Reviews
This novel will forever stay in my mind. It is so amazing, wholesome and cute. It feels like a big giant hug, like a peaceful place where we can go and feel comforted and reassured that everything is going to be alright and that things will end in the best way possible.There is so much diverse LGBT+ rep in this novel; it was integrated well and didn't feel forced or stereotypical. Each character was its being, with its own identity. They were all so well-developed, in so many ways and the overall cast of characters was lovable and very complex. August is the main protagonist, she lacks artifice and is very minimalist at the beginning of the novel, partly because of her unconventional upbringing; and I absolutely loved the way she slowly opened up throughout the novel and her various meetings with new people. Jane, the love interest, is an Asian lesbian woman who got stuck on the New York subway in the 1970s. She is amazing, very resilient and courageous. Ever since she was stuck, she forgot everything that happened in the first years of her life, and I found the process of her getting her memories back so well done. There was the happiness of finding an old memory, and also the grief of knowing she might not be able to ever go back to her own time. The paradox of Jane wishing to find her old life again, and creating a new one in our time with August was well-handled. I think a novel like this is so nice to read to forget our own problems and get transported in a magical world because even if it takes place in contemporary New York, the magical elements make it the perfect escapism book. The thoughtful inclusion of serious and ongoing issues, like the aids pandemic, gentrification and homophobia, as well as racism allowed the book to really be rooted in reality.One Last Stop is a love letter to the world, to love, to friends, to found families and to the LGBT+ community. It's romantic, cute, sexy and emotional, everything we could ask for in a book !!!
i just loved it so much, a cute lil sapphic love story that felt doomed from the start only for me to get my silly little happy ending.i loved literally every character and their own lil love stories. and just the beautiful interwoven queer found family.my only thing is, i hatehate pda but imma let it slide this one time bc sapphics xbut also. one last stop deserved the same hype rwrb got.
I have nothing to say. I loved the found family/queer friend group vibes.
OMG!! This book takes readers on such an emotional journey!! I had high hopes for this book after so many friends and BookTubers talked about it, and for me, it did not disappoint!In this story, we follow August, a slightly pessimistic young woman who has just moved to New York with hopes that a new city will be better for her and give her a chance to take college courses somewhere new. She quickly finds a new home with a diverse group of characters who make her feel loved right away. One day while on the train to her classes, she meets a girl named Jane, with her leather jacket and tattoos and gorgeous smile. It seems odd but August is so happy that every time August takes the train, Jane is there. Soon, however, August and her friends realize that there may be something off with Jane. She is stuck on this one train and cannot get off. Can August and her friends help her escape? Can August help her without falling in love with her?I loved this book! For me, there was just enough spice without being over the top. August and Jane's friendship/relationship takes quite a few twists and turns as August researches ways to help Jane remember her life and get her free. The story did feel a little longer than it needed to be but I really enjoyed the dialogue between August and Jane was well as between August and her flatmates. Also, being someone who doesn't really love a ton of fantasy, the magical-realism in this book was just enough to take me out of reality without making it too confusing.There is so much representation in the different characters and I absolutely loved this in addition to the relationship between August and Jane. We have a trans Latino psychic, queer Black engineer with a Chinese adoptive mom, a queer Jewish tattoo artist, two amazing NY drag queens, a bi woman who is scared to stay in one place for too long, and a Chinese lesbian stuck in the 70s as the world around her continues. I feel that there was a ton of pieces to learn from and enjoy in this story. But be ready to have your heart broken a few times. Overall, I really enjoyed the different issues this book brought up (anxiety, loss of a loved one, homophobia, racism, hate crimes) and the great variety of diverse representation. I understand how some might not love this book as much as I did but I would still highly recommend that everyone give it a chance!Quotes:"Do you ever hear yourself talk, though? You're cool. You're smart. Maybe people at your stupid Catholic school were just dicks, man. You've got a brighter glow than you realize" pg. 51"1976. Jane. A simple dimple at one side of her mouth. Barely a day younger than she looks every morning on the train" pg. 80"I remember moments. Sometimes days, or only hours. I knew I was stuck here, somehow. I know I've tried to get off and blinked and opened my eyes in a different car. I remember some people I've met. That half the things in my bag are something I traded for, stole, or found. But it's - it's all fuzzy. You know when you drink too much and black out except for random pieces? It's like that." pg. 110"It drops quietly into the space between them: maybe it's them. Maybe it's August. Maybe she's the reason" pg. 127"August, you said it yourself - if she doesn't see you for a while, she starts to come unstuck. It's not like she's on every train all the time - she's flickering to the one you're on. You're what's keeping her here. You've watched Lost - you're her constant" pg. 235"It's like I died, she cuts in. Her voice cracks in the middle. I died, except I have to feel it. And on top of that, I have to feel everything else I've ever felt all over again. I have to get the bad news again every day, I have to deal with the choices I made, and I can't fix it. I can't even run from it. It's miserable, August" pg. 293"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 and learn every street by name. I felt like I knew her. She reminded me who I was. She had soft lips and green eyes and a body that wouldn't quit. Hair 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"You are the most important person I've ever met. And I should have never met you at all" pg. 404
Okay but what gave this book the right??? A+, 10/10, no notes.
