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Cover of The Pairing

The Pairing

by Casey McQuiston

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️steamy·spoiler

Why Read This?

You'll get a satisfying second-chance romance with raw vulnerability, delicious food descriptions, and a love that survives miscommunication and time apart.

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. 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.

At a Glance

3.67 ★ Goodreads
Spice Level🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️steamy
Endingspoiler
PairingM/M
Romance Pacingmedium burn

Top Tropes

childhood sweethearts reunitedexs siblingforced proximity

Mood

romanticadventurousemotionalbittersweetseductive

Book Details

Goodreads Rating

3.67 ★

Page Count

407 pages

Published

2024

Primary Genre

Contemporary Romance

Pairing

M/M

POV

Dual POV

Romance Pacing

Medium Burn

Audiobook

Available

Yes

Format

Standard

Narrator

Emma Galvin|Max Meyers

Narrator Count

Dual

Tropes

RomanceMagicActionAngstWorld
Theme Constellation

sign in to see all 5 tropes

Mood & Vibe

Mood

sign in to see writing style, pacing & more

Characters

FMC: ambitious career woman sign in to unlock

Spice Details 🌶️

emotional / loving sign in to unlock

alcoholismgrieftoxic relationships

World & Setting

contemporary sign in to unlock

Reading Context

romantic fulfillment sign in to unlock

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