The Pairing: Special 1st Edition by Casey McQuiston (Best of Booktok)

A Best Book of the Year for The New York Times, People, Elle, USA Today, Saveur, and more!

LIMITED FIRST PRINT RUN--featuring sprayed edges with a stenciled script design. Only available for a limited time and while supplies last.

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.

Review

An Instant New York Times bestseller!

An Instant #1 Indie bestseller!

An Instant USA Today bestseller!

An August Indie Next Pick!

An August 2024 LibraryReads Pick!

A Best Book of the Year for The New York Times, People, Elle, Saveur, and more!

"McQuiston's latest is a hedonistic delight, with gorgeous descriptions of the scent and mouthfeel of the food and wine the group consumes, the scenery of Bordeaux, Monaco, and Florence, among other destinations, and very sexy love scenes...Sensual and unabashedly queer, The Pairing cements McQuiston's place as our premier chronicler of millennial romance." - Booklist (starred review)

"The Pairing is what happens when an immensely talented and much-beloved author levels up. Casey McQuiston deftly crafts a complex love story, one that not just any writer could pull off...A Bacchanalian romp from Monaco to Pisa to Paris, The Pairing is best accompanied by a Campari spritz, ideally while seated in a little Italian cafe. But regardless of the location, you will devour this book with unbridled gusto." -BookPage (starred review)

"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"

"It wouldn’t be summer without a big romance novel and McQuiston is here to deliver the chaotic bisexual European romp we all deeply need." - LitHub

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

"The food and wine descriptions in The Pairing are mouth-watering. I also loved the way McQuiston subverted tired, harmful bisexual stereotypes – how often do we get a bisexual love story that’s this much fun? In my review, I wrote that reading The Pairing is like going on vacation yourself. McQuiston invites you to sit back and bathe in it, to lap up all the art, food and culture alongside the characters."- USA Today

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Griffin (August 6, 2024)

Language ‏ : ‎ English

Paperback ‏ : ‎ 432 pages

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250862744

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250862747

Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.9 ounces

Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.4 x 1.4 x 8.25 inches