One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston Book Review

“Well? How does it look?”

“Ridiculous,” Jane says with a grin. “Awful. Perfect.”

They’ve moved through Brooklyn swiftly, barely anyone at the final few stops.

August glances up at the board. One last stop.”

(pg. 372)

About

Author: Casey McQuiston

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Queer/LGBTIQ+/Sapphic Romance

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Other Casey McQuiston Book Reviews

Red, White, and Royal Blue

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.

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. 

Review

Spoilers Contained Below

To the Scurvy, Flirty, and Thriving,

I don’t even know how to properly express how much I thrived, lived, laughed, cried, cheered, jumped, and absolutely fell in LOVE with One Last Stop.

I thought Red, White, and Royal Blue was a good book, but my gosh One Last Stop really drove home the fact that Casey McQuiston is such a phenomenal writer who captures mood, authenticity, representation, and love in an endearingly honest, fun, and balls-to-the-walls way. I love love love the energy a Casey McQuiston book has! I just feel like I’m reading a famous sitcom of a well-loved cast that is more inclusive than anything I ever read. Every moment felt celebratory and hilarious and loving and complicated. Every moment was pure joy. I loved the drag, I loved the pancakes, I loved the cast of diverse characters, I loved the sapphic and queer representation, I loved the New York aspect. I loved the camaraderie and banter because they all felt so natural and funny. The conversations felt like I was in the room, listening to the hilarious friends I wished I had (not that my friends are not funny, just that I don’t have many friends at the moment 😅—you know pandemic things). There’s literally nothing to not love about One Last Stop. What a joy to the world this book is 💜.

The book truly built strong, lovable, and endearing characters that will stick with you.

I could relate to August in some ways. She was someone who seemed like an over thinker, which I think connects to how she grew up solving mystery cases. August grew up with her mom who was obsessed with solving the case of her missing brother. So that was all August knew as a kid—her mom and this case. It took over their life, and essentially it took over her life. People thought August was strange because she acted differently than the other kids at her church school. To be honest, I would think people at a church school would be nicer 😅 . . . I guess not. Darn. In some ways I thought the way August and her mom sneaked around to get information for the brother/uncle’s case was pretty darn cool. No one would suspect a kid as a distraction. However, I could see how damaging being wrapped up in such an endeavor had negative implications on August’s well-being.

She had little to no friends because no one understood or liked her. August also didn’t have much family—-it was only her and her mom. The mom seemed more like a best friend or a partner in crime than a mom. The way the mom, Suze, even talked to August didn’t feel like a mom. I mean, I loved the no shiz open attitude the mom had; she seemed cool 😆. But there was a part of me that felt like August and her mom were only close because they were all each other had rather than a genuine deeply-rooted love. I think the mom cared more about the brother case sometimes than she did about August even if August and her were close. I don’t think just because someone is the only person in your life that that automatically constitutes a loving relationship, more so complex. I think August wanted her mom to be her mom and not to feel like she was just a partner in crime.

There was also the fact that the mom kept August from knowing her grandparents and extended family. That was rude as heck. August deserved the chance to know her extended family if she wanted to. She was never given that option, which wasn’t fair to her. I also felt heartbroken and angry for August because it always went back to that case. The mom and August always fell on difficult times because they were constantly broke. The mom used the majority of their money to gain information on the brother case. The whole time August thought they were broke because the mom sent her to a rich predatory school. However, the grandparents paid for the school, not the mom. I also felt like August deserved to know about the money-thing because the money involved her and concerned her future. She was old enough to have a choice because then she wouldn’t have been in as much student debt. I didn’t blame August for not talking to her mom after that. August said you lied to me, so I’m cutting you off and setting boundaries. She was an adult and could rightfully do that for herself 👏🏼! I wouldn’t say her mom was toxic, but she definitely wasn’t honest or supportive in the ways August needed.

Because of her upbringing, August dealt with many things.

Let me psychoanalyze for a minute 😂. I just want to say I am no psychologist, and these are just my opinions~

First, she had a minimalist rule to pretty much every aspect of her life—belongings and people.

I respect her minimalism. I need to get rid of things I hold onto too tightly because gosh knows I don’t need as many things as I do have. I also understood why August was a minimalist. She didn’t grow up with many things, so she was used to not carrying a lot. Also, there was the mention of a hurricane/storm in New Orleans that destroyed many of her and her mom’s things. After that, August didn’t see the point of having a plethora of things when they were just things that could get ruined. I get it. I respect it. But I also think it’s okay to have enough things to survive or to at least indulge in a few things here and there if possible for comfort or enjoyment. The girl slept on an air mattress. I haven’t slept on an air mattress before, but I think a mattress beats an air bed any day 😅. So that just made me feel sad for her. August also didn’t keep many things because she didn’t like to set down roots or she never had roots she wanted to set down. She went from place to place, degree to degree. All that moving would be hard with many things. So minimalism it was.

August also didn’t have many people in her life. This goes back to how her life was only her mom and her, so she always felt that that was all it would ever be. She also didn’t grow up with many accepting people, so I understood her skepticism with letting others in.

“She never had anyone to begin with, so she let it be unsurprising that nobody would want to have her around.”

(pg. 280)

I think not having many people in her life made her feel unlovable.

Or like no one would ever care for her, so that was why she had this sort of protective, guarded front that never wanted to be close to someone because she didn’t trust them or want to trust or like them.

The August in the beginning of the book—-the August who just moved to New York—-felt very despondent, a bit angry, reserved, and bare-bones. I say bare bones because there was this almost hollowness in her that felt sad mixed with that anger. She felt like an August who was barely living, just surviving, and not knowing how to do either.

As August takes on New York, I absolutely loved to see how she subtly and beautifully grew.

“Truth is when you spend your whole life alone, it’s incredibly appealing to move somewhere big enough to get lost in, where being alone looks like a choice.”

(pg. 13)

August didn’t have a family, but she sure did find one 💜.

I have read a few found family stories, but none compare to the fun-loving, quirky (in the best way), hilariously sarcastic, unique, diverse, and all around cool gang like Myla, Niko, Wes, and Isiah/Annie. I adored them. Where can I find people like them 🙈? Asking for a friend, aka me.

They were just an amazing. bunch of people and I think we all need a group like Myla, Niko, Wes, Isiah/Annie who would welcome us with open arms and have the same sense of crazy-humor to love us back.

