The best way to sum up The Pairing is pure indulgence. This book is about traveling, food, drink, sex and love and it was so so good!

The Pairing follows Theo and Kit, two exes who wind up on a European tour they were supposed to go on together years ago. Theo and Kit had a dramatic break up and their two years apart had a big impact on both of their lives. Now they are reunited and have to figure out how to spend the next three weeks together. The two slowly warm up to each other again and decide to add more fun to the tour with a hookup competition. Each city brings Theo and Kit closer and closer together, until they have to decide what it is they both truly want.

The Pairing was one of the most engrossing romance books I've read in a while. Not only are Kit and Theo fascinating characters with an extremely strong connection, but you as the reader also get to tour Europe through them. It was so fun! This book made me so hungry and now I have a full list of pastries, meals and drinks I want/need to try. The writing in The Pairing is also so enthralling. McQuiston does not hold back on setting the scene and building up the complexity and charm of each character. You get to know Theo and Kit, but also so many great side characters which really added to the overall story. I hadn't picked up anything by the author since Red, White & Royal Blue, but reading The Pairing reminded me of how well McQuiston writes romance. I loved how sex positive and inclusive this book was. I also loved how passionate Theo and Kit were about their interests and about each other.

If you haven't picked up The Pairing yet, do it! This is the perfect summer read!

No one is more devastated than I am about the fact that I didn't love this book. :(

As you all know, RWARB is my favorite book so I know that I love CMQ's writing, but for some reason The Pairing just didn't do it as much for me. I enjoyed both of the main characters, but I feel like maybe I was disconnected because of the French through out the book? Maybe this is a sign that I need to learn French.

The Pairing stars Theo and Kit who are two bisexual exes who accidentally book the same European food and wine tour. While on the tour, they challenge each other to a "hook up contest" to see who can hook up with the most people during their excursion. Of course they figure out that they aren't quite so over each other in the process.
I loved Theo and Kit and I loved reading their story about falling in love again. I especially loved Theo's character arc and where they landed at the end <3
Despite not LOVING this book, it's still VERY good and I did enjoy it.
Perhaps I'm being too critical because I love RWARB soooo much.

regardless, if you love CMQ you must read The Pairing.

I was OBSESSED with this book. CMQ is such an amazing storyteller. Every time the relationships are unique and so kindly and warmly written. I loved the dynamic of Theo and Kit and I’ll be reading this one again ASAP.

While this wasn't my favorite Casey McQuiston book, I really enjoyed it and think they are an incredible writer. Thank you for the chance to read this book early!

Absolutely love Casey McQuiston and each of their novels I have read. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read this.

I love McQuiston’s work and this was no different. very detailed, gorgeous writing set on an even more beautiful backdrop of Europe. I understand that the writing is meant to be indulgent like the themes of the book, but I do think Kit’s POV was over written for me

The way this book is stuck on repeat in my head and will not leave! Casey, I love you. This book was perfect. Please make this into a mini series.

This book was a delight to read! The chemistry between Kit and Theo was a joy to witness. Their banter was great but they also had tender moments. Watching them rebuild what they had lost was inspiring. I think is a great addition to CMQs already amazing body of works.

I should preface this by saying that I was a big fan of Casey McQuiston's other adult novels (RW&RB, One Last Stop). For the first half of 'The Pairing,' I was sure this was another hit for McQuiston, but every time I felt the story reached a logical conclusion point, it just. kept. going.

For the first half of this book, Theo's perspective, I was sucked into the story. I cared deeply for the character and enjoyed seeing the world through their perspective. The pacing felt right for the story and I could not put it down. Then, halfway through the novel, we shifted to Kit's perspective and the story lost me. I don't know if it was just that Kit was a less compelling character, or that the 'switch' point truly felt like it could have been the end of the story, but from that point forward, I could not wait for this to end. I started skimming chapters and every time I felt like it simply must be the end, we had the same story play out in a new city.

This was a 3/5 for me - I enjoyed it enough and it was well-written, but it was a bit repetitive in a way that ruined the overall experience for me.

I don't think it was the books fault, but my mood. Right now this wasn't for me. I may try to read it again in the future.

I loved this return to McQuiston's writing, and the deft handling of complicated queer identities. I can tell this either went through several sensitivity readings or that McQuistion has excelled at doing her homework to properly represent the demographics her characters are emblematic of. There is only support and understanding for all life choices therein. This was my first 'spicy' book by McQuistin and that was handled with such delightful aplomb and skill writing as well. The fascination with food, travel, love, and self-possession as well as self-identity absolutely runs this one.

I enjoyed The Pairing, but I will say that it is not my favorite. The main characters were a little immature and it took me out of the story a little bit. I love the talk of food, I was STARVING while reading. Overall, I had a good experience reading it!

Literally obsessed I had to buy the physical copy !!! I loved it. 🥰 It’s always great to read Casey’s books!

