If you like your romance with a dose of mystery and your mystery with some sci-fi and your sci-fi with a little paranormal energy, and you like it all in a package that explores and celebrates LGBTQ+ history, rights, expression, and identity ... then One Last Stop is your stop for your next read!

Cynical, emotionally unavailable August moved from New Orleans to NYC (via Memphis) to get some healthy distance from her mom and finish her degree. A degree. Whatever degree she finally settles on. She did not move to NYC to deal with an excellent-psychic-slash-horrible-bartender roommate, to waitress at a 24-hour diner, and to become slightly obsessed with radiant, impossibly cool Jane. Yet here she is. And here's Jane — always on August's train. But still kind of lost … like in the wrong decade? It's too fantastical to consider, but too important to ignore. Just like the spark that continues to grow between them.

This was a delight to read! The build-up is a little slow, with the first half being very character-driven, but the deliberately paced reveals were perfectly timed for me. I liked hanging out with these characters — all the fun and none of the hangovers. Honestly, I was torn between getting lost in the story and being jolted out of it every so often to squee-think "I'm so glad this book exists for LGBTQ+ READERS!" [Note that I'm not an LGBTQ+ reader/reviewer, so please give my excitement/endorsement it's proper weight.] Publishers, more of this, please! More of this kind of magical, realistic, #OwnVoices, contemporary, queer romance! More diverse, inclusive rom-coms with mystery and magic and history and awareness and relevance. Stories that honor past struggles and current expressions of community and culture.

Plus — and you might want to skip this paragraph of catnip and glorious tropes if you're extremely spoiler averse — found family! NYC in all its grit and glory! Missing persons case! Vintage cool! Smart, anxious nerds! Subway romance! Smart, anxious artists! "Kissing for Research"! The perfect leather jacket! A bisexual NON-erasure moment! An unrecognizable Judy Garland sculpture! Tattoos! Steamy w/w sexy times! Popeyes chicken! A trans psychic! Nighttime brunch! A merry band of misfits who are kind and caring and supportive while telling each other to eff off! Pancakes! Drag shows! Drag shows WITH pancakes!

Every time I try to review this one, I lapse into enthused listing, so you should probably just go preorder it (or read it if you've got it!) instead of wasting your time on my lists.

Content notes: missing person cold case and gaslighting bureaucracy, harmful biases and anti-LGBTQ sentiment, parental rejection and disinheritance, fire, violence against protestors, death of family members, displacement, semipublic sex acts, strong language, mental health issues, excessive consumption of alcohol and resultant hangovers, smoking, lies, heist scheme, minor injuries, probably some wonky science

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for making my day/week/month by providing a digital ARC.