Something about second-chance romance hits for me especially written by CMQ. It's the yearning for me.
I ate this up, I was giggling and kicking my feet. I'm tempted to re-read now that the audiobook is available.
4 stars
arc provided by Netgalley

This hurts me to say, but this is my least favorite Casey McQuiston book. I LOVED RWRB and One Last Stop, Shara Wheeler was good, but this just wasn’t that great.

At first I thought it was the audiobook. I didn’t love the narrator, they sounded very YA for the content and that seemed weird. Then randomly halfway through the POV switches, another narrator jumps in, and it’s like what is happening.

The second half of this novel felt almost like a different book when we switched POV. It’s weird they decided to make that decision instead of the back and forth POV chapters, or keeping it all one character POV.

But really, it was just the story that was lacking for me. The characters and side characters didn’t feel as strong in this one, the story felt lost, the whole middle of the book was just sort of nothing? Like it could have been trimmed SIGNIFICANTLY.

The spice wasn’t a big deal, or anything. It’s a romance so all that’s expected, though it was a bit much that it’s what everyone was talking and thinking about all the time 😂.

Overall, I was just bummed with this one. I’ll still pick up the next book though!

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This was a 2.5-3 star book for me. I was super excited for this book, but it just didn't hit right for me. I'll admit that second chance romance isn't my favorite trope as I think it's hard to convince the reader that the couple shouldn't stay broken up, however, friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and I adore a queer romance so I had high hopes.

I found Theo to be a hot mess and a coward and very annoying throughout the book. The inability to behave like an adult just grated on my nerves and refusing to accept financial help from people and instead pretending like they're poor was ridiculous. It wasn't until we switched to Kit's POV that this book went from 2 stars to 3 stars as I found Kit to be much more likeable. It was so clear once you entered Kit's POV that they still loved Theo so much and it made this book feel a lot more like a romance. Either way I didn't really like that when we were in Theo's POV it didn't seem like Kit still had feelings for them and when we were in Kit's POV it didn't seem like Theo had feelings for him. This made it hard to buy that they should be together until you understood things from each characters' POV.

My biggest issue with this book though was truly that it read like a non-stop European orgy. Everywhere they went all these people were super hot and young and without any preamble everyone wanted to have sex with Kit and Theo. Literally everything was made about having sex with as many people as possible and it made the book feel less sexy and just cheap. Kit and Theo were the single most horniest people ever and nothing made me happier than when they both learned that not everyone wants to sleep with them when they went to Fabritzio's house for dinner. It truly brought joy to my heart when these horndogs were taken down a peg. But having so much of the book involve the MCs hooking up with other people on page made it feel like it was unnecessary for Kit and Theo to get back together since they had no issues with being with other people and didn't seem to need the emotional attachment of a relationship. Also, for a good chunk of this book it seemed like their relationship had nothing else going for other than sexual compatibility. Lastly, as someone who has traveled in Europe during the summer I can tell you that you don't feel sexy after a day of trekking around in the heat. All you want is to lay in a cool room with a high powered AC unit and cold water.

For some people these things might be some of their favorite components of this book and might seem fresh and new, but these things made this book just average at best. I'll gladly read the next book from McQuiston and RWRB will always be one of my favorite books, but this one just wasn't for me. I found the budding romance between the Callum's to be the most intriguing component.

Another Casey McQuiston book I just fell in love with.

This is a bit of a spicy book as well with queer sex, also it has non binary people and a lot of queerness. So if that isn't your thing then this book isn't for you.

This book was so fun with the trip around Europe, the food and drinks, the friendships and the queerness. I really just liked everything. I also enjoyed how the book followed one main character for part of it and the other for the send part. It changed up the read and gave a bit of a different perspective.

This book just gave me all good feelings. Made me smile and laugh, though it did make me angry at times it always came back to smiles and love.

Sometimes I get so annoyed with a second chance romance that I end up hate reading until the end. Casey McQuiston's latest is definitely not that. I don't know how they were able to write a story with such endearing characters and enthralling, jealously inducing locales. I felt like a member of the tour group and can only dream of getting such a trip in my lifetime. McQuiston's talent cannot be ignored. Go read this now!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Casey McQuiston always gives us fun. I had heard varying degrees of reviews prior to digging into this and now I will firmly say that the people who gave this negative reviews for the sexual content have either A. Never read queer fiction or B. Only read inspirational/cozy romances. This book does have spice but it is by far from the worst thing I've read this year. The characters have a wonderful dynamic that I enjoyed seeing go back and forth. I really did hope this was going to be another wlw, but was pleasantly surprised by diverse representation from both characters. I am personally a huge fan of second chance romance, especially the soul mate trope, so this was a great pick for me.
As far as read-alikes are concerned, if you read Emily Henry's Happy Place and wished it was gayer, this is the book for you.

The Pairing was sensual, tantalizing good fun. Casey’s writing is as fabulous and funny as ever, and the foodie inspired world travels of the two main characters made me want to eat and drink my way thru this rom com. Cinematic, sexual, hungry for more!

I really enjoy Caseys writing and this was no exception. It not my favorite but the characters were super relatable and the plot kept me reading. I did feel like it droned on at points but all in all it was a great book.

Thanks to St Martins Press and Netgalley for this advanced copy!

I have been finding Casey McQuiston's books a little hit or miss, but let me tell you that this one was a complete hit for me. Kit and Theo are fantastic and I love how McQuiston moves them around Europe while having them learn more and more about each other, why they broke up, and why they should find each other again. And it is SPICY. These two are all over the map and each other and other people and its all good harmless fun until you fall in love again right? Regardless, McQuiston is doing a lot in this book, both from a gender perspective, a sex perspective, a setting perspective, and the food! So much good food and wine in this book. The end came together much as expected, but I appreciated the sort of slow burn (is it a slow burn if there is a sex contest but they aren't hooking up with each other?) of this relationship and McQuiston both leaned into the pettiness we feel when dealing with exs we weren't expecting to see while using it to bring real growth to the characters.

