I was so excited for this book because I love Meryl's other books but it was kind of a letdown! Felt like the romance part of the book progressed way too fast. Generally I wish there was more depth/ a longer book.

Elsie and Ginny are best friends. When Elsie ends her engagement and cancels her wedding, of course her best friend will go with her on her honeymoon. Since Ginny has been in love with Elsie forever, nothing can go wrong? Right?

I liked this book. I didn't enjoy the third act conflict. It felt like too much miscommunication that was trying not to be miscommunication. I think the character's reactions were just too much for the situation.

im debating betweeen 3.5-4 stars.

I enjoyed the character growth a lot. I feel like the pacing was a bit weird, but also like good for the plot & development? I think the characters both extremely needed the growth & I loved watching them change.

Elsie & Ginny had been each others everything (except romantically) for YEARS & yes there was definitely miscommunication, but I also felt it for the plot bc with all the pining, tension & rushing into things they had been holding back, the miscommunication was also a HUGE reason for their development as people on their own without each other.

I definitely liked Ginny more than Elsie tbh, but I did actually enjoy the story in the end.

tropes
mutual pining
secretly in love with my best friend
miscommunication
great character growth
childhood friends to lovers
lgbtq (one of the mcs is non binary, they/them)

My Best Friend's Honeymoon is cute, hot, fun and darn right SPICY. It's a friends to lovers, vacation romance that just may get you hot and bothered.

Ginny has been in love with Elsie basically from day one. They had a great friendship in their teens, but Ginny was attracted to Elsie and didn't care what anyone thought. They thought that Elsie may have felt the same and asked Elsie to go to a high school dance with them. Elsie turned them down because of what happened in the past to her. So, they remained friends. Now, Elsie has been proposed to and said fiance has planned everything. Including the WHOLE WEDDING (dress, invites, everything). But Elsie doesn't know how to say no and is pretty much a people pleaser. Until she decides she can't marry Derrick because she's truly not in love with him and thinks she may never have been. Since the wedding was to take place so soon, he has a honeymoon all planned out and gives that to Elsie. Elsie ends up taking Ginny because they are best friends. Will Ginny be able to hide their feelings on a romantic getaway??

The premise of the story is cute and I love a good unrequited love that may not be so unrequited. And the tropical setting lends a great backdrop to giving into an attraction that's always been there. I don't know how Ginny and Elsie couldn't communicate their feelings for years, but finally give in and bang it out a million times in the span of a week. Maybe it's Ginny's deal with Elsie. They tell Elsie they will do anything they want. They basically force Elsie to make decisions for themselves and learn to get what they want. To be brave.

I liked Ginny's character and how they allowed Elsie to grow and be comfortable in their own skin, but then that also kind of made Ginny's light dim a bit. And the steamy scenes? There are a lot. I mean, after the first day of the "honeymoon" that's basically all they do. It's hot, but I also don't know if it pushed the story forward. And the 3rd act break up? It was kind of silly. But also allowed each of them to learn what they needed in order to be strong on their own.

While I liked the story overall, the abundance of "bedroom shenanigans" was a bit much. It didn't always serve a purpose for me. Maybe to just get off. And the break up was all kinds of immature.
Overall, I enjoyed it, but wanted something a little more to make the relationship more than just physical, which we did get, but it was more in the end. I just needed more of a balance.

If you like:
friends to lovers
a lot of spice
unrequited love
F/NB main characters
..then I think you'll enjoy this one. Meryl Wilsner is great at writing LGBTQ+ love stories that are spicy and fun.

WOW! I picked this as my book to read for my European vacation thinking it would get me through the entire trip. But I ended up finishing it just on the flight over there. This was so much fun all throughout, but also gutwrenching. I just loved witnessing this friendship blossom and I'm such a sucker for these tropes. Meryl does it again!

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this. It was fun, sweet and lighthearted, but I couldn't help but find myself getting a little frustrated by the main characters miscommunications. I loved Wilsner's writing but the lack of communication between the two main characters is what brings this book down too 4 stars for me.

3.5, Like all of Wilsner's books, I found this to be an easy, entertaining read. I don't like that the MC didn't process her break up at all though and that she was unnecessarily rude at times. This book gained some steam again though when the NBMC finally grew a backbone towards the end. Overall, would've loved more emotional intimacy throughout rather than just sex

2.75 stars rounded up

I really like Wilsner's writing; they are very talented. I really liked Ginny and the supporting characters they had around them. The premise had so much promise. The spice was spicy, right up there with Mistakes Were Made, but it was so SUDDEN.

Unfortunately, I really didn't like Elsie. Elsie is selfish, a little mean, and she overreacted to something that wasn't really her business to begin with. Derrick didn't deserve the way Elsie treated him at the end, and Ginny DEFINITELY didn't deserve the way Elsie treated them throughout. By the end, I didn't even want them to be best friends anymore.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

This book felt incredibly fake, forced and flat to me. The characters were very blah. Not a ton happened in the middle of the book. It felt as if they did not learn or grow as individuals or even as a couple. It was really hard to connect with the characters or even the story - it just felt forced in many ways. It did not move naturally or at an enjoyable pace. Unfortunately this one just did not work for me.

Thank you netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

Elsie Hoffman has just canceled her wedding, and her ex-fiance insist she take their honeymoon because she deserves it. She and her best friend, Ginny, take the trip to the Caribbean. Ginns decides that this week, Elsie must learn to speak up and voice what she wants. To ensure this happens, Ginny promises they will do whatever Elsie wants. When Elsie voices that she wants Ginny, it changes everything.

This is the typical best friend's in love situation, but it is done well. Elsie is a bit of a doormat for people because when she steps forward with an idea or suggestion, she is dismissed. Ginny is a golden retriever best friend in that whatever Elsie wants, Elsie gets. Both characters were likable, and I rooted for their love. The ending was predictable but sweet. The smut in this novel may be too much for people...there is detailed lesbian sex but there is also consented degradation and other activities some may find too much

I have read and enjoyed every book by Meryl thus far! I was very excited to have the chance to read this one. I struggled to get through it unfortunately. I really enjoyed the trope and the chemistry between Elsie and Ginny. However, I wish there had been less of a focus on the sex and more so on just the connection between them! Not to say I didn’t enjoy the sex scenes (because I most certainly did). It just felt like a touch too much.

I’d give this a 2.75 rounded up to a 3. I couldn’t really feel the chemistry all that much but I did like the characters individually at first but then Elsie really started grinding my gears I cannot lie. I only like third act breakups when they make sense and this one was just a huge overreaction and I really couldn’t understand where it came from. This was very very very spicy like back to back to back so if you’re into that you should def read this. It was an easy read and had great queer representation :)
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

I enjoyed the representation and premise for this one but didn't feel super invested in the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

My Best Friend's Honeymoon was a cute and fun read - a sapphic friends to lovers with nonbinary representation, unrequited love, and spice. The third act break up happened pretty quickly after Ginny and Elsie get together, but it allowed them to learn what they need/want apart from each other. Meryl Wilsner has been an auto-read author for me and this book is no exception. I really enjoyed this this one!
Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The moment this book was announced, I was excited to read it. Overall, this book was mostly good. “My Best Friend’s Honeymoon” is a steamy, emotional and growing Queer best friends to lovers romance.

Elsie has been engaged to her fiance for a year and half but has yet to set a date or plan anything. And when her fiance picks a date, she realizes she doesn't want to marry him. But the honeymoon has been planned so Elsie takes her best friend, Ginny. Ginny has been pinning after Elsie for years but they have never made a move. But as they spend time together, Elsie realizes her feelings for Ginny.

I loved the Queer and nonbinary representation in this book. Ginny is nonbinary and Elsie is pansexual. Elsie and Ginny had a sweet relationship and really were there for each other. Ginny is a great person and stands by who they are. I loved that they quit their job without hesitation and went on to go for a career they wanted. Elsie is fun but is often unsure of herself at times within her family business. Both had some growing up to do as individuals and some personal learning to do. Once the two decide to take their friendship to a different level, boy do they. There are a lot of steamy scenes exploring their attraction to each other and I have no idea who they weren't after awhile. But it did become repetitive after a while and was just the main focus. The middle lagged but I did enjoy the ending when Elsie went to get her person. The story is told in third person which is always hard to connect with.

I can best characterize My Best Friend's Honeymoon as FUN. It's not groundbreaking. It's not the Next Great American Novel. BUT, it is a joyful romp through the figuring out your identity in-and-outside of relationships. And a book like that doesn't need to be anything pretentious. Meryl Wilsner explores LGBTQIA+ identity with the care and joy and sass that can only come from an "elder" of the community.
As a sapphic in a sapphic-presenting relationship, this book ticked boxes and tickled me in all the right ways.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

It truly pains me that this wasn't a five star read. The set up of the story is well executed and had a fun farcical energy reminiscent of an early 2000's rom com. It's the third act conflict where everything just sort of fell apart for me.

As far as the good stuff goes, the sex scenes are really well constructed in this book. I often feel that trad pub sapphic romances are stuck with sex scenes that feel repetitive and saccharine sweet. The tenderness is not a bad thing but I really appreciate that Meryl's books feel dynamic and different in the romance realm. I also really enjoyed Ginny as a character, I've only read one other book that had a nb character who occasionally used binary pronouns and it had frankly offensive execution. So as a she/they, it was really wonderful and affirming to see a they/she character. I would personally describe my gender as lesbian and I loved getting to read about a character that would do the same.

Where this book really fell flat for me was in the construction of the relationship progression. These characters were having sex around the 40% mark and then had their third act break up around 60%. Since much of that 20% was sex scenes, the latter 40% of the book felt somewhat aimless. I think that this came out of having to mutually justify the break up for both characters. In my perception Ginny seemed to have their life pretty much together and the idea that they were overly reliant on Elsie felt out of pocket. The friendship wasn't entirely healthy on Ginny's end, but they felt like a fully formed person with goals and desires. Elsie on the other hand was a type of character that can be really hard to make fun and compelling to read. Her indecision and lack of purpose felt painful at times. I think that her characterization could have worked without the third act break up as is. For example maybe Elsie decides not to date Ginny because she needs to work on herself and just isn't in a good place of a relationship. Then they could set a goal like Palentines day to reunite. The third act conflict in the book just felt juvenile and nonsensical for a group of 20 something's. Finally, this book desperately needed a B plot especially when they were at the resort. The sex scenes were good but I needed these folks to do something besides bang. I think it would have been cute if they met a set of best friends and attempted to play matchmaker. Getting to see two best friends fall in love could be a cute catalyst for them getting together.

This book didn't work for me, but it might work for you! I still love Meryl's other books and would highly recommend Mistakes Were Made.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was an absolute delight! Nailing the friends-to-lovers trope is no easy feat, but Meryl completely delivers. The tension, the backstory, the high stakes of risking a deep friendship for something more—it all comes together beautifully. And let’s just say, things get a little spicy.

While I didn’t love this one quite as much as some of the author’s previous books, it was still an incredibly enjoyable read. The overarching story really worked for me, even if some of the smaller details weren’t my favorite. Interestingly, many of the things I loved were also the same things I found frustrating—an unusual experience, but one that kept me engaged the whole way through.

The premise is fantastic: Elsie’s fiancé throws her a surprise wedding… and the biggest shock is realizing she doesn’t actually want to marry him. With a fully paid honeymoon already booked, she takes her best friend along instead, setting the stage for a trip neither of them will ever forget. Overall, this was a fun, emotional, and steamy read, and Meryl remains an auto-read author for me.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Publishing for the ARC!

I was so excited for this one and immediately downloaded an arc from netgalley once it was available, so I’m really sad that I dislike it as much as I do. The characters were so flat and not fleshed out at all, there was truly NO chemistry, no really believable friendship, even, and the pacing was wild. One minute nothing can happen and the next they’re sleeping together. I also couldn’t stand Elsie, it just seemed like she took advantage of Ginny at every turn. This one was not for me.

I didn’t hate it but it also wasn’t my favourite. The two main characters jumped into bed together way two fast for my liking and it felt like the majority of the book was just the two of them banging over and over and over again. I did like that one of the main characters was plus size and non binary and also the best friends who have both been secretly in love with each other for years storyline is one of my favourites but in my opinion the story needed more substance.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this book