oh my god. this was amazing. almost makes me want to get into wine? which is crazy and isn't actually going to happen.
both theo and kit are so loveable and so flawed and real. i cannot relate to basically anything about them but i still found them profoundly compelling and complicated and true. which is insane, really.
i don't know how to write a real review of this book because i will be forever losing my mind over it, honestly. genuinely, my only mildly negative comment is that the phrase "flax linen" is redundant lol. which is can forgive a million times over because of the beauty of the language used all over this book.
i love how deeply romantic this was despite the fact that kit and theo spent the majority of the book sleeping with other people. that's crazy, but it worked so well that i can't help but be awed by the brilliance. casey mcquiston, you are a genius.

Torn on this one. As foodie and travel-lover, I thought I'd love The Pairing, but ended up finding Theo (and their nepo-baby "struggles") so insufferable that by the time we reach Kit's POV, I just felt completely disengaged.

CMQ is a writer whose books I usually enjoy, but The Pairing felt repetitive in ways their previous books have not; it's kind of an endless stream of booze, food, and sex, which sounds great in theory, but just wound up...boring. Not a lot of character growth, a very-American portrayal of Europe, and the major entitlement displayed by the main characters at every turn (we all have credit card bills, Theo, and most of us don't have family offering to pay them off), made The Paring very meh. YMMV, particularly based on your tolerance for characters in their late 20's who seriously need to grow up. It's delightfully queer, though.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion

While The Pairing is a decent read from the perspective of a food-centered travel story, it's underwhelming as a love story.

Theo and Kit used to be a couple, until they were separated by a Big Misunderstanding. The weird thing is, they clear up that misunderstanding fairly early - like, in the first third of the book. And then they proceed to eat and fuck their way around Europe for way too many pages. I got bored with it.

The details of the tour are also a little strange. What sort of a tour makes customers sleep in a hostel but serves multiple bottles of $350 champagne at dinner?

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review. This is out now!

Theo (short for Theodora) and Kit were lifelong friends turned bisexual couple until they got into a blow out fight on their way to their food and wine tour of France, Spain, and Italy and break up, not to speak again. Four years later and with a month left on their voucher for the food and wine tour that never was, Theo decides now is the time to go…when she runs into Kit who has also decided to take the tour again. At first angry with one another, they make amends and strike up a friendship as they eat and drink their way through Europe and make a “friendly” wager along the way: who can sleep with the most locals out of the cities they visit. But this brings up jealousy, old hurts, and possibly even love that they were both so sure was over.

I LOVED all the descriptions of the food, culture, cities, and (to a lesser extent) the drinks. It really built the setting up SO well it makes me want to go on my own European wine and food tour! What a didn’t love were Theo and Kit, the most pretentious people in the world. Theo is a wine sommelier in training and when she describes any wine or drink I wanted to roll my eyes. “A lot of tannins, but they’re gentle, like they’ve had a long time to think about it.” - An actual line of dialogue that is said by Theo and I think it was the cause of my Kindle k*lling itself. Kit is a patissier and majored in art history but is somehow a little less pretentious than Theo, but he did cry in every sex scene (EVERYTIME?!). Also - in every city they just happen to run into an extremely hot bisexual that wants to bang within literal minutes of meeting? Please. I also find it funny they decide to name their French business Field Day as a play on their names but wil totally fo over non-English speakers heads (who will be their main clientele). Overall loved the culture/food details but the romance didn’t do it for me and the MCs annoyed me.

This book is odd in a way I don't enjoy. The two main characters look alike but are bisexual, one a woman and one a man. And they are having nightly sexual encounters with other people. The whole thing makes me squeamish-- like falling in love with your mirror image. Not for me.

Thank you SMP Romance and Macmillan Audio for my gifted copies. All opinions are my own.

Red, White and Royal Blue is an all time favorite and I think this has now my second favorite Casey Mcquiston book.

I’m not sure I have enough words to describe my love for Kit and Theo. They were best friends for most of their lives and partners before they break up on the eve of their European food and wine tour.

