The Pairing is a perfect compilation of longing, heartbreak, found family and a strong love of food and wine- it's a cultural adventure through Europe with the goal of drinking away one's problems. 

I can't quite decide if I loved this one or if it was a bit bland for me. It's a very classically millennial tale of the exploration of life while silently pretending your problems don't exist. 

Kit and Theo broke up years ago but still cling to the memory of their childhood together and their immense love and sexual chemistry. With the expiration date of a honeymoon-like trip previously panned together looming over them, the two unintentionally, and separately use their tickets on a European tour filled with good company and all the food and wine one could want. 

I think the book felt a bit optimistic to me, as a millennial/genZ in a world where young adults can no longer travel the world on pennies and backpack through Europe without a dime. As an American, the economy and financial/housing concerns feel a bit too real and the optimism and excitement about this getaway felt painfully unattainable. However, it was very much good fun. We have a huge cast of widely queer characters (very much a book in which everyone you meet is at least a little bit gay) and a competition between our leads that sparks all the horny queerness you can get your hands on. 

There is a lot of focus on food and a clear love of wine and pastries from the author. The story is very much a romanticized version of Europe with a very boisterous crew of odd personalities. Kit and Theo, with the intent of making it very clear to one another they no longer harbor feelings toward each other, come up with a fun sex competition to outdo each other in seduction. While they sleep their way through Europe, the memories and longing of childhood love overwhelm them and they have to decide if it's worth addressing their problems of the past. 

This was very much a horny book. I don't quite think it was for me in this aspect. Although there were plenty of closed-door moments as well, we have lots of spice and graphic detailed sex scenes that really paint a picture of their excursions. The romance in this part wasn't lacking, either. As a romance reader in general, I'm a huge fan of the mutual pining trope and we get all we can fill our hands with, in this book. 

I mentioned before that this is very much a millennial book and there are a few different ways in which I mean this. The cavalier attitude of just getting through life despite the world being on fire, the queerness of the book, the casualty in which gender and attraction is discussed. I absolutely loved this aspect of the story. It was very clear while also not shoving down your throat the little normalities of how we see gender and how it is fully a construct of society. That one's identity is more than gender roles and oh how beautiful this representation was!! Absolutely loved with my whole heart. 

The storyline and the wine and food aspect of this book wasn't quite for me. I'm not a big outdoorsy person and this book is definitely for those who desire exploration and adventure. The queerness and horniness was represented in a way that normalized sex without demonizing it, and the spice was solid (however it was the emotional and sexual longing that did it for me). l really liked the structure of the book and how the story weaves back and forth while remaining linear but switching POV's.

Overall I liked it but it wasn't a love for me. I think I have to sit on it for a while to determine my final thoughts, but as always, I'm a big fan of Casey McQuiston and love their storytelling. Will absolutely read anything they write!

Thank you to NetGalley for my latest read in exchange for an honest review!

I feel like I'm betraying one of my favorite authors when I review this book... but unfortunately The Pairing was not for me. I DNFed this book at 34%. On paper the premise of this story sounds AMAZING: food, wine, Europe, summer, exes to lovers?! In reality I found this story flat and overly descriptive in every single chapter. Theo and Kit have been broken up for four years and wind up on the same wine and art tour through France and Italy. I found myself feeling no stake in the story; I was not invested in the slightest in their outcome. In their previous books, McQuiston brings in the best cast of characters that make the story what it is. In this book there was nothing about the tour group and friends that made me care about the sequence of events. For some people this may be the perfect summer read, but I am personally going to skip this one!

