THIS. BOOK. IS. MAGIC. Every sentence Casey McQuiston writes sparkles. This book is a love letter to queerness and found family. You don't have to be part of the LGBTQIA+ family to fall in love with August and Jane, but for me personally, this book affirmed my existence. I see a lot of August in myself: her anxieties and fears, being a baby queer later than she'd like but being brought under the wing of a whole amazing, queer family. And Jane Su, my book girlfriend. Jane, fiery, dazzling, fierce, the power to make anyone fall in love with her, and only the lucky ones get to see her softie side. Jane and my partner are SO similar that I got to relive falling in love with my partner in reading about August falling for Jane - so Jane and Casey, thank you endlessly for the beautiful experience reading this book brought me.

There is so much more I could say about this book that has completely stolen my heart, but I'll end here for now: READ THIS BOOK AND TRY NOT TO FALL IN LOVE.

This author has been quite popular with another entertaining rom-com publishing today. Readers can relate to August, who moves to New York City and falls in love with a beautiful girl on the subway. She is determined to meet this girl, Jill, who is somehow stuck in the 1970s. Clever and fun plot.

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

Thank you to @stmartinspress for the eARC and @librofm for the ALC. One Last Stop is available 6/1!

Casey McQuiston has done it again, solidifying herself as one of my absolute favorite authors. One Last Stop is nothing like her debut novel Red, White, & Royal Blue when it comes to the plot, but it has just as much heart, features lovable characters, and it’s wonderfully and unapologetically queer. This book has a little bit of everything:

found-family
heartwarming friendships
mystery
romance
time travel
drag queens
pancakes

This book squeezed my heart and wouldn’t let go. It was the perfect read to kick off Pride Month, and - rightfully so - I’m sure One Last Stop will be the next big thing on bookstagram. Pick up a copy as soon as you can and fall in love with August and Jane.

It took me a while to get into this. The story is written in third person limited point of view, revealing lost and lonely 23-year-old August’s thoughts and feelings in narration that often feels like a stream of consciousness. But as I adjusted, I fell in love with these quirky characters.

The plot is fun, with multiple overlapping mysteries to solve, multiple couples navigating love, and a beloved community gathering place to save. But what I love most about this book is the emotional tone. If magical realism and romantic comedy had a queer lovechild, it might feel like this.

One of the themes of the book is finding the place and the community in which you belong, and my favorite scenes are sweet, funny depictions of August and her friends forming a family. For me, this was the literary equivalent of comfort food.

Thanks to St. Martin's Griffin for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley, which I volunteered to review.

3.5 stars! This was a really fun book! The characters were amazing and the cast diversity was so refreshing. I was a little let down by the storyline - it was not my favourite but it was quirky and kept me engaged enough to keep going. I think this will be a hit for a lot of people. It would make a great summer read! The narration of the audiobook was really great. Overall it was enjoyable and I recommend giving it a try!

Thank you to the publisher and @netgalley for providing a free advanced copy of this book & audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the eARC to read and review!

One Last Stop is an enchanting, unforgettable story that takes your heart on a journey where two lost souls find themselves and love defies the laws of time at every stop.

I didn’t expect this story to go the way it did. One Last Stop is more than it appears on the surface the same way the mystery surrounding Jane is. The romantic suspense was high but doesn’t overshadow all the other parts that makes this story so beautiful.

August and Jane are amazing main characters and super relatable. The lack of true family connections, of a place to plant roots, have left them feeling lost, almost going through the motions of living and never quite fitting in wherever they wandered. In that, I felt a profound kinship to August and Jane.

August has vehemently wanted out the quote unquote family business of helping her mother find her runaway brother. So I was surprised by how quickly and eagerly she latched onto solving why Jane - a punk-rock style queer Asian girl from the 1970s - is stuck on the Q train. Yet I kind of get it because of the kind or person Jane is.

