A time bending fantasy involving f/f romance between a modern woman and a woman lost in 1973 seemingly doomed to ride the Q train forever. Ingenious handling of subject matter with oddments of friends and roommates. It is a look back in time and progress in the LBGTQ world, from closeted to out and proud. Thought-provoking. 45 years is both a long time and a short hop into the future to a world of difference.

I'm not sure what I was expecting with the 2nd book by Casey McQuiston, but this was not it. I will start out by saying I loved reading Red White & Royal Blue and was eagerly awaiting this book. I loved that it was going to be a Female/Female romantic pairing and was very excited. I think that was where this book started to worry me. It came with a lot of hype, probably too much hype and it was nothing like I expected. First off it was oddly paranormal, but in a way that was difficult for me to fathom and trust. The book took place in our current world, so throwing in a paranormal, wibbly wobbly timey wimey Doctor Who-esq plotline totally threw me. The story seemed very drawn out and too long in many parts I kept wanting to speed it up, color me surprised when the final chapter went through several years in only a few pages. I just felt the overall pacing was wrong for me. Now, I read romance for the HEA, the love and the heat, spice "bedroom" scenes whatever you want to call them. This had so much potential, they weren't fade to black scenes, they were more like... fade to vague. I found myself rereading sentences because I wasn't sure what was going on. I really wish the author had gone for it and written something a little more adult and explicit, this felt like a YA love scene.

The story had some good mystery a twisty storyline and a lot of fun characters. I loved the roommates and Issac/Annie Depressant, the gang at Billy's. I think this book will go over well with romance readers who are new to the genre, like more PG romance and are prepared for the paranormal (I wasn't). For me this book was too much and not enough all a the same time.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and voluntarily give my review.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Genre: Romance, Magical Realism Rating: ⭐⭐

Please don’t hate me! I know everyone LOVED Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston and there has been so much hype about One Last Stop, but it was definitely not the book for me! Full transparency: I have not read Red, White, & Royal Blue, but I requested this book through NetGalley because of all the excitement around it and because, you guessed it, the cover drew me in. Unfortunately this book fell far short of my expectations.

First off, if you don’t already know, One Last Stop is not simply a romance novel, but also incorporates magical realism. Almost without fail… I absolutely abhor magical realism. Yes, okay, I know it was totally on me to see what the genre of the book was before I picked it up, but what can I say? I am a sucker for a pretty cover! Anyway, as with many magical realism books, this novel felt unrealistic, cheesy, and annoying. Essentially, the main idea driving the plot in the novel is that the protagonist, August, falls in love with a girl, who is literally trapped on the subway… literally.

While the romance was cute at times, it felt weird because the two characters obviously held different levels of power over one another, which made it awkward. I also felt like these issues were never really fully addressed, which again, felt uncomfortable.

Furthermore, I don’t mean to exaggerate, but this book was mind-numbingly slow and felt like it took forever to read. Similarly, a lot of the events throughout the book were a little random and didn’t contribute to the overall stories at times. For instance, August spends the majority of the novel trying to find a way for Jane to get off the subway, but a little more than halfway through the book she seemingly decides that planning a party to save the restaurant that she works at is more important than saving the love of her life!?! A lot of events felt like this throughout the book: unnecessary and confusing.

The one aspect of the novel that I did enjoy was the sense of family that August found in her friends and the diverse representation seen in many of the characters in the book. Many of the side characters were extremely lovable. In fact, I probably would have preferred reading Nikos’ and Myla’s love story as opposed to August’s and Jane’s. Wes was cynical in an endearing way and Isaiah and Annie Depressant gave off a vibe that makes you feel like you want to be their friend.

Overall, I simply think One Last Stop just wasn’t the right book for me. As someone who rarely enjoys magical realism and since the novel was slow, I felt like I had to force myself to read it. That being said, the book was written technically well and I certainly think others will likely enjoy it.

