Quick Synopsis – Two bisexual exes accidentally book the same European food and wine tour and challenge each other to a hookup competition to prove they’re over each other—except they’re definitely not.

Song This Reminds Me Of – Pretty much anything Chappell Roan, I could have made a whole playlist for this book.

Publication Date – Aug. 6, 2024

Content Notes – There is graphic sex scenes in this book. There is off page death of a parent and some mentioning of bullying.

Steamy Rating – 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️😍

Overall Rating – 4 out of 5 ⭐

Review – I feel like the more books Casey McQuiston writes, the gayer the books are and I am HERE for this journey. The Pairing is a chaotic, queer, fever dream. At first, this was a solid 3-star read for me, but the last 25% of the book really pulled through. Also, I cried for our two dumb bisexual idiots. The dialogue, both spoken and internal, is so heartbreaking and beautiful. I had secondhand angst reading.

The book opens with Theo and Kit breaking up in an airport. Three years later, the vouchers for their canceled European food and wine tour are expiring and of course they both redeem their vouchers for the same trip. Of course, there is instant tension but also appreciation as they both realize how much the other has grown. Theo has a new kind of confidence and has really settled into their skin. Kit is still a manic panic pixie dream boy, but he is finally realizing how his actions affect others. Of course, they’re both still hot and hot for each other, so out comes a friendly competition. Who can bag the most orgasms during their tour wins. Only they aren’t over each other and they find themselves pulled closer and closer together. Queer chaos ensues!

The biggest reason this isn’t a 5-star review for me is because I HATE the miscommunication trope and there is so much of that here. I get that it drives that tension, and it is sexy as hell in some places, but I also think it can be lazy. Theo and Kit have grown so much, and they were best friends from childhood, but they still can’t communicate! Ugh.

The plot was cute though and the tension between Kit and Theo is erotic at times. The way they describe each other is swoon-worthy. Also, I love that this book describes different kinds of queer sex. Too often we get caught up in the idea of heteronormative sex and this book shows how much enjoyment two people can get out of each other without penetration. More normalization of that, please.

If you like Casey McQuiston’s other novels I’m sure you’ll love this!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reader’s copy. All opinions are my own.