This was quite lovely. The descriptions of food and the tour of Europe they went on were really beautiful, albeit sometimes over the top. Theo and Kit were two great main characters and queer! The first part of it was a little rough for me, but when it switched to Kit’s POV, I was a goner. Thanks to @netgalley for the ARC!

Very European, bisexual, pining, horny. Will make you hungry; will make you sappy; would read again.

At this point, I am absolutely convinced that I am in love with Casey McQuinston.

I have so many things to say about this book that I forget half of them.

This is a story about growing up and growing apart, left to wander where we'll end up. I saw some reviews saying they found Theo to be self-loathing and that it annoyed them, but to me, it felt real and raw. I saw myself in their insecurities, their fear of failure and how they ended up pouring themselves into so many glasses because they were afraid to fill up the wrong one. Kit spoke to me through their love of art and how they managed to see the beauty in every detail and I found myself wishing to have someone to admire the way they do Theo.

This book tore my heart open in the best way possible and I do have to say, this is my favourite Casey McQuinston book to date.

P-S : I'm a lesbian, but I, too, want to get into bed with Fabrizio. Or maybe I want to be him. I don't know, he's hot. (Maxxine too.)

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC !

Theo and Kit were inseparable when they were children. Their relationship evolved into something more and they thought they may be together forever, until the two broke up in spectacular fashion just as they were about to embark on a food and wine tour across Europe. Since then, they have not seen each other or even spoken.

Four years after their break-up, the voucher for their missed food tour is about to expire, so Theo decides to finally take the trip. Theo is beyond surprised when, after boarding the tour bus for the first time, they see Kit, who it turns out had the same idea. Trapped together for three weeks, they cautiously begin to re-engage. Can the two rediscover a spark that they thought lost forever? Or has too much time, and hurt, happened for Theo and Kit to have any future even as friends?

This was an engaging and warm-hearted story about first loves, first heartbreaks, and finding yourself. The author creates compelling characters, and offers descriptions of the food and wine that jump off the page. This is a perfect read for summer.

Highly recommended!

4 pages into this book and I knew it was going to destroy me.

Damn was I right. But also, if I could give it about 1000 more stars, I would.

The Pairing is a sexy, sensual ode to food, f**king, heartbreak, and above all love. Not just romantic love, but love for oneself, love of family, and love of a best friend.

Run, don't walk to read this book.

All the thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC of The Pairing: Special First Edition.

Casey McQuiston is in fine form with her latest book. Friends to lovers, Kit and Theo breakup on their way to a food and wine tour through Europe. A few years pass and they both find themselves on the same tour again! This book has big feelings and will make readers feel like they're sightseeing, eating, drinking and falling back in love with old friends. Reading it took over all of my senses. It's the perfect read for anyone wanting their own European getaway. I cannot recommend it enough!

I was really anticipating this book as I'm a big fan of Casey McQuiston's previous works, but this one sadly didn't hit the mark for me. DNF'ing around the 20% mark.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for review.

After reading this, I need to book a European food and wine tour stat! The Pairing is, to me, Casey’s best work since Red White and Royal Blue. Kit and Theo are messy, slutty (non-derogatory), emotional, and gone for each other. The banter is excellent, the food and drink descriptions are chef’s kiss, and I was rooting for this couple the whole way despite how dumb they were sometimes. I also loved the unique way dual POV was handled here - Theo narrates the first half and Kit the second. This is one I’ll be recommending for sure!

*Big, huge thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Oh, CMQ, how I love you!! I had this ARC for months before I decided to read it because I knew that then I would be so sad it was over. The saving it for a rainy day ended today and I loved this book so wholly and completely that I read all 400+ pages in a day! RWRB is my all time favorite romance and everything that McQuiston has written since has not disappointed. I think The Pairing has now become a close second to RWRB. I needed warmth and comfort and sweetness today and this book absolutely delivered. This is for sure the spiciest of their books and I wasn’t expecting that, but everything just went together so perfectly that I wouldn’t change a thing. I loved Kit and Theo, loved getting the dual pov, loved the multiple cute romance tropes, and loved the non-binary/trans representation. 5 super enthusiastic stars!

The Pairing by Casey McQuiston

I am stunned. I am shocked that a book this terrible and offensive can be passed through so many hands and not a single person saw a problem here.

I don’t have nearly enough space to get into all the reasons I hated this book so I’m going to go to bullets and comment if you want more info on something specific:
- this book is supposed to be about “reclaiming the bisexual sl*t stereotype but it’s the worst bi rep ive ever seen.
- Kit instigates a sex competition to see who can get laid the most but Theo is only having sex for moral superiority and Kit is only in the competition because it gives him a reason to talk to Theo. I’m not sure either of them really like sex.
- according to this book, Europe is just chock full of people just waiting to have sex with American tourists.
- if you have sex with a random someone while listening to your ex having sex with a random someone else at the same time, and you orgasm because of the noises your ex is making, that’s like, normal and healthy. /sarcasm
- they broke up because of a miscommunication so tangled, it takes them three different conversations about their feelings for each other to be like, “oh shit. We’re still in love with each other.”
- Kit is so in love with Theo (why, I can’t fathom), he’s a spineless glob. Theo is the worst combination of toxic traits masquerading as a person I’ve seen … in a long time.
- Theo thinks being happy and not mad or jealous of someone else’s success is growth.
- you know that story about the frog and the scorpion? Theo is the scorpion.
- I hated this book.

