One Last Stop

Amazing read. The perfect emotional rollercoaster that leaves you more addicted as the story progresses!!

I really wanted to like this book! I thought it'd be a cute wlw story that I could enjoy as a nice audiobook. Instead I got really bored and had to force myself to finish it. It's weird because this book has stakes! It had a plot that was kept at least somewhat moving with multiple mysteries and a psychic and side plots... yet I just didn't find myself getting invested in really any of the characters, and I didn't enjoy the writing style much either, giving me almost nothing to really enjoy about the book. To be clear, I really think this was personal preference! Objectively, there is so much to like about this book, and I'm really happy for the representation it has and that it has a happy ending for a gay story without too much inherent tragedy in the gayness of its characters. I know a lot of people liked it, but I have to write down everything I didn't like about it so when I see this in the future, I remember why I gave it such a low rating.

First of all, the constant descriptions of Biyu (Jane) using sugar and sweets really got on my nerves. The first couple times, it was okay, but eventually, it got so tiresome. Actually, a lot of the descriptions felt over the top. I don't think the audiobook narrator's voice I was listening to helped.

Also, I think Jane was supposed to be iconic, but she ended up just feeling two-dimensional to me. And again, I like that McQuiston put so much representation into the book, but there were just so many side plots, and I just did not care that much about any of them.

I didn't really understand the point of Myla's character, but somehow she was talked about so much? Niko actually had plot purposes, but Myla just... did art sometimes. Wes and Isaiah had a whole drawn out love story that honestly felt like it could've been another book entirely. Instead, it just felt like it had been tacked on. Also, the saving of Billy's felt so juvenile. The group decides to throw a drag fundraiser and magically, it's a massive success. They sell out a month in advance and have to get a new venue to host double the amount of people? Be honest, how? I'm not saying it's impossible, but there aren't many descriptions showing that it took a lot of effort at all, even though it seems like a massive undertaking.

Speaking of things that felt unrealistic, how was August always buying Jane so much stuff? She bought her tons of food all the time and even a phone! This is after she talked about how she was drowning in student debt! I understand she had a job... but in the second half of the book, she's practically never working. She also seems to stop needing to go to class. Because every page is about her spending time with Jane (or having sex with Jane, really) and I really have no clue how it's all possible. I wouldn't care about the classes so much if it wasn't supposed to be such a big deal that she was finally graduating! She has a whole existential crisis about it! She moved to NYC to finish college there, that was the entire reason! Why is it suddenly not important at all to the plot?

The magic realism parts were fine. I didn't have an issue with that. I just found the whole book so boring, which really disappointed me. It took me forever to get through, partially because the audiobook narrator has a lot of fun moaning and acting out the sex scenes. Which, good for her. But that meant I had to keep pausing when I just did not feel like listening to that. I'm aware this is my own fault/personal preference and not technically an issue with the book. I will say the sex did actually have plot reasons and wasn't just gratuitous sex! So a point for McQuiston there! But overall, I unfortunately really did not enjoy this book, and I felt nothing when it ended. 2.5 stars.

"Jane is spun sugar, switchblade girl with a cotton candy heart,” pretty much sums Jane up to the T. Jane was ahead of her time and is a lover to all. She is gay and she is proud. She marches on demonstration just so she can love more. She is a girl without much of a past. August prefers to pretty much forget hers.

They met on the subway. Twenty-three-year-old August, who is distant from everyone, including her own mother, just doesn’t connect with anyone for the fear of getting hurt. Jane is a vivacious, free-spirited woman with a killer leather jacket and a great big scarf. They somehow clicked and like the blinking lights of the subway, one minute you are here and the next, the person who you connected with, vanishes.

Together, they formed a union, and August’s roommates formed a family August never knew she desperately needed. Not want but needed. Love was unconditional and non-judgmental. Love this sexy, funny, warm love story. Now, who’s in the mood for a Su Special, which is a fried egg, bacon, maple syrup, and hot sauce sandwiched between two pieces of Texas toast?

I went into this knowing absolutely nothing about it besides that it was by the same author as "Red, White and Royal Blue," which I liked. I am glad I went into it this way and was able to speculate about more aspects of the book than if I had read the summary or any of the reviews. I loved the romance, I loved the sense that something out of the ordinary was happening, I loved the mysteries, I loved the found family vibes of the apartment and the restaurant. This set the bar high for me with romance and captures well what I like out of a romance novel.

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston was such a refreshing read! It had that perfect balance of being something completely different yet incredibly enjoyable. The unique concept and vibrant characters really made the story stand out, keeping me engaged from start to finish.