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A review by cassianlamb
The Pairing by Casey McQuiston
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I've read all of McQuiston's books so far, and this might be my favorite one. I have seen some reviews comment on the amount of food, wine, and such in this book, but I feel that it stands up to the summary of the book. The synopsis does say this is a good and wine tour, after all, and both main characters work within these industries. It's not exactly unexpected for these things to be in this book.
I can't speak for France or Spain, but having been to Italy some of these places do feel very familiar. This book even helped me rediscover a dessert I forgot about that I've missed since then (panna cotta if you're interested). Theo and Kit falling back in love felt just as real to me. Yes they're imperfect people, but they do learn and grow and try to get their lives together.
The only thing I think that should be mentioned for readers is some sort of misgendering of Theo at the beginning of Kit's POV. I say sort of because it's not intentional or malicious (though misgendering doesn't have to be these things), he doesn't know, and Theo says themself that they accept those pronouns sometimes from those who don't know. Even so, since I haven't seen it anywhere else, I feel readers should know in case this is a trigger for them. Edit to add Casey McQuinston has said that they don't consider this misgendering. It might technically not be, but I do think it's something readers should know about still.
I've read all of McQuiston's books so far, and this might be my favorite one. I have seen some reviews comment on the amount of food, wine, and such in this book, but I feel that it stands up to the summary of the book. The synopsis does say this is a good and wine tour, after all, and both main characters work within these industries. It's not exactly unexpected for these things to be in this book.
I can't speak for France or Spain, but having been to Italy some of these places do feel very familiar. This book even helped me rediscover a dessert I forgot about that I've missed since then (panna cotta if you're interested). Theo and Kit falling back in love felt just as real to me. Yes they're imperfect people, but they do learn and grow and try to get their lives together.
The only thing I think that should be mentioned for readers is some sort of misgendering of Theo at the beginning of Kit's POV. I say sort of because it's not intentional or malicious (though misgendering doesn't have to be these things), he doesn't know, and Theo says themself that they accept those pronouns sometimes from those who don't know. Even so, since I haven't seen it anywhere else, I feel readers should know in case this is a trigger for them. Edit to add Casey McQuinston has said that they don't consider this misgendering. It might technically not be, but I do think it's something readers should know about still.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Alcohol
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Death of parent and Dysphoria