I think I only liked the beginning and very end of this one. There wasn't enough build-up - just suddenly they're hooking up. Then there's no clear communication about how they feel and suddenly there's the conflict that didn't have to be a conflict. I just didn't enjoy it.

This book was a little disappointing for me. The bones were there for a great story but it just fell a little flat for me. The couple for me just didn't really seem like they had any romantic chemistry. I'm a spicy girl bit The amount of amount of spice in this book just didn't work for me. The couple just felt like they were all about sex and didn't really get into much depth with each other. The third act conflict was so unnecessary and didn't feel genuine to the couple and the amountbof time apart they took from each other.

Long time BFFs become lovers and while
Denial is a river in Egypt, it is also a main character in this book. Be prepared for some whiplash, because every time the characters would make leaps and bounds in their relationship, they would slide backwards to deny their feelings - pretending things were fine and that they were only “friends”. In some truth, it was hard to really LIKE the characters at times because they were just frustrating beyond belief. Like all of Meryl’s books, this has great queer representation and we loved that one of the MC’s was nonbinary. Also want to give kudos for allowing them to take a step back and focus on individual growth (even if it was briefly). NOW— the smut was kinda wild not gonna lie. The author really explores some kinks in this and damn it was spicy!

3.5/5 stars. Ginny is nonbinary and has been in love with their best friend, Elsie, for a long time. They’ve resolved to just be happy with being friends while Elsie is getting closer to marrying her fiancé Derrick. When the engagement ends, Elsie and Ginny go on the nonrefundable honeymoon together. Ginny starts a game with Elsie during the trip to do anything Elsie asks which leads to some romance.

The writing is super fast paced and the tropical location make this a perfect summer beach read. It doesn’t get too deep into feelings, but it is a bit swoon worthy. Ginny does little acts of service for Elsie.

Right off the bat, I was loving the writing style and Ginny’s voice. Ginny seems like exactly what Elsie needs. Elsie goes along with whatever she is told and doesn’t have the courage to stick up for herself and what she wants. At first, I was worried that would annoy me, but I loved to see such strong character growth. Elsie is given a chance to really think about and act on what she wants. I think this would really appeal to any people pleasers (and that includes me!)

I love that Ginny and Elsie have a long history of being best friends even if they weren’t together before. It almost has a second chance romance vibe to it even if they weren’t together before. I just love that they start the book knowing so much about each other and have a strong relationship going in.

Even with the fast pace of the book, it still managed to have moments where the writing really packed a punch. Like a simple “That was why Elsie said no, years later, when Ginny asked her to the winter formal.” That almost killed me.

If I had any complaints, it would be that the relationship went 0 to 100 really quick. I personally like a little more time spent on longing or building tension between the main characters.

The logic behind the main conflict of the book was a little flimsy. It really seemed blown out of proportion. But it does keep the book pretty lighthearted, and gives some reason for Ginny to do some introspection too. I do like that they get a bit of time to both reflect on themselves at such big times of change in their lives.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy. I am voluntarily leaving this comment and the honest opinions I am expressing are my own.

Review to come but absolutely SOLID book

Update:
Hi hello I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this book.
Ginny has been in love with their best friend, Elsie, long before they even knew what they really meant. When Elsie’s engagement disastrously falls through, she invites (who else?) their best friend to come (ayyyyyeeeee) on a non-refundable honeymoon. Nothing could possibly go wrong, right?
I did not expect this book to have the chokehold it currently has on me. I have yeeted it at no less than 3 people since I have finished it. The romance was amazing and I’m not really a friends-to-lovers kind of gal but Meryl, you have converted me.
Do yourself a favor and pick this one up NOW.

3 stars
——————

A steamy, friends to lovers romance sure to heat you under the collar and take you on a literal vacation.

I was immediately intrigued by the concept of the story. I love the rapid jump into the plot with this one. It gets right to the point and actively fills the reader in as the book carries on. It’s done really well. But the story falls apart rather quickly. The story is heavy on the steam, which I expected based on Wilsner’s previous work, but it takes over the plot quite a bit. Half the book is Ginny and Elsie hooking up, which is fine, but I would have liked to see their relationship develop in other ways. They have great chemistry as friends and lovers, but the bulk of their relationship development is completely lost to the steam. It was hard to connect to the story because of it.

