Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My Selling Pitch:
Queer romance that is more of a cookbook than a love story. Thinks it’s sex-positive, but is lowkey just some emotionally stunted abusers headed for bankruptcy and a breakup within a year of their happily ever after.

Pre-reading:
Not exactly a November book, but I’m trying to read down my arcs.

(obviously potential spoilers from here on)
Thick of it:
Dunno how Kit became a hot boy name, but goddamn, is it.

This is me nitpicking smut again, but I don’t think the phrase face buried between legs works for male characters, and you can Samantha, what about eating ass me all you like. I’d say that’s between cheeks then, not legs, and as for the other bit, there's a pointy, pokey problem in the way, now isn't there? (Everyone who read the blurb can just laugh.)

I’m reading this at work, and I didn’t bring headphones like a dumbass, and my boss walks in right as it says there’s a dildo on the luggage carousel, so that’s how my day is going.

Why would you reclaim it? Literally just let it be. That’s not yours anymore. That’s the airport’s now.

Also, don’t Samantha, you're being homophobic me, but this reads like a female main character. This does not read like a man. (Let her cook.)

I don’t like this, I fear.

This reads like bad fanfiction.

me: man, she really reads like a girl
the book: it’s because she is a girl, you absolute fucking dumbass. (For now.)

The perineum from memory just made me ew out loud.

His nose just does that? Like Coke. Like he’s a Coke addict? (Book says no, Sam says yes.)

Take a shot every time this book says Steve Irwin.

I’m already like they should not get back together. If you’re gonna watch a TV show with someone else and cheat on them with it? Absolutely not. Dead to me.

I do not think this book will be able to convince me that they should get back together. (It couldn't!)

Not a good point at all. You can contact the sister and have her reach out if you genuinely wanted to. Also, you had every opportunity to communicate before she blocked your number, fuck off.

As someone who can’t smell at all, this is wild.

I'm Dakota.

I know this book pitches itself as a food romcom, but there’s nothing I hate more than the unnecessary food descriptions in romcoms. I’m like either write a cookbook or write me a romance. I also hate celebrity romcoms and this is just close enough. I also hate second-chance romances because I never believe that they should get back together. Like this book really isn’t set up for me to like it. (And I won’t!)

I don’t understand any of these references.

He stiffed you on rent, babes. You hold onto that anger.

This book is taking disaster bisexuals to the extreme.

It’s a lot like that You, Again romcom.

This book is mistaking crassness for humor.

Maybe she can get over getting stiffed for rent, but my Capricorn could never.

Oh no, people are not objects for you to fuck. This is gross and weird and toxic and deeply harmful. This is predatory and abusive.

This feels like sharing people's nudes without their consent after you coerce them into giving you them. No likey.

But like he's still on the lease? He still knew rent was due. He can still Venmo you for rent even if you've blocked his phone number. I'm so hung up on this.

Asking someone else’s sister to pay your rent for you is not a solution. I don’t care if she’s a multimillionaire and she’s your friend. She does not have to do that. You should pay your own way.

Also, I don’t like them together. I don’t think they should go back together.

Oh hello, are we finally getting good banter?

Take a shot every time this book mentions a food being dick shaped.

This book is making me so hungry.

I love a one-bed trope.

Not a pony, but you can still ride me, eh? I'll go.

They're really lucky none of these people are murderers or have STDs and somehow they're all gorgeous and gay and nice.

This is NOT healthy, but the toxic pervert in me SAT up.

In a Marlon Brando way like that’s not one of the hottest men to ever live, fuck off.

Also, what do you mean he’s blonde then?? Honey.

My eyebrows shot sky high. Mainstream publishing you dirty, dirty girl. (Such a tease!)

Call me by their name lmao.

What is happening? What am I reading? Dear lord 😂

You know, she might be winning me over. But also, I don’t think either of these two children is healthy and should be together, but they should definitely smash.

Switching perspectives is so rude actually.

Also, whenever they say Theodora, I only think of that lady from Haunting of Hill House because she was so pretty, but like that is a very different vibe from this book.

What the fuck is it with romcom men and surprising their partners with unwanted real estate? Stop doing this!