Something about second-chance romance hits for me especially written by CMQ. It's the yearning for me.
I ate this up, I was giggling and kicking my feet. I'm tempted to re-read now that the audiobook is available.
4 stars
arc provided by Netgalley

This hurts me to say, but this is my least favorite Casey McQuiston book. I LOVED RWRB and One Last Stop, Shara Wheeler was good, but this just wasn’t that great.

At first I thought it was the audiobook. I didn’t love the narrator, they sounded very YA for the content and that seemed weird. Then randomly halfway through the POV switches, another narrator jumps in, and it’s like what is happening.

The second half of this novel felt almost like a different book when we switched POV. It’s weird they decided to make that decision instead of the back and forth POV chapters, or keeping it all one character POV.

But really, it was just the story that was lacking for me. The characters and side characters didn’t feel as strong in this one, the story felt lost, the whole middle of the book was just sort of nothing? Like it could have been trimmed SIGNIFICANTLY.

The spice wasn’t a big deal, or anything. It’s a romance so all that’s expected, though it was a bit much that it’s what everyone was talking and thinking about all the time 😂.

Overall, I was just bummed with this one. I’ll still pick up the next book though!

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This was a 2.5-3 star book for me. I was super excited for this book, but it just didn't hit right for me. I'll admit that second chance romance isn't my favorite trope as I think it's hard to convince the reader that the couple shouldn't stay broken up, however, friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and I adore a queer romance so I had high hopes.

I found Theo to be a hot mess and a coward and very annoying throughout the book. The inability to behave like an adult just grated on my nerves and refusing to accept financial help from people and instead pretending like they're poor was ridiculous. It wasn't until we switched to Kit's POV that this book went from 2 stars to 3 stars as I found Kit to be much more likeable. It was so clear once you entered Kit's POV that they still loved Theo so much and it made this book feel a lot more like a romance. Either way I didn't really like that when we were in Theo's POV it didn't seem like Kit still had feelings for them and when we were in Kit's POV it didn't seem like Theo had feelings for him. This made it hard to buy that they should be together until you understood things from each characters' POV.

My biggest issue with this book though was truly that it read like a non-stop European orgy. Everywhere they went all these people were super hot and young and without any preamble everyone wanted to have sex with Kit and Theo. Literally everything was made about having sex with as many people as possible and it made the book feel less sexy and just cheap. Kit and Theo were the single most horniest people ever and nothing made me happier than when they both learned that not everyone wants to sleep with them when they went to Fabritzio's house for dinner. It truly brought joy to my heart when these horndogs were taken down a peg. But having so much of the book involve the MCs hooking up with other people on page made it feel like it was unnecessary for Kit and Theo to get back together since they had no issues with being with other people and didn't seem to need the emotional attachment of a relationship. Also, for a good chunk of this book it seemed like their relationship had nothing else going for other than sexual compatibility. Lastly, as someone who has traveled in Europe during the summer I can tell you that you don't feel sexy after a day of trekking around in the heat. All you want is to lay in a cool room with a high powered AC unit and cold water.

For some people these things might be some of their favorite components of this book and might seem fresh and new, but these things made this book just average at best. I'll gladly read the next book from McQuiston and RWRB will always be one of my favorite books, but this one just wasn't for me. I found the budding romance between the Callum's to be the most intriguing component.

Another Casey McQuiston book I just fell in love with.

This is a bit of a spicy book as well with queer sex, also it has non binary people and a lot of queerness. So if that isn't your thing then this book isn't for you.

This book was so fun with the trip around Europe, the food and drinks, the friendships and the queerness. I really just liked everything. I also enjoyed how the book followed one main character for part of it and the other for the send part. It changed up the read and gave a bit of a different perspective.

This book just gave me all good feelings. Made me smile and laugh, though it did make me angry at times it always came back to smiles and love.

Sometimes I get so annoyed with a second chance romance that I end up hate reading until the end. Casey McQuiston's latest is definitely not that. I don't know how they were able to write a story with such endearing characters and enthralling, jealously inducing locales. I felt like a member of the tour group and can only dream of getting such a trip in my lifetime. McQuiston's talent cannot be ignored. Go read this now!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Casey McQuiston always gives us fun. I had heard varying degrees of reviews prior to digging into this and now I will firmly say that the people who gave this negative reviews for the sexual content have either A. Never read queer fiction or B. Only read inspirational/cozy romances. This book does have spice but it is by far from the worst thing I've read this year. The characters have a wonderful dynamic that I enjoyed seeing go back and forth. I really did hope this was going to be another wlw, but was pleasantly surprised by diverse representation from both characters. I am personally a huge fan of second chance romance, especially the soul mate trope, so this was a great pick for me.
As far as read-alikes are concerned, if you read Emily Henry's Happy Place and wished it was gayer, this is the book for you.

The Pairing was sensual, tantalizing good fun. Casey’s writing is as fabulous and funny as ever, and the foodie inspired world travels of the two main characters made me want to eat and drink my way thru this rom com. Cinematic, sexual, hungry for more!