Casey McQuiston has done it again. “The Pairing” is the perfect ode to old flames, food/wine culture, and European tourism. It’s the type of book where it’s better to know less information going in, so you can fully understand Theo and Kit.

I absolutely loved how McQuiston split the POVs in half, especially how each side was labeled the narrators’ version. This was such a clever plot device and one that not every author could pull off.

The audiobook narrators did an excellent job bringing Theo and Kit to life. It was also a delight to have McQuiston provide their voice to the narration.

✨ALC Review ✨

Oh my stars! I’m in love. I’m in love with a tasting tour of Europe. I’m in love with art and atmosphere. I’m in love with travel companions. I’m in love with being completely yourself and unapologetic about it. I’m in love with being authentically loved. But mostly I’m in love with Theo and Kit.

Y’all. The pining. The yearning to be with the one person who has ever been your everything.

With a backdrop of France, Spain, and Italy, this book is truly a feast for the senses. The food and wine descriptions are top-notch and make ME yearn to go on this tour.

Ok, back to Kit and Theo: they’ve been best friends since they were children and finally admitted they were in love with each other in their early 20’s and things were good until they weren’t. This story picks up four years after they broke each other’s hearts.

I positively loooved the dynamic between these two warm, caring, hurt people. I loved the way they acknowledge attractive people with each other and how open they are to sexual experiences. I don’t think it’s giving too much away to say they are both bisexual and hot and very much enjoy flirting with literally everyone. It’s fabulous.

And y’all, the spice is spicin’. I was driving home from work when the Monaco yacht seen was happening and almost slipped out of my car seat.

This book is sensual in the absolute best, original meaning of the word. It’s fun. It’s funny. It’s heartbreaking and romantic. It’s over-the-top glorious.

The narration is absolutely perfect for each character. I don’t think I’ve heard either of these narrators before, but they were sooo good. The subtle and not-so-subtle character pieces, the pronunciations of a metric fuckton of French, Spanish, and Italian. Bellissimo!

I received an ALC from #netgalley and @macmillan.audio in exchange for a review. All thoughts are mine alone.

#alc #thepairing #kitandtheo #romance #contemporaryromance #lgbtqia+ #spicybooks #bookstagram #igreads #emmagalvin #maxmeyers #caseymcquiston #audiobooks #narrators #voiceactors #voiceacting

Ugh this book dragged on and on, I'm so happy to be finished. While I loved the characters, the plot was so boring. It felt predictable from the beginning and then nothing happened for pages on end. It was so hard to pick this up, it felt never ending. There were a few one liners in this book that were hilarious. Casey McQuinston is a great author, but this book was such a miss for me.

After reading and enjoying Red, White & Royal Blue, I was excited to read an advanced copy of Ms McQuiston’s latest novel, The Pairing. It’s the 2nd chance romance story of Theodora “Theo,” a nonbinary sommelier, and Kit, a French pastry chef, who are former childhood best friends turned lovers. They accidentally book the same European food and wine tour 4 years after their breakup and then challenge each other to a hookup competition to prove they’re over each other (they obviously aren’t). There is a definite focus on sex throughout the book, and more miscommunication than I like, but it’s also an escapist novel where each stop on the tour has a signature dish and cocktail. The story is told from each of their points of view. Theo presents as immature and I preferred Kit’s POV. I appreciated that the 2 characters were voiced by different actors in the audio version. Theo and Kit need to overcome their own insecurities and the logistics of living an ocean apart before finding their happy ending. This will be a fun summer romcom for the right reader. 3/5⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own. 8/5/24

ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝐸-𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀 & 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀

ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: 𝟐.𝟓 ⭐️ 𝐈 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤—𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐬 (𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬) 𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤-𝐮𝐩—𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐜 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒇’𝒔 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔 (𝐩𝐮𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝). 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐫, 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐣𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 (𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲) 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐱. 𝐘𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐮𝐩 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞, 𝐬𝐨 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐱 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲.

𝐈 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐊𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 (𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞, 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐆𝐁𝐓𝐐+ 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭), 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠.