I don’t know what the romcom trend is with the submissive men, but they’re not for me, and I know this dynamic is different and it’s also not for me, but like no part of me wants this love interest.

Gimmie the boat guy. I'll take the boat guy.

I don’t have time for a man to be this chronically stupid this often in this book.

Uh, I'll stop you right there, bud. No one ever deserves to be bullied. Take your degradation kink back to therapy where it belongs.

I mostly think this book is horny, gay trash, but that was a bar.

It’s like being a stupid anime boy. What do you mean?

Audiobook narrator man is doing the most with the pleading.

This book is much longer than it needs to be.

I’m sorry, no matter how many pretty descriptions they write, they will not be able to convince me that someone being able to taste wine is a useful job or sexy.

You know what? I don’t like that this book goes on and on about people’s taught bodies and then features them going on this food tour and being such foodies and never having to work out but eating stuff in inches of butter. It might be the eating disorder talking, but that doesn’t sit right with me. (Or like it’s just skinny privilege because no one has any problem with skinny people gorging themselves and being gluttonous but heaven forbid someone even mildly overweight did this.)

It’s the way my dumbass thought he was talking about pointer dogs.

I don’t like this book.

I find it very hypocritical that it thinks it’s being sex-positive and giving its characters room to grow, but this is not that. There’s some weird unhealthy Dom sub shit going on here.

You’re just gonna sleep in your lube and splooge? Ew

If this book just ends with them being diagnosed with ADHD and like somehow that solves all their problems, I’m gonna be pissed. (We’re safe, but also their detrimental chaos never gets fixed.)

I feel like romances require some self-insertion or at least desire for the characters, and I’m like I don’t want either of these people. I don’t want them together. Like there’s nothing here for me.

I'm bored.

Shoutout to this book’s happy ending only working because they have family money.

Post-reading:
If I had stopped to read the blurb, I probably wouldn’t have picked this up. Instead, this got sold to me as the horny romance of the summer. And while it’s definitely a summer book, the horny did not work for me.

This book had so many tropes that I hate. I‘m a hard sell on second-chance romances at the best of times. This was not the best of times. I don’t like the miscommunication trope. I hate when it breaks characters up because if they weren’t able to communicate the first time around and they don’t work through those communication issues, then they’re definitely not gonna last. Also, despite very much being a foodie, I hate when romcoms read like a cookbook. It never feels cozy to me. It always just feels out of place. I don’t love celebrity romances because I find them hard to relate to or so over-the-top that they’re unbelievable.

So given that this is a second chance romance about two famous adjacent people going on a food and wine tour… hell was gonna have to freeze over for me to like this. Stranger things have happened, but Satan‘s asshole is still toasty.

I didn’t like the characters. I found them incredibly immature and did not think they were ever ready to be in a serious relationship. Their issues never really get worked out. It’s just kind of an I assumed you would let me use my family money to buy you an easy life, and that was wrong of me, so now that we’ve reiterated that we love each other exactly how we are, let me use my family money to buy you an easy life. But like the one character definitely seems to have undiagnosed ADHD that’s detrimentally impacting them and that never gets addressed. Also, it’s 1000% the Capricorn in me, but there was no way I was ever going to get over the fact that this man skipped out on rent.

Objectively it was written well enough, but it’s pretty shit on the personal enjoyment front. There were a lot of pop culture references in this book that went completely over my head, but I have to pretty much be the target age demographic for this book. People much older than me are not going to want to read about disaster bisexuals in their mid-20s.

It had some pacing issues. All the food descriptions got repetitive very quickly. It’s way, way too long for the cheeky little story that it is. There's some Wattpad, fanfictiony vibes to the writing style. It mistakes crassness for humor a lot, and that’s coming from me who sprinkles fucks into her sentences like they’re table salt.

The side characters are one-note and overused stereotypes. Reading this feels a lot like watching an episode of Emily in Paris.

It also bothers me that this book clearly thinks of itself as sex-positive. You can have sexually liberated characters without having them view other people as objects to fuck. I don’t think you can ethically have a body count competition. It was playing a little fast and loose with consent. The characters were not upfront with their partners that there was a bet going on and definitely didn’t get their permission to kiss and tell. That soured me on this book a lot.

