Ready for a besties to lovers ! This is it! I enjoyed this storyline and book so much! Such a beautiful story of growth and finding love from right infront of you !

I really enjoyed this! This was so queer and delightful and really thoughtful. The premise was fun but meaningful. I loved that it was an "accident" that they ended up at an LGBTQ+ friendly resort. I loved the work elements of this actually and figuring out themselves in their career and lives. The non-binary representation was so great, and I loved the third act. Great character development in all areas, not just in the romantic relationships.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for my review!

This was cute but i wanted more substance to the relationship than hooking up. The title is very accurate as one of the main characters calls of their engagement and goes with the other mc who is their best friend. Pretty quickly they start hooking up in the resort and thats all that happens for a good chunk of the book. They don’t talk about feelings until everything blows up with them. I liked the representation and the romance and friendship was cute. Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

This was cute! It’s a super easy, fast-paced read which I definitely appreciate! I liked the way the conflict resolved and the character growth of each of them! It’s super spicy (though at this point I think most people expect that from Wilsner) and a lovely celebration of queerness. I could see this as a great beach read but also was nice to read and pretend I was on a tropical vacation. ❤️❤️

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC!

I really had a great time with this book. Meryl Wilsner's previous two books are also favorites of mine and I've already preordered the physical copy of this one. This book was so easy to jump into and get invested in the characters but the reason for 4 stars instead of 5 would have to be the pacing.

Things started off at a normal pace in my opinion and then once our two main characters Elsie and Ginny (two best friends who are secretly in love with each other) go on what was supposed to be Elsie's honeymoon things just went SO fast. At around the 30% mark it was just a flip of a switch and the next 40% of the book was almost exclusively sex scenes. Now, a spicy book is exactly what I expect from Wilsner so that is not my issue. It just happened super fast and then did not stop until our big conflict scene on their way home.

The conflict seemed very dramatic to me on Elsie's part, however I do appreciate how they both worked on themselves and accomplished great things without relying on each other. I also think the ending was a bit abrupt and would have loved an epilogue! But that's just me.

Overall, I really really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others, especially if you are looking for a queer friend to lovers!! Meryl Wilsner is definitely an auto-buy author for me.

Elsie is good with going along with it: she goes along with what her family wants her to do at their family-owned small business, she doesn't make waves, and she's stayed comfortably in a good-enough relationship because it's...well, because it's good enough. And it's not until her long-time fiancé decides to spring a wedding on her that she realizes that it's time to form some of her own opinions. And what better way to do that than take her best friend Ginny along with her on the all-inclusive honeymoon that Elsie's now ex-fiancé insists that she take anyway? Meanwhile, Ginny is determined that Elsie will spend the not-a-honeymoon asking for what she really wants...and if that happens to be Ginny, well. Ginny's been in love with Elsie for years.

There's plenty to like here: it's a fun setup, first of all, with bisexual and enby rep (plus an MC who is not a size two and is comfortable with that), and I love that the ex-fiancé isn't evil—he's a little clueless, yes, but he genuinely cares for Elsie and isn't about to intentionally make her life difficult. I'm a broken record on the subject, but this is *so* rare for ex-partners in romance novels, and I'm always happy to see *not*-evil exes who just aren't the One. (Bonus: the ex gets some character growth throughout the book.) Both MCs have solid family support (even if that support is also sometimes a bit clueless), which isn't a given and is always nice to see. And although I'm generally not interested in resort vacations (give me a tent in the woods and some bug spray), the honeymoon location sounds pretty fab. I did have a bit of trouble telling Elsie and Ginny's voices apart, I think partly because they have...well, their names aren't actually similar, but they're each two syllables with an "ee" sound at the end, and I guess that tripped me up.

The thing that tripped me up in a bigger way: I really would have liked a discussion of consent and just of *interest* before things heat up. Because...Elsie knows that Ginny was interested when they were teenagers, but she doesn't actually know if Ginny is interested now. The *reader* knows that Ginny is still in love with and happy to jump into bed with Elsie, but Elsie more or less takes it for granted that "whatever you want" includes a whole lot of banging. It's chapter 14 (39%) when things heat up, and then it's not until two chapters later (51%) that Elsie thinks to ask ""Not just because I want to ... Do *you* want me to?"" (loc. 1601*) Twelve percent of a book might not sound like much, but it feels like quite a lot when that twelve percent is, you know, mostly banging.

