Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this early.

The Pairing follows Kit and Theo, bisexual exes who accidentally reunited on the European food tour they planned four years previously.

I really enjoyed the format of this book and the chaos that was Kit, Theo, and the rest of their new friends on the tour. All of the characters were so fun and engaging, I had a great time while reading it. I am a huge CMQ fan and this did not disappoint. My main complaints were that I had trouble figuring out the pronouns for the characters until more than halfway through and the story didn't open up for me until Kit's point of view midway through the book. But overall, a delightful offering from CMQ. 4.5 stars.

I will not be rating this book outside of Netgalley until the St. Martin's Press boycott has ended.

The Pairing follows Theo and Kit who planned a European food and wine tour but then broke up. They decide to cancel the trip but they get vouchers to plan the trip for another time. Both Theo and Kit still plan to go on the trip but not together. They both book their trip separately excited to go on this trip. It is not until they both board the tour bus that they discover they accidentally booked the trip for the same time. They don't have feelings for each other than anymore and figured since they both booked this tour they should make the most of it. So they make a wager to see who can hookup with the most people. But soon they realize that maybe the might want to be with each other.

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and I am so disappointed. This is the first book by Casey McQuiston that I have rated less than four stars. This book was just not for me. I am not one that likes to travel so that was part of the reason that I did not like this one. But also this book was kind of boring, to be honest. I felt like the main characters did not have much chemistry. Which is wild because they were friends before they started dating but that is about all we learned about them. I really did not root for them because I did not have a reason to. Also, so many pages in this book were talking about the places they traveled to and the things they ate. It was a little repetitive and didn't really add much to the book. Rather than focusing on that, this book should have focused on us getting to know the main characters more. The smut in this book was cringy. I love Casey McQuiston's books but this one did not quite live up to what I expected from their books. It did not seem like this was written by the same author. I wanted to like this so bad but it just did not work for me.

Casey McQuiston not only did it again, but made me feel (as one of the characters in The Pairing expresses) the full spectrum of human emotions. I was weeping, I was cheering, I was gasping, I was—everything. On the surface, The Pairing just sounds like a great romp—bisexual exes on the same food and wine tour they were meant to take just when they broke up four years prior. But Casey McQuiston layers these characters and their story with dashes of nepotism, self sabotage, found family, childhood friendship, and more in a way that only they can.

Theo and Kit join the lexicon of CMQ romantic leads that you just need to root for—and god, they'll make you work for it. They're difficult people who clearly give a shit about each other, and struggle with it because of their complex history; two pieces of one whole suddenly ripped apart. As expected, the supporting cast of characters are just as fun—particularly the rest of the tour group and, of course, Fabrizio, who lived up to the hype I've had for him since Casey first mentioned him when first telling fans about the book.

It was a particular joy getting to read this having just been to Europe for the first time as an adult last year, and headed back this summer—like Casey's other books, they're able to capture a true love for the places and things in their writing, both with their language and attention to detail. In RWRB there's the passion for politics and change, in OLS there's the infatuation with NYC, and in IKSW, there's hope for queer kids in the religious South. In The Pairing, you feel Europe; you taste the food; you feel the love on those streets and for those things. I want to find all the places Theo and Kit were, want to eat and drink what they did. It was magic.

I was nervous as someone not typically inclined to first-person POV how I'd feel about this—because Casey is a writer who puts on an incredible cast of characters, I was worried I'd find it limiting. But the way CMQ weaves characters in and out of Theo's POV, who we start the book with, is delightful, just tinged with the character's biases. We're introduced to Theo and Kit's love story from this perspective, too—along with the game they play, trying to sleep with as many locals on their tour as possible. But the second the POV switches to first person from Kit, the story gets turned on its head—and for the better. Leave it to Casey to get me this thrilled with a First Person POV.

The Pairing was another piece of CMQ magic; sluts and fairytale romances pair together just as well as pastry and a great cocktail. Who knew?

