I am a huge Casey McQuiston fan, and have enjoyed her previous books. RW&RB is one of my favorite romances ever. This book was highly anticipated for me, and while I really enjoyed the first 25%, I struggled through the remainder.

To set the scene, Theo and Kit were best friends who finally date, but go through a bad breakup right before they’re set to go on a European vacation. They both decide to use the voucher for the trip right before it expires 48 months later and realize they’re on the same trip.

While I normally love second chance romances, I felt like we didn’t get enough background and were not shown enough of what their relationship was like prior— we are just expected to believe that they were incredible together. The scenery and food are spectacular, but it doesn’t make up for the lack of romance. To top if off, they enter into a hookup competition which could have been fun, except it just got repetitive.

LOVED the queer representation, but felt this one was lacking. I just felt so little for these characters.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and SMP for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Pairing is a second chance romance between Kit, a Parisian pâtissier and Theo a Sommelier. Kit and Theo met as friends and finally confessed their love in their teens and dated until breaking up in their early twenties. The trip that ended up being the final straw in their relationship is what ultimately brings them together again when they both choose to use their vouchers in the last available month. They then travel Europe tasting food, drinking good wine and getting to know each other again.

This is a duel POV but instead of alternating chapters, it is Theo's perspective for the first half of the book and Kit's for the second. The story of their relationship ending unfolds throughout the book while you see them realizing they never fell out of love. You get to meet a cast of really fun characters and if you love food and wine descriptions in your books, you are going to love this! This book is also very LGBTQIA friendly and VERY sex positive if those are things you're seeking!

Unfortunately, I did not love it. The belabored descriptors of food and wine felt like an obnoxious interruption to the story rather than something that added to it. You also get the impression at the start of the book that Kit has done something unforgivable and terrible with the way Theo is responding to them. But you soon figure out that Theo is honestly just immature. Or that's how they read to me. The chip they carried on their shoulder about being a nepo baby while also hyper-fixating on how terrible and irresponsible they are did not make for a fun reading experience. I didn't crave Theo finding a partner, I craved them finding a therapist.

While Kit was more enjoyable as a human his chapters were almost too sappy. McQuiston really leaded in to all the Italian art theme because Kit's chapter long internal dialogues about how amazing and perfect Theo was after readying them from their perspective did not read as accurate.

I'm already not the biggest fan of second chance romance but when your relationship ends basically due to a miscommunication, I am going to have a lot of opinions. Theo's pride kept them from ever talking to Kit after their breakup due to one tiny thing and that was a wild thing for me to wrap my head around. While trying to be friends at the start of the tour they also agree on a 'sex bet' (you read that right) where they would each try to sleep with more people than the other and maybe I am too precious about my romance because my god, I hated that. I don't like reading about characters banging characters that they aren't in love with.

Finally, the ending felt so rushed. They were never fully in their happy moment of the book, they were always trying to sabotage themselves until randomly at the very end Kit sees a goofy note his mom left her brother and that's when he decided a relationship should be fought for. At that point I honestly thought they both deserved better.

Casey McQuiston’s greatest book yet! While previous books have always captured my heart between the fun play on royalty to time travel, “The Pairing” takes away any kitsch and allows McQuiston’s true talent shine through.

Casey McQuiston is an author who started out great and has only gotten better and better. The Pairing is gorgeous, lush, funny, sexy, emotional, thoughtful. McQuiston also flexes their technical skills by weaving gender and identity so seamlessly into Theo's perspective that you scarcely notice it until you enter another POV--the mastery of making someone NOT notice what you're doing is top-tier. This is a book that has everything, a book that had my heart in my throat the entire time I read it. I am bereft that it's over; I am overjoyed it exists. McQuiston has always been a talent to watch, but this cements their stardom even further.

Thank you to @netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to like this book. I truly did. The premise sounded amazing and the plot started to back up my expectations. But overall it just left me feeling like it was too much. Everything was over the top- the sights, tastes, sounds, emotions, everything. Everything was always perfect and magical until the next day when it was MORE perfect and magical and there’s only so much of it I can take. The food descriptions verged on absurd they were so abundant. And let’s be honest, miscommunication is my least favorite book trope and this entire book hinges on characters just not willing to explain how they feel.