⭐️2.5-3As my first sapphic romance and the second book I have read by Casey McQuiston (the first was Red, White and Royal Blue, which was an enjoyable read), I had high expectations for this book. It was also a book I really wanted to love.Unfortunately, I wasn't able to connect with this book.Starting with the characters. August never seemed to warm up to me for some reason. It might have something to do with how infatuated she is with Jane and how instantly she falls for her. I found it kind of weird that August literally put her life on hold to resolve the mystery surrounding Jane. Having never liked insta-love plots, I thought August's love for Jane felt abrupt, for lack of a better term, instantaneous, which I thought was absurd. As a love interest, Jane was fine, and I warmed up to her much quicker than I did to August. Jane is quite a charmer and smooth talker (at times I found myself drawn to her), but she is also one-dimensional, flat, and passive throughout the novel, as many readers have mentioned. Since August and Jane's love story felt like a love at first sight romance, I was unable to fully invest in their relationship. Although they had playful, light-hearted banter throughout the book, I would have been fine with them just being friends. That's how dissatisfied I was with their 'romantic' relationship.As for August's roommates (Myla, Nico, and Wes), I did not connect with or enjoy their quirky banter. At first, it was fine, but then it felt way too much, to the point where sometimes I just zoned out during their interactions. However, if I'm being completely honest, I might have had a little crush on both Nico and Jane. I was drawn to both of them for some reason.Besides Isaiah/Annie Depressant (I'm a huge drag queen fan), the side characters were just meh. No strong feelings were felt towards them.Now let's talk about the writing and the plot.I found myself zoning out many parts of the book, particularly the parts about Jane's past, the connection between Jane and the trainline (the sci-fi/time travel storyline), August's Uncle Augie's disappearance, and the potential closing of Billy's. Although they played a huge, essential role in this book, I couldn't force myself to care about all these different plots/storylines. Particularly when it seemed that the romance of this book was taking a back seat when these plots/storylines were being explored. In this book, the romance is barely present and when it does occur, it is short-lived and a bit meh, especially when scenes between Jane and August take place under false pretences.Honestly, I struggled to connect to and fall in love with this book, which is disheartening as I was initially really excited and intrigued about it. For me, this book can be summarized with one word: meh
I try to provide honest reviews on here, good and bad. I did not love this book, though I really wanted to. This is a great book to read for Pride Month, with lots of representation of the LGBTQIA community. In that aspect, the roommates and other side characters were great (and were among the bright spots of the book) and I loved seeing that representation. The book talks a bit about the UpStairs Lounge fire and the Pulse nightclub shooting, the Lounge fire not being something I'd heard of before which I appreciated. But....For me, there was just something missing about this book. For the first half, I struggled to pick it up - there wasn't anything compelling about it. The premise is totally crazy, with the magical realism and time travel. While I've enjoyed magical realism in other books (Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson for instance), I don't think it worked here. The second half got a bit better, but the roommates became stronger characters in this part of the book which made a difference in my enjoyment. The author tried to write the connection between main characters Jane and August into the second half as this stronger thing, beyond just an attraction but it didn't quite work for me. I am still going to encourage you to pick it up and give it a try anyway, since I know lots of others do love it. Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy.
I had already read the book in English last year and now I read the Portuguese version, I have nothing to complain about the translation, the book was very good at the end and cute during it, but the sex scenes between them in the middle of the subway I found it a bit unhygienic and it bothered me a lot, Casey's writing is not bad writing but I see that all her books my grade will always be 4.