This was a really interesting, sweet and complex story of coming of age in NYC and discovering yourself someplace where you can be your authentic self.

August feels lonely, but her roommates are doing the best to make sure she knows she's not alone. And her job has her navigating the NYC Subway system, where she meets Jane after a series of mishaps leaves her shaken up and covered in coffee. Their relationship develops on the subway, and through Jane, August starts to experience more and open her eyes and mind to a world of possibilities.

One Last Stop is a wonderful listen about August's personal road to discovery. The narration by Natalie Naudus is great. She really takes us into August's mind, her emotions, her heart, through all of this.

A fun read when you don't want to think too much or work too hard. There are a lot of characters and it is hard to follow at times but if you stick with it you will enjoy the story.

I really enjoyed One Last Stop! I never knew where it was going, so was constantly surprised. It was a little long and I would get antsy, then the next big curve would hit. Will definitely recommend this to friends.

Wonderful, magical read. What a great follow-up to the Royal Red white and blue. I highly recommend this whimsical, fun romance. The narrator brings the story to life.

What an endearingly weird book! To be honest, I found this one slow to start, but once it hit it’s stride, I couldn’t put it down. The cast of characters were so unique and strange - you can’t help but fall in love with them.

August and Jane’s time together was both heartbreaking and heartwarming, as well as a little spicy at times! I really loved her roommates/neighbor and wish I could be part of their chosen family. All in all, this really felt like a queer love letter to NYC and I’m here for it! 🌈

This is another one I experienced as a mix of physical book and audiobook (thanks @netgalley for the #gifted audiobook!). Each character’s voice fit them perfectly and gave them even more depth. 🎧

Truth time. I absolutely loved Red White and Royal Blue. It was in my top 10 the year I read it and probably was in my top 3. I have recommended it so much to so many different people and everyone has loved it. I had such high hopes for this one. Big hopes. I have to be honest, I felt a little let down.

I felt as though the premise was just sooooooooo far out there. I just felt a little misled and it should have been labelled a sci fi romance. There was so much science in here. The romance was great. I loved the narrator. I just had lots of trouble moving past the way out of this world premise.

Now, I am still going to give it 3.5 stars. I wish I would have loved it loved it.

✋🏻 unpopular opinion 😬

“Truth is, when you spend your whole life alone, it’s incredibly appealing to move somewhere big enough to get lost in. Where being alone looks like a choice.”

What a fabulous quote 👏🏻.

I tried. Like really tried. I started this audiobook and got to about 50% three. Different. Times. But I just could 𝚗𝚘𝚝 do it. My mind was wandering so much that I couldn’t get through one chapter without having to restart it or rewind it. Maybe I would have enjoyed the print version more, I’m not sure, but this one just failed to hold my interest.

I know this book is beloved on the gram, but it just wasn’t for me.

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston follows twenty-three-year-old August, who moves to New York City in the beginning of the novel. August gets a job waiting tables at a 24-hour pancake diner and moves in with a fun, weird group of lovable roommates. Then on August's subway commute she meets Jane. August’s subway crush, Jane, becomes the best part of her day, but pretty soon, she discovers there’s one big problem: Jane doesn’t just look like an old school punk rocker. She’s literally displaced in time from the 1970s, and August is going to have to use everything she tried to leave in her own past to help her

Unfortunately, I was pretty bored reading this book and almost DNF'ed it several times. While I loved the LGBTQI+ representation particularly how most of the main characters in the novel seemed to be LGBTQI+. However, I didn't like the two main characters and couldn't get into their love story which felt to insta-lovey for my liking. I was by far more entertained by the side characters in the novel. I do seem to be in the minority of not liking this book, so there is a high chance of other's enjoying this novel if you liked Red, White & Royal Blue.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

August came to New York for a change. Not too much of one, of course, but enough of one so that she didn't feel alone anymore. With the baggage from her mother's never-ending fear, a job she isn't technically qualified for, a girl on a train, and roommates who she will reluctantly call family. This book is a space to be anxious, in love, and ready for an adventure. My biggest issue though was the refusal to acknowledge the collective struggles of the AAPI community in the book, and the brushing off of the subject after the Asian main character had a direct encounter with racism.

The character stating, "most people aren’t like that today," which completely denounces the systematic oppression and struggles people of color face all over the world and this country.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with the Audio ARC

If you want to hear my full thoughts, listen to my podcast episode: https://anchor.fm/talk-bookish-to-me/episodes/Book-Discussion-One-Last-Stop-by-Casey-McQuiston-e12k0rg

I am so sorry to make this my first one star of the year, but I just didn't like it! I am not a fan of quirky characters and this ONLY was filled with cheesiness and quirkiness. I also felt really weird about the "white girl saves an Asian American" in this book, and felt like the roles should have been switched.

August and Jane were VERY insta-lovey and the dialogue and story were incredibly boring to me. The side characters were very diverse but just were jabbering to no end - with no actual real context to the storyline. I thought I would really love the time travel element, but I also thought that was one of the worst time travel elements ever (and I love time travel!). I listened to the audiobook and the sex scenes were outrageous - can you imagine actual moaning in between the sentences - yikes! I'm not a huge fan of smut to begin with.

