The Pairing

by Casey McQuiston

Theo and Kit have been childhood best friends, crushes, lovers and, after a brutal breakup four years ago, estranged exes.

It’s not until Theo and Kit are trapped on board a tour bus that they discover that they’ve each had the same idea: to take their dream European food and wine tour – alone. And now they’re stuck with each other for three weeks of the most romantic sights and sensuous flavours of France, Spain, and Italy. But it’ll be fine. They’re absolutely over each other.

So, when Theo suggests a friendly wager to see who can sleep with their hot Italian tour guide first, Kit is game. In fact, why stop there? Why not a full-on European hookup competition?

But sometimes a taste of everything only makes you crave what you can’t have.

Genres: Romance, LGBT, Queer, Contemporary, Fiction, Audiobook, Adult

434 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 6, 2024

About the author

Casey McQuiston is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of romantic comedies, whose writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Bon Appetit. Originally from southern Louisiana, Casey now lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Heather K (dentist in my spare time) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was about 25% into this story when it dawned on me that I hated The Pairing.

I can't even tell you how much I was anticipating this story. I'm a HUGE Casey McQuiston fan, and One Last Stop basically changed my life, so I assumed (foolishly, oh so foolishly) that I would love The Pairing. But I was incredibly, devastatingly wrong.

Look, I think there is going to be a group of readers who adore this and think that I'm so boring and millennial for not loving the food-porn-orgy that makes up this book, but I really, truly just did NOT like it. I didn't like it so much that I would be cooking dinner or brushing my teeth, and my mind would be like AND ANOTHER THING with all of the reasons that I didn't like this story. It took me ages to finish it, and I skimmed the last 20%, that's how badly I wanted it to just be over.

I'll admit that the second half was better than the first. Theo's part of the story was just insufferable. I hated how Casey McQuiston wrote their journey through Europe as just some bacchanalia of pansexual, carefree, good-looking young people who all wanted to bone. I've been to Europe many times, and I can tell you that traveling is not sweet-talking your way into a billionaire's yacht where everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) wants you. Why was every single person down to have sex after literally one second together, and why was everyone bisexual and younger than 35 and attractive?? There were no stories there, no meaningful secondary characters. Everyone was rich and charming and flawless and was down for everything. It felt vapid and pointless. I HATED it. Nothing was memorable. The food and wine descriptions felt well researched, but also just... pointless. It was hard to see how they were advancing the plot. I'm a total foodie, and I was bored by it all.

Also, I hated Theo's struggle with being a nepo baby. Readers will discover early on that Theo's family is wealthy and well-known. Not just their parents, but sisters as well. All exceedingly wealthy and accepting and generous. Which is GREAT. But it made Theo's "struggle" to get their business off the ground and establish themselves by play-acting as a poor person feel insufferable. Theo's sisters offered multiple times to gift them tens of thousands of dollars. And Theo keeps saying no... but the reality is that people struggling in real life would take money with no strings in a heartbeat. It really irritated me. Stop acting like you have no options when you have multiple loving and RICH family members to fall back on.

Finally, the romance...

I have a particular hatred for second-chance romances where all of the emotional development and intimacy happens off page and the readers are just expected to know how much the characters love each other and why. That's EXACTLY what we get here. They grew up together, they know each other, and then things fell apart. Now they are back together and the readers don't get enough time to figure out why. Yes, they are sexually compatible, but it seems like they are also sexually compatible with half of Europe. Plus, Theo and Kit just don't seem like a good match to me. I much preferred Kit, as a person, but they both act like teenagers with their sex bets and dares and lack of communication. They just both seem spoiled, and the romance did NOT sweep me off my feet. In fact, I don't even know if this book even is a true genre romance. It really didn't feel like it to me. It feels like a book that Gwyneth Paltrow would write if she was nonbinary and taking a food tour across Europe, documenting her "deep" feelings.

There was no humor. The side characters were less like developed people and more like boring sex pawns (that came to me while brushing my teeth this morning). The book lacked so much feeling that it left me feeling bereft.

Yes, I'm being dramatic, and yes, I loved that this book was SO QUEER, but it really failed me on all other fronts. I hope other readers connect with it more than me.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

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[chai ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Way too many French people

[annes_mesmerizing_books · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe The Pairing is Casey McQuiston’s wish for a bi Timothée Chalamet. Or their ode to Timothée in Call Me by Your Name. Trigger warnings: a peach.

This review is probably going to be an unpopular opinion …

I guess I just don’t like that many hookups if people are clearly interested in each other. Don’t get me wrong, I found Kit and Theo’s bi-for-bi pastime where they pointed out hot people to each other hilarious, but the actual hooking up? I hated it.

The same applies to the food and, the wine, and the scenery. Maybe it’s because I’m European and have seen quite a few of these places myself (I know I’m lucky). I hate stereotypes, and sadly, even Casey managed to put some of those in this story, including the ever-charming, passionate loving Italian travel guide, the chic French woman who, of course, smokes cigarettes, and a Vespa tour in Rome. Maybe I shouldn’t read books anymore written by Americans set in Europe. Sigh.

So, the start of this story is basically traveling from city to city, food, booze, hooking up. Traveling to another city, food, booze, hooking up. And another city, food, booze, hooking up. I can’t even remember them drinking water to stay hydrated. Only alcoholic drinks. Even before noon in a sun-drenched and sizzling Southern European summer. So I raised my eyebrows and got bored. Like reaaally bored. I didn’t even laugh much.

The first half of the book is written in Theo’s POV, and only when it switched to Kit’s, the story got (a little) more interesting because he clearly loved Theo so much. And the way he reacted when Theo told him a big thing melted my heart. But otherwise? No chemistry, no witty remarks, no outstanding side characters. Only sex, food, and booze. Not for me, thank you very much.

Anyway, if this gets to be a movie, there’s only one actor who can play Kit. Guess who? Of course, it’s Timothée! And Saoirse Ronan will star as Theo. Mark my words! I like the chemistry between those actors on screen, so, I might even be going to watch it!

