Did I actually love this even more then Red White and Royal Blue?!?! I expected loves me characters from Casey but August and Jane were perfection. It was hilarious laugh out loud funny and super heartwarming. I loved every freaking second of it! Casey’s writing always manages to keep me reading. It’s a book you can’t put down with loves me characters, super strong plot, and it’s HOT!!!

Family can serve as a catalyst for change or can keep you from settling down. Family can be born into or can be chosen. This book covers all of it with tenderness and toughness. A story of love caught out of time that ultimately brings all the pieces and hearts together - this was a sexy, sweet, tender, delicious book.

I absolutely loved this book, which is no surprise because I also loved Red, White & Royal Blue. Casey McQuiston has such a fun, lively, entertaining voice and the world she created in One Last Stop felt unique and welcoming. McQuiston is great at writing interesting characters - Jane, August, Wes, Niko, Myla - but this time she also really nailed the mystery component. I was always trying to solve the problem (#nospoilers) while deeply enjoying the unexpected twists and turns.

This is the perfect pandemic book because it's about a girl who is stuck in one place, outside of society, feeling like life is passing her by and nothing will change...and how magic (and love) finds a way. Fun fact: I hate taking the subway for the same reason August in this book loves it: You go underground and pop up somewhere new. To me that's disorienting; to August it's magic. So I wasn't exactly sold on the concept of this book when I first heard about it, but it's by Casey McQuiston and how could I not get excited. The bottom line: This isn't as accessible as "Red, White and Royal Blue." The writing is great - even amazing - I just soaked up the sensory details at times. But this book is doing something more niche than political escapism. I liked it. It has all the ingredients to make people squee but it's probably not for everyone. It's about time travel and bring queer in the 70s compared to today and, as mentioned, a lot of magic (which includes subways and being in your early 20s and first love and the ideas that psychics and found families exist). Call it pandemic escapism. Not for the cynical at heart.

I loved this book, thank you for the opportunity to read it! It had great characters and a fun plot. Very enjoyable read!

If you liked Red, White and Royal Blue, you'll probably enjoy this one too, but be aware that it's a very different style than the author's first book. This follows August; she's spent her entire life moving from city to city, never alone but forever lonely. Growing up, it was just her and her mom, who was obsessed with finding August's long-lost uncle and never really made time for August and once August turned 18, she refused to be a willing pawn in her mom's search any longer. Her latest move brings her to New York where she suddenly finds herself with three roommates and a dog, all so curious about her and wanting to be friends, which is a fairly new concept for August.

August takes the train everyday to get to school; on her very first day, she of course spills coffee all over herself. Right when she's ready to throw in the towel on the day, she meets Subway Girl, a random, gorgeous girl on the subway who gives her a scarf, a smile, and some hope. Soon August notices that they ride the train together everyday. Subway Girl's name is Jane, and they talk and flirt and laugh. But August starts to notice something weird about Jane. How is it that she's ALWAYS on the same train as her? And why doesn't she ever answer questions about herself? As it turns out, Jane is stuck in time, stuck on the Q, and August seems to be the only one who can help her fix it. But if they fix it, will Jane stay or will she go back to the 1970s, where she first got stuck? August's heart breaks at the idea of her leaving, but she is nothing if not her mother's daughter and is determined to solve this mystery once and for all.

This features a lovable cast of characters, many LGBTQ+, and explores themes of sexuality, gender and identity as August et al try to find a way to rescue Jane. It feels a tad long at times and there are a few tangents that I felt were unnecessary, but on the whole, I really enjoyed this book. I think the author does a lovely job of writing characters so that you really feel the full depth of their emotions, and also of really developing those characters, especially August, throughout the book. A wonderful 4.5/5 stars for me.

It wasn't quite 5 stars for me, but I did really enjoy this book. I think the problem was that I loved it's predecessor (Red, White, and Royal Blue) so, so much that my expectations for this one were maybe unreasonably high.

That all being said, this book was really good! The characters were all so likable - it was a group of friends that I deeply wished I could be a part of. And the romance was so achingly sweet. I like that the characters were all established in their sexuality, and this wasn't a "discovering who you are" story (which is what I normally read). Don't get me wrong - that's what I normally read because that's what I love to read. This was just a refreshing change of pace from my norm. Instead of focusing on characters struggling to come to terms with their sexuality, this book focused on the romance and friendships of the characters.

And the story was really intriguing! There were paranormal/metaphysical/time-travel elements (I know this has a name but I can't recall it at this moment). The explanations of why this was happening weren't 100% clear to me, but the story was enjoyable enough that I was able to just go with it.

