Best travel book I’ve ever read. It got interrupted by sex a lot, but that was ok. Truly, though, as a romance, this was good. I loved the two main characters and the sex was very hot and explicit, which was a nice diversion at first, but at a certain point it got overwhelming in frequency. I said out loud at one point “FFS, less porn and more Italy, please!” Casey McQuiston wrote about food, wine, and scenery as if it was also porn and it was amazing. I preferred the sensual descriptions about flavors and vistas to those about bodies. I'll probably keep thinking about Theo and Kit, even though the book is over, though.

DECADENT.

Casey hits every. time.

I knew going in that a food-centric Eurotrip was going to work for me, but this was on another level. Getting both characters' perspectives was, for lack of a better term, *chef's kiss*. It was dripping with intensity and connection, all along the backdrop of some of the most beautiful and lush places on earth. (Not to mention a passing mention of a Formula 1 driver that I'm pretty sure was an allusion to my favorite, which had me giggly).

I will go ahead and say this: if you're expecting McQuiston's usual spice level, don't. Sensuality is a key plot point here, so it's pretty persistent. If that's not your thing, skip this one.

I have thoroughly enjoyed all of Casey McQuistons books up until now. This one I loved so much I can’t describe it. It was fun and sexy but also deep and full of heart and soul. It was like being there with Theo and Kit, tasting everything and experiencing the joy of discovery, particularly the discovery of someone you thought you already knew. Even the moments when I was screaming at them both to get it together were written in a way that made me feel this is exactly as it was meant to be. Sometimes you have to tear everything apart to find out who you really are. Everything is always changing, everything is always different than you dreamed it would be. Sometimes it’s better. Thank you Casey. This is book of the year for me. I will be recommending it to everyone.

i loved this book! i thought it was wonderful although i will admit i’m probably the target audience for this lol. as a queer person who loves salt fat acid heat by samin nosrat this was a food and romcom lover’s dream come true. i enjoyed kit a lot more than theo as a character but i was rooting for them both. on a parting note, st martin’s should address the vile racist and islamophobic comments their employee has made on instagram. free palestine

I keep wanting to say this is my favorite of Casey McQuiston's books, but I know that it's been a couple years since I've read their other ones, and I'm biased by the fact that this is the one currently making me feel A Lot of Things. But that said!! This book was amazing. McQuiston has done it again.

There are so many things about this book that I loved. The friendship. The heartbreak. The different kinds of love and relationships and sex and closeness. The queerness of it all. The way it shifted perspectives at the best times. The way it handles Theo's gender. The way even when I thought I could see a problem coming, it always managed to surprise me instead.

This book made me feel so many things. It made me tell my partner that he's my best friend. It made me want to go back and reread McQuiston's other books. It made me want to taste everything and see everything and experience everything (and it made me very excited for my upcoming trip to Europe haha). I don't know how to compare this to their other books, since again, it's been a couple years since I read those. But The Pairing exceeded my expectations and I can't wait for my friends to read it so I can talk about it with them.

(My only complaint that isn't a standard romance "why didn't you talk to each other ugh" is so minor I hesitate to include it, but I will here just to get it off my chest, and so people who know me don't read this and think I loved this part of the book too: oh my god the rich white people vibes of this book. Any time all their bougie LA nepo baby shit came up I was struggling not to roll my eyes. In some ways the book addresses and makes up for this, but in some ways it doesn't. But. Again. I'm still giving the book five stars, so. Take all that as lightly as possible!!)

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read and review this ARC.

this is my first Casey mcQuiston (I watched the movie adaptation of red white and royal blue and I really liked it) there was a lot of chemistry between Theo and kit 🤭🤭 its such a fluffy, comedic (and spicy) book.

Until the following items are met by the SMP team, I will be withholding any promotion or review of any St. Martin's Press titles (including SMP Romance and Wednesday Book titles):

1. Address and denounce the Islamophobia/racism from your employee.
2. Offer tangible steps for how you're going to mitigate the harm this employee caused.
3. Address how moving forward, you will support and protect your Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab readers, influencers, and authors in addition to your BIPOC readers, influencers, and authors.

Theo and Kit have grown side by side since they were kids - first as friends, then as lovers. After it all falls apart, they’re forced to grow on their own. But years after the breakup, they stumble back into each other’s lives on a three week tour of southern Europe. Trapped on a bus and series of hostels together, Kit and Theo set out to prove the past is in the past and they’re definitely over each other. Because they are, right?