Actual rating 2.5 stars. Might round it down instead of up.

Thanks once again, Erin from Macmillan International for the ARC!

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[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

my three loves in life are books, travel, and food.

some of my honorable mentions: banter, wine, flirting, hot people, scenery, public transit, cities, fun facts, desserts, getting drunk, the lgbtq+ community, old friends, inside jokes, sluts, and movies. 

all of those things, and also more things, are in this book.

i have spent my whole life (or the last few years) wanting to like a casey mcquiston book. prior to today i have tried three times, and i have failed three times. some, including a fictionalized version of albert einstein (potentially the college dorm room poster version with his tongue sticking out), would say this meets the definition of insanity.

i'd call it perseverance.

and i'd point you in the direction of this book as exhibit a.

when i first started this, i chanted "i am going to have fun" like a mantra, hoping my sheer stubbornness and inability to learn a lesson would translate into a minor miracle. and guess what. it worked.

this book was A Lot, including in its overlong page count and overwritten yearning (ESPECIALLY by the end), but otherwise in all the ways i like. lots of dumb hot people doing dumb hot people things, and lots of food, and lots of bad jokes. 

it's what life is all about.

bottom line: huge win for being stubborn.

--------------------
tbr review

if i do not find a romance that makes me swoon, giggle, and want to die of emotion in the next 3-5 business weeks, i may pass away.

update: phew.

(3.5 / thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)

[liv ❁ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reading through my reviews, you may wonder has Liv literally ever felt joy? or does Liv understand that it’s not that deep? and I’m here to tell you that. . . probably? But not today and definitely not because of this book. To be perfectly clear, this book and I got off on the wrong foot immediately. I, a fool, assumed that the two people on the cover were lesbians, which is pretty much the only reason I requested this arc, so there was already a bit of disappointment when I realized (too late) that this was actually between a nonbinary person and a man, but I figured that there was still hope; I like (some) men and also vaguely identity as nonbinary, so what the hell? What the hell is indeed how I felt about this book, but not in the aloof way I was going for.

Before we get into this review, let’s get a few facts about me straight. One: the ratio of romances I read versus romances I enjoy is abysmally low. I have personal issues with a lot of the ways romance is portrayed, primarily because the things I find attractive and the things romance novels say are attractive rarely align. Two: I tend to be overly nit picky and critical of things that are, as the kids say, not that deep, and it is significantly worse with literature than, say, movies. Romantic relationships tend to get the worst of this aspect of me because of how particular I personally am about romantic relationships. Three: I hate smut in books. I find it cringey at best and nauseatingly gross at worst, and I will always call out when sex is used as a replacement for actual relationship development. I can’t change these facts about me, but I can warn you that I am so far from the target audience of this book and most of my complaints have to do with my preferences, not the actually content of this book. This book was so very much not for me, but it might be for you.

If some demon was looking for the perfect way to torture me for all of eternity, this book has given them the perfect guide. The idea of running into an ex I’m still in love with during a wine tour that would be incredibly inconvenient to leave and immediately entering a “who can sleep with the most people” challenge instead of thinking about talking to each other is my personal version of hell. There is literally not a piece of that that sounds cute or fun. It only sounds like anxiety and pain. And, guess what? Reading it was also anxiety and pain. The entire first half of this book was just a “how much dread can we make liv feel?” challenge. The answer? Infinite. So, even if I loved the characters (spoilers: I didn’t) this was probably going to be a hard sell for me. Call me old fashioned, but talking about how badly you want to fuck other people is my idea of a bad time.

Despite a plot I didn’t quite connect to, there was still hope as characters are what really make or break a book for me. Unfortunately, the characters are what really broke the book for me.

The first half of the book is from Theo’s pov, a non-binary afab person who is quite literally the worst person you’ve ever met. They are literally a nepo baby with access to so many resources that they REFUSE to use so that they can cosplay being poor, which feels like the biggest middle finger to middle/lower class people. Like how are you going to not use your resources??? Do you not understand how lucky and privileged you are? But, of course, they have a whole complex about this, making them so annoying. Imagine someone with millionaire director parents and millionaire actress sisters coming up to you and complaining about not being able to do their career because they won’t take any money to help with it and they also fuck up all the time. I’m sorry, but there is literally no reason for me to feel sorry for you. Theo feels like the perfect character to have a lot of growth throughout the book because of how insufferable they are, but when they reach their peak shittiness the pov just switches to Kit for the rest of the book and all he does is reassure them that they’re totally not the worst? And then nothing with them gets developed because we are now in the pov of someone who worships the ground they walk on. It’s annoying. I’m annoyed and also refuse to feel sorry for nepo babies when they’re complaining about FINANCES. Get over yourself and talk to daddy. Being in their pov was like watching a continual train wreck and feeling dread and unease 24/7. There were no positives. Well, I'm lying. There was one positive that was almost enough to get me to raise this rating by 0.5 stars: I really love the way that McQuiston portrayed Theo's nonbinary-ness and found myself relating to a lot of their internal monologue about it. It's still rare to find books with nonbinary characters, and therefore even rarer to find ones about characters that you relate to regarding their nonbinary-ness since everyone experiences queerness differently. Even though I really didn't like this, all aspects of queerness here were done really well, and it was nice to relate to a narrator (even if I did hate everything else about them).

The second half is from Kit’s pov, whose only real crime is his god-like worship of Theo. I won’t dwell on him for too long because I really don’t have many feelings about him. His pov was fine in the sense that he was overly horny and literally only thought about this person he was allegedly in love with the in a sexual way or in a way that we, the readers, weren’t really shown. So basically he was a classic romance love interest. I was bored by him but not too offended. The relationship though? I was kind of offended. I just don’t see the value of a relationship that is so defined by sex and lust and I know it’s quite lame of me in a sense but also I just want real, deep feelings and all I got was really horny feelings. This was especially egregious here because of the fact that they allegedly were best friends and had been in a relationship and SOMEHOW barely anything was addressed about it? It was only fond memories and quirky misunderstandings? Like, y’all left each other for a reason and you fought a lot for a reason and it seems like y’all are just avoidant as hell and the exact same stuff will start happening as soon as things aren’t perfect? It just felt so shallow. The entire book was just about being horny or food and wine pairings and the most atrocious avoidant people who spiked my anxiety the entire time. I also hated the smutty scenes more than usual. Before this book, I have never skipped scenes, but this one brought me to my limit and I had to skip pages. My tastes were definitely not aligned with this book. It was definitely not a cute summer read, but also it was my worst nightmare, so that may be a personal thing.

