I loved the premise of this book. Friends turned lovers turned exes who reunite on a European food and wine tour. And while I got all that, it was almost too much. There were so many extremely detailed descriptions of each food and wine and location that the story felt weighted down by it all. Because of this, the book felt too long and slow. The book is told from two POVs. While I normally enjoy two POVs, I struggled with it here as the first half is entirely one POV before abruptly switching to another POV around the 50% mark. I would have preferred the POVs alternate throughout the story.
This is a book for someone who loves second chance romance and loves, loves, loves food and wine and travel.

I'm really torn about how to review this book because I liked parts of it but really hated other parts. The big thing is that it felt very cliched. So many characters were quite the cliche and over the top. The random and at times weird hook ups did nothing for this story because we knew from the get go that they were meant to be and it just came off as very demeaning and demoralizing.

It took me a very long time to get through this one but I'm not mad I read it because what I liked about it, I liked it a lot.

**Received ARC through NetGalley. Voluntarily reviewed**

I thought that this book was funny, sexy, and a wild romp of a time.

I did read it quite a while ago, so while some of the details are kind of fuzzy. I enjoyed the characters, and the tension their sore history brings. I liked the story--the stuff of pure escapism, prefect for readers who liked the melancholic tone and self-styled sophisticate characters of Before Sunrise paired with the American-in-Europe fun of the Love & Gelato series by Jenna Evans Welch--and how it really let the characters breath and make mistakes and find their way. The characters were messy and sweet, and trying their best to be what the other needed. Trying to be what the other wanted. I love that this book explores how that is not a sustainable way to have a relationship, and goes on to show them building something new and better once they begin to reconnect after some time apart.

This is a prime example of what people mean when they say friends-to-lovers over enemies-to-lovers. There is something so gut-wrenchingly honest about a friends-to-lovers plot. The evolution is different, slower, more angsty, and it certainly works better in the context of modern-set romances. I think that the best recommendation for a romance novel is when you get the symptoms the characters are experiencing on page. They get the butterflies, you get the butterflies. Their chest is tight and yearning, so it yours. I experienced that with this book, and I'm not sure what else there is that needs to be said.

It terms of their other books, this is the closest in tone to RWARB that Casey McQuiston has gotten since their debut. It's a return to force, where she is at her best, dealing with characters so beyond the realm of normal that it almost seems like a fantasy. RWARB had princes and politics, The Pairing has sophisticates and starlets (of their fields, their posh fields, as opposed to the secondary characters, some of which are Hollywood famous). Personally, I prefer the pairing. It is now my favourite Casey McQuiston book. I think the story structure is more interesting, the narrative voice is bolder and more unique, and overall, the story was more fun.

Sigh. I don't know how to rate this. I have loved some of Casey McQuiston's books, but I have also been super disappointed with them, too. I think this one was fine? I do not think it is realistic, it did get annoying, but I also love travel, so that kept me entertained. In what world does every single person want to be with you?! It got old reaaaaaal quick. To keep this short: I am glad I had the audio for this.

I guess, 3⭐????

McQuiston missed the mark on this one. Not sure what happened as I am a big fan of One Last Stop and Red, White and Royal Blue.

McQuiston's latest has to be one of the most complex for me, personally, to review. Her social media rollout of The Pairing has been nothing short of extensive and phenomenal: Theo and Kit mood boads, guides and maps, soundtracks, etc. As I was reading, I found myself going back to these Theo/Kit guides to help my understanding of each character and yet, by the end of their story, I found that they were still somewhat of a mystery.

Theo and Kit are and have been a lot to each other: best friends, mutual crushes, romantic/sexual partners and now estranged exes who find themselves together after 4 years on a European food and wine tour. Hijinks of all sorts ensue, providing the reader a with food (and actual porn)-orgy as the duo and their tour group travel through European hotspots.

There's a lot to love about this book (including McQuiston's social media additions): it's clear the amount of extensive research done to provide the reader with a sensory-filled food, wine and scenic experience. As someone who has not personally experienced these places, I appreciated McQuiston's attention to detail, so much so that I almost enjoyed the details more than the story itself. That being said, some of the details felt a little too stereotypical: the chic a French femme fatal smoking a cigarette; a Roman vespa tour straight out of The Lizzie McGuire Movie; and the passionate, flirty Italian tour guide.

I expected Kit's and Theo's stories to be told alternatingly; instead, the first half of the tour is told from Theo's perspective, the latter told from Kit's. I agree with the experience of other reviewers that Theo's half of the story is quite insufferable. There is an attempt to give Theo layers but I found it difficult to connect to the nepo baby, I am CHOOSING to struggle story. When the story transitions to Kit's POV, I was hopeful for a reprieve. Instead, Kit's experience was tainted by his every thought being of Theo.