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒞𝒶𝓈𝑒𝓎 𝑀𝒸𝒬𝓊𝒾𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓃, 𝒮𝓉. 𝑀𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒾𝓃'𝓈 𝒫𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈, 𝑀𝒶𝒸𝓂𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒶𝓃 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

3.5 rounded down

After loving the author’s Red, White & Royal Blue, I was excited to read this book. However, it fell pretty flat for me. One thing I think caused part of that, was that we didn’t get to see the whole falling in love story to begin with. (Besides the couple short chapters at the beginning.) So I didn’t get a whole lot of romance from it but just pure spice. If you’re a fan of spice, this book has it in heaps. I’m a fan of it when it advances the storyline, but it didn’t feel like it added to it in this case. I felt more love being described when they ate food than anything else. I really wish I had enjoyed this one more, and I’ll still read McQuiston’s work in the future, but unfortunately I can’t give this any higher stars.

As for the narration, I wasn’t a huge fan of McQuiston narrating either. I kind of got annoyed with Theo as a character, and I’m not sure if that’s because of how he was narrated. The second author that covered Kit’s side was somewhat better.

3.25 stars★

“and every person i take to bed from now on will be fighting his ghost for my attention”

Theo and Kit called it quits right before embarking on a European bus adventure. Fate had other plans as their expiring free bus tour vouchers led them to reunite on the very same bus tour. The tale unfolds through Theo's lens initially, then transitions to Kit's viewpoint as they journey through France, Spain, and Italy, exploring not only the cuisine but also the transformations they've undergone over the past four years.

had an enjoyable time with this one after not clicking with a book for a while. reading this felt like a beautiful modern love story between two individuals who are undoubtedly destined for each other, navigating the challenges of being together. I found the change in perspective halfway through the book to be a fantastic method to gain a deeper understanding of both characters.

anyone who knows me knows I love Red White and Royal Blue effusively and wholeheartedly. I reread it every year, sometimes multiple times a year. I’m so pleased to say, this book may be even better than RWRB, or at least on par, and that is the highest praise i could ever give a romance book. I loved how freaking stupid in love these characters were, and watching them fumble through their journey of coming back together, and all the help they got along the way. I loved the bet, I loved the Callums, I loved the whole cast, and I loved how deeply flawed both of these characters were. One thing I deeply love about Casey McQuiston is they are not afraid to show their characters for who they are on bad days and good days, at their silliest and at their worst. It makes their books ones that I can always return to and notice new things about both the characters within the book, and in myself. To me, that is what makes a book a classic. And this book? This book will always be a classic to me. Thank you so much to Netgalley for the audio ARC, and thank you to Casey McQuiston for writing books that remind me what it is to be loved and to be seen. I can't wait for the rest of the world to read this gift of a book.

rep: nonbinary bisexual MC, bisexual LI, queer cast, side characters of color

spice: sooooo much sex

A delightful European romp with sexy ex sex and two hearts who find they still love each other after four years apart. Fantastic will they, won’t they tension, and I appreciated the nonbinary storyline. Another amazing rom-com from McQuiston. Pairs well with a beachside resort or couch with a furry friend and a glass of vintage. Chef’s kiss!

I really enjoyed this book! When I read in the synopsis that a hook-up challenge was going to be a main plot point, I was a little worried that it was going to come off as "trashy" or that there would be too many awkwardly written sex scenes with terrible euphemisms for body parts, but none of that was the case. Instead, we were given two (impossibly, in a good way) sexy main characters and wonderfully done fade-to-blacks until the MCs actually got together.

This second chance romance was well done. It was nice to see how the characters both knew each other intimately and were strangers when they reunited after four years apart. Anyone who has ever re-connected with an ex or an old friend knows that feeling, but it is often overlooked in books. Like most in this trope, it relied heavily on miscommunications, both to cause the breakup and to slow down the getting back together, but that allowed for a very compelling story to unfold.

i had to give up on this one which is a shame because i've generally appreciated casey mcquiston's books in the past, but this was a mess.

