I really could not get into this title and I truly enjoy Red, White, & Royal Blue. I would love a bisexual romp through Europe read, but this just was not the book for me. The trope of dating other people or sleeping with other people before (or in this case, also after) the main characters get into a relationship is one I would normally enjoy, but again--something about this book just did not work. I would definitely still read a future title by Casey McQuiston and hope I will enjoy the next one better.

Casey McQuiston knows how to grab a reader by the neck and have them hooked until long after the book ends. The Pairing has everything that McQuiston is great at: heart and humor. The atmosphere and attention to detail of foods, wines, and art of every city and country our characters venture into is a highlight of the novel. The one liners are as quipy as ever and the side characters round out the cast as well and perfect as a sixties slapstick comedy. While it is not my favorite of this author’s, it was a good time reading it.

I love Casey McQuiston and this book did not change that. Their banter is always a delight and it was present in spades between Kit and Theo. I love that both characters spend the book doing some serious introspection and learning things about themselves outside of their love story. It really made them feel like they had full lives and personalities and made them coming together at the end all the more enjoyable. I am not a foodie, so much of the descriptions of food missed me completely. But I imagine if you are that will make the story all the more enjoyable (and perhaps deeper!). I do wish they would have just talked to each other a little bit and perhaps solved the problem a little bit sooner.

I was a huge fan of "Red, White & Royal Blue", so I was eager for another story from Casey McQuiston. While "The Pairing" didn't quite live up to my expectations, I still enjoyed it quite a bit! The premise was fun and the main characters were likable. In the beginning, I kept wishing we got Kit's POV along with Theo's, expecting an every-other-chapter cadence, so I was glad when the perspective finally switched halfway through the book. I actually enjoyed Kit's POV more, but Theo's was good too. The story was very much wrapped up in how these two felt about each other, and I think some of the nuggets about their lives and conflicts outside of each other could have been expanded upon more to flesh them out even further as characters. The travel through Europe was fun, and I mostly enjoyed the descriptive tour of location and food (although at times it became a bit repetitive and I wanted to get to the meat of the story). The tension between Theo and Kit was well-paced, and I liked the ending. All in all, a fun, sexy read!

I loved the bisexual representation in this book, and the food and wine descriptions had me looking up tickets to Italy.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am going to be extremely honest here… There were very few things that I liked about this book.


I will start with the things that I did happen to like about this book.
- THE PAIRING showcases Casey McQuiston’s writing. I highlighted the hell out of this book. McQuiston’s prose transports you to each European travel stop through descriptions of the wine, food, and art. I haven’t been to any of the places in the book, but I felt I was tasting the food, drinking the wine, and gazing at art right next to Kit and Theo.
- The relationship between Kit and Theo was hit and miss for me. However, Kit’s POV really gave me a better understanding of their relationship dynamic and how they each view the other. The love that Kit has for Theo is evident from the first chapter from his POV. I feel like this story would have been strengthened by alternating POV chapters rather than one half of the book being Theo’s POV and the other half being Kit’s POV.
- The nonbinary representation is *chef’s kiss*. The scene where Theo tells Kit about their gender identity was so heartwarming. Kit’s reaction was beautiful, and I loved seeing a character being received as they are in such a loving and understanding way… I may have teared up at bit.


What I didn’t like…
- Parts of this story were as messy as the two chaotic, bisexual main characters. The entire premise involved two ex-best friends/former lovers reconnecting on a European food and wine tour after 4 years apart. The pair decide to compete on who can hook up with the most people in different cities by the end of their trip. Okay, sounds fun? I wouldn’t say that I am a prude, but this concept really didn’t work for me in this story. If anything, it pulled me out of the romance between the two main characters and made the relationship feel extremely toxic. From the beginning, it is clear that the two main characters are obviously still very much in love with one another, yet they wield sex like a sword to continuously hurt one another.
- I feel like this story really played into the bisexual stereotypes that so many queer people have spent decades trying to change public perception of… Everywhere Kit and Theo went they were trying to hook-up with other people, and it felt like everybody was trying to hook-up with them. I feel like a lot of the narrative focused on their attraction to random characters that did not contribute to the overall story. Despite language and cultural barriers, literally everybody that Kit and Theo encountered were DTF.
- THE PEACH SCENE. I feel like 90% of queer readers have read and/or watched CALL ME BY YOUR NAME. If you fall into that category, and you’re wondering why I am using the term “peach scene” in reference to another novel, it’s because this book also had it’s very on rendition of CMBYN’s “peach scene.” Y’all, I was genuinely not prepared when I stumbled across this scene in the book. It made me look at the entire novel differently, and by that, I mean it made me look as a CMBYN or Timothée Chalamet fanfic. I am not a fanfiction hater, but if your book is a fanfic, please just say so.
- Theo’s griping about their business failing and having no money is relatable until you remembered they are a nepo baby and literally have a family member begging to help them out…
- There is a lot of moving parts in this story. Kit moved to the US as a kid, met Theo, and they became best friends. Then Kit moved across the US-only to eventually move back to the west coast and live with Theo. Only, Kit moves again, to France, where they have no contact with Theo for 4 years… I don’t really see how all of the moving around was relevant to the story, but I digress.


