The Pairing

by Casey McQuiston Narrated by Emma Galvin, Max Meyers

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

A playful and poignant rom-com centered on a breakup and the forced proximity that follows, The Pairing is fun and full of heart.

This program features special appearances by the author at the beginning of each chapter.

In #1 New York Times bestselling author Casey McQuiston's latest romantic comedy, 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.

Theo and Kit have been a lot of things: childhood best friends, crushes, in love, and now estranged exes. After a brutal breakup on the transatlantic flight to their dream European food and wine tour, they exited each other's lives once and for all.

Time apart has done them good. Theo has found confidence as a hustling bartender by night and aspiring sommelier by day, with a long roster of casual lovers. Kit, who never returned to America, graduated as the reigning sex god of his pastry school class and now bakes at one of the finest restaurants in Paris. Sure, nothing really compares to what they had, and life stretches out long and lonely ahead of them, but-yeah. It's in the past.

All that remains is the unused voucher for the European tour that never happened, good for 48 months after its original date and about to expire. Four years later, it seems like a great idea to finally take the trip. Solo. Separately.

It's not until they board the tour bus that they discover they've both accidentally had the exact same idea, and now they're trapped with each other for three weeks of stunning views, luscious flavors, and the most romantic cities of France, Spain, and Italy. It's fine. There's nothing left between them. So much nothing that, when Theo suggests a friendly wager to see who can sleep with their hot Italian tour guide first, Kit is totally game. And why stop there? Why not a full-on European hookup competition?

But sometimes a taste of everything only makes you crave what you can't have.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

04/15/2024

The latest from bestseller McQuiston (Red White and Royal Blue) delivers all the hallmarks their readers will expect with lovable queer heroes and zany side characters aplenty. Childhood best friends turned lovers turned exes, aspiring sommelier Theo and pastry chef Kit reunite while cashing in the vouchers for the European food and wine tour they initially purchased while still together. Because they each waited until the last minute before the vouchers expired to use them, they must now spend the next several weeks in close company on the tour, taking in the sights, smells, and tastes of France, Spain, and Italy. It’s a fun and silly conceit with plenty of room for scenic travelogue and mounting sexual tension, marred only by the fact that Theo, who is nonbinary, is not identified as such until more than halfway through, meaning they are misgendered by other characters and readers alike until that point—a distraction from what is otherwise a near-utopian vision of queerness in which almost every character proves to be something other than heterosexual. Despite this quibble, it’s a mouthwatering feast. Agent: Sara Megibow, KT Literary. (Aug.)

From the Publisher

"Move over 'hot girl summer' – 'hot bisexual summer' is ready for its moment and Casey McQuiston’s new novel The Pairing is here to usher it in." - USA Today

"Sure to set your heart a flutter... Horny hijinks definitely ensue in this delicious summer romance." - Time

"We don't really need to tell you more of a reason to pick up this new book other than it's by the one and only Casey McQuiston. But yes, you're absolutely going to be obsessed especially if you've been looking for a fun, food-filled, and very hot getaway. The author is back with a new read that will definitely become your favorite romance book of the year." - Cosmopolitan

"Casey McQuiston is back with another delicious queer romance... summer novels don’t get much more indulgent than this one." - Elle

"Lush scenery, well-drawn secondary characters, and believable, grounded conflicts lead to a sweet and satisfying ending for Kit and Theo in McQuiston’s funniest, sexiest novel to date." - Library Journal (starred review)

"The latest from bestseller McQuiston (Red White and Royal Blue) delivers all the hallmarks their readers will expect with lovable queer heroes and zany side characters aplenty...a near-utopian vision of queerness in which almost every character proves to be something other than heterosexual...a mouthwatering feast." - Publishers Weekly

"Two exes. On the same food and wine tour of Europe. By Casey McQuiston. Is there anything else to say? Fine: McQuiston is one of our finest purveyors of rom-coms working today, capable of delivering pure joy and happy tears alike, and people will be screaming about this book from its release until the end of 2024." - BookPage, "Our most anticipated books of 2024"

"I am begging everyone I know to add this book to the very top of their summer reading list." - Book Riot

" "The Pairing is bursting with desire — for each other, for flavor, for wanderlust, for their hot tour guide. If you were into that peach scene in Call Me By Your Name, this is for you." - Bustle, "This Summer’s 40 Most Anticipated Books"

"Fresh, funny, exhilarating and outrageously sexy, Casey McQuiston is unparalleled in writing queer rom coms with heart, warmth and wit." - Laura Kay, bestselling author of The Split

"McQuiston’s horniest romcom yet! Greedy bisexuals rejoice – even the most hedonistic readers will be full from The Pairing's abundance of fine wine, food, and sexual promiscuity." - Lily Lindon, bestselling author of Double Booked'

Eater, "10 Food-Filled Beach Reads for Your Summer Vacation"

Goodreads, "Readers' Most Anticipated New Romances for 2024", "Readers' Most Anticipated Summer Books" and "Readers' 48 Hottest New Romances for Summer"

Cosmopolitan, "17 Books We Can’t Wait to Read in Summer 2024"

Queerty, "The top 10 LGBTQ+ books to look out for in 2024"

Fangirlish, "24 Books We’re Looking Forward To Reading In 2024"

E! News, "Book It to the Beach With These Page Turning Summer Reads"