I did appreciate learning about LGBTQ+ historical events. I was totally new to hearing about those events, and actually would have appreciated more of that in the storyline, compared to the characters nonsense conversations.

In the beginning, it was slow listening for me. I did the audio version of this book. So slow that I was almost done with listening and this was only after a third of the way into the book. Yet, I decided to stick with the book a bit longer. So glad that I did as my feelings with towards this book did an upward tick of excitement.

To be honest, if it was not for Jane and August's other friends, I probably would have forgotten about August. She was not the most interesting person but she did open up and start to blossom as the story progressed. Jane is so cool that she is too cool for me. I was a nerd back in the day and would have had reservations like August. It may have started out as "just research" but it ended in love.

If you are a reader who has wanted to try a LGBTQIA book, than here is your chance. This one is not in your face but sweet and charming. The case of characters are a bit quirky and people that I would want to hang out with.

This was so very different than your run of the mill contemporary romance, in all good ways. It contains a bit of a supernatural twist (but not overly so) and it is a smart and cute story of love, acceptance and found family that touches on some deep LGBTQ+ topics with a mystery folded in. I will read more of Casey McQuiston for sure.

Even though I do not like Science Fiction I absolutely adored this book! The characters were so real and the chemistry between them was just incredible. In my opinion, this book has no negatives!

I had a really hard time with RWRB but this one I enjoyed. I'm still trying to get a feel of McQuiston but this book definitely but me on the right path.

Not a perfect book, I noticed a few things that I personally don't enjoy in my books but overall, I enjoyed the experience.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but something about it just felt so disconnected at the beginning of a story. I don’t know if I had a hard time connecting with the main character as I was really looking forward to this romantic comedy representing readers of the LGBTQ plus community. I have thoroughly enjoyed the authors previous books, but I think the main character fell flat for me.

Well I attempted to do this one on audiobook, I am going to get a second chance with it and try the print copy hoping that maybe it was the narrator and they’re portrayal of the main character that changed what the author was trying to do in the story.

I haven’t read "Red White and Royal Blue" yet, but after reading "One Last Stop", I do understand the hype behind the author.

The romance in this book was realistic and raw. I was already rooting for June and August, by just a few chapters in. Another aspect that I liked is the cast of characters was very diverse and inclusive, it felt totally natural and not something forced down.

The secondary characters are well developed and interesting and I feel totally deserve their own book. The found family trope was also well done, the way the author develops such a strong friendship between August and her roommates was just perfect. The plot is well crafted too and had some plot twists which were unexpected.

Overall, I loved this and easily one of my favorite reads of this year. If you are looking for something quirky and eccentric, you should definitely give this one a try.

This is one of the best books I have ever read and the audiobook was great! Some audiobooks are difficult to listen to for any number of reasons but this one had the perfect mix of a good narrator and a good story to propel it.

4.5 stars

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the alc of this title.

One sentence review: One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston is a wild ride of a story that feels like a mix Friends meets Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City meets your favorite multiverse story.

I really loved this book. The book centers around August, a college student living in NYC and trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life. As she adjusts to life in the city she meets a whole host of characters that you can't help but love. She also encounters a gorgeous woman on the train. And I'm going to leave the plot there as part of the fun of this book is watching the various events roll out.

My thoughts:

- I adored the characters in this one. I loved the big personalities, the witty banter, and the overall love and friendship these people grew to have for one another.
- This book felt like a celebration of all that is queer. I loved the exploration of the LGBTQ+ community and the multiple facets that help make up this group.
- I loved the historical look at the struggles that queer people have faced over the decades.
- There is a supernatural element to the book that really worked for me but might turn others off.
- For those that loved Red, White and Royal Blue, I do caution that I'm not sure these two books have anything in common other than they share an author and have queer protagonists.

So in summary I really liked this book a lot. If you are in search of a book that embraces queerness in its multiple forms, this book would be a great choice. I think it is fun, sexy, and unique and I love how it is completely modern and yet has a nostalgic feel.

NARRATION: I think the narrator on this one does a fabulous job. There are so many characters and yet she is able to keep them distinct and memorable.

August is having a bad day.

She's running late to her job and, to make matters worse, she has already spilled coffee on her work shirt. A kind stranger offers her a scarf to cover the stain, which August gratefully accepts. That's Jane, who August figures she'll never see again.

But, wouldn't you know it, the next time August is on that subway route -- between two specific stops -- she sees Jane again. The two strike up a friendship, but not without complication. It turns out Jane isn't able to commit to a relationship outside the confines of that subway ride.

Is it a fear of getting hurt? Does she not share this same-sex attraction that August feels? Well, the answer is the twist to "One Last Stop," a book that asks you to lean into its quirky premise.

It was a cute story and the characters, both main and secondary, were enjoyable, so I was willing to suspend some disbelief for service to the story. If you liked "Red, White and Royal Blue," I'm sure that you're going to like this second effort from Casey McQuiston.

My absolute favorite read this year so far and out of 60 that says alot! This is the cutest, most diverse love story I've read in a long time and it...It just sticks with you. This book is one you won't forget for a long time.