Casey McQuiston never fails to write captivating, sweeping love stories that settle between your ribs and love there forever. Each and every character has a rich, colorful backstory that had me rooting for the side characters’ romances just as much as Theo and Kit. I also was left craving food I can’t pronounce the name of and a week on the French Riviera. CMQ is a masterful storyteller, and The Pairing is proof enough that they will be known and remembered as one of the great romance authors of our time.

Pairs well with: fresh grapes, pasta salad, cheese, olive oil, and freshly baked bread.

Sometimes I wonder what an alternative me in an alternate timeline would do, and I think this would be it. Taking in art in all its forms and glory. Indulging in the decadence, the abundance of something someone, somewhere worked hard to create.
There’s something about Casey McQuiston’s characters and stories that make me think about the universe in a way I never thought of, and yet in a way that sings to me, like it’s made for me, in a strange ethereal way. I’ll always think of Kit and Theo, and I’ll always come back to them.

Extremely grateful to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

I’ve found a new obsession with this book. This might take the top spot of Casey McQuiston’s romances for me. I felt so languorous and indulgent the entire time I spent reading; I never wanted it to end.

Theo and Kit are childhood best friends-turned lovers-turned exes who find themselves both redeeming a trip voucher at the last possible moment—for a trip they intended to take together. Four years after their breakup, they’ve both grown and changed and tried to get over each other, to no success (although they might not want to admit it). Theo and Kit are similar in so many ways: confident, passionate, competent, stubborn, funny, sexy, slutty…they’ve even started to mirror each other’s haircuts and fashion taste despite the years apart. In their attempt at a truce, they decide to slut their way through this trip, making it a competition to see who can sleep with the most people. And as hot bisexuals, nobody is off the table.

The first half of this book is from Theo’s POV, and they spend all their time and energy trying to convince everyone, especially themselves, that they’re strong and independent and over Kit, and that him being on this trip isn’t destroying their mental clarity. I found myself desperate to get in Kit’s head, to see if he was struggling as much as Theo to keep it together.

The second half, in Kit’s POV, was just…such a deep breath. Kit has wholly accepted the depth of his love for Theo, and gives himself over to it so completely and poetically that it’s almost overwhelming. He’s so charming and sexy and open, and everyone wants to sleep with him (including me!). I loved being in his head, but I once again wanted to see inside the other’s mind, to see how Theo was reacting to all of the love Kit was constantly exuding in their direction. It’s such a strength of the writing and the characters themselves that I really loved being in both of their heads.

One of CMQ’s biggest strengths is fleshing out the side characters in their novels. Fabrizio is a gem amongst tour guides and amongst men, and I absolutely loved every moment he was on the page. I fell in love with Montana and Dakota and the Calums, and following their journey throughout the book was such a treat. I would even read another novel (a pairing, if you will) of this exact same trip with the first half POV from Montana/Dakota and the second half POV from the Calums.

I could go on for ages about the lush descriptions of art, of food and drink, of the scenery, but I couldn’t capture it half as well as they have. I felt warmed from the inside reading it, in a way I liken to when I watched Call Me By Your Name for the first time. It’s so drenched in sun and I feel like I can feel and see and taste it. And not for nothing, this book has added another unforgettable sex scene with a peach to the queer canon.

The most important part of this book to me is how genuinely and honestly Casey McQuiston writes queer people. I felt seen in many of these pages. I really love the way Casey handles Theo’s coming out, and how carefully and casually it’s treated. The discussions Theo and Kit have about attraction and gender and sexuality, how being attracted to different genders feels different, or comes from a different place—all of that rings so true for me, and I’ve never seen it put so plainly to page. The sex scenes are steamy and hot and reflective of all the different ways queer people have sex and I really loved reading them.

There’s a scene where Kit is looking at Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus and seeing aspects of both Theo and himself in it, thinking of Theo simultaneously looking at Michelangelo’s David and maybe, hopefully seeing both of them in that as well. I cried and reread it maybe fifteen times before continuing on. The kind of love where you don’t know where you end and they begin, seeing yourself and them in everything you love most, hoping they see the same…it’s truly so special and Casey has captured it so beautifully.

The Pairing is warm and luxuriant and immersive in all the best, most decadent ways. It is so lush and inviting and I want to live in it forever. I found myself at odds, wanting to both race through it and also to savor it, enjoying each chapter one indulgent mouthful at a time. The descriptions of food and drink in this book are almost hornier than the sex scenes, and I was drunk on all of it. I’m about to start planning my own trip.

Major thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for making this ARC available!
Pub date: 06 Aug 2024

Oh my gosh, this book was so cute! It was just so wholesome, sexy, and easy to read. It didn’t quite hit the mark to be a five-read read for me, and it’s probably between a 3.5 and 4 for me but I’m just gonna round it up to a 4 — but there was so much to love about this book, honestly.

