I loved this book so much but I had mixed feelings about the audio. Theo's narrator grew on me but was a little challenging for me to sink into at first. Once it switched to Kit's POV, I just couldn't listen anymore. I felt he emphasized strange words in sentences that took me out of the story. Overall I think maybe they just weren't the right fit for the story? But the story is amazing!!

I like a spicy romcom like the next girl but this bisexual romp through Europe made me feel a little old which is nit to say the writing was bad or the storyline wasn’t engaging. Theo and Kit’s lifelong relationship as friends, best friends and lovers gets reignited on a trip around Europe and all it’s foodie destinations but the bet they took comparing who can get into more summer flings and bed more new acquaintances just seemed a little too shallow, since I love reading books that aspire a little more romantic love than quick sex scenes but that may just be me, so if spice is what your looking for this book is definitely going to deliver - have fun listening to this audio !

My experience listening to this audiobook was so different from reading the digital ARC, so I'm glad I was given the opportunity to do both!

This audiobook is well-narrated by two different voice actors with the author themself doing the interstitial title-reading. I loved getting the chance to hear the two voices because it delineated the story more like two novels rather than two halves of the same story. This was a great contrast to have and gave me more of an idea of how McQuiston wanted some of the scenes from Kit's POV to unravel for the reader.

I appreciated that the actor performing Theo's POV had a voice that fits the character: not overly feminine or masculine, but just as charming as Theo would be. Kit's voice felt a little jarring to me, but that's simply because I had another tone in mind when reading. This is the trouble with audiobooks sometimes and I got over it quickly.

Thank you to the publishers for giving me access to this audiobook for review!

Red, White and Royal Blue is one of my all time favorite books, so this was one of my most anticipated reads of the year….and I loved it! Second chance romance that takes place all over Europe?! This was amazing/seductive/emotional- I loved the way food/wine/art/culture was incorporated into the storyline. I was transported!! I alternated between the audiobook and physical book, but have to recommend the audiobook because the narrators were perfect! 4.5⭐️

I need my paperback copy of this book in my hands immediately!!! Casey McQuiston has done it again and better than ever…and that is saying something! This book ripped my heart out. It is a love letter to love and it feels like a gift to read it. The passion (of the author AND the characters) dances off the pages. Theo and Kit are everything to me now. This book pairs well with reminiscing about the trip of a lifetime you took all over Italy with the love of your life. I will endlessly recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley for the audio ARC!

This was a DNF for me. I was really looking forward to this one as RWRB is one of faves of all time. Also, as a bi woman I was anticipating their narrative. However, it seemed off. Instead of being this bi journey it just seemed like a horny travel and food story.
Emma and Max did a great job. Their narration was excellent.

Things that I loved: a story centered around a 3-week European food and wine gastronomical indulgence tour.

Plus, you just want Theo and Kit to put aside their past hurt and reunite for everything wonderful that can happen for them.

Things that I didn’t like: I get it, that it’s a romance book, but it verged on unnecessary details for me.

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Thank you SMP Romance and Macmillan Audio for my gifted copies. All opinions are my own.

Red, White and Royal Blue is an all time favorite and I think this has now my second favorite Casey Mcquiston book.

I’m not sure I have enough words to describe my love for Kit and Theo. They were best friends for most of their lives and partners before they break up on the eve of their European food and wine tour.

They haven’t seen each other in years when they meet on the same tour we were supposed to take together. I loved their sumptuous tour of so many major cities in Europe. This will definitely make you hungry so be prepared. Despite clearly not being over each other, they make a game of who can have the most hook-ups.

I liked how this was a broken into Theo’s perspective and then Kit’s. This definitely made me want to go on a European food and wine tour!

This book was a fun, spicy read—perfect for foodies and travel lovers! 🌶️✈️ The pairing of delicious culinary adventures with globe-trotting romance kept me hooked. However, I have to admit, this wasn’t my favorite by this author. 🤷‍♀️

Also, can we talk about the cover? It didn’t appeal to me at all, and I only picked it up because of my love for the author’s previous work. I feel like the cover really doesn’t do justice to the story inside! 🙈

Unfortunately a miss for me. I really struggled to like the main character and that made it a slog to get through. I also felt like the bi representation was harmfully stereotyped and unnecessarily sexualized in a way too many people write bi characters.

I love Casey McQuiston but The Pairing was really a slog for me. There's only so many descriptions of food, Europe, drinks, and sex I can take - along with a predictable plot and not a lot of action.

This was a messy and lustful gallivant across Europe, following Theo and Kit along their second chance romance. These two bisexual exes find themselves on the same European food and wine tour and end up engaging in a hook-up competition to see who has truly moved on from their relationship long ago. I was originally on the fence, given the vengeful and flippant sexual encounters, however ended up finding both these characters to be a bit damaged, emotionally complex, and overall charming. Plus the descriptions of European destinations and food/wine was a major plus! I really enjoyed the narration and found they added depth to the characters and story.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for an advanced listener copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Finally going on the trip of a lifetime, Theo never expects to find the person who broke her heart - and who she was supposed to go on the original trip with - sat next to the only available seat on the bus. Kit had been her best friend, and partner, and broke her heart. Now trapped for three weeks on a romantic European wine and food tour, they have to make the best of a bad situation, and try and come out the other side with their hearts intact.

