The writing isn't terrible here and the plot moves briskly. For me, the problem was that I just did not like or want to root for either of the main characters. They were childish, callous, co dependent, and predatory. That does make them more realistic but if I want to see/read people behaving poorly/stupidly I can always look across the street. It's ironic considering all the controversy about American tourists ruining Europe right now and then we have a book about American tourists ruining Europe (don't worry, all the one night stands are consensual).

Story: Theo and Kit were best friends who 'got' each other. But something happened along the way and they broke up abruptly. Now, years later, Theo is attempting to take the trip that was cancelled so abruptly when Kit and Theo broke up. But Surprise, Kit ends up on the same 'wine tour' across Europe as Kit and sparks fly. How to deal with it? Make a bet about who can bag the most sexual conquests among the small local towns as they move through them.

So yes, Theo spends most of the book mooning over Kit and then denying it. Cue lots of parties and shacking up with attractive locals who are happen to do one night stands with the American tourists. Kit spends a lot of the book seeming confused but it never gets in the way of flirting with the locals. It's okay because he can impress with his command of French and pastry chef experience; Theo can show off sommelier experience and knows the exact history and flavor influences of any wine tasted. But aw shucks, Theo still loves ol' Kit and keeps wishing it was him in the bed rather than the random locals.

It is not a difficult read. As with most of McQuiston's books, it is a bit too long and overstays its welcome about three quarters of the way through. There are the usual cliché European side characters and a lot of (boring) discussions of wine.

So was this terrible? Of course not, McQuiston knows how to write. This is just an example of writing a story that I didn't find appealing and with characters who disgusted me more than enchanted.

Note: I listened to the audio version and the narrator did a decent job, though was unable to make the characters any more likable. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Europe? YES! Four Tour? YES! Queer Representation? YES!! I am here for it and Casey McQuiston did not disappoint, LOVED the entire story.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and McMillian Audio/St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start by saying that I was excited to read this book. Red, White and Royal Blue was by far one of my favorite books. When I got into the Pairing, I found myself going back and forth about my feelings.

Here’s what I liked about the book. I loved the travel. Each time they went to a new place, we got a taste of that area - whether it would be exploring an art piece or a landscape. McQuiston does a great job of setting the scene and making you feel as if you’re there with the tour. I enjoyed the food and wine banter between Theo and Kit. I found listening to their drink and pastry recommendations to be tasty. Honestly, I think that was the most exciting parts of the book - was getting to new places to hear about what’s there.

Here’s what didn’t bother me: McQuiston does fall into the trap of making the trip perfect. The weather is perfect and always sets them up for the perfect moment - whether it’s the hot sun causing them to strip down or the rain causing a close situation. You have a typical Italian tour guide that is outgoing, flirty, can get you into any place (because he knows people), and he is the meddling “uncle” that just wants everyone to be happy. Also, everyone is in an open hooking up relationship. There’s a foursome on the trip and lots of couples, and lots of people looking to add a plus one for the night. Again, I don’t know how true that situation would be.

What I didn’t care for: the sex competition. I’m not anti sex or anti hook ups. However, I don’t like the fact that the whole purpose of the competition is to avoid feelings that should’ve been addressed in counseling or through talking to one another awhile ago. It’s just so repetitive… they go to a new place, they both identify a person, they get super jealous when they see each other with someone else…they either have sex or don’t, and then the compare the score, debate food and wine, and repeat. And because both Theo and Kit are amazing at sex, every sex scene ends with people being pleased and being blown away with one another. I enjoy a good sex scene, but at some point I started to just fast forward through them, because it was always the same with Theo and Kit where Kit is expressing his undying love in his head, and Theo is enjoying before putting up their walls. At some point, especially when you realize the “scenario” that ended their relationship - you’re just like…are you both serious? A minor miscommunication means two people who just drag on and on and on and sleep with as many people as possible until they can finally talk to one another again. I also got a bit annoyed with Theo’s character. They are a Nepo baby, and they want to make it on their own, but they are convinced they are a complete fuck up. At some point, you would expect them to grow emotionally and mentally…and to see that shift in perspective. No. No character growth whatsoever except in the last chapter and epilogue where they magically switch. I don’t even know if Theo loves Kit, because you never really see them delve into that. I preferred listening to Kit’s perspective because you actually hear him changing and hear him giving weight to the relationship and love. Theo’s perspective is just mainly focused on the negative, what’s wrong, what’s going to go wrong, and why things are bad. I didn’t find Theo’s character to really be one I could relate to.