Overall, THE PAIRING is my least favorite CMQ book to date. I really, truly wanted to like this. I love the friends-to-lovers and second chance romance tropes. I truly feel that this story had the potential of being one of the best romances of all time, but there are a lot of things that would have to change to get it there. This novel just really fell below the mark for me.

Decadent and delicious! I loved Casey McQuiston's new queer romance, The Pairing. Lush descriptions of food, drinks, and European settings made me feel that I was there, and miss it once I wasn't. This is a book to be savoured, not devoured. Or maybe devour it the first time and savour it on reread; you won't be able to help yourself!

Just punch me in the face with feelings about love and food and finding yourself. Casey has done it again. I don’t often read romcoms but when I do they’re Casey McQuistons and I do believe this is my new favorite of theirs. If I could have my entire review just be quotes I would, but that’s not how this works.

This book is a love letter to Europe and food and wine and every page makes me want to get up and go abroad immediately. The absolutely delectable way plates of cheese are described, little delicate pastries with French fillings and wines with hints of flavors I could never sense—it all equates to a mouthwatering delight of wanting to eat everything and anything the world has to offer.

Apart from the food, the story of Kit and Theo, Theo and Kit, them. It’s one I will cherish for a long time. Their worlds are so wrapped and intertwined with each other—even in the times they apart. The premise is “Sluts in Europe eating good food” which, yes that is the vibe. Though (spoiler alert) it turns into a friends with benefits situation about halfway in.

“𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺, 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.”

I love in the first half we get to see everything from Theo’s POV. How they are avoiding the thought of the breakup. How they’re handling the “Kit” of it all. Their inner thoughts, the pining, the wining, the smartassery. I adore them.

“𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘒𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘬, 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘯. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺, 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳.— 𝘒𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘦𝘥. 𝘈 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬, 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘶. 𝘔𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘱, 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘒𝘪𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴.”

Kit is a dream. He’s joy, he’s baking on a hot summer day and swimming in tiny shorts in the ocean and laughter. He’s also sad and heartbroken and smiling through the pain. He’s everything and more and I love him deeply and connected with him so dearly. His love for Theo through the years, form the first Superbloom occurrence is so effervescent. He’s a being made of passion.

“𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘰’𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘍𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩.”

LIKE. Some of these quotes are so raw and real and lord I love everything Casey writes. I look forward to holding the physical book in my hands so I can just hug it for a long time. I loved this story. It’s one I feel like I could read again and again and again and love it just much as I did the first time.

Thanks so much @netgalley for letting me give it a read.

The Pairing is a perfect summer read. It’s delicious & sexy, while also being comforting & heartwarming.

Kit & Theo are childhood friends that become lovers and through a series of events have a dramatic breakup. They are left heartbroken and yearning all the while needing to use their ticket to a European wine and pastry tour. As fate would have it, they both use it at the very last minute and end up taking the tour together as they had originally intended but now as exes.

Casey McQuiston is back again with another must read. I was captivated from the beginning and the whole story is a love letter to childhood friendships, travel, sensory exploration, sexual exploration, identity, passion, chosen family, taking chances, and self discovery. I wanted to eat and drink everything Kit & Theo experienced on their tour. I took my time reading this one because I wanted to savor every scene. Each moment and chose of word is carefully curated by CMQ and so delectable.

Grab yourself a glass of wine (if you drink) and your passport because you are going to many wonderful places in this one. I’m excited for others to fall in love with Kit and Theo and all the people on the tour.

I wanted to love this but in the end I did not love the interaction between our two main characters. I found it a bit abrasive and what could have been a fun travel novel ended up not really enjoyable for me.

