I was very excited to pick up this book, the concept sounded so promising but I did not particularly enjoy the book.
I felt as though the book abruptly ended and not everything was tied up or it was too fast. Like what happened to Elsie's ex and how her family responded. Elsie never stood up for herself until the end.
I felt as though Ginny and Elsie’s relationship on the honeymoon was also strange. I understand that Ginny felt as though they should do everything Elsie tells them to do, one because it’s Elsie’s honeymoon and two because Ginny is in love with her. I kind of wish there was more talk about consent and not just hopping into it. I can understand why it was a very fast romance since they only had a few days there. There was also way more sex than the romance I was kind of expecting for a honeymoon getaway.

Pros:
-non-binary plus-size MC
-queer romance
-high spice level exploring kink in a safe environment
-personal emotional growth from both MCs
-friends to lovers and coming out tropes

Cons:
This book gave me whiplash. Elsie and Ginny go from 0 to 100 far too quickly for me. The pacing, particularly of the spicy scenes, felt off. Their relationship lacked chemistry, likely due to the lack of build for their relationship.

I am a big fan of Meryl Wilsner's Mistakes Were Made but the rest of their books have fallen flat for me, My Best Friend's Honeymoon included. But I appreciate their commitment to queer relationships, diversity of MCs, and safe exploration of spice.

The charming premise drew me to this book and it definitely delivered. A canceled wedding, a luxurious honeymoon, and two best friends navigating unexpected feelings. Wilsner's signature wit and honest dialogue kept the chemistry believable and the relationship engaging. My only drawback was the miscommunication did not feel significant enough to cause the severity of relationship fall out. Otherwise, I appreciated the gender diversity and queer representation.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Very sweet romance. I enjoyed the friendship (and more) between Elsie and Ginny. Fun and easy read. So apparent how much the 2 main characters care about each other.. Great character development, what each character was thinking/saying was definitely true to what the author had built each character to be. There was a LOT of spice. Overall I did enjoy it a lot though, would rate 3.5-4 stars. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Elsie has always done the “right” thing - only to find out that her fiancé (who knows nothing about her) has planned a wedding without telling her. Her final straw, Elsie cuts off the engagement, but is stuck with a non-refundable honeymoon trip. She convinces Ginny, her best friend to join her. Of course, fifteen years of unaddressed and smothered feelings slowly begin to surface under the tropical sun in a waterfront cabana- a honeymoon is a honeymoon after all right?
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Anyone who’s previously read Wilsner knows that they are not afraid to turn up the heat and they most certainly were not shy with it in Honeymoon. True to form, these two best friends very much end up banging the ever-loving bajesus out of each other and become something on top of being best friends. And yes, the smut is excellent.
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Be forewarned, there is a third act break-up, and I found the premise quite weak and not really third-act break up material, more like cold shoulder for a day or two but then hash it out cause we’re adults kinda material. But we can’t win them all.
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Wilsner has given us a wonderful summertime, poolside read and you’re going to want an ice cold drink to go with it ;)
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*I received an eARC from NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, & St. Martin's Griffin. All opinions are my own*‌ ‌
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Hisses & Kisses 🐍

***4.5 Stars***

Overall,
This is the third book I have read from this author and it hits every single time. This is a spicy Sapphic romance, best friends to lovers fantastic book. I have found that it can be difficult for authors to really give a good sense arc sometimes when the characters have none each other for years. That is not the case in this book. The pineing is fantastic! The spicy scenes were steamy. The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is that I wanted a little more for/from Jenny. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a good steamy queer romance story.

***I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my free and honest review***

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy!

3.5 stars rounded up - this book really delivered what I was looking for; a fun queer romance with some really good spice and characters that I cared about! It did feel like there was more focus on their physical connection with less depth created for their romantic one which I didn't mind too much but is worth noting. Also, the pacing of this book felt a little off. When our first spicy scene started, I quite literally thought they were going to wake up from a dream but nope, we were just jumping into it without much warning!