There’s so much more, y’all, but I gotta move on with my life. Save yourselves. Don’t read this. Don’t even open to the first page.

Thanks to idk someone for making me suffer with this.

Foodie and travel lovers will devour this! the descriptions are very well-done for food/drink and the various European settings.
super horny/steamy - don't listen around children!
Love the diversity and acceptance!

2.5 stars. I REALLY wanted to like this book as I liked their previous books but I had a hard time with the characters. It seemed to flippant to go from the love they had to competing with each other on sleeping with others. Just didn't seem realistic at all.

Firstly, thanks to SMP for the ARC in exchange for a review!

I’m a total foodie and will read anything Casey McQuiston writes, so a queer romance set in Europe on a food and wine tour? Say less, I’m in.

I love the obvious care and time that went into writing this book, the research that was put into each country visited and the delicacies from those regions was delightful. I just wish the same care was given to the secondary characters. It felt like we never got to see them exist as more than other potential sexual exploits for Kit or Theo. The thing I’ve always loved about CMQ’s writing is the way their characters are fleshed out and feel like real people, people I know and would want to spend time with.

Overall I enjoyed the book but I was missing the connection with these characters.

please note that the trigger warnings and topes/themes may contain spoilers
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
HEA: yes
POV: dual 1st person POV
spice: several open-door spicy scenes
TWs: mentions of parental death, grief, lots of OW/OM drama
standalone: yes
final thoughts: CASEY! This book put me through the wringer in the first half!!
The POVs are split up with Theo having the first half POV and Kit having the second half POV which was confusing at first, but it really built up the angst and miscommunication which are big tropes in this book.
This book made me want to take the same tour they did, eat all the delicious food that was described, and meet other fun backpackers along the way.
Theo and Kit engage in a sex-off bet by seeing who can sleep with the most people by the end of the trip which they think will help prove they’re both over their past relationship… sounds foolproof right?

read this book if you love

🌈 LGBT+ representation
🔎 adventure
😬 angst
🤝 bet
🧑‍🍳 blue collar MCs (pastry chef and bartender/ sommelier)
💞 friends-to-lovers
🧑‍🤝‍🧑 great side characters
💞 childhood crush
🏝️ forced proximity (same vacation, shared rooms)
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 found family
🧠 “it’s always been you”
🛏️ “it’s just a fling”
🤐 miscommunication
🚙 road trip
😂 romcom
2️⃣ 2nd chance romance
💓 slowburn
😏 kinky
🙏 praise

Thank you to NetGalley, Casey McQuiston, and the publishers for allowing me access to the e-Arc.

I honestly feel like this book was not for me. Their books have been a hit or miss for me. This one was a miss. I was interested in the beginning of the book but slowly I felt more distant from the story. I knew that it was going to have food and wine. But not to the extent that was described. I wanted to love the main characters or at least one of them but they are both so unlikable. Their immature behavior towards each other was odd considering they are adults. I enjoyed the themes about identity and nonbinary. I was confused by the way it was introduced to the story. I was lost throughout most of the story about Theo’s identity. I’m glad that it was discussed but not the way it was delivered.

Thanks to St. Martin's and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. Below is my honest review.

I really enjoyed this one. Casey McQuiston just knows how to write queer love in a way that brings joy, and I love that so much.

This one had two bi main characters, so there was lots of love to go around! LOL.

While there was some drama, because of course there has to be, you could feel the character's pull towards each other like gravity and the backdrop of touring Europe was perfection. My biggest gripes were the detailed wine discussions, the nonstop misunderstandings due to the body count competition, and the constant "oh, everyone in all these countries clearly want to hop in bed with me!"

All in all, another solid book from McQuiston. I'll definitely be reading whatever they put out next!

Overall, I did enjoy the book a lot, it's very picturesque, almost like an arthouse movie but in text. Even the romantic plot, I enjoyed to a degree. Theo and Kit just didn’t click for me. I am a sucker for happy endings and here we have it but I wish it had been a bittersweet ending. My heart was left aching and yearning for something more (and better) for Kit who is the only reason I am going so high with the rating.

2.5

i skimmed through this so bad because i just couldn’t connect with the characters. i mean, i really loved rw&rb and shara wheeler so i’m not sure why this was different. it just felt like a different vibe and energy to me and not something i really enjoyed.

I wanted to love this book. Red, White, and Royal Blue absolutely blew my mind, and I had extremely high hopes for this novel as well. Unfortunately, it just fell short.

⚠️Spoilers Ahead⚠️

The plot of this book? Two bisexual exes accidentally book the same European food tour and, instead of dealing with their completed feels about their past breakup, they decide to compete with each other to see who can hook up with more people.

Don't get my wrong—I am a fan of smut and all things romance. BUT...I don't feel like the casual, competitive, and comically easy nature of the constant hook ups in this book did enough for me.

It felt too easy and too surface level and, while I am always a fan of best friends to exes to friends to lovers, I just felt underwhelmed by this story.

It didn't feel like love, it felt like lust. And it was hard to believe that the main characters would actually stay together in the long run.

The prose was well written, the LGBTQ+ representation was absolutely there, and there was a TON of fun information about food and wine (I feel like I learned a lot) but the lackluster plot did a disservice to the other lovely aspects of the book.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

"The Pairing" is a deliciously stunning read that will leave you craving more. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone in search of a heartwarming romance filled with laughter, love, and plenty of delicious treats. Trust me, you won't be able to resist falling head over heels for Theo and Kit's enchanting journey.