Jane is a bright, shining star. She’s colorful, kind, effervescent and funny. Her presence draws you in and once within her orbit you can’t help but feel happy or loved. I don’t think she realizes just how great of a person she is and how much of herself she’s left on people, places, and time.

Really the entire cast of characters in One Last Stop are amazing, endearing, dynamic, and diverse. August’s roommates are so chill and made me smile a lot with their antics and freeing way of life. August’s co-workers at a pancake diner are tough on the outside but inside they are so much more that it’s hard to describe. I want to be friends with all these people who are so supportive of one another.

Of course, this story isn’t without its share of heartaches. There’s how much of a toll Jane being “present” has on her. The life Jane and others have lived prior to the start of this book. The hate towards LGBTQIA+ community and the resentful disappoint some of the characters have experienced. And ultimately how time hinders the growing love between August and Jane.

I had some trouble getting into the story and really feeling something for what was happening. It felt slow going, as if the story could have been wrapped up much earlier. In hindsight, the story was fully told and what took place made the plot and characters richer.

My favorite parts were Isaiah’s annual drag family Easter brunch and the Christmas in July party. Those scenes were so much fun and allowed August to really consider and experience things for the first time in her life.

In the end, I enjoyed reading One Last Stop. It’s a unique, time-travel romance with a well-written mystery to be solved. All of the characters are wholesome, lovable, and vibrant. A beautiful story.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

While Red, White & Royal Blue was a bit of a hate read for me, I had a lot of faith One Last Stop would be different, as this one had a premise that wasn’t bogged down by weird mixed messages of idealized American politics and heightened British stereotypes, thus allowing McQuiston’s strengths at crafting a lighthearted romance to shine. And while I did have some issues with this one, I enjoyed it a lot more.

August as a protagonist took some time to grow on me, and part of that was due to the once-again jarring habit of McQuiston’s of writing in third person present tense. I got used to it after a while, but it took time, and it did result in feeling a bit disjointed from August. She also felt rather underdeveloped compared to the much more colorful characters around her.

Jane especially sparkles as a love interest. Being a time traveler from the 1970s, she’s experienced racism and homophobia, which has shaped her and made her vulnerable, yet she has an outer layer of charm that is incredibly endearing. The romance between the two is full of yearning and a good balance of sexy and heartfelt moments, so even while I felt fairly meh about August, I was still fully invested.

The supporting cast is also full of queer and BIPOC supporting characters, so there’s lovely found-family vibes.

When I heard about the time travel aspect, I did wonder how this would be handled, especially given McQuiston let me down with world building on a high-concept premise in the previous book. For the most part, however, I did feel like it was well done, especially with the way the story tied in queer history, so it felt more grounded.

This book is a delight, and I’m so glad I decided to kick off Pride Month with this book. Regardless of your feelings on her debut, if you love queer contemporaries, you’re definitely going to want to pick this one up!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

<i>One Last Stop</i> really fell flat for me, which was a huge disappointment. A lesbian romance with fucky time is generally right up my alley and yet!!!!

I really liked the ensemble cast, I thought they—especially Niko, my fave—were really bright and interesting and fun. I was less sold on August and Jane honestly. They were both characters I really liked at certain points of the book but at others they just felt like a loose collection of actions and oneliners in a trenchcoat that didn't have a lot of feeling behind them. That being said, I genuinely cried when they brought the party to Jane on the Q—the book had its moments for sure. I felt its strongest parts were these moments of community and group dynamics. Another strong point for me was the real conflict of what Jane would lose if she never went back to the 70s, especially because I already had a feeling those things were already lost and the past couldn't be changed. That loss was really potent.