All that to say, I finished this only because it was an arc, and I did have to switch over to an audio version at 3x speed in order to do it, but it also just… wasn’t for me and maybe I should’ve known that.

thank you netgalley for the arc
book is out on August 06, 2024

[rêverie · Rating 2 out of 5]

someone def ghost wrote this cause no way we went from shara wheeler (perfect sapphic romcom in a book) to this (annoying mcs who need to grow tf up)

[chan ☆]

dnf, this was really... not good

[ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25⭐️
oh i LOVED this one!! so summery and loved the bisexual rep. would highly highly recommend !!

[Miranda Reads · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Sometimes I think the only way to keep something forever is to lose it and let it haunt you."

Theo and Kit were supposed to take a whirlwind romantic European food-and-wine tour when they were together...but their relationship crashed and burned.

"A love that’s ended is the only kind I can have, because I can’t possibly lose it."

Unfortunately, the trip could be postponed but after 48 months, the tickets were set to expire...and so the two of them (unwittingly) booked the same trip, a full four years after their relationship ended.

And to prove to each other that they are both totally over the other, they decide to have a hookup contest. Whoever can bang the most people by the end of the trip wins...their dignity?

Anyway, that's the plot. Oh, and Theo is a bartender-and-almost-a-sommelier while Kit does pastry in a French kitchen. They eat and drink wine. A lot.

Ultimately this one reallllllly didn't work for me.

I had a hard time relating to the characters - Theo is uber wealthy thanks to their parents but decides to make it on their own...as a sommelier. I get not wanting to be a nepo baby but at the same time...use the leg up for cripes sake and a sommelier isn't a non-nepo baby career. I think it's a requirement.

Every time Theo complained about life...I'm like "just...use...the...resources...that...you...were...born...with. blahblahblah moral compass whatever. You have money and a decent family, no need to slum life just because."

Furthermore, the relationship between Theo and Kit just felt so off to me - everyone they met thought they were insanely hot and wanted to bang them, and so they did. To me, that isn't very appealing.

I get the vibe that Casey McQuiston was going for was that the main characters are banging everyone but the only real person they want to bang is each other...but with each round of casual sex, I just felt more and more detached from the main relationship. I truly didn't care by the third or fourth round of hookups and by the sixth, I was so numb to it.

And finally... (note: this is (potentially) a personal flaw), I just wasn't rich enough to get the food and wine.

Every time Theo or Kit would go into a long tangent about the afternotes or forenotes or note-notes about the wine, I'm all like: "what does that even mean." I'm not a big wine drinker, so reading a book about a wannabe sommelier probably wasn't a great fit. What is an oakey wine? Or something with a high and low note?

Don't know, don't have enough money to care.

Same goes with the food, they'd wax on about the complexity of flavors and here I am going, "hmm, so it was good? right?"

Maybe if I had more food and wine experience, I could understand and appreciate the book but it also just kinda felt like when you're at a party and people are talking deliberately over your head so you don't get the conversation and wander off.

So this is me...wandering off...to find a better book.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

in the interest of transparency, a story in this book about a wine bottle in fact happened—though with different numbers involved—to my mother, earlier this year, after my grandfather passed away; when I read it in this book I curled up on my bed and cried like a baby, and subsequently my objectivity was what I would call at the mildest "compromised"

but I think this is what threads together the writers I have read who are really systematically built for the art of romance, is the compromise of objectivity. a friend who went to art school told me "beauty is what appeals to the senses". I don't think romance bypasses the intellect, exactly—hell, my favorite romances are meetings of the minds—but I think the logic of romance demands that it be experienced, first and foremost, as beauty is experienced, with the ear, the eye, and the tongue. I think it demands a kind of abandonment of the control that objectivity gives us, that detachment gives us, that abstraction gives us. love is the most regularly and intensely abstracted experience in the world, through cliche and truism and vague declaration and social script, and love is the experience we deal with in the most concrete terms.

McQuiston's books, from RWRB onward, are driven by the consistent philosophy that people deserve to be happy. this sounds very banal and universally held, and you know, I don't think it is. McQuiston writes people who come from a place of claustrophobia, people who are stuck—in palaces, in subway cars, in high school popularity—and they write people who cling fiercely to what hurts in the hopes that the hurt will elevate them: hard work, loneliness, hate. there's an impatience with the idea that suffering is necessary for the human character, and there's a corresponding and reflexive generosity. why leave anything off the table? why leave anyone out of the invitation? why should we obey the part of ourselves that tells us not to indulge—that indulgence is not just capable of being dangerous, shameful, dishonest, illusory, demeaning, weighed down by nostalgia and grief, but that it is these things by definition—when obeying it keeps us from indulging others, too? why should we feel the need to hold ourselves above what makes us happy? what makes us feel that there isn't enough happiness to go around?

a book about love in concrete terms, love in generous terms, love in the most indulgent terms. should also note that every day of my life I am banging on the door of RKO Pictures hollering BRING BACK THE COMEDY OF REMARRIAGE. nobody ever answers the door for some reason but the agenda advances

ETA 2/7/24: seen a number of reviews at this point that say they think Theo in this book is Casey McQuiston's self-insert character, which I've been trying to make sense of one way or the other for a while now, on account of I'm not sure what they have in common—point of origin? occupation? family dynamics? success level of career? general aesthetic? looks? religion, class, disability, clothes, age, mannerisms, hobbies? from the information McQuiston's shared publicly about themselves, no. if anyone can think of something I'm missing, let me know, because pretty much all I'm left with besides that is that they're both white American bisexuals, and all of McQuiston's previous protagonists have been American bisexuals, too, and two have been white, so what's different about Theo besides them being nonbinary?. (I hesitated over that spoiler-tag, but it is shared well into the second half of the book, so I feel like preserving its "reveal" status probably aligns with the book's intentions.)