we're introduced to theo, who is headed out on a dream food and wine tour of europe for the summer. when they get to the train, they run into their ex, kit, years after he left them behind. to be clear, i don't like second-chance romances because i think they're rarely done well enough to make me feel invested in a couple. i don't know why theo was the way they were about kit, but it drove me absolutely crazy. theo constantly obsesses over the break-up, assumes that a woman standing next to kit must be his girlfriend and doesn't ask for clarification, changes their drink order because they don't want kit to have the satisfaction of knowing what they like to drink. so your goal is to... be less of an authentic person out of spite? and i'm supposed to root for you? it felt so childish and strange.

and this is truly on me. i saw casey mcquiston, i clicked request. i didn't see this part of the synopsis: "There's nothing left between them. So much nothing that, when Theo suggests a friendly wager to see who can sleep with their hot Italian tour guide first, Kit is totally game. And why stop there? Why not a full-on European hookup competition?"

i truly should have known this wouldn't be written either well or responsibility. there's an issue with how bisexuals/pansexuals are written as super hypersexual and this book truly struggles from that. that's not to say bisexual and pansexual people can't be hypersexual, but this book orchestrated random hook-ups out of thin air. everyone was attracted to everyone. everyone was sleeping with everyone. i hated that.

the other problem is a sex competition. funny, yes. but it felt pretty disgusting for two adults to make a bet over sleeping with an unaware, non-consenting adult, then after the act is done regaling each other with intimate details of the interaction in a public forum, including making jokes about straps and pegging, like the third party isn't an actual human being. it felt bro-y and gross.

i also felt theo's non-binary identity was an afterthought to sell books, really. i get that mcquiston is non-binary themselves, but i feel like nothing was made clear about theo's gender and there was some really bizarre writing that read like they were wistful to... be a woman? so that kit would be attracted to them?

this is the least of the book's problems, but still a no from me: theo is a nepo baby. a sister that's a major hollywood actor, parents in the business, etc. and theo framing themselves as "poor me, my life is so hard" was so tone deaf and weird to me. i have a long-time hatred of poor little rich kid books, so had i known this was part of the book i probably would have avoided it all together.

food descriptions were dope, though. the drinking was really excessive for me, though.

I really wanted to love this book, but I sadly found it and the characters pretty boring, and the whole food and wine thing pretentious. I also felt the miscommunication trope was overdone and relied on too heavily.

I think dividing the book into two halves, the first with Theo's perspective and the second with Kit's, was a mistake. I definitely liked Kit's POV more but by the time I got to it, I'd stopped caring about these two getting together. It was hard to root for them, and the amount of pages detailing all the people they each slept with to one-up the other didn't make it easier imo. The peach scene was also a Choice.

I tried to trudge through, but if I realized if this had been written by anyone else I would've DNF'ed long ago, so I decided to finally call it quits at 68% since I wasn't enjoying the book.

Thank you NetGalley for this audio ARC. For some reason, I thought this was a YA book. It was not haha The cover threw me off.

I really enjoyed this book, but the characters were a little immature along with an over emphasis on sex. Now, I love a spicy book, but this was not done in a way that worked for me.

100% yes. this one was amazing! it gave me all the warm & fuzzies, and it was exactly what I hoped to get from a Casey McQuiston book.

though nothing can take the place of RW&RB in my heart, this one was a pleasant, happy read that had me in a chokehold from beginning to end! and the steam was perfecttttt

💞friends to lovers
💞second chance
💞hookup challenge
💞bi main characters

I went back and forth between audio and ebook and it made it even better!

This was definitely mcquiston's spiciest book yet. They once again knocked the romance out of the park. I'm not usually one for second chance but I really enjoyed this.

The food descriptions and number of adjectives were a bit much for me, but over all this was a great book that I'm so glad I got to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillian Audio for an advanced listener copy of this book.

Casey McQuiston wrote the "is somebody gonna match my freak" book of the summer. This one was very "ive been a nasty girl" vibes.

The Pairing is the story of Theo and Kitt, two childhood friends and former lovers who reunite for the first time in four years on a three week food and wine tour in Spain, France, and Italy. As the trip progresses, they clear up their massive miscommunication issues and reconcile the resentment and the feelings they still have for one another.