I loved this book, and the sweetness between friends, family, and the very beautiful love story. August and Jane’s chemistry is apparent and the best parts of this book are the small moments between them on the subway, slowly and awkwardly falling in love in New York City. I went to college in New York City, so this story resonated with me of finding your friend group and queer family. I loved all the side characters of this book, and would read a book about all of them: Myla, Niko, Wes, Isiah/Annie Depressant. The only reason I did not give this book 5 stars is that I believe there was too much going on in this book: saving a restaurant, a lot of side character love stories (which could have all been a book on their own!), time traveling, a single mom and daughter, and a lost uncle. Sometimes it got to be too much, and some of the nuance was lost in keeping track of all the things going on in the story. But overall, an amazing book that I will particularly recommend for young people finding their way through big cities, finding their place after graduation, and falling in love for the first time.

So, let me start by saying this is a magical realism book. There is time travel involved. No one told me, and it took me by surprise. It was still good, but I was expecting a romance, which it is, but it includes time travel.

Now that that’s out of the way, I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. August is a great character with plenty of flaws. I loved Jane almost as much as August did. I desperately wanted to know more about her, and I felt completely satisfied by her development. The highlight of the book is the cast of characters that surround August. I loved all of them, and I especially loved their motivations, goals, and specific characteristics that made them unique.

I enjoyed the story, and I look forward to many more books by this author. Thank you, Casey McQuiston, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the ARC.

I will be highlighting the book on my IG on June 15: @LyatsLibrary

I really wanted to enjoy this one. And Honestly, it could be just me, maybe I wasn't in the mood for a romance but I just felt like I was forcing myself to finish this one and in the end, I bailed. Overall, I feel like the story was good, it just wasn't doing it for me.

This was a very strange book and a lot of reality needed to be put to the side because of how there was such a focus on time travel. I did not love that part. I was hoping for a more believable love story, but that could have been my fault going into the story blindly. It was not the worst book I have read this year, it just was not for me.

A girl takes the Q in NewYork and her life is never the same. August, newly arrived in NY meets a girl on the Q and their connection is immediate but there is a problem the girl she met, name is Jane, but that’s all she knows, literally. Jane doesn’t know who she really is or where she came from or where she could be going. She only knows she just rides the subway Q.. Janes effect on August is deep and magnetic almost. When August arrived in NY she found a room with three others, they forged a friendship as if family. Together they band to solve the mystery of Jane on the train who August has decidedly developed a girl crush on.
Interesting and fun in parts. A lifestyle not all get to glimpse of fun, heart full, loving friends that walk a different path than some. They love strong and fight for one another. It took awhile for me to finish it moved slow but the ground work was necessary. Now it would be interesting if August, in her new career moves on to be a book series.
Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin”s Publishing Group and Casey McQuiston for allowing me to read this eARC.

To be honest I didn't even read the description before requesting this title. I loved the author's first book, Red, White & Royal Blue and I assumed her new novel would be in a similar vein. This resulted in me being completely caught off guard when it was revealed the main character's, August's, love interest who she met on the subway is actually displaced in time. She is actually from the 1970s. This, however, did not take away from my enjoyment of the novel. I loved the hints of magic that were throughout the novel, yet it was still very believable. August's group of friends were so wonderful and unique and I thoroughly enjoyed the love story. Those that read her first book will not be disappointed and I will definitely be recommending this delightful novel.

Recently I've been contemplating the future of traditionally published contemporary romances; or at least my interest in them. I'm not sure if these types of romance are being sought out or if Big Pubs are encouraging romance authors to include a list of things that will have to be checked off to meet approval. Independently published romances seem to be hitting the mark where trad is trying but failing.

One Last Stop had no idea what it wanted to be, probably because it was trying to be ALL THE THINGS. The southern girl moving to the big city, the quirky neighbors/found family who conveniently have all the answers to integral plot points, all the queerness and politically relevant talking points that publishers are so desperately trying to include in their front runners for the year - it was all too much and yet not enough to keep me engaged in the story.

Even the surprising sci-fi element woven into the romance between Jane and August wasn't enough to keep the boredom at bay. The pacing kills all momentum and with it, my motivation to discover Jane's backstory and how she was connected to uncle Auggie.

The story lacked any sort of believability with the backdrop of an idealistic New York City and New Yorker lifestyle. The backdrop and August's lack of a real job to pay her bills make this almost a fantasy romance. There was a subway sex scene that had everyone's tongue wagging and all I could think of was how unsanitary getting physical in that setting would actually be. I couldn't even enjoy the budding chemistry between August and Jane because I felt like I was in such an alternate reality.