They haven’t seen each other in years when they meet on the same tour we were supposed to take together. I loved their sumptuous tour of so many major cities in Europe. This will definitely make you hungry so be prepared. Despite clearly not being over each other, they make a game of who can have the most hook-ups.

I liked how this was a broken into Theo’s perspective and then Kit’s. This definitely made me want to go on a European food and wine tour!

This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2024. I have loved 2/3 of Casey McQuiston’s books and was so looking forward to this one; I mean bi4bi, European summer, food tour! It sounded amazing.

Unfortunately, I quickly found it wasn’t for me. As a bisexual woman I’m all to aware of the stereotype that being bisexual makes you more promiscuous, that given that your attracted to multiple people you’ll automatically sleep with everyone. A lot of authors have done really strong work to counteract that stereotype and unfortunately this book heavily perpetuated it with the way the ‘hook up’ competition was set up. Let me be clear, the hook up competition itself isn’t the problem but the way the characters approached it just felt yucky to me.

I DNFed around 23%. In addition to the above I just didn’t feel any connection to the characters. Definitely bummed this one wasn’t for me.

This book was a fun, spicy read—perfect for foodies and travel lovers! 🌶️✈️ The pairing of delicious culinary adventures with globe-trotting romance kept me hooked. However, I have to admit, this wasn’t my favorite by this author. 🤷‍♀️

Also, can we talk about the cover? It didn’t appeal to me at all, and I only picked it up because of my love for the author’s previous work. I feel like the cover really doesn’t do justice to the story inside! 🙈

Sadly this was a miss for me. I felt like I came into the book and was missing background information on the main characters. I’ve enjoyed Casey’s books in the past so was disappointed this missed my expectations

Theo and Kit have run the relationship gambit, from friends all the way to exes who are no longer in each other's life. When their relationship came to a screeching halt on an intercontinental flight to their dream European food/wine trip, they both went home and never spoke again. That is, until they both ended up redeeming their trip vouchers at the same time. Now stuck together for a three week whirlwind tour, they agree to a hookup competition as they catch up on their past. What could possibly go wrong?

This was one of my most anticipated reads this year, but it fell a bit flat for me. It just wasn't my favorite, as much as that pains me. I thought it had a lot of potential to develop the characters and their backstories, but the focus was a bit more on the hookup competition and food and wine aspects. We start with Theo's POV, and I didn't find their nepo baby personality to be all that likable or relatable. About mid way through, it switched to Kit's POV, which I enjoyed a lot more. It seemed pretty clear that Kit had extremely strong feelings for Theo, and I found this half to be far more endearing. Despite their miscommunications, I was pulling for them as a couple. Throughout their tour, the food and wine elements were strong, and it felt like those were heavily researched. The other main aspect of this story was the hookup competition. It initially sounded like it would be a fun plot line, but you have to really suspend disbelief. Literally everyone they encountered was ready to immediately hookup with complete strangers. While this was a cute summer read and I would recommend giving it a try, I don't think it will stick with me long-term. Pick this one up if you want to take a frustrating yet emotional food and drink filled romp through Europe.

Thank you to Casey McQuiston, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars
Was this book incredibly ridiculous and read like a 2015 tumblr fever dream? Yes. Did I absolutely love it? Also yes. But I do love terrible media content (my mom and I watch the Real Housewives together every week though I no longer live with her) so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

The Pairing is a lush foody adventure through Europe where everyone is hot and not straight (not a criticism!). Theo and Kit, not so recent exes end up on the same European bus tour and are both immediately out of their comfort zone. Still despite their bad breakup a few years earlier they resolve to become friends and eventually competitors. The competition? Sleep with as many people as possible with the ultimate prize being Fabrizio their hot Italian tour guide. Of course Theo and Kit still have feelings for each other (not a spoiler if you've ever read a romance novel). They also have shit they need to work through first and though sometimes the personal development seems rushed it does feel authentic.

The novel is divided into two sections, the first part is narrated by Theo and the second part is narrated by Kit. I really enjoyed getting both their perspectives on their relationship (past and current). No spoilers but there is a HEA but again it feels deserved.