This is hands down my favorite book of the 2024 so far. Casey McQuiston has done it again and if you loved RWRB and One Last Stop, you'll love this book too. The backdrop of a multiple-city European adventure paired with ex-best friends and copious amounts of both hedonism and longing is the perfect recipe for a book that will make you feel wanderlust in the best way. Kit and Theo are so authentically queer and unapologetically themselves that the more the reader finds out about them, the more they also fall in love with the duo. This is the bi 4 bi romance of my dreams and I will be thinking about this book for a long time.

I love Casey McQuiston and was looking forward to this book so much. I love food and my friends and I go to Europe fairly regularly. I am sorry to say I ended up DNFing this book. I did not like the characters at all and the writing just did not seem up to the usual quality I am used to. I kept trying to continue as I saw reviews that said the second half was better but I could not get into it. This was really disappointing but I will try out Casey McQuiston books in the future even if I did not like this one.

I loved this book! It made me want to hop on a plane immediately and go on a food/wine tour of Europe. The entire reading experience was just that -- an experience. I read it in one sitting. I laughed, I giggled, I cried. Loved the 1/2 story dual perspectives. Loved the side characters. Loved Theo and Kit. Loved it all.

Anything by Casey mcquinston is an auto read for me. This one was no different. It was a very satisfying read with lighthearted moments and wonderful reflections of love and loss. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy!

Holy crap I have never felt so seen in a book when it comes to queerness and gender identity. At my grown age I’ve been restruggling with defining what queerness means to me and it was so comforting to read my words reflected back to me so succinctly. This book was so so unbelievably gorgeous and tender and beautiful and lovely. Theo oh my beloved Theo 😭😭😭😭😭😭

i liked this book, but of casey mcquistons it’s probably my least favorite, and that has more to do with me than anything else. second chance romance really isn’t my favorite thing but i gave it a shot because casey mcquiston wrote it.

A decadent, meandering tour of Europe, food, wine, culture, sex, and love. Reading this had me traveling vicariously through Theo and Kit's experiences and enjoying their unique POVs. They're like two peas in a pod, a couple of romantic, bisexual, versatile adventurers out to take in all that Europe offers. For Theo, it's a time to revel in the progress they've made in the past four years, the way they feel at home in their skin and how they take up space in the world. For Kit, it's a complex medley of rediscovering passion and questioning if he's truly living his dream. Their tour is peopled by lovely supporting characters, hot flings with sexy strangers, and surprising new friends. It's idyllic, even in moments of temporary crisis. Sensuous, deeply sexual, and fun.

Casey, Casey, Casey. Thank you so much for allowing me the pleasure of reading and reviewing this book.
Kit and Theo went on an incredible European adventure and the way I had a full sensory experience was awesome. I am a sucker for food and wine and travel and having book bundle all of these in one seemed like a dream come true. However….. I didn’t love it, it felt repetitive and over done in some aspects. I couldn’t fully care about any of the characters and it felt so drawn out at times.
I will always read Casey’s work, but this did not hit for me.

I realized about 25% in that I am not the target audience and was only annoyed with the characters. They were just being twenty somethings and making dumb decisions but I just can’t read another book about it.

I wanted to like this book after loving One Last Stop. But just, no. Not for me.

This book is outrageously bisexual, exceedingly horny, and indulgently pretentious and I am here for it.

I can't be sure how much of this is the right book at the right time and maybe this is recency bias talking, but this may be my favourite book of the year. The emotional connection I felt reading this book was unparalleled. (And that's saying something because there have been a few books this year that really hit hard.) Something about this story and the main relationship touched me in a tender way. In fact, I often found it emotionally overwhelming and had to really parcel out my reading in a way I don't normally do. (Someone I spoke to said they also needed to take breaks because it was almost like they were impaired while reading it and I can totally relate.) I can't remember the last time I cried so hard or so often reading a book.

I've seen some reviews complain about the unlikelihood of our pair encountering so many queer/bisexual people, and maybe it's quintessentially pan(bi)sexual of me to easily come up with a dozen reasons why it still felt in the realm of possibility to me or at least aspirational in the way of books we read to be happy, but that fact is that I bought it.

And I know that some folks felt the food/sights/art descriptions were overdone, and if I'm honest, I would have been fine with them being taken down a notch but overall I enjoyed them and they were part of the reason why the whole book was delicious, if indulgent. And when those parts were at their best, I found they were artfully weaved together with the overall story.

The flaws and restlessness of the main characters was so well balanced with their innate goodness and competence and they felt very real to me. And I loved the whole cast of secondary characters - shout out to Fabrizio though as the MVP in that group.

Often a second chances romance is harder for me to enjoy and it's true that the circumstances of their original breakup are so fucking sad but this is one of those times where I felt like the time and space will contribute to their long-term success as a pairing so it feels worth the pain. And the tension, longing and pining that leads to in this book is exquisite.

When I reflect some more on this, I think that this book may have worked so well for me for a reason similar to RW&RB - because I immediately related to Theo in a lot of ways, that cemented an early emotional attachment to the book. And then having Kit's POV in the second half took this up a whole emotional notch - it makes me think that having Henry's POV in RW&RB would have annihilated me.

I enjoyed this book but not as much as Casey’s others! Casey clearly did their research because I felt like I was on this tour trip with Kit and Theo. I felt like I was in the trip with them. The relationship between Kit and Theo was told so beautifully. Interested to see what Casey writes next!