CaseyMcQuiston – A Take from Two Cities

ONE LAST STOP by Casey McQuiston – double review!

For cynical twenty-three-year-old August, moving to New York City is supposed to prove her right: that things like magic and cinematic love stories don’t exist, and the only smart way to go through life is alone. She can’t imagine how waiting tables at a 24-hour pancake diner and moving in with too many weird roommates could possibly change that. And there’s certainly no chance of her subway commute being anything more than a daily trudge through boredom and electrical failures.

But then, there’s this gorgeous girl on the train.

Jane. Dazzling, charming, mysterious, impossible Jane. Jane with her rough edges and swoopy hair and soft smile, showing up in a leather jacket to save August’s day when she needed it most. August’s subway crush becomes the best part of her day, but pretty soon, she discovers there’s one big problem: Jane doesn’t just look like an old school punk rocker. She’s literally displaced in time from the 1970s, and August is going to have to use everything she tried to leave in her own past to help her. Maybe it’s time to start believing in some things, after all.

Title : One Last Stop
Author : Casey McQuiston
Format : eARC/Audio
Narrator : Natalie Naudus
Page Count : 432/12 hours 10 minutes
Genre : LGBTQIAP+ romance / speculative (sci-fi?) fiction
Publisher : St. Martin’s Griffin
Release Date : June 1, 2021

Reviewer : Hollis / Micky
Rating : ★ ★ ★.5 / ★ ★ ★

Hollis’ 3.5 star review

It’s the biggest question of them all, isn’t it : is One Last Stop better than Red, White & Royal Blue? Personally, for me, no. But that isn’t a bad thing; and nor can one be compared to the other, anyway. One was magic for me and one has magic.

“You are projecting so many feelings right now, I can’t believe your skin’s still on.“
“I’m repressing it!“
“I can see how you would think that is what you’re doing.“

Right out the gate I have to say : I absolutely loved the ensemble of friends/found family in this book. McQuiston does this so well and this one in particular was so colourful and lovely. If that’s what you want in your books, or that’s what you need, you will love it here. Truly. And, in general, this book was so vibrant. The people, the places, the parties, everything was bright. I could picture it all. It’s a great feeling to have something you’re reading, particularly something so inclusive and welcoming and warm, spinning out so vividly in your brain.

“Maybe you’re meant to be. Love at first sight. It happened to me.“
“I don’t accept that as a hypothesis.”
“That’s because you’re a Virgo.”
“I thought you said virginity was a construct.“
“A Virgo, you fucking Virgo nightmare. All this, and you still don’t believe in things. Typical Virgo bullshit.”

While I definitely felt the connection between our main lovebirds, I don’t know if I ever fell in love with them. Maybe Jane more than August but still. I was invested in (most of) their adventures, their struggle, delighted by their mix of soft tentative chaotic flirtations to their outright horny happiness, but.. this book isn’t short and sometimes, often in scenes just between the two of them, it felt long. I would get distracted by the ensemble but then it would kind hit home that it felt like I was reading about this forever.

When you spend your whole life alone, it’s incredibly appealing to move somewhere big enough to get lost in, where being alone looks like a choice.

There is an inherent magic to this whole story (I’ll direct you to the Kate & Leopold pitch for an idea of how that looks) and an additional element is there is layer upon layer of coincidences. Some are sweet, some are strange, others are outrageous. There is much disbelief to suspend (obviously, being as someone is out of time and all..) but just bear that in mind. It often worked but.. not always.

Living with a psychic is a pain in the ass.

Beyond the magic, beyond the romance, the heart of One Last Stop felt like a tribute to queer communities, past and present. It felt like McQuiston used Jane as a way to shine light on where things were in the seventies to how they are now. The Q train might have been what anchored this story together but an equally important anchor were queer lives — their liberties, their sacrifices, their pain, their losses, and their triumps. Their right to be.

“Remember the rules. Number one —”
“Us versus everyone.”
“And number two —“
“If they’re gonna kill you, get their DNA under your fingernails.“

Overall this was pretty great. I think so many of you are going to love it. Will I hold it in my heart the way I do RWRB? No — and, in fact, months later as I repost this for release day, I realize I don’t think I’ve even thought of it since; the good parts are good, the long parts? Long! It’s shiny and lovely in the moment but the longterm impact? Little to none, especially vs the author’s debut. But I still recommend you pick it up.

** I received an ARC from the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **

Micky’s 3 star review (rounded up)

Headlines:
From odd to quirky
MCs to invest in
Never getting a subway ride again

One Last Stop was very different to my expectations, so much so, this non-blurber went back to look at the blurb and that helped to be honest. This story is LGBTQ+/speculative fiction with a slice of time slip. All this is in the blurb, so no spoilers here.

Things I liked about this book were the two main characters, August and Jane. They stole the show and they were meant to, I’m sure. Both these characters were not immediately lovable but I did grow to like them more and more as the story evolved. Jane in particular was a character slowly revealed.

The story was…odd, it took me ages to get on board with the whole premise for what was going on and even then, it was a bit wacky for my taste. The side characters were just okay for me when I think readers are supposed to love this crew of flatmates and co-workers; I just didn’t. I did enjoy the finale of the story but it felt like a long story to get there. However, I was cheering for this couple.