My first impression of Niko was that he was eerily cool. He had that psychic finesse vibes, which made him mysterious, but he wasn’t mysterious as so much cool. He was really just a cool dude.I loved how when we met Niko, he did a palm reading of August to see if she would be a good future roommate. At that moment, I hoped we would return to the palm reading and see what Niko saw. So I loved it when we did return to the palm reading at the end when August was going through a low. After a while, he reminded me a lot like Magnus Bane in how he knew everything and how people went to him for the answers for the mystical and magical. Nothing was too absurd for Niko either, which I loved. When August went to him about Jane, he didn’t think August was crazy—-he was so down to believe and do whatever it was to help Niko. Going back to those Magnus Bane vibes, Niko also had Magnus Bane wisdom for August. I kept laughing at scenes where Niko would take one look at August and know what was up. But I liked how he still asked her what was going on because he didn’t want her to feel like he pried too much in her life. He was always there for August and I appreciated that. He was also the very ones who made August feel part of their scurry, flirty, and thriving 6F gang. I especially loved that moment in the beginning when August was with everyone in the living room eating Chinese takeout and Niko came around with a polaroid camera and snapped a shot of the group so that he could put an honorary picture of Jane on their refrigerator.

August was more than reluctant and somewhat belligerent to the 6F gang at first because she wasn’t used to actually nice people who wanted her there. She was used to getting up and leaving and having no friends. I could truly feel her discomfort when Myla and Niko first invited her to eat at Billy’s. It was just sad how she felt bothered by kindness because no one has ever extended it to her before 😢. I loved their whole getting-to-know each other more at Billy’s because it nudged the door open to letting people into August’s life. She really had never hung around the right people all these years until she met them.

I also loved the intimate moment August had with Niko when they were at a brunch and she asked Niko how did he know he was psychic. Niko thought she was going to ask him how he knew he always felt like a boy. But I loved the conversation they had because it added another layer of depth, comfort, and trust in their relationship. I also just really loved Niko because he just knew who he was—-he knew himself. I loved how his family was accepting of him, but his extended family and the church didn’t know or accept Niko as much. Hearing this, it made me think about how Niko still faced battles as a trans person with his family—-they accepted him, but still hid who he was from others. Niko’s backstory showed how he had a complicated family dynamic and how he too found a family with Myla, Wes, Isiah, and August.

I think that’s what was even more beautiful—–how the 6F and 6E gang all found family with each other after having complex family relationships themselves. Casey McQuiston really wrote each characters storyline so well, and I felt like they were my family too 💜.

“‘Oh, August,’ Myla says . . . ‘You’re a cream puff. You’re a cupcake. You’re a yarn ball. You’re—-you’re a little sugar pumpkin.’

‘I’m a garlic clove,’ August says. ‘Pungent. Fifty layers.’

‘And the best part of every dish.’

‘Gross.’

‘We should call her.’

‘What?’

‘Yea, come on, let’s call her!'”

(pg. 183)

Myla was a pure gem! I loved her funky artistry and how affable she was in making August feel like family. August and Myla had a different relationship battle to hurdle over because Myla was August’s first female friend, and having a friend who’s a female is different from having a friend who is a male or other gender or identity. Personally, a female friend has a more complex beginning as a relationship because sometimes girls can be catty, for a lack of a better word, and we may not know if we can trust them or something. Being friends with a guy is a bit easier because guys are not so judgmental or stand-offish in the beginning. There are the initial nerves of being friends with guys, but from what I’ve learned guys can be more lax to form a friendship with. Thinking about all those things, I just loved Myla because she wasn’t unfriendly or catty, but she was open, loving, and warm to August. August felt even more reluctant to be friends with Myla because of this—-I think it was even more bizarre that a girl would be nice to her. But Myla made it simple—-that being friends doesn’t have to be a complicated ordeal.

“The thing about Myla, August is learning, is that she doesn’t plant a seed of friendship and tends to it with a gentle watering and sunlight. She drops into your life, fully formed, and just is. A friend in completion.”

(pg. 30-1)

We all need a friend in completion 🥰.

Myla was also FREAKING Hilarious!

The sixth floor gang was honest to gosh hilarious and such a fun time in general. I need to live on their floor!

“And involuntarily, ‘How do you think she looks at me?’

‘Like you’re her Pop-Tart angel. Like you [shiz] sunshine. like you invented love as a concept.'”

(pg. 132)

Or

“‘I don’t accept that as a hypothesis.’

‘That’s because you’re a Virgo.’

‘I thought you said virginity was a construct.’

‘A Virgo, you [freaking] Virgo nightmare. All this, and you still don’t believe in things. Typical Virgo bull[shiz].'”

(pg. 237)

That last quote cracked me up more than it should have 😂.

She was just soooooo funny!

I also liked how she didn’t bat an eye at August’s love life. Instead she was the main person who helped August piece together logical sense about who Jane could be, what her story was, and how to get Jane back to where she was. I’ll get more into this later when we talk about Jane 😊.

Wes was the character you loved to root for. He was the exact opposite of Niko and Myla; a more quiet, reserved demeanor. He also had a different sort of depth to him that made his relationship with August special too.

Wes gave me distant but present, funny but serious, and nervous but assured vibes. He felt like an oxymoron of a person in the best way—-he had a well-balanced intricacy. Wes grew up with a lot of money. He was supposed to study architecture in college because his dad wanted to take over the business one day. But then Wes dropped out of college or switched his major to pursue his dream of being a tattoo artist. The mom and dad cut Wes off. Wes had furniture and rich things from his past life with his family. There was also the fact how Wes’s family didn’t really accept him as queer. You know, Wes just had such an intense background to match his intense personality when he wanted to be. August understood his intensity and what it was like to grow up with a weighted heaviness. I feel like we all have a bit of darkness in us from the hardships we face through life.

One of my favorite moments with Wes was when August and him were on the balcony smoking. They had a nice heart-to-heart moment that I truly loved 💜. August and Wes had similar family stories with August’s grandparents being rich, but also cutting off or ignoring the mom.

“They cut off the money and told me not to come home. They care about how it looks . . . But the minute you need something—like, actually need something—-they’ll let you know just how much of a disappointment you are for asking.”

(pg. 351)

I just wanted to hug Wes 🥺. He deserved so much more love.