Overall, I don’t see myself re-reading this book. The epilogue did make me tear up a little, because who doesn’t like a happy ending. I think if you want a book that gives you plenty of sex scenes while on an international tour - this is for you. If you’re looking for a book where the characters are complex and the relationship is full and dynamic, I would probably look elsewhere.

<i>The Pairing</i> by Casey Mcquiston swept me off my feet and into the arms of a very European vacation style tale of two exes. Four years ago Theo and Kit were hastily breaking up right before they were set to go on a food and wine tour throughout Europe… and now… They both find themselves attending the same rescheduled date of that very food and wine tour. Can they put their differences aside for long enough to make it out both physically and mentally unharmed? Only time will tell…

This was an absolutely beautiful story about how in order to grow as people, how we have to take risks and act out of love and trust alone. How the logical thing will end up breaking your heart.

My favorite parts of this story was how easily the characters flowed. There were so many laugh out loud moments, it felt like just the perfect balance of drama/plot and humor/moments the character’s personalities shined through.

The way that the author details how relationships can implode and what that looks like on from both POVs is deeply interesting. Specifically, I thought it was very interesting <spoiler>to see how both parties in a relationship can be in the wrong. I did not just see black and white in Theo and Kit’s story, but the entire spectrum of their relationship and just what went wrong.</spoiler>

There were times that I did not agree with the choices the characters were making, or rather, the choices the author was making for the characters. I felt that oftentimes it felt like every single character in this book was obsessed with everything about sex. I am not opposed to them feeling like this, but it felt out of place and strange in the world the author created. Though I did enjoy the length of the book, despite it feeling vey long, I think the sex obsession contributed to some drag towards the middle of the book. It felt like the book slowed to a crawl, and like I could have done without this entire food + wine tour’s worlds revolving around sex. Who needs the food or the wine when you have sex and drama, right?

Overall, this story was very impactful. I felt so invested in the lives of all the characters, whether that was the main characters or the side characters. I adored the themes of finding your happiness, no matter what that means. It’s taking the leap out of the logical and feeling your heart. This book gave so much, drama, intrigue, and an exquisitely described backdrop.

Dare I say… This is my favorite Casey McQuiston book. Only time will tell whether the general public agrees with me, but I know that this book made me feel every feeling so hard, and that is the most rare, hard to capture moment of reading.

***Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio through NetGalley for providing me an ARC for my honest review!***

I have a lot of opinions about The Pairing! I'll start off with what I enjoyed:

-The food and drink descriptions are DIVINE. Casey McQuiston did her research on these foods and it shows! Her ability to describe foods and the beautiful sceneries of Europe is incredible.
-I love how bi this book is. Literally everyone is bi. It feels a little unrealistic that everyone they meet is bi and down to hook up instantly, but it's fiction, and it's fun.
-Nonbinary main character
-I like the overall story of two exes finding their way back together on a fun European Food & Wine tour.
-Kit's love for Theo is sooo sweet.

