Loved the premise, setting, and *vibes* of this one so much!! Another great one from CMQ 😍 also really enjoyed the NB perspective, I feel like I haven’t read too many books from this perspective (yet!) but hopefully I can change that.

I think you may have to be a foodie to love this book. The MC’s both work in the fancier side of the food industry and go on this trip where they are exploring the finer side of food in Europe. I am someone who is more familiar with Michelin tires than Michelin stars. The constant talk of fancy food I have no desire to eat and wine that I will never drink broken down to its notes really bored me.

They also get involved in a competition of how many people they can get in their beds, which just didn’t work for me. I can get behind books that don’t adhere to monogamy but I had a hard time reconciling the way they were using it to hurt or invoke jealousy out of the other.

I liked the characters. The narration on the audiobook was well done. It was good enough that I finished it. But it just wasn’t entirely for me. I absolutely absolutely recommend picking up their other three books though. I loved them all.

Thanks to @macmillan.audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review. #macaudio2024

This book has such a great premise: childhood friends to lovers to enemies to second chance romance– what’s not to like?

Theo and Kit haven’t spoken since breaking up and neither of them expected to run into each other on their three week long European food tour. But since they’re stuck together, they might as well make the most of it.

Theo and Kit spend a great deal of the book hooking up with other people while they sort out their feelings. They both need to acknowledge that they aren’t the same people they were several years ago and they need to come to terms with the new version of themselves and how they’ve changed. Theo was sometimes difficult to empathize with. It’s admirable that Theo wants to forge a path without the backing of a famous family, but struggling for the sake of struggling when assistance is available is exhausting. Just take the help, babe. There’s no shame in it.

Pretty much, this book consists of three things: food, sex, and Big Feelings. Frankly, that was enough for me. I had such a good time with this book. I’m a bit of a picky eater, but this book had me thinking thoughts like, “Damn, that grilled octopus sure sounds good!”



I would absolutely recommend The Pairing. At its core, this is a redemption story and I loved the overall message that the two protagonists were so enmeshed in each other’s lives that they had to separate in order to find themselves. They were so accustomed to functioning as a single unit rather than two individuals. Rediscovering each other after several years was a beautiful process to experience. McQuiston is one of my favorite authors and I am always here for one of their books.


I received a digital ARC of this book from St. Martin’s/NetGalley.

4.5

This book was everything to me. The trip throughout Europe, the description of food and wine, the second chance romance and the TENSION.

I generally enjoy Casey's books. There's something about their writing that just scratches a part of my brain. But this book just might be my favorite. I loved watching the relationship between Theo and Kit evolve from ex to competitors back to lovers. The switch from Theo's POV to Kit's was perfection and really made the second half of the book. I love a person who's down bad for another a person.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 stars


This is a sexy adult romance featuring two bisexual exes on a European wine & food tasting trip.

This book was quite different from what I was expecting. I’m not sure if the genders on the cover were intentionally ambiguous. But for some reason I thought that the book featured two women.

The main characters are exes Theodora/Theo (wine expert) and Kit (pastry chef). They play a game to see who can have sex with the most people on the trip. I didn’t really enjoy this aspect of the book. It was quite raunchy with the main characters constantly hooking up with people. Although the author did a great job of including bisexual characters.

I did struggle a bit with this book. The travel aspect was very cool. But the cities all blended together to me. It just felt like a lot of the same thing (eat, drink, hook ups) over and over.

The book also changes to Kit’s POV in the second half. This was such an interesting way to tell the story. However I unfortunately got so used to the book being from Theo’s POV that I kept getting confused and forgetting that there was now a different narrator.

There are also discussions about gender quite far into the book. I really wish that this had been much earlier in the story.

This book felt really long. And it took so long for the romance to start. However I am still glad that I read it. The discussions about gender and the way sexuality was depicted were so different from most mainstream romances. I am very curious if most people consider this a romantic comedy. I didn’t find it funny. But I’ve seen others mention that they laughed constantly. Definitely an interesting and thought/provoking read!

I’m happy I stuck with this book, but it was really hard to read the sections from Theo‘s perspective. As a reader, it felt like Kit and Theo were just trying to hurt each other. It wasn’t until the section from Kit’s perspective that things started to clear up and make more sense.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Casey McQuiston never misses. I really enjoyed the duel POV, it helped in getting to know the characters. This story follows Theo and Kit who end up on the same European food and wine trip.

Kit and Theo embark on a second-chance romance as well as a food and wine tour around Europe. And reading from a chef and sommelier’s perspective (respectively) is so cool.

Not to mention it was extremely well written — as in, reading this makes you hungry! (In the best way.)

Casey spoke about how this book focuses on what fills you up — food, love, experiences — and that’s what made this romance so indulgent.

We have spice, we have sexy leads (doing sexy things hello!) and the love is almost unexpected, irreverent but ultimately, these two are in awe of each other.

I love how these two are taking “slutty” back in the most joyful of ways.

And seeing them make each other happy (because we get an HEA, obviously) was so satisfying!

If you’re thinking about picking this up, do. I highly highly recommend, all around!

When a book grabs my interest, I tend to finish it in one or two sittings, but I spent almost two weeks reading The Pairing - and I mean this as a compliment. While I wanted to binge it, I more so wanted to have the (in my opinion) better experience of enjoying it in small bites, like one of the delicately crafted desserts it describes.

