Casey McQuiston did it again. They are such an amazing author and create the most amazing characters, the depth and complexity - chef's kiss.
Theo and Kit were so imperfectly perfect. I loved how their relationship was friendship that blossomed and then a happen-stance coming back together on a wine tour. It would be awful for sure. I cannot imagine thinking you are going to have some time away and then have you ex sitting on the bus in a foreign country.
While I hated the sex game, the rest of the book was perfection. I want to hate the miscommunication or lack of communication troupes, but isn't that just real life. How many times do we do that in our daily lives with the relationships around us.
The vibes of the book were perfect though. I madly want to go on a wine and food tour now. The cast of characters were goofy, caring, ridiculous, loving and just amazing.
I could see this turned into the most amazing movie - and it would be awesome! A perfect summer read that shows that love isn't always easy and growing up, changing and compromising are tough, but can be worth it with the right person!

Gorgeous book...the scenery, food and wine descriptions, and chemistry between Kit & Theo created an immersive, sensual experience. I felt at times like I was on the European trip with the characters, meeting the locals and experiencing the culture. The book switched halfway through from Theo's POV to Kit's POV and I was initially sad to leave Theo's narration but I quickly fell in love with Kit. I could feel the tension and conflict throughout the novel but also the deep magnetic love the characters had for one another. Even though I knew it would end up okay, it was a wild, beautiful ride.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC.

I was really excited about this book, as I've enjoyed other books by this author. Unfortunately, I knew pretty quickly that it wasn't for me. I almost DNFed at 25%, 30%, 50%, etc., but I decided to finish the book so I could give a more thorough review.

Characters:

I found the two main characters, Theo and Kit, to be wildly pretentious and generally unlikable. This whole story felt very much "poor little rich kids." If you've ever worked in the service industry, especially in a larger city, you have probably worked with these people and rolled your eyes at them. Kit was a bit more likable than Theo, but only because he seemed more genuine in his actions toward Theo. Theo is a nepo-baby who just can't stand the privilege afforded to them by having rich, famous parents. Kit is a French-born, half-American pastry chef who seems to assume he knows what others are thinking instead of asking. Neither of them knows how to communicate. The entire plot of this book is based on the miscommunication in a single event that snowballed into a breakup and subsequent falling out between the two MCs.

Plot:

This story was a second-chance romance / friends-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-friends-to-lovers. 🥴 Years, ago, they broke up on their way to a European vacation, and they end up in the same tour group when cashing in their vouchers for that missed trip. Kit and Theo are both really hot, and throughout their travels, they constantly encounter other really hot people who are always dying to sleep with one or both of them. Even though Theo comes off as really unpleasant to the reader (IMO), they are apparently able to charm everyone around them and charm their way onto a billionaire's yacht??? IDGI.

Overall, I was really disappointed by this one. Kit's POV was the only saving grace, and even then, I was struggling. It probably would have been better to start with Kit's POV, as he's more likable, but I understand why Theo's POV was first.

If you loved this book, that's great! It just wasn't for me.

I was raised on Anthony Bourdain - No Reservations was one of the few shows with profanity and 'adult themes' that my parents chose to ignore in favor of making sure that their kids understood that food and travel and drinking and making friends with the people you meet at 1am while gorging yourself at a street stall are the things that make life worth living.

This book is for those Bourdain lovers, who get lost in the food and wine sections of bookstores, whose cookbooks are taking up all the walkable space in their apartments, and who are wondering why there doesn't seem to be a room within the binary sexual system we have that fits them.

This would have made the ultimate Kristen Stewart/Heath Ledger romance (who is today's Heath Ledger? Surely not Austin Butler (too serious), or Nicholas Galitzine (I say this with love, but too easily softened into the most easily digestible parts of himself.) Is it...Glenn Powell? Idk why, but that upsets me.

This romance is a phenomenal non-binary and queer AF romance novel set in a dreamy location.

Theo and Kit are childhood best friends who dated for a long time before breaking up right before the start of dream European vacation. It's been years since they have spoken to each other, but they coincidentally show up at the same tour at the same time once again.

To dispel some of the building sexual tension between them, Kit and Theo start a competition to see who can hook up with more people on the trip. And off they go, eating, drinking and fucking their way across France, Spain and Italy.

What shined for me in this book was the portrayal of Theo's gender identity. The first half of the book is told from their perspective. McQuiston, who is non-binary themselves, avoids using any gendered language for Theo. One time they call outfit androgynous. Another time they think about when their hair was longer or they wore make up. But honestly it's easy to miss. The first half book passes without me being entirely certain what gender Theo is.

The second half of the book is told from Kit's perspective. He is a cisgender bisexual man. He refers to Theo as "she" for many chapters until Theo comes out to him as non-binary. Kit makes the switch instantly to calling Theo "they/them" and often remarks on Theo's handsomeness.