My criticisms:

-The Pairing feels way longer than it needs to be. I found myself bored during many portions of the story.
-The plot doesn't feel strong and it's muddled in a lot of rambling internal monologue. This story is definitely more character-driven, which is totally fine, but it just feels a little too exhausting.
-Theo and Kit's actions don't quite make sense to me when they are so obviously in love with each other. At the beginning, the hooking up with other people thing wasn't too bad, but after a certain point, it did not make sense why they were still entertaining other people. I found them to be incredibly frustrating for most of the book.
-There are a lot of side characters who feel like caricatures and just add nothing to the story, aside from being people Theo and Kit hook up with or want to hook up with. I kept mixing up characters, but that could just be a me problem.
-I love the nonbinary character representation in a romance (very hard to find), but Theo really got on my nerves. The way they handle almost every situation feels incredibly immature to me. I also have a hard time relating to- and sympathizing with- Theo's struggles as a nepo baby. I totally understand them wanting to build their career on their own, but they are so incredibly whiny about things going poorly. Them acting like they aren't privileged feels like a huge slap in the face.

I do think that The Pairing could be super fun as a movie! Everything is described so beautifully and vividly, I can just see this as a movie in my head. I truly appreciate the opportunity to read The Pairing early. Thank you so much to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved the ebook, but as usual, audiobook just really hit it out of the park. My second time reading The Pairing, and I think I love it even more now!

The first half of "The Pairing" is a montage of European cities, food, booze, casual sex, etc. It's charming, but not very memorable.

Theo and Kit were fine — lovable but not the most memorable characters. I think my primary issue with this book is that all of the emotional development and intimacy happens off page. They're already in love, broken up and still hung up on each other before we even meet these characters. There's an entire lifetime before this the readers are not privy to and it's not adequately captured in the story for us to catch up. Instead, we're just expected to know how much they love each other and why without enough development to really merit it.

Their sex bet also failed to serve their arc and instead just cheapened everything. Also, lots of weird "Call Me By Your Name" references?

This was a solid audiobook. I did feel like the narrator voicing Kit didn't really fit the chracter? That's a personal preference thing, though.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

If you're frustrated by the lack of communication trope, avoid this one because good gravy these people will do everything but say what they feel, think or need.

Anyway.

Theo and Kit have been friend forever and eventually crossed the line into more than friends as young adults. Of course a miscommunication ruined everything and it's been nearly 4 years since they've last talked or seen each other when they both decide to use a voucher for a food tasting trip they'd initially intended to take together.

Being back in each other's space ignites sparks that bubble over into a "who can get the most a$$' competition in each of trips stops, which leads to a huge amount of sexual tension between the two of them. Which you know is going to lead to something. Not a conversation, of course.

Anyway there was a point in this book where I though I was going to be deeply unhappy with the conclusion, but it comes together

I did enjoy the characters, even with all their flaws, and it is a fun read. Great diverse representation, a healthy dose of spice, and a happily ever after that's necessary for a frothy romance.

this was a little all over the plae for me, which is maybe what it's supposed to be. I feel like I know the characters and the world they set up, and I am glad I read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an audio copy to listen to in exchange for an honest review.

This was way more sexually explicit than I anticipated. Two former lovers redeem a trip voucher years after breaking up. They sleep their way across Europe rekindling their friendship, eating amazing food, drinking wine, and discovering more of themselves (and each other). A solid read, but for a mature audience.

I’ve really enjoyed Casey McQuiston’s books but this one left me slightly disappointed.

First, the good. The story itself is one I can get behind. I love that Theo and Kit met back up on this tour and their getting back together didn’t feel too agonizing although by the end I was getting a bit exhausted with the build up. I loved the journey through the countries through the pairings at the beginning of each chapter, the imagery of each place, and some of the characters were terrific but the main characters were a miss for me and I found myself more frustrated by them than fond of them.

“ The problem is, we’ve only ever been everything or nothing other.”

This was a *fun* listen, but it stopped there as far as depth. And honestly, after about 75% I was like okay, let’s get to the point already. At first I was excited about the switch in POV, but once we got in Kits head and saw Theo from the outside he (Theo) became insufferable in his whiney, inability to accept help or do anything to change the direction of his life that he’s unhappy with.

The miscommunication about halfway through was a step too far into the unbelievable - I listened to that plot point and thought to myself really? There’s just no way. But I got over that when it didn’t immediately fix everything once the miscommunication was cleared up, but then it got me thinking well, why did we even include that then?

What I DID enjoy was the imagery and the description of the setting. This made it a great summer listen because I did feel like I was traveling with the characters and tasting all the food and wine which was a fun little adventure. The narrators were both very nice to listen to, they were enthusiastic and the accents added some interest as well.

But all in all, it seemed like a big sexual romp to the point of unbelievability, like really you’re meeting all these people in passing and immediately everyone wants to sleep together? Ok, sure…

You’ve gotta like spice to get into this read, so if that’s not for you I definitely wouldn’t recommend this.

Theo and Kit were decently well written but I wasn’t invested which was the overall feel of this book, the writing was on point but the story didn’t have that extra sparkle that makes me fully invested. This was a fun, fluffy read that would be a great read for when you want a pallet cleanser of not a lot of depth (which sounds harsh but isn’t necessarily a bad thing - it was low stakes romance).

The Pairing is a banquet for the senses. Casey McQuiston’s prose is as delectable as the dishes she describes. Each page brings a vivid picture, be it the beautiful views or a plate piled with food. You can practically smell the wildflowers and feel the sun-warmed European earth beneath your feet.

The story itself is a delightful dance between Theo and Kit. Their banter crackles with wit, and the pegging pun? ROFL. I think Theo and Kit are now definitely two of my favorite characters. And the spice between these two bisexuals is perfect. MOLTO BELLA! 🤤

Thank you, Macmillan Audio, Casey McQuinston, and NetGalley, for an honest review of this audio ARC.

Rating: 🥐🥐🥐🥐🥐
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Tropes:
Second Chance
International Adventure
Dual POV
Mutual Pining
Forced Proximity
Bi and nonbinary rep
Sex Competition

I didn't really know anything about this book going into it so I had no idea what to expect. What I got was an interesting read about two best friends that became lovers that had a falling out and then ended up on the same European culinary tour together. I'm not going to lie, I was jealous at the all the incredible stops on the tour, but I was not impressed by how many times there was an error in booking and Kit and Theo had to share a room/bed or something else that kept them in close proximity. I was a little exhausted by all the sexual adventures, but it did bring around the eventual HEA so I guess all's well. The audiobook is an interesting way to enjoy this story and is narrated by Emma Galvin and Max Meyers.

DNFing @ ~30%. I often think I’ll like this sort of story where characters are traveling the world and eating good food and drinking good wine but I overwhelmingly don’t care about how many adjectives can be used to describe a chablis or the French countryside or a chunk of moldy aged cheese. I think I’d rather just experience it myself.

I also think this book needs to be classified as magical realism or something bc in no way can I believe every person Kit and Theo encounter is ready to sleep with either of them on the spot.

Also Theo is a bit of an insufferable nepo baby and I just didn’t care for their POV. Maybe Kit’s POV would have been better but I just couldn’t find much about either of them to care about.

Thanks NetGalley and MacMillan for a copy of the audio arc

This was just not for me. The tropes and set up were not my usual cup of tea, but I had hopes that since I have enjoyed other books by Casey that maybe this would end up working out. Unfortunately, I found the characters unlikable and I was not rooting for them.

In addition the narrator for Theo had a voice that sounded much younger than Theo's actual age in the story and it really took me out of the story.

I can see how people might enjoy this one, but it is not one I will be recommending.

I can't say enough about this book! Perfection!

The narrators chosen for this story were perfect. Each became the character and did a wonderful job bringing the story to life.

A unique part of this audiobook book is when the characters travel to a new city, the book includes a pairing for that city. Instrumental music accompanies each of these sections, but it is done in a simple way.

The first half of the story is told in Theo's POV. We get the beginning of the story from them and a good part of the trip as well. The transition between the characters was done well. We get a brief view of both before it completely switches over to Kit's.

This author wrote this in a way that it brought each city to life . The story includes a diverse cast of characters along on the trip were funny, friendly and added to the story.

I highly recommend the audiobook.