I am a big fan of all of Casey McQuiston's other books and so I was very excited to get a chance to read their latest release a few months early. I liked the idea of using all the romance tropes, like childhood friends to lovers, second-chance romance, close proximity, and slight enemies to lovers, all in one book. Plus who doesn't like the idea of a romance forming over an incredible food and wine tour across Europe! And while I think the effort and research put into the food, wine and location elements was extensive and very well-done, I feel as if it ended up taking more center stage than the romance or even the characters to an extent. I couldn't get myself to really connect or vibe with either main character, so it was a bit difficult to really cheer for them or their romance because ultimately I was having a hard time understanding *why* their re connection was necessary. That being said I still think McQuiston has a talent for writing messy, flawed characters who come together not to fix each other, but to enhance each other. I might not like Theo and Kit as much as other characters she has given us, but I know there are many people who will love them and their story so I have no issues suggesting this to people. I'll likely still be purchasing it for our library because I know we have fans of McQuiston's other books and it will be a great addition to the LGBTQ+ book collection we are growing.

Casey never misses!!! One Last Stop was literally the book that got me back into reading and I will forever be so grateful for it and it will always hold such a special place in my heart - so every new Casey release just makes me so happy. I absolutely fell in love with these characters, I will think about them forever. Book of the summer!!!

The Pairing by @casey.mcquiston

What happens when two bisexual exes find themselves on a 3 week European food and wine tour together 4 years after their breakup?

Well, it’s complicated.

Theo was still finding themselves when their relationship with Kit ended on a transatlantic flight. In many ways, so was Kit. They parted ways and tried to map out their separate lives after being so thoroughly embedded in each other since childhood. By the time Theo and Kit lock eyes on the tour they had intended to take together years ago, both have made strides towards fulfillment, but neither have been able to get over the other. In an effort to reignite their friendship and ignore the complications, they start a sex bet: book up with the most people, win bragging rights. But we have established this is a complicated relationship, and when feelings boil to the surface, Theo and Kit are forced to dissect what happened between them all those years ago.

One of the most enjoyable elements of The Pairing was the mouthwatering descriptions of the food and wine devoured by our characters. Casey, please, for the love of all, write a European travel guide. I want to explore desserts, pasta, and fine wine with you as my leader!

Thank you goes to @netgalley for the advance copy of this delightful read!

While I absolutely adore Casey McQuiston, this book didn't seem to have the heart that the rest of their books have. I don't think this book was bad by any means, but I just don't think that this one is going to be everybody's cup of tea. I wanted to love this so bad, and my expectations were SKY HIGH, and this just didn't meet them. That being said, Casey is still one of my favorite authors and I look forward to reading more of their books in the future!

The Pairing markets itself as both a sexy romp through Europe and a second-chance romance, but it fails to effectively pull off either genre. Although the premise is intriguing — two bisexual exes accidentally reunite on a food-and-wine tour after years separated — the meat of the story gets lost in repetitive, gratuitous descriptions of food, wine, and sex. While the prose is beautiful, the book fails to answer some key questions. Why do Theo and Kit love each other? Why do they care about each other? Overall, The Pairing does not catch McQuiston at their best, favoring style over substance.

Casey Mcquiston has done it again. She made falling in love with Kit and Theo's story seem as easy as picking a delicious wine or dessert. I will definitely be adding this to my reread list. Her descriptions of the food and destinations were poetic and powerful.

Red, White, and Royal Blue is one of my favorite books, so I had to get my hands on a copy of this ARC! However, I quickly found myself not liking this one as much as Red, White, and Royal Blue. I love Casey McQuiston's characters in RWRB - they all feel like real people with flaws and insecurities. And the world feels deeper than just the main two characters. All the side characters feel well developed and fleshed out - with their own goals and experiences. The Pairing, in comparison, just fell a little flat. The characters just didn't seem that well developed - the main ones, but especially the side characters. However, I'm still going to try whatever McQuiston writes!

I think the only two ways I could have loved this story more would be if 1) I got Kit and Theo’s POV for every single moment or 2) I was literally there with them. I don’t even know what to say. I liked this from the start, back when I was just thinking that Theo and Kit were infinitely cooler than I could ever be and that the setting made me want to hop on a plane to France. But by the end, I was so invested in them individually, them as a couple, every single person on their trip, every other person in their lives, everything they were sightseeing and eating. I was empathetically feeling these fictional characters’ feelings an unhealthy amount, but it’s because they were so relatable. I felt so seen in different parts of these characters and these stories despite being nothing like Kit or Theo in actuality.

