I really liked this one! I can definitely see why some people have issues with the pacing, because it is a very slow and meandering book. But, I loved it for that. I loved slowly getting to know the characters and their struggles, made even better by the decadent settings. Every bit of this book was like a good dessert, sweet and balanced and so much more complex than you'd expect. I truly loved this. It was painful at times, but never lost it's faith in love. I'd absolutely recommend it.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

Idk if I was trying to get back with my ex, I don't know if having a competition to see who can get the highest body count on our European vacation would be my thing?

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me this book!

I love Casey McQuiston's writing. Their characters and writing style always just work for me and make for a really satisfying read.

This is a hazy, lust-fueled few weeks of European food & wine tour with lavishly described decadent food and desserts, drinks, and hookups.

I loved Theo and Kit. I loved how they were coming back together after breaking up. I didn't love the stupid misunderstanding but it was maybe necessary for both of them to do some growing. I had a little trouble with their falling back in love via a hookup competition but that's a personal style thing. It did allow for a heck of a lot of mutual pining. I did love how easily they fell back together and picked up all the little quirks of a long-standing best-friendship that had evolved into love long ago.

I also loved how Theo deals with coming out as nonbinary and how Kit is immediately on board with it.

All of the characters were quirky and endearing. Literally everyone was bisexual and hooking up with everyone else. It was a lot, but in an endearing way.

I thought it was a really interesting choice to tell the first half of the book from Theo's point of view and then switch to Kit for the second half. The audiobook narrators switch halfway through as well. This is a little jarring at first, but it's written really smoothly so it didn't bother me much. I can see that it allowed McQuiston to drag out the misunderstanding / getting back together for as long as possible while highlighting the mutual pining.

I recommend the audiobook because it was really well done and also makes the hazy, decadent, lust-filled setting really immersive. Both narrators did a fabulous job bringing the characters to life and the transition between them was really smooth and not jarring at all.

Even though it's not my favorite McQuiston novel, it's still excellent and I highly recommend it.

*Thanks to St. Martin's Griffin and Macmillan Audio for providing an early copy for review.

I’m going to be really honest. It’s pretty clear that “Red, White, and Royal Blue” was written to appeal to a wide audience, while the books since have been a lot more niche. And that’s fine. I believe authors should write what they’re passionate about. But it’s also clear that I’m not part of the niche audience the author is targeting.

The first three chapters of the book felt like the openings of three different books. For me it was like being stranded in the ocean and buffeted by the waves, without anything to tether me to shore. And I hate that feeling. So I’m not going to finish this book, and I’m not going to start any more books by this author. We’re not a good fit.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for this ARC ✨

"Perfect Pairing" by Casey Mcquiston is a delight! This charming romance blends humor, heart, and a dash of foodie heaven to create a really entertaining read. If you're looking for a feel-good romance with depth, this book is a must-read!

I've been anticipating this book for a while and while it wasn't my favorite of the author's books (tied between RWRB and One Last Stop), it's still a five-star read filled with second-chance pining, food descriptions for miles, and an armchair vacation through Europe!

I'm going to get hate for this, but...I ended up skimming most of the sex/sex competition scenes. I don't think Casey McQuiston overdid it, but they got old after a while and made Theo a little irritating and both them and Kit less sympathetic.

Aside from that, I adored reading about the sumptuous food porn and bacchanalia of Kit and Theo's European adventure. It felt oddly cozy to read about their travels, and I loved the fantasy of where they choose to take their relationship.

Casey McQuiston has done it again!

This story has it all: lovable characters, steamy romance, and mouthwatering descriptions of food. The story started out kind of slow for my tastes, but really hooked me about halfway through. I loved getting to know all of the characters and really appreciated that they weren't just treated as extras but had their own stories and goals. I adored the descriptions of each new place--especially the food and drink, Theo's sommelier skills were mesmerizing and had me wishing I could discern the differences between different wines. And of course, I couldn't get enough of the romance. I could feel the heartache between the two characters, which made their eventual romance that much sweeter. It was, overall, a beautiful story.

I would recommend this book to fans of Casey's other works, contemporary romance, foodies, and travelers. 4/5 stars.