This book is funny and sexy and pop-culture-filled and everything else I’ve come to expect and love in a Casey McQuiston novel - they’ve really perfected the formula with this one. Kit and Theo are perfectly adorable and frustrating in equal measure, and their will-they-won’t-they is calibrated so well. The characters surrounding them are also so fun - I suspect Fabrizio will be a fan favorite.

Emotional and raw, the Pairing is a perfect romance from Casey McQuiston. I adored the descriptions of Europe and the food in the tour, but the real stunner of the story is the relationship between Theo and Kit. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this electronic advanced reader copy!

I have been chomping at the bit to get my hands on CMQ4 and boy did it live up to, and exceed, my expectations. This book has all my favourite things: bisexual sluts, travel, poetic odes to one true love, along with that perfect mix of tough and tender witty banter that we love and Casey does so well. They have this unfailing ability to craft characters that make me.feel seen, either through their thoughts, words or actions. Theo makes me feel SEEN, and Kit, Kit makes me hope that one day someone will see me like that.

Oooff I absolutely zoomed through this because I have no self restraint, but I cannot wait to hold it in my hands and savour its decadence slowly, like it deserves. 10/5 stars, no notes.

Casey McQuiston has done it again! Their magical ability to combine hilarity and poignancy has produced another swoon worthy romance novel filled with all the warmth and richness of the food and wine pairings that accompany each chapter. The miscommunications and mental anguishes of both Theo and Kit keep the reader engaged, but even when you want to shake them for being stupid, you can relate so much to those feelings of inferiority and terror of holding their partner back. Even though you know it's a happily ever after, you don't expect a single one of the twists and turns that get you there. Easily their best book to date!

Casey McQuiston has done it again. The Pairing was one of the most beautifully gut-wrenching and yet somehow so deeply intimate books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. A story starting with lost love, soon reunited and navigating life as....friends? Maybe something more?

Kit & Theo's story was so beautiful and REAL. I could see myself in both of them, in their worries, their flaws, their willingness to love and experience the world. I cannot recommend this enough, the world needs more beautiful queer love-filled stories that explore the complexities of self-doubt and living up to family standards. I am also feeling a deep need to research European food tours to perhaps experience a fraction of the beauty Casey wrote about in this book.

I will be gushing about this for months to anyone willing to listen, as it has surely warmed me from the inside.

(Thank you St Martin's Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own )
Well where do i start. Can I give six stars? Asking for a friend here. The prose is so delicious, both literally (my mouth was watering at some of these descriptions) and emotionally. (I just kept highlighting more and more passages). If you liked RWRB, you will like this. If you like reading about stubbornness, gender thoughts, pastries, competent people, self-destructive actions, the people met and the connections made during travel, art and art history, wine, European architecture, or all of the above, you will like this. If you like having to pause reading a page because your chest feels physically tight and you might cry (in a good way) if you don't, you will like this. Tldr: you will like this, and I cannot wait to rotate this book in my mind 24/7 for the foreseeable future.

I read this book through an advanced copy I got through Netgalley.

This might, after Red, White, and Royal Blue, definitely be my favorite Casey McQuiston book I've read from them. The characters are so likable, so diverse, and the duel POV (for it switches), really, really works and makes the book come alive that wouldn't have happened if Casey had stuck with just the one POV.

The detailed descriptions, the details provided through each of the character gives it a depth and truly makes you see things through a different lens, and yet it's so them, because it makes so much sense for Kit and Theo to describe the things they experience in the way they do, because it permeates every single aspect of their lives.

Add to that the wonderful cast of supportive characters, who each are all standouts in their own way, but also provide twists and turns and dynamics that you might not see coming, but yet makes it feel so much like it's truly a found family that it just makes your heart feel warm all over.