Also, the third person present tense in One Last Stop was just as annoying as it was in Red, White, and Royal Blue. It's a style clash that I just can't get over.

This... is gonna be hard to talk about. Whenever books hit me in a certain way I have a hard time explaining my feelings in a way that makes sense and elequently says just how much I loved it.

I loved every aspect of this. The characters, the relationship, the found family aspect, the focus on queer history and what people have gone through. It's written beautifully and Casey McQuiston has become an autobuy author and will most likely always be an auto buy author.

Cute meet on the train? COUNT ME IN! As I just moved to NYC, I love reading books set in NY and imagining that this all could happen to me. I went into this one without knowing the premise, I just knew I liked Casey McQuiston and wanted to read her new book. It took me some time to get into the science fiction of it all, just because I wasn’t expecting it, but other than that the book read smoothly. I do have a lot of questions after reading the ending, but I can’t write them here because *spoilers* so Casey if you see this, ya girl needs some answers.

I loved the amazing cast of characters, their personalities, and the way they made you feel like they were your family. I enjoyed getting to see August grow as a person and open up to other people, finding her chosen family, and figuring out what she wanted in life. This book has an incredible LGBTQ+ representation that I wish I could se more in books.

This was a great read for Pride month. The mix between a murder mystery, a romance, and time travel was something that I never could have expected, but that I'm already anticipating being a top 5 read of the year for me. McQuiston's writing only continues to grow and enchant.

Casey McQuiston blew everyone away with their debut novel Red, White and Royal Blue and I can confirm that the same can be said for their sophomore novel, One Last Stop. A sapphic time travel romance set in New York! Who wouldn’t love that premise?

August is 23 years old and doesn’t have much in the way of plans for her future, aside from moving from university to university and being a constant student. She decides to go to school in New York, hoping that this move will inspire a change in her, having left behind her mother who dedicated her life to solving the disappearance of her elder brother back in the 1970s, a feat she has forced August into as well. In New York, August meets a close group of eccentric queer friends and forms a deep bond with them, thinking that she may have finally found a place where she belongs. Then, she meets a mysterious girl on the subway, a girl who doesn’t seem to be able to leave the Q train, and August’s carefully controlled life suddenly becomes upended.

The characters in this book are so incredibly relatable, which is one of McQuiston’s wonderful writing strengths: making characters seem larger than life. August is probably the one I connected to the most: she is deeply unsure of herself and her future, she is a bisexual disaster, and is generally insecure of herself, even though she has all of these amazing support systems. Yeah, a bit too real there, McQuiston.

Then we have the incredible Jane, the Chinese butch lesbian love interest every sapphic wishes they had in their life and/or can be. Jane is such a sweet and fun character and makes One Last Stop shine. She has no idea how, but Jane has spent the past 40 years on the Q train in a New York City subway. She has forgotten every aspect of her life before the train … until she meets August, who uses her investigative skills, honed by her mother, to help Jane remember the life she left behind in the 1970s. And when August and Jane begin to develop feelings for each other as they’re hunched over old files, searching for Jane’s past, there are actual fireworks. The chemistry between the two characters is visibly apparent on the page, and felt so deeply by the reader. And the yearning! It’s really too much.

I also adored the side characters, August’s roommates, whose lives the reader can’t help but be drawn into. There’s Niko, a trans Latino psychic who also moonlights as a very bad bartender; then there’s Niko’s girlfriend Myla, a Black engineer who turns to working on her art as the science life was destroying her; and finally there’s Wes, a Jewish tattoo artist who is desperately in love with the lovely drag queen who lives across from them but doesn’t believe he is worthy of love and is too awkward to do anything about it.

While I didn’t understand a single scientific and time travel element of this book, that was ok because I was really in it for the vibes — the book is very hopeful and fun, and just so inspiring. All of these characters delve deep into the reader’s soul and nestle themselves there. I don’t think anyone could come out of this novel not falling in love with it.

I highly recommend One Last Stop. If you loved Red, White and Royal Blue, undoubtedly you will love this book just as much!