Seriously though, I do wish the POVs were rotated a bit more, because I missed getting Theo’s thoughts the second half of the trip. But other than that, I’m so happy we got to spend time in Kit’s head for so long too.

Casey McQuiston has a way of making me think everything will be okay in the world and in my life, even if just while I’m reading their work. It’s just an escape from reality, but it’s one that leaves me with so much hope and new will to live and to try. That’s something so special about very few books for people and I’m so thankful for it.

The Pairing is the perfect read to savor by the pool or on a beach. And if you're not on a vacation of your own, it'll absolutely transport you. Kit and Theo are two exes who find themselves on the same tour across Europe. The first half of the book is in Theo's POV, and the second half is in Kit's POV. Both are engaging and nuanced, and I enjoyed piecing together their "whys." Why did they break up in the first place? Why did they choose to go down this path? Why do they see themselves in a certain way? The book is, in a word, sumptuous. The Pairing is full of gorgeous descriptions of food and wine, scenery, and beautiful people. I loved the secondary characters and their personalities, too! This is such a special book, and I know readers are going to love Kit and Theo's adventures.

I'm sure this book is for someone. Someone who has watched Call Me By Your Name enough times to have the lines memorized, someone who gets lost in the flavours of food and wine and the romance that seemingly floats around all the highly erotic crevices of Europe. I'm sure this book is for someone, and they will treasure the experience of reading it for a long time: unfortunately I am not that person.

There's a few reasons, the biggest one being I'm not necessarily a fan of reading gratuitous casual sex that doesn't have much meaning (apart from yearning for someone you wish you were with), or a relationship driven head-first by wanting to make love to someone. Not saying that is not something that's possible, it's just not something I care for, and for most part in this book, that is all I got. I was repeatedly told to believe in the love Kit and Theo had for each other, but it was mostly substantiated by them thirsting for each other. I saw glimpses of what I wanted to read about more (their past relationship, the way they navigated everyday life, the fall out and its repercussions outside of them realizing it was a misunderstanding), but I never got as much as I wanted. And as a Casey McQuiston enjoyer (idk what they put in r,w&rb that makes me lose my mind), I just think not every book by an author will hit you the same way, and that's okay.

What I did truly appreciate about this book was the subtlety in which LGBTQ+ representation was handled: in that it was not the main plot point of the book. There were clear conversations about it, but it was never the standout, and instead a mellow undercurrent, which I appreciated a lot. It felt everyday, and normal, like it should. Props to Casey for that, they did a fantastic job.

I do find it hard to believe that things just fell in place for our main characters everywhere in Europe (everyone's bisexual, incredibly interested in both of them, and immediately catering to their needs? Pretty privilege is everything, I guess, but it did feel like I had to suspend disbelief for most part).

Overall, I'll say this book will appeal to some people thoroughly, and maybe others not quite as much. Sadly, I lie in the latter group. Am still looking forward to what Casey has in store for me next!


(honest ARC review)

I had a really fun time with The Pairing! First of all - this made me so hungry and also made me want to go on a trip so bad! The way the places and foods were so thoroughly described is making me want to book a trip to Europe ASAP!!! I thought the story itself was fun and unique compared to a lot of recent romance I've read. its been a long time since I've read RW&RB so I'm rusty there but this felt really different in comparison! I get why some romance readers might not be a fan of the messiness that takes over the first bit of Kit and Theo’s trip but I kinda liked it? as mentioned, it was refreshing and different for me. I liked the pov switch halfway through too. Overall would recommend I had fun :)

I love Casey McQuiston's books, and I was so excited for this one. I loved it. My favorite thing about Casey Mcquiston is how well they capture all the layers of emotion that can be folded into a single experience - love, insecurity, magic, wistfulness. This book does that so well. I think in a lot of respects we got even deeper experiences of the characters because they had so much history together. I felt the dual POVs helped build up the dramatic tension in the story.

