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.

What an epic European food and wine tour! I had the time of my life when I was living vicariously through Theo and Kit’s horny adventures. My mouth was literally watering while I was reading the descriptions of the delicious meals and I wished for the hundredth time that I could have become a fictional character for just one day so that I could experience everything Theo and Kit were experiencing firsthand. I just LOVE the bisexual/pansexual, trans and non-binary representation in this awesome story! Plus, I’m a huge sucker for humorous second-chance romances so I can boldly say that The Pairing ticked all the right boxes for me because the heat content was sky high. After reading this wonderful story, I can’t wait to see what this author does next!

A huge thank you to Casey McQuiston, St Martin Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advanced review copy of this delightful novel.

This week Casey McQuiston publishes their fourth novel, The Pairing, and it's coming at just the right time to round out summer reading, because this novel screeeams summer.

Theo and Kit are ex-best friends, ex-lovers, and now, as it turns out, accidentally fellow travelers on a three week food and wine tour across Europe. They both evidently used their last chance possible to cash in their vouchers from the trip they were supposed to go on together several years ago before they broke up during their cross-Atlantic flight. Theo flew home alone, Kit stayed alone in Paris, and they haven't spoken since.

But it's been years, and they have both totally moved on, right? Of course. (Not.)

I've loved following along with McQuiston's insta the past couple months as they countdown for this book's release. They've been sharing pictures of their research trips, places and foods Theo and Kit enjoy along the way, playlists to accompany the book, and lots of behind the scenes details, bringing their story even more alive. Because if there's one word to describe these characters and this book, I think that's it: Alive. The details McQuiston infuses into this text are so tactile -- you can see, feel, taste, hear, smell everything. It reminded me of a bit of Jenna Evans Welch's Love and Gelato books, even though those are YA. Theo and Kit, while they're in their twenties, are still very much figuring things out, so a lot of the emotions felt similar to me in that respect, in addition to the great European summer travel vibes. Where they differ greatly, however, is in the spice department. While I love an open door romance, I personally found McQuiston's latest to be a little over my spicy comfort level -- the graphic descriptions definitely carry over from the food and vistas to the bedroom (or not the bedroom as the case may be). If that doesn't bother you, I definitely recommend giving this one a try. Come for the delectable French, Italian, and Spanish food and drink, stay for the positive bisexual/non-binary steamy romance.

Also, shout-out to the tour's fellow travel companions who fill in the background of this story. This continues to be my favorite part of McQuiston's writing -- the side characters who tug at your heart and make you laugh and build the perfect background for our main characters. I honestly wanted more of them, and less of our MCs if I'm being honest.

Honestly, I wanted to like this more than I did. The first half was extremely repetitive and got so boring. From what I can tell, this was supposed to mimic Theo’s internal voice—pragmatic, detail oriented, etc. I WISH i liked it more. But Theo was an insufferable character and I couldn’t find it in me to root for them.
The second half was better. The miscommunication starting to resolve itself is a big part of it being better, but Kit was also more enjoyable. The whimsical, emotion based story felt like a breath of fresh air after the first 50%.
One thing I will say is Casey is a phenomenal writer. The writing itself wasn’t the issue with this book, and I truly think this book has some of my favorite moments in recent literature. One of these being Theo’s coming out moment. The way that Casey hinted at Theo’s Gender™️ through the first half but never outright mentioned it because to Theo, it wasn’t news, and shifting to this whole important scene because to Kit, it was. Kit’s reaction was also… perfect.
Another thing I liked was the dual POV but first-half, last-half style; I think it’s a unique way to go about it and an interesting way to learn more about the characters.
Book had a fun epilogue, fun plot points, and fun side characters. I can see people loving this book, but it wasn’t for me. HOWEVER! I do think it could be a really good movie…

The pairing tells the story of two bisexual exes that accidentally book the same European food and wine tour and create a competition to hookup with people to prove they’re over each other even though they definitely are not.

In this story, we follow Kit and Theo as they navigate their feelings for the other despite their history and watch as tensions grow. This book has 5 star sexual tension and was much spicier than I expected. It also has great bisexual and queer representation and I enjoyed the way the characters cared for each other throughout the story and how they came to terms with their feelings.

A deliciously romantic and sexy romp! The perfect read before my own trip to France and Spain later this Fall.

I adored this book, it made me feel all the feelings. I went into it blind but knowing that I love Casey McQuiston books. While I was reading it an ad from BoTM showed up with the tagline, Horny in Europe. Which is very accurate but the book is also so much more.

Theo and Kit had been best friends since they were young. Eventually they started dating and became lovers. They break up on a plane ride to a food and wine tour through Europe. They didn’t end up making the trip but four years later when their vouchers are set to expire they both unknowingly book the same trip at the same time. They don’t know how to be around each other anymore and end up making a wager to see who can have sex with the most people on the trip.

Throughout the trip you get more back story of Theo and Kit and the blanks of what happened and what’s happened since are filled in.

This story touched on all different kinds of love and intimacy and it was all amazing. It makes my heart so happy to get to see the story of two soulmates and how they both can stand on their own but are bring out so much more in the other when they are together.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing the ARC.

I have loved everything that Casey McQuiston has written and The Pairing lives up to that designation.

I will say that it was hard initially to get into. The initial info dump was a big hurdle and didn't truly explain anything that was happening in the story. We just know that Theo has an almost expired voucher and an unwillingness to lose/compromise. Over the course of the book, you learn about everything that went wrong between Theo and Kit and how it's shaping everything that is happening right then. The dual POV of this book is amazing, with Theo in the first half and Kit in the second half, providing a lot of.really great insight into both characters.

It was an excellent book, especially if you like descriptive prose and amazing characters

DNF’d. just wasn’t for me unfortunately. The american visit europe trip is overused. was extremely hard to get into.

A truly sad DNF for me. I love Casey and their wit and characters are usually exactly what my queer heart wants and needs, but this one just wasn’t working for me. Probably because I’m an asexual person and the plot of this book was horniness. 🤷‍♀️ the language was also excessive. I have a pretty high tolerance but this was rough. I’ll be back for more with their next book, though!

Lush, decadent, and brimming with atmosphere; The Pairing is a feast for all your senses.

Theo and Kit broke up a few years ago, after a huge blowout fight. They haven't spoken since. That's why Theo is at a complete loss when they board the bus to begin their European tour and see none other than Kit himself. Theo is definitely over Kit, and proposes a hookup competition between the two of them to show it. What could possibly go wrong?

I felt like I was experiencing every city on the tour with Kit and Theo. Casey McQuiston has a fabulous sense of place. I enjoyed the dynamic between the main characters, but also the side characters were amazing. This book is extra steamy and queer, with a little something for everyone. I did feel like it was a tad overly long, but that's a minor complaint. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the review copy.

This is the first McQuiston book that I struggled with. The characters were difficult to relate to, the food descriptions were fun at first, but then became too much and overpowering even for a foodie such as myself. I had to suspend a lot of disbelief that nearly every person the main characters met in Europe were young, attractive and attracted to both of them, To end on a positive note, the nonbinary representation was done really well and was the high point of the book.