Between the sometimes shaky communication and the similar sense I got from their voices, I'm left thinking that Ginny has just as much trouble articulating what they want as Elsie has. I would have loved to see that be more of a realization throughout the book. Later in the book, Elsie throws some pretty hefty accusations at Ginny, ones that I'm honestly surprised their relationship can recover from so quickly; they take a look at some of the patterns in that relationship and what is and isn't working, but...I suppose I would have liked that look to be even deeper. To be fair, they're young—young and passionate and I think still trying to figure out what healthy relationships (platonic and/or romantic and/or sexual) look like.

I don't think this was quite the right book for me, but I'll still happily read more of Wilsner's books, and I do think it'll go over like gangbusters for readers looking for a lot of heat and perhaps a queer escape to the Caribbean.

*Quotes are from an ARC and may not be final.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

This was my first book with a non binary character. While I wasn’t sure I would find Ginny relatable solely because of this, I actually ended up loving them and it opened my mind to reading books with lead non binary characters in the future!
While I loved the characters (aside from the melt down - what was that?!), the storyline fizzled out a little after the first third when it became more spice than plot. Some of the conflicts were ridiculously juvenile and hard to relate to as an adult. The writing was good and character development was fine, but overall I felt like the plot was missing the depth I would’ve expected.

I could have used a little less ~intro to business~ during the third act breakup, but otherwise, this was a treat. Friends-to-lovers is typically a hard sell for me but this was SO much fun. I understood why Elsie had never acted on her feelings for Ginny and cheered when she decided to "ruin" the friendship. Queer friendships and relationships are so complex and I love how that is represented here.

My biggest gripe with the romance industry is the strictly mandated third-act breakup. HOWEVER, I found the reasons behind this one incredibly realistic. There was miscommunication, but that wasn't the defining reason for their brief breakup.

This was my first Meryl Wilsner book and absolutely won’t be my last! I am a sucker for friends to lovers stories and the long term pining felt so classically queer. I was surprised that Elsie also had a crush on Ginny for so long and was a little unsure why they both waited until this moment to explore it but I guess after all that time something as extreme as a wedding would be needed to shake things up. Elsie and Ginny’s chemistry was unreal! The safety and care from their friendship translated into instant chemistry sexually. I appreciate the way the author wrote the sex scenes in a way that honored that Elsie hadn’t been in a queer sexual relationship before and at the same time that the two of them shared intense attraction. I loved that Wilsner wrote such queer sec scenes that left behind the hetero, boring, overdone sex scene arcs and created long, evolving scenes that felt like queer porn in the best way. The tension around Ginny not being forthcoming about their job felt a little overblown and the final coming back together was too short in my opinion. I can’t wait to go back and read the other books they’ve written though and can’t wait for my friends to read this one when it’s out!

This is the third Meryl Wilsner book I've had the pleasure of getting to review. She knocked it out of the park from the beginning on this book. I read it incredibly quickly because I grew attached to Ginny. I felt like the characters were remarkable and the humor had me giggling up a storm.

I liked this novel a lot, although not as much as some others from this author. I would summarize by saying that I loved the overall big picture of this novel but there are some little details I didn’t like. The parts I liked, I liked a lot. The parts that I disliked, were relatively minor. This was an enjoyable read and this author is still an auto-read from me!

Interestingly/strangely, a lot of the things I liked about this novel I also disliked? It was a strange experience that was new to me. Read below and it will make sense I suppose, as a lot of these bullets are paired up.

Highlights:
-Non-binary representation win! This novel did a great job on this point. The language was consistent and correct and there were a lot of little details thrown in that just worked very well.
-Super spicy, and the spicy parts were hot. This is always a win with this author so it was no surprise.
-I liked how they set up safe words quite quickly, just in case, as they were venturing into unknown territory. Its just good behavior to demonstrate for readers!
-I really liked the conflict between the protagonists. In a big-picture sense this worked very well. This was a great commentary (maybe not the right word but I’m tired) on the nature of their relationship and how despite it being very solid, there were elements that were not perfect. I liked how both characters got to have a personal character arc/journey and get some satisfying character development. This section added a LOT to the overall novel in my opinion.
-The sweetest friendship(?) and such a supportive relationship. They were both adorable and I loved them together.
-I adored the mutual pining in the early sections of this novel. The “miscommunication” (that wasn’t really a miscommunication) made a lot of sense and was very realistic which was a nice change!
-It was nice that there wasn’t any real antagonist, just life in general. The ex wasn’t even toxic or evil, and in fact was somewhat delightful. It was refreshing.
-Unusual pacing, but it worked for me! It was a little strange, how the story progressed, but it was nice to read something that didn’t follow the typical formula. Real life doesn’t follow a rom-com formula!