I'd be surprised if we were facing a sort of "all nonbinary writers, if writing nonbinary characters, must be writing self-inserts" situation, particularly from Casey McQuiston's usual reading demographic, because that seems like a reaction that's pretty straightforwardly sexist—I think we've all run through the understanding that cis men are never, ever accused of this kind of lack of imagination, or this kind of public wish-fulfillment, unless they're very literally New England college professors having affairs with their students writing about New England college professors having affairs with their students. in fact I think that's such common knowledge that I wouldn't bother to add this note, except that that example gets at something I find actually kind of upsetting about this:

is the feeling that Theo's gender makes them a wish-fulfillment self-insert located in the experience of reading the sex scene(s) where Theo discusses the things they like during sex as it relates to their gender, i.e., not being called "good boy/good girl" but "good bottom", etc.? is the understanding that because McQuiston is a nonbinary writer writing about a nonbinary character, we are purposefully reading those sex scenes as clues as to what McQuiston prefers in their own sex life? that's an upsetting prospect. I understand the practice of reading books and having an amused eye as to what the writer's kinks are—again, the proverbial college professor with an affair, or Joss Whedon or Quentin Tarantino or etc—but there's a line between "picking up what he's putting down" and, well, using a nonbinary sex scene by a nonbinary person as a Field Guide To What The Transgenders Are Like In Bed. it's upsetting to me as a trans person when I feel that a real-life trans person's sex life has become an object for amused public speculation, especially with this ha-ha wink-wink know-what-I-mean tone attached, because this happens to trans people frequently and its effects on the trans community are overwhelmingly injurious.

anyway, that's my spiel, and there sure are a lot of "if"s attached to all that, so I'd like there to be another reason that people are saying what they're saying and I hope I can think of what it is

[Ali Lockhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, you will find:
• Most of Western Europe being pansexual and very horny
• Lots of Italian and French food you cannot pronounce
• Miscommunication for days
• A scene with a peach that I did not expect
• Non-binary representation
• Hot Italian men with flowy manes of dark hair
• Chaotic bisexuals (my favorite kind)
• Pure, unadulterated yearning
• The word “fuck” over 200 times
• Barrels and barrels of wine
• I’m serious everyone in this book is insanely horny

[mimi (catching up) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writers should always write about what they know, but look up what they don’t.

I'm not Casey McQuiston’s biggest fan but, if I'm here, that means I somehow believe they and I could meet on common ground - the queerness, but I'm afraid that's it.
This aspect hasn't changed since their first book: being comfortable in your own sexuality and feeling free to explore; it's the thing I love most about their characters.

But it can't be enough.
I could have excused a lot, and I mean A LOT, of wrong details, especially since you can see they come from an American romanticized view of Europe, even if a little research wouldn't have hurt but, essentially, there's no pairing in this story.
From beginning to end this book is only about Theo: their version of how they and Kit broke up, how they felt, how they survived, how they changed, their relationship with their family and being a nepo-baby. And then, when we hear from Kit’s POV, it's still about Theo: how much his heart broke because he missed them, how much he loves them now, how gorgeous they are and always were, how they helped him during the darkest time of his life, and so on.

Some things were just stupid - even the Italian guy couldn’t speak Italian, can you believe it?! -, while others you just have to know them - for example, in Monaco, the biggest yachts don't leave the harbour because it's too much of a risk and labour.
And even if I could close my eyes in front of how much Call Me By Your Name must’ve been an inspiration for the author - with peach and everything -, I can't really empathize with a love story with very little romance, focused on an unlikeable character that always got their way.

↠ 2.5 stars

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

ok...so I'm 75% in and think I'm going to abandon this. This is the first McQuiston that isn't for me. I think this will be a book for many ppl but not me. Trigger warning for alcoholic levels of drinking porn and a kink built around bullying.

There's no plot. It drags and drags, through two people longing for a former relationship, putting each other on pedastals, and then having what I can best describe as obnoxiously horny sex 24/7. There is so much sex and it becomes so incredibly boring and monotonous. They're mean to each other, which I think is their kink, so go off queens, but it's too intimate for me to be comfortable with reading. This review is gonna sound so fucking pearl clutchy in regards to the sex and I swear I'm not but I do have boundaries. GenZ is gonna hate this book, the sex is gratuitously over the top and excessive. I absolutely signed up for queer sex in a McQuiston book but...not this. My approach might have been different if this was clearly marketed as erotica with what's supposed to be Call Me By You Name longing (which is also excessive and doesn't hit.) They're almost 30 but act 21 in both their characters and their horniness. Again, there are going to be readers who absolutely look for this in their books, and no shame to them, but it's not working for me when it's framed as a queer romance, I expect a lot more plot and structure than this. ("But the blurbs says they're sleeping their way across Europe," you say, "you should have known!" I was certainly prepared but not for this. I'm uncomfortable with how embedded this behavior is in both self harm and intentional harm of the other person.) Also, hot take, I'm tired of gay culture being built around and celebrated for sex, especially embedded in masculine energy and approach to sex. But that's a discussion for another day.

They're very obnoxious people, both are entitled, perfect, nepo babies and this book is trying to say "nepo babies are people too!" And, yeah, they are, but they're also incredibly privileged and rich and that removes any literary tension from the story. Like, I don't care that Theo learns their bar-bus-business is going under and they suddenly have credit card bills - so do we all - but they have incredibly wealthy family offering to bail them out, so where is the crisis? The worst thing that has happened to these two is a miscommunication that led to a breakup. And I'm supposed to feel it's incredibly tragic? There's A LOT of telling and not showing of how tragic their breakup was, of how they loved each other and put one another on these incredibly high pedastals. I'm not finishing this because I'm tired of hearing Theo describe the perfection that is Kit again and again as they voyeuristically watch him.