And OMG can we PLEASE get rid of the 3rd act miscommunication trope?! I never like this trope, but the "conflict" within this one felt a little forced.

TLDR; if you want something queer and hot without having to focus too much on the rest of it? Pick this one up :)

I’d give this 2.5 stars. Apart from a whole lot of spice (some that challenged even my generally very open mind!), this lacked substance for me. I didn’t find Elsie very likable, and the chemistry didn’t click for me. This wasn’t for me, but that’s ok!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This is a 3.5 rounded down. I really wanted to love it. I was confused about why Elsie would ever be with Derek in the first place. Even though Elsie did the dumping, she was surprisingly okay afterward. Also, there wasn’t enough to keep Elsie and Ginny apart once they started catching feelings for each other. The third act break up felt like of thrown together. I did like the body positivity, queer joy, and humor throughout the book. I will definitely read what Wilsner writes next even though this one didn’t quite hit for me.

I’m a simple mind: Meryl Wilsner writes a book? I have to read it. They are my comfort author and I will love everything they write. It’s that simple.
This book is not exception. It’s a cute book, simple and romantic. A friends to lovers with a bit of idiots in love because it’s all a huge misunderstanding.
There is a lot of spice (even if less then the late two books), but the focus is on the blurred lines between friendship and love, between relationship and commitment.
I love it so much and it hit a little to hard.

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin Press for the arc.

what fun, spicy, tender, sweet romance 🥹

Ginny and Elsie are the most adorable, dedicated, horny for each other friends to lovers!!! they have so much history, interweaving their scars and dreams. watching them overcome years of pent up fears and longings to finally fall into what makes them happy was so beautiful to read. the yearning and the friendship make this such a romantic story, as well as the beautiful tropic setting of their finally getting together, then that of real life where they can finally start their lives together as the horniest love bugs 🥰🫶

just a beautiful, romantic, tender love story. thank you for the ARC!!!

🏝️ W H I R L W I N D W E D N E S D A Y review 🏝️ featuring “My Best Friend’s Honeymood” by Meryl Wilsner!

MY RATING: 🖤🖤🖤/5

Elsie calls off her wedding when she finds out that her fiancé planned their wedding and honeymoon in secret as a (failed) happy surprise. However, the thought of being at the altar in one week makes her realize that this isn’t the future she had in mind.

The honeymoon in the Caribbean is non refundable so Elsie decides to take her best friend Ginny instead. What she doesn’t know is that Ginny is secretly in love with her and has been for years. But what if this love isn’t just one sided?? And what happens when the steamy vacation ends and it’s back to reality??

Read this book if you enjoy
💕 queer romance
💕 non-binary representation
💕 fast paced & in your face
💕 lotsa spice
💕 plus sized MC
💕 friends to lovers
💕 miscommunication

Thank you kindly to @merylwilsner @stmartinspress @netgalley for my #gifted digital advanced copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on April 29, 2025!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for this arc in exchange for my honest review!
This book was very cute, and I loved all of the LGBTQ+ representation throughout the story. I usually don’t like a 3rd act breakup, and that definitely brought it down in stars for me personally, especially because towards the end it felt like they hadn’t worked through some of the things keeping them apart in the first place.
Overall a cute and spicy book of friends to lovers that I enjoyed, despite not loving some of the third act.

I’ve always liked Meryl Wilsner, and there were definitely parts of this I liked, but it just did not come together for me. I actually physically startled when Elsie and Ginny kissed for the first time because it was so abrupt and unexpected and I thought their first sex scene was a dream sequence for way too long. I also don’t know that this kind of story works in a book this length. The impetus for the third act fight was incredibly dumb but the things Elsie says during the fight were very true, and I don’t think less than a month was enough time for them to fully grow on their own after a lifetime of pretty codependent friendship. This is such a good example of friends to lovers being a bit boring, and I don’t know if I was ever fully convinced that Ginny was truly in love with Elsie or if loving her was just all they’d ever known.