Overall, a solid 4 (maybe 4.5) stars for me on this one. I will definitely be on the lookout for more from this author!

My 2021 has peaked early upon receiving a free eARC of One Last Stop one freezing cold Thursday in February — many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing it! I read the book over a Friday night and Saturday morning, and my heart is so, so full.

I am going to start with a brief comparison to RWRB because that’s what a lot of folks have asked me. RWRB reignited my love of reading, writing, and queer love stories in late 2019 (after grad school sucked the life out of me) and like many others, as a queer woman I was practically vibrating in anticipation of OLS. This book is not the same as RWRB. RWRB came in hot and swept me off my feet into a dazzling world of secret love affairs and hungry romantic emails and transatlantic plane rides just to get laid. In contrast, OLS gave me something to sink into slowly, to savor and yearn for and discover after that its pages now held the shape of my body (thanks Casey for the turn of phrase). The story is slower to start and the romance is slower to burn. For a book about time travel and mystical mysteries and unsolved missing persons cases, it feels almost unbelievably rooted in reality, the mundanity of the day to day and being a 20something trying to figure out who you are and what you want and where you belong in the world.

Jane and August’s romance was beautifully built, beautifully explored, and beautifully executed. I ached for their love. Their connection and chemistry are palpable and practically leap off the page, even within the constraint of being literally trapped in a subway car! Casey writes desire with so much tension and heat and believe me when I say that all who enjoy the spicy aspect of romances will be EXTREMELY pleased. I thought it was slightly more explicit than RWRB (the fact of which I loved), and there are wonderful messages about queer sex and virginity that I’m so happy will be reaching a wide audience. The sapphic love scenes we fucking DESERVE! 👏

The queerness of this story is present from start to finish. It feels deeply of and by and for the community, and so many will see themselves represented in different pieces of different characters. It feels like home. Down to the detailed fantasies about your hot butch crush putting together IKEA furniture in your apartment 😂😂😂

I was not expecting the way this story would bring me such an intense and meaningful connection to my queer ancestors, those who marched and bled and fucked in the face of adversity and oppression so that I could be here in my thirties in 2021 with a same gender partner I share a home with, navigating the world in relative safety. I truly felt that connection through time and space. I learned and I grew as a queer person reading this book. And the theme of the connectedness of humanity was extremely comforting at a time when we all feel so separated. This book is a love letter to the LGBTQ+ community in all its amazing facets.

So many wlws are going to fall for Jane so hard and fast I hope we get through it as a collective. August is a wonderfully relatable character, three-dimensional and real, with real fears and real issues and real relationships. I LOVE her.

I keep thinking about the young queer or questioning girls who will get to read this book at this key point in their lives and I feel such absolute contentment. It would have been life changing for me to read as a 20 year old when I was figuring it all out. Now, as an educator who works with college students, I look forward to spreading the word far and wide and seeing firsthand the impact it will have. And I look forward to the slew of fabulous wlw romcoms that will continue after the inevitable success of this one!

I went through all the emotions reading this - it’s got the snappy dialogue and one liners that physically pull a bark of laughter out of your body that you would expect from Casey. It’s got the yearning and sighing and how did Casey invent the concept of romance AGAIN after they already did it with RWRB?! It’s got the heart wrenching moments where your emotions just spill out of you in sobs. And overall, it just feels like warm bath or a long hug after a cold, hard day. This book is all about finding family, finding community, finding love, finding home, and finding yourself, and it’s an incredibly beautiful journey to get there.

It was going to be hard to live up to the absolute joy that was <i>Red, White, and Royal Blue</i> I had huge expectations and anticipation for this book. I was so overjoyed when I got this ARC. This book is full of a lot of things that I’ve come to love with Casey McQuiston- witty conversations, found family friend groups, and lots of adorable romance.

Obviously the characters are going to be a highlight for sure. I loved August and I loved Jane. Their love story was so endearing and beautiful and practically cinematic. I could just picture all the major moments of their romance playing out and I loved all the details. The whole friend group was so fun and I loved all the representation. I absolutely loved the way the book pulled from Queer History. I felt like I learned a lot by being immersed in Jane’s memories and stories. It was cool to see New York City in the past and present come together.

The story was really creative while also being tropey in the best way. I thought it struggled a bit because almost all the book took place on the subway so sometimes I felt frustrated because it felt so limited. The first half is a bit slow and I felt like August’s relationship with her mom felt a little weirdly integrated in the book- like sometimes I’d forget about it and then all of a sudden it was prominent.

