.

A huge thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

Casey McQuiston just has this way of writing the most relatable characters. You are immediately attached and want nothing but happiness for them. I loved the relationship between August and June. It was wholesome and very well paced. The fine balance between instalove and slow paced. Right away, August was there and willing to help June with her “problem”, no spoilers here.

I’ve never been a fan of time travel books, but I will auto-buy anything by Casey McQuiston, and wow was I sucked in from the first chapter. This is a very different kind and refreshing take on time travel. I would get to the end of a chapter and then convince my self to read one more. I just could not put this book down.

And can we talk about the supporting cast!! Myla, Niko, Wes and Isaiah were all so much fun to be with. The bond that the 4 roommates (August, Myla, Niko and Wes) had was heartwarming. They were always there for each other no matter what. It was so nice being able to read something where everyone just believes August for her word. Like no ifs or buts about this mysterious person, who does not seem to fit into their time line.

August and June are amazing, but my favourite character has to be Niko! Every time he was in the room I was just mesmerized by him. I still don’t know what it was, but whenever he spoke I just felt this calmness fall over me and I was in such a peaceful state. The narrator did an amazing job with the voice of Niko. I have never felt like that while reading before.

I loved One Last Stop and will definitely be recommending it along with Red, White and Royal Blue!

Reviewing
One Last Stop
By Casey McQuiston

I have only been to New York City once in my life and it completely stole my heart! One Last Stop is a masterfully written coming of age story that had me full of big apple nostalgia. The hole-in-the-wall restaurants, late nights, high energy, quiet little corners, divers population, and the Subway. How could one ever forget their first NYC subway ride?!?

McQuiston immerses readers in a makeshift family of twenty-something queer misfits discovering who they are and that love can be found in the most unassuming places. In this romantically charged novel readers discover the difficulties faced by Jane’s gay friends of the 1970’s, including the heartbreaking Upstairs Lounge fire in New Orleans, as well as those faced by August’s present day roommates. By bringing past and present prejudice to the forefront McQuiston highlights the importance of community, queer straight friendships, history, and pure moxie!

This hilarious, sexy, time hoping, murder mystery will keep readers on their toes and dying to know where the next chapter will take them. If your looking for a captivating summer read to open your mind and heart while gaining a surface educations on queer American history, this ones for you!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars for this nostalgic new release that will have you craving pancakes and a subway ride to Brooklyn. Rated R for language and sexual content.

First, thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan for the audiobook ARC!

So this is a tough review for me as I know I will be in the minority in my opinion. I had struggled with the author's debut, "Red White and Royal Blue". I thought it was a bit slow and unrealistic. Now "One Last Stop" was better but not by much. First, let me start with a brief synopsis.

The story begins with 23-year-old August who moves to New York to attend school and get away from her mom who is obsessed with finding her brother who disappeared in the 70s. There August meets Jane on the Subway. Beautiful, mysterious, and not all she seems. Jane, August finds out, has been stuck on the train since the 1970s and can't get off. With the help of her friends, August is determined to solve the mystery and free Jane.

So, the plot is a light-hearted rom-com with a spark of sci-fi thrown in for good measure. Ok, not a bad premise. But what made it so frustrating for me was no one talked naturally. So many bizarre lines that made me cringe and don't get me started on those unrealistic sex scenes (who in their right mind would want to get it on on a dirty subway? On second thought maybe I shouldn't ask that). My favorite character was August's roommate Nico. He was funny and I thought him being physic added a little flavor to the story. I also loved that he was trans and it wasn't made a big deal of. The love story of the main protagonists never felt real to me. I never bought that Jane truly cared for August as much she did for her. For me, Jane seemed a lot more hung up on August's looks than personality. If it was a movie I would watch it. But as a book, it has a lot to be desired.

My review will be posted on my Instagram. Username: booknookcook04

"Sometimes you just have to feel it because it deserves to be felt."

Intriguing, romantic, funny, hopeful, and so much more than I can put into words. I LOVED this book. I loved August, Jane, and all of the other characters in the story. A love story spun together with mystery and belonging and connection and grief and LGBTQ+ history, and more.

This unexpected novel pulled me in right away, made me fall in love with the characters, NYC, and the community August finds herself a part of. It is beautifully written and shares so many diverse perspectives that there's a little bit for everyone!

Read it! Do it!

A cute and magical story full of heartfelt characters and a tender romance. This book felt very YA (it’s marketed as NA) and was slow to get into, but you can’t help but come to love all the characters and the stories they have to tell. There was a theme of belonging, of finding your place that I am always partial to in my romances and McQuiston’s writing is as fresh and engaging as ever.