I really enjoyed this book -- it combined a lot of my favorite things to read about: travel. food, and rom coms.

At 24, Theo and Kit have an intense break-up while flying to London to do a European food and wine tour. Four years later, they've both decided to use their voucher and finally go on the trip - only to find out they've booked the same trip and are stuck with each other.

I really liked both Theo and Kit's characters and very much felt for them and all they had gone through in their lives. I loved the stories from their friendship when they were young, and could very much see both sides of the argument that lead to their break-up. I enjoyed seeing growth from both of them.

The food descriptions in this book are incredible -- I wanted to eat and drink all of it! The descriptions of all the places they traveled were as well, I had to look up pictures because they all sounded so beautiful. I loved all the side characters as well -- both the people on the bus, as well as the people they meet while traveling. They were all a good way to defuse some of the intensity and tension between Theo and Kit.

I would recommend this one to anyone who enjoys rom coms that have some depth, and some pretty descriptive sex scenes.

This is only the second book I've read by Casey McQuiston but I will definitely check out the rest of their backlist and anything they write in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

McQuiston never disappoints!
The Pairing by Casey McQuiston was sweet, sexy, and all around what I was looking for!
I love Casey McQuiston so much! I highly recommend reading this book. It's such a unique rom-com!
Such a beautiful representation of queer love! A delightful, charming gem of a read.

Thank You NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I went into this expecting to love it because it was written by Casey McQuiston. I probably overlooked a lot of things I don't usually like for that same reason, and it's skewed my thoughts about this story. But here they are anyway.

First, the things I liked. I liked the second chance plot, the exes going on a food and wine tour of Europe and the side characters made for some fun entertainment. Kit was also a really nice character and his POV was definitely my favorite in the book. I also liked the actual romance that's at the core of this book. The interactions between Kit and Theo made me smile and they made me cry and I loved those small moments of vulnerability and love between them. But they were so overshadowed by everything else in the book that you really had to look to find and appreciate them.

The food and wine descriptions were fun at first, but after a certain point I just started skimming them. I liked the way Kit and Theo would come up with recipes on the spot, but the other descriptions from every place they went to was too much and I stopped paying attention to those pretty early on. Same with the art and sculpture appreciation in the second half of the book. It was just too much describing and not enough actual conversation.

Like I said before, I enjoyed Kit's POV but since it only comes in at the 50% mark, I spent a lot of time checking my location on my Kindle to see how much longer I had to wait to get there. Theo's POV was okay, but their character was just not as interesting as Kit's. There was a lot of "woe is me" energy and right when I felt like things were getting interesting from their perspective, we switched to Kit's and though my reading experience got better from that point, it did feel a bit abrupt.

Now that I'm actually thinking about it, another reason why it was easier to enjoy and appreciate Kit's POV is because he felt more mature than Theo. Like they're both flawed and put each other up on a pedestal. But Kit was also willing to take responsibility and work on the issues from their past so they could have a future. Theo just had a lot of irrational anger and judgement and not enough acknowledgment of their own role in the mistakes of the past. I really empathized with Theo's self-confidence issues and the way they see themselves. It was one of the things that made me cry and I love how their breakup forced them look at things differently and work on themselves more. But I would have liked to see more of them actually tackling things head on without avoiding their issues and flying through life in a very surface level way.

At some point in the book, Theo says something about the breakup being good for both of them. And I completely agree with that. Their lives were so enmeshed that stepping away from each other helped them grow in different ways. I just wish Theo had grown a little more. This book would have been so much better if there was less food, wine and sex and more conversation between the characters. Like I appreciate a smutty book, but there was just so much unnecessary sex here. This book would have ended a lot quicker if they had just talked to each other, and I would have enjoyed it so much more that way.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I went into this expecting to love it because it was written by Casey McQuiston. I probably overlooked a lot of things I don't usually like for that same reason, and it's skewed my thoughts about this story. But here they are anyway.

