Casey McQuiston's "One Last Stop" blends stellar queer romance with an out of this world twist

Casey McQuiston's 2019 debut novel Red, White and Royal Blue was a smash hit. The queer romance between the son of the first female president and England's prince landed McQuiston on the New York Times Best Seller's List. McQuiston has followed up their auspicious first novel with a new queer romance; this time focused on a young woman named August, her plucky group of queer friends, and a romance that transcends time and space, literally.

One Last Stop is the story of August Landry, a 23-year-old bisexual woman who moves to Brooklyn in an attempt to finish college (she's transferred colleges three times so far with no luck) and find herself. Low on cash and holding her cards close to her vest, she ends up sharing an apartment with a psychic, an artist/electrical engineer, a tattoo artist and his poodle, Noodles. After years of going it alone, August is suddenly flush with over-eager friends and a job at the infamous Pancake Billy's House of Pancakes. One fateful day on the Q train, August runs into a charming butch named Jane, who is about to turn August's world upside down. Jane is nearly perfect: gorgeous, charming, funny, displaced in time and unable to leave the Q. Yes, Jane is actually from the 70s and has been trapped on the Q for decades (though it only feels like months to her). August decides to help Jane regain her memories while also falling head over heels for the time traveler.

McQuiston nails it with the slow-burn, sexy, funny One Last Stop. Characters are so fully drawn they practically leap off the page. While often supporting characters get short shrift in romances, August's roommates Nico, Myla, and Wes have their own mini-arcs and fully-fleshed personalities. August and Jane's romance is as steamy as New York in July, tender and hilarious, awkward and poignant.

For lovers of romance novels and new adult fiction, you won't want to miss One Last Stop, available now wherever you buy books and as an audiobook.