the romantic european travel book of my dreams!!! i LOVED all of the characters and thought this was Casey McQuiston's best work yet

unfortunately i had to dnf this book 40% in because it just wasn’t for me. the beginning started out strong and i was intrigued to know the whole ‘why the break up happened’, i fear there were certain elements of the story that i just couldn’t vibe with. the writing itself was well done and the atmosphere picturesque with a bad drop of gloom because of the relationship between the two characters. i love the rep and a will they won’t they/exes to lovers can be fun, i unfortunately just did not mesh with this one.

So cute. I enjoyed the unexpected POV switch. Ready to move to Europe and eat pastries and drink wine every day of my life.

LOVED THIS ONE!! As a girl who can’t get enough of a European adventure whether in real life or in a book this was perfection AND there is second chance romance?!?!? Perfection

The book was great! But I couldn't expect less from Casey McQuiston, I already loved all their other books.
But rhis one really hit the spot: I love travelling and I love wine. And I'm in the LGBT+ community, so it's always a pleasure to read queer novels.
This book was A LOT. Hot people, LGBT+ scenary and love story, travels, fun facts, desserts, slices of life, embarrassing situations when drunk, old friends, films, inside jokes...and I loved all of it.
It's always a pleasure to read well written books that make you feel better about life.

I found casey mcquinston through red white and royal blue and loved the connection she created through two such different characters. Sadly Theo and kit did not have me rooting for them as individual characters or a couple which made this book really hard to get through.

I love anything that Casey McQuiston writes, but this? This is McQuiston dialed up to 11. While Theo is somewhat of an unreliable narrator, they gives us just enough to see behind their impressions of events to see how they perceive themselves and their place in the world. And changing to Kit's POV halfway through the book is smart because we get to Theo through his eyes too.

I loved the lushness of this book, the absolute decadence of all the food and wine and sex.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great read that will make you long for a European vacation full of amazing food! Read this is you:
- love Europe
- love food and wine
- love a second chance romance
- need representation in your reads (this one has bi-sexuality and non-binary rep)
- open door steamy!

travel + food + unique characters? I had a fun time with this and the slow burn of it all. There are some things that could be improved upon, but it was overall a good time.

Lushly written and sexy, this book takes you on quite a ride through Europe as Kit and Theo figure out what went wrong and find their way back to each other. Sometimes it gets bogged down in food descriptions, and the misunderstanding underlying their breakup is frustrating, but it's a fun summer read.

This became a quick favorite of mine, and I am generally someone who already loves Casey McQuiston novels! This book is great for fans of second-chance romance, everything European, and wine. I really want to book a wine tour, now! How exciting! A little spicy, but not in a way that interferes with the plot. I thought McQuiston did a great job with it. A must-read for romance lovers!

~ ARC provided by NetGalley ~

I read this on the plane on the way home from my own European getaway, as God intended. "The Pairing" by Casey McQuiston is a fun, sexy romp about two bisexual 20-somethings who accidentally end up on the same European food tour after breaking up two years ago. Theo and Kit felt like real, complex characters, who also brought a lot of humor and chaos into the novel. McQuiston also yet again delivers a strong ensemble cast of tour-mates, tour guides, and locals who flesh out the story into the lush European escape everyone needs. The romance was solid, even though I'm not usually the biggest fan of second chance romance. However, I adored the structure of the book centering around the tour. I have been following McQuiston for years and I know they did so much research (and vacationing) in Europe to write this book, and that shows. Every street corner, local pastery, and wine is perfectly described. This book, if anything, is the perfect escape and hot summer rom-com.

Thought the premise of two chaotic horny bisexual ex’s traveling through Europe together was fun, but got bogged down with length. Could have done with a bit less food/wine descriptions and ending the bet a little earlier and this could have easily been a 5⭐️ just on McQuistons writing alone. I’ll definitely still be picking up their next book though!

Thanks to the publisher for the gifted e-copy.