The romance left me feeling lukewarm overall but I can't say it's unrelated to the thing that grated on me the most about <i>One Last Stop</i>: the writing style. It was a real downgrade in quality from <i>Red, White and Royal Blue</i>. I stand by the philosophy that books should aim to be quoted rather than to quote others, and I felt RWRB was the former while OLS was the latter. <i>One Last Stop</i> felt rather derivative to me—not of RWRB but of Twitter, Tumblr, probably TikTok too. I felt like the book was supposed to be funny, but like, I've seen all these jokes before on Twitter years ago. It wasn't a one time thing that characters made jokes that were viral tweets I'd seen ages ago, it happened pretty consistently. I think there's a way to write an up-to-date, relevant book for a Very Online audience without the jokes being ones that already went viral. I never really stopped being aware of Twitter's influence on this book and when that became too hard to ignore, that's when characters stopped feeling like original people and fell flat.

I also just felt the book was way too overwritten; I ended up skimming scenes because I knew when the dialogue stopped we were in for another bout of endless similes. It got really repetitive, and didn't really help the romance for me at all. Way more than RWRB, I felt things were shown to me in August's narration rather than shown to me through conversation and actions. A lot of conversations between August and Jane were condensed down into a sentence summary in August's narration; so much of Jane's past came through the lens of August's narration in a way that we never really got a closer look at it. Given that I already found the narration grating, offloading a lot of the romance into it certainly didn't help there.

I'll definitely be checking out the next McQuiston but yeah, this was a miss for me.

Just minutes after finishing this book I am writing this review because I loved it so much and I don't want to forget all the great things I have to say about it. The very best thing about this book is the community and family August creates. All the characters are created with what seems to be so easily done on the page that I found myself laughing at their conversations and wishing they were a part of my friend group. They are all people I want to know and stories I wish to read one day. August finds that families can be made wherever you go if you put down roots and let yourself grow into the place. August and Jane were a lovely couple to follow them falling in love and helping to find a future together. Going into this book I was super excited by the premise and it did not disappoint at all! I found myself having a lot in common with the characters and I found authentic representation from the queer identities portrayed. Also, I enjoyed the clippings of the spotting of Jane that appeared in each chapter. This is a book I know will stay with me for years to come and I will love it more and more after each time reading it. I can't wait to get my own copy to annotate all my favorite moments and I am already getting my girlfriend a copy so she can share in my happiness!

This book is everything I needed PLUS everything I never knew that I needed!!

This is definitely a romance, but it also has so much more, like queer history and found family. It's practically a love letter to New York in all of it's messy glory.

And somehow Casey McQuiston made the subway a romantic place... kudos to them. I'd like to live in that world please.

In summation: this book is perfect and I have a deep love for August and Jane.

McQuiston does it again, this time with a lesbian time-slip romcom that starts slow as all the characters are teed up, but then takes off like a game of Rollybangs. Everyone supports and roots for August to find love with Jane, the woman trapped out-of-time on the Q train, trying the mystery of why she’s trapped there, not knowing if helping August will lead to a Happily Ever After, or heartbreak. Everyone working through their own stuff helps them grow and moves the book forward, not distract or overpower. And McQuiston knows how to break out powerful prose:
...Jane likes to be kissed every kind of way: like a secret, like a fistfight, like candy, like a house fire.
It’s great to see another gem and that her writing is still going strong.

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston is a delightful romantic comedy about August and Jane. August has just moved to New York and is getting used to taking the subway when she sees Jane on the train. She quickly develops a crush but then realizes that something is different about Jane. Jane is displaced in time! She's stuck in the 1970s! Can August and her friends figure out a way to help Jane into the now? This story was so much fun to read, and I really enjoyed all the references to the 1970s. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

Let me just put it this way:

Not every author can pull off a time travel romantic comedy the way Casey McQuinston just did with One Last Stop. I mean, you have read time travel romance before, I'm sure, but NOTHING can literally compare to the brilliant that is this New York love story.

I've said it over, and over, and over again thru the years: THE BEST love stories have New York City as a background. Everything in the city makes up for a fantastic setup, and we see this reflected even in the smallest of apartments shared by strangers, where our dear protagonist August Landry ends up when deciding to give it a try, live her life to the fullest and move cross country to the ultimate concrete jungle at 23, she realizes, some things are as hard as she imagined, but so worth it.

