Reviews with content warning for Car accident - One Last Stop

This was so lighthearted and warm and fuzzy and adorable, I loved it from the first to the last page. I am so happy to read about a character I can identitfy with, namely a bisexual who is struggling their way through university, lives in shared apartments and is reliant on a side-job. I can barely think of other narratives that I have read so far depicting queer characters that are not either in highschool or in their mid-thirties and I am so so happy to finally find narratives that depict the stage of life I find myself in.

The paranormal elements were plotted so well and fun. (Even though I found many plot revelations to be very foreseeable because McQuinston placed foreshadowing hints regularly and it felt a little obvious how those were left hanging in the air, even though it would have absolutely made sense to answer the obvious questions following these hints or for the characters to ask these questions at least.)

This is a little all over the place. Altogether, One Last Stop made me feel a whole lot of things. How the different characters from the flat/ house form a community, how the love between August and Jane develops and the many, many lovely (queer) events and parties they go to. It created a certain ache in my heart for this kind of community that I crave so bad. And McQuinston wrote these people and their interactions so well that I'd just love to live in the same house with them, honestly.

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merle_bookdragon's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I am sitting here, struggling with words outside of "it was just SO good," because honestly, it was. I was a little scared going into it because I LOVED RW&RB and sometimes second books from authors I loved disappoint me but oh MAN this did NOT disappoint.

This review will contain spoilers.

I went into this with a very vague idea of the blurb being "girl meets other girl on subway and falls in love" so let me tell you I was surprised when suddenly there was time travel involved? Or time ... jumps? Blips? I don't know what to call it. Anyway, I was NOT expecting this fantastical/magical/sc-ifi element? However, I really enjoyed it because it gave the narrative a nice frame to exist in and also guaranteed to a certain degree that the story would progress because they were on a time grind.

Found family is my absolute favorite trope maybe EVER so of course I loved August, Myla, Niko, and Wes' flat family, then adding Isaiah and (more or less technically) Jane, and of course all the people from Billy's and UGH it just made me very happy because what is a life goal if not a very happy (queer) family of people. The book also gave enough "screentime" to the other characters and their stories, giving the reader a break from the main narrative without taking away from it at all.

"I wish I was never born," August moans into the floor.
"Retweet," Wes says solemnly.

Otherwise:
- A+ jokes, like honestly I love when characters have good humor
- so much queerness and especially so much drag, i love it
- also kinda of a little love letter to New York? from a very genuine perspective I think, considering McQuiston also currently lives in the city
- two scenes that I would officially titled "pretty spicy" but could be skipped if the reader isn't comfortable with details, I am still questioning their sanity after they did it on the Q ngl
- Wes needs a hug and should be protected
- Niko and Myla = powercouple
- I wish I had HALF the swag that Jane has

Anyway I think that's it for now but honestly truly really loved it.

And she'd do figure drawing, where she'd draw the negative space around a person first, and then fill in the person. And that's how I'm trying to look at it. Maybe I don't know what fills it in yet, but I can look at the space around where I sit in the world, what creates that shape, and I can care about what it's made of, if it's good, if it hurts anyone, it makes people happy, if it makes me happy. And that can be enough for now.

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haddy's review

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I loved this book, it took me a while to get into it but once I did I really enjoyed it.

I’VE BEVER WANTED TO BE PART OF A FICTIONAL FRIEND GROUP SO BAD.

I think it could be a tad slow at times, and the only thing that really annoyed/upset me was

that when they found out augie had died in a car accident she basically just brushed it off to the side now that it was ‘solved’ and said something like it was okay because he died happy? Like I know in his life he was, but a car accident is a horrible way to go.

I don’t know why but I had a really hard time knowing what to rate this book. I really fell in love with the characters, I laughed, I cried (sobbed, really), and at times couldn’t put the book down. but I had a slow start reading it and I think the ending just didn’t quite feel satisfying to me?? and I don’t even know why??

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marywahlmeierbracciano's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Chubby femme bisexual from Louisiana meets effortlessly cool butch Chinese American, except the latter is from the 1970s and is stuck on the subway. Both August and Jane have bounced around the country looking for a home (and an identity), only to meet in New York in what should have been impossible circumstances. August had an unconventional childhood surrounded by a neverending investigation into a missing relative, and Jane survived the violence against queer people as a revolutionary in the gay liberation movement. Of course they fall in love. With a very diverse cast of characters and a race to save a neighborhood landmark, One Last Stop explores community and queer magic in more ways than one.

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abbystapleton's review

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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theinfinitebookcase's review

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I wanted to like this one so much, but I have to admit I'm pretty disappointed. What I liked most was the mystery - I really wanted to know how Jane got displaced from her time period and how the situation would be resolved. Would Jane go back to the 70s, or stay in the present? I also really loved the side characters - Myla, Niko, Wes, Isaiah, and the even the Billy's crew. But that's where my enjoyment ended.

From hearing people online talk about Jane, I thought I'd fall in love with her; instead I found both August and Jane to be at best boring, at worst annoying. While I was curious about the mystery of whether or not Jane would return to the 70s, I realized I wouldn't have even been upset if the main couple was separated and Jane had gone back to the past. I was more upset about

Billy's potentially closing down,

which had nothing to do with August and Jane's relationship.

There were a few other minor things that also bothered me. I was honestly shocked that August hadn't realized that

Auggie and Jane lived in New Orleans at the same time

despite the fact that August was essentially trained from birth to be a private investigator and investigate Auggie's disappearance. I was also surprised that in the year 2021, no one in the entire relatively intelligent cast (with the exception of Jane, who has an excuse being from the 70s and not familiar with the internet) had considered an online fundraiser when they found out that

Billy's was going to shut down.

In the age of kickstarter and gofundme, I can't believe this wasn't the first response. Though I admit the

drag show fundraiser

was a way cooler idea, an online fundraiser could have still helped raise the rest of the money.

Maybe I'm being too picky. But I have to say I had much higher hopes for this book with the many, many stellar reviews that I saw. It's not bad, but it's definitely overrated. (Though I can't judge too much since I know we're all starved for sapphic content).

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