Huge thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for giving me an ARC of One Last Stop!

Genre: Romance, LGBTQ+, Adult

Pages: 432

Average Rating on Goodreads: 4.46

Synopsis (From Goodreads):

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.

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 requested this book from Netgalley a few months back because I read Red, White and Royal Blue and really enjoyed it! I also knew this one was going to be a f/f romance which made me even more excited — and can we talk about that cover!? I mean, stunning.

I had a lot of expectations when it came to reading this book. There was a lot I absolutely ADORED about this book, but there was also a couple of things that irked me in the smallest of ways – so let’s get to the pros and cons of the book, shall we?

Con #1:

August as the main character was just okay to me. August is a girl who was basically raised to solve cases – her uncle went missing before she was born and her mom has never let the case go. She actively HATES this throughout the entire book but ends up very quickly being okay with it in the end. I didn’t really feel the character development was there for that change to happen. I also found some of her decisions questionable. She ditches everything to help Jane immediately – how does she afford rent with skipping so much work!? Everything worked out a little too well for her.

Pro #1:

The found family aspect of the novel was by far my favorite part. The relationship August develops with her roommates is so heartwarming and cute (and kind of unrealistic based on my past experiences with roommates lol). The Roommates in question? We have Niko, a trans Latino psychic; Myla, a queer Black electric engineer who is also an aspiring artist; and Wes, a queer Jewish tattoo artist who has an “are they or are they not” romance with the drag queen across the hall. They are definitely a unique group of characters but I think they are the best part of the book. They are the reason August becomes more bearable.

Con #2:

The pacing. I had this same issue with RWRB (even though I really enjoyed it). There were just parts of the story that seemed to drag on a little too long. Nothing MAJOR really felt like it happened until I was over halfway done with the story. It picked up much more after that 50% mark, but honestly, I really had to power my way through the beginning of the book.

Pro #2:

The main plot, especially the time travel aspect. I’m not going to lie, I did NOT think that Casey McQuiston could pull off a time travel romance. I knew going in that they were a talented writer (I’m looking at you RWRB), but it seemed like such a crazy plot I didn’t know if it would come off as realistic (in the best way time travel can, ya know?).

Con #3:

The romance. It was this weird thing where the relationship seemed to happen SO slowly but also so fast?? I didn’t really understand the connection once it happened, but at that point, we were so far into the story that it almost needed to make sense – does that make sense? It ties together with my issues with pacing in the same way.

Pro #3:

THE ROMANCE. Can I have this as both a con AND a pro? I sure can. While I felt that Jane and August’s relationship didn’t make a whole lot of sense, some scenes had me screaming (in a good way). LIKE THAT SUBWAY SCENE!? (ifykyk). By the end of the book, I was hardcore cheering for Jane and August to end up together. I fell in love with these two very quickly despite my prior issues with them.

Pro #4:

Billy’s. Maybe I am biased because I know what it’s like to work in a restaurant where it feels like the place is home – the coworkers, the regulars, the atmosphere, all of it. Also, I thought the side plot of saving the restaurant was a nice change to the main time travel plot, especially since it ended up tying together perfectly.

Overall, this was a definite thumbs up from me. I listened to part of it on audiobook since I was driving somewhere for 5 hours and I was literally gasping out loud in my car. You know when you’re reading a sexy scene in public and you feel like everyone knows? That was me. But in a car.

I ended up giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4) out of 5 stars!