I'm so bored. I'm so bored with all of the sex and the alcohol and the perfect privileged people whose love I can't buy into.

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all]]

Sigh. I don’t normally DNF a book, even if I don’t actually finish it usually its more ADHD brain skipping merrily away to other books. It doesn’t even mean I dislike the book. You ever go to a concert and you’re just like dancing away and the next thing you know you are dancing up towards the front and your friends are long gone behind you and you actually like those friends but the song compels you and you just gotta go? It’s like that.
Here, however.. I gave a big sigh and said…nah.
Maybe Ill try again, maybe not. I was really not vibing with this and Theo crying about being a nepo baby was irritating.

McQuiston is cool, I really love the queer rep and how they've made queer romances into massive best sellers that are fun to put face out in the bookstore and in tons of social media posts. Which, ultimately, is what this one feels like–a book destined to be really instagramable and a good accessory over necessarily one I want to read.
Don’t get me wrong, I love me some love and I love the idea of drinking wine across Europe because that is exactly what I like to do when in Europe (or, lets be real, anywhere) but everyone here was rich and annoying and not just in the way all rich people are inherently annoying. Just get back together and stop sleeping with everyone you see.

[megs_bookrack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kit and Theo were childhood best friends, whose relationship finally blossomed to more as young adults. They were in love, but that was 4-years ago.

After a vicious break-up, in the airport, of all places, Kit and Theo went their separate ways and have been estranged ever since. Until now. Things are about to shake up...



At the time of their break-up, they had a food and wine tour planned, which they subsequently canceled. They couldn't get their money back, but the vouchers were good to use for another 48-months. Separately. Alone.

As the 4-year mark approaches though, it's unsurprising that they'd both come up with the same idea. It's time to cash in the vouchers, and take that tour.

Unfortunately, they don't discover that still think very much alike until they are actually boarding the tour bus. Oh, hello.



Neither one of them has any intentions of giving up the tour though, so it looks like they'll just have to play nice. And play they do, a little hook-up game to prove just how over one another they really are.

I'm sure you can imagine what that entails...



Sadly, The Pairing was a bit of a mixed bag for me. It's a good story, but IMHO, it's not at the level I am used to seeing from McQuiston. This hurts to say.

For me, it lacked the humor I'm used to from them. I wasn't attached to either MC and I didn't care if they ended up together or not. I actually preferred not.



Additionally, the side characters had no real development, and in the past, some of the SC have been my favorites. I know that sounds harsh, I'm not trying to be, but it is the overall feeling I walked away with.

To be fair though, I did like the beginning, I was pulled in fairly quickly, and then I really enjoyed like the last 10%. It was just the in-between bits where I felt bored and like I was struggling to finish.



Both Theo and Kit felt flat for me compared to characters that I have read from McQuiston in the past. I wasn't crazy about the structure they chose either; as in, the way we were given the different perspectives. I would have preferred a more even back-and-forth.

The thing that caused their break-up, I felt like that was resolved around the 65% mark and for me, the whole thing felt wrapped-up at that point. What are we even doing here after that? It was just like a couple fighting versus anything I cared to tune for.

I didn't feel any tension, or real angst after that. And frankly, I do semi-agree with Theo's sister, they do seem to intentionally make their lives harder, especially when it came to Kit!



That's all well and good though. I don't need to agree with a character's actions or decisions, but I don't want to be bored while I'm trying to figure out where they are going with their choices. Theo was frustrating.

The sex competition was fun at first, but then it just started to feel repetitive as time went on. Nothing really beat the couple themselves hooking up though when it came to repetitive. It just felt like the same thing over and over, just in a different place. Stale.

Honestly, I was so ready for this to be over and felt more relieved than anything when it was done. Although, I will say, I did think it had a lovely ending.



At the end of the day, while McQuiston will continue to be a must-read author for me, I'm NGL, this was a little disappointing and definitely my least favorite of their work.

I've read other reviews though, and know that a lot of Readers are LOVING it. So, just because it didn't work for me, doesn't mean it won't work for you. If it sounds interesting, give it a go.



Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin's Griffin, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I'm excited to see what McQuiston serves us next!

[Jamie Canaves · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. I will only ever refer to this book as Sluts Across Europe.

2. It’s hands down my favorite McQuiston book.

There is so much in this book that on paper (I know it’s a book on paper) shouldn’t work as a romance novel but it does. It really does. While I’ve loved all of McQuiston’s novels (in different degrees, but still ultimately loved) for some reason, which I’ve never been able to pin down, it’s always taken me time to get fully invested in them. And the endings have made up for that. This time I was invested from the very opening. I was deeply invested. I won’t go into details because part of the enjoyment for me was going along for the ride as each part unfolded but I am convinced that the reason this worked so well has to be that McQuiston deeply loved these two characters so much that through all their faults you never doubt the love nor the kindness.

[Star · Rating 1 out of 5]

Content warnings: alcohol consumption (a lot, it is a 'food and wine' tour, so this features heavily in the book), sexual scenes and situations, miscommunication, blood/blood noses.

Rep: Theo (MC) is white, bisexual, and non-binary, Kit (MC) is cis, white, and bisexual. Side queer characters.

It pains me more than anyone would ever know to say I did not like this book.



This book was my most anticipated for 2024. If you spoke to literally anyone I know, they'd tell you how excited I was for this book. But this book let me down.

I woke up at 3am the other night, and my brain decided to fixate on why I didn't like it, and the simplest answer is that this book has no heart to it.
With CMQ's other books, there is an amazing cast of characters, there are main characters that have captivating, full personalities and love interests that have incredible chemistry with the MC. This book had none of that to me.