Personally, I don’t understand how a parent can just cut off their child like that and not care. I understand the initial anger and sorrow that would come from Wes changing career paths, and I understand that the parents want a stable life for Wes, but I think it’s selfish to cut off their child because of their goals for his life. Even writing that sentence felt wrong. It’s Wes’s life. Parents need to stop pushing their dreams and life on their children because it’s not their life, and to disassociate from a child just because they aren’t following their goals is ridiculous. My heart hurts for all the people who have gone through or are going through what Wes is going through because they don’t deserve that. I don’t understand how people can be so cruel *shakes head.* I also think it’s toxic for parents to “punish” a kid, not an adult, for not living the life they wanted.

Because of Wes’s family history, it made sense why he was receptive to love. August also understood his darkness about feeling scared to love.

Wes loved Isaiah. Isaiah loved Wes.

Everyone knew this. I knew this. You knew this. Myla and Niko knew this. A cow knows this. We all knew it. They knew it too, but nothing had happened between them all these years because Wes didn’t believe he deserved love.

He also didn’t feel like he was good enough to love someone else because he thought he would be another disappointment to that person just like he was with his parents. Parental trauma is real.

“Disappointment, he said. August remembers what he said after Isaiah helped them move a mattress.

He doesn’t deserve to be disappointed.

‘For what it’s worth, you’ve never disappointed me once since I’ve met you.’ August scrunches her nose at him. ‘In fact, I would say you have exceeded my expectations.’ . . .

‘And. . . you know. For the record.’ Carefully, August rises. ‘I, uh, I know how it feels to spend a long time alone on purpose, just to avoid the risk of what might happen if I wasn’t. And with Jane . . . I don’t think I could possibly have found a more doomed first love, but it’s worth it. It’s probably going to break my heart, and it’s still worth it.'”

(pg. 351)

When August said this to Wes on the balcony, my heart melted. Wes needed to hear that—-to know that he wasn’t a disappointment and he could never let anyone down. I think his parents let Wes down more than anything for not supporting him. It wasn’t Wes’s fault, and it sucked that he carried this insecurity he didn’t deserve to feel.

“No, you gotta listen to the bridge. It’s all about loving someone so much you can’t stand the idea of losing them, even if it hurts, that all the hard stuff is worth it if you can get through it together.

. . . Okay, she types, thinking of Wes and how determined he is not to let Isaiah hand him his heart, of Myla holding Niko’s hand as he talks to things she can’t see, or her mom and a whole life spent searching, of herself, of Jane, of hours on the train—all the things they put themselves through for love.”

(pg. 175)

This quote goes well with what August said to Wes on the balcony. This was when August was texting Jane about a song Jane requested on the radio for August to hear. Love is worth the risk, the hurt, the pain. I think love comes with pain much like how happiness comes with sadness, anger comes with sorrow, fear comes with elation—-the greatest things comes with the not-so-great, without them we would not know the other. Even if love will hurt, it’s better to try than to not try at all because who knows, maybe trying will lead to something amazing. I also loved how August reflected on the various forms of love each person in her life displayed—how love held different capacities and was still called love.

Isaiah was a joy. Pure joy ✨. He was too cool and honest to gosh fabulous, bold, and a fun fun time. Isaiah was their 6E neighbor who was an accountant by day and a drag queen by night. I ABSOLUTELY ADORED the drag in this book 💜! I loved it. Loved loved loved loved loved. LOVED. I kept cracking up at the drag names—they were so clever, flirty, and fun. My favorite—sorry Isaiah—-was Sara Tonin 😂. That was freaking funny 👌🏼. I loved. But I also loved, of course, Annie Depressants 😂. What would your drag name be? Honestly, maybe I should be Mela Tonin or maybe Ty Lenol 🤪. I’m joking! But gosh, their drag names always got me. Winston’s drag name was too hard to pronounce but equally fun!

I took a fashion class my sophomore year of college and I remember we were studying drag, and I felt like my fourteen years of education didn’t prepare me for the moment when my teacher asked who was my favorite drag queen? YIKES 🙈. I mean, I knew of some drag queens, but not a lot. The public education system is slacking 🤪.

Whenever Isaiah was Annie, I was like gosh darn. I could only imagine how beautiful and gorgeous Annie looked. I laughed at Wes’s speechless reaction whenever he saw Annie, or Isaiah in general. He really was in love. I believe part of Wes also felt like he didn’t belong with Isaiah because he wasn’t as interesting as him. That was far from true. I loved how Isaiah had a long-term crush on Wes and kept teasing a relationship with Wes because I know Isaiah knew Wes liked him.

I loved the moment when August asked Wes to help move a mattress, and they enlisted Isaiah to help. I loved the fact that August even wanted a mattress. This was such a huge moment for August because she wanted to get a mattress to set down roots 🥺 .

“‘I thought you were into minimalism, anyway.’

‘I was,’ August says. She takes off her glasses to clean them, hoping the blurry shape of Wes doesn’t recognize it for what it is: not having to see someone’s face when she says something vulnerable. ‘But that was. . . .before I found somewhere worth putting stuff in.'”

(pg. 171)

Awwwwwwww, August 🥺💜!!!!!!

I loved that for her.

If Wes said no after that, he would have been a heartless dummy.

On the mattress trip, I loved seeing a giggly, smiley side to Wes because those moments were rare. I am a sucker for the trope where the cloudy character only smiles for the sunshine character. August and I knew what was up 👌🏼.

After seeing August and Jane’s relationship and going on this journey, I loved loved loved the moment at the end when Wes finally admitted his feelings 🥳!

“Wes stares at Annie for a full five seconds, and says, ‘Oh, Jesus Christ, I’m in love with you.’

Annie blinks. ‘Can you say that without looking like you’re gonna throw up?’

(pg. 368)

Let’s GOOO Wes and Annie/Isaiah!!!!! We love them! And it was about darn time they kissed after all the missed opportunities they had. Hahaha, we cannot forget about how Wes hid under a table when they had that Easter brunch 😂.

“‘Absolutely not, bruh,’ Myla says, throwing a kick. ‘Stand and face love.'”

(pg. 261)

Oh Wes, what are we going to do with you 😆? He’s honestly a big softie.

Niko, Myla, Wes, and August were all such immaculate characters and when put together, the energy was superior.

I truly felt from the get-go that they were a found family. I wrote it multiple times in my book notes because that was what it felt like. They were all loving, accepting, welcoming, and honest with each other. They were like family in the ways that their families weren’t. I loved that they had each other. They are a testament to how blood does not make a family.

