I loved this book, as well as McQuiston’s other work.5/5 stars, I really enjoyed the plot, characters, and how everything unfolded.

I can't believe I waited so long to read this! I adore Kit and Theo, I adore the setting of a European wine and food tour, I adore the other characters, coach passengers and tour guide, I just love everything! No faults, perfection!

I didn't really enjoy this and couldn't get into it at all.
I love her other works but this one just fell sort 9f flat and didn't draw me in

Having read Casey McQuiston’s other novels which were hit and miss for me, The Pairing felt like a last grasp chance to work out of this author is for me. Sadly the answer is not. It was slow and boring and just felt like writing by numbers.

2/5 – Fell Flat
I really wanted to love The Pairing, but I struggled to connect with the characters. The emotional depth and spark just weren’t there for me this time. Disappointing after McQuiston’s earlier hits.

I lived the premise of this on - disaster bisexuals on a road trip - and the food descriptions were a definite selling point, but untimely the book didn't work for me. The miscommunication/second chance romance tropes felt too extreme so it became irritating, and by the end the story just felt like it was becoming a bit repetitive. A shame, becuase I've enough McQuiston in the past.

I'm not a big fan of second chance romances and that was the case with this book as well. I felt the relationship building was lacking, too much of it occuring in the past or off page. There wasn't a lot of substance and I found it somewhat boring.

1.5/5 stars! Listen; RWARB is one of my favorite books of all time. I have read it at least a dozen times and Alex and Henry own my entire heart. I was really hopeful for this book. But it went beyond fiction to just utterly absurd and I almost didn't make it through it. Why does EVERYONE in Europe wanna f*ck them? Like they sound cute or whatever but EVERYONE!?!?! Maybe I'm just extra undesirable (haha) but I lived in Europe for 3 years and it is not like that. Additionally, Theo never does anything the entire book but complain. The most unlikable character.

I found this book boring in places, it was just too long. I much preferred Kits pov than Theos and would have happily read the book just from Kits side, the travel and good writing was fine at the start but it got old quickly and I was skipping big chuncks just to get to the actual story!

I so wanted to love this book, It was on of my most anticipated reads because Casey McQuiston has been an auto-read/buy author for me for absolute years but I just could not get into it. I didn’t enjoy the characters; I preferred Kit over Theo and so the first half of the book was not fun for me to read, Kit’s POV was only slightly better. It really just felt like new city, more booze & more hookups which personally just isn’t what I look for or enjoy in a book.

Maybe I just wasn’t the audience for this book either is okay, even though I didn’t enjoy it doesn’t mean that others won’t and I’m still e cited to see more from McQuiston.

I so wanted to love this like I have her other books, but it fell short for me. It all just didnt work, too much of everything, hookups, charming food, wine and it just sucked the charactures away.

I think we’re all aware that I ADORED Red, White and Royal Blue, so it’s safe to say this was a highly anticipated read for me!

While I did have a lot of fun with it, it didn’t quite capture my attention as much and I did find myself pushing through to the end.

Don’t get me wrong, initially I was HOOKED and sped my way through a massive chunk of it! I think it was a combination of the humour, the brilliant rep and the tension between Theo and Kit that lured me in the most tbh 😅

BUT the mystery of what went down between them also played a role! I wanted to know how they became exes like I was desperate for the tea and I have to say I was a little disappointed to discover it was all down to miscommunication and not in a good way.

I think after that I felt a little let down and then started to lose interest a bit, HOWEVER! I did enjoy that you got both sides of the story and both POVs so you got a more fair view of everything, if that makes sense? 😅

I’m ngl, I was also living for the descriptions of all the food and wine and Europe when it’s not freezing cold 🤣

It genuinely made me hungry even though I’m not much of a foodie myself and I love how the language and descriptions that Theo and Kit used reflected their respective professions!

Ultimately, I did enjoy myself and giggled a fair bit at the pair’s antics. I also loved their journey to figuring themselves out as well as how to love themselves and others, in a way!

I’m just not the biggest fan of the miscommunication trope and in this case it was a bit of a let down although I do recognise it’s part of their journey to growing!

This is definitely a case of right book, wrong time for me. Or it was initially.