What was most difficult for me was how our main characters' romance happened off-page. Obviously, there is so much history between Kit and Theo that I don't think was conveyed enough in the text. They are sexually compatible, yes, but their lack of communication and the missing history between them leaves the reader wanting so much more.

McQuiston is a queer champion, and I'm thrilled that her stories have found their way to the mainstream. That being said, I think TP was better in concept than in execution. Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I ended up DNFing this in the first 10%. The characters were unlikeable, the plot was boring, and I just couldn't get invested enough to want to read 400+ pages of it.

there were parts of this book that I absolutely loved + some that I just didn't vibe with. The food + wine descriptions, side characters + overall travel element was SO FUN. I am not a fan of miscommunication or immaturity in a sense + this had a bit of that! will forver read Casey Mquiston's books tho!

Review: The Pairing by Casey McQuiston
Genre: Romance, LGBTQ Romance

Synopsis: Theo and Kit were best friends long before they were lovers. But once they realized their love for one another, it was a love for the books...until it wasn't. When the two realize that they've both shown for the couple's trip around Europe that they had booked years before their tragic break up, they feel there is no choice but to enjoy the trip. And, maybe have some fun along the way. If fun includes sex, sex, healing, and ....oh, did i mentioned sex?

My Thoughts:
I've said it before, and I'm willing to double down on it now, I'll ready anything that Casey McQuiston writes. For those of you that really know me, you'll know that I fell in love with Jane immediately upon reading One Last Stop giving credit to the characters that Casey writes. I appreciate their stories about belonging, exploration of sexuality, and I ALWAYS fall in love with the found family that they write into their novels. The Pairing was no different. The setting of the European food/wine tour was absolutely perfect and you could easily see how much effort McQuiston put into the research while writing this novel as the locations jumped off the page and I suddenly found myself wanting a glass of wine (spoiler alert: I am not a wine drinker).

I very much appreciated the focus on bisexuality as a part of the LGBTQ+ community and loved that it was not a tool for fetishization in most cases. With that said, the amount of sex and the way it was depersonalized for the game did at times make me as a reader feel that there was some bisexual fetishizing and that McQuiston leaned into the "sex fiend" stereotype that many people in the bisexual community are burdened with. There was a lot of steam.

Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot. I loved the travel and I loved our main characters. The found family and additional side charcters were a perfect addition but I felt it was a little long at times. Definitely high on the steam scale so if you're looking to feel hot and bothered, this is your read!

The Pairing is filled with what we’ve come to expect from Casey McQuiston. Two imperfect people striving to feel something in this world and floundering through it only to find comfort as we all do in things and those we love. Kit and Theo are exes now stuck on a food and wine tour through Europe trying to out single the other. And through their journey through Europe , they discover what they always loved about eachother.

This took me some time to warm up to but I ended up falling in love with the characters and would recommend this! Be warned it's got some spice to it!

The two main characters, Theo and Kit, used to date. They broke up on their way to do a group tour and they both got vouchers to do the tour at a later date. When they finally get around to doing the tour they're both doing it at the same time by coincidence. What ensues is a hilarious, heartfelt journey through Europe where they try to be friends but also realize there might just still be a spark.

I don't want to give to much away but this was addicting!

3.5⭐️

This book had both good and bad moments, but i leaned more towards liking this book. I liked the set up and the trip through Europe, it made me hungry and wanting so many of the foods detailed in the book. And beyond the European food tour is the relationship between Theo and Kit. Their romance was filled with longing, angst, tension, and love, all the emotions you’d want in a second-chance romance. There were also some steamy scenes. However, where this book fell short for me was the lack of communication and talking about feelings and the past between Kit and Theo. They had this explosive breakup and it felt like it took a while to get resolved and it felt like their wasn’t time to resolve those issues during their second-chance. I just wish they had better communication about their wants and feelings than just ignoring it and trying to outdo each other.

Overall, I did like this book and the relationship, but wish there was more communication.

Casey never fails to amaze me and immediately draw me in to a story. I see myself in Theo and being able to watch their growth and self love was truly inspiring. Kit was a dream and I truly adored him, his passion and drive. I hope my students queer or not are able to relate and find a semblance of themselves or hope through this book.

I loved Casey McQuiston's Red, White and Royal Blue. It's so rate that I give a contempory romance 5 stars, but her first book deserved it. I tried reading One Last Stop, but couldn't connect with the storyline. I was excited when I learned that the author released another book and thought I would give her another shot. The Pairing just didn't do it for me either. I did not like the main characters and because of that, I had a hard time enjoying the book. I thought they were too entitled and annoying. I guess I want to like the characters that I am reading about and couldn't wait to finish this one.