This book requires a lot of suspension of disbelief, and I know that’s kind of a staple to have a happy romance, but it was a little too convenient for me that everyone they ran into was nice and gorgeous and gay. Like the odds of them sleeping around Europe and not running into a predator or a homophobe or an STD? Be so for real.

So it’s not romantic, it’s not horny, and it’s not cozy. It’s just kind of there. It’s not bad enough to go on my do not read list, but I don’t believe for a second that this couple is going to make it long-term.

Who should read this:
No thoughts just vibes readers
Abby Jimenez girlies
Foodie romance fans
Nonbinary rep fans
Disaster bisexuals fans

Ideal reading time:
Summer

Do I want to reread this:
Nope.

Would I buy this:
Nope.

Similar books:
* People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry-friends to lovers, second chance travel romance
* You, Again by Kate Goldbeck-disaster bisexuals, romance movie retelling, this couple is definitely breaking up later
* Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez-toxic positivity rom-com, family drama
* Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly-lit fic querr romance, character studies, family drama
* The Wake-Up Call by Beth O’Leary-holiday rom-com, miscommunication trope
* Happy Place by Emily Henry-second chance fake dating romance
* Off the Map by Trish Doller-travel romance
* For Butter or Worse by Erin La Rosa-cooking fake dating romance
* Float Plan by Trish Doller-bittersweet travel romance
* Seven Days in June by Tia Williams-second chance romance
* The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas-workplace rom-com, fake dating, travel
* The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch-queer holiday romance
* The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love by India Holton-like it's not but if you want a rom-com romp about two people traveling around not!Europe, cozy fantasy, camp as hell
* Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree-like it's not but it is a queer cooking romance, cozy fantasy

When you choose a wine to match a meal, you’re not declaring all other wines invalid. Pairings are binary but also boundless: More than two possibilities exist, but selecting only two highlights something about each. This truth is hornily illustrated in Casey McQuiston’s very adult, very queer romance, THE PAIRING (St. Martin’s Griffin, 411 pp., paperback, $20).

Theo and Kit are childhood soul mates who fall in love, move in together, and break up just before a three-week European food and wine tour. Now the nonrefundable tour tickets are about to expire, and Theo (they/them) has decided to embark on the trip solo. Unfortunately, Kit has the same idea.

With their hearts still shattered, they immediately launch a hookup competition, flirting (and more) with various guides, sommeliers and attractive locals in a nonstop bisexual smorgasboard.

Theo narrates the book’s first half, so we see all their flaws magnified while admiring Kit’s charisma. Then we switch to Kit, and suddenly it’s Theo who’s bold and fascinating. Soon our duo is back to their old game batting improvised cocktail and dessert recipes back and forth, bonding over imaginary dishes as they eat and drink and et cetera in every city of the journey — until they finally end up where they truly want to be.

The Pairing was definitely a bit different from Casey's other books but no less delightful to read. It was an excellent upbeat and fun summer read. I'm almost never a fan of miscommunication but this is one of the few times I think it really worked in the favour of the characters. Younger kit and Theo were definitely "right person wrong time" and their time apart worked in their favour and led them back together at the right time. Their time apart really helped them grow as individuals and truly figure out who they are and getting to read them meet the new version of one another was beautiful. I also liked that the story had a bit of a casual feel in a way. I would've liked to see a bit more significant conversations between them but the more casual feel did I think make it easier for Kit and Theo to get to know each other again.
It was kind of nice reading something a but different from Casey's other books while still feeling like it was obviously written by them. I'm excited to see what Casey has in-store for their next book!

The Pairing is exactly what I want in a romance novel. It's funny, it's sexy, and it's exciting. The sweetness made me fly through the book and I enjoyed the trip. I can't wait to have everyone I know read this.

I enjoyed this book. It was fun. This book mostly made me hungry and want to go to Europe. This is a second chance romance for Kit and Theo who reconnect on a European tour they were supposed to go on before their breakup.

I loved Kit’s POV but didn’t really enjoy Theo’s. This book was also much longer than it probably needed to be. The side characters were more compelling at times.

*Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Netgalley, and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Even though this book was good, it wasn't quite up to Casey McQuiston's usual standard for me. The characters rang a bit flat, and I found myself more interested in the food than the story. Still a fun trip around Europe! Just not on par with One Last Stop, which is my favorite of their books

McQuiston writes some of my favorite romcoms - they're hilarious and endearing (and sometimes spicy). I enjoyed Theo and Kit's adventures across Europe, even though they left me craving pastries and wishing for a cocktail or a glass of wine. The first half of the book is first-person from Theo's perspective and I love that we get to know Theo so well but never find out what Theo's pronouns are. We get to know who Theo is and when we find out Theo's pronouns halfway through, it truly adds to our understanding of who Theo is instead of being a core descriptor that sets the tone for everything else. The second half of the book is from Kit's perspective and I enjoyed that part but not as much as Theo's, I think. The characters are nuanced and getting to know them was almost as fun as their second chance love story. I could have done without the miscommunication elements and the contest, but that's generally a me problem and not something I'd consider a negative about the book. This one had me laughing out loud as I listen to Theo and Kit's adventures, and I was sad to say goodbye to them.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Casey never misses! Another incredible book. I read this right before I went on a trip to Europe and it inspired me so much. The characters were so fun and I love a good second -hance-friends-to-lovers romance

I fell in love with Casey McQuiston with RED, WHITE, AND ROYAL BLUE! I continue to read and enjoy every book by this author, but I have yet to love one as much as that first one. I do tend to enjoy their gay romances a bit more than their sapphic romances. I did thoroughly enjoy THE PAIRING and the descriptions of the scenery and the food/wine were *chef's kiss*! I enjoyed the "plot" a bit more than the "romance" but overall I really enjoyed this story and will continue to read anything Casey McQuiston publishes.

If you’re into queer rom-coms with witty banter, character development, and tons of of food and wine, this book is for you. It was cute and funny while also being really sweet and tender at times, so like all other McQuiston books. I would say that if you are already a fan of McQuiston, then you will like this for sure.

I really don't know what I was expecting but this book was not it. The characters genders were hard to follow and there was an awkwardly egregious amount of sex.

Theo and Kit were childhood best friends, then took the chance on becoming a couple. It was everything they both ever wanted. On the way to a European food and wine tour, they get into a fight and they break up. When Kit didn't show up on their flight back home, Theo packed up his things and they didn't speak again. Fast forward a couple of years and both are thriving. Theo is living in California and working as a bartender and aspiring sommelie. Kit never returned home, instead has been living in France and working as a pastry chef. The voucher for the food and wine tour is about to expire and Theo plans to go on it as a sort of farewell to their old life, and Kit. When they arrive on the tour bus, who is there but Kit! Desperate to prove that they are over each other, they start a hookup competition. Three weeks in the most beautiful cities, enjoying amazing food and drinks with the ex that you never got over...? What could possibly go wrong?

I absolutely love this friends to lovers vibe. I love that the characters of this book were so genuinely themselves. The biggest takeaway was the realization that if you are going to love someone over the different seasons of their lives, you need to love them fully or not at all. What Kit and Theo had was magic. The kind of love that people dream of. The breakup was devastating but both characters grew so much. The spice was also incredible. This was a great book with great representation for the LGBTQ community. I definitely recommend.

I have a so-so relationship with this author's books. I've enjoyed all the previous novels they've written but upon reflextion I never really LOVED any of them, and I think this book is the same. I do tend to enjoy romances that surround the food industry because it's what I do for work, it's fun to see it in novels! I think the premise of this really saved the book for me. I obviously knew the outcome of the relationship in this book but it didn't really lower my enjoyment at all. Overall, this was a lot of fun but I never liked either of the main characters. I thought they were whiny and a bit annoying and all their problems would've been solved if they just TALKED TO EACH OTEHR from the beginning. Yeah, yeah, drama, plot, all that, but it would've made me like them. I'll always read anything Casey McQuiston writes even though their Saphic books work a lot better for me!

The Pairing was the romance I didn't know I needed. I love Casey McQuiston's books and it's so fun to see how their writing style morphs and grows with each published book. The Pairing is a departure from McQuiston's usual style of writing and is a very different romance. That might have been off-putting for some romance readers, but that's what made me love this book. It's new and fresh and different.