First, the things I liked. I liked the second chance plot, the exes going on a food and wine tour of Europe and the side characters made for some fun entertainment. Kit was also a really nice character and his POV was definitely my favorite in the book. I also liked the actual romance that's at the core of this book. The interactions between Kit and Theo made me smile and they made me cry and I loved those small moments of vulnerability and love between them. But they were so overshadowed by everything else in the book that you really had to look to find and appreciate them.

The food and wine descriptions were fun at first, but after a certain point I just started skimming them. I liked the way Kit and Theo would come up with recipes on the spot, but the other descriptions from every place they went to was too much and I stopped paying attention to those pretty early on. Same with the art and sculpture appreciation in the second half of the book. It was just too much describing and not enough actual conversation.

Like I said before, I enjoyed Kit's POV but since it only comes in at the 50% mark, I spent a lot of time checking my location on my Kindle to see how much longer I had to wait to get there. Theo's POV was okay, but their character was just not as interesting as Kit's. There was a lot of "woe is me" energy and right when I felt like things were getting interesting from their perspective, we switched to Kit's and though my reading experience got better from that point, it did feel a bit abrupt.

Now that I'm actually thinking about it, another reason why it was easier to enjoy and appreciate Kit's POV is because he felt more mature than Theo. Like they're both flawed and put each other up on a pedestal. But Kit was also willing to take responsibility and work on the issues from their past so they could have a future. Theo just had a lot of irrational anger and judgement and not enough acknowledgment of their own role in the mistakes of the past. I really empathized with Theo's self-confidence issues and the way they see themselves. It was one of the things that made me cry and I love how their breakup forced them look at things differently and work on themselves more. But I would have liked to see more of them actually tackling things head on without avoiding their issues and flying through life in a very surface level way.

At some point in the book, Theo says something about the breakup being good for both of them. And I completely agree with that. Their lives were so enmeshed that stepping away from each other helped them grow in different ways. I just wish Theo had grown a little more. This book would have been so much better if there was less food, wine and sex and more conversation between the characters. Like I appreciate a smutty book, but there was just so much unnecessary sex here. This book would have ended a lot quicker if they had just talked to each other, and I would have enjoyed it so much more that way.

I know a lot of this is about what I didn't like, but I rated this four stars because regardless of all the things that I could have done without, this book still left me with a smile on my face. I'm a sucker for a HEA and this one had a really soft, hopeful HEA. The writing was also really beautiful in places and brought out my emotions in ways I wasn't expecting. Like there were some portions of Kit's POV that was so poetic and lyrical, and I just loved the way it was written. Those were the moments that had me tearing up and really feeling this story and these characters. There's a certain charm and quaintness about the story that I couldn't help but appreciate and it made me like this story even with all its flaws. This book won't be for everyone. You'll probably love it or hate it, or you could be like me and find the diamond under the rough and like it for what's at its core.

𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞. 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐫, 𝐭𝐨𝐨, 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐞—𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐨, 𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭.

I listened to an audio ALC of this book as well as an E-ARC and I have to praise the amazing narrators. The Narrator for Kit especially is so phenomenal and I really enjoyed both of their performances.

I am so conflicted with my rating for this book and let me tell you why.

It's beautifully written. Like, viscerally, soul achingly beautiful. You can see and taste and smell and feel every location that travel to, everything they eat and drink. You can feel the emotions from at least one character to the marrow of their bones, and it makes your chest ache.

Now, part of why I'm so conflicted is that the set up of this book is miscommunication. And then it devolves into other miscommunications as they travel around. It's also second chance, friends to lovers and I don't like any of those tropes.

I struggled with the first half of this book which is told by Theo's POV. The first half of this book the two MCs meet again after having broken up years ago and going on this trip around France, Spain, and Italy on a tour bus. They are eating, drinking and fucking their way around the countries.

However, where Kit seems to be conflicted and almost heartbroken around Theo, Theo treats the first half of the book like a vapid horny teenager. Literally everyone finds everyone attractive and Theo gets whatever they want in the way of women, men, and getting on yachts. It just didn't endear Theo to me at all and it tends to drag with conquest after conquest.