I have to talk about the format and POVs in this firstly; I absolutely adored starting this story from Theo’s POV and finishing with Kit’s in the second half. I was slightly peeved in the beginning cause … what? But it just worked ?? Theo in the pining stage and then moving to Kit in the when-will-they stage worked so well, and I have nothing bad to say about it.
Aside from the POV switch, I just loved following them through their trip around Europe and all the chapters or “cities” they went through. I read a review mentioning Call Me By Your Name and they were so right. The vibes in this are so strongly like that in aesthetic and backdrop (cough, peach scene, cough).

The combination of imagining Kit and Theo slutting it out in gorgeous Europe was so immaculate, and the way their relationship progressed over the course of the trip was so organic it just felt right. Nothing felt forced, no trope was too stretched out, and there were no awkward scenes. It was just them being friends with sexual tension and in denial, to finally giving up on said denial and it was so satisfying to read.

Somewhere in the middle, towards the end of Theo’s POV in San Sebastián, it felt like things were getting a little too dragged out and nothing was really happening. It was taking me a while to get through those few chapters until Monaco, hence a star taken off, but when the switch to Kit’s POV happened I was hooked again and then I couldn’t stop reading! Special mention to Theo’s coming out scene, it was so so beautiful.

I mean, what could go wrong with two hot bisexual exes knowing they’re still in love with each other, and then competing to hook up with other people, to build up to actually telling each other? Exactly.

The Pairing is a breezy, spicy, second-chance romance and I had so much fun reading it — definite recommend!

As I was reading this book, I kept thinking of it as a fairy tale (an extremely sexy, extremely queer fairy tale) and in many ways it is, but that doesn’t really do justice to how perfectly Casey threads the needle of beauty and hurt, glorious sensuality and painful self-degradation. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again— what always sets Casey’s work apart from other romance writers is the strength of their language— reading the ways they write about love is transcendent every time. Similarly, the way they write about loss. I can’t wait to read this again and again.

Beautifully full of lust for food, drink, and people. As in all of McQuiston’s work I was delighted, compelled, and just a bit heartbroken by each character. Couldn’t put this book down for a moment

so so happy to be able to read this book early

I went back and forth on how to rate this book. I eventually settled on a 4 because I'm living off a high of the ending so do with that what you will.

but it took me a couple days to get through this, mostly because the beginning felt really slow to me. it took a lot of time for me to really care about the characters, especially kit.

but once we got into kit's pov that sort of all came around for me and I really enjoyed him as a character. that was really the time I became invested in the relationship as well. listen im a sucker for unwavering love and devotion, what can I say

Kits descriptions of their relationship and how he loves theo was just so beautiful to me. everything about it just made me felt with how soft it all felt

the whole breakup being because of a miscommunication though... bugged me.

im also just not someone that loves paragraph after paragraph of description and so I was just sort of skimming parts of this book no matter how bad I felt about it

I'm sure the food and architecture was amazing and i know casey put a lot of work into it but it simply wasn't for me.

this sounds negative but I really did like it! I really enjoyed some of the side characters and just how silly it was to poke into their lives (though to my disappointment we didn't get particularly close to any of them).

but yeah, decent book from one of my fav authors so I'll definitely keep reading everything they write.

Thanks for NetGalley for the ARC.

Kit and Theo reunite 4 years after their break up on the European food tour they had intended to take together. They reconnect and try to recover a friendship, Their journey through Europe has them discovering new flavors in food, drink, art, sex and romance in each city. As they remember their shared history and work though their emotional baggage, getting closer at each stop along the tour, can they also rediscover love?

I enjoyed this book and it really makes me want to visit Italy. I loved getting to know Theo and Kit. It was fun to live vicariously through them, to learn and grow with them in each city. They are both openly bisexual and it is refreshing to have that point of view represented in a romance.

That said, friends to lovers and second chance romance are my least favorite romance tropes. Both of these tropes are about fear - fear of losing a friendship and fear of failing a second time. While I understand the hesitance, there is just so much waiting for these characters to get past their fears and make any sort of progress. This is the main drawback of this story for me. The unexpected switch from Theo to Kit's POV at the halfway mark made it seem even longer. It was nice to get Kit's much more romantic viewpoint, but it dragged out the waiting. Maybe it's just my impatience, but I did want them to stop playing games and get on with it.

Overall, I did like this book and would recommend it to those who enjoy second chance romance.

Pastry, Wine, European Travel, and Your Ex...what could go wrong? I loved this book from the first page to the last. Kit and Theo each have a distinct voice and character that you can't help falling for. Both of these characters are charismatic and sexy and deeply human. Careful- reading this might make you want to spontaneously take off to Europe for your own sensual food and wine vacation.

