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!

I found the beginning slow to get into but afterwards it was a wonderful story. McQuiston does such an amazing time building the romance as well as the world. Not going to lie but this book made me hungry and the setting was amazing! I love the romance journey as well which is really good for me since I am not a fan of second chance! And the heat was absolutely turned on!! Phew!!

(rounded up from 4.5 stars)

"𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮."


I really loved this book.

I loved the traveling, and the food, and the wine, and the secondary characters, and watching people fall in love.

It made me ridiculously homesick for places I've never been.

And Emma Galvin and Max Meyers did an incredible job on the audio narration ❤️

🍷 LGBTQIAP+ (Bisexuals/Nonbinary)
🍝 Forced Proximity
🍷 European Food & Wine Tour
🍝 Second Chance Romance
🍷 Friends to Lovers to Exs... to Lovers?
🍝 Pastry Chef & Sommelier
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#bookstagram #booksta #books #booksbooksbooks #avidreader #ilovereading #thetwistedlibrarian #professionalbookworm #thepairing #caseymcquiston #whatsnikkilisteningto #whatsnikkireading #lgbtqiap #lgbtqromance #pridemonth #bisexuals #nonbinary #forcedproximity #europeantravel #europeanwineandfood #secondchanceromance #friendstoloverstoexes #pastrychef #sommelier

I think what this book has shown me is that Casey McQuiston is not the author for me. This is my third attempt, and nothing has quite been a hit for me. The premise always excites me, but the execution doesn't. But that doesn't mean that McQuitston doesn't write great stories that lots of people will love. This is truly a case of it's not you, it's me.

I have loved Casey McQuiston's book, so I was highly anticipating The Pairing. I had to make multiple attempts to finish this book. I had a hard time liking or even caring about the main characters. I will not be posting about this on my social media accounts, as I reserve those spaces for positive reviews only.

UGH okay I was all set to really enjoy this book. It's very much gay chaotic good, and it's everything it sets out to be. Theo and Kit, two very horny exes who broke up 4 years ago, end up on the same Eurotrip food tour, which they planned to go on when they were together, and they both had the idea to use their voucher for the trip before it expired. They travel through Europe, eating and drinking and oops they still are into each other, but to get around that, they decide to have a competition to see who can sleep with the most people. Not my favorite trope, because they should just stop being idiots, but it was fun, and the food and drink descriptions were amazing, and it really felt like I was on this tour too.

Theo and Kit spend so much time circling each other and not talking about their feelings, but eventually they open up to each other, and they're able to talk about their breakup, and they're even able to talk about still being in love with one another.

And then this horrible thing happened where I was 30 pages from the end and they'd just had sex, and I <i>knew</i> what was about to happen, but I thought maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't, but it did. The third act break-up. Not only did it happen right after they had sex, but it wasn't even a fight. The way it's written, Theo and Kit just looked at each other and were like "yeah I love you but we obviously can't be together" and then they end the tour and go their separate ways. Just so there can be a grand gesture. And it makes me so mad! What is the point of doing that! It's not a good relationship tactic, and it's not fun to read. Not to mention the fact that I put the book down after the third act break-up, and then had a dream that my boyfriend broke up with me, which I did NOT enjoy.

I guess some readers enjoy, or don't hate, the third act break-up. But it's just so maddening, and it negatively impacts my feelings about the book.

3.5 stars! I put off reading this longer than I needed to considering I ended up enjoying it. Overall really liked the characters and the travel component. I wish they would have admitted their feelings earlier!

This book was so much fun. Extremely good descriptions of food, a steamy romance, and international hijinks were only a few of my favorite things about it. 10/10.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was ok. I LOVED this author's previous novel One Last Stop, but this one didn't hit as much for me.

there were a lot of things that I did enjoy about this book - especially the travel and foodie elements!! casey mcquiston knows how to develop details & background to make the reader wish they were really there!

however, the two main characters didn’t do it for me… they were both very immature and chose to sleep around europe tag teaming with the love of their life? even though they won’t admit it? it was just a little far fetched for me; especially since if that’s a reaction to a breakup, then perhaps you’re not mature enough to have one in the first place…

as always though, the LGBTQ+ representation was excellent & I’m a huge champion of more of that please!!

thank you st martins press for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review! 🩵

rating: 2.5 stars
wine pairing; amalfi coast sparkling prosecco

I was a big fan of red, white and royal blue and love that the author isn't afraid to tackle characters with different backgrounds, especially highlight LGBTQ+ characters. This book, for me, fell flat on the character development. I wasn't particularly rooting for them as a couple or them as individuals and I hoped that I would have been. I look forward to what else this author writes, this one just wasn't on the mark for me.

thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!