What a BOOK!!!!! I love Casey I love this book I love the indulgent feel of reading this and learning about pleasure and food and forgiveness. I love second-chance romance books, it's one of my favorite tropes. Everything about this book felt slow and decadent. The POV change surprised me, but truly in the best way! I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone who will listen.

I DNFd this one. I tried but just couldn’t get into it or connect with the characters. I wanted t come back to it but never felt the pull.

I loved Red, White and Royal Blue, and enjoyed One Last Stop, but this one was just okay for me. It was slow moving and I couldn't get excited about it.

Casey McQuiston knows how to write smart dialogue and that's something I always appreciate about her books. I think her character development could have been stronger here, but I still loved the story.

*The Pairing* by Casey McQuiston has that perfect setup: two exes, Theo and Kit, who magically end up on a glamorous food and wine tour through Europe. The idea of them competing to see who can get over the other first (while sleeping with other people) sounds fun, and the European settings—with all the food and wine descriptions—are rich and satisfying for escapism.

At first, the banter and sexual tension between Theo and Kit are super entertaining. But after a few rounds of some very steamy sex scenes and rich-people problems, the spark fizzles a bit. Watching these characters lounge around Europe’s most beautiful spots while arguing and hooking up was interesting, but eventually felt repetitive, like watching hate-watching it.

The book is light, romantic, and has some great moments of LGBTQ+ representation that McQuiston fans will appreciate. If you’re looking for a breezy vacation read that’s equal parts travel porn and light drama, this one is good for a beach day—but it’s definitely not McQuiston’s best. Solid three stars!

Thank you to the publisher for granting me a digital ARC of both the book and the audiobook. I’ll admit, I was hesitant to pick this one up. Unpopular opinion time: I didn’t love Red, White & Royal Blue as much as the rest of the world did. However, I absolutely adored One Last Stop and was incredibly disappointed by I Kissed Shara Wheeler. But McQuiston has been very public about their inspiration for this book on social media, and sharing snippets worked—my curiosity was piqued. So, I went in both excited and hesitant.

As the publication date approached, I still hadn’t started it until one day, someone whose book opinions I value raved about it. The fact that she called it "literature" had me intrigued. So I dove in, and almost immediately encountered the phrase, “a stranger whose perineum I could describe from memory.” I cracked up, took a screenshot, and sent it to her with the words, “Literature, you say.” But honestly, even though it didn’t feel like literature at that point, I was already hooked by Theo’s story, even as I struggled to find the so-called “literature.” Then came the shocking POV switch, and Kit’s side of the story blew me away. Plus, the heavy sprinkles of Rilke quotes definitely helped elevate things.

This book revels in the hedonism of the main characters, and it was a vicarious pleasure to read—even as certain events (and characters) frustrated me. At one point, I thought, "If cock-block was a book, this would be it." Seriously, I have never been more annoyed by a horn, and I’ve had my fair share of run-ins with air horns in life.

Knowing McQuiston and knowing myself, Theo’s big reveal wasn’t shocking, considering all the clues peppered throughout the book. But even though Theo’s POV felt a bit weaker compared to Kit’s, it was still a compelling read from start to finish. Plus, the supporting characters, though some bordered on stereotypes, were a lot of fun.

Overall, I’m giving this book five stars. If you want to lose yourself in a world of gorgeous locations, good food, good drinks, and mostly good sex—this is the book for you!

usually, I really like Casey mcquiston but this one just didn’t do it for me. The characters were hard to relate to and it just didn’t find myself excited to pick this up. I dnfed this at 40%

I was so looking forward to a bisexual romance between two exes. Spicy? LGBTQ+? European food and wine tour? It sounded like the perfect combination. But it fell flat. The two MCs were written so shallow. There was no depth to the story. And it seemed there was no real research into the background. It just...happened. And we were expected to believe it. Having been to Europe on a food and wine tour, I didn't.

well, I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

this book was definitely...different, per say.

I would not label it a romance at all, considering there was no romance... a lot of the main characters having relations with others?? which is just wrong?? hurtful??

I don't know, its not my cup of tea but can be someone else's.

This was a great read. It had good character development and a well written plot. The book was an easy read with lots of excitement. I would recommend this book if you are looking for a good romance novel.

The very best thing about this book is the description of Europe. It's so rich in detail and you can just get lost in it. I felt the tension and spark between the main characters was stronger at the beginning than near the end, but I still enjoyed it. I thought this would be a five star for me, but it ended up being a four.

Loved this latest Casey McQuiston! Lots of playful antics, miscommunications, and pining. I loved Kit's perspective specifically, and I'm always a fan of friends to lovers. I thought having dual perspectives where the first half of the story was told entirely by Theo and the second half by Kit was a fun narrative choice that I don't think happens a lot when you see most dual perspective novels. The story wasn't afraid to get silly which made me laugh a lot, and it took a hard look at adult life issues and mental health without going into the melodramatic. Overall, a very solid read even if you weren't already a fan of this author.

This was such a fun book. This might be a hot take, but I actually thought the wine pairings at the start of each chapter didn’t really add anything to the story. I did enjoy Kit and Theo and watching their relationship unfold amidst a cast of quirky side characters.

