This book is a really fun friend to lovers book. I lovedd the nonbinary representation!!I really liked this book but it kinda felt like it was a little short and the romance was rushed. Overall if you’re looking
for a cute short romance this is for you.

My Best Friend's Honeymoon by Meryl Wilsner is a delightful and refreshing queer romance that offers a unique perspective on love and self-discovery. The story follows Elsie and Ginny, best friends who embark on a non-refundable honeymoon together after Elsie calls off her engagement. This novel stands out for its representation of non-binary characters, making it an important addition to the LGBTQ+ romance genre.
The book's strength lies in its character development and the evolution of Elsie and Ginny's relationship. As they navigate their feelings for each other during their Caribbean getaway, readers are treated to a heartwarming journey of self-discovery and love. The author skillfully portrays the transition from friendship to romance, making it both believable and engaging.
Wilsner's writing style is captivating, allowing readers to breeze through the story in a single day. The pacing is well-executed, keeping the reader invested in the characters' journey from start to finish. The tropical setting adds an extra layer of romance and escapism to the narrative.
While the book is a fantastic representation of queer relationships, it's worth noting that some LGBTQ+ terminology is used without extensive explanation. This might be challenging for readers new to the genre, but it also reflects the natural, matter-of-fact approach to queer identities that is becoming more common in contemporary literature.
Overall, My Best Friend's Honeymoon is a charming, steamy, and progressive romance that celebrates love in all its forms. It's a perfect read for those seeking diverse representation in their romance novels and anyone who enjoys a well-crafted friends-to-lovers story.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

This is my second novel by this author, and I really liked the concept, especially all the rep. However, I didn’t love that much else.

I love stories that are friends to lovers because I love the connection between the characters. And I felt like I was missing that here. We were told a lot about their friendship and how important it was, but I didn’t think there was enough time spent showing us before the plot took off.

And I have no problems with sex in books, but I prefer in a romance novel that it advances the plot. This didn’t have that. It was different kinds of sex and I enjoyed that much, but there wasn’t enough of a relationship around it. Add that to the difficulty seeing their history and it makes for a very emotionally unsatisfying sequence, especially for multiple chapters in a row.

The big argument to me was also kinda ridiculous, and it’s a blowup so large that it wasn’t justified well enough to me even when it was justified at all.

I liked Ginny a lot, but mostly as an individual. Elsie I liked less. She was a total pushover, and I feel like her arc was very narrow. There could have been more for her besides her family, which I thought was where she was going. It was not, and I didn’t entirely see how everyone magically changed to make what little plot happened happen.

But my biggest problem was that in the end I didn’t get a strong enough relationship between the characters. And in a romance novel, that is damning.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for the honest review.

I received an ARC copy of "My Best Friend's Honeymoon" in exchange for an honest review. I loved "Mistakes Were Made" and "Something to Talk About" so was eagerly awaiting the latest. Unfortunately, MBFH wasn't it and repeated some of the "Cleat Cute" issues that also really bothered me.

Ginny and Elsie have been best friends since high school. Which is turns out wasn't that long ago: they're only 23. Elsie is in an earnest but toxic relationship, where her fiance proposed to her on stage at her graduation (yikes) and then proceeded to plan their entire wedding without her when she didn't want to do it (double yikes). But she's a chronic people pleaser and finally decides enough is enough. Meanwhile, he's purchased a non-refundable honeymoon to a fake island, so Elsie invites Ginny and off they go for a week.

I really appreciated that this book had thoughtful and kind fat representation, respectful nonbinary representation, and the sexy scenes were well-written, tantalizing, and felt honest for people engaging in certain kinks for the first time. All of this is needed more in the mainstream romance genre and I deeply appreciated how well Meryl Wilsner writes these.

My issues with the book, unfortunately, were many and these:

1. The pacing of this book is really fast or repetitive. See-sawing "will we/won't we" on the island and then "I have developed into a whole adult in a manner of 2 days or 3 weeks" is wildly unrealistic and annoying to read. The payoff is middling as a result. These kids (because they are) need to build community and discover themselves and that is a tremendous gift that takes TIME, which is the one thing these characters don't have available to them because it takes place largely over the course of 1.5 weeks with a little rift to stretch to 1 month. I was taken aback when the book ended because it felt like we were just getting somewhere with the characters, albeit quickly.

2. These characters are really /young/ young adults which is less fun to read, honestly. It's messy and their circles are small and still pretty toxic and they haven't become themselves yet, but we also only get a quick glimpse of who they might become. They're so focused on who they were in high school still that it feels like this book could have been redesigned for YA and been more effective, if it weren't for the sex scenes.