This is a book I will be recommending for some time!

August is an only child that was raised helping her mother solve a cold case and has always felt alone in the world so she moves to New York City hoping the size of it will make her feel less lonely. Not only she finds a family with her roommates, she finds love in the subway, but although she wasn't prepared for love, she had been training her whole life to solve the biggest mystery she would encounter.

I went into this book knowing nothing about it besides the author and how much I loved her previous book, so I was extremely surprised about the paranormal twist in the story and I loved it! The love story is adorable and funnily enough, believable! Both the main and secondary characters are likeable and extremely diverse, I love the amount of queer representation in this book and how effortless it looked. I laughed and I cried and if we could get a book about every other couple on this book I wouldn't complain because everyone is so complex and different it really added more color to the story.

4.5 stars!

I didn't think it could happen but One Last Stop is even better than Red, White & Royal Blue!

August, Jane, Niko, Myla, Wes, Isaiah/Annie and everyone else are just delightful and I loved the heartwarming, found family dynamic between them all even more than the slow building of Jane and August's relationship. The characters are as diverse as it gets and I could read a book about every single one of them. I also enjoyed that New York City felt like it's own character in the story and not just a random setting chosen for no reason. The whole time I was imagining what a good movie this would make.

Natalie Naudus did an amazing job narrating this eccentric group of characters and really brought them all to life.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

Hi y’all, this book hit me like a ton of bricks and I said thank you. I think I cried like six times from just pure joy and five from sadness. I won’t say any spoilers until the middle of June so y’all have time to get the book, but it the description isn’t enough, just know the romance is a magical first love situation for our main character August and Jane is extremely supportive and so so romantic and swoon worthy. Found family is also a big theme in this book and it was so well done. The magic was so so cool to me and I loved all the explications and how complex yet simple it was. Idk if that makes sense, but as an epic fantasy fan, I had so much fun with a light side of magic is this absolutely gorgeous romance. I definitely was to read more books like this in the future. The audiobook narrator is also phenomenal! Once again, I love Casey McQuiston’s writing style so much. I love this super close third person style so much. The setting was so so much fun. I was to go to New York and ride around on the subway to find the love of my life and eat at Popeyes even though I don’t eat meat anymore. Casey McQuiston is probably my favorite author. Their stories always hit a different spot in my heart that few creators have gotten close to. I can’t wait to listen to this book ten more times, buy like six copies, and make too many videos about it

Once again, McQuiston has delivered a hilarious, touching, reference filled love story that will make you feel a lot of feelings.

I went into this book with some trepidation because I had heard this book didn’t quite measure up to McQuiston’s first. Well, I was happy to be proved wrong, and I loved every minute of this book. Comparison to Red, White, and Royal Blue doesn’t do this book justice. They’re two different genres, with two very different love interests. But both are great reads in their own ways.

There was so much to love about this book, but my absolute favourite aspect was the PEOPLE of this book. McQuiston has once again provided a very full cast of lovable characters who have great depth, diversity, and ample personality. From a drag queen to a psychic, it seemed that everyone was present in the small Brooklyn apartment that August calls home. And I always love a found-family.

The love story between August and Jane was sweet yet heated, timid yet bold. Beginning as a seemingly unrequited love, it was so fun to see them become great friends before falling in love. I loved August’s determination, her insecurity, and her boldness, and seeing her strength grow throughout the novel was amazing. And that this personal growth didn’t revolve exclusively around her relationship with Jane made the book that much stronger.

I also had the chance to listen to the audiobook and the experience was great. The narrator was excellent and used different tones, intonations, and read everything with great inflections and emphasis. I usually find romance audiobooks difficult to really get into, but this one swept me up easily and I enjoyed every minute.

*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley

3

I honestly refuse to believe that the author wrote Red, White and Royal Blue, one of my favourite reads from last year. This was disappointing. I listened on audiobook!

August is in New York city for school, moves in with a group of quirky roommates and starts taking the Q train to her new job as a waitress. On the. Q, she realizes that she consistently runs into Jane. A crush develops, before August realizes that Jane is always on the train, as in, stuck on the train and can't get off. August makes it her mission to save Jane, all while her feelings develop.