Thank you MacMillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

3.5. I am so disappointed. Anyone who knows me knows I am a HUGE fan of Red White And Royal Blue, so I was SO EXCITED for this. However, I am let down. This was just a typical second chance romance with not many memorable characters and no sense of found family like all of McQuiston’s other work

This was probably the biggest let down of the year for me. There is nothing more romantic then having a sex competition with the person you are in love with right? I feel like this is partially my fault for requesting because I saw the cover and the author and thought it would be super cute! But no, this was not even a little romantic. I wanted to be able to give this book at least 2 stars but if I'm being honest with myself, I didn't see anything I liked about this book.

Theo and Kit are childhood friends that became lovers until they have an argument so bad that they didn't see each other or speak for 4 years. Spoiler: it ends up being miscommunication, of course. But the wild thing is that it seemed like such a small issue that didn't warrant them not speaking for 4 years. Like if one of them would've reached out in those 4 years and just had one conversation they probably could've figured out what went wrong. They even have family members that could've helped them realize that there was a misunderstanding of the situation.

So basically, they were supposed to go on a wine tour but never did and the expiration to schedule it was 4 years and they coincidentally both scheduled it for the same time. Now they are both instantly in love again but instead of trying to fix their relationship, they decide the best idea is to have a competition to see who could have the most sexual encounters with random people. The whole book is more of the same thing over and over. They go to a different location, have a random hookup, rinse and repeat. And trust me, there is always someone who is just ready to have sex with them everywhere they go. Theo and Kit are only ever talking about, thinking about, or having sex. They even talk about the sex lives of the other people on their tour quite frequently. I feel like I sound like a prude but the majority of this book is literally just things relating to sex. There is barely any depth to the two characters and what is there is pretty annoying most of the time. Theo is one of the most annoying and frustrating characters and I don't understand what Kit is seeing. It's like Kit has Theo up on a pedestal in his mind and nothing else matters. But really Theo's only personality is that they are a nepo baby who hates it and tries to be different but just ends up running low on money and then refusing help from their family. That's it, that's the whole character. There are also a ton of side characters that contribute basically nothing to the plot.

Bottom line, this book was extremely boring and a lot of the same over and over. It could've been cut in half and been the exact same book. The first part of the book is from Theo's POV and I wanted to DNF so bad the whole time but I just wanted to see it through to the end. Kit's section gets a little better but still an awful book. It was so hard to get through this book, I honestly wish I wouldn't have wasted my time on it. If you are getting this book because you like the author, I highly recommend skipping.

3.5 Stars - thank you Netgalley for the ALC !

First the narrators did an AMAZING job on this, truly fantastic voice acting all around.

This story follows Theo and Kitt who were childhood best friends turned lovers who break up before they can even embark on their first day of a 3 week long food and wine tour across Europe. Four years later, unable to get a refund on the tour, Theo decides its time for them to take the trip as a solo traveler. However, when they board the tour bus they find Kitt there who apparently had the same idea - use the voucher at the last possible minute before it expires. These two are thrust together (forced proximity anyone?) and in order to save face with the other person they agree to a truce that basically means they will be friends for the trip and also enter into a friendly 'sex competition' basically as a way to prove they are over each other.

Spoiler alert: they are not over each other.

I really liked the plot of this story and how the plot progressed, but I did find Theo to be a bit too aloof at times which annoyed me. Also, call me a prude ( I know I know ) but I didnt love the whole "sex game" they played in the beginning. I hated (for both characters) them having to hear and witness the person they were in love with be with other people. BUTTTTTTT I do think that there was sooooo much growth from beginning to end and Casey did a great job portraying that in her writing.

While Theo did annoy me a bit, I found Kitt to be so charming and charismatic and lovable. I fully understood Theo's love and infatuation with him. I loved that we finally get Kitts POV for the last half of the book - I think the story really progressed here and I loved getting his POV on what happened four years prior.

If youre a follower of mine you know I love a good Friends to Lovers / Second Chance Romance and this book did deliver on that ten fold