The plot takes you along with two exes (with a near-lifetime worth of history) that find themselves on the same food and wine tour across France, Spain, Monaco and Italy. As someone from one of the countries who's been to several of the cities in the tour, I think Casey McQuiston does a solid job at making the trip feel real without dragging - a vivid journey full of flavours, nature, architecture, art, and human connections. I'm sure we could get nitpicky about the accuracy of an American author writing about European characters and cultures, but this is not a travel guide, and to me it's clear it comes from a place of appreciation with a good amount of research for a summer romance read.

The tour acts as a rich backdrop for the two main characters to accidentally reconnect after four years apart. Both Theo and Kit are compelling, flawed in a charming way that makes them real. The book starts from Theo's POV and switches to Kit's more or less half way, letting you spend time with both of them while slowly building your understanding of their relationship, past and present. Theo's energy and attitude works well with the first half, and the switch to Kit's thoughts is such a satisfying turn that completely fits the development of the story. Having both perspectives made the experience better. I understood their past split and their choices, could feel the longing, and rooted for them both as individuals and as a pair.

I've read (and loved) all 4 of Casey McQuiston's works so far, and one thing that they excel at is threading queer joy throughout and without shame, showing strong-willed characters that fight for the happiness and love they deserve. The Pairing does this indulgently. It doesn't shy away from sex - quite the opposite, with two bisexual exes who spend a chunk of the book in a competition over who can hook up with the most people. Sexuality and gender are treated openly and naturally, as part of these characters and not any reason for judgement or drama, but rather as another way in which they understand and match each other. It's a breath of fresh air. As a side note, the secondary characters aren't as developed as in their previous novels, which makes sense given the setting (a three-week long bus tour shared with strangers) but they're charismatic and the glimpses we do get are fun and hint at full complex lives.

The Pairing is a decadent summer treat with a rich depth of flavour once you bite into it. Easily 5/5 stars. Pairs well with sunshine and a light breeze, fresh fruit, and an iced drink.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC.

I need to take this tour! The descriptions of food and drink are as exquisite as the rest of the story.

This is beautiful and I'm obsessed. I adore Casey's writing, and even though I was initially ambivalent about the topics, I am just constantly drawn in by their writing style, and it drew me into the book. Love this one!

I love all of her books, but I think this one was my favorite. I enjoyed the two POVs and just the plot going through all these places was great. The spice was there and I was here for it

I was so so lucky to receive an ARC for this one and I have literally never been happier. This book was EVERYTHING, the second chance of my DREAMS (with this and the ex vows pretty much back to back my little friends to lovers, second chance heart has never been happier).

This book was BEAUTIFUL, the writing was impeccable. I felt like I was right there with Theo and Kit, feeling and experiencing all these amazing things with them. The food and drink descriptions were incredible, the banter was top tier, the PINING AND YEARNING was everything, and all the messy feelings were just so so good.

This book was everything that I wanted and needed it to be. I loved it so much. Maybe it was just the exact right moment for me to read this book but this book just burrowed itself into my heart and is kind of living there.

If you liked anything Casey McQuiston you need to read this book please do yourself a favor and travel around Europe with Theo and Kit and I swear you will never want to learn about wine and food more.

P.S. make sure you’ve eaten before you read this because it will definitely make you hungry.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of this gorgeous book.

What a book! I have to say, after both ONE LAST STOP and I KISSED SHARA WHEELER weren’t too memorable for me, I was scared THE PAIRING would also simply be enjoyable but not amazing. However, this was INCREDIBLE! I love it.

wow wow WOW. This book is just such a beautiful work of art, on top of being an absolute hornfest! I love to read books really fast, but I found myself savoring this book like a good piece of chocolate. I will never understand how Casey McQuiston and I have access to all the same words, and yet she's arranging them in ways I could NEVER. This book is horny and hot and a work of art.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the review copy.

Did Not Finish.

The Pairing starts from Theo’s point-of-view and immediately begins with a break-up. So yes, the dreaded second chance romance trope is alive and well in this novel. And sometimes I can handle it.

I could not this time.

Theo and Kit are childhood best friends turned lovers then exes, and they meet up on the same wine and food tour through Europe. You may think “forced proximity! What a great way for them to reunite and emotionally connect!” False. All they do is flirt and hook up with other people.

And that’s not the kind of romance novel I like to read. Thus DNF. At least Theo’s narrator was pretty good though.

I'm not sure if a Casey book will ever work for me again like RWRB. This was messy but not in a good way. I didn't particularly like either character. I'm honestly so sad that I didn't enjoy this.

This book made me want to book a gastro-tour of Europe before I even finished it. But, since I'm broke, this immersive story will have to do! This book is so descriptive I feel like I could almost taste the food and wine and see the sights. The author did a phenomenal job setting the scene in each location and making the local characters loveable and relatable. The main characters show so much growth throughout the book and are absolutely precious best friends to lovers to not to lovers again. I read it on Kindle, but I feel like it might be even better on audio without my brain butchering French, Italian, and Spanish languages!

I loved everything about this book, including the characters, setting, and tone. Casey McQuiston is always original and never repeats as an author. Highly recommended.

This book took a bit for me to get fully invested in but once I was able to read from a different perspective the story opened up and I had a hard time putting it down. By the end I was a bit sad to see it end. I wanted to see the characters continue in their daily lives and how the story progressed from there. Definitely a solid read but it takes some time to find a good rhythm but once there it flourishes.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.