I started reading The Pairing in like summer of 2024… and then my reading slump hit. And I just felt like I wasn’t connecting, I wasn’t hooked, and I was sure jt was going to be a flop for me.

So I left it, and then started the audiobook this year. Right book, right time. Maybe it was the change in media, maybe it was the change in me, but this book was perfect.

I fell so in love with both Theo and Kit, both flawed and messed and trying their goddamn best. The flashbacks, the change of point of view, all of this meant you could really get to know both characters, but also see both characters from the perspective of someone who utterly adores them and it was so perfect.

Each location visited in the book came so alive, that I both felt I was travelling across Europe on the summer while simultaneously yearning to be there. The food descriptions, and the way Theo and Kit approached food and drink and ingredients was so fun and really brought me into the book on another level.

I adored it. I’ll be thinking about it for a long time yet.

This was everything I wanted in a book... beautiful prose poetically describing of two of my favourite things (European cities and food), a badass and painfully relatable protagonist in Theo, and SO MUCH QUEER YEARNING. I could (and probably will) devour this book over and over again.

"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."

I really enjoyed this. The relationship between the two amidst the incredible European background and with all of that amazing food was excellent. While the sex scenes involved things that were very new to me to say the least (and I am by no means a prude), it was interesting reading and learning about the sexuality and sex of others.

I didn't enjoy this as much as the other books I have read by the same author though, as the characters were not as likeable as individuals for some reason. They weren't bad but I couldn't warm to them as much.

An immersive, engaging story that will make you root for the couple, as well as make you extremely hungry.

The Pairing by Casey McQuiston

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

Theo and Kit have been a lot of things: childhood best friends, crushes, in love, and now estranged exes. After a brutal breakup on the transatlantic flight to their dream European food and wine tour, they exited each other's lives once and for all.

Time apart has done them good. Theo has found confidence as a hustling bartender by night and aspiring sommelier by day, with a long roster of casual lovers. Kit, who never returned to America, graduated as the reigning sex god of his pastry school class and now bakes at one of the finest restaurants in Paris. Sure, nothing really compares to what they had, and life stretches out long and lonely ahead of them, but—yeah. It's in the past.

All that remains is the unused voucher for the European tour that never happened, good for 48 months after its original date and about to expire. Four years later, it seems like a great idea to finally take the trip. Solo. Separately.

It's not until they board the tour bus that they discover they've both accidentally had the exact same idea, and now they're trapped with each other for three weeks of stunning views, luscious flavors, and the most romantic cities of France, Spain, and Italy. It's fine. There's nothing left between them. So much nothing that, when Theo suggests a friendly wager to see who can sleep with their hot Italian tour guide first, Kit is totally game. And why stop there? Why not a full-on European hookup competition?

My Opinion

I have read and enjoyed a few books by Casey McQuiston and so I have been looking forward to reading The Pairing. Casey has written a great second chance romance. The Pairing has had mixed reviews but if you have previously read a book by Casey McQuiston, you will know what to expect. Theo and Kit are both likeable characters – join them on their tour of European wine.

Rating 4/5

God i loved this book so much! I'm a CMQ fan overall but this was my fave so far, i consumed it in one go and love these characters so much!
Such a fun summer read!

Loved the characters and the storyline and I was massively rooting for the characters. I loved the POV shift too

(Apologies for the short reviews, I've not been well and hope to revisit these titles soon)

Casey McQuiston just has something special, and The Pairing is no exception. Beautiful, real characters, so many feelings and stunning rep all wrapped up in a brilliant story.

3.5 stars rounded up. I feel like parts of this didn't quite work for me, but that might partly be due to the fact that I am European and some of the descriptions of the European tour element didn't ring quite true to me, but that could just be because I've never done that kind of guided tour experience!

I do love Casey McQuistons writing style, their ability to write yearning and realistic messy relationships is unparalleled and I will continue to read anything they write. Also I respect their willingness to write somewhat unlikeable characters as well, while I liked Kit and Theo I can see where others will not or where they will find them irritating. Also appreciate that not one of their stories so far has felt the same, this one in particular feels different perhaps because the characters are older and are already exes, so it doesn't have that first love feel as their other books.

Recommended to those who are looking for a emotionally messy adult romance, second chance romance, or just romance while travelling through Europe in general.