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A review by shannonohannessian
The Pairing by Casey McQuiston
4.0
Theo and Kit's relationship comes to a dramatic halt when they break up on the plane to their dream romantic European food and wine tour. Childhood friends turned lovers, they cut ties and are left with the option to rebook their vacation at a later date. Four years later, Theo finally decides it's time to take that tour, only to arrive and realize Kit has had the same idea...
For the first few chapters of this book, I was worried. I loved McQuiston's, [b:Red, White & Royal Blue|41150487|Red, White & Royal Blue|Casey McQuiston|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1566742512l/41150487._SY75_.jpg|61657690], however some of their other books have fallen a little flat for me. I don't typically love a romance involving exes, and it took a minute for me to get invested. The perspectives felt slightly disjointed to me, with one half of the book in Theo's perspective and the other half in Kit's. First, we see the beginning of their relationship from Theo's POV, then the end, then the first half of the tour. Then halfway through, in the middle of the tour, we switch to hear Kit's POV of the beginning of the relationship, the end, then pick back up in the middle of the tour. I see what McQuiston was going for, but I think alternating chapters would have been a little more effective as it took me out of the story a bit to be halfway through the tour, only to go back to the beginning of their relationship.
I also just enjoyed just Kit's perspective infinitely more than Theo's. The first half was 3 stars to me, but Kit's perspective took my rating up to 4 stars. This is a book that really sneaks up on you! I ended up enjoying it so much more than I originally expected and was honestly touched by the end. Somewhere along the way, I became so invested in the love story. [b:The Pairing|199440249|The Pairing|Casey McQuiston|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1705592447l/199440249._SY75_.jpg|203780474] is a book full of yearning, decadent descriptions of food, an unmistakable summer feeling, and so much humanity. It is one I will definitely continue to think about as time goes on.
And as always, I adore a book with representation and love to see something new from McQuiston with two bisexual main characters and nonbinary representation!
The Pairing comes out August 6th, 2024. Thank you to NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.
For the first few chapters of this book, I was worried. I loved McQuiston's, [b:Red, White & Royal Blue|41150487|Red, White & Royal Blue|Casey McQuiston|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1566742512l/41150487._SY75_.jpg|61657690], however some of their other books have fallen a little flat for me. I don't typically love a romance involving exes, and it took a minute for me to get invested. The perspectives felt slightly disjointed to me, with one half of the book in Theo's perspective and the other half in Kit's. First, we see the beginning of their relationship from Theo's POV, then the end, then the first half of the tour. Then halfway through, in the middle of the tour, we switch to hear Kit's POV of the beginning of the relationship, the end, then pick back up in the middle of the tour. I see what McQuiston was going for, but I think alternating chapters would have been a little more effective as it took me out of the story a bit to be halfway through the tour, only to go back to the beginning of their relationship.
I also just enjoyed just Kit's perspective infinitely more than Theo's. The first half was 3 stars to me, but Kit's perspective took my rating up to 4 stars. This is a book that really sneaks up on you! I ended up enjoying it so much more than I originally expected and was honestly touched by the end. Somewhere along the way, I became so invested in the love story. [b:The Pairing|199440249|The Pairing|Casey McQuiston|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1705592447l/199440249._SY75_.jpg|203780474] is a book full of yearning, decadent descriptions of food, an unmistakable summer feeling, and so much humanity. It is one I will definitely continue to think about as time goes on.
And as always, I adore a book with representation and love to see something new from McQuiston with two bisexual main characters and nonbinary representation!
The Pairing comes out August 6th, 2024. Thank you to NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.