The second part of the book is told by Kit's POV and this is definitely where it picks up because he's utterly infatuated with Theo. There is pining and romance and tenderness and love and it made me want to root for them. Unfortunately every time Theo opened their mouth in response to something sweet he said or some tender moment with self deprecating humor it really took me out of those scenes and made me not like Theo at all.

Even towards the end Theo says "I love how good he is to me. I love how good I am to myself when he's around." but Theo never says that they are good to HIM. Because they are not.

I believe this book could have easily been 100 pages shorter, as it drags on a bit, even though I did enjoy all the places they visited. The book made me hungry with all the amazing descriptions of the food and all the gorgeous architecture and art.

There was so much to enjoy and yet so much that also feel flat for me. So I think I'm giving it 3 stars. Maybe 3.5. I just wish Theo met Kit with the kind of incredible compassion and love that Kit brought to Theo and I would have rated higher. I'm just kind of bummed because the writing is seriously so beautiful.

I loved Red, White, and Royal Blue, which was a fun story. But I was not a fan of this book. I am not impressed by conflicts that only exist because two characters spend 400 pages not admitting that they like each other.

I had really high expectations going into this book because I have absolutely adored everything else I've read from Casey McQuiston... and I was not disappointed! I really loved this book!

I felt immediately connected to and invested in the love story and I really loved the bisexual representation in this book! And the travelling, I seriously felt like I was on a European vacation with the main characters, I was so engrossed. I loved the descriptions of food and wine and different places it really felt like an adventure!

The spice level on this one was on the higher side but I actually really loved it. I loved that these characters explored sex in really fun and lighthearted ways (but also some really romantic ways too).

I also really appreciated the flaws and the shortcomings of the main characters. I enjoyed seeing them reflect on their growth but also the ways they still had space to grow.

All around loved this and would recommend to all my bisexual friends. And my spicy read lovers. And my pals who want to travel to Europe but without having to get on the plane. Loved it!

Ok soooo. I don't love it but I don't absolutely hate it.
I can't exactly point out what it was that makes this a 3 star. I just wasn't as invested in this romance as I have been in her others.
Maybe it was all the miscommunication or maybe the fact that hook ups were of extreme importance. Wasn't for me but it may be for you.
I did love the pansexual, bisexual and non binary representation though

I read this book for the first time in January (thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!) and have read it multiple times since, but it’s taken me until now to be able to put my thoughts together. I genuinely believe Casey McQuiston to be one of the greatest writers of the modern era. This book is no exception; everything about it is utterly masterful.

It expands so far beyond genre. While at its heart, it is a romance, it encompasses adventure novel, contemporary fiction, travel guide, and character study. Every aspect, from the main couple to background characters, locations to food, inner monologue to outer dialogue, past to present, is exquisitely fleshed out and considered. In The Pairing, everything is connected. McQuiston masterfully intertwines descriptions of people and emotions, food, taste, nature, and memory together to create a story that you don’t just read but experience viscerally.

The best way I can describe this book is that is should be read in the sunshine. It should be experienced wholly, drinking wine, taking in heat and sun, enjoying delicious food. It should be taken in with a completely open mind, with a mind willing to experience, to put together connections, to be wholly consumed by gorgeous writing, decadent descriptions, and brilliant, shiny characters.

A truly magnificent, decadent, gorgeous read. 5⭐️

This was such a great summer read, I loved all the European tour locations, the food and drink deep criptones and just the atmosphere. It felt like I too went on this tour with the characters. I will say both the characters were a bit annoying to me, a bit too pretentious. Overall I enjoyed this one but not as much as this authors previous works.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!!

As a Casey Stan I absolutely love anything and everything she writes. This story about 2 people obviously in love with each other has callbacks to Red, White, and Royal Blue while being its own story. We also get tender moments with a European background.

I'm a huge fan of Casey McQuiston and this latest was a pure delight! It was a dual POV, second chance queer road trip romance across Europe that was full of delicious food and wine pairings as well as AMAZING emotional depth as the characters reconcile their past mistakes and fall in love all over again. Great on audio, this was perfect for fans of books like Timothy Janovski's You had me at happy hour. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thanks @netgalley @stmartinspress and @casey.mcquiston for the chance to devour The Pairing. It releases on August 6, 2024.