The Pairing pairs Theo and Kit and food and wine. If you're a foodie or a wine enthusiast you might be as obsessed as the will-they or won't they again lovers. Theo is a member of a Hollywood family and a sommelier-in-training. Kit was Theo's boy next door and the guy who broke Theo's heart. He now lives in France and works as a high end pastry drudge. The two already did the friends-to-lover thing, having lived together and everything. Their total separation happened on their way to this very three-week European food tour four years ago. They both happened to have rebooked. Theo literally runs (falls) into Kit on the tour bus, causing a nosebleed. The rest of this book, which takes its sweet (or tedious, depending on your perspective) time with their inevitable reconciliation / unreconciliation / conclusion.

It went on too long for me, but I still liked it. The lovers are both bisexual and as adventurous sexually as they are with their other appetites (remember they're both foodie drinkies). Their queer lives are matter of fact front and center, just as McQuiston's other characters' are. The rest of the cast also consists of folks who seem like they might be boring, but can surprise you. I wouldn't mind reading novels from other pairs' points of view.

As a lover of Casey McQuiston novels I was so excited to have received this arc. After downloading it to my kindle I decided to briefly read the synopsis and realized that I probably should not have requested it. My decision to DNF at 25% took a lot of thought.

We follow our two main characters, Theo and Kitt, four years after their breakup on a food tour through Europe. Second chance romance? I could dig it. Watching them hook up with other people when I’m a romance girlie at heart? Not for me.

I do feel McQuinston had extensive knowledge of food and wine and handled that subject matter well. I found Theo to be a complicated character in that I was sympathetic to him while also finding him incredibly annoying and pompous. He is the embodiment of mid-2000s hipster vibes and I dated that, and no thank you.

Maybe I will eventually come back to this but as of current I am decided to not finish.

Kit and Theo were supposed to go on a European food tour four years ago, but they broke up on the way to the trip. Four years later, both, unbeknownst to the other, decide to use the voucher they received on the same trip. It’s not until they get on the bus that they discover they are on the same trip. Now they are trapped with each other for three weeks of travel across Europe. Because they are so over each other they challenge each other to see how many people they can hook up with while travelling. They begin to discover that spending time with each other is as fun as before.

First off, the food tour was truly transporting and I loved how it set the scene for this trip. We got to experience the idyllic countryside of France, Spain and Italy and I loved I felt as if I were in these towns. I also thought the cast of characters Kit and Theo meet along the way were perfect and such huge additions to the story.

I thought, in the first half, we got a good insight into Kit and Theo’s relationship and why things ended the way they did. We then get the second half told from Kit’s perspective and learn that not all is as it seems. You begin to realize that both Kit and Theo changed after their break-up and became more of their own people.

This second chance romance, while bumpy at times was a story that was beautiful for Theo and Kit. You can tell they truly care and love each other, but are frustrated by how things ended. I loved learning the break-up caused them to understand themselves more and make themselves more able to manage a relationship. If you love a story about a second shot at first love, this is the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this book. All opinions are 100% mine.

read if you like: second chance romance, forced proximity

Casey Casey Casey!!! The way that she writes her characters you feel like you are friends with them and just want to live in their world. I never wanted this story to end and am so thankful to have read this when I did. Just pulls on all of your heart strings.

I can’t think of a better word to describe this book other than sumptuous. The author wrote such lush and vivid descriptions of the locations and food. Essentially this book is about horny bisexuals on a European food and wine tour. This might actually be the horniest book I’ve read. I had a great time getting to know Theo, Kit and the side characters.

The book is quite long and dragged at times. I wished Theo and Kit could have actually talked to each other more about their feelings, etc.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Picture this: a couple was supposed to go on a romantic food tour in Europe together to plan their dreams....but they breakup on the plane, it's nonrefundable. Later, they end up accidentally rescheduling their food tour on the same date because they both waited until the last minute not wanting to lose their tour fee. Over three weeks in Europe there are so many moments to connect, experience and maybe even figure it out? I loved it.