Two passionate, complex, often self-destructive twenty-somethings reunite 4 years after their breakup, still harbouring intense feelings for one another, and play an emotionally fraught game of You Be Vulnerable First while on a bacchanalian food and wine tour of France, Spain, and Italy, using sex, food, and alcohol to push each other away until they find a way to use those things to get closer instead.
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I always love McQuiston’s writing. Their ability to paint a quick picture of a place or character with a few brilliantly selected and described details. The way they can tap into deep emotion and vulnerability, even within characters who are doing their utmost to keep vulnerability at bay. The way they blend an intellectual, analytical view of the world with an instinctive, sensual one. The sharp wit that imbues every narrative voice. This story was quite the journey, literally and figuratively, with characters who are so profoundly in their own way it’s hard not to want to shake them into growing up faster, but that’s one of the gifts of McQuiston’s writing: creating flawed, messy characters who don’t say and do all the right things at all the right times but still deserve life-altering love. And the emotional impact of the journey is that much stronger for the time it takes to get there.

One thing I can NEVER resist in a book? A slew of lush food descriptions. Bonus points if they’re paired with wine.

Food and wine tall makes up about 60% of this book. I’m not joking—Casey McQuiston’s latest nearly reads like a beautifully written menu.

In THE PAIRING, Kit and Theo were best friends turned crushes turned lovers turned exes after an argument just before a once-in-a-lifetime food and wine tour through Europe. Four years later, both of them unknowingly sign up for the same session of the tour, where they reach a truce: they’ll compete to see who can hook up with the most people before the end of the trip. What they don’t expect is for old feelings to come creeping in that threaten the precious balance of their new arrangement.

I’ve always liked Casey McQuistion’s books. They’re funny and romantic and often invoke themes of found family, queer representation, and acceptance. THE PAIRING is no different—this book is a) funny and full of antics, b) CMQ’s spiciest book yet, and c) includes a compelling discussion of gender and figuring out who you really are.

Where this book lost me a bit was in the characters themselves. Don’t get me wrong, I liked both Theo and Kit and was rooting for them, but I wanted to know more of their backstory. I felt like I was being told over and over and over again that they were both pining for each other, but I didn’t know WHY they were. I also think there was a lot of room for strong secondary characters in here and they all felt like caricatures. I adore dual POV romances and this romance plays with that in a fascinating way, although I’m not sure if it quite landed.

If 60% of this book is food/wine/travel, then about 35% of it is various sexual escapades. If you’ve loved CMQ’s other books, then this one might surprise you in that it’s very spicy to the point where it almost feels too repetitive.

Although it might sound like I hated this, I actually quite enjoyed it! Not my fave McQuiston (In an unpopular twist, that would be I KISSED SHARA WHEELER), but full of sumptuous food descriptions that will make you want to plan a trip to Europe.

Another fantastic title from McQuiston! This one is the perfect late-summer read. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down.

Honestly I like pretty much anything Casey writes and Ia pumped for a RW&RB sequel! This book was great, filled with pop culture references and a peach. It was a nice blend of romance between exes and self discovery. I would recommend this and all of Casey's books.

This… did not even feel like the same author as One Last Stop or RW&RB. It should have been really fun, set in countries all across Europe and following this queer couple with a complicated past eventually rekindling their romance, especially since second-chance romance is one of my favorite tropes, but something about it was just off. I didn’t love how the first half of the book was narrated by one of the MCs and the second by the other- I definitely think alternating them would have made more sense and felt more natural. I also HATED the way the second MC was voiced in the audiobook - suuuuper melodramatic in a way that completely took me out of the story. I guess I’d recommend it if you’re extra interested in European food and wine and explicit descriptions of each character’s international sexual conquests, but otherwise I think it can be skipped. I probably won’t pick up Casey McQuiston’s next book until see other reviews convincing me I’ll actually enjoy it 😬

TWs: Graphic sex, swearing, ??

After breaking up on the plane en route to their European food and wine tour, Theo Flowerday and Kit Fairfield have waited until literally the last second to use their brochure. Unfortunately, they both had the same idea; they end up reuniting on the bus in Dover, forced to confront their shared history and even longer childhood friendship. As the two swear they’re over each other and learn to be friends again, they realize that they still have feelings for each other.

Casey Mcquiston’s books literally never miss. There were great characters, breathtaking writing, and this book was just a lot of fun to read. Kit and Theo’s romance/childhood friends to lovers arc was very sweet, yet it was incredibly complicated since they both had their own lives and their own emotional baggage. I feel like it’s just the right amount of slow burn and their relationship wasn’t too rushed.