There's always a tremendous amount of pressure on the followup for a really popular debut, and this one doesn't disappoint! The full cast of clearly written and lovable characters, amazing found family, lovely romance, and strong sense of place, there's plenty to love. Although I did sometimes feel as if August's backstory felt a bit distant, and I didn't really pay much attention to the in-universe explanations of Jane's situation, it's overall a warm, wonderfully done story which fans of McQuiston's past work, as well as those who enjoyed Morgan Rogers's Honey Girl, should seek out.

Thank you to NetGalley, Casey McQuiston and St. Martins Press for the ARC review.

I liked this book and would rate it 3.5 stars! I had liked Red, White and Royal Blue a lot so was excited to try out One Last Stop. It didn't disappoint, however, I also didn't LOVE it. One of the things I really enjoyed in this book were the characters. All of the characters were unique and fun, and I liked reading about them, especially August's housemates. I also liked the idea of this book (with the "sci-fi" time travel aspect). It was very unique! However, this also made the book a bit repetitive. The point of the book is that Jane is stuck on the subway, so I get there wasn't a lot to work with, but it got very repetitive with August and Jane only hanging out on the subway. This made the book drag a bit in the middle, until it began to pick up again in the last quarter. The other thing I didn't love about this book is that it all seemed very lucky the way things worked out. I know its supposed to be a fun, romance book, but many of the "problems" were solved quite easily and seemed a bit unbelievable. All in all, I would still recommend reading this book as it was a unique, fun, and an easy read with good characters.

One Last Stop is about a NYC transplant named August who falls in love with a stranger named Jane on the subway. August discovers that Jane is quite literally a part of the subway - she has been stuck in time on the Q train since the 1970s and cannot get off. August and her found family do everything that they can to try to save Jane from this time loop!

I really enjoyed Red, White, and Royal Blue, so I was beyond excited to read One Last Stop!

What I loved:
- Every single character was fascinating and well-developed in their own right! There were no throwaway side characters
- I love the "found family" trope and loved how so many unique personalities came together. It was also great to see the family grow over time
- The sci-fi aspect!! It had very Back To The Future vibes, so don't expect anything realistic, but it was a fantastic twist to a contemporary romance
- The sleuth/mystery aspect. It was fascinating to learn more about Jane and about August's family as the story went on
- It was entirely FEEL GOOD!
- August is a phenomenal MC. She was extremely likable and easy to root for
- HEISTS!!

What didn't work for me:
- I thought it was a SMIDGE too long. I found myself in the last 25% or so wishing we already had a resolution
- There are definitely constraints on the spicy parts of this book - namely that the vast majority of the time that August and Jane are together, they are on a public subway. There were so few explicit scenes that the ones that were there felt out of place in a book that otherwise felt more YA (despite having characters that are in their mid twenties or older). I wish there were either significantly more of them (like RW&RB) or none of them at all

Overall, I HIGHLY recommend this book. Especially to folks who may not normally read romance. This is more of a contemporary sci-fi/mystery with a hint of romance.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the free NetGalley ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 stars

I adored this book! I was a fan of Red, White & Royal Blue because the adorable love between the characters in that story was so heartfelt! One last Stop has its own lovely blend of sweetness that I couldn't put down. I have said this once, and I will repeat it, but found family is the greatest trope, and that is what I think always makes a love story amazing; both platonic & romantic love given to the main character.
I adored the diversity, representation, time travel and seeing myself and so many people that I love in this book. I felt like I REALLY saw Jane and August fall in love and share in the adventure with the gang. Can I get a short story with the gang?!

My only concerns were when August told Jane that Racist things didn't happen anymore, and giving what we are all seeing very publicly and behind the scenes for POC, we know that isn't true. So it showed August's white ignorance, and it was tone-deaf, and I don't think anything bad was meant by it; I think they intended for it to be a white lie comfort, but it wasn't ok. So many POC creators have mentioned how this wasn't in good tastes, and we have to remember that their voices on matters that affect them are important to listen to.

My first book by Casey McQuiston and I really enjoyed it! I loved by Jane and August and found their love story so much fun. Cant want to read more by this author!