I also loved their witty banter and how they were all down bishes 👏🏼!!

A seance? They were all there.

A blackout heist? Sign them up.

Drag brunch? Let’s go.

They had immaculate energy.

One of my favorite moments between all of them was when they were coming back from going to a drag party and they all crashed out in the living room on top of each other. It was such a vividly fun, endearing, and special scene because August didn’t even want to be friends with them in the beginning but there she was, sleeping with everyone in the living room after a drunken night. That’s true friendship. A true family 💜.

“‘Wes–

‘I’m wearing a shirt and no pants,’ he says. I’m Winnie the Pooh-ing it.'”

(pg. 270)

Oh, Wes 😆!

I also loved their Easter brunch conversation about what their ghosts would wear 😂. Casey McQuiston could keep the found family dynamic coming 👏🏼!!! I was here for it.

The Easter Brunch was one of the most iconic parts of this book for sure! I loved how Lucie and Winfield were there and we found out Winfield did drag. I loved how they all acted like young, dumb idiots with their Rolly Bang game. I also loved how we saw August in a more fun, relaxed light. She had fun moments before the Easter Brunch, but at the Easter Brunch she really let loose and let her inhibitions go to the trash and I loved that for her.

“She’s twenty-three years old, and she’s doing something absolutely stupid, and she’s allowed to do absolutely stupid things whenever she wants, and the rest doesn’t have to matter right now. How had she not realized it sooner?

As it turns out, letting herself have fun, is fun.”

(pg. 187)

When I’m writing this post, I’m twenty going on twenty-one in three months (it’s August 31, 2021) and I must say, I need to do more (reasonably) stupid things. I don’t know, I’m not the type of person to do stupid things because I’m scared of how I look or what might happen. But that’s just my overthinking part of me because gosh knows I haven’t done anything exciting where I just let go of stress, worries, or fears. I need to just allow myself to be young, dumb (within reason), and fun. Again, within reason. I don’t know, when reading about August letting go and having these crazy fun moments, it just made me feel weird about how I never had any moments like that and I should live it up and do fun things.

Anyway, I digress my lack of fun, especially within the past year and half. The brunch was just a fantastically written scene with so much good energy and love.

I also enjoyed the relationships in the group. We talked about Wes and Isaiah, so we need to discuss Myla and Niko.

II loved them. There was a beauty to how subtle their relationship was. It was all in the details of how they cared for each other, and some relationships are just that intuitive. I loved to see this type of relationship because we don’t see it often in books. I loved the way Niko would look at Myla, and the way they would joke around with each other. I also loved loved loved how they knew they were going to marry each other one day. I adored the ending when Myla had to contact her ex for the big plan and Niko trusted her and her acting to not be as jealous of a boyfriend as he could have been.

‘”I mean, honestly, it’s mostly this job. Um, yeah, and I got really into intermittent fasting. And vaping. Those are, like, my two main hobbies.’

‘Those are hobbies?’ Wes deadpans.

‘Do I even want to know what that means?’ Jane asks.

‘Shh,’ Niko hisses, ‘it’s getting good.’

. . . ‘She has to kill him,’ Wes says. ‘It’s the only way.'”

(pg. 366)

I also loved it when Niko proposed to her and Myla was like, “You stole my thunder” or something because she wanted to propose to him. I loved their love 💜.

I also adored August and Jane, of freaking course!!

“‘But maybe there was, like, an extra spark when you met, that pulled the trigger. What do you remember about it?’

‘I had spilled coffee all over my tits,’ August says.

‘Very sexy,’ Myla notes, nodding. ‘I get what she sees in you.'”

(pg. 237-8)

What a meet cute 😂.

Poor August when she actually talked to Jane and her first words were horny—-hi and morning 😂. That one got me.

” . . . but August has the sexual prowess of a goldfish and the emotional vocabulary to match.”

(pg. 76)

I felt that on a spiritual level.

When we met Jane, I was like, wow, this girl’s cool and nice????! WOW. Jane was the definition of cool. She had such good energy and positive vibes 😉, if you know what I mean. But when we met her, I loved how she gave August a red scarf to cover up her coffee tits so August wouldn’t be embarrassed on her first day of school. I loved the whole mystery of how the lights on the train went off and the Subway girl was gone. I loved their whole Coffee and Subway girl nickname. Their conversational flow was also sweet, and I also liked how they bonded over Pancake Billy’s House of Pancakes. That’s a mouthful of a name, but I love it! August worked at Billy’s after getting roped into it by Myla and Niko who told Lucie and Winfield that she knew how to do food service. Jane also used to work there. While I’m talking about Lucie and Winfield, I quite liked their characters too. The people at Billy’s were a found family as well with Lucie practically running the place since she immigrated to New York when she was younger. Lucie met Winfield and they fell in love—secretly. There was also Jerry, the chef, who had been there since Billy’s opening. They were a cool group of people who devoted their life to pancakes in New York.

After meeting Jane, August knew she had to see her again. I think we have all been there where we meet a person and we want to keep seeing them, so we find ways to see them. August went on the Subway at the exact same time and place so see Jane.

“And so, in her first month in the apartment on the corner of Flatbush and Parkside above the Popeyes, August learns that the Q is a time, a place, and a person.”

(pg. 38)

I loved loved loved the Q metaphor 💜.

The metaphor made me think about how many places can be seen as a time, place, and a person with the settings. I have never been to New York and I have never rode a train or a Q before, heck, I didn’t even know there was a name for the different train systems. Because I have no clue about the New York scene, Casey McQuiston sure brought New York to me! I hope to go to New York one day because it truly seems like a magical and upbeat gem of a city.

I loved the moment though when the train stopped one morning and Jane took out her walkman and she got the whole train car to have a dance party. Like I said, Jane had immaculate energy!

At the beginning of each chapter, I loved how Casey McQuiston put little meeting moments of Jane because it showed how much Jane had touched various lives without her knowing how her acts of kindness of love made an impact on people. I just loved Jane more because of how other people viewed her, and for Jane’s kindness. I think there’s a saying about how a person’s true nature is how they act when no one’s watching, and if that’s the case, Jane had a pure heart of gold. Truly. I was watching an interview with Emily Henry and Casey McQuiston and Casey McQuiston was talking about how she was interested in how the Q was a place where you could pass by people in an instant and they would blink out of your life just like that—-it was those fleeting moments and those what-are-the-chances moments that inspired her. I loved that. There have been so many moments where I would see people walking somewhere or sitting somewhere, and I would wonder who they were, what their story was, and if I would see them again. And when we observe the world around us, like truly taking the time to look, we can find so many beautiful stories in the making. I think that’s what the beauty of One Last Stop is—-the fleeting moment captured where a person doesn’t just become a blinked away memory. I also loved how we learn Jane represents that blink in time where we pass by someone without getting to know them, but with Jane we do get to know her. I just loved the thought behind the book.

