This is a stand-out book. Not just for McQuiston, whose talent for cutting emotional depth mixed with biting millennial banter really shines here, but for anybody looking for compelling LGBTQ+ fiction written by a queer author. I was so excited to get an ARC of this one, and it delivered on all of its promises.

For the story itself, McQuiston makes masterful use of dual perspectives. It’s become quite common to switch between two protagonists’ POVs, but this book does it so cleverly, using the hard shift from Theo to Kit to help unlock the fluid layers of Theo’s gender identity, but also as an ode to queer sex. I’m glad McQuiston has returned to adult fiction, and I hope to see more like this from them.

The Pairing by Casey McQuiston is an enjoyable read! I have read other books by the author and loved every one. McQuiston is the best at banter, and this really shines in this book! The main characters lack of communication did get frustrating towards the end, but I still enjoyed their characters. I will be recommending this book!

I really enjoyed The Pairing by Casey McQuiston. I had only read one of their backlist (One Last Stop) before starting this one but it definitely made me want to check out their older books as well!

I really liked getting to know both Kit and Theo and found I liked the story from Theo’s perspective more than when it was told by Kit. It was a bit jarring when the book changed perspectives halfway through and I’m not sure it really added much to the story to do this but it was an interesting way to tell the story.

This one has really descriptive sex scenes, so if that is something you don’t like, this one might not be for you. As someone who reads a decent amount of romance, even I was like “wow there is A LOT of very descriptive sex.” So be prepared for that.

I did really like the author’s writing style and how she told the story. The food descriptions were amazing and made me want to go to each of the locations and enjoy all the meals. I think the book could have benefited from a bit more editing as it felt kinda long to me.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

The words that took me on a trip across europe and the love that made my heart ache. Oh casey thank you!😭 I felt like I was part of the group following kit and theo. The tension, the flirtation, the will they won’t they. My poor heart reading Palermo and Paris Again. Thank you for the 3 week tour.

Theo and Kit were best friends, then lovers, and then a trip to Paris ruins everything they've had. Now four years later the vouchers for that cancelled trip are expiring and Theo and Kit find themselves inexplicably together again after four years of no contact.

This book is...really hard to review. Did I love it? Yes. Did I hate it at times? Yes. Did I text a friend also reading it and did that conversation devolve into drunken debauchery stories from college and just after college because this whole book just reminded us of that time? Yes.

Basically, this book is one long drawn out 3rd act breakup--it's a second chance romance and I generally...do not like second chance romances. This book did not change my mind on those for sure. (Ma'am, you're telling yourself right now, you rated this book 5 stars. And yes, I did). So back to the 3rd act breakup, we're basically living the breakup in real time, and I know that these characters are only 26 and are still growing and learning who they are but OMG if these ROMANCE BOOKS don't stop RELYING ON PEOPLE NOT TALKING TO EACH OTHER I am going to die. For real.

But that complaint aside, the food descriptions were sinful--I am a hugely picky eater and I wanted to eat like everything on the pages. Snails and Sea Bream and tomatoes and garlic and olives and really everything I hate? It all sounded so good. And then the food porn bled into actual porn, because there is just so much sex in this book. I'm used to Casey McQuiston fade to black leave something to the imagination, and the beginning of this book is like that, but about halfway through, all bets (and clothes) are off and we get to read every single detail--it almost got to the point where the amount of sex (yes, we get it, these are very free with their love, bodies, and sex people) almost interfered with the pace of the book.

But I loved it. I loved it a lot, even if there were times where I just wanted to shake Theo, and then Kit senseless because they both just needed to USE THEIR WORDS.

I really hope this is my last romance for a while because it's been a whole summer of it and I really need to get back to my thrillers and horrors, thank you.

Absolutely delightful.

Red White and Royal Blue is very sacred and special to me; I read it at a time where it really connected with me on a deeply personal level unlike any book I had read before, and I'll never take that for granted. While Alex and Henry have an all-encompassing, vicious pull on me to this day, this book is Casey at their absolute best. Beautifully written, immaculately executed themes, and such a strong, unapologetic grasp on its own identity and wit. This book is as brashly confident as Theo, as delicately loving as Kit, and together those ingredients are perfectly paired.

I'm so honored to have received an early copy of this, I'm so grateful to have read it where I am in my life now in comparison to the the 20-year-old who stumbled across RWRB and whose life was forever changed, and ultimately, I'm just so excited for the rest of the world to meet Theo and Kit. You should be so proud of this one, Casey.

Giving this second chance romance a solid 4.5⭐️! When Theo and Kit broke up in the airport before the trip of a lifetime they never thought they'd see each other again...when both select the same tour they are flung back together for 3 weeks!

This book made me laugh and cry! As someone who loves to travel and drink wine, I knew this book would be a hit for me. Add in two great main characters who are so in love with each other but can't seem to tell the other and I've got myself a fantastic romcom to read! The spicy scenes were definitely SPICY and the details of the tour and what Kit & Theo saw definitely makes me long to travel to Europe!

Another great read from Casey McQuiston! Thank you St. Martin's Press for the advance copy!

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This was a pretty relaxing and quick read. The relationship and issues between the two main characters were believable and relatable. Another good one by this author!