The plot was lacking, there are no side characters worth noting, the main characters have zero chemistry, and I honestly didn't care if they ended up back together or not. They were the opposite of everything I've come to expect from a CMQ novel, and this breaks my fucking heart to write.

Literally the only scene in this whole book that had any heart to it was the scene where Theo says to Kit they're non-binary and Kit says that Theo is bigger than gender. It was a touching scene, and the only time I smiled in the whole book.


Also, the fact that CMQ did copious amounts of research for this book regarding alcohol and the location of the book but couldn't be bothered to google "are koalas called koala bears or just koalas" is something, as an Aussie, I will never forgive. Koalas aren't bears, they're marsupials. This may seem petty to you, but if you're going to spend that much time researching something for a book, you may as well google that - it takes less than three seconds.

The only reason I'm not giving it 1 stars is because there are other books out there that I hate more, so that's a plus for this one.

But you won't see me recommending it to anyone. Sure other people will probably love it - I seen some reviews saying this is CMQ's best book yet, so there you go! You may love it! I, however, did not.

[lexie · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was…the most unique book i think i’ve read so far, at least in the romance genre. idek if this can even be called a romance because at the end of the day is wasn’t very romantic at all.

theo, (who, to clear up confusion i’ve already seen, is nonbinary) and kit spend half the book fucking other people- as was in the book description- but that sucks?! and it hurts??? very badly!!! no romance there. and the other half of the book i shit you not was about different food descriptions (which made me hungry), sexual paintings, sexual innuendos, threesomes, and navigating sexual acts. so i mean if that’s your cup of tea kudos to you and this is perfect for ya! i can’t say i’ll think about this book again to be so honest

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prepare to be swept off your feet and taken on a rollercoaster ride of emotions with "The Pairing" by Casey McQuiston. This book is an absolute gem, filled to the brim with humor, sensuality, and an abundance of pop culture references that will leave you grinning from ear to ear.

From the moment I delved into its pages, I was completely captivated by McQuiston's trademark wit and charm. They have a knack for creating characters that feel incredibly real and relatable, and in "The Pairing," they have truly outdone themselves. Theo and Kit, our lovable protagonists, stole my heart with their quirks, flaws, and undeniable chemistry.

McQuiston masterfully weaved together a tapestry of themes, including found family self-sabotage and childhood friendship, adding layers of depth and complexity to the story. And let's not forget the incredible representation of bisexual and non-binary characters, which is portrayed with authenticity and care.

One of the highlights of this book is the dual POVs. Getting to see the world through Theo and Kit's eyes was an absolute treat. From Theo's feelings of displacement to Kit's journey of self-discovery, every chapter felt like a revelation, pulling me deeper and deeper into their captivating story.

And oh, the plot! "The Pairing" follows the story of Theo, a sommelier, and Kit, a pastry chef, whose paths cross once again when they embark on a vacation they had planned together years ago. What ensues is a delightful blend of romance, rivalry, and self-discovery as they navigate the ups and downs of their past relationship while trying to outdo each other in a culinary competition. Their journey is filled with twists and turns, laughter and tears, and enough delicious treats to make your mouth water.

I adored every moment of "The Pairing" and found myself completely swept away by its beautifully crafted imagery of Europe. Casey McQuiston's writing is effortless and immersive, making it impossible to put this book down.

"The Pairing" is a deliciously stunning read that will leave you craving more. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone in search of a heartwarming romance filled with laughter, love, and plenty of delicious treats. Trust me, you won't be able to resist falling head over heels for Theo and Kit's enchanting journey.

[Chelsea Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

ONE BILLION STARS!!!⭐️

Holy shit I’m going to need to catch my breath real quick. This book was so horny, and yet, so romantic. This book was gluttonous in the best way. Bright colors, big feels, mouth watering food/drinks, stunning sights, so, so, SO GAY, and did I mention big feels? The hate, the lust, the LONGING! THE LOVE!!!
God this book was so beautifully crafted. Not a. Single. Flaw.

[Monte Price · Rating 1 out of 5]

Foolishly I decided to vlog this experience so when I get around to editing that footage into something that won't ruin the book before its publication date I'll edit that in.

As for my actual thoughts on this book, I think it's McQuiston's worst book to date. At least that I've read, so Ms Shara Wheeler is safe for now. In some ways I'm not surprised since their sophomore outing, One Last Stop, was almost painfully not for me. While my re-read of Red, White & Royal Blue happened months before I ever requested a copy of this I think I might have still had some lingering goodwill, hoping that the third time could be the charm and even something of a return to form for McQuiston as an author.

This is the story of Kit and Theo. It's important that you know these two were lifelong friends that dated seriously for roughly a year. Four years before the start of the book the couple flew to London to embark on a European food and wine tour only they got in a fight on the plane and when they landed they went their separate ways. Kit went to Paris and Theo booked the next flight back home to California. [ I'll save my nitpicky thoughts on the way SoCal was represented because in the grand scheme of life it's not that important, but I will die on the hill that no one in Southern California would talk about the Coachella Valley or the greater Palm Springs area as simply "the Valley"... that's just not how anyone would ever talk. ]

Time heals all wounds and so with the voucher for the missed tour set to expire Theo [and Kit] each decide that this is the year that they'll cash in the voucher and make the most of that missed food and wine vacation. Of course this leads to an awkward moment where our leads are reconnecting after all these years apart and Theo decides to tell some white lies as to have Kit be impressed with what they've been up to in the intervening years since the last time they were together. Eventually these two strike up a bet about how many people can have the most hookups on the tour because why not and the story is off to the races.

The early leg of the tour is in France and so we spend a lot of time meeting characters that Kit has some kind of relationship with; seeing their life fleshed out in a way that the few chapters we spent back with Theo in Palm Springs never received. If anything that should have been an initial warning of things to come yet I somehow managed to ignore those red flags and kept chugging along. This book is eventually dual POV, but both are told from a first person perspective and it's a pain to be in both of their heads. It's quickly apparent that Theo is still hung up on Kit. It's the kind of second chance romance that feels more like it was the right person and the right time but that fight was so catastrophic that it's what our characters need to resolve in order to move on.