This book is perhaps my favorite of McQuiston’s. The set up is really fun and the follow through is remarkable. The plot is well-paced and full of energy. The characters, especially the side characters, are fun and fit the story really well, while verging just slightly towards ridiculous. The two romantic leads are incredible, and I really rooted for them. This book has wonderful discussions of queerness and gender, which are full of heart and joy. The sex scenes are fun and spicy. The whole book has an air of camp which is just perfect.

Casey McQuiston did it again. They are such an amazing author and create the most amazing characters, the depth and complexity - chef's kiss.
Theo and Kit were so imperfectly perfect. I loved how their relationship was friendship that blossomed and then a happen-stance coming back together on a wine tour. It would be awful for sure. I cannot imagine thinking you are going to have some time away and then have you ex sitting on the bus in a foreign country.
While I hated the sex game, the rest of the book was perfection. I want to hate the miscommunication or lack of communication troupes, but isn't that just real life. How many times do we do that in our daily lives with the relationships around us.
The vibes of the book were perfect though. I madly want to go on a wine and food tour now. The cast of characters were goofy, caring, ridiculous, loving and just amazing.
I could see this turned into the most amazing movie - and it would be awesome! A perfect summer read that shows that love isn't always easy and growing up, changing and compromising are tough, but can be worth it with the right person!

Gorgeous book...the scenery, food and wine descriptions, and chemistry between Kit & Theo created an immersive, sensual experience. I felt at times like I was on the European trip with the characters, meeting the locals and experiencing the culture. The book switched halfway through from Theo's POV to Kit's POV and I was initially sad to leave Theo's narration but I quickly fell in love with Kit. I could feel the tension and conflict throughout the novel but also the deep magnetic love the characters had for one another. Even though I knew it would end up okay, it was a wild, beautiful ride.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC.

I was really excited about this book, as I've enjoyed other books by this author. Unfortunately, I knew pretty quickly that it wasn't for me. I almost DNFed at 25%, 30%, 50%, etc., but I decided to finish the book so I could give a more thorough review.

Characters:

I found the two main characters, Theo and Kit, to be wildly pretentious and generally unlikable. This whole story felt very much "poor little rich kids." If you've ever worked in the service industry, especially in a larger city, you have probably worked with these people and rolled your eyes at them. Kit was a bit more likable than Theo, but only because he seemed more genuine in his actions toward Theo. Theo is a nepo-baby who just can't stand the privilege afforded to them by having rich, famous parents. Kit is a French-born, half-American pastry chef who seems to assume he knows what others are thinking instead of asking. Neither of them knows how to communicate. The entire plot of this book is based on the miscommunication in a single event that snowballed into a breakup and subsequent falling out between the two MCs.

Plot:

This story was a second-chance romance / friends-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-friends-to-lovers. 🥴 Years, ago, they broke up on their way to a European vacation, and they end up in the same tour group when cashing in their vouchers for that missed trip. Kit and Theo are both really hot, and throughout their travels, they constantly encounter other really hot people who are always dying to sleep with one or both of them. Even though Theo comes off as really unpleasant to the reader (IMO), they are apparently able to charm everyone around them and charm their way onto a billionaire's yacht??? IDGI.

Overall, I was really disappointed by this one. Kit's POV was the only saving grace, and even then, I was struggling. It probably would have been better to start with Kit's POV, as he's more likable, but I understand why Theo's POV was first.

If you loved this book, that's great! It just wasn't for me.

I was raised on Anthony Bourdain - No Reservations was one of the few shows with profanity and 'adult themes' that my parents chose to ignore in favor of making sure that their kids understood that food and travel and drinking and making friends with the people you meet at 1am while gorging yourself at a street stall are the things that make life worth living.

This book is for those Bourdain lovers, who get lost in the food and wine sections of bookstores, whose cookbooks are taking up all the walkable space in their apartments, and who are wondering why there doesn't seem to be a room within the binary sexual system we have that fits them.

This would have made the ultimate Kristen Stewart/Heath Ledger romance (who is today's Heath Ledger? Surely not Austin Butler (too serious), or Nicholas Galitzine (I say this with love, but too easily softened into the most easily digestible parts of himself.) Is it...Glenn Powell? Idk why, but that upsets me.

This romance is a phenomenal non-binary and queer AF romance novel set in a dreamy location.

Theo and Kit are childhood best friends who dated for a long time before breaking up right before the start of dream European vacation. It's been years since they have spoken to each other, but they coincidentally show up at the same tour at the same time once again.