I think having such high expectations might have tainted my reading of this book. I would say overall I would give the first half of this book 3 stars, then it picks up so that 50-70% was 4 stars, and then 70-100% of the book was 5 stars. The second half is so good and the end is amazing! So I’m gonna balance it out and give this book 4 stars.

Another winner by McQuiston! “Red White & Royal Blue” was one of my favorite books of 2020, and “One Last Stop” is definitely going to be on my Top Ten List for 2021.

Throw your imagined preconceptions of genre out the window and dive into one of the most clever and gripping stories in contemporary fiction. A special treat for Brooklynites familiar with the subway system, so much of the tale strikes a chord and feels too real. Enthusiastically recommended for all (mature) readers!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this title.

This book is simply everything. It’s romantic and charming and and sexy and full of heart. The characters are rough around the edges and lovable. The story will keep you flipping through chapters until the last page. McQuiston has written another absolutely dazzling romance novel, and I was so grateful to read it.

“There’s a five-foot-tall sculpture of Judy Garland made from bicycle parts and marshmallow Peeps in the corner,” and you are being asked to submit to a vibe check; you are looking for an apartment and your potential new roommate is a...psychic? Maybe? August doesn’t believe in psychics.

That’s really a weird foot to start off on, and the rapid-fire quirky dialogue and fascinating decor choices don’t really let up from there. This is a weird one. It’s hard core a rom com, but it also leans hard into an off-kilter artsy New York aesthetic that really should be overpowering, but manages to fall somewhere closer to overwhelmingly charming—if I was looking for a comparison, I’d say it sets a colorfully weird tone a bit similar to the show Pushing Daisies. I am in love. Sometimes the coincidences of plot were so blatant that my disbelief lost suspension, but it wasn’t really a loss. This story is like candy, it’s sweet and sugary and it will give you what you want and bring together plot lines that have no real business fitting together other than the fact that it is fun to watch them intertwine.

The whole story is something adjacent to magic in a way that you don’t see very often in a modern comedy setting, genre-wise, but it suits so very well. This story holds its magic in parallel to the mundane, every day acts of moving to a new town and falling in love, and it is perfect. The funny thing is, it is at heart a story about a girl unmoored from time, but it is also a story inextricably rooted in the history of moments and movements. August is irreparably marked by the tragedy of being a child in New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina. Jane may be person out of time, but she is also a punk lesbian who was deeply invested in the activism of the 1970s, who was there for protests for gay rights, for protests against the war in Vietnam, worked to combat anti-Asian racism, and who was there to watch as the creeping beginnings of the as yet unnamed AIDS epidemic began to take the lives of her friends. This story is grounded in the contemporary struggle against gentrification, trying to save Pancake Billy’s From falling to rising rents and trendy restaurants. This story is about moments in time and the people who belong to those moments.

Some character notes:

Jane - look, Jane is great and I mostly love her, but I was ready to go to blows with a fictional woman trapped in perpetuity on a subway train when she started slamming Watership Down (“I feel like I’ve read it a dozen times trying to figure out what people like about it. It’s a depressing book about bunnies. I don’t get it.”) I *love* Watership Down and honestly it would be one of my top five people cos if <i>I</i> had to be trapped with the same book for fifty years. Just saying. Not even in an “oh let’s analyze it for allegories” way, it’s just a great funny story about a society of rabbits who like to tell each other fairytales and I love it. Just saying. But then, I *did* read that scene while wearing a Watership Down shirt, so I am probably biased.

August - Ok, so it might seem unrealistic that she finished her degree and didn’t realize she had enough credits to graduate the next semester...but I totally did that. I maybe sort of on purpose didn’t do the math on my credits and then when I finally did, I realized I had met all the requirements for my English degree the *previous* semester and was six credits away from having enough credits from having my minor become a second major... so like it *is* possible if you are ignoring impending adulthood hard enough. I felt called out. (“I can graduate next semester, if I want.” “Oh, hey, that’s great!” she says. “You’ve been in school forever!” “Yeah, exactly,” August says. “Forever. As in, it’s the only thing I know how to do.” “That’s not true,” Jane says. “You know how to do tons of things.” “I know logistically how to perform some tasks,” August tells her, squeezing her eyes shut.)

Side note: I did have to have a late night giggle-spiral about Horror frogs after August was teasing Wes about them. I now posses some fine cursed frog trivia to spice up conversations.

~ received as an ARC from NetGalley ~
3.5/5 Stars.

I loved, loved, LOVED RWRB, so I was super excited to be approved for this ARC. Like...sapphic love? UGH. LOVE IT. It was beautifully gay with historical elements mixed in. Compared to RWRB, it was subpar. I don't think I'll reread it like I do RWRB, but the characters and the plot are absolutely unique and are a statement to McQuiston's writing style.