3. As someone who lived in Minnesota for 10 years, it's obvious the author didn't spend much time there before writing the book which felt lazy. Winters are "grey" and Ginny's eyes are "grey like the Minnesota January sky" which...no? January is so cold there can't be clouds, so it's bright blue and so sunny you need sunglasses. While it grinded my gears, not having a REAL setting for Ginny and Elsie meant there was no neighborhood to explore or acquaint yourself with - it was the hardware store and a fake island and Ginny's house, wherever it is. More setting would have made the characters feel more independent, at home, and built out their backstory beyond toxicity. "Cleat Cute" at least had cursory understanding of New Orleans as a city and places to help anchor the characters and their time.

4. This book focused only on Ginny and Elsie, with little time spent with anyone else until it was time for them to grow, and even that was a single scene or two. Their networks are reduced to family, which, after living in the same city for more than 15 years, is deeply unrealistic and boring.

I was thinking of "Funny Story" by Emily Henry while reading this - which I loved - and how fundamentally different it is because it's about finding love and building a community for yourself over TIME. That book is set over less than a year but it's a really full and realistic year - ups and downs with her job, family relationships, friendship oops and yays, and time to fall for someone as a romantic partner. Ginny and Elsie don't have time to fall as romantic partners, just as friends who know a specific side of them. There's more there that they don't know about each other yet. Or maybe there isn't, but we never get the chance to see it.

5. As much as I wanted to like this friendship-to-lovers, the relationship is rather toxic and never really gets addressed. Pining for 10 years and never saying anything, just settling, but never trying to move on? Ignoring your friend's romantic feelings and then asking them for unclear hookups-to-longterm love? Eep! Finding out your friend didn't tell you something during your own crisis and was waiting a week or until they processed it and jumping on them in anger? No, thank you. While there are some scenes to call this out and share growth via therapist in the case of a side character, Ginny and Elsie's relationship is immature as a friendship and will begin that way for their love, which is tough to read as an "adultier adult" at 32. We all have romantic lessons to learn when we're young but the timeline is so short here, there's only so much progress to be made when their starting point is what it is. 3 weeks apart and they've both magically changed enough to start a relationship? NOPE. I know a Happily-Ever-After isn't always realistic but I always wish they were more so.

Wilsner did a phenomenal job with "Mistakes Were Made" giving it time to breathe, consequences to navigate, and taboos to normalize. I am hoping for the next version of that to come soon, but regrettably, this book was not it for me. I hope it finds its readers!

This was a cute, easy read, although not my typical reading material I did enjoy the spice and friends to lovers storyline.
Elsie finds out that her fiance has planned their entire wedding as a surprise, but realizes she doesn’t actually care to marry him. With a honeymoon fully paid for, Elsie cannot think of anyone better to come along their her best friend Ginny.
The sexual chemistry was good & I found it funny that Ginny knew Elsie was open to women before Elsie herself even knew.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This story is perfect for fans of friends-to-lovers romance. The characters' journey from friendship to love is beautifully crafted, filled with engaging moments and heartfelt interactions. If you enjoy this trope, you'll find this book to be a delightful and enjoyable read.

Ot was ok, maybe because my expectations were high due to the great reviews for other books by the author.
It was a nice story and the representation was cool. I'll be reading more by the author because I liked the vibes.

Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy

I've been a fan of Meryl Wilsner since Something To Talk About. I find that she plays a lot into tropes. Her books are hit or miss. This one fell in-between the hit or miss. It was fast paced. I knew what I was gonna get from a Meryl book and I definitely get it. Definitely not my favorite of her books but I'm happy that I received this ARC.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars but I rounded up.

Things you should know going in:
- There’s a lot of spice and it’s ✨graphic✨, not fade to black. (degradation, f*sting, period play - the works babes)
- One character is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. If that for whatever reason is an issue for you, I’m not sure why you’re here.
- It’s a friends to lovers romance.

I enjoyed it personally. It’s clear that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I thought it was well written, sweet, and paced pretty well. Super easy read.

Overall, I loved the story! I think this was such a cute book of two people falling in love and I loved to read something that represented the LGBTQ community is this way. If I could make a change I would have written it in first person and made it clear which point of view it was from. Especially with Ginny being non-binary it would have made it read a little easier. I liked that Derrick as a character wasn't actually all that problematic because he was obviously accepting and trying to be loving, but sometimes the person can have nothing particularly wrong with them, they just aren't who is your perfect match. The spice was well-written and added to the story. I do wish that it was a bit clearer that Elsie had feelings for Ginny because it did seem very one-sided and then very quickly Elsie seemed to have feelings that I felt were born out of rebound instead of a growing love, as was intended.