I've been putting off writing this review for so long. Like the rest of the world, I loved Red, White and Royal Blue, and found I Kissed Shara Wheeler enjoyable too. So I was expecting that The Paiing would be as good too, but I found I was forcing myself to finish the book, and was just pushing myself to the end so I didn't have to DNF it. I mean, the book wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either, at least in my opinion. I found this book so frustrating. It was the biggest case of miscommunication and dramatic actions that I've read in a long time, and both Theo and Kit were characters I found lacking, and I wasn't engaging with them. I found myself not bothered about their love story, or even if they got together in the end. Not something I would expect from this author, and I'm not wary on reading another of her books in the future.

I love Casey's other books so I wanted to pick this one up as soon as possible. I really loved the concept of these two characters who were together and planned a trip together but broke up before it happened so they reschedule and find out they are both end up on the same trip a few years later. I loved the European setting of this book and how each chapter starts with their location and a wine/food pairing. Plus if you have the physical book each chapter has the outline of whatever locale they are currently visiting. I loved all the food and drink references and really made me crave for a vacation like this myself. I liked the characters on their trip with them, but I found the sexcapades were a bit much. They were constantly trying to one up each other by hooking up with randoms and it felt a bit icky. I really did enjoy the ending though it felt so sweet and right.

After reading the digital copy back in February I was excited to hear how the story came to life in the audiobook and it didn't disappoint. I loved this story just as much the second time and hear Casey narriate parts of it was a nice touch.

I had a fun time listening to these chaotic bisexuals. The author clearly researched trips like this and it makes me want to do one. Now gotta convince my bf to go with me. Haha

Absolutely loved the audiobook of Casey McQuiston’s latest, The Pairing. Both narrators do an excellent job bringing these very unique characters to life.

4.25/5 stars, rounded down

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy!

This was a super fun, super smutty journey through Europe! First off, setting was 10/10. Reading about all of the cities, big and small, that the tour group visited was super fun, and the food/drinks they consumed made me want to book a flight immediately. The descriptions were well-written and gorgeous. I thought this was really well done and added a lot to the story, but didn't take up too much time. The romance itself was pretty cute and a well-done second-chance romance. Theo and Kit had pretty good conflict resolution in the present and no super annoying misunderstandings. The POVs were done REALLY well, giving us a non-traditional glimpse at the past and present from both characters' eyes. This book was SUPER smutty. These scenes were creative, steamy and fun. Having bisexual characters with varying gender identities added so much unexpected dimension to the spice that was pretty cool to read. There were definitely parts of this book that I just didn't quite connect with and I think this was just a bit too long, but I enjoyed it overall!

SYNOPSIS -- Theo and Kit always said they would go on a European food and wine tour together. That is, until they broke up almost 2 years ago. Now, the last month to use the nearly-expired voucher, Theo is determined to go on the tour alone and enjoy it themselves. Enter: Kit. Theo and Kit have been childhood besties, deeply in love, and now, estranged exes forced to spend three weeks together traveling Europe. While the last two years have been pretty different for each of them, they're both determined to reconnect as friends, and prove to the other that they're totally okay with the breakup. So okay, in fact, that they set up a sex competition to see who can hook up with more people throughout their trip. Only one rule: they can't hook up with each other. This will go well, right?

DNF @ 22%. I am just not vibing with "The Pairing" by Casey McQuiston. I may go back and read this at a later date, but I have started and stopped the first 20% three different times, and it's not gripping me like I hope it would have. This is such a bummer because I have loved McQuiston's other novels. I was really looking forward to this one. I will say, I love the vast, visceral descriptions of trekking across Europe and the food that Kit and Theo eat, but apart from that, I don't love these characters and the things they do. I am all for $luts, we do not $lut-shame in this house, but the prospect of having to read about Theo and Kit sleep their way through Europe while trying to make each other jealous, instead of having an actual conversation with one another about how they feel, seems tedious and daunting to me. There is an air of entitlement about these characters that is rubbing me the wrong way, too. I did enjoy the audiobook narrators, Emma Galvin and Max Meyers. Any success I had reading this book was entirely become of them and their voice performances.

Thank you to NetGalley, Casey McQuiston, and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary ALC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

DNF @ 10%. I normally try to get through 20% or more before determining it's not for me, but I paused reading this a few weeks ago and have yet to feel the desire to go back to it. I did not enjoy the characters, I do not enjoy second chance romances, and I could not be less into the idea of this travel/food romance.
Thank you St. Martin's Press & MacMillan Audio for the review copies.