The Pairing by Casey McQuiston

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.(From Raincoast)

• Casey McQuiston's latest novel The Pairing is a sexy European adventure that celebrates queer love

Casey McQuistonis the author of Red, White & Royal Blue, One Last Stop and I Kissed Shara Wheeler.Their work has appeared inThe New York Times,The Washington Postand Bon Appetit. They were born and raised in Louisiana but currently live in New York City.

Interview with Casey McQuiston

Bookends with Mattea Roach40:21Casey McQuiston: Celebrating queer love and joy and navigating the future of romance

Casey McQuiston is a blockbuster queer romance author who hit it big with their 2016 novel Red, White and Royal Blue. Caseys latest is The Pairing, about childhood friends-turned-exes who reconnect on a sexy European adventure. Casey has an open conversation with Mattea Roach about queer love, blending joy with sadness and what the future holds for romance writing.