Spoiler alert, even that was an incorrect assumption on my part.

You'd think that as this was a group tour of Europe some of the other people on this tour would factor in more. Especially given the reader is meant to think that Kit and Theo aren't all too thrilled to be spending all this time together. While the other people are named, and the ultimate goal of the sex bet is to seduce the head guide, the people on the tour have nothing to do. Instead we get a series of characters that only exist in each city to be sex objects for our leads though some of them just exist to be presumed sex objects and don't even get to have an orgasm as the hook up is completely staged. Instead Kit and Theo spend almost every page of the book together despite this idea they've been avoiding one another all these years and that initial meeting was super award for the pair of them.

Oh, and that fight that broke them up all those years ago? The fallout from that fight is quickly explained thirty percent into the book. So almost immediately it feels like we have no reason to have these characters not get together then and just cut our losses, why keep up the charade of them only being interested in a quasi friendship as they sleep their way through Europe when we could just cut to the chase a little early.

Instead the book continues on its slow pace, eventually swapping over to Kit's head halfway through. Normally I'm a proponent of dual POVs, but when both characters are on the same page mentally and are practically attached at the hip for the entire story I do think that the case for including both perspectives does become a little harder. Since both are pitiful we really should be cutting our darlings. As much as I hated being stuck in Theo's perspective they just had more to offer. So much of the conversation around identity and gender came when we were in Kit's head and so much of it just felt gross? I'm cis so I'm really not the one to call it out, but Kit was having some weird thoughts that never felt like they were being articulated in a way that I think they were meant to be come across? At least for me they didn't.

As for the fight that happened? We do eventually get to learn what it was all about at around the eight percent mark. That combined with the foolishness of the fallout it definitely wasn't something that needed four years to move on from. The end of the book sets up the characters to be in a similar place to where they were when that had that argument but now they've grown as people so they can almost do it all over again and have different outcomes. It feels like something that should be applauded for the literary merit of it all, but honestly it really just felt like a story that didn't need to be told. If the whole book could just not exist if two people had a conversation four years before the story began is there really a story to tell?

So much of the forward momentum of the book feels like it should be based in the reader being invested in the wager our leads make, but it's just not something I cared about. It was so clear from the beginning that none of these people that were being used as a one night stand were going to be fleshed out and neither were any of the characters that hung around the periphery. For as much time as we spent in Kit and Theo's heads and saw their memories of the past and how they were tying those memories to ones being forged in the present, they still felt like entirely flat entities and not fully realized individuals. Though maybe their continuous geographic fuck ps of life in SoCal might have prevented me from really investing.

As sad as One Last Stop might have been for me, at least over there you had side characters so fleshed out they were continuously pulling focus and a lead character trying to defy the laws of physics to be with their love interest. Here we had no conflict for over four hundred pages for people that never really had a reason to be broken up in the first place. It reads like a series of contrivances because that's all it will ever be. At no point did the narrative actually try and be a story that a reader could really invest themselves in.

[Jillian B · Rating 4 out of 5]

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!

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oof, quite a few of these reviews aren't passing the vibe check. Unfortunately, I'm not surprised that a lot of people took issue with a very queer book that was also a very slutty romance novel, but hey, I guess some readers need to look inward at their own puritanical views of sex and problematic notions of what constitutes a "proper" romance novel — and read more self-published romance and fanfiction. (The pearl-clutching would border on comical if it weren't a harbinger of much more dismal societal trends.)

I've talked in the past about how certain big romance releases move the genre forward even if they aren't "liked" or understood at large or discussed in the same way as what's already on the market. A prime recent example of this is Akwaeke Emezi's 2022 book You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty, which broke a lot of people's brains as far as not following typical mainstream romance conventions.

I believe The Pairing will eventually fall into a similar category. I enjoyed it (Casey McQuiston's banter is always *chef's kiss*) but think there are some solid critiques around pacing and repetitiveness, which is par for the course with a lot of travel-related romance novels. That said, I'm excited that this book is out there and offering something different as far as traditionally published queer love stories. Hey, sometimes people are slutty!!!

[luce (cry bebè's back from hiatus)]

It's-a me, Luce, and-a welcome to my review! Bellissimo!

I wasn't a fan of Mcquiston's previous books (I only managed to finish Red, White & Royal Blue, which was childish, even by romcom standards) but I decided to give their latest novel a chance. However, within just a few pages, I found myself cringing at their humor (dildos...ah-ah) and their portrayal of places outside of America (that whole pub scene in London...why?)...it's giving Emily in Paris.
Mcquiston writing once again delivers some serious wattpad vibes, or the kind of character interactions and scenarios that would not be out of place in a romance movie of the netflix original variety.

The introduction of the Italian tour guide sealed my dislike for this book. His welcome: "Ah! The last two! Meraviglioso!" It's the same tired caricature of an Anglo-American's perception of an Italian, which is an amalgamation of clichés based on men from Rome or Naples (who are often portrayed as loud, boisterous, charming, handsy even). Imagine someone from northern italy or from a small southern town, working with or for a British company, greeting clients with a 'meraviglioso!'. Ridiculous, right? He also says "Ciao bella" to Theo because of course he fucking does.

And don't get me started on the cheek-kissing... Americans have misunderstood this whole kissing cheeks greeting. Depending on where you are in Italy, you might do it with family, friends, and depending on the setting, with friends of friends or when your friends are introducing you to someone or whatever. The Italians who work in Britain or with a British/non-Italian clientele wouldn't pull this.

It's frustrating how this Fabrizio character, despite his fluency in English, can't seem to resist sprinkling in Italian phrases/words like 'meraviglioso,' 'ciao,' 'grazie mille,' etc. It feels lazy and perpetuates a shallow stereotype. Frankly, it comes across as puerile, so much so that I doubt whether I'll bother finishing this book. Unless it's revealed later on that Fabrizio isn't actually Italian or is just playing up to the expectations of non-Italians (performing his own Italianness, so to speak), this portrayal is just lazy.