Electric Lit, "65 Queer Books You Need To Read In Summer 2024"

Book Riot, "12 of the Best Queer Books: 2024 New Releases"

PureWow, "The 18 Best Beach Reads of Summer 2024"

She Reads, "Most Anticipated Books of Summer 2024", "Most Anticipated Romances of Summer 2024", and "Best Beach Reads of Summer 2024"

Brit + Co, "15 LGBTQ+ Books That Are Essential (And Fun) Pride Month Reads"

Praise for One Last Stop:

"Absolutely brilliant." - The New York Times

"One Last Stop is an earnest reminder that home - whether that means a time, a place, or a person - is worth fighting for." - New York Magazine

"The story of August and Jane's chance meeting is swoony, thoughtful, and one of those big-hearted romances you'll gush about long after finishing." - Hello Sunshine

"This delightful love story is everything you need for a feel-good day of beach reading." - Elle

"Casey McQuiston has done it again." - Hypable

"One Last Stop is an electrifying romance that synapses into the dreamy "Hot Person Summer" kind of story you wish you were a part of. McQuiston is leading the charge for inclusive happy-ever-afters, radiant with joy and toe-curling passion, and bursting with the creative range to make anything from electricity to social activism sound sexy." - NPR

"A dazzling romance, filled with plenty of humor and heart." - Time

"A funny, modern, and entertaining novel, One Last Stop will have you rooting for love that makes people feel free to be their truest selves." - Shondaland

Praise for Red, White & Royal Blue:

"[An] exquisite debut... It’s hard to watch [Alex] fall in love with Henry without falling in love a bit yourself with them, and with this brilliant, wonderful book." - The New York Times Book Review

"[A] fireworks in the sky, glitter in your hair joyous royal romance that you’ll want to fall head over heels in love with again and again. A+" - Entertainment Weekly

"A rivalry between the son of a U.S. president and the Prince of Wales turns into a whirlwind romance in this charming story about true love." - Us Weekly

"[An] escapist masterpiece... It’s a truly glorious thing to live inside the world of this book and to imagine it becoming reality, too." - Vogue

"The super specific love story you never knew you needed." - Cosmopolitan

"Effervescent and empowering on all levels, Red, White & Royal Blue is both a well-written love story and a celebration of identity. McQuiston may not be royal herself, but her novel reigns as must read rom-com." - NPR

Library Journal

★ 05/01/2024

Four years ago, Kit and Theo were on their way to their dream European food and wine tour, but after their brutal breakup on the flight, they were both left heartbroken at the airport without their longtime best friend-turned-lover, but with a voucher for the now-canceled tour. Now Kit is a pastry chef in Paris, and Theo is an aspiring sommelier in California. They haven't spoken since their breakup, but then they discover that they've each cashed in their respective vouchers for the tour on the same date. Forced to spend three weeks together on a bus, Kit and Theo launch a hookup competition to prove that they're over each other, are able to date others, and can go back to being friends. Because they can definitely be just friends, right? VERDICT Lush scenery, well-drawn secondary characters, and believable, grounded conflicts lead to a sweet and satisfying ending for Kit and Theo in McQuiston's (I Kissed Shara Wheeler) funniest, sexiest novel to date, here in a special edition with painted edges.—Whitney Kramer

Kirkus Reviews

2024-05-17
Two exes reunite on a food tour of Europe and attempt to prove to each other—and themselves—that they’ve moved on.

Theo and Kit were childhood best friends who eventually became a couple—until a disastrous breakup on the flight to a European food and wine tour. They haven’t spoken in several years, and both have found success, if not happiness, in their chosen fields. Kit made a life for himself in Paris, where he’s a pastry chef. Theo is a bartender with an encyclopedic knowledge of wine and dreams of being a sommelier. Their abandoned European tour gave them a voucher that would expire in 48 months, and right at the end of that window Theo decides to redeem it, never dreaming that Kit would decide to use his voucher on the same exact trip. But, of course, he does, meaning the two of them are stuck together for three weeks, alongside a flirtatious tour guide named Fabrizio and a cast of adventurous travelers and eaters. Kit and Theo strike an uneasy truce to get along for the duration of the trip, but in an effort to prove they’re totally over each other—and to burn off the sexual tension that’s radiating between them—they make a “sex wager”: Whoever hooks up with the most people while on the tour wins. Kit and Theo are both bisexual, which gives them a wide pool of applicants—and, in a slightly unbelievable turn, seemingly everyone they meet is attracted to them. The emphasis on Kit and Theo’s physical conquests does add to the atmosphere of their booze-filled, hedonistic summer trip, but at times it also detracts from the romance. Kit and Theo’s long, often tumultuous relationship is the beating heart of the book, and the story is most successful when it focuses on their emotional and physical bonds. Bestselling author McQuiston creates well-rounded characters in Kit and Theo, and, crucially, shows how they’ve changed since their initial romance to make the possibility of a second chance feel earned. The story is packed with enough detail to make readers feel like they, too, are on the tour—there are lengthy descriptions of the art Kit and Theo see, as well as the food they eat and the endless amounts of wine they drink.

An evocative summer romance that will take readers on a journey filled with food, wine, and sex.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940159274281
Publisher:	Macmillan Audio
Publication date:	08/06/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	742,784

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