I also LOVED the “It’s Tricky” dance party 😩💜!!!

That was SUCH a fun scene, honestly, iconic! What a joyful ride that was. But I loved loved loved when Jane went up to August and sang the part about “I met this little girly, her hair was really curly.” I mean, the song was made for this moment 🥺!!!

“‘Coffee Girl, don’t break my heart,’ Jane says.

So, August dances.”

(pg. 69)

Break my heart, Casey McQuiston 😩!

I felt absolutely awful when Jane didn’t show up to Billy’s when August asked her. Darn 😥 . That sucked. I knew Jane wasn’t going to show up. But then when August shooted her shot by asking Jane out—-to go to Billy’s for a coffee—and Jane was like “I can’t,” I felt TERRIBLE for August. I mean, when you put yourself out there and you get. turned down, a lot of the time it feels embarrassing. But I picked up on Jane’s language of “can’t.” Can’t meant she wanted to go get drinks with August, but she could not. Why could she not? Jane became a mystery of (losing) hope. And you know August loves a mystery.

“She can’t believe Jane had the nerve, had the audacity, to become the one thing August can’t resist: a mystery.”

(pg. 113)

For me, there were two reasons Jane was a mystery.

The first was who she was before August found the picture and then, obviously, who she was after August found the picture.

Before August found a picture that would change her perspective, Jane had this mysterious air, as I said. Why was she on the train at the same time everyday? Where was she going? What did she do now? Why didn’t she show up at Billy’s? Where did she live? It wasn’t strange she wore the same thing all the time because sometimes people do, and I don’t judge that. But I was curious who Jane was. Was she hiding a deeper darkness with a bubbly persona?

These were the questions.

August was working at Billy’s and walked by this picture of the opening of Billy’s. In the picture was a person who had the exact same tattoos, placement of the tattoos, and face as current day Jane. The only thing was the photo was taken in 1976 when Billy’s opened. So now, there was Jane the ghost. Or that’s what August thought and that’s why the 6F gang did a whole seance to see if they could call Jane’s ghost spirit if she were really dead. I loved how Isaiah was casually walking home from a drag show and how he nonchalantly said yes to joining their seance like they asked him if he wanted to drink coffee 😂. Isaiah was a down bish!

The first thing that came to mind when we found out Jane came from the 1976 was she was Asian don’t raisin 😂!

I mean, what, she would be 45 years old, it’s not toooo crazy she would look that good 🤪. But then I was like, oh, she was twenty-three in 1973, so she would be 68. But even then, she could be Asian don’t raisin. Or she could have botox or something. I don’t know, you can do anything these days.

Jane was truly a blast from the past.

It made sense why she liked 70s music or why she wore the same outfit. I loved how over the course of the book, we see Jane learn more about present day things—music, technology, phones. That makes me wonder though, if she could see all these technological advancements over the years, how come she didn’t at least think about how that was? She must have known she was stuck on the train, you know. But I loved how she texted like one would an email. How endearing. I thought it was cute that August and Jane would send music as secret messages back and forth like their own love language. I also loved when Jane asked about the “wifey/wifi.” It was just really cute to see her be amazed by everything that we have become so used to these days. It must have been so strange for her to figure out that she basically lived through multiple decades without really living through it. I also felt sucky that she was stuck on a train; as if quarantine in our house didn’t make us stir crazy enough. I guess she had the views to look at when the train moved, but still, I would have felt claustrophobic and restless.

Jane had been stuck on the Q for 45 years. It was also interesting how Myla and August worked through this theory that Jane got stuck on the train because she slipped through the timeline because of some accident. What event pushed her forward in time? Honestly, after watching Loki, all I could think of was Jane being a Variant 🤪. I mean, she kind of was one, right? The TVA is shaking. I’m joking, they are more shook about the multiversal war on their hands, but still.

But I still had a whole slew of new questions. How did she not know she wasn’t stuck on a train? How come she never felt funny about never getting to get off the train? Had she not tried to get off the train before? I mean, part of her had to know she couldn’t leave the Q because she “couldn’t” get drinks with August. Why August/what made August different? So . . .

Jane didn’t know who she was, so August was going to help Jane figure it out. You know because she liked Jane, but if you asked August her reasons, I’m pretty sure she would have said otherwise. I knew it was a bad idea when Jane and August started to kiss “for research” and “only research.” Yea, right 😅. We all knew it wasn’t research. We love an excuse for main characters to kiss!

Can we just talk about how Casey McQuiston really gave us the most tropey iconic kiss scene between Jane and August? Casey McQuiston said, I’mma give the readers what they want 👏🏼.

1. Rain slicked? We got it.

2. Backing up against a wall? It was there for sure.

3. An angsty, tense build up to the kiss? YUP.

Wow.

What sucked was how after they kissed, Jane said the name “Jenny.” I cringed 😆. They just had a steamy kiss and Jane said another girl’s name. YIKES. I mean, that’s what they wanted for “research,” but that wasn’t a kiss of discovery, that was a KISS. I loved how the instant Niko saw her after that kiss, he was like, “Oh, you f****** up.” Yea, she did 😂. No matter how many times August kept telling herself that she could compartmentalize or that she didn’t like Jane, we all knew she did. LA DUH!

I absolutely loved when they took the Easter Brunch to Jane on the train because it was her birthday. She could remember that, apparently 🤪. I just loved the energy that they brought to the Q and the whole New Orleans money tradition. But my favorite part was the build-up to Jane and August’s non-research related kiss. That’s when Jane figured out her whole past—her name was really Biyu and she had a family in San Francisco who she distanced herself from. She too also jumped around from place to place like August.

“She kept running, because she never quite learned what home was supposed to feel like.”

(pg. 199)

Jane was also super cool because she was an activist. We just didn’t know how Jane got to New York or why she was stuck on the train. I felt like it had something to do with Billy’s because in the beginning, August and everyone kept describing Billy’s as magic. I wasn’t sure.