Two exes that haven't spoken in 4 years take the same European food and wine tour without knowing the other will be there - this could either end up being an epic disaster or have the HEA we all want.

But first, a LOT of talk about food and wine and setting. A LOT. This book was on the chunkier side and although the writing was good, it got quite wordy at times. I found myself skimming some of the descriptive paragraphs just to get more Theo and Kit, because let's be honest - that was the best part of the story for me! Their attraction and chemistry was undeniable, and it wasn't a matter of if they were going to hook up, it was a matter of when, as they realize how much they miss each other and their friendship and relationship..

There's a decent amount of steam, yet it's well written and I didn't think it was overdone. The LGBTQ+ rep and gender fluidity added depth to the characters, especially to Theo and they are coming to realize they are nonbinary but still trying to figure out what that means to them.

Overall another good, albeit at times wordy, LGBTQ+ romance from this author. 3.5 stars rounded up.

I know I’m late to the party on this one, but basically since the book was released I struggled to write this review because words don’t feel adequate enough to describe how much I love this book and these characters. It was a book that when I read it, the second i read the last sentence of the book I flipped it over and immediately started reading it again, because I craved just a little more time with Theo and Kit. I’ve been a longtime fan of McQuiston, they are an auto-buy author for me at this point. But The Pairing exceeded all of my expectations. The characters feel 3 dimensional, like you could reach out and brush their cheek through the pages. The depictions of gender and sexuality are some of the best I’ve ever read. This book is also probably the spiciest book Casey McQuiston has ever written, and as someone who is not really a smut reader, it both made me blush and also made me feel seen in a way no book ever has before. The lust and heartache are palpable and will make you ache and swoon right alongside them. If you have been putting off reading this one for whatever reason, let this be your sign to dive into possibly my favorite (hot, bisexual) summer book of all time.

This was everything I needed and more. Casey McQuiston is easily one of my favorite authors, and I eat up their books every time. This one was spicy, sweet, and had me laughing out loud almost every other page. I could not get enough. Kit and Theo are possibly my new favorite characters, and you can't make me pick between them.

By the end, I was honestly just skimming through hoping the book would end soon. I was so looking forward to a romance, but instead what I got was a porny travel guide. Everyone wanted to have sex with everyone and while there was clearly a lot of research done when it came to all the locations in the book, but the descriptions were just too much. It just went on and on and on. I had no interest in either of the main characters, and I definitely had no interested in their “romance”.

this was okay! i’m a big fan of casey and have loved everything they’ve written, but unfortunately this fell a little flat for me

i feel bad but it was just kind of boring? obviously not every book has to be a big, exciting thing but i would’ve like a little something

i genuinely did enjoy kit and theo as characters. even though we didn’t know them pre-breakup it’s clear how much they’ve grown in the 4 years they were apart. they’re each other’s person and seeing them reconnect was special!

This was an enjoyable and spicy open door romance that was perfect for summer reading. It follows Kit and Theo, two exes who accidentally book the same European food and wine tour and challenge each other to see who can hook up with the most people.

I loved the European summer setting. I had been to some of the cities mentioned, so it was fun to picture them as I read. The food descriptions made me so hungry. I finished the book definitely wanting to go on a similar tour. I liked that half the story was told from Theo’s point of view and half from Kit’s. You got both of their perspectives, especially around why they broke up in the first place. As I mentioned earlier, this is a spicy open door romance so it’s not for everyone. There is a lot of sex on the page, I did find it to be a bit much at times. I also found myself annoyed with Theo, especially at the beginning, but they had genuine growth and development throughout the book.

Overall, The Pairing is a perfect summer read for fans of open door romance.

Casey McQuiston can do no wrong!!
I saw someone refer to this book (maybe the author) as "horny and in europe" and it's exactly what I would have wanted out of a summer romance read! Kitt and Theo are hilarious, the story is engaging and romantic, and the setting (in europe) is just perfection. Give me more LGBTQ books like this! I need them all! Especially by CMQ!