I don't care if you want to make fun of Italy and Italians, go for it. All I ask, is that you be clever, witty even, about it. Don't resort to such tired clichés, which are so unimaginative & unfunny that they could have been generated by AI.

Anyway, YMMV, so if you are the kind of reader who likes Emily in Paris chances are this book will be up your street.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed review from me this time. I've previously enjoyed many of the author's books. Mostly, I struggled through this one. Premise was good. Characters as individuals without some of their obsessions had merit to a degree. Yet the thing I focus on is how non-stop sexual they were... both Kit and Theo were obsessed with one-upping each other, and every person they met was hot, horny, and bisexual. This was really less about proving how they'd grown up in the years since their relationship ended and more about how many times you can nail a stranger in Europe. I skimmed so many scenes because it was the same thing over and over again. Had it been 30% shorter, a few of the supporting cast would have stood out, and I would be cool with each having 2-3 hookups over the course of 3 weeks on tour in Europe. Unfortunately, I felt the repeat button happening too often, and in the end, I didn't really care if they got back together. All that said, the progression of feelings, the description of food/wine, some of the sex scenes, were appealing. I'll still read more from the author but hoping the characters and plot have more substance.

[Lance]

NEW CASEY MCQUISTON??? SOUND THE ALARM, LOVE IS REAL AGAIN!!!

[Aleee (libroslibroslibros) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spanish review: Leí este libro antes gracias a el ARC de @bookupmx y ¡QUE JOYA! Tenemos a dos ex's que se reencuentran después de unos años de no verse. Les seguimos en su tour de vinos con una pequeña competencia por ahí. Es una historia que se siente súper fresca, aprendí y disfruté muchísimo. Casey nos ha dicho que este es su libro más spicy y TOTALMENTE lo es. He leído miles de historias con representación LGBTQ+, pero hasta ahora ninguna se había sentido como esta y por eso ame todo🩷

English review: I got this ARC thanks to @bookupmx and IT’S AMAZING! This is the story about tow ex’s, they reunite after a couple years of not seeing each other. We follow them in a wine tour and a little competition they have going on. This story feels super fresh and I learned a lot about it, I really enjoyed. Casey has told us that this is their spiciest book and IT TOTALLY IS. I have read a hundred books with LGBTQ+ rep, but never something like this and that is why I loved it🧡

[BJ Lillis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t like wine. I spent years, in my twenties, trying to taste what everyone else seemed to taste, but though every once in a while it almost clicked—a very dry red wine on a very good Valentine’s day date with a very beautiful Valentine’s day date, a spicy-smooth bottle of Madeira (though does fortified wine even count?)—ultimately, I was wasting my time. The problem, I finally decided, is that when other people drink wine, they taste something more than overwhelming bitterness. Something subtle. Something much less like salad dressing. I say all this, because if I had even just a mild appreciation for wine, it is possible that I would have enjoyed this novel far more. It feels like an important caveat.

Casey McQuiston is a great writer. They have a way of taking a sentence where you don’t expect it that often makes me smile and sometimes makes me laugh out loud; a way of getting inside their characters so that they feel larger than life, but also like someone you used to know. And thank God they do, because frankly, just about the only thing this book has going for it is that Casey McQuiston wrote it. Two gorgeous, rich, basically insufferable 28-year-old kids on a three week luxury food and wine tour across Southern Europe. I think I would like them if they were my friends—their enthusiasm, their humor—but they're not my friends, they're characters in a novel, and I spent way too much of this book skimming endless pretentious conversations about wine and pastries and wishing they would, you know, shut up.

We see almost nothing of France, Spain, or Italy you wouldn’t see from a tour bus. Which, to be fair, is absolutely logical and realistic—but compared to what an observant author is capable of showing of a place, also utterly impoverished. When, in the second half, one of our leads starts reflexively quoting Rilke, it is almost a relief—at last, something like substantive engagement with human culture, a book actually read and loved and internalized, to enliven the never-ending parade of paintings and churches. That said, I settled in after a while, accepted the tour and novel for what they are: decadent, indulgent, shallow, capitalist, and basically realistic (if we set aside the ease with which threesomes seem to arrange themselves, at least).

No, the problem at the novel’s heart, for me, lies in the relationship, not the setting. Here, too, Casey McQuiston proves themself an exquisitely good author, equally adept at heartfelt conversations, unvoiced soliloquies, and raw, vulnerable, pleasurable sex (there’s a sex scene towards the end good enough to justify reading the book all on its own, honestly). But—and what follows could be construed as a spoiler, though I don’t think I ever really doubted it—our leads love each other on page one. They have always loved each other. They always will. Which means, in the novel, on the tour, they’re not falling in love, they’re miscommunicating. In three countries. By the end, I was more or less persuaded that their extraordinary sexual chemistry alone was grounds enough for marriage, but I spent much of the novel fending off the suspicion that they would really be better off if they just got over each other.

Four stars because almost everything I dislike about this book is contained in its premise, and honestly it’s so well executed on its own terms that I should probably be giving it five—but if I rated books based solely on how I feel about them in my heart, it might be closer to two.

[laurel [the suspected bibliophile] · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book can be summed up by Chappell Roan: "Knee deep in the passenger seat and you're eating me out. Is it casual now?"

Further review withheld in solidarity with the SMP boycott.

I received an ARC from NetGalley

[Becca Freeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have discovered the PERFECT vacation read. Frankly, I’m furious it doesn’t come out until August. (Anyone traveling before then… you should probably move your trip or book another one, because this book is that good). McQuiston’s latest follows two exes who accidentally end up on the same food and wine tour through France, Spain, and Italy. The descriptions of the settings are lush, the ones of food and wine even more decadent, and the sex scenes—god, this book is SO HORNY—most sumptuous of all. The format of tour stops makes the book easy to pick up and put down without feeling lost, but it still has enough deeper thematic content around gender identity and worthiness to lend substance. A+, cannot recommend this highly enough.