I don't think much of European vacations, unsurprisingly. However, this book did a very good job of walking me through the most gorgeous parts of a European summer. I was super sad about my lactose intolerance which meant I probably couldn't sign on to my own tour.

The characters are surprisingly likeable. There was only one point at around the 85% mark that I got annoyed at Theo, but other than that? I understood the tension and longing and inability to say the important things. This audiobook is very long and the story definitely could have been cut by two stops, but it never dragged. I think there were moments that didn't move the plot forward, and could have been edited down for brevity's sake.
But when I say this book gets FREAKY, I mean it. I was listening to this mouth AGAPE at the sexual content in this book. Casey McQuiston really went there this time around. Some of the language around sex in this book made me cringe, but that could have just been the audiobook narration.

All in all, I enjoyed the audiobook narration. Theo's narrator was excellent and missed them after the narration switch halfway through. Kitt's narrator was good, but the voice they put on for Theo did not fit the feeling I had for the character.

I am 4/4 on Casey McQuiston books (it's a hit!). If you like Red White and Royal Blue, this one is for you.

I'm always grateful to receive an ARC from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio.

Well, with this book, I'm officially 50/50 on Casey McQuiston. I know this will probably be a minority opinion, but besides Red, White, & Royal Blue, each successive book has featured AT LEAST one insufferable main character.

I was primed to love this book, but it was all right. We meet Theo and Kitt, 28-year-old Bi disasters exes who end up on a three-week food tour through western Europe. It's Eat, Pray, Love but make it queer! I did enjoy the Eat part of the story, and I'm ready to book my tour tomorrow based on the delicious descriptions of the food and scenery. The Pray portions showcased Theo's struggle as a nepobaby which never landed. She refuses to accept help from her family because...reasons. The focus on their processing of gender and their clear challenges with executive function would have been better. Kit fairs better in this part as we discuss his need to balance dreams and reality along with lingering grief. It all goes completely off the rails at the Love part. I'm a sucker for a second-chance romance, and this was a disappointment. Kit and Theo spend the book acting like sex-obsessed teenagers who refuse to have a direct conversation. This is ironic because they are both desperate to show the other how they've matured and grown since their breakup. I'm used to reading books with a lot of "spice," but this story was more titillating/salacious but missing the emotional component to make the scenes truly sing.

The book devotes the first half to Theo's POV and the second to Kit. To be frank, if this had been only in Theo's perspective, I would have DNF'd the book, which I never do for an ARC.

I adore Casey McQuistons writing so much. There writing is unique and fun to read.

The overall story was entertaining, but a bit repetitive. The main character Theo was a bit annoying with all the lying to try to impress others and lack of communication. The audio book was a lot of fun! The narrators did a great job.

I really wanted to like this one - I've always been a fan of McQuiston's work, and I LOVED the idea of this premise. A perfect summer story that takes us on a European food tour and a second-chance romance. This should have worked PERFECTLY for me.

Instead, I was pretty disappointed. 90% of this book is miscommunication and then having sex with other people to get over each other. It's also each of the two main characters saying how much they love the other person and how smart/strong/sexy that person is, but we never really see anything that is evidence to back that statement up. Ex. Kit tells us over and over how amazing Theo is and how they're the smartest and most impressive person he's ever met... except everything we see of Theo is them not committing to anything, refusing help from others when other people would KILL for an investment, and overall trying to pretend like they don't come from a rich family which will always give them a leg up in the world even if they don't want to be connected to that name.

I think Theo just annoyed me a little too much (and I say that as a 29-year old who doesn't know what her purpose is in life, which means I'm basically neck and neck with Theo), and Kit was portrayed as way too perfect most of the time. I wish we had a little more heart to more of the background characters as well - there is definitely plot there, don't get it twisted. But I just never really felt connected to any of the other characters (whereas in RWRB, June and Nora were my favorite characters).

I think some McQuiston fans will still enjoy this book, but it just wasn't up to my personal taste (and that's okay!). Here's hoping that their next novel will blow me away spectacularly.

It's Pride Month! Read ALL the Casey McQuiston books you can get your hands on! The Pairing was an amazing story of love, food, sex, and adventure! Also, the narrators were fantastic!