Book Description

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.

My Review

Red, White, and Royal Blue is one of my most favorite books, so I was excited about McQuiston’s next book…. but I’ll admit that I was a bit skeptical when I found out that it was going to be a love story with a subway ghost. To be fair, my curiosity was definitely piqued by this premise, so I went into my reading experience with any open mind.

August has spent her entire life helping her mother with a missing-person cases, and she’s grown rather resentful of this over the years. So, in some ways, it’s ironic that she becomes just as consumed with researching 1970s Brooklyn in her quest to help Jane.

This is a solid rom-com, but there’s a definite mystery element as well. Helping Jane recovery her story becomes a priority, with dual concerns: what happened to lead us to this point, and what’s going to happen next?

We only have August’s perspective in this narrative, and as much as it would have been nice to have Jane’s, it makes sense that we don’t. After all, Jane lives in the moment and doesn’t remember much of anything that happened to her before she ended up on the subway.  

The development of the romance is exquisite. It’s certainly unconventional: how do you have a relationship with someone who can’t ever leave the subway? But somehow, they make it work.

I would absolutely recommend One Last Stop. I’m pleased to admit that my concerns were unfounded. This book was amazing and there are so many lovely heartfelt moments. It’s sweet and funny and poignant. I would read a spinoff book featuring any of August’s roommates. This book was so different from RW&RB, but they are both so lovely in their own way, and I’m already looking forward to McQuiston’s next book, no matter what it’s about.