You don't want to miss this deliciously horny book. Two bisexual exes accidentally book the same European food and wine vacation and have to spend three weeks together after avoiding each other for four years. To prove to each other just how OVER they are about their past relationship, they challenge each other to an international hookup competition. But things with Theo and Kit have never been over. Not when they were childhood best friends. Not when they became lovers in their twenties. And certainly not when they try to one-up each other in European ports of call.

Casey's amazing voice makes this book a thrilling romp through Europe as Kit and Theo, eat, drink, and f*ck their way through every city. But the emotional connection between Theo and Kit is the tender heart of this story. Have they grown enough to try to be together again?

Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Tropes: second-chance romance, travel, bet, only one bed

I loved Red, White and Royal Blue so I knew I absolutely HAD to get my hands on this one and it didn't disappoint! I loved the second chance aspect and how we saw Theo and Kit address and work through the issues that made them break up in the first place. I struggled at times because my heart hurt for them so much. I also struggled at times because there were pages and pages and pages of descriptions about food and wine that it felt more like a love letter to a trip through europe rather than a love story focused on the characters themselves. Loved how spicy this one was, the representation, and the growth in the MCs and their relationship. Highly recommend giving this book a shot!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader. All thoughts are my own.

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Goodness me, I was hot for this book. It had me craving sex, art, and good food like a European. It also makes me excited for my Italian adventure next month.

I’m grateful I got to read this from NetGalley, but I'm even more excited to meet Casey this month at an event for this book.

Holy Freaking Heck THIS BOOK! Prior to The Pairing the only book I had read by Casey McQuiston was RW&RB, which I was in love with as well. The Pairing saw the same wit & charisma, but dare I say we saw CMQ take more risks & dare a bit more & it 100% paid off.

I have two modes when it comes to character-driven books & 93% of the time that mode is “I don’t like it.” I tend to not connect as much with the characters (funnily enough) compared to plot-driven books. The remaining 7% of the time the book becomes my entire personality & I love it with every fiber of my being. Guess which category The Pairing fell in to? I was so attached to Theo & Kit & every page made me fall in love with both of them even more.

Theo, my sweet, sweet Theo; they are 100% hot & a bit of a mess, too. The growth Theo goes through throughout the book is unmatched. We see them start out bitter & resentful, but grow into their feelings, choosing to be vulnerable & opening their self up to emotions. CMQ did something really unique with dual-POV this book; the first half is written from Theo’s POV, the second half from Kit’s POV. This switch part way through really amplified the development Theo goes through. We switch from seeing their direct thoughts, to seeing action, so even when they don’t believe in themselves, we can see how they grew. & Kit, I just loved him so so so so much. I don’t know how to put it into words. But the friendship, grace, & true, unequivocal love he has from Theo is so palpable. What a gem he is.

I will admit I was a bit skeptical of the “booked the same European Wine & Food tour” aspect of the plot/blurb. I can suspend a lot while reading (ie., how everyone T or K made eye contact with wanted to sleep with them), but just by chance booking the same trip??? Well once again CMQ threw a curveball I didn’t suspect because in the end it made sense (especially for two lomls). We learned the backstory to this pretty early on & from there on out I just knew to sit back & enjoy as these two lovesick, horny kings ate, drank, & slept their way through Europe.

Bottom Line: I am obsessed with Theo & Kit. I had seen some mixed feelings prior to starting, & was a little nervous going in, but I take it all back now. I fully acknowledge this book might not be for everyone (😢) – there are pages upon pages of food, wine, & cocktail descriptions (which I was absolutely here for), but can see where this might lose some readers. As for me, the superfluous detail made me feel like I was sitting across the table from T&K at every destination. Food & drink are as instrumental to T&K as breathing is, & the way it is written into the book shows that. Overall, this book is so incredible hot, full of wit & humor, has main characters to swoon head over heels for, & will definitely make you crave a European food & wine tour immediately.