But the more August knew about Jane, the more real Jane was; she wasn’t a ghost. August’s feelings were also very real. I really liked August’s just do-it attitude when it came to making a move with Jane. She figured that she wasn’t going to waste time not being with Jane because she would fear she would get hurt if Jane disappeared or if they somehow pushed her back in time where Jane wanted to go. August still held herself at a distance from Jane in the sense that she just wanted to kiss and sleep with Jane and have that be enough. Also, Jane had a reputation of being with someone and then leaving, but I knew August wasn’t couldn’t be just casual with Jane.

The 3 am date was something else.

Why did this book feel smuttier? 🙈

I thought Red, White, and Royal Blue was smutty, this was smuttier.

“She kisses like she’s making a reputation.”

(pg. 218)

They broke the train with their smut 😂. When the train stopped and it conveniently got dark enough for them to get it on, I laughed. How convenient. August and Jane said let’s seize the opportunity while we have it. I mean, why not? They were public friends with benefits after that because this opportunity didn’t come again. But I would just like to pose the question, are there cameras on a Q or a train these days? If so, they might have gotten a show. Wonderful. Hahahaha. August really said her legs were shook. I was shook.

To our less intimate smutty scenes that were just as fun . . .

I liked when Jane took August train car jumping. How romantic and sane 🙃.

August had this moment more towards the beginning where she got news that she could graduate. Honestly, let me applaud August for, by some miracle, being able to graduate when she spent the majority of her time on the Q. That’s the level of miracle I need for my last year of college. Jokes aside, I could relate to her post-grad worries and not wanting to leave college to be an “adult”. As a senior in college, I especially felt this sentiment. When I was a freshman in college, it just felt like the world—-the real world, the adult world—–was more or less than four years away, something I didn’t need to think or worry about. Now that I am a senior, it has been four years and I’m graduating soon into the real-adult world. The more I ruminate on this thought, the more I have found myself feeling scared, terrified, petrified actually to think of how I have been saying I am soooo tired of school, but I also don’t want to work my life away now. It’s so weird this senior fears or whatever people call it because I feel like this is such a real thing people experience as a senior in college or high school. I mean, I don’t want to be in school anymore, but I also don’t want to do real world things—–I’d rather just have my summer, winter, spring, and fall breaks; read all the time; not have to worry about bills or other adulting things. Being an adult without the safety net of college feels scary.

“‘I don’t know how to have something that I do, every day, like as an adult who does a thing. It’s nuts that we all start having these vague ideas of what we like to do, hobbies, interests, and then one day everybody has their thing, you know. . . . Like, things. That they do. that they are.'”

(pg. 160)

I will say I feel humbled that I knew what I wanted to do from a young age, but for other people it doesn’t come easy—-to know what they want to do for the rest of your life. The older I got, the more I realized though that a person doesn’t need to stick to one job or career for their entire life because people naturally change, and sometimes that means progressions. That is okay. We need to normalize chaining interests and careers because that happens. I also feel like it’s unfair to place so much pressure on young adults or new adults to have it all figured out by the time they leave school. Even if a person knows what they want to do after school, no one really knows what they are doing. I don’t know what I’m doing and I question it everyday. It’s just such a crazy time to be on the cusp of being a new adult, but still being a new adult, and I appreciate books like One Last Stop that explore the early 20s age range. Being in your early 20s is just as, if not more, rough, complicated, and confusing than being in one’s teens.

When do people become labeled as their job?

It’s a sad thought.

Anyway, Jane had August jump train cars as a way for August to trust herself and to know the universe had her back. I loved the metaphor of the train car jumping, but not sure about the reality of jumping train cars 😆.

“‘None of us know exactly who we are, and guess what? It doesn’t [freaking] matter. Gosh knows I don’t, but I’ll find my way to it . . . Maybe I don’t know what fills it in yet, but I can look at the space around where I sit in the world, what creates shape, and I can care about what it’s made of, if it’s good, if it hurts anyone, it makes people happy, if it makes me happy. And that can be enough for now.’“

(pg. 185)

For someone stuck on a train for 45 years, Jane was wise.

I also liked their intimate conversation at the end before the big Save Billy’s Brunch Drag fundraiser. They had to raise money to save Billy’s and buy the building. I liked that Casey McQuiston added gentrification and small businesses because, especially because of everything within the last year. Small businesses have been closing down in the blink of an eye. Large corporations have stuck around, and it sucks. Honestly, no one needs another McDonald’s or a green smoothie place. We need relics that have been there since the beginning of time, or for a long time at least. There is just something so magical to know a place has been there and will be there. Billy’s was that place. I had a restaurant that my family and I would go to every weekend. I would always order the hamburger steak plate—the adult size—as a kid and devour it all by myself. Then we would share a fried ice cream for dessert. That was a must. Everyone at the restaurant knew us—-a waitress would call me doll or sweetie and the servers were always affable. It felt like a family. They closed down in 2014 because the building became too expensive. That was the day my heart cried. I genuinely never felt so sad about a place closing before. It almost felt like I lost a home I never knew I had. The restaurant became some sort of crab shack, and frankly I don’t know who eats there 😂. Not me, that’s for sure! Their parking lot is always empty, but you know why they’ve been in business for seven years now? Because they’re a chain restaurant. SUCKS.

That’s why it is so important to support small businesses and to advocate for them. I liked how the gang was going to do a drag brunch. I would pay to go to that.

Anyway, back to the moment I was talking about. August and Jane were opening up about very serious emotions and fears. Then Jane just went and flipped the mood like a pancake 😂.

“‘So, I convinced myself that, because the statistical likelihood of something happening in real life exactly the way I imagined it was so low, if I imagined the worst possible things in vivid detail, I could mathematically reduce the odds of them happening. . . I’d lie awake at night thinking about all the worst stuff that could happen like it was my job, and I don’t know if I ever really broke the habit.’

Jane listens silently, nodding . . . She can let a silence settle, let a truth breathe.

Then she opens her mouth and says, ‘Sometimes I like to have my a** slapped during sex.'”

(pg. 336)

That really came out of nowhere. I was CACKLING.

Way to ruin the mood Jane 😂—in the best way.

I just loved August and Jane and when they finally decided they weren’t going to just be casual.