Theo and Kit's story was unconventional to its core, but I think that's what makes it fun and exciting. I don't think I've ever read a second chance romance where the couple is actively sleeping with random people on a bet while still building sexual tension with each other. The way the hook-up bet was woven into creating tension and emotion was really good. I had no clue where the story was going to take me next, other than through a tour of Europe with some great food. It kept me engaging and (metaphorically) flipping the pages wanting to know what would happen next. I listened to the audiobook, which was super well done. And the POV switch? GENIUS!!!

Two highlights: Monacco and the fountain

You know how this love story is going to end, but it doesn't matter, because the journey of getting to the happy ending is so delicious. Sumptuous descriptions of food and art abound, and the spicy parts are extra saucy!

Another hit for Casey McQuiston. I loved the descriptions of the food and wine and scenery. It made me want to take a food and wine tour of Europe, too. Or maybe it gave me the chance to experience it in my mind. The romance is fun. The sex is over-the-top.
I read this first, then listened to the audiobook. I liked the narration. It was interesting that the book was told from one character's point of view for the first half and the other character's the second half.

What a wild ride. I loved both characters and how messy and real they were. The only bad thing about this book is it made me so hungry! But it was so much fun to read and travel vicariously with them.

This was personally a disappointment for me. I loved RW&RB, and I had really high hopes for more from this author. It simply fell flat in the romance department. Kit and Theo’s relationship was immature and felt entirely dependent on their physical attraction to each other. Everything about this screams horny, from the settings, to the descriptions of food, to the actual plot, but I couldn’t really connect with any of it. I feel like we spent so much time on the humorous aspects of the hook up and the overly decadent food/drink pairings, and not enough establishing a genuine rapport between our mc’s.

I am a HUGE Casey McQuiston fan, and I’m so sad that this one fell flat for me! Though I loved the characters and their journeys, including LGBTQ+ rep, there was truly no plot. Sometimes I can stay just for character development and vibes, but there wasn’t enough to keep me hooked.

The Pairing is another uniquely creative story by Casey McQuiston, author of Red, White and Royal Blue and my favorite, One Last Stop. It's the love story between two friends who are bisexual who have known each other since childhood and become romantically involved, until one day while heading on the vacation of a lifetime together have an argument which ends up tearing them apart. It's very funny and extremely adorable as well as charming. In my opinion also one of the main characters you may say, is the beautiful, imaginative scenery McQuiston creates for the reader to envision as the two characters trapse around Europe.

Theo and Kit had been best friends since childhood, then turned boyfriend and girlfriend. But after a horrible fight at the airport when they were going on a dream vacation to Europe to visit beautiful countries and eat their way through cities and towns, they break up. Never to see each other again.

But, a few years later, Theo has decided it's time to take this trip no matter what. The ticket is expiring, and she could use a break from her chaotic life in California where she is the daughter of an all-famous acting family, (except her) who has decided to do life on her own and has not really been able to find exactly what her talent should be. But as soon as she boards the bus in Paris to begin the eating and drinking tour of Europe, she is taken aback when she sees sitting in one of the seats, her ex-boyfriend Kit. Now, the two must attempt to get along, play nice and try and stay away from each other so they can enjoy the trip.

But, of course, that begins to become extremely difficult as they start to remember what their relationship used to be and just how much they enjoyed each other's company. So, as a joke, they decide to participate in a bet. But of course, things begin to go downhill because of jealousy and misinterpretations.

And then something starts to happen as they travel to beautiful areas with gorgeous scenery and delightful food and very wonderful friends they begin to make at each stop. But what about the bet? They both know this will never work. Kit, a chef in Paris and Theo a sommelier and catering company owner in California are not going to change their lives...are they? With so much to lose, how could whatever this is be a win?

The Pairing is an apt name for this enchanting, humorous wonderfully sensitive story with delicious food and beautiful scenery to admire in your imagination. The book will have you so delighted by the end that you will be booking your very own trip to experience what you have created in your mind's eye!

Thank you #NetGalley #St.Martin'sGriffin #ThePairing #CaseyMcQuiston for the advanced copy.