There is a lot of creative sex described in this book, but in my mind it's for a purpose other than hotness. It's rare for a non-binary person to be a main character in a romance novel. And it's also rare for them to be having sex that doesn't feel cisgender and/or straight. Theo's adventures are incredibly queer no matter what gender they are partnering with, which feels perfectly right to me.

Where this book drags a bit with the many descriptions of mind-blowing food, wine and art. McQuiston describes them beautifully and creatively but there are just quite a lot of these scenes. When I had been to one of these places, it took me back to a beautiful memory. But when I hadn't I found myself a little bit bored.

Fun. The plot on this was was a little skimpy for the length of the book (2 exes go on a trip around Europe and shock of all shocks, discover they still like each other a lot). I didn’t care, though, between the gorgeous food descriptions and the steamy times between two hotties. I do wish Casey McQuiston included some less traditionally (by queer standards) hot people. Why is everyone gorgeous? Why are they all skinny and able-bodied? We must travel in really different circles because I don’t see folks like that.
Despite those complaints, it was a fun book. I was sad to finish it even if I predicted the ending many chapters before I got there. Recommended for fans of Casey McQuiston and/or queer smut.

I was lucky enough to receive an advance e-copy in exchange for my honest review

This is a sweet second-chance romance infused with McQuiston’s signature sense of humour and quite a bit of spice.

Kit and Theo were childhood best friends turned lovers, but after a brutal breakup on a transatlantic flight, they haven’t seen each other in years. When they find themselves on the same European food tour, they try to distract themselves from their lingering longing for one another by engaging in a competition to see who can hook up with the most people during the trip…but those pesky feelings keep bubbling up.

Like all of McQuiston’s books, this one made me laugh out loud, and the main characters were complex and deeply likeable. This book is a love letter to food and travel. The main characters are a sommelier and a pastry chef, and the narration really puts the reader in the headspace of someone passionate about finding new flavours. I also highly recommend this book to anyone who loves romances that feature a strong sense of yearning, as the characters pine for one another for much of the book. Overall, this is exactly what I hoped for. It met my expectations for a new Casey McQuiston book…which are very high!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!

Casey McQuiston’s books have always been a bit of a mixed bag for me - I’ve loved some and disliked others. I was a little hesitant about this one, as the most recent I read of theirs I wasn’t the biggest fan of. It can be difficult to live up to the huge hype surrounding Red, White, and Royal Blue, and whenever I read their books I find myself comparing the current read to RWRB.

In reading The Pairing, however, I completely forgot they were the author of RWRB and didn’t have even a single thought of comparison. Maybe it was the strong and defined lead characters or the switch to a more lush and picture-esque description of EVERYTHING, but I found myself fully immersed in this book in a way I haven’t felt with their other books aside from RWRB.

I'm a huge fan of Casey McQuiston's work, eagerly anticipating each new release, and The Pairing was no exception, topping my list of anticipated reads for 2024. McQuiston beautifully captures the essence of Europe, especially its culinary delights, in this love letter of a novel.

Theo and Kit's journey from childhood friends to lovers, and then back again, unfolds against the picturesque backdrop of a European food and wine tour. While McQuiston's descriptive prose vividly brings each town to life, I found myself struggling to fully connect with the main characters, particularly Theo. Their perspectives and conflicts, centered around nepotism and family drama, felt distant and unrelatable to me.

However, I did appreciate the depth given to side characters like Fabrizio and Theo's sister Sloane. Kit's perspective in the second half of the book provided a much-needed dimension to the story, though I wished for more development overall.

Despite its shortcomings, McQuiston's writing shines through, and while I may not have fully connected with Theo and Kit, I still look forward to future works from this talented author. Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

This is 1000% my favorite Casey McQuiston book. I adore Kit and Theo. The first half is told from Theo's perspective and the second half from Kit's. I thought that was a great format. I love seeing both sides in romance novels. McQuiston does a great job with character development. I loved seeing both of them work through their feelings and figure out what they wanted out of life.
This book made me want to travel Europe, Eat, Pray, Love style. I want to eat all the things, see all the sights, and try all of the wine/cocktails.
This book is for dreamers and I'm so glad I was along for the ride.

Thank you so much Netgalley for the ARC. I will be reading it again and again.

I've read all of McQuiston's books so far, and this might be my favorite one. I have seen some reviews comment on the amount of food, wine, and such in this book, but I feel that it stands up to the summary of the book. The synopsis does say this is a good and wine tour, after all, and both main characters work within these industries. It's not exactly unexpected for these things to be in this book.

I can't speak for France or Spain, but having been to Italy some of these places do feel very familiar. This book even helped me rediscover a dessert I forgot about that I've missed since then (panna cotta if you're interested). Theo and Kit falling back in love felt just as real to me. Yes they're imperfect people, but they do learn and grow and try to get their lives together.