I love Meryl Wilsner’s books so I was excited to read this one, and it lived up to all of my expectations! The tension was incredible, the characters were adorable, and the romance was SPICY. I loved the mutual long-term pining both main characters had for YEARS and how that built on their close friendship! It was an excellent friends-to-lovers story and I enjoyed every minute of it!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for the ARC of My Best Friend's Honeymoon by Meryl Wilsner.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Elsie is engaged to Derrick but she doesn’t seem to want to plan the wedding or make any decisions. Ginny is Elsie’s best friend, they also may or may not be in love with her. Derrick decides to plan the wedding for a week out but Elsie finally speaks up and calls it all off. After everything is all figured out it’s determined that Elsie should still take the all-inclusive honeymoon that is already paid for and why not, take Ginny. Of course they have their own issues, but they make it work, anything for Elsie. What can go wrong for the two best friends in the beautiful Caribbean honeymoon?!?

This book started out a bit slow and a good bit more angsty than I care for. Then it lit up on the spicy level 🌶️🌶️. If you enjoy the heat in your books, this is for you.

I love Wilsner’s work. Mistakes Were Made is a book that got me into this genre. But given the context of that book, everything else they release feels like the slowest burn. It felt like it took forever for the story to get somewhere and then it was all rushed to finish it off.

But man oh man, Meryl proves they know how to write *those* parts. Truly what keeps drawing me back in.

80% sex, 20% two adults who call themselves best friends but are unable to have a conversation. I would have DNFed if not for my current participation in a read-a-thon (shoutout to my fellow lions) and my commitment to finishing my arcs.

As a big fan of Mistakes Were Made, I was excited for the author’s newest release. Unfortunately, it was a massive let down. The main characters live in their heads and cannot speak to each other to save their own lives (or relationship). I was never shown that the characters had chemistry or belonged together. I was just told that they were both into each other and that was supposed to be enough to convince me to ship them. The main conflict was miscommunication that was blown out of proportion and was simply not believable. Reminded me a lot of the episode of New Girl where Cece and Jess just need to punch each other (S4 E10).

The best part of this book was when these two took a break from each other and were not codependent. I do not think they should have ended up together, and I am not convinced that their relationship will last.

I am thankful to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. I do not think I will request from this author going forward.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Meryl Wilsner for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the setup to this story. Elsie is just letting life happen to her- and honestly Ginny, in her own way, is too. Poor Derrick just didn’t have a clue- did he? But he sure forced the issue (planned a surprise wedding and honeymoon) and made EVERYONE face the facts. Derrick is not THE one- and Elsie and Ginny are in love! I just loved how it all came together. I felt the chemistry, care and respect. I really enjoyed this book!

My Best Friend’s Honeymoon by Meryl Wilsner is a very spicy, friends to lovers story. Elsie calls off her wedding and takes her best friend Ginny on her nonrefundable tropical honeymoon. While on the trip Elsie and Ginny confess and explore their feelings for each other.

I liked the premise of this book. The idea of going on a honeymoon with your best friend and pushing yourself to discover what you want from life without being weighed down by the expectations of others is great.

I really loved Ginny as a character. They was interesting and likeable. I was really rooting for them throughout the book. Also, they had real growth in the story. Also, their interactions with the side characters were fun to read.

There were a couple of things I struggled with in this book. I found Elsie very hard to like. Compared to Ginny she just didn’t seem to have the same emotional depth as a character. She was self absorbed and her unwillingness to talk things out was frustrating.

Also, the spicy scenes went on for longer than I would have liked. They were fun and well written, but at one point it just felt like chapter after chapter of just that and I wanted a bit more talking and emotions from the characters as they dealt with their changing relationship.

Overall, I found this book just okay. It was an easy read and interesting enough to keep me engaged, but it did leave me wanting more.

Thank you Meryl Wilsner, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for this ARC.