Friends, I am back with another Buddy Read. This one is One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston. Here is the link for Goodreads, and here is the link for StoryGraph. I meant to read this during pride month and I dropped the ball, so I need you all to hold me accountable and read this with me! The blurb reads:
>From the New York Times bestselling author of Red, White & Royal Blue comes a new romantic comedy that will stop readers in their tracks...
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>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.
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>But then, there’s this gorgeous girl on the train.
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>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.
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>Casey McQuiston’s One Last Stop is a magical, sexy, big-hearted romance where the impossible becomes possible as August does everything in her power to save the girl lost in time.
I'm thinking of having the first chat towards the end of next week (definitely not before Thursday, August 5th). Comment down below if you're interested in reading along and I will add you to the chat!
Some context for where I am in my life at the moment: I'm 24 and I just finished my Bachelor's degree in English one week ago. I had been looking forward to pleasure reading again since 99% of what I've read the past few years has been for school. I started The Secret History which was definitely enticing but I felt so burned out from my exams that I didn't want to read anything that would require extra effort to understand or discern.
I picked up Red, White & Royal Blue since it's been on my radar for the past few years thinking it would be a fun, fluffy, and campy read. I was surprised when I realized that (1) it's actually not a YA novel as I thought it was, it's about two characters in their 20s, and (2) I actually found myself deeply invested in the characters and their dynamic, to the point where they started to feel like real people I was getting to know. I love being surprised by a book like this.
This isn't to say the novel was perfection from start to finish. The beginning reeks of blatant exposition while the ending was a little too abrupt and clean, but the middle parts made up for all of that. I loved how lived-in the dynamic between Alex and Henry were, how realistic and wonderful their relationship was, and how McQuiston really captures the experience of queer self-discovery.
The only thing is that I'm now devastated about having finished it and not following these characters' journeys anymore. I also can't bring myself to start another book (The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne is next on my list) even though I've been feeling like reading because I think I'll start comparing it to my experience reading RW&RB which is not an ideal way to start a new book. Has anyone felt this way about a certain book or have thoughts on RW&RB in particular? I'd love to discuss it, even if you didn't love it as much as I did.
I just devoured both of Casey McQuiston's books - One Last Stop and Red, White, and Royal Blue - and absolutely LOVED both. Any recs for what to read next? I really appreciated the bisexual protagonists, as well that there were strong co-plots alongside the romance aspect of the book. Thanks!
Edit: Thanks y'all <3
I'm beyond excited to read One Last Stop in a few days, and it was so fun to read Casey's interview and get a little peek into the book. Hope you all enjoy as well!
https://time.com/6050860/casey-mcquiston-one-last-stop/
Other fun tidbits - RWRB is being made into a movie? Did we know that and I just missed it?!
A friend of mine gifted me the ebook and she told me I'd love it. After I've finished the Witcher Saga, I had nothing to read and... dang. This book. I couldn't lay down my Kindle. It was so interesting to read, I loved the pacing of the story, the characters and their quirks and.. yeah. I just wanted to let you guys know - if you need a good book right now, try this one. ❤
Hi Everyone,
Red, White & Royal Blue was mentioned by two members of the book club, u/OppositeOlive and u/kkarloff, and has been recommended on various Taylor Swift related book lists.
Online Versions
I hope everyone has a safe holiday season!
Casey McQuiston has a new book out soon, One Last Stop, and today posted dates for a virtual book tour on Twitter!
Here's a link to their tweet thread that lists details of each event and how to sign up, I was excited to see so many events with other great authors.
Mark your calendars for one or all!
Welcome to another installment of 🎉Drag🎉Your🎉Favorites🎉, the review series where we talk about The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of /r/romancebooks popular titles.
It’s Pride month. Just yesterday SCOTUS just issued a ruling that bars LGBTQ discrimination in the workplace, and June 26 is the 5th anniversary of the SCOTUS ruling recognizing same-sex marriage as a right in the US. I’m tired of waiting to talk to y’all about this, so today I’m dragging Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston.
^(Fine Print: This is not an Official Thing. There will be spoilers. I have used spoiler tags wherever possible, but those things are incredibly fickle so proceed at your own risk.)
The Good
It was funny. Alex, especially, made me laugh, but all the characters were funny. Even Ellen Claremont had her humorous moments. The White House Trio were always riffing off each other’s jokes and it gave this book such a light-hearted feel from the very start.
In fact, the friendship between The White House trio immediately drew me into this book. At one point, McQuiston says Alex “knows them both down to their split ends and nasty habits, but there’s a strange girl bond between them he can’t, and knows he isn’t supposed to, translate.” What an amazing description of close female friendship and maybe friendship in general; it’s a thing that can’t be captured, it can’t be quantified, and often times it can’t be deciphered unless you’re part of it.
The way Alex and Henry express their love and affection for each other had me totally swooning. >!Their late night phone calls and facetimes, constant texting, and their eventual email exchanges were so loving. Their exchanges of historical love letters was especially sweet. Henry send Alex a letter that Alexander Hamilton sent to Eliza: “You engross my thoughts too intirely \[sic\] to allow me to think of anything else—you not only employ my mind all day; but you intrude upon my sleep. I meet you in every dream—and when I wake I cannot close my eyes again for ruminating on your sweetness.!< I thought I would melt reading all of that. If I ever, in my life, get a love letter like that, I will die of happiness.
There was a lot of timely racial commentary here. Alex and Henry >!are shoved into the custodian’s closet at the hospital, where they!< sort of argue about the difficulties of their roles as children of world leaders. Alex
... keep reading on reddit ➡jfr reading it. It was a reread for pleasure bc I listend to the audiobook in 2019.
The thing is I loath writing reviews but I like sharing my thoughts. so I started making lists with reasons to skip a book.
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you're homophob. I mean there is no good reason to read a gay romcom if you are. Maybe for a hate read but why.
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you hate politics. It's a lovestory between the son of the us president and a prince. Politics is everywhere.
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you love politics. If you are a friend of hyper realistic politics. it's a romcom in an alternative reality.
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the spelling of &c bothers you. It definitely bothered me.
I think that covers it. Don't take this list to seriously. Or maybe take it super serious. and be aware I like the book bc the only reason I would skip this book for is 4.
Has anyone else read this yet? I finished it recently and honestly it’s my favorite book so far this year. Before I even finished I was dying for a sequel, and beyond just how good it is, it’s so important. It’s such a genuine, non stereotypical look at gay and bisexual men. I love this book so so much.
Hello bookworms! The June book club selection is One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston. Please feel free to discuss the book throughout the month. No spoiler codes necessary!
Let's talk about One Last Stop! Tagging this thread Spoiler, let's discuss. Who finished the book? What did you think? How does it compare to Red White & Royal Blue, if you've also read that?
It’s the Audiobook of the Week on the app :)
to be fair '&c' for etc would bother me in every book. It's not this book in particular, it's only the fist book I stumbled over it. Am I the only person who finds &c interrupts the reading flow?
Maybe I miss here a huge point and Henrys use of &c is british?
Hello bookworms! Our June book club selection is Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. Feel free to discuss throughout the month of June. No spoiler codes necessary!