I didn't love this book, but didn't hate it. First off, I don't know how I feel about August, she just was. Not a flat character but just a character, I'm not sure. There was so much going on in this book, but it felt chunky, like we had a part about the group of friends/roommates, a part about work, a part about school, a part about family, all intermixed with 50% of the book which was August describing her love for Jane. This book was over-written, if that's a thing. Everything was overly described and compared to something else, it couldn't just be what it was and I got increasingly annoyed and frustrated at August and Jane's relationship. First off, I felt the relationship was super one sided, August was basically obsessed with Jane, and Jane was nonchalant for most of the story. Also, their intimate scenes were SO cringe, and I found Jane just cringe, the way she spoke, calling August "angel" just didn't sit with me. I didn't feel their connection and wasn't overly invested in their relationship. I liked the band of friends/roommates/coworkers. They were funny and interesting. This is definitely a story you have to suspend your disbelief for. It's insanely unrealistic, from Jane's entire story, especially at the end, how did that happen? To August's Mom/Uncle situation. It just felt like a lot, I think you could've cut out 50% of this book and would've been left with everything the same except for August professing her love for Jane. I think there was a couple of inconsistencies or things that confused me? I'm disappointed, it didn't make me happy like RW&RB did. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free preview in exchange for an honest review.

What can I say? I couldn’t love this book more. A love story for the ages and across time. The premise was so original and with a perfect ending. Romance mixed with mystery, and just a hint of science fiction, this was the absolute perfect story for me. And it wasn’t just about romantic love. There was familial love: both by birth and by choice. Self love, and development. As well as a love of humanity. The representation of various members of the LGBTQ+ community as well as BIPOC and AAPI communities was well done and natural. I will be recommending this book for a very long time.

LOVED this queer f/f YA romance from the author of Red, White, and Royal Blue!

One Last Stop is the romance of August, a bisexual college student who is still trying to find herself, and Jane, a lesbian stuck in a time pocket on the NYC subway. It sounds a bit crazy, but the author writes in such an authentic way that you absolutely believe Jane's story, and all the things happening to August.

I loved this book. The romance, the queer love, the found family. This is a story of queer unity- drag queens, trans individuals, gay, bisexual, pansexual. The whole spectrum is found here, in their NYC finest glitter and wigs. It's a glorious trip to the open minded city, home of rebels since 1970 (and before, but that's when Jane is from).

The relationship between August and Jane is shown in detail, from their first meeting to their friendship, to their very steamy relationship and time shattering true love story. It made me a believer.

The audiobook has a fantastic narrator, making every voice separate and unique, and Jane's husky voice is confident and sexy, yet still vulnerable.

Thanks so much for this Arc! I’ve heard great things about Casey McQuiston and her writing did not disappoint.

August seems to be sort of lost in her life. She ends up in NYC, trying to make her way. She’s shy and figuring out who she is. She ends up having a “love at first sight” moment on the subway. That’s when she meets Jane. They have an easy automatic friendship- both trying to figure out if it is something more. The issue is Jane is from the 1970’s and stuck in a time loop on the subway. She can’t get off. August helps her figure out who she is while kindling the electricity between them. This becomes August’s project hoping to help Jane. But the more she learns the more she likes Jane. How can she have a relationship with someone who is stuck in time? Who is Jane and how did this happen? What will happen to her if they can break the loop?

I really loved the narrator. I always appreciate when they change their voice for different characters- makes it so enjoyable to listen to. She had quite a way of adding a sensual aspect to the story.

This was very well written. McQuiston has a way with words that just flow effortlessly. The characters were charming and enjoyable. I loved getting to know August & Jane and their friends. I think this would be a great YA story & also beautiful for the queer community. So much of this was about the characters discovering who they are. It was natural and accepted and I loved that piece. Personally I am just not a fan of time travel stories. I can’t quite get past the logic of it. Because of that I struggled with this story. I did love some of the twists and ways the story overlapped. The concept just seemed far fetched for me.

I’m giving this book 3.25. Overall, this story was unique and cute! The side characters were amazing, and the love interest Jane had such a bad a** personality. I wish Myla was in the story more. Her bubbly, spunky personality was the best part of this whole book.

While I enjoyed the unique plot and mystery of the story, the main character wasn’t my favorite. August was a bit too uptight for me to be able to relate to her. She was a bit harsh on her friends, especially for how much they helped her. Also, the plot mystery was interesting, but the reveal wasn’t anything revolutionary.

It was good, and I definitely recommend for anyone who like contemporary romance with a fair amount of smut. It’s nothing too much IMO, but there are a few detailed s*x scenes. In my opinion, I don’t quite understand the chemistry between August and Jane, mainly because August’s character fell a bit flat.

Very unique premise. August is new to NYC and meets Jane, a cool, punk-rock drifter on the subway straight out of the 1970s, FOR REAL. The sci-fi elements reminded me a bit of the Raven Boys with some mystery elements. F/F romance and lots to love about this one. Recommended for readers who enjoy romance with diverse representation in characters.