Further into their relationship, Jane remembered something about a person she used to room with, Augie. Augie was Augusts’s infamous missing uncle/the mom’s brother she had been searching for her whole life. Jane saw the pocketknife August had and things clicked for her. Jane remembered that Augie passed away in a LGBTQIA+ bar called the UpStairs, which was interesting to learn that it was actually a real bar. I loved how Casey McQuiston seamlessly integrated history into OLS because it gave me a spark to want to research more about these events I have never heard about. Hearing the story, August was shocked because her mother and her had spent practically their whole lives searching for the uncle and the uncle had passed away. They didn’t get to say goodbye. Recounting the story to August was even more painful for Jane as a queer woman who thought things were still the same in the world—-unacceptance of the queer community. There are still people in the world who have varying perspectives, but to see where we are today compared to twenty years ago is encouraging—-encouraging to where we can go next in our acceptance and inclusion. But it broke my heart to still know that back then the queer community was treated like nothing and how burning the UpStairs was a prejudiced attack to try to erase the queer community. That’s absolutely not acceptable or right, and I didn’t like how the police did nothing to solve the case just because the people in the fire were queer. If it were any other people, I guarantee the police would have been on the case. I just was heartbroken thinking about the absolute wrongness of that. I could also understand how Jane felt because she didn’t know how far the world had come.

This was the first time we saw Jane anything other than her happy, positive self. I think we needed to see vulnerable Jane because gosh, being stuck on a train and seeing life pass her by had to be difficult practically every day. She couldn’t see/find her sisters. She couldn’t try new foods or do new things. She couldn’t experience bars and parties the same way August could. She couldn’t see how the world changed . I understood why she wanted to go back to the 70s. I understood it, but I didn’t like it because I wanted Jane to be with August. That’s the romantic part in me talking, but I knew part of Jane wanted to stay with August too but her family and life back then were important to her as well. I just really felt Jane’s misery and I felt terrible for her situation.

“She’s right. August knows she’s right. She’s been digging Jane’s life back up, but Jane is the one who has to sit on the train alone and live it all over again.”

(pg. 298)

When Jane told August to basically leave her alone, I was like no sis! You might disappear!

But August was kind enough to respect Jane’s wishes but I think Jane just needed a moment to process her grief and her very real emotions. I understood why they fought and it was okay. I read somewhere in a different Good Reads (GR) book review about how normal August and Jane’s argument was and how they didn’t argue because of betrayal or some big thing. When I read that GR point, I was like that’s true. Most books have a big argument because of a betrayal or something, but I liked how their argument wasn’t because they hated each other or someone did something wrong, there was just a lot of pent up emotions and confusions. Arguments shouldn’t be two people against each other, but two people against a problem. The latter was what Jane and August’s argument felt like.

When giving August space, August had this moment where Jerry opened up about actually knowing Jane. The dude really could have just clued in August from the beginning 🙃. Jerry worked with Jane and thought Jane had left New York in 1977 because she said she was going to leave for California where Augie was actually alive and well. But it wasn’t weird no one looked for Jane that night. That night Jane saved Jerry’s life when she jumped in the tracks to save a drunken Jerry from being train mush; on brand for Jane’s selflessness, I must say. When Jane jumped on the tracks, the New York Blackout of 1977 happened. I am an uncultured person in New York history; I had zero clue what the NY Blackout was. I researched it afterwards and it was so interesting to learn about. I should have learned about this in school 😅. I digress, so the big event that pushed Jane to the future was the NY blackout. The plan was to recreate the NY Blackout so for only the Q train Jane would be on. They would do this during the Billy’s fundraiser that they would now have on a train platform near the train control panels. I loved how Myla, Niko, Wes, and Isaiah were again, down to do anything. I loved how Myla roped in her ex by playing all sweet and flirty to get them to have a party at the train station. Also, the idea was good because there were a lot of people who had already bought tickets to the drag brunch and they needed a bigger venue. I also loved how they called the plan a heist. When I think of heists, I see the Crows and think of the Ice Court, if you know, you know!

The way Jane and August reconciled was cute—-both apologetic because they knew they said too much and they loved each other. I loved them.

The ending scene when Jane and August are preparing for Myla to initiate the blackout, truly and utterly got me. It was endearing to see how far August had come from someone who didn’t have a home, let alone want a home to wanting to take Jane home and create a life with her. I also loved hearing how much August wanted Myla, Niko, and Wes in her life—-she found a home and a family.

“‘Son, you gotta make your own place to belong.’ So, to a place to belong.”

(pg. 393)

I loved that for her 💜—that she found and made a place to belong. I started to cry when Jane gave August her leather jacket just in case Jane really did get blasted back to the past or she disappeared. I also loved loved loved when Jane talked about this girl she met.

“‘There was this girl,’ she says. ‘There was this girl. I met her on a train. The first time I saw her, she was covered in coffee and smelled like pancakes, and she was beautiful like a city you always wanted to go to, like how you wait years and years for the right time, and then as soon as you get there, you have to taste everything and touch everything to learn every street by name I felt like I knew her. She reminded me who I was . . . hard like you wouldn’t believe. Stubborn, sharp as a knife. And I never, ever wanted a person to save me until she did.'”

(pg. 373)

Here, let me pass the tissues 😭.

I sobbed when August finally told Jane she loved her. Full throttle tears I tell you.

“What if this is August’s last chance?

. . . ‘Hey Subway Girl,’ August calls out.

‘I love you . . . I’m in absolute [fudge]-off, life-ruining love with you, and I can’t—I can’t do this and not tell you.”

‘I fell in love with you the day I met you, and then I fell in love with the person you remembered you are. I got to fall in love with you twice. That’s—-that’s magic.'”

(pg. 375)

Keep going August!!! Pour your heart out 😭!!

And when Jane said “You were—-are the love of my life.” I WAS A MESS. A MESS.

The blackout did nothing the first time, and when August jumped on the tracks to give an electrifying kiss to Jane to see if that would help, I was CONFLICTED. August, don’t go on the tracks! But awwww, be with Jane. And gosh, I was terrified of what was going to happen to August and Jane and I was all over the place. I loved how Jane looked at August before August jumped on the tracks and said how much she wanted to live for August and live with her. I wanted the same thing 😩!

Honestly, you couldn’t say their love wasn’t magical or had sparks.

Maybe their “research kisses” did help after all in the end 😂.

Darn, when I tell you how disappointed and devastated I was that Jane wasn’t there, I tell you I was as devastated as when I read Allegiant. I was gutted. I was torn. I was broken. I felt like August.