The one thing that I love about McQuiston's books that I don't feel like we get as much in this one is the side characters. They're usually so fleshed-out for supporting characters, and delightfully lovable and quirky. Since this is set on a vacation tour, you don't get much from the side characters because Theo and Kit don't know them very well. Even with that, there are still some funny moments.

This one also gets extra bonus points in my book for the descriptions of food. I love cooking, so that part was extra fun.

A hedonist's delight in both form and content. Maybe the best representation of greedy bisexuals I have ever seen, being a greedy bisexual myself.

Casey McQuiston has written a horny, decadent feast of a story. Our two protagonists Theo (they/she) and Kit (he/him) are exes who broke up years ago on the eve of a European food tour. Both end up on the food tour again and circle around each other like destined, star crossed lovers both of our protagonists claimed to love and outgrow, even while avoiding the pull or at least attempting to let it settle into a comfortable spot that isn't the deep, consuming devotion they both miss and previously had.

Compared to their previous books like Red, White and Royal Blue or One Last Stop, this felt to me like McQuiston unleashed - free to be as extra in both words and plot as possible and I loved it. The food descriptions made me hungry, the sex scenes left me wanting and the unabashed, untranslated use of French, Spanish and Italian substantiated what Theo and Kit must have felt as tourists, unmoored in both feelings and geography.

Theo describes one of the most successful meals in the book as "Not perfect. But the most." I can only hope that McQuiston realizes they achieved the same with this story.

DNF @ 17%

I really enjoyed Red, White, and Royal Blue so I wanted to give this author another try. What better premise than a love story set in Europe on a food and wine tour. Should have been perfect; it was anything but….

The characters were barely one dimensional, and none of the side characters were even remotely interesting. The plot was so blah, I just couldn’t care enough to keep reading.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC.

I love Casey Mcquiston's books, but I'm sorry, these characters are so pretentious!!! I can't do it. I have never wanted a book to be over so fast. There was absolutely nothing for me to like about either of them, and that ruined the entire romance aspect for me. Theo was so pompous and arrogant and a self righteous bastard, I almost don't blame Kit for running away to Paris. Theo thought everyone was just so damn cool, and that Theo Flowerday (what kind of name is that), daughter of famous move producers and godchild of Russell Crowe, could never be as cool as these people!!! (seriously, why feel the need to flex so much) and Kit was ... he was kit. also arrogant. Parisian bastard. I thought maybe this book would be good seeing as I love Mcquiston's other works, and seeing as I've read a few foodie romances before (shout-out to Tarah Dewitt) but this was utter garbage fire.

A hedonist's delight in both form and content. Maybe the best representation of greedy bisexuals I have ever seen, being a greedy bisexual myself.

Casey McQuiston has written a horny, decadent feast of a story. Our two protagonists Theo (they/she) and Kit (he/him) are exes who broke up years ago on the eve of a European food tour. Both end up on the food tour again and circle around each other like destined, star crossed lovers both of our protagonists claimed to love and outgrow, even while avoiding the pull or at least attempting to let it settle into a comfortable spot that isn't the deep, consuming devotion they both miss and previously had.

Compared to their previous books like Red, White and Royal Blue or One Last Stop, this felt to me like McQuiston unleashed - free to be as extra in both words and plot as possible and I loved it. The food descriptions made me hungry, the sex scenes left me wanting and the unabashed, untranslated use of French, Spanish and Italian substantiated what Theo and Kit must have felt as tourists, unmoored in both feelings and geography.

Theo describes one of the most successful meals in the book as "Not perfect. But the most." I can only hope that McQuiston realizes they achieved the same with this story.

Casey McQuiston is an all time fave as my love for Red, White, and Royal Blue and One Last Stop runs deep. Receiving an ARC for this made me so incredibly excited that I abandoned all my TBRs I had planned and jumped right into this.

This had everything I could want in a book with finally some real in depth bi characters and a story full of wine and food and European traveling. I loved all of these aspects so much, and it made the read incredibly enjoyable by making me want to book the next flight to Europe.