I am smiling with pleasure after reading this book. I want to go on this food and wine tour! Wonderful scenery, fabulous food, rich wines are all the background for two people who love each other but are afraid to admit it. They broke up because of miscommunication and lack of communication. Can they swallow their fear and be together again? I loved the characters of Kit and Theo, the tourists, and Fabrizio and Orla, the tour guide and driver. Pure joy and frustration.

Who doesn't love a Casey McQuiston title? I loved the premise of our two characters breaking up after a long distance travel and both stubbornly not letting the trip go to waste. Forced proximity?? Yes please!! Another wonderful read by a go-to author of mine.

This is a really good example of a book I started, “punished” by ignoring it for awhile, picked it back up still feeling so-so on it, and then ended up iking by the end? One thing is for sure, I will definitely remember the vibes of The Pairing which I believe is McQuiston’s overall intent. File under super slutty travel bisexual book with tons of food and beverage references.

So why the mixed feelings? This one was slow to start for me. As an ALC I knew I would get dual narration, but the first half is single POV from Theo Flowerday, and it wasn’t until I got Kit’s POV that I felt the story took a more romantic turn. I think with travel novels, there’s always a bit of repetition or at least it can be difficult to be inventive with the plot and the food/drink pairing with each locale helped tell more of the story as I read more. Initially I was turned off by the idea of two exes entering an almost competition-like race to see who can hook up more. Maybe that’s my age, but it didn’t seem like the best way to get over someone, and I started out not liking Theo. McQuiston, however, worked their magic and amped up the chemistry between Kit and Theo as they spent more time together, creating a love story slowly simmering under all those messy feelings.

I also now have to thank McQuiston for a scene with a peach that will live rent free in my head, and some of the hottest orgasm-giving without kissing or penetrating—when Theo makes a rule, Kit knows how to follow it to a T. So if you’re looking for lots of open creativity with your MCs, plenty of food and drink, a cast of characters where everyone’s queer and it might not be a surprise that your tour guide would want to sleep with you, you’ll probably enjoy the way this book tries to do something new. McQuiston after all, knows how to write romance that challenges the genre. I received an early copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I think I respected this book more than I personally enjoyed it. I appreciated the gender plot line/character development and how it was structured in the book. I did enjoy Kit’s POV much more than I did Theo’s but I think there is absolutely going to be an audience out there that will love this book and the main characters, even if I didn’t have that experience. I will say I enjoyed the actual tour portion of the story in terms of setting and food descriptions. I also found myself rooting for Theo and Kit by the end, but their journey was a bit too messy/adventurous for my personal taste.

3.5

Thank you to the publisher for the eArc.

I was so excited for this book and no one is sadder than me when I say I think I was a little disappointed. While I appreciate the research that went into this book, I found a good chunk of it just read like a travel diary or guide book rather than the romance I was looking for. For me there was just too much of a focus on describing every aspect and every food and everything. As a result, it made the romance feel a little distant and not as gripping. Overall, there was still moments that I loved with writing that I expect from Casey Mcquiston, but the overall tone of the book fell a bit flat for me.

Such a fun summer read …

I really enjoyed getting to travel around with these two characters and their tension. 🙃 The side characters in the group and those we meet along the way are a fun way to learn more about these two and their past/current relationship and goals. And while I don’t usually love a miscommunication trope, this one actually made sense to me. Loved getting to pick this up during my travel-less summer!

Casey McQuiston is back with THE PAIRING - I was so excited for this second chance romance from one of my favorite auto buy authors. I loved the dual POV - it always makes second chance romances that much stronger. I loved the setting and following along Theo and Kit’s journey. Fans of RED WHITE AND ROYAL BLUE and ONE LAST STOP will love THE PAIRING!

truly one of my favorite reads of the year. from the whimsical and lyrical writing to the pining and yearning you can feel oozing off the pages. I adore theo and kit, their relationship was so beautiful to watch fall apart and reconnect. this has the perfect balance of pov and flashbacks.

This was a lot of fun but felt VERY chaotic at times! There was a lot going on. I enjoyed all the food and wine details, it felt like I was the one on vacation. The second chance romance didn't really have me in my feelings, I think the competition distracted me too much but also a lot of detail happened off page, like we as the reader were just supposed to assume the feelings even though we don't get to see them. Overall this was fun but just okay for me.

This book is the embodiment of my favorite emoji: 😛😛😛😛😛

There were a couple plot points I wished were elaborated on, but overall this was a delight.

"The Pairing" was a beautiful book. However, I sometimes felt that the romance took a backseat to the descriptions of European locations and food in McQuinston's voice, which really shone.

I want to emphasize that I think my lack of interest in the romance was a personal problem. I'm not a fan of the second chance trope, especially when the couple broke up as an adult. Despite this, I thought the romance was well developed and well written. I thought that both Theo and Kit were really well developed and interesting characters.

McQuinston's writing is so beautiful and their descriptions of the locations the group was visiting and the food they were eating were so evocative. I'm seriously ready to book a trip to Europe. They could write a description of a suburban gas station and I'm sure they could convince me to go.

Overall, while I recognize that this was a fantastic book, I don't think every element of it was for me. And that's ok.

3 stars

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

I didn't love it. I've never been a fan of second chance romances and this, unfortunately, was not an exception. I was waiting to fall in love with the characters and it never happened. So sadly this just fell a little flat to me.