From the 24 hour pancake diner where she gets a job, to the 'Subway Girl' that haunts her dreams, August is THE MOST PERFECT MC I HAVE READ IN A BOOK IN A LOOOOOONGGGG TIME. Trust me on this. She has any and all elements you look in somebody as realistic and down to earth. The ensemble cast of supporting characters are a thing out of this world. Any more perfect, they win a SAG. In fact, I would absolutely option this book for a TV show ASAP.

Tho the writing in third person is def not my cup of tea, I made a huge exception for Casey since I loved, LOVED RW&RB so much, and I was right doing so cause nothing from this story bored me. I loved it so much that I admit shedding a tear or two at the end.

What a FANTASTIC start for this wonderful Pride Month 2021! Cheers for more #queer love stories like this not only celebrating #pride, but every single day of the year, celebrating LOVE! 💜💙💚💛🧡❤️

Casey McQuiston did it again. I fell in love with Red, White and Royal Blue when I read it and was thrilled to receive an ARC of One Last Stop.. McQuiston has the ability to tell a story, create characters you can't help but invest in and weave it all together with the perfect amount of humor.

What I wasn't expecting with this book was the sci-fi time travel aspect. That said, I didn't mind it. I actually found it to be quite clever. August, our main character, has been subjected to her mother's obsessionsher entire life. Her mother's obsession -- finding her long lost brother - - or at least finding out what happened to him. Trying to solve this mystery has literally been her mother's main focus for all of August's life. In attempt to free herself from her mother's ongoing drama, August moves to New York.. She moves into an apartment with several other people - - which are total strangers to her - - and ends up finding her "family." Then the day arrives when August meets Jane on the subway. Their chemistry is almost instant. Yet, their relationship slowing develops over time with small encounters here and there. All the while, emotions and attraction are building as anticipation ramps up. Not only did I really enjoy seeing the Jane and August's relationship develop, I was also really attached to August's friends as well. The bond they all shared and the way they supported one another was incredibly special and just what August needed.

McQuiston blends the various character's storylines together in a way that shows how their lives are all interconnected Some stories will overlap in ways the reader doesn't expect which only makes the reading experience even richer. When August realizes there's a mystery surrounding Jane and her presence on the Q, the story really takes off. In addition, McQuiston does a great job of bringing the reader's attention to how difficult and dangerous it was for the LGBTQ community in the 1970's. Obviously, these accounts are difficult and painful to read. But they are critical to this storyline in order for the reader to fully appreciate the sacrifices made in the past that lead up to the present day events.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

From an author I will always love, we get a brilliant sapphic story about love that travels through time. This is chock-full of incredible rep, the absolute BEST side characters and a public transportation system that almost feels like it’s own character.

August moves to NYC to branch out and live her own life away from her zany investigative mother. Finding a group of people who become like family to her and a job in a place that kind of feels magical, she happens upon a stunning girl on her commute to school... the only problem is that she may not be from the here and now.

I really loved this sweet and romantic story about love and found family. This solidifies that McQuiston is one I will be a forever fan of!

RW&RB is a hard book to follow up; One Last Stop definitely makes an attempt.

August can't seem to find her place or her people until she lands in New York. She winds up with overwhelming roommates, an unexpected job, and Jane, the girl from the Q. August is used to doing things alone and she's never felt like she's belonged anywhere. She most definitely doesn't believe in magic, psychics, or time slips, yet here she is; racing against time, trying to save Jane.

My favorite parts: the characters, the setting, the detailed queer history, the laugh-out-loud moments and witty quotes, the unexpected turns the story takes, and the amazing tropes.

I had a hard time getting through some of the denser descriptive sections and found some of the love confessions a little cheesy.

Such a great read. Went in completely bind on the fact that I loved Red, White, and Royal Blue. I wasn’t disappointed. Not what I would have normally picked but loved the characters and relationships. A great read for summer.