I did not finish this novel at about the 50% mark. I just didn't find the characters appealing, and I didn't have much desire to continue reading. I loved having the inclusive non-binary character, but I will say the use of "they/them" in the writing was really confusing for this English teacher. It took me to about the 40% mark to stop getting confused. This may be a personal flaw of mine, but I'm not sure the usage worked well here. I will not be reviewing this on my social accounts since I could not finish it. I don't believe in doing DNF reviews and slamming a work I didn't enjoy!

I don't like miscommunication!! So, my review may be skewed because I really hate this trope and this book leans hard on it. There are some good spicy scenes but I already wasn't really feeling the two main characters. I do think this book could be enjoyable for someone who can look past the drama or just wants a quick read with spice. Lot's of people like Meryl Wilsner's style so this will probably be a great summer read. Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, I really liked this book, but didn’t love it. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. It was fun and quick but not one of my faves. I loved their friendship and thought they were so cute. The spice???? Oh boy it was SPICY. Be prepared for that because they are nastyyyyyyy. I was hoping for a little more oomph from their relationship. Like there was something missing for me. I think it makes sense for them to just jump head first into a physical relationship because they've spent so long pining for each other. However, after that I would have liked to see them develop their romantic relationship. I also didn’t like how the conflict was handled. The character that was reacting to the “miscommunication” was very outspoken about their feelings and acted really nasty to the other one. I would have liked to see some sort of apology or something because I would have been very upset if someone talked to me like that. I would also have liked to see some sort of epilogue or something where we get their happy ever after after their reconciliation. Another thing, I felt the flashbacks were a bit disjointed because there wasn’t anything to indicate that it was a flashback. So, yeah. I had fun and I did enjoy the book overall. But for the reasons above, I didn’t love it.

I would recommend this if you're looking for a light summer read! Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for an ARC :)

Meryl Wilsner is quickly becoming a top author of mine. My Best Friend's Honeymoon was a unique twist on a romcom and I love it so much.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I know this hsd rave reviews but I just could not get into it. Reading shouldn't be a chore and getting through the narration felt like that to me.

Meryl Wilsner has done it again! My Best Friend’s Honeymoon is the kind of book that reminds me why I fell in love with their writing in the first place—full of chemistry, tenderness, and characters who feel so real that you can’t help but root for them.

This book had me from the premise alone: a nonrefundable honeymoon, a best-friends-to-lovers dynamic, and a nonbinary love interest? Sign me up! Wilsner has always been a master at slow-burn romance with electric tension, and they bring that same magic here. The dynamic between Elsie and Ginny is everything—playful, intimate, and so deeply layered with years of unspoken feelings. Ginny’s love for Elsie is palpable from page one, and watching Elsie come into her own, learning to ask for what she truly wants (and realizing that what she wants is Ginny), was immensely satisfying.

Beyond the romance, this story carries Wilsner’s signature themes of self-discovery and learning to live for yourself. Elsie’s journey is just as compelling as the love story, and I adored seeing her grow into her confidence.

If you loved Mistakes Were Made or Something to Talk About, My Best Friend’s Honeymoon is a must-read. It’s fun, heartfelt, and utterly swoon-worthy—exactly the kind of book that makes you want to hug it when you’re done. Wilsner fans, you won’t be disappointed!

i wanted to love this more than i did. the premise made me feel like i would get butterflies in my tummy and it would be such a great queer story but i think i might have gone in with too high of expectations so its on me honestly. i'm not mad that i read it but i just didnt end up loving it as much as i thought i would

I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly this book got right into the plot and how fast things started happening. I had a hard time putting it down for the entire first half because I was invested in the plot and the characters. The middle felt a tad repetitive to me, but that didn't last for long and then the last third moved nice and quick again. I really enjoyed the main characters and their personalities in this and the way things with the fiance were written. I felt like we didn't get much of the background characters, but that's partly because much of the book is spent with just the two of them. Overall, this was a fun quick read. It had good representation too. Just be aware going into it that it is very NSFW, I would say even more so than Cleat Cute.

Meryl Wilsner's latest book centers on Elsie and Ginny: childhood best friends who end up going on an all expenses paid vacation together after Elsie breaks things off with her fiancé Derrick. Their friendship was beautiful to see and I loved the flashbacks Wilsner included about Ginny and Elsie's individual explorations of their sexualities and gender identities. I loved seeing the character growth that they both experienced throughout the story. My only critique is that the middle of the book was extremely heavy on the spice. It felt a bit out of balance with the rest of the story. I would've loved to see more of their adventures in Santa Lupita because their friendship was really beautiful.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and I love Wilsner's LGBTQIAP+ representation in their books.

Not my favorite Meryl Wilsner book, but still a nice story and I loved the non binary representation. Will recommend to other readers.