Review: One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
SYNOPSIS:
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.
REVIEW:
*Book Received in Exchange for Honest Opinion/Review*
This book was just one giant LGBTQ+ love fest and I was HERE. FOR. IT. It was a quirky, charismatic read filled with drag shows, bold characters, time travel, eccentric roommates, and a romance that even being trapped on a subway can’t stop. But the story is so much more than a mystery and a romance, and here is where the book truly sucked me in and enchanted me.
The beginning of the novel starts off with August as an isolated loner; floating and drifting along in the sea of life with no one to cling to. Over the course of the story, August not only has a journey of self-discovery and finds love in the most unconventional ways but she finds family. She finds friends who tether her, forms bonds, becomes vulnerable, and finds her people in life. This was the true underlying plot and it was beautiful. Found family can be just as important or more important than blood relatives. Watching August trust in Niko’s psychic abilities, relate to Wes’ self-destructive, isolative tendencies, and accept Myla’s mothering was so endearing that my grinchy heart grew three sizes while reading.
Past that there are so many love stories in the book that I wanted everyone to have their own novel. August tries to unravel the mystery of Jane stuck on the subway, while simultaneously falling in love, we get glimpses of everyone around her finding or thriving with love. Niko and Myla being a steadfast couple, showing that love can last and flourish. While Wes dances around Isaiah and eventually finds it in himself to be vulnerable. Honestly, I was as invested in the Wes/Isaiah romance as I was the August/Jane romance.
And while August and Jane do have their sizzling moments, I find this story to be more endearing and wholesome than anything else. This book had a captivating, rich plot with a driven, peculiar heroine; what more could I want? As my first F/F romance, I am glad I wait to give this particular V-card to Casey McQuiston. I can’t wait to read what she writes next.
LINKS:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