The narration was a good, solid capture of August’s POV.

Thank you to the publisher and LibroFM for the early review copies.

RED, WHITE and ROYAL BLUE by Casey McQuiston 🎧

A big-hearted romantic comedy in which First Son Alex falls in love with Prince Henry of Wales after an incident of international proportions forces them to pretend to be best friends…

First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations.

The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince. Alex is busy enough handling his mother’s bloodthirsty opponents and his own political ambitions without an uptight royal slowing him down. But beneath Henry’s Prince Charming veneer, there’s a soft-hearted eccentric with a dry sense of humor and more than one ghost haunting him.

As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. And Henry throws everything into question for Alex, an impulsive, charming guy who thought he knew everything: What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?

Title : Red White & Royal Blue
Author : Casey McQuiston
Narrator : Ramon de Ocampo
Format : Audiobook (OverDrive)
Time : 12 hours 15 minutes
Genre : Rom-com m/m
Publisher : Macmillan Audio
Release Date : 14 May 2019

Reviewer : Micky
Rating : ★ ★ ★ ★.5

Micky’s 4.5 star review

First of all, if you haven’t read Hollis’ review for this book, stop what you’re doing and read that first here. After all, that’s what made me want to read, well that and the constant prodding…I was getting a bit of a bruise.

I went into listening to this book with a dose of ‘help me with the hype’ and a slice of native Brit anti-monarchy (there are many of us, by the way). I didn’t know if I was going to be able to get past the issue of this being an English royal prince. Casey McQuiston gently herded me on board with how she dealt with the issue of the monarchy as an institution and more than anything, by writing Henry, “just as he was” (think Bridget Jones moment).

I challenge anyone not to be blown away by Henry and Alex but for me, most surprisingly, it was the humanity of Henry’s character that sold this story to my big, feeling heart from minute one to hour twelve. Henry was Prince stick-up-his-arse and pretty hilarious in this facet. Alex, the more down to earth of the two, was rude but also funny. These two, building a friendship and then building a relationship, were just about one of the most beautiful love stories I have ever read. My heart expanded with their poignant words and genuine connection.

The adversity these two have to traverse made for a fierce and heart-wrenching story. I have to say how I loved the author’s use of that vile rag, The Daily Mail. It truly is a publication without scruples or heart and was rightly placed to play a role in what happened. My heart and mind rode the roller coaster with Henry and Alex, I mentally wore a supportive T-shirt and waved a flag. I felt a lull as this book reached it’s culmination and the last 10% lost a little traction for me, but overall it was bloody fantastic.

The narration blew me away. Again, as a Brit, I had sceptacism regarding one narrator doing both British and American accents (also Mexican accents) but this guy HAD IT DOWN. He brought the banter, the dialogue and the love to life. Ramon de Ocampo will be on my audio searches now.

I feel a little late to the game on this, six weeks down the line, but I want to recommend the audio for this book. You will be invited in to the intimacy and brought to life by the humour.

RED, WHITE and ROYAL BLUE by Casey McQuiston

Title : Red, White & Royal Blue
Author : Casey McQuiston
Format : eARC
Page Count : 432
Genre : contemporary new adult romance, LGBTQIA+
Publisher : Griffin
Release Date : May 14, 2019

Reviewer : Hollis
Rating : ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Hollis’ 5 star review

“Do either of y’all know what a viscount is? I’ve met, like, five of them, and I keep smiling politely as if I know what it means when they say it. Alex, you took comparative international government relational things. Whatever. What are they?”
“I think it’s that thing when a vampire creates an army of crazed sex waifs and starts his own ruling body.”

I can’t even tell you how happy I am that this book was everything I wanted it to be — and a million things more.

“Oh my god, this is like all those romantic comedies where the girl hires a male escort to pretend to be her wedding date and then falls in love with him for real.” “That is not at all what this is like.”

RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE is the happiness and sweetness we deserve; not just right now (though maybe especially right now?) but in general. This is one of those rare gems of a story where there isn’t a single character to dislike. Where there is representation in so many fabulous forms. Where there is silliness and drama and charm and swoons and just enough angst to make you hurt and the best kind of ending — the one that makes you cry and cheer and cry some more and hug your kindle to your chest. The kind of ending you’ll relive because you know, absolutely, one hundred percent, that you’ll be reading this book over and over again.

“I never thought I’d be standing here faced with a choice I can’t make, because I never.. I never imagined you would love me back.”

Royals, politics, biracial rep, bisexual rep, grief, addiction, anxiety.. McQuiston somehow spins it all into a delightful tale that will make you laugh and shed tears and wish you could be friends with the characters within the pages.

“Wait, are you watching videos of Justin Trudeau speaking French again?” “That’s not a thing I do!”

This is pure fun and totally heartwarming, with tons of real world tongue-in-cheek dialogue (that, hey, it’s nice to laugh about, all things considered), and I’m so happy that release day is (almost!) finally here so I can go about shoving this book in everyone’s face.

“I don’t think this election is going to hinge on an email server.”
“You sure about that?”
“Listen, maybe if [he] had more time to sow those seeds of doubt, but I don’t think we’re there. Maybe it it were 2016.”
^– probably too soon but h o n e s t l y.

Highly highly recommend.

** I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **