This book is SO GOOD. Kit and Theo have so much chemistry you can taste it. The writing is poetic and so vivid you feel like you are there.

I was so happy to get my hands on The Pairing early (ARC)! As a huge fan of McQuiston’s work, I had high hopes, this book delivered. It's an emotional rollercoaster with a side of amazing food and wine. Theo and Kit are messes, but you can't help but root for them. Their chemistry is genuine, and McQuiston really makes you feel their connection.

Switching between Theo and Kit's POVs was a great move. You really get inside their heads and see how they're both dealing with their baggage. Plus, Fabrizio is such a fun character! The whole European setting just made me crave croissants and wine. It’s a steamy, satisfying read that’ll stick with you. Can't wait to hear what everyone else thinks! I'm wondering if this gets the hype Red White and Royal Blue does 😊

When I say “Gay”, you “Longing”... “Gay!” “Longing!” I think the way this book is pitched, like the short pitch- “bisexual exes on a food and wine tour engage in a hook up contest” ultimately does this book a disservice, because once you realize how these people feel about one another the hookups feel so sad. I don’t think that’s a spoiler it’s revealed fairly early. But anyway, Casey always makes the side characters really fun and engaging. And I think this is the weakest ensemble because it’s really Theo and Kit’s world and we’re merely living in it, but the side characters that do shine through are really fun. Pros- I really adore how this book talks about gender. There’s one big scene especially that I thought was so well written and so heartfelt. It just really got me./ The sex scenes were genuinely sexy/ I adore Kit and Theo separately and together/ the LONGING is unmatched. Cons- it’s absolutely too long, so the pacing takes little dips depending on where they’re traveling to/ I’m not a foodie, so descriptions of food and wine don’t really do anything for me and that’s probably 25% of the narrative. But overall it’s a queer European romp with two characters that you really can’t help falling in love with (as much as they can’t fall in love with each other).

My review will post on my instagram @boozehoundbookclub

Typically I’m a big fan of Casey’s work, but this book fell a little flat for me.

It was longer than needed and it was just a constant cycle of characters travel to new city, drink alcohol/wine, and sleep with someone. Water who? I ended up skimming so much of the book as I became bored and it’s more character driven than plot driven (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but I didn’t care for the first half of the book as it was in Theo’s POV and I didn’t find Theo very relatable or likeable. I felt bad for Kit as he was so down bad for Theo, yet spent so much of his time chasing after them and cleaning up after them (and although I know this was a small part of the plot itself and how Theo doesn’t want the help, it just felt like Kit was doing a lot more in the relationship).

I had such high hopes for this book and even though it did make me want to book a long European trip of my own, I just ended up bored with the same cycle in each new city and the flowery descriptive language that felt like it was almost trying too hard.

This 395-page book took me 35 (excruciating) days to read. It was incredibly gratifying to find out later that I wasn't alone in struggling to overcome the pacing, especially in Theo's POV half of the book. The POV switching by to Kit for the second half was a pleasant surprise, and definitely the better part of the book. Theo was an endlessly negative, relentlessly self-destructive nepo-baby. I actually fantasized about a Stranger Than Fiction type scenario that would let me punch them in the throat. Kit brought sense, reasoning, and my favorite- angst to this party, which is why I will still recommend you give it a shot.

Personally, I thought this book was about two cis men for the first 20% of the book, and I think that ended up being a huge part of why I couldn't connect with the characters. I couldn't see them in my head, and I spent so long being angry about that and at Theo that I stopped wanting to (THROAT. PUNCH.) Without pictures in my head, it became just words on the page, and with a book about a tour through France and Italy, AND highfalutin English, I was on a struggle bus of Google and Google Translate. Not my jam. No part of this was sexy in my opinion. The food sounded gross, and I don't really drink. It was all a giant NOPE.

I also, for the record, canceled my own preorder.

Red, White, and Royal Blue is one of my favorite books. I didn't love One Last Stop or I Kissed Shara Wheeler. HOWEVER, I will read anything Casey McQuiston writes, because I love Red, White, and Royal Blue that much. I think The Pairing got closer for me, but still not a home run. I found Theo a bit insufferable and I'm not the biggest fan of second-chance romance. There's also just a lot of food, wine, and European scenery descriptions. It all seemed very Call Me By Your Name inspirited, which is fine, but not the vibe for me. I love the representation in Casey's books! And the writing style is still very good and interesting.

Casey McQuiston simply does not miss. The Pairing might be my favorite of theirs yet—I’m a sucker for a good food novel. The descriptions in The Pairing are so vivid and specific, and each word seems like it was chosen as carefully as the wines Theo loves so much. I could taste these flavors. And the descriptions of the art and architecture! How incredibly lovely. I need this tour. This is one of those novels where the setting was absolutely a character and McQuiston executed it flawlessly. I will have a serious book hangover for a while. Five easy stars.

I genuinely, unequivocally loved this book. Probably my favorite Casey McQuiston book, although One Last Stop still has a special place in my heart. This is the most bisexual book. Other books might think they are bisexual, but they are not this book. I bought myself some fancy cheese while I was reading this book, because there is so much food and wine talk. Funny and charming but with some real thought about art and love and food and finding something you love doing.

Read if you like: bi4bi romance, southern European food and wine, slutty exes trying their best to be friends but also they love each other so so much, casual hookups on foreign shores, not so casual hookups also on foreign shores

Casey McQuiston has such a knack for character development, setting, and a beautiful line of prose, and all of these talents really shone in THE PAIRING. I had a great time reading this raunchy romp through Europe, full of romance and beautiful scenery and great cuisine. I'm not sure the structure, though clever in many ways, fully worked for me—it pulled some of the power of seeing a full second-chance romance arc—but I still had a great time reading. A fun, inclusive, full-bodied summer romance.

This book was beautiful. The descriptive imagery of both the scenery and the food was wonderful to listen to. The narrators were enthusiastic and their voices very soothing. Especially Kit. Love and loss were a major theme of this book and the story hooked me from the very beginning. There was inter conflict with each main character as well as conflict within their relationship that needed to be worked through. The change of pronouns halfway through the book was smooth and easy to follow. I think it was a good representation of some of the struggles that queer folk have to deal with.

3.5 stars, rounded down to 3 on Goodreads.

I wanted to love this one because I absolutely adore Casey McQuiston, but Theo and Kit might just be the worst characters I’ve ever followed in a book. They’re both incredibly manic and in need of several medications and massive amounts of therapy. A younger reader would probably love their energy, but as someone who went through that phase of life already and had to right the ship, they just made me incredibly upset.

I did absolutely love the food tour they went on and wish I could do something like that in real life! The characters they met along the way were all different and dynamic, and that certainly added to my enjoyment of the story. I also really loved Theo and Kit’s discussion surrounding Theo being non-binary. That part by itself was absolutely 5 stars, and what I have come to expect from Casey in their stories. I wish the entire book had the vibe of that conversation, because I probably would have rated it higher.

Withholding my review in support of the SMP boycott. Until SMP speaks, I won't share any of my thoughts publicly.

3 stars

This was a mixed bag for me. I like the premise, the writing is good, and I love the rep and sex positivity we get. But I struggled to get through this. I felt like the issues between Kit and Theo were very trivial. They literally broke up over a misunderstanding and then ghosted each other for 4 years. Their behavior seemed very immature for being in their late twenties, so I got pretty frustrated with them at times. I understand the aspect of not knowing what you want at that point in life, but behaving like a teenager about it is unnecessary. Also, the descriptive writing is beautiful, but it also got long winded at times so it took me out of the story. It felt as if we got more description of the settings of the story than the story itself. The actually story was a little bland. I will say, I loved how the author addressed and presented Theo's gender identity. As an enby person myself, it felt so real and I felt so seen. I appreciated that. Overall, this was kind of okay. Just fine.

McQuiston has outdone herself with this one. The story is sweet, romantic, funny, and relatable. The writing has grown so much since RW&RB and the characters are delightfully well rounded. This is a fairly long story but it's packed full of fun adventures and sexy steamy romance. There was a bit of lag in my brain trying to keep the characters all in my head but I got there about halfway through. It's a lovely representation of queerness, gender expression, romance, and taking chances.

Definitely one to pick up again and again.

I’ve loved Casey McQuiston’s writing since her first book. The Pairing did not disappoint. Travel, food/wine and queer characters?! Sign me up! A fantastic read!

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy! This book was a wild ride and truly like no other romance I have read - in some great and not so great ways. Let's start with the things that I loved (and it’s 4 stars from me, so I overall liked this book). I liked the writing, the tone, the dual POV worked well for me because of how the writing changed, I liked the travel, and the friendship building back up between the characters. One thing I kept thinking about throughout this book was how decadent it was - it was not demure, lol, and this aspect worked well for most of the plot. Some things that I did not like: it was too long and there were too many descriptions of food. I know the idea is that they’re being decadent with love! Wine! Food! Pairings of food! But it got to be too much at times and it made the book too long. I struggle with second chance romance and this book fell into some of those traps in that they spend 4 years apart and then just were pretty quickly back in love, and that’s a lot of trauma and hurt to just move on from, but whatevs - overall this book was fun and thoughtful and well written, with very sweet moments. I recommend this book for fans of McQuiston, queer contemporary romance, European travel, and food/drinks.

Missed opportunity to really explore their connection that wasn't just sexual. I loved Red, White and Royal Blue so I was really excited for this one but it wasn't as consuming as I had hoped it would be. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Not my favorite of their's, but I enjoyed it enough. I started skimming through the location and food descriptions about halfway through because it was just so. much. I will agree with other reviewers that the MCs are kinda dumb and suffer a bit in the repetitiveness of each stop, but they got there in the end.

3.5/5

I started talking to my romance group around 35% about DNFing The Pairing by Casey McQuiston. I have heard amazing things about her novels, but this was my first so I went in with higher expectations than I should have. I considered DNFing around the 50% mark but found that once the POV switched the book became tolerable and I finished it. Theo was insufferable, Kit became likeable but I didn't want to see them end up with Theo. The spice scenes were fine, but the way McQuiston used nearly every stereotype of Europe in one novel was almost impressive. And wholly unrealistic. Everyone is rich. Everyone is young. Everyone is bi or at least bi-adjacent. A random yacht owner is waiting to be charmed, and sexed---yeah, no. The food porn was too over the top for me. Overall it was a massive miss. The sprayed edges are gorgeous so I did buy a copy for my shelf at least.

Thank you SMP for the gifted ARC.

This was fun, but not my favorite from the author. I love reading about hot slutty people as much as the next person, but it felt like a large majority of the book was just our two MCs hooking up with other people in a way that really didn't further the plot. We didn't even really get spicy scenes, we were just told they went home with someone. I loved the European vacation setting and the wine and food descriptions, and I did like both of our MCs, but I just wish we had spent more time developing that relationship.