To dispel some of the building sexual tension between them, Kit and Theo start a competition to see who can hook up with more people on the trip. And off they go, eating, drinking and fucking their way across France, Spain and Italy.

What shined for me in this book was the portrayal of Theo's gender identity. The first half of the book is told from their perspective. McQuiston, who is non-binary themselves, avoids using any gendered language for Theo. One time they call outfit androgynous. Another time they think about when their hair was longer or they wore make up. But honestly it's easy to miss. The first half book passes without me being entirely certain what gender Theo is.

The second half of the book is told from Kit's perspective. He is a cisgender bisexual man. He refers to Theo as "she" for many chapters until Theo comes out to him as non-binary. Kit makes the switch instantly to calling Theo "they/them" and often remarks on Theo's handsomeness.

There is a lot of creative sex described in this book, but in my mind it's for a purpose other than hotness. It's rare for a non-binary person to be a main character in a romance novel. And it's also rare for them to be having sex that doesn't feel cisgender and/or straight. Theo's adventures are incredibly queer no matter what gender they are partnering with, which feels perfectly right to me.

Where this book drags a bit with the many descriptions of mind-blowing food, wine and art. McQuiston describes them beautifully and creatively but there are just quite a lot of these scenes. When I had been to one of these places, it took me back to a beautiful memory. But when I hadn't I found myself a little bit bored.

Fun. The plot on this was was a little skimpy for the length of the book (2 exes go on a trip around Europe and shock of all shocks, discover they still like each other a lot). I didn’t care, though, between the gorgeous food descriptions and the steamy times between two hotties. I do wish Casey McQuiston included some less traditionally (by queer standards) hot people. Why is everyone gorgeous? Why are they all skinny and able-bodied? We must travel in really different circles because I don’t see folks like that.
Despite those complaints, it was a fun book. I was sad to finish it even if I predicted the ending many chapters before I got there. Recommended for fans of Casey McQuiston and/or queer smut.

I was lucky enough to receive an advance e-copy in exchange for my honest review

This is a sweet second-chance romance infused with McQuiston’s signature sense of humour and quite a bit of spice.

Kit and Theo were childhood best friends turned lovers, but after a brutal breakup on a transatlantic flight, they haven’t seen each other in years. When they find themselves on the same European food tour, they try to distract themselves from their lingering longing for one another by engaging in a competition to see who can hook up with the most people during the trip…but those pesky feelings keep bubbling up.

Like all of McQuiston’s books, this one made me laugh out loud, and the main characters were complex and deeply likeable. This book is a love letter to food and travel. The main characters are a sommelier and a pastry chef, and the narration really puts the reader in the headspace of someone passionate about finding new flavours. I also highly recommend this book to anyone who loves romances that feature a strong sense of yearning, as the characters pine for one another for much of the book. Overall, this is exactly what I hoped for. It met my expectations for a new Casey McQuiston book…which are very high!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!

Casey McQuiston’s books have always been a bit of a mixed bag for me - I’ve loved some and disliked others. I was a little hesitant about this one, as the most recent I read of theirs I wasn’t the biggest fan of. It can be difficult to live up to the huge hype surrounding Red, White, and Royal Blue, and whenever I read their books I find myself comparing the current read to RWRB.

In reading The Pairing, however, I completely forgot they were the author of RWRB and didn’t have even a single thought of comparison. Maybe it was the strong and defined lead characters or the switch to a more lush and picture-esque description of EVERYTHING, but I found myself fully immersed in this book in a way I haven’t felt with their other books aside from RWRB.

I'm a huge fan of Casey McQuiston's work, eagerly anticipating each new release, and The Pairing was no exception, topping my list of anticipated reads for 2024. McQuiston beautifully captures the essence of Europe, especially its culinary delights, in this love letter of a novel.

Theo and Kit's journey from childhood friends to lovers, and then back again, unfolds against the picturesque backdrop of a European food and wine tour. While McQuiston's descriptive prose vividly brings each town to life, I found myself struggling to fully connect with the main characters, particularly Theo. Their perspectives and conflicts, centered around nepotism and family drama, felt distant and unrelatable to me.

However, I did appreciate the depth given to side characters like Fabrizio and Theo's sister Sloane. Kit's perspective in the second half of the book provided a much-needed dimension to the story, though I wished for more development overall.

Despite its shortcomings, McQuiston's writing shines through, and while I may not have fully connected with Theo and Kit, I still look forward to future works from this talented author. Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.