The Pairing

Did not enjoy

I don't know if I'm hungry, horny, or highly in need of updating my passport

DNF at page 272. It's never a good thing when I start writing the review in my head before I'm even finished with a book.

Last night Matt asked me how my book was. “Horny and pretentious,” I said. The sex dare wasn't fun. There's so much description of Kit and Theo being each other's One True Love, and yet they spend so much time trying to screw anything else that moves, sometimes together, sometimes on their own, but always for show to try to one-up each other. Not in a fun way. In an I-wish-I-were-with-you-instead way. It was like a game of Who's More Over Whom chicken, except they were both really bad at it.

On top of that, they're on a food and wine tour through Europe, sure. The tour guide and some of the other people on their tour were fun to hang out with, and at the beginning I enjoyed some of the descriptions of what they're trying. But it got tedious around the sixth or seventh location. Theo and Kit themselves are insufferable, and I'm sorry - I have a hard time being super invested in other people's travels if the stories aren't good, and I don't find pages about Kit wandering through art museums or Theo describing wine notes to be interesting at all.

I waited

Chaotic bisexuals being chaotic.
Theo annoyed me at times but I feel like was intentional but I think they fit on my nerves a bit too much and I preferred kits pov. FYI don't read when your hungry 

reading about all the food and drink in this made me soooo hungry.
honestly, i liked it more than i thought i was going to. loved the dual pov choice. i always feel like that is missing when reading a first-person romance.

also got the litjoy hardcover edition and the art + spine is sooo pretty

Pairs well with readers who like:Exes whose OTP romance ended abruptly because of poor communication, one bonehead error, and a LOT of mistaken assumptionsSex scenes between the MCs and other people as part of a fcking (literally) contestA “poor little rich girl” MC who refuses any and all help from her wealthy, famous family members*Detailed descriptions of Western European food, wine, scenery, and artUnfortunately, I don't like any of these things. I'm glad to see Casey McQuiston getting mainstream attention for their fourth novel (write-up in New York Times, reviews on trendy pop culture sites), but they have alienated some of the earliest ride-or-die fans who made [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] a surprise bestseller. I will approach their next release with caution.

Thanks to the publisher and Libro.fm for the alc!

If you can accept from the beginning that all characters are privileged, able-bodied, beautiful people who are down for just about anything, then this is an enjoyable read. I liked how the narration was split in half between the two mcs. I enjoyed all the tidbits about food and wine. Fun, contemporary queer romance.

Even though I couldn't relate to these characters, I liked reading this story a lot. Kit and Theo are fully developed as characters individually, making my desire to root for them stronger. This is basically a second chance romance where these two childhood friends reconnect after a falling out. Now, was this falling out completely centered around miscommunication? Yes. But did it diminish my enjoyment of seeing them come back together? Absolutely not.

I read this as an audiobook and really enjoyed both narrators on top of the small sections of music tha accompanied each of the pairings. I can't comment on how good the pronunciation is of the French and Italian words, but the Spanish was quite good. I'll admit when someone goes too hard on the pronunciation of foreign words when speaking English, I do cringe a little bit, but that could just be a me thing. Nonetheless, I am so happy I read this as an audiobook! I had already preordered the physical book, but the audiobook is a great way to go for this story.

Theo and Kit definitely tasted a lot of wine, food, and local residents during this tour, making reading this book an experience that you feel with more than one sense. There were a lot of sex scenes, but they are all affective at being hot. I loved seeing these two bi icons whore around Europe while falling back in love with each other! It was funny, sexy, and understatedly sweet!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy of this audiobook.

4.5

crying screaming throwing up lord i can't wait until this comes out and i can throw it at everyone i love