I couldn’t connect with the characters effectively. Ginny and Elsie as characters are good, but their initial friendship was so toxic and it would have been nice to see more growth from that versus what was given. Their friendship is the key to their love story and it just make me a little grossed out by the toxicity. The characters were good, but the supporting cast also gets lost to how focused the book is on just Ginny and Elsie. You catch glimpses of parents/siblings/grandparent, but they don’t really actively contribute to the story in any significant way.

This was a bit of a flop for me.

I loved the premise of this story! A broken engagement with a nonrefundable honeymoon leads to two best friends going on vacation with one another? YES PLEASE.

Add in the fact that the descriptions of the Caribbean had me wishing I was there myself? I mean, I was genuinely trying to reason my way into a vacation in the next couple of weeks (my reasoning failed, but I needed to note that I TRIED).

Once there, this story is hot and heavy. Elsie and Ginny have been mutually pining for one another for YEARS, only staying away and maintaining their friend zones due to a mix of self-shame and miscommunication. But once the mutual interest is out in the open? ALL BETS ARE OFF.

I had the pleasure of listening to this book on audio, and I loved listening to how these two grow closer—both as friends and as more— through their time together. But at the same time, it felt like so much time was spent on them in bed (I mean, it WAS a honeymoon, even if it wasn’t THEIRS) and I wanted a bit more of their electric chemistry outside of the room too. Elsie and Ginny had such a dynamic, trusting friendship that I wanted to see and experience more of that. Which is probably why the third act breakup and miscommunication bothered me in this book—because while their fears of taking their relationship to the next level once they returned home are completely valid…I felt as though their friendship was much stronger than this ultimately portrayed it as.

Then again, it’s still a romance, and it still has a beautiful HEA.

Ultimately, while this might not be my favorite Meryl Wilsner book, I still stand by the fact that they write beautiful queer romance and I’ll recommend them all every day. (But for real, you should check out Mistakes Were Made lol.)

Read for:
- Best friends to lovers
- Mutual pining
- F/NB romance
- Queer romance
- Nonrefundable honeymoon
- Broken engagement
- Third act breakup
- Chasing dreams

I received a copy from NetGalley in exhange for an honest review.

FIRST OF ALL. If Meryl Wilsner writes it, I’m reading it. SECONDLY. The dirty talk in this book is god-tier. I may never recover.

I voluntarily read, listened to, and reviewed advanced copies of this book and audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press (St. Martin’s Griffin) and Macmillan Audio!

When Elsie calls off her wedding, she invites her best friend Ginny to go on her non-refundable honeymoon with her.

My Best Friend’s Honeymoon is a stand-alone, contemporary romance. It does contain open-door content.

What I love the most about this book is the balance of romance and personal growth. While the MCs have a fun time on their getaway, they don’t try to dive head first into a relationship. Elsie is obviously just getting out of a long-term relationship and Ginny is trying to start a business. Priorities are all over the place and it was nice to see them take a step back to evaluate in order to not risk hurting one another. There may have been a little self-sabotage but they figured it out.

The audiobook is done as a dual narration with Blair Bake and Emily Shaw. They really bring out the sass in the banter and you can hear the angst.

This is the first book that I have read from author Meryl Wilsner but I look forward to reading much more of their work in the future.

This was a sweet, easy read with a fun setup and some really cute moments. The romance had potential, but I didn’t feel super connected the whole time. Still a cozy, low-stress book to unwind with.

I loved the nonbinary rep! I will say it felt like a lot of spice but no emotional connection whatsoever which isn't my favorite but it someone is looking for high high heat without any silly emotions getting in the way. perhaps they will love it.

This was a cute read. The pacing was a bit off for me. They started hooking up pretty quickly and I wanted more substance than that..overall I did enjoy it.

I will be honest and say this was my first queer read, I just have never had any that caught my eye until reading the description for this one.

The premise and the plot were both great, I had great expectations going in.

I struggled when it came to the characters. Ginny was in love with Elsie and didn’t tell her and Elsie was in love with Ginny and didn’t tell them. The miscommunication trope was hit hard here.

The conclusion felt a bit rushed. I did enjoy getting to read both characters development to find themselves. That made me happy.

I enjoyed reading My Best Friend's Honeymoon by Meryl Wilsner. You will fall in love with all the characters. I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely. Happy Reading!