Everything in me was wanting to absolutely love this book so much and give it an overwhelming 5 stars, but there was just something off about the MCs here and their relationship with each other that just made it hard to connect to. The chemistry at times seemed so strong, but then the decisions they made felt like they were in complete contradiction of that. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy seeing characters be messy and how they navigate that, but there were some points here where I found myself being taken out of it a bit by really not understanding the chemistry at all.

Overall the read was really enjoyable and I did love the Euorpean food and wine tour aspect of this story so much. Theo and Kit had great moments with each other, and I did enjoy the ending here and how it came together.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review. The pub date for this book is 8/6/24 and I highly recommend checking this out, as it is very different to a lot of romance reads I have been reading lately. I already have my physical copy on preorder for my "shelf trophy".

✰3 stars✰

To summarize the blurb: Theo and Kit are exes. They were once in love and planning a European food and wine tour… and then they broke up on the flight, instead going separate ways rather than on their vacation. Years later they accidentally book the same tour they were supposed to take together all those years before. To then prove they are over each other, Theo challenges Kit to a hookup competition.

The rating I landed on for this novel was so hard to decide. I love Casey so so so much, so it hurt me that I didn't love this as much as I wanted to going into it. I finished the book and knew I had to sleep on it before even writing anything because I didn’t want to be hasty before I thought my emotions through. Even after that I still have a lot to say… so, buckle in friends, this might be a long one.

I want to start by saying there were so many moments where I was like, “Theo is me, I am them.” As a character I really appreciated so many aspects of how they were written. That being said, their POV of the book was my absolute least favorite part.
Not because it was their POV but because of lots of things that were happening in the plot during that first 50% that were exactly what I worried about before I picked up this novel.
When I read a novel, sometimes I want to hurt and I want to be on the edge of tears, I want my heart to sting for a minute. There were a few moments that were good for that heart twinging pain, but there was as least one that wasn’t and made me feel dirty and actually horrible. Not dirty because it was wrong or anything like that, just so sick to my stomach because my emotions personally couldn’t handle it. It hurt for too long, and far too much. I wanted to put it down and not come back for a minute.

I did like that Theo is a self-proclaimed slut though. I like that they get to have a bisexual buffet of Europe for a hot second because yes please I would love to do that too. There is just a point where Theo seeing Kit repeatedly with their competition conquests that bridges too far and too many times for the romance chemistry between them to feel like it was building anywhere in that first half, my personal emotions of it aside.

Then we switch to Kits POV, and it’s immediately the change into what I thought this whole novel was going to be. In the second half the prose was decadent, it was charming and full of painful emotion (but in a much better way this time), it was sexy, and everything I had hoped Theo’s POV could have been too. Obviously their character voices needed to be different but I wish Theo got a better POV end of the stick, you know? That some of their love and relationship could have came through more during their section of the novel.
All of my stars essentially come from the second 50%, which again is so sad because I would have loved to love more parts of Theo’s section.

For other miscellaneous things that I did actually really like…

•Holy hell, Casey McQuiston can write some good sex. This was beyond what I even anticipated and it was good.
•You could also tell they did their research for a lot of the locations and food. That’s always appreciated.
•I loved that chapters began with what food or drink to best pair with the chapter, they were very funny and clever and I quite enjoyed that.
•The one liners, as always with Casey, were great. Humor laced in is a strong suit of theirs and for that I’m always thankful.
•Beautiful, insightful prose woven in is always another strength Casey has too.

In general I think some people will absolutely love this novel, even with—or maybe because of—the parts I had trouble emotionally with in the first half. Then I think you’ll have people who hate it because of those moments too.

Unlike Casey’s previous books that have been comforts, favorites, and/or irrevocably changed me… this one will sit as the sexy one that got away from me in the first half.

Overall, what I liked — I liked a lot. It just wasn’t enough to save the pieces that fell off so hard for me in the beginning.

Still, I’m glad Casey wrote their smuttiest novel yet, that certainly hit the mark and I hope they keep it up. I’d love to see where they go with whatever story they write next.