A young woman meets the love of her life on the subway, but there's one problem: Her dream girl is actually a time traveler from the 1970s. Twenty-three-year-old August Landry arrives in New York with more cynicism than luggage (she can fit everything she owns into five boxes, and she'd love to downsize to four), hoping to blend in and muddle through. She spent most of her childhood helping her amateur sleuth mother attempt to track down August's missing uncle, and all that detective work didn't leave a lot of time for things like friendship and fun. But she ends up finding both when she moves into an apartment full of endearing characters--Niko, a trans psychic whose powers are annoyingly strong; his charismatic artist girlfriend, Myla; and their third roommate, a tattoo artist named Wes. And then, on a fateful subway ride, she meets Jane. Jane isn't like any other girl August has ever met, and eventually, August finds out why--Jane, in her ripped jeans and leather jacket, is actually a time traveler from the 1970s, and she's stuck on the Q train. As August, who's bisexual, navigates the complexity of opening her heart to her first major crush, she realizes that she might be the only one with the knowledge and skills to help Jane finally break free. McQuiston, author of the beloved Red, White, and Royal Blue (2019), introduces another ensemble full of winning, wacky, impossibly witty characters. Every scene that takes place with August's chosen family of friends crackles with electricity, warmth, and snappy pop-culture references, whether they're at a charmingly eccentric 24-hour pancake diner or a drag queen brunch. But there are also serious moments, both in the dramatic yearning of August and Jane's limited love affair (it can be hard to be romantic when all your dates take place on the subway) and in the exploration of the prejudice and violence Jane and her friends faced as queer people in the 1970s. The story does drag on a bit too long, but readers who persevere through the slower bits will be rewarded with a moving look at the strength of true love even when faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles. A sweet, funny, and angst-filled romance with a speculative twist. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Part coming-of-age romantic comedy and part sci-fi mystery, the latest from McQuiston (Red, White & Royal Blue) is a modern take on falling in love. Young August has just arrived in Brooklyn, welcomed with open arms by an eclectic cast of roommates, neighbors, and coworkers, when she finds herself digging a mysterious, dynamic punk girl on the Q train. Only one problem stands in the way of this budding romance: Jane, her train crush, is stuck in time, riding the subway indefinitely without any knowledge of where she came from or how to break her strange quantum leap. Natalie Naudus's narration delivers the humor, joy, and earnestness of August's internal monologue as she falls in love. In addition, she does a wonderful job delivering unique performances for the rest of the entourage that help carry this mysterious love story to its conclusion. VERDICT This sweet yet passionate love story with a fresh twist of time-traveling mystery is well worth a listen.--Sarah Tansley, Chicago P.L.

August Landry, self-described bisexual disaster, moves to New York with the vague goal of finishing college and putting some distance between her and her mother back in New Orleans, who can only think about her missing brother. August is cynical and closed off, but she manages to make friends with her roommates in Flatbush, and she manages to fall in love with a girl she meets on the subway. The problem is that Jane only exists on the Q, having gotten stuck there some time in the 1970s. But as they get to know each other, the connections pile up like a full stack at Pancake Billy's House of Pancakes. Maybe this isn't just love; maybe it's destiny. McQuiston's follow-up to her megahit debut, Red, White & Royal Blue (2019), is the same kind of hilarious, sexy love story with a strong narrative voice. Her affection for her characters--each of whom lives on the spectrum of sexuality and gender--gleams, and no quirk is wasted as this romance morphs into an homage to found family and coming-of-age, and onto a metaphysical heist. It is a love story on all levels, one that marvels at the magic of human connection and is unabashedly romantic.

McQuiston's joyful sophomore romp mixes all the elements that made Red, White & Royal Blue so outstanding--quirky characters, coming-of-age confusion, laugh-out-loud narration, and hilarious pop-cultural references ("Bella Swan, eat your horny little Mormon heart out")--into something totally its own. At 23, August Landry moves to Brooklyn with few belongings but heaps of emotional baggage from a childhood spent helping her conspiracy theorist mother work to track down a long-missing relative. She is, as her new roommate puts it, "a reformed girl detective," and she's jaded and bitter enough to earn the title. But before long she finds herself falling for Jane Su, a punk lesbian she sees everyday on her commute. Jane's circumstances are also far from ordinary: she's from the 1970s, displaced in time by a mysterious event. Worse, she's stuck on the bizarrely malfunctioning Q line, doomed to ride the Subway forever in an amnesiac's fog--unless August can find a way to rescue her. Together with her found family of queer misfits, August sets out to save Jane and find herself. With all the fun and camp of a drag show (of which this novel features more than one) but grounded in the tenderness of first love, this time-slip rom-com is an absolute delight. McQuiston brings the goods. Agent: Sara Megibow, KT Literary. (June)