A woman who's never learned to say what she wants goes on what was supposed to be her surprise honeymoon with her best friend.
When Elsie's fiancé plans their entire wedding without consulting her, she realizes the reason she's been putting it off is because she doesn't actually want to get married. It's the push she needs to finally break things off. The honeymoon was already booked and paid for, though, so she invites the one person she can't imagine spending a week without: her best friend Ginny. Elsie might have a hard time admitting what she wants, but Ginny can't say no to Elsie. When Ginny tells Elsie she can have whatever she wants on this trip as long as she asks for it, Elsie realizes that what she wants is... Ginny. But can several perfect, sex-filled days of vacation lead to a lasting relationship in the real world?

I loved the steamy, friends to lovers storyline. The third act relationship drama was WAY overblown in my opinion, but I really enjoyed the rest of it. Overall, an incredibly sweet and steamy romance.

I’m a fan of Wilsner’s hot, sapphic novels so I was very excited to pick up an early copy of My Best Friend’s Honeymoon. I appreciated being in both Elsie and Ginny’s povs as Elsie’s engagement quickly falls apart and the two of them end up on the honeymoon her wayward fiancé had planned for them.

I really liked the structure of this book. The time during the honeymoon is so much fun (and extremely hot) as Elsie and Ginny give in to what they really want. However, it’s once they get back home that the party is over. The book gives some insight into why the two of them had never gotten it right before and I like the way they both have their own demons to fight before they are really ready to admit they want to be together. Elsie is struggling to speak up at work where her family runs the hardware store and are engrained in their traditional way of doing things. It’s Ginny trying to figure out who they are apart from Elsie that I found really engaging. Even though they are best friends with the possibility of more, it’s important to figure out their own individual wants and needs and I loved that journey for them.

Wilsner always is able to craft a fun and engaging story that did I mention is extremely sexy?

Thank you very much to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5

My Best Friend's Honeymoon is my second Meryl Wilsner book and I enjoyed it. This definitely wasn't the greatest plot setup for me to be honest, so maybe most of my hangups were personal.

I liked both Elsie and Ginny as characters enough. I think even with dual POV, we spend more time in Ginny's head so I liked them a lot more than I liked Elsie. And this is where some of my personal hang-ups start to come in, I really dislike cheating & infidelity. Even though the story kicks off with Elsie ending her previous engagement, there was a lot of almost weird emotional cheating that was happening throughout her previous relationship. Elsie was also a people pleaser to the extreme and I really just wanted to shake some sense into her. I just think that there was a lot more personal growth that I needed (and didn't really enjoy the process) for Elsie compared to Ginny. Ginny was probably a little over-dependent on their long-time friendship with Elsie but even their part of the "problem" was I think severely overblown by Elsie.

I definitely didn't hate any part of this book, I was just definitely frustrated with some of the pieces to it and I was hoping for something that I hooked my interest more!

I really wanted to love this. I think Mistakes Were Made by Wilsner is one of my favorite books I've read in the last 5 years, but this just fell flat for me. Maybe it hit too close to home with the unrequited love of a friend, and I didn't care for the "give her anything she asks for" mentality Ginny offers Elsie, it tarnished their relationship in my mind.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. I enjoyed this author’s previous work and was excited to read something new to me. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see the chemistry between the characters. Everything seemed forced and I was struggling to even finish this book over the last month. Made it to 34%

My Best Friend’s Honeymoon has a fantastic premise. When Elsie breaks up with her fiance, he insists that she still take the all-expense paid honeymoon. With no one to invite except her best friend, Elsie and Ginny embark on an adventure. As the beautiful beaches work their magic, Elsie and Ginny begin to connect like never before. But when the honeymoon comes to an end, will there still be a connection between them?

My Best Friend’s Honeymoon is a spicy, lighthearted romance. I loved the connection between Ginny and Elsie! This friends-to-lovers pairing is excellent. I wanted a little more depth between the two of them, especially when they returned home, but overall still really enjoyed. Meryl Wilsner writes fantastic steamy scenes and this is one of my new favorite romances from them. Readers seeking outstanding LGBTQ+ rep, spicy romance, and a delightful premise will enjoy this book.

Thank you to Meryl Wilsner, St. Martin’s Griffin, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.