I've not loved a book this much in a very long time! Casey is such a great writer and knows how to make the readers fall right into the book and not want to come back out!

Thank you St. Martins Press for the gifted copy.

Wow, right off the bat I have to say the inclusion in this book is phenomenal. Characters are gay, bi, trans, pan...then you have drag queens, biopic, asian...it's probably one of the most inclusive books I've read.

The second thing that I loved about One Last Stop was all of the references to Louisiana and New Orleans. Living here, I feel like I picked up on things, or maybe understood references, more than others might, which was pretty cool.

This is a VERY different book from RW&RB, and I don't think it's fair to compare them. The plot is unique - who exactly IS Jane and WHY is she stuck on the Q? As the mystery is unraveled, and the characters come together to try to get Jane back to where she belongs (whether it's the past or present), I got totally invested in not only the crux of the problem (what happened to Jane), but in the love story between Jane and August, AND in the mystery of what happened to Augie.

I'm going to find it close to impossible to write this review without swooning like a fangirl, but I'll give it my best shot.

In One Lost Stop, we follow 23-year old college student, August, who has recently moved to New York City.
Amongst the hustle and bustle of the city, August is on a journey of self-discovery. She's on her own for the first time and is a little desperate to find her place. Securing a room in an apartment with three other people and taking a job at a 24-hour pancake diner seem like steps in the right direction.

August is establishing herself as a functioning adult, no matter how meager her resources, yet she still feels alone. The stars align one day, however, as she meets a girl on the Q. The sexy and mysterious, Jane, gives August a scarf in her hour of need. After that, August cannot get her out of her mind.

Subsequently, she runs into Jane every time she is on the train and a relationship develops. It very quickly becomes clear that something about Jane is a little off. Jane's not just a random punk rocker, razorblade girl with a cotton candy heart, taking her style inspiration from the 1970s. She's actually from the 1970s, and somehow, someway, finds herself trapped on the Q-line.

I know this seems like a bit of a trippy idea, but it was such a phenomenally fun and creative way to frame this story. August coming to the revelation that Jane cannot leave the train and trying to figure out what exactly that means and why; it was bloody fantastic and so incredibly entertaining.

August's roommates, Myla, Niko and Wes, all become involved in the relationship, as well as their neighbor, Annie. Together this vastly diverse group of souls evolve into one of the most beautiful found-families that I have ever read. Each person had their own unique story, voice, personality and contribution to August's growth and maturation. I absolutely adored the way they interacted and supported one another. Friendship goals, for sure. McQuiston packed so much into this book and watching the evolution of August's character was immensely satisfying.

There were so many moments when I laughed, a few when I felt my heart-breaking and times where I was just left contemplating this thing we call life. The release date for this book coinciding with the 1st day of Pride month, couldn't be more perfect!

The representation includes a plethora of Queer identities and romances. I particularly enjoyed how OLS is just a story of Queer individuals living their lives in the way they choose. It didn't really have individuals having to hide who they were, or having to come out to anyone in a dramatic way.

They all just were living their day-to-day lives in New York City; dealing with family, work, relationships, LIFE. There was a certain sense of peace to be found in that, even when the narrative got a little crazy!

I think August learned a lot from her new friends. Particularly how to open up, be herself and allow herself to need other people in her life. That it was okay if things were complicated, what with her love interest being trapped in time and all.

Jane was a fascinating character as well. I loved how her life was pieced together through her continual interactions with August. It was particularly clever how McQuiston used Jane's character, in a way, as a plot device to compare the experiences Jane had, as a Queer woman, in the 1970s, versus the experiences that August and her friends have in the present time. It felt like a subtle, respectful nod to those who came before.

At the end of the day, this book has it all. If you enjoyed Red, White & Royal Blue, you should love One Last Stop. It's next level. This book made me overflow with feeling!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I greatly appreciate the opportunity!

A new favorite!!!