I did enjoy this just as I've enjoyed all of McQuiston's earlier works. I know my library will definitely purchase this and I will recommend it to patrons looking for a rompy, lgbt, summer romance. But I will also try to point them in the direction of other lgbt books/authors. McQuiston is a fantastic writer but they are not the only queer writer out there though based on their popularity it can definitely feel that way.

Ok minor spoiler but the bus driver on this European tour is a lesbian named Orla and she met her wife when they were classmates in Derry. Hmmmm .....

Anyway I really liked this book I definitely recommend.

I was provided a free copy of this book through NetGalley.

I really enjoyed reading this book, and found it to be as pleasantly steamy and queer as I have come to hope for from McQuiston's books. The forced proximity trope is one that I really enjoy and I think it worked really well here. I also identified with some of the more negative traits in our protagonists: Theo's lack of self confidence, Kit's belief in his own ability to manage the world and those around him. Despite having empathy for the characters, I often found myself feeling exasperated with them and with the narrative in a way that wasn't wholly positive. The circumstances of Kit and Theo's breakup, the constant misunderstandings and missed connections, Theo's immense capacity to assume things without evidence, Kit's misguided self-denial--most of the story felt real at the level of individual interactions/decisions ("oh, I see how x character could assume that," "y character's feelings are really relatable") but in aggregate these themes led to an aura of immaturity that wasn't totally endearing. I'll still read anything McQuiston writes and I had a good time here but I wish I had left feeling more satisfied.

3.5/5

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I think this fits into McQuinston’s other books, it’s lovely and queer as they typically are. However, these characters were a little immature and I hate miscommunication so much. The foodie bits were honestly the best, definitely a love letter to food and those parts were the best.

As a foodie, the decadent descriptions of all the meals and pastries were my favorite part of THE PAIRING. Sure, Theo and Kit’s gallivants around Europe were pretty touristy and baseline, but who cares! What I wouldn’t give to eat some of those meals with some of those backdrops!

Unfortunately the character work was the weak link for me. Second-chance romances are always a tough sell, but in general I think it's a bad idea to have your second POV wax poetic about how smart and interesting the other character is when we just saw from that POV how decidedly dumb and annoying they are?? Idk!!

The spice was fun, but I did find it a bit insane how quickly they both were able to find fellow bisexuals willing to jump into bed with them at any given moment. Wish it were me!

This book is a love letter to Europe - to the cuisine and wine across the continent. As we experience these places, we do it through the eyes (and taste buds) of our protagonists, Theo and Kit. It is a story of their relationship, past and present, as told through vignettes of the past and current experiences.

I appreciated the perspective change mid-book - we spend the first half of the book in Theo’s mind, which is kind of a tumultuous place. I don’t remember if it was mentioned explicitly, but they are probably ADHD with time blindness, which creates some challenges in the “business side” of their business. But oh can they do wine - in fact they are millimeters away from passing the sommelier exam and we get to spend 300+ pages with them identifying wines through Europe with astounding accuracy and beautiful descriptions.

About halfway through the perspective switches to Kit - a little of the ground we have covered is retread, in a way that helps to clarify how Kit and Theo experienced some of the same events. Kit’s mind is a more settled place, but as he battles his own demons, it’s not simple.

