"When they smile, it's gold in the sky, unfolding green hills, a country of endless possibilities, the relief of the last turn before home."

this was a very sweet romance book!! here's what i liked and didn't like about the pairing:

1) casey mcquiston's writing is gorgeous. personally, i really enjoy their writing style, and i have said this many a time. not only are the words and the sentence craft beautiful, but i really admire how much research you can tell goes into their novels. the descriptions of every place in europe as well as the food and drink imagery were so rich and precise in detail. also, some of my favourite parts were in kit's POV when he quoted rainer maria rilke (an austrian poet). all the lines pulled were accurately describing kit's feelings, or whatever moment/mental state he was in, and i think that's a really beautiful lense to see things through, because at the end of the day that is what art does. it serves as a reminder you are never alone, that someone out there has once felt what you are feeling now. 

2) the book has a large focus on the general human condition of wanting to love and be loved, eat good food, dream big, fuck, and make art. very heavy european vibes, fitting since the entire book was set in various countries in europe. if i were to rename it in the literal sense, it would be "chaotic, horny bisexuals gallivant around europe". i feel like the vibe of the book in general is giving "follow your dreams/heart" and general sentiments similar to that, and though it was cliché at times, it was mostly cute.

3) the "veux-tu m'épouser" ending was SOOOO CUTE i giggled. what can i say i am a sucker for french!

now onto what i didn't like...

1) the stereotypical european characters. obviously, almost nothing about this book is realistic-casey mcquiston's books rarely are-and there's nothing wrong with that, i mean i love a bit of escapism just as much as the next girl, but this was just TOO much. they made all the italians so "mamma mia pasta pizza" and the frenchies so "oooh voulez vous coucher avec moi". because okay, yes, there are a TON of hot people in europe, but there are also just a ton of regular looking people!!!! not every person you meet is gonna be outrageously attractive and under the age of 35 wanting to hook up any chance they get!!!! but all the characters in this book were like that, and they were essentially used as sex pawns rather than having any real personality, or furthering the plot in any way. basically, it was TOO horny (wow, never thought i would be typing that for a book review). 

2) the sex scenes made me really uncomfortable lol. usually, when i read a book i know is going to contain spice, i am prepared. the vibes are there, i know what i'm getting into, and it makes sense in the context of the story. spicy scenes can be great in books, but in my opinion, NOT this book. something about the way the dialogues were written just turned me off and it was sooooo awkward to read. it's weird because in red white & royal blue, mcquiston's debut novel, the spicy scenes were written really well and they were actually very important to the story. they were purposeful, sexy, they meant something. unfortunately i just did not feel that way with similar scenes in the pairing.

3) whenever theo would talk about the wines he was drinking. i know he's literally a sommelier so it makes sense but it just gave me the ick for some reason. that's not really a valid criticism of the book, more just a me thing lol. 

all in all, i enjoyed reading this and it's great queer representation, but i do see how it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea!