The cover of this one caught my eye and made me request. THis was a fun quick summer read that I think will be popular as a beach read. Thanks so much for the gifted copy

I liked that different body types were represented and appreciated. There were some very spicy scenes. However, the ending felt abrupt. I wanted a bit more.

My Best Friend's Honeymoon got put onto my TBR immediately after hearing about it back in June of 2024! Between this steamy cover and absolutely adoring Meryl Wilsner's Mistakes Were Made, I simply had to read their next release!

Let's start here:
The third-person perspective made it so hard to truly feel the romance and chemistry between Elsie and Ginny. This friends to lovers trope didn't help either, as I just didn't feel much buildup and pining between the two main characters. Elsie's feelings really needed to be processed more - her whole life changed in such a monumental way, and there just wasn't enough (any) conversation about it between herself and Ginny. I'm honestly still trying to decide if I liked Elsie or not, and both main characters often felt immature. At one point, I was shocked to realize just how much more I had left to read, making this book seem slightly too long overall. The two audiobook narrators sounded so similar to one another, which caused confusion at which POV each chapter was from. I truly disliked the voice used for Elsie's dialogue when either narrator was speaking.

And finish on a positive note:
I loved and adored the huge amount of representation!

Finally:
Although it wasn't one of my favourite reads, I enjoyed being whisked away to a tropical destination, and I'm still blushing over this cover!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary copies to read and review.

Meryl Wilsner’s “My Best Friend’s Honeymoon” is a sapphic romance centered on two childhood best friends rediscovering their bond and their feelings during a week-long trip to paradise.

Twenty-three-year-old Elsbeth “Elsie” Hoffman has spent most of her life avoiding confrontation and suppressing her desires. She has been engaged to Derrick for a year and a half, yet she’s never had a say in planning their wedding, from the venue to the date. She works as a cashier at Hoffman Hardware, her family’s store, feeling frustrated that her parents refuse to let her use her business degree to modernize the business and attract more customers. When she finds out that Derrick has arranged their entire wedding without consulting her, Elsie realizes that while she may not know exactly what she wants out of life, she knows she doesn’t want to marry him. After calling off the wedding, Derrick insists she still take their nonrefundable honeymoon trip to Saint Lupita-and invites her to bring along Ginny, her childhood best friend.

Non-binary Virginia “Ginny” Holtz has secretly been in love with Elsie for years. After Elsie turned them down for prom in high school, Ginny buried their feelings, content to stay close as friends. But when Elsie asks Ginny to join her on the honeymoon, Ginny agrees, vowing to help Elsie discover what she truly wants. Early into the trip, Elsie confesses she wants Ginny, and their vacation quickly transforms into a sensual escape, packed with passion and desire. However, once they return home, the pair must determine whether their newfound connection can survive the reality of everyday life and the pursuit of their individual dreams.

While the premise is promising, the execution falters, particularly in pacing and character development. Nearly forty percent of the novel is consumed by steamy sex scenes, one after the other, during the Saint Lupita portion of the story, leaving little room for plot progression or emotional growth. Though it's realistic that some couples may spend most of a romantic getaway behind closed doors, the absence of meaningful interactions or shared experiences outside the bedroom make this section feel repetitive. The erotic content is vividly written, but it does not deepen the characters or advance the relationship in any significant way.

After returning from the island, the tone shifts abruptly. The couple’s sudden and intense argument feels contrived, as if Wilsner struggled to introduce meaningful conflict. The final portion of the novel slows considerably, with both characters trying to navigate their futures individually. Unfortunately, the emotional depth and growth that were missing earlier are not compensated for in this segment, resulting in an unsatisfying resolution. The novel presents little personal or relational development beyond the sexual experimentation, which ultimately leaves the romance feeling underdeveloped.

I was not a fan of this book. I loved the premise but felt the author spent too much time focused on repeatedly announcing that the non binary character was in fact, non binary. I prefer books to have characters that span race, sexuality, etc that are woven into the story rather than the story being about their "difference." I also was particularly turned off by one of the intimate scenes. Most of them were sort of steamy but had a lot of language that made them hard to get into.

This was just fine. I liked the premise but it was a lot of inevitable, plus miscommunication, which is always annoying.
While some folks might enjoy the spice level, it felt like spice over substance for me, personally.

4.5 stars

4.5/5

This was really cute and fun and steamy. I would definitely categorize it as New Adult and not adult.

My only wish is that this author would write characters that are older.

I also wanted this to have an epilogue, just because I feel like both characters did a lot of work on themselves after they got back from the honeymoon so I kind of wanted to see how that panned out in the future and what they ended up doing.

Other than that, I really enjoyed this book!

Thank you to the publisher for an ALC and an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

My friend and I read this book and it was good, but there was just a lot of spice scenes and going into this I was expecting a more wholesome cheesy read. There wasn't even much of an actual relationship they were just hooking up all the time and it really threw me off. Wasn't for me but I would still recommend

Didn't like it, felt unpurposeful and unearned, lacked character development even though the smut scenes were well written. Forgettable and a let down in comparison to their previous book.

I don’t want to yuck my one’s yum, but this was not my yum. The lack of communication drove me insane, the spicy scenes were not my jam. Just not for me.

When Elsie (finally!) calls off her wedding (only after the fiance has planned a surprise wedding, including the honeymoon, for like, next week), the fiance insists she go on the honeymoon anyway with her best friend Ginny (who's non-binary). Ginny, has been in love with Elsie forever, and of course will go with her.

There was a lot I liked here. Constant secret pining for the other? I like that. A super hot vacation? Enjoy. But something didn't work for me. The physical connection is in the middle of the book (hoo boy! Meryl writes some steamy stuff), but then the characters break up and spend most of the last part of the book apart on separate personal journeys. That angle didn't work as well for me. Don't get me wrong - both characters badly needed to go on those journeys to mature, but it throws off the rhythm of the novel for me.

It's a book I enjoyed, but was left feeling... unfulfilled. YMMV.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My Best Friend’s Honeymoon by Meryl Wilsner 3/5 ⭐️

Book Description:
This book follows lifelong best friends Elsie and Ginny who decide to enjoy a non-refundable honeymoon in the Caribbean, as Elsie recently realized she was unfulfilled and ended things with her fiancé. For Elsie, this trip is the perfect opportunity to figure out what she wants, but what if what she really wants is Ginny?

Review:
I am a lover of all things sapphic and queer, so naturally, I decided to read this book. (I also really enjoyed Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner!)

Overall, this book is fast-paced and fun. It also has great summery vibes that would be perfect for the beach! I really appreciated the care and affection between Ginny and Elsie. They read as real, genuine friends. 🫶🏻

Admittedly, I felt a bit frustrated by the main conflict in the book and Elsie’s reaction. There was a bit too much miscommunication for my taste. However, I did appreciate that both characters grow and change by the end of the book.

I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys (extremely) spicy, sapphic romance.
🌈👙🤍✨

Thank you to NetGalley, Meryl Wilsner and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I just really did not enjoy this book overall. One of the main characters, Elsie, reads like she was a teenager instead of a grown adult. The problem with the childhood friends to lover trope is a lot of times you don't get to actually see the relationship forming, you're just told they love each other and have since forever. Which is all well and fine, except in this book the only reason they haven't told each other is because of a bullying incident from elementary school?? That just doesn't seem believable when we are talking about grown adults. Also once the main characters hook up that is pretty much all the book turns into...sex scene after sex scene. I do love a spicy book, but I also want to see the relationship developing and some plot too.

Overall it was a quick read, but I would not honestly recommend it to others.

Ok this could have been so cute! I love the concept. I love that Ginny has been in love with Elsie for years but because Elsie was bullied one time she won’t even entertain acting in her feelings for Ginny. Which doesn’t make sense because what adult lets one incident from middle school influence their entire life. Elsie also works at a job she’s way too good for because she has no ability to stand up for herself to her parents.

I just think this fell flat on execution.

I enjoyed this the setting of this story the most. Maybe it is the cold spring we are having that made me so immersed in this tropical vacation, but the honeymoon setting was my favorite part. This book was spicier than I anticipated so if that is what you are looking for this is a good choice. I thought that the "third act break up" was kind of a underwhelming and over a dumb reason, personally. I was just kind of annoyed at both of these "best friends" for not adding one more sentence of clarification that could have avoided the whole thing. But that's how these books go. I will still continue to read everything from this author.

Thanks to St Martins Press and Netgalley for this advance copy!

Wilsner is a must read for me. They always manage to write such wonderful, heartfelt stories and oooweee the steam! THE STEAM! This one was so freakin' hot.

Elsie and Ginny have been best friends forever when Elsie backs out of her wedding and takes them on the honeymoon her fiance planned. There Ginny encourages Elsie to say what she wants and put herself first, and wouldn't you know it, Elsie wants Ginny. Which is great because Ginny has basically been in love with Elsie their whole lives. I really appreciated how Wilsner unspooled this situation and the third act "breakup" felt good and appropriate, though I thought they would be appart longer? Maybe that's just me. Anyway, these two are dumb for each other and its so wonderful to have both of them realize what they have and how to make it work. I also really appreciated both the light Jewish rep.

Wilsner is a must read for me, all day every day.

I don't often find myself in books, but I felt so seen with My Best Friend's Honeymoon's Elsie. She's so used to people pleasing, that she doesn't know what she wants nor how to ask for it. She's so afraid to speak up that she's ended up in an engagement she doesn't want and now a honeymoon she didn't plan. Lucky for her, her best friend is there to hold her to her desires, and what better opportunity to do exactly what Elsie wants for once than by joining her on her honeymoon for the cancelled wedding. Nevermind that Ginny's been in love with Elsie since she can remember, she'd rather have her as a friend than lose her. So, mission do whatever Elsie wants is a go, even when the lines get blurry.

I loved Ginny, I loved Elsie, I loved this book. It was cute, it was relatable, and it was super duper sexy. Meryl Wilsner's smut is my favorite smut. I also loved that while Elsie was finding her voice, she was also learning how Ginny too wasn't going after her own wants. While there's classic angst in this, it brings out the greatest character development that I think all readers will relate to. Their friendship is enviable, their dynamic is totally cute, and the way their family and friends push them along on their own journeys is something I think we all could use sometime. While it is a low stakes romance, it's one that is enjoyable to escape into and one that I recommend.

Two big takeaways from this book: (lack of) communication trope is HUGE and frustrating. I just wanted the main characters to talk to each other!!! I understand why they felt like they couldn’t, but it didn’t make it any better. UGH just have an adult (hard) conversation if you’re so sure the friendship will survive all that happens. Second, the sex came on fast and strong. Totally fine with both/either of those happening, but it felt wild (in a bad way) and like too much in this book. I liked previous books by this author, really wanted to like this one, but it didn’t meet the mark for me. I appreciate the opportunity to read an early copy.

This is my 3rd Meryl Wilsner book and it focuses on Elsie who is scheduled to be married and Ginny her best friend who has been in love with Elsie since they were kids. When Elsie calls off her wedding her fiance tells her to take Ginny and off they go. I appreciate how both characters are very comfortable in their sexuality and Wilsner's world is one where queer people are normalized. There is a scene with a server around assumptions and gendering people that is quite on point.

I liked both Ginny and Elsie and it was good to see them both find themselves inside and outside of their relationship. I wasn't as wild about their bump in the road, I think they could have skipped that and still made progress as adults. All in all a good read.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
4 stars

This was an ARC read for me, and going in, I was really excited by the premise. The concept was fun and fresh—a honeymoon with your best friend? Sign me up! The beginning pulled me in, and I thought the setup had so much potential for both romance and comedy.

Unfortunately, as the story went on, it started to feel a bit too predictable. I found myself anticipating not just the major plot points, but even the dialogue, which took away some of the excitement. I kept hoping for a twist or a deeper emotional moment to surprise me, but it never really came.

That said, there were still things I enjoyed. The character development was fun to watch, and the chemistry between the leads had its sweet moments. There were a few lighthearted, feel-good scenes that gave me a smile, and I appreciated the overall tone of the book—it had that easy, vacation-read vibe.

In the end, I wanted to love this book, but it just didn’t fully deliver for me. It wasn’t bad by any means, just not particularly memorable. A solid, quick read if you’re in the mood for something light and predictable, but it didn’t quite hit the mark I was hoping for.