I have really enjoyed most of McQuiston’s books, but this may be my least favorite. I think that is in part because I don’t love second chance romances or books where a substantial part of the plot is driven by miscommunication, which this book has in spades. While I enjoyed watching Theo and Kit reconnect, and I kind of loved the vignettes of gorgeous European locations, I didn’t love Theo or Kit as people and it felt like they could have figured their stuff out much earlier. It also bothered me that somehow on this expansive (and expensive) food and wine debauchery for some reason they stayed in hostels? It’s a small thing, but also real enough that it intruded on my ability to completely immerse myself in the story. I'm rounding my 3.5 stars up to 4.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I read an ARC of Red, White, And Royal Blue years ago, so I was excited to read this book early too so I could shout about it to the world. Unfortunately it fell a little flat. Now, that's not to say it was bad, because it wasn't. I enjoyed it for the most part, but I just don't think I was the exact right audience for the book in the first place, and I had a few complaints about plot and style choices as well. Now, when I say I wasn't the right audience here I mainly say that because this book is about a food and wine tour across Europe, and thus food and wine play a very large part in the story. So does Europe. I don't mind Europe, and there were times when this book did make me want to visit wherever the characters were at the time, but I don't care about food and I don't drink wine (in fact I don't drink at all) so all of that just did not appeal to me at all. Unfortunately it was a HUGE part of the book, which means a large portion of this book focused on things I just had no interest in at all. That being said I can tell McQuiston really enjoyed any and all research done for this book, because the food, wine, and travel aspects were all fairly well done (at least as far as I could tell coming from someone who has never really traveled and doesn't care about food and wine). Now onto the plot and style choices. Plot wise the basic idea of the book just didn't work for me. These two characters who had once been together and in love end up forced together again and decide on seeing who can sleep with the most people over the course of the vacation. It says this in the description, but apparently I didn't read it close enough. That part is on me, but I don't care for this trope in a romance novel. I don't want to read about the main characters flirting with and sleeping with other people when they're supposed to be falling in love (or in this case falling back in love). It just doesn't work for me. There are also MASSIVE amounts of miscommunication all throughout this book, which I despise. Now as far as the style choices go. The first half of the book is told from one POV, the second half from the other. Didn't care for it. I wanted to know what both characters were thinking at one time, not only one, and then only the other. It just didn't work for me. It's quite possible there was some deeper meaning/reason behind why this was done, but whatever it was I didn't get it. Now, that's not to say that this book was bad. It wasn't. I read it fairly quickly and I did enjoy the writing. And once the main characters got over themselves for the most part it went okay. I'll still be curious to see what McQuiston comes up with next, but this one was more miss than hit for me.

I’m a big Casey McQuiston fan so I was excited to dive into The Pairing. While it’s not my favorite read from McQuiston, Red White & Royal Blue still holds the top spot, it’s still a pretty solid read, especially for fans of spicy romance.

Theo & Kit are bisexual exes who accidentally reunite on a European food and wine tour. Theo and Kit were childhood best friends turned crushes, who eventually fell in love. They were originally planning to take this food and wine tour as a couple but instead actually broke up on the flight to Europe. Now nearly four years later, they both realize their vouchers for the trip are expiring and end up accidentally booking the same tour dates.

Fans of the forced proximity and second chance trope will enjoy this story as Theo and Kit end up stuck together for this three week tour. After a rocky start, the two of them start to reconnect as friends and decide it would be fun to casually hook up with as many people as possible while on the trip. While the goal is in essence to prove they’re over each other, what it really does is reveal that they aren’t over each other at all.

I enjoyed the overall premise of the story, and of course the trip through so many wonderful European cities. The downside for me was that the story felt too long and repetitive after a while. Three weeks seemed like a long time for a tour, especially since we get detailed chapters for each city that featured both Kit and Theo’s interactions with each other as well as their hookups with other people. I think it would have been a much stronger read for me if the tour itself had just been a bit shorter. I definitely still liked the story but didn’t love it like I expected to.

I adored this book! Casey clearly did their research because I felt like I was on this tour trip with Kit and Theo. The relationship between Kit and Theo was told so beautifully, and I’m going to be thinking about this book for a long, long time.

This was a messy and lustful gallivant across Europe, following Theo and Kit along their second chance romance. These two bisexual exes find themselves on the same European food and wine tour and end up engaging in a hook-up competition to see who has truly moved on from their relationship long ago. I was originally on the fence, given the vengeful and flippant sexual encounters, however ended up finding both these characters to be a bit damaged, emotionally complex, and overall charming. Plus the descriptions of European destinations and food/wine was a major plus!

Sincere thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Someone I follow on IG mentioned she hasn't enjoyed any of Casey's books until this one and I wonder if there's something to that. For me, RW&RB was top-tier. Each once since has been progressively lackluster (I don't remember a single thing about Shara Wheeler).

I went into this with the best of intentions, but something about it just didn't click with me. I initially DNF'd at 29% then came back a few days later to try to push ahead, ultimately calling it quits at 59%.