Theres a lot to love about this book. Kit and Theo are both SOOO likeable. Their tour is an idyllic European food and wine tour. The descriptions are good tier. I wanna go eat all this stuff. Like really really want to. Theo and Kit talk about food being their 'shared second language's and it the descriptions in this book are so detailed it feels like the reader can experience it too! The whole cast of people them meet and befriend throughout their tour is so quirky and fun, whether it be a potential hookup for their hookup competition, a tour guide or a local they randomly meet, the side characters are so detailed and make this story rich and entertaining!

Throughout the book, we slowly find out what happened and what Kit and Theo's history is through, what I felt was, the perfect amount of flashbacks.
This might be the only proper 'second chance romance's I've truly loved. Something about getting stuck together on a food tour of Europe and realizing you've grown and are better people now is EVERYTHING. Honestly though, this was sold to me as a romance.....but I would totally be cool with 'we learned and grew and can be soulmate best friends now and explore Europe on this incredible tour'.

There are definitely some self exploration and coming out moments in this one. I found the discussion of gender in here so interesting, because so much of the book is from Theo's perspective, we don't hear about their gender and are left just to be. To me, their POV is giving NB but then we get whiplash of Kit using 'she her's and then all is right and cool when Theo comes out and Kit compliments the 'mouthfeel' of their pronouns and truly sees them. And I loved everything about that. As a lil sidenote: one of them refers to media that is not explicitly gay but has 'homosexual Flair' and I just adored that.

This is the queer book for people who loved Ross and Rachel's airport romance moment on friends. You'll have to read to see what that means.

This was not for me. But my issue with it was stated in the synopsis, so that is 100% my bad for not reading it all the way. I loved the idea of the food and wine tour. The whole bet on who can sleep with the most people? No thanks.

I'm a HUGE Casey McQuiston fan. Everything they write just absolutely works for me. This is no exception. The Pairing is the perfect summer book: sexy and emotional with incredible descriptions of food, travel, and friendship.

I love a second chance romance and I love queer people getting happy endings. Highly recommend for Casey McQuistion fans.

I generally love this author’s books so much but unfortunately this one just wasn’t for me. Please do not take that to mean this is a BAD book bc it’s not. It’s the same writing we all know and adore.

I couldn’t connect with kit or Theo and I had a really hard time with the “competition” they put themselves in. I am not a fan of that in any book so I probably would’ve steered clear of this one if I had realized how heavily it leaned into sleep with a bunch of people instead of each other trope.

I’m giving it two stars for my personal rating but as far as the writing, descriptions, humor ? It’s still great and the usual we’re used to from Casey McQuiston

Thank you to Netgalley and St, Martins for this ARC — the highlight of 2024 thus far! could have sworn CMQ couldn't possibly top anything they've already put out and I found myself eating my words very quickly, alongside wanting to eat much more than that from the heavenly descriptions of all food and drink in this heaven-sent book! Truthfully, Theo and Kit might be one of my favorite relationships and friendships I've ever seen in a piece of media; they feel real, and raw, and genuine in ways I never imagined characters could feel! The writing and pacing of this book had me on the edge of my seat, and the spice? I'm usually not a fan, but I was kicking my feet and twirling my hair every time, I was rooting for every raunchy endeavor. I cannot wait for you all to get your hands on this masterpiece, out for purchase August 6th!

I knew I was going to like this one going into it. It's a McQuiston novel and I really adored their first two books (especially One Last Stop). I was surprised to see that the first half is in Theo's POV and the second half is in Kit's--I had assumed the story would be alternating point of views. But I actually think it worked really well the way it was done. I adored Theo--maybe because they remind me of myself? I'm not sure, but they're my favorite brand of messy. In fact, I was kind of sad when the book switched to Kit's point of view, but quickly decided it was a lovely way to tell the rest of the story.

Nothing about this book stood out to me as particularly special or exciting but it's a nice addition to McQuiston's roster!

If you like queer romance and some humor (and food and spice!) give this one a go :)

Theo and Kit accidentally book the same European food and wine tour, years after a dramatic breakup. Theo's now a bartender and aspiring sommelier, while Kit’s a top pastry chef in Paris. When they meet up on the tour, they challenge each other to a hookup competition with their hot Italian tour guide.

This book was way steamier than I expected and hit the perfect balance of angsty longing for a second chance romance. The side characters were a blast too.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!