The only thing I think that should be mentioned for readers is some sort of misgendering of Theo at the beginning of Kit's POV. I say sort of because it's not intentional or malicious (though misgendering doesn't have to be these things), he doesn't know, and Theo says themself that they accept those pronouns sometimes from those who don't know. Even so, since I haven't seen it anywhere else, I feel readers should know in case this is a trigger for them.

This book is a beautiful queer romance but also featured so much good food! Centering around a food tour through Europe (through the eyes of a sommelier and a baker), this book had me feeling nostalgic for my own visit to Europe and the many foods I dream of still.

This book is a strong recommendation for anybody looking for a romance that also appeals to foodies! I absolutely adored this read as a whole. Cannot recommend Casey McQuinston and their work enough!

I was a huge fan of Red, White, and Royal Blue and One Last Stop, so I had high expectations for this one. The Pairing had the same quippy banter and steamy hot romance, but wasn’t quite on the same astronomical level as the other Casey McQuiston books I’ve read.

Theo and Kit are childhood best friends and former teenage/ young adult lovers who accidentally reacquaint themselves on a tour throughout Europe. The prose engrosses you in their European wine, food, and romantic adventures. It was entertaining and tender at the same time. It was a bit long and the teeniest boring at times, but ultimately worth it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Griffin for the ARC!

I started off really enjoying the story line, the setting and concept initially. Being bisexual myself I was really excited to read this and receive the ARC, I’m very grateful to NetGalley and the publishers.

The writing was hilarious, I laughed out loud at so many moments. I started getting less and less invested in the plot once I realized that the story is two bisexual people in a competition of who can hook up with who first and I’m just tired of this trope for bisexuals. I personally did not finish the book because I was looking for a fresh new plot.

It’s hard not to get sucked into a Casey McQuiston novel… they are so descriptively drawn, and create a lush visual that makes you feel pulled into the lives of the characters. The Pairing might do this better than any of her previous novels, crafting a remarkably detailed and picturesque visual of a European food and wine tour, and the exes that find themselves on the journey together. I haven’t been to many of these places, but felt myself swept up in the tour through cobblestone alley ways, pattiseries, and wineries for the first half of the book. There are so many lovely characters introduced throughout the novel that I would read another book about. However, I have to say that I was not sold on our leads, who I found to be pretentious adults who were flawed in ways that were easily resolved by access to money, and a lot of wine. By the back half of the book, I found myself exhausted by long descriptions of European art and food which overtook any sort of growing affection that the two leads seemed to feel for each other. Despite this, I did enjoy the end of the book and appreciated that communication between the characters led to avoiding the dreaded third act breakup. If you love the idea of living in a chateau in France, can recite seventeen different types of cheese, have watched (and baked something) the Great British Bake Off, and love the more fantasy elements of McQuiston’s novels, this will definitely be for you. Thanks to NetGalley for an early review copy, all opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. This was fun and I enjoyed both POVs. Sometimes the sex was a little more than the plot, but I still enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for giving me an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 Stars, rounded up to 4. I was really excited for this book, and I really wanted to like it— and in general, I enjoyed it— but I don’t think it’s up to par with the work of McQuiston’s that I’ve read in the past. It was well written, had that classic McQuiston charm and wit, but was lacking in a few key areas.

From what I’ve read, and heard, this is the spiciest McQuiston book yet, and I think that was both a good and bad thing. Good, because the majority of the spicy scenes were quite well written— they felt realistic but still “sexy.” Bad, because it felt like McQuiston kind of sees Europe as some kind of bacchanal for folks in their mid to late twenties. Every city Theo and Kit went to had some eager, young, and hot person who wanted to bed one or both of them— and it just felt gratuitous and unrealistic at a certain point.

In general a lot of Theo and Kit’s problems just didn’t feel relatable, or felt like “rich kid problems.” Like, I’m sorry you won’t accept a loan from your super rich sister to keep your side hustle going while you live in Napa Valley as a sommelier— yes this is definitely super relatable to me, for sure. For a book that felt like a “come, experience this world with me,” book, the characters did not lend themselves well to that experience.

This book was meant to be savored. I wish i read it over the summer because it feels like the first time you sunbathe. The peaceful warmth of the sun kissing your cheeks. Mcquiston has clearly grown as a writer, while still lovingly filling pages with witty banter and humor. I had so much fun with this one.

Review currently withheld due to SMP marketing boycott via Readers 4 Accountability. https://r4acollective.org/

The Pairing by Casey McQuistion was not what I expected when I first started this book. I'm not that surprised, though. Casey McQuiston is very much a hit or miss for me. I either LOVE her work or do not get it at all. I thought this would be one I would love but it fell short for me. I didn't like the characters and I wasn't invested in their story. I really liked the premise of the story. I liked that we had two bi characters. I just didn't care about them so the story didn't work, either. I know there's going to be a lot of people who LOVE this and I'm excited for them to read it and I will definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a queer romcom.