“This is the city where she got her heart broken. Nothing anchors a person to a place quite like that.”

(pg. 382)

I was going through withdrawals. What do you mean Jane didn’t make it??????????

I refused to believe that.

Seeing how August tried to adjust to life after Jane was painful, more painful than hot coffee on the tits.

“Sometimes you just have to feel it because it deserves to be felt.”

(pg. 345)

When the Love of My Life song came on the radio because Jane had requested it earlier in the week leading up to the Blackout, I cried for August. I mean, she was trying to heal and then the song played and it probably felt like a piece of Jane was still there. There were also the little details of the knife carving of their names on the train seat. Or Jane’s leather jacket August kept on the back of her desk chair—yes, she did have more furniture.

“A year and a half, and she’ll have lost Jane for longer than she had her.”

(pg. 384)

I loved how supportive and loving her roommates were. August needed a support system through everything. I especially liked the moment with Niko and how he talked about how he knew from August’s initial reading that August would feel great pain. The fact that he knew that probably broke his heart and I think part of the reason he wanted August as a roommate—-so he could help August through her pain and to be there when she needed it.

With the end, we needed some mom resolution. I thought it was interesting that the mom came out to see August after their big argument. I wonder what the mom will do now that she can put the case behind. I wonder if she will be a better mother figure to August.

The fundraiser did generate a lot of money, but they needed about $15,000 dollars more to save Billy’s. August got a check for $15,000 in an even elope from her mom and grandparents. I absolutely loved how August used the money to save Billy’s 💜. It just goes to show how Billy’s became more than just a diner that served pancakes, but it was a home, a family, a relic in time—-a person, a time, and a place. When they had the Billy’s party and someone walked through the door, I started to SCREAM!!!

I laughed when August threw the chair aside because she was like, “Get this chair out the way!” Her woman was THERE!

“Jane is spun sugar. A switchblade rifle with a cotton-candy heart.”

(pg. 409)

I SOBBED. I Cheered. I was soooo happy for August and Jane 🥺💜!!!

I wonder where Jane was in the three months she wasn’t there? What happened to her after the blackout? Was she like in a TVA timescale rejuvenating herself? I guess it was all fate and magic, honestly, I was just ecstatic they got their happily ever after! When they said the fake passing quote is a good trope, it surely got me. But I loved loved loved when August took Jane home 🥺. They sure made use of the time they were alone in the apartment 😆. Truly smuttier. I wonder if August slapped during the whole time 🙈. YIKES. Jane ruined the brain.

It was so cute to see Jane acclimating to the 21st century. Of course, we needed to take her to Taco Bell! I. loved that. I also loved how Jane felt like a roommate who had always been there. I liked how August set down even more roots with Jane in buying a bed frame that Jane put together. I can’t believe that was August’s big dream—-that someone put together IKEA furniture for her 😂. I guess. I loved how all the roommates were super chill about Jane being there as well. I was also happy for the whole lot of them because Wes and Isaiah finally were together and Myla and Niko were engaged. I could honestly read novellas or entire books about either of the 6f couples because they are pure joy. I would have loved more scenes and banter with them at the end, but that’s just because I loved them so much.

When Jane had adjusted to life a bit better, August presented her with a folder of where her sisters were. Jane wasn’t sure about finding her family before because of how much it would hurt, but I liked how gentle August was about telling Jane that she found her family and they could see them or they could not—it was up to what she wanted. I also loved loved loved that August knew what she wanted to do. I mean, it was kind of obvious that she would do something with investigating because that was her passion, but I liked how she was going to be a social media PI in some ways. I think that’s pretty darn cool because we lose people in our life or they pass us by and sometimes we wish we knew what happened to them or where they are. I loved the idea of reuniting people—-all those missed connections.

I adored the end letter that August found in her sex notebook that Jane left her before the blackout. I teared up even more. This whole book was a sob fest—-mostly happy tears. What got me was how Jane also thought of August as a person, place, and time. I just loved how we circled back to this metaphor because it highlights how people are events, grand occasions of life. People hold a place, a time, and essence in our heart. They are the connections we seek more than anything. Especially within the last year and half, human connection is something I think about a lot because we haven’t been going anywhere to meet new people or to talk to people because we have to social distance ourselves and yada yada yada, that it’s been hard to form human connections. But we need connections as people because that’s how we survive—-having people in our life for our happiest, saddest, craziest, confusing moments. We need people to go through life with. And I loved the whole idea of finding what we lost and all those missed connections that we lose overtime or in time. There was something beautiful said about the ending and the book in general 💜.

“We all have ghosts. People who pass through our lives, there one moment and gone the next—lost friends, family, family histories faded through time . . . I can find people who’ve slipped through the cracks. Email me. Maybe I can help.”

(pg. 417)

This brief paragraph held the essence of the story.

Overall, I just loved every second of One Last Stop and it’s the kind of book you can fall in love with again and again and it will never get old. The jokes, the characters, the setting—-all of it was pure magic. OLS was a time because the book came out in a year. We needed travel, escapism, love, and hope. OLS was a place with New York and the 6F gang running through the streets. We got to be on the Q and to go to drag bars and clubs. We also got to be at Billy’s infamous pancake house where so many beautiful moments happened. OLS was a place. OLS was a person, more so a people. It was a lost family, a found family, a pancake family, a cotton-candy blast from the past girl, and a sharp witted sweet girl. OLS was a person. OLS is an occasion and an event. OLS was beautiful.

Anyway, what was your favorite part of the book? Least favorite part? What are your favorite places in New York? Or what has been your favorite city to visit?

What did you think of the book? Let me know below in the comments as I love hearing from you all 💕

I hope you have a beautiful day whenever and wherever you might be reading this 😊.

And as always, with love,

Rating

5 Full Bloom Flowers

Characters: Absolutely adored every single character in this book, and there were many. They all captured different essences of life and I loved how we got to know the strengths and vulnerabilities of each person in this book, as well as the relationships they formed with each other.

Plot: Magic on a train with drag parties, pancake houses, witty banter, found family, New York, significant events in NY, and a whole lot of smut? What’s not to love?

Writing: Casey McQuiston won me over with OLS. Phenomenal.

Romance: Jane and August felt like an honest relationship, and I loved how they brought out the best in each other. I also loved how they were exactly what each other needed 💜