This wasn't my favorite. I've generally liked McQuiston's books, but this one just wasn't relatable to me. Kit and Theo are both wealthy and worldly in a way that didn't strike me as believable. I think McQuiston is a great writer and creates great characters, but ultimately the bougie nature of this book just didn't appeal to me. I also didn't feel like the conflict was genuine... it seemed like Kit and Theo should've gotten back together as soon as they realized their miscommunication. I didn't really understand drawing the conflict out.

I had a hard time getting into this one! I loved the descriptions of the food and bits of travel. Overall, I felt that the novel progressed too slowly for me to become invested.

The Pairing is a wonderfully queer book telling the story of two ex- friends and lovers reuniting. As someone who loves baking, I enjoyed the setting of a food and wine tasting in Europe and felt that the tour added an interesting dynamic and side stories. The characters were mostly likeable, although they each had their annoying quirks, and I felt that I got to know the main characters fairly well. Both main characters had undergone serious personal growth before the book started but continued to grow throughout the book. I appreciated the banter between all of the characters that I have come to expect from McQuiston, although it didn’t quite live up to the laugh out loud kind in Red, White, and Royal Blue. I also enjoyed how McQuiston used dual perspectives, switching once halfway through the book rather than the typical bouncing between chapters. While the ending of The Pairing is pretty much apparent from the first page, it was an enjoyable and entertaining read.

🚌🍷🍝BOOK REVIEW - THE PAIRING by Casey McQuiston🚌🍷🍝

🌟🌟🌟💫 (3.5/5 stars) rounded down

Casey McQuiston’s previous works have been hit or miss for me. Red White & Royal Blue - MISS, Shara Wheeler - MISS, One Last Stop - HUUUGGGGEEEE HIT. So I didn't know what to expect and found that it hit a bit and missed a bit more, but in the end, is perfectly fine.

The Pairing follows Theo and Kit, ex-lovers who randomly find themselves on their previously cancelled and then re-booked European food and wine tour—the ultimate forced proximity.

The hits? The descriptions of the European locations, the food, the wine are absolutely amazing - so amazing I had to put the book down as it was triggering my envy while sitting through an Australian winter. I wanted to be back in Florence soooooo badly.

The misses? The bulked dual perspectives - didn't really work for me. The rich kids theme - didn't like it in Red, White and Royal Blue and didn't like it here. Personally, being a trust fund baby and wanting to 'make it on your own' is not a relatable trope - I would happily be a trust fund kid! And there is nothing in the blurb to indicate that rich kid trauma is going to be a key part of the main character arc in this book.

I have also sat on this review for a bit now as I have questions about the assumptions of body types throughout the story, but it has been released for a bit now, and I have to get the NetGalley review finished or else it will look like I never read it! I don't have the answer, but I am still pondering.

In the end, The Pairing is a miss for me, but if you want a sexcapade-filled escape to Europe, then pick it up and enjoy the ride.

I’m a super fan of RED, WHITE, & ROYAL BLUE; I enjoyed ONE LAST STOP and obsessed with I KISSED SHARA WHEELER. So when Casey McQuiston announced their next book, THE PAIRING, I was excited. It’s been a long time since an author I adore has disappointed me.

The plot was so repetitive. The plot was so repetitive! Did I mention that the plot was so repetitive? I expected some of the same occurrences, given that they had a bet about who could sleep with more people on a European tour when they really just wanted to be with one another. But it felt like nothing new. And they were in different countries with different people! The only parts I loved were their conversations with other tour group members about life, love, and relationships.

Typically, I become a big fan of one or more of CMQ’s characters. Sadly, I found I did not want to be friends with any of them, which I think made a big difference in my liking the book. I made it to the 47% part before I DNF’d it. By that point, I loathed being in Theo’s head. I learned from a friend that the narration switched to Kit shortly after, but I was so not invested in Theo’s side and had no urge to see if Kit might invest me in more. There is not enough time in the world to read books you aren’t head over heels for.

I hope I adore whatever CMQ puts out next, like the first three books, because this one was not for me.

PS - One positive note: The narration of the audiobook was excellent. I had a tough time reading the arc, but it was much better to listen to because of the superb narration. I wish I were listening to a better story with that narration.

Thanks, Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio, for the arc and ALC!

A generally well-written tale of two exes and their sexual escapades across Western Europe. Fulsome with details of landscapes and foods that will ignite a whole bonfire of wanderlust, this might be the definition of a summer must-read. The plot was a little uneven between parts 1 and 2, but not enough to distract me as a reader.

Additionally, I went into it looking forward to the queer representation, but was pleasantly surprised at the extension examination of gender identities not often seen in literature.

I got to 33% in this book and the premise was not for me. I was not invested whatsoever which was disappointing considering how much I have enjoyed this author’s work in the past. I would have enjoyed this more if the main characters had more emotional maturity.

The Pairing is a sexy romp across Europe that's full of good food with new friends and old. I absolutely loved this book.

I have been a fan of Casey McQuiston since the breakout release, Red White and Royal Blue, and for this reason I was so excited to receive an ARC of their newest work. No author encapsulates modern queer culture the way that McQuiston manages to in their witty and emotional writing. The Pairing is no exception to this rule. I enjoyed that we got a multi-POV view of the characters as they discover what it is like to grow apart and then back together through time. This is definitely the most mature book that McQuiston has written to date and the romantic and “spicy” scenes were written with so much tension and sensuality. Overall, if you want a queer story of healing, sensuality, and food through Europe, this romance is for you!

I am in love with this book. From the first sentence to the last, I was enraptured by the prose and the characters. Theo and Kit feel like real people that I've met and loved in my life. I loved this book so much I went out and bought it after I was done reading the ARC.

Take my review with a grain of salt because I was in the middle of travel and ended up with COVID and it all threw off my reading game!

Love the concept of this book. Casey McQuiston is an auto-read author for me. Loved their narrations of the pairings at the beginning of the chapters as well as the music leading into the chapters! It was a good narration all around.

The fun story of some ex lovers reuniting unintentionally on the trip they were supposed to go on together before their breakup, this book takes us to fun locations and is full of food, drinks and lots of sex.

In the end, it just didn't quite have me as enraptured as prior books I've read by the author. But it was still cute.

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!