It just felt messy as I was reading it. There was the overall plot which was fine but there were too many other things going on at the same time for it to be a coherent read. Jane and August are SUPER cute -- and it does have a happy ending -- but for most of the book, I really was like ?!?! too many things going on to fully appreciate it.

Saying that, it is TOTALLY a good read. The 3.5 stars are probably biased because I was expecting RWRB humor and banter and antics, but this truly is her writing style with a completely different style than RWRB.

Definitely recommend for cute, unique, sapphic love with throwbacks to the 70s in it. Also, private investigations?

When I received the ARC for this book, my best friend said I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE JEALOUS OF ANYONE IN MY LIFE, and it did not disappoint! OLS was an escapist delight. Like McQuiston's first book, which I also loved, this one is hilarious, heartfelt, and full of mischief, with a core cast of flawed and lovable characters banding together to save the places and people they love. It's unclear why anyone is not currently making a gazillion dollars turning these books into movies.

Well THIS was a joy. I didn't expect a time-slip rom com to follow Red, White, and Royal Blue, but I am here for it! The tagline on this book reads, “Sometimes love stops you in your tracks," which I was delighted to discover carries more layers of meaning than I initially imagined. August is a 23-year-old from New Orleans who moves to New York City to go to school. On the first day of school, while riding the Q train, she has a meet cute with a good-looking woman named Jane, whose vintage hip vibe—with her red Cons and black leather jacket—captured August's attention. August is devastated to realize she'll likely never see Jane again. But as it turns out, Jane is ALWAYS on the Q train, and the reader's journey to discover WHY is a huge amount of fun! A warm and endearing story about true love, found family, New York City, and the nature of time.

This was so cute!!! Not quite as cute as McQuiston's first novel, but I had such a good time with these characters.

“One Last Stop” is a story of love. Not only an extraordinary romantic love, but also love for a city and queer community. While the main focus is on August and Jane’s romance, it ties into a larger story of finding yourself, finding a home, finding community, and protecting those once you’ve found them.

There were moments when the supernatural element made me pause, but it was easy to suspend belief and fully be drawn into the story. I read this book in two sittings and days after finishing it I still keep thinking back to moments in the novel. It was refreshing to read a queer story that not only included a beautiful romance, but also queer community. I have already recommended this book to my friends and will continue recommending it as the release day approaches.

A little slow to start and a major plot point requires pretty heavy suspension of belief, but I cried and my heart is so full, so we obviously got there. Casey is a master at depicting relationship development and the messy and real and fun and heart-wrenching parts that go along with it. Add in a truly lovable group of friends and the great city of New York and you have a wonderful sophomore novel and I can’t wait to see what’s next!

When I heard that Casey McQuiston wrote another book (I was OBSESSED with Red, White and Royal Blue), I was thanking the heavens for another book. This book had many good qualities: interesting love story, drag queens, a surprise fantasy element. However, I wasn't as wowed as I was with Casey's other book. I don't know if it was because I had such high expectations or because I keep comparing it to their other book but I was hoping for more. Don't get me wrong, this is still a great book! I gave it a solid 4 stars on Goodreads. I just really loved Red, White and Royal Blue so much. Okay, now that I have that out of the way let us get on to the review of this book alone.

I liked our main character August and her defining quirks. She is cynical but not overly so and she is basically a Private Investigator without the title. I am all for someone capable of solving mysteries. When she meets Jane on the train its more mystery that I want her to solve. This is what really kept me going. Especially when an element of fantasy steps into the story. I was not expecting that but it was a nice interesting twist I hadn't considered to be a main plot point that would be throughout the whole book. The diverse characters were plentiful and real feeling and I appreciate that so much. It is easier to find myself in a book like this and honest, real representation is so important.

I felt like there were parts where the story really dragged on. At one point when many memories are being recalled, I had to force myself to keep reading past that because I wasn't as excited to uncover these things as maybe I should have been. Yes, I was learning about a character I cared about but also, it was too much information at once. There were a few more times that this happened in the book but overall I enjoyed the read. I typically enjoy more fast paced books and this was definitely a slow to medium paced book. Maybe even a slow burn romance. There were definitely some very steamy scenes on a subway train that I appreciated.

Would I recommend this book?
- I would recommend this book to select people but I probably won't be shouting it from the rooftops.

I really enjoyed this story. I choose it for its cover and was not disappointed in the writing. I will definitely be on the lookout for more from this author.