It is truly a great book, and I wish I could go read it again all over for the first time, not knowing what would hit me, and how hard it hit me on multiple occassions.

the pairing review
4.5/5
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i’m a big casey mcquiston fan, so when i was given an arc of this right when i finished my last book, i took it as a sign from the universe to start this one right away.
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pros:
+fast paced start
+paris<3 (take me back to my study abroad era)
+bi and non-binary rep
+i love thé way things are described in this book. it makes me want to be there and experience everything myself.
+i love a silly little rivalry. and a silly little sex competition (wasn’t as toxic as i thought it would be)
+theo and kit def make a fun pair (pun intended)
+this is inspiring me to enjoy life and be more of a foodie. the writing is so sensory and evokes an excitement for small details and aesthetics.
+THE BANTER
+i’m giggling and kicking my feet i’ll admit it
+classic one bed trope I LIVE
+this book is SO horny but in unexpected ways. in erotic gay ways.
+the pov shift DESTROYED ME
+well done second chance romance.
+i love all the side characters (tho i wish they were explored more)
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cons:
-miscommunication trope (somewhat resolved tho??)
-self sabotaging (haha been there tho)
-a series of bad timing and near misses and angsty longing that hurts me physically
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This book was meant to be savored. I wish i read it over the summer because it feels like the first time you sunbathe. The peaceful warmth of the sun kissing your cheeks. Mcquiston has clearly grown as a writer, while still lovingly filling pages with witty banter and humor. I had so much fun with this one.

I made the mistake of starting this during my lunch break, and it's amazing that I got anything else done today. Casey McQuiston's writing is so easy to get lost in, and this book was no exception. The way the book is broken up into periods of time, cities, and POVs without ever feeling disjointed or rushed is masterful. I might be biased as someone that has lived through the bestfriends-to-lovers trope irl, but the relationship felt so realistic to being head over heels for your best friend that watching them miss and re-learn each other made my heart ache too; I had to take a break to hug my partner. Now I need to go book a European food tour.

This book is my first 5 star read of 2024, and is definitely in the running to be my favorite read of the year already too.

This was so much fun. I loved the dynamic, the setting and banter so much. This one by CMQ did not disappoint me at all. It was the perfect read and I loved this so much. Highly recommend all books by CMQ. You will not be disappointed.

I knew I was going to love The Pairing as soon as I learned Casey McQuiston was writing it as I thoroughly adored all three of their works that came before it but I truly had no idea just how much. This book is McQuiston at their best yet. The Pairing is decadent, lush, and so very delicious, a sensuous tour of succulent experiences, both queer and European, between two of the sluttiest and lovable bisexuals I’ve ever read. The settings are marvelous, the food and drink enviable, and the characters full of blistering heart.

I’ve yet to read another book as celebratory as this when it comes to queer desire and the many shades that a story like this can contain. Both Theo and Kit are real and messy and slutty and sexy, as are their feelings not only for each other but towards themselves, towards the food and wine they devour, toward the art they consume. Every page of this book was indulgent while remaining purposeful to their journey and their characterizations. The sex scenes are skillfully crafted, as important to their growth as characters as any other interaction, providing further depths to Theo and Kit, while displaying moments of queer experiences we need more of in traditional publishing.

I loved the dual POVs, presenting Theo’s feelings of displacement in the first half, leading to Kit’s side to fill in the many, many gaps before they finally melded back together in the end. As a bisexual full of many of my own doubts and yearnings, I saw a lot of myself reflected in both sides, making me love the wholes of Theo and Kit even more. Theo was so funny and Kit so romantic, and both of them so very bisexual. Their banter is lovable, the growth they attain while rediscovering their love delightful. I devoured the story of Theo and Kit so quickly, that as greedy as I am, all I could think at the end was: more, more, more.

Casey McQuiston surely put their entire heart into this one, and it shows in bright, glimmering colors. I adored this book wholeheartedly, and I can’t wait to reread it again (and again and again) come August when I have a hardcopy in my hands. Theo and Kit are the rekindling love everyone needs to read under this year’s late summer sun.

Thank you so much to St Martin’s Press for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.