Red White and Royal Blue is one of my favorite romances and I really enjoyed their two latter books as well so when I heard they were writing another queer romance and literally jumped for joy. I was not disappointed! This novel follows our two queer main characters who were once friends and also lovers reconnect through a European wine tour. Watching them reconnect and love again was so fun and of course McQuiston’s trademark wit is there in abundance. I really loved Theo and Kit and their chaos. This was exactly what I needed after reading several dark and depressing novels. It is pure serotonin and I had a wonderful time reading it!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Maybe it’s the high of finishing a great book but I think this is my new favorite Casey McQuiston book. Everything in The Pairing is heightened from their previous works, and I say this as someone who worships Red, White and Royal Blue.

The writing is Casey at the top of their game. Everything is so rich and indulgent. I felt like I was on this tour across Europe with them. Everything is so cinematic and vivid. Their descriptions of art and food and love and gender and sex were so incredible they made me weep. There’s a section about Venus and David that’s so beautiful I could die. And it’s maybe the sexiest book I’ve ever read. Casey wasn’t kidding when they said it was their horniest, smuttiest book yet. Bravo.

I also love the dual-POV here. It’s the perfect approach to Theo and Kit’s story. Theo’s chapters made me fall in love with Kit and Kit’s chapters made me fall in love with Theo.

I could write a million different reviews highlighting different things I loved about this book. I haven’t even touched upon how funny it is too! I can’t wait to read it again when it’s released in August.

In “The Pairing,” Casey McQuiston weaves a captivating story about love and second chances that immediately drew me in. While I wouldn’t say I am a huge romance reader, Casey is a must-read author for me every time!
This story revolves around a European tour vacation and our two main characters, Kit and Theo. They find themselves stuck in this whirlwind trip together despite ending their relationship years ago and assuming they would each be doing this trip alone.
Their first reunion in years is set against the backdrop of Rome, Paris, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, and SO many other European destinations. The narrative explores the challenges and joys of love between Kit and Theo’s reconnection. I was hooked from the first chapter.
The characters in “The Pairing” are so well-written and developed in their flaws and charm. Through the dual POVs (which I loved!), I found myself rooting so hard for Kit and empathizing with Theo, making their journeys all the more compelling. Kit wins the golden retriever boy of the year for me already, but in Theo, I saw such a reflection of myself and my inability to ask for and accept help, as I tend to get in my own way due to personal insecurities. I felt so connected to Theo and Kit, and I’m still thinking about them days later as if they became my friends.
The plot unfolds with a perfect balance of tension and resolution. Casey McQuiston skillfully navigates the twists and turns of the romance, keeping the pacing and (to be honest) the miscommunication just right. The well-crafted plot twists throughout the book added such an element of surprise that kept me eagerly turning the pages, dying to know how this story would end.
At its core, this story delves into themes of gender, emotional maturity, acceptance, and highlights the transformative power of love and time apart. The author skillfully explores the nuances of relationships, portraying Kit and Theo’s growth and self-discovery.
The setting also plays a crucial role in this story and is used so skillfully in feeding into the emotions in every chapter. Personally, my favorite scene was the children’s boat ride scene in San Sebastián, as McQuiston wrote the setting to match the plot’s tension perfectly. The setting and use of objects in this story also excellently highlighted the main characters’ passions in the food and wine meals throughout their tour, which helped in keeping the setting still directed around them and grew complexity in each character. While I was not familiar with a lot of the pastry/meal and wine knowledge in this book, I still appreciated that it was there!
Ultimately, “The Pairing” is a must-read for anyone who enjoys a well-crafted, second-chance, friends-to-lovers spicy romance - as well as anyone super interested in a fancy vacation to Europe with forced proximity to someone who broke your heart (and you have presumably hated for the last four years)!
Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for allowing me to read this book ahead of release in exchange for an honest review!

Incredibly lovable main characters, charming supporting characters, a beautiful and interesting back drop of a food and wine tour of Europe. It's truly just such an amazing read. I flew through it while making myself slow down so that I wouldn't have to finish it. As someone who has traveled to some of these places, CMQ writes them love letters as they describe the best parts of these cities and make you want to hop on the next flight out to them. CMQ's prose made me yearn for these cities and this couple it was just that mesmerizing.

Months ago I manifested a dual POV book and this was absolutely everything. I understand why more authors don't do them in romance novels but this is the perfect example of how to do it and how to do it right. I fell in love with Kit and Theo and their love. I fell in love with every meal and every wine. I fell in love with the cities they explored. I have enjoyed every CMQ book before this but this is arguably some of their best work.