"The Pairing" by Casey McQuiston offers a charming blend of romance and humor, set against the backdrop of a quirky culinary competition. The characters are likable, and their chemistry is palpable, making for some delightful moments. However, the plot can feel somewhat predictable, lacking the depth and twists that McQuiston's previous works have delivered. Overall, while it’s an enjoyable read, it falls a bit short of the author’s usual brilliance, earning three stars for its lighthearted fun.

I will say I was super confused when the POV shifted because of the gendered pronouns… Other than that though I loved this book as I have with all of Casey’s books.

4.5 stars
The fact that this book took me so so long to read has almost nothing to do with the book itself and everything to do with the fact that I just had zero time to sit down and read for a long time there. Everything about the characters, to the setting, to the food, to the writing, to the banter, to the wine in this book was ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. Casey McQuiston did. not. miss. a. beat. with these descriptions. I'm not usually a big descriptions person but for this book in particular I feel like all the descriptions of the meals and the different touristy places that they went to added so so much to the book itself. I loved the storyline and I loved the concept, my one qualm with this book is I feel like it could have been a little shorter. It was LONG for a rom-com and even though I really enjoyed every minute of reading it I still feel like there were some moments in the beginning and the middle that dragged and could have been condensed a little, or maybe we could have done one less stop along the tour, something like that. I feel like Casey McQuiston's writing is always under appreciated because I forget why I read every book they publish and then I read their next book and I remember that their rom-com writing is really funny and the banter is so great! Like the little tid-bits of comedy hit on each beat so seamlessly and I know that RWARB had the same sense of humor and I feel like with the movie adaptation we kind of lost that because of a change in media and maybe mediocre script writing but I wish we hadn't lost it because the humor is what makes her books so fun!! But the romantic yearning lines were also so amazingly good as well. I loved the whole vibe that the book had of "everything goes in Europe" it was so fluid and fun to see and just brought such a great vibe to the book. It made the book feel like Challengers if the sexual tension in Challengers could be filtered into book form. I loved Kit and Theo's constant back and forth once they got familiar with each other again. Every conversation between the two of them felt like a dance and it felt so easy to be able to picture on screen. It is the type of reading-each-other's mind that you can only have with someone that you know really really well and when you're in that space it feels so fluid and easy. I loved the getting back together with an ex trope in the book and the fact that Theo and Kit aren't just exes but also childhood friends just made it 100x better. My favorite sequence of the whole book was Barcelona. The breakdown of the heat and how it affected everyone's perception was SO GOOD. There was one point at the end when I genuinely thought that they might not end up together and I was about to be so mad because if we went through ALL THAT just for them to not end up together I was about to be pissed. Thankfully I was wrong! I felt like the climactic moment that changed Kit's mind and made him decide to chase after Theo was kind of corny and the scene was kind of overdone but honestly at that point I was just happy we got there in the end. Overall, this book was such a fun experience, it makes me want to go to Europe bad.

Hands down the best queer sex scenes I have EVER read. Best peach scene since “Call Me By Your Name” I love eating my way through Europe with the characters.

Thank you @smpromance for the eARC of The Pairing, which is out now!

The Pairing by Casey McQuiston is a perfect blend of wanderlust, nostalgia, and simmering tension. With dual POVs that split the book in two, we get inside both Theo and Kit’s heads—and trust me, the bisexual tension and rivalry are chef’s kiss. This book just embodies everything about summer: sunshine, Aperol spritzes, and a love that’s just a little haunted. 🍊✨

That line—“Sometimes I think the only way to keep something forever is to lose it and let it haunt you”—had me feeling all the feels.

Overall, if you need a read to pull you out of a slump and/or a dose of summer vibes any time of year, this one’s for you.

LIKES:
🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQIA+ romance
✨ Wanderlust vibes
🌶️ SPICY
💞 Second-chance romance
⛓️‍💥 Forced proximity
🌱 Personal growth themes
🛏️ Only one bed

3.5 stars. This was a well-written book but clearly not for me. I have loved the author's work in the past but this book had too much spice, miscommunication, and yearning for my personal taste.

Other reviewers complained about how unrealistic the places, food, and people seen throughout the tour, but I liked that aspect of it. It reminded me of when I traveled through Italy with one of my best friends. Yes, some of the people were slight stereotypes but it worked for the book because there were many side characters and it made it easy to know who was who. Also, the book shows a dreamy non very realistic version of Europe, and these side characters fit right into that vision. As long as you aren't treating it too seriously, it works.

The main characters were frustrating and were supposed to be. Their miscommunication was so frustrating. I understand it was needed to give the book a plot, but a couple of times I shouted at my audiobook for them to just tell each other the truth. Their romance felt real and you could feel their connection with each other. The tension and yearning was intense, so if you like those, you may love this book.

The book was very well written and I loved the descriptions of food, wine, and place. Sadly this book was not to my taste even if I enjoyed aspects of it.

I just think that Casey McQuinston is doing some great work in the queer romance space. Her character development is great. Her characters have flaws and insecurities, but are not completely stuck by them, and the pace and flow of the plot is always just so fun and readable. This particular book was such a fun feast. The level of delight in all things pleasurable was so high. The sexual desire is palpable through the whole thing, but so to is the desire to enjoy the beautifully described food and locals. This book made me hungry, and made me want to go to Europe real bad. Everything about it was hedonistic and fun and voracious in the best way. The lead couple is cute. The path of their romance (exes to lovers) is well drawn out. I like the changing of the POV mid way through the book. Overall another fantastic read by McQuinston.