Nitpicks (reasons why this wasn’t 5-stars, don’t read into how much text is below because I DID like this novel!):
-Is tearing into service workers for using gendered language really needed? It wasn’t malicious. It also didn’t happen just once. I 100% support correcting people, of course, but this was going overboard, and it seemed like something that happened a lot. I support the intent, but this isn’t a productive approach to “education”.
-The transition into spicy content (and a big change in the relationship dynamic) was so incredibly abrupt. Too much in my opinion, it was jarring and didn’t feel realistic. Also, they went into the spicy parts HARD and it just felt somewhat disjointed. The sex was hot, but it was strange to me that they both apparently acted in ways that were entirely unlike themselves and this was never further explored or addressed.
-There was a scene where one of the characters “had a bad reaction to something they were doing”, and I didn’t find it was handled very well. It was mostly glazed over, which felt irresponsible and strange. Maybe a conversation could have been warranted perhaps? I have plenty of guesses about this scene and it makes sense, but it wasn’t really addressed in-text. This whole section felt disjointed.
-The conflict between the protagonists seemed rather forced and out of character. The miscommunication (or rather, jumping to conclusions?) on Elsie’s part didn’t feel realistic to me; I don’t think she would have thought the thoughts about Ginny that she did. Elsie even acknowledged this later, but that revelation didn’t go anywhere. Following the inciting moments, the lack of ability for the characters to communicate properly seemed out of character for long-time best friends who normally talk constantly and know each other as well as they did.
-A central tenant of their friendship was how supportive they were of each other, so it seemed strange that they felt the need to go do things on their own without that support. They were avoiding being controlled or influenced, but generic support wouldn’t have really been much of a problem. I was honestly confused as to what their game plan was when they were not talking, as the characters essentially were just avoiding each other (and thinking about it) without any particular end point.
-They were a bit mean to the ex, mocking him and calling him dumb and whatnot. In reality he didn’t seem to have done anything wrong except being a little emotionally unaware (and he was given zero signs to be honest).
-Honestly….not a lot of romance? Pining, sex, backstory, character development separately…. But not a lot of actual romance. Still liked it though, hah!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free ARC. This honest review was left voluntarily.

It’s okay- but if I’m honest, I think previous books are better and seemed more coherent or less all over the place.

It’s hard to give it 3 stars because I did quite enjoy the ‘spice’ as I feel like we don’t get many mainstream sapphic books with this level of it. But it kinda made everything else lackluster. They kinda just felt too horny? Lol then I got to understand more of the why but perhaps there could’ve been some build up or better bridge there

This book took me by surprise in the very best way! Such a fun and cute story, didn't want to put it down!

Overall, I enjoyed this book and found it easy to pick up and read every day. I have read two of Meryl Wilsner’s other books: Cleat Cute and Something to Talk About. I enjoyed this book much more than Something to Talk About, but not as much as Cleat Cute.

There were a few things that I think could be improved with this book:

First, the use of Ginny’s pronouns. Initially, only “they/them” pronouns are used for Ginny, but every so often there is a “she” scattered in there - it’s infrequent enough that it seems like the author made a mistake. As the book goes on, this happens more and more, such that I wondered if this was intentional, given that Ginny’s pronouns are “they/she” - but it was still pretty infrequent and occasionally confusing in the context of both Elsie and Ginny, and I was left wondering if it was all in error.

Second, the boyfriend/fiancé was SUCH a dud, I finished the book yesterday and can’t even remember his name. I truly couldn’t understand how or why Elsie had ended up with him in the first place. The vibe right from the start felt like everyone rolled their eyes at him and tolerated him. I wonder whether, if he was more likable, Elsie would also be more likable.

Third, Elsie’s sudden request to fuck Ginny came out of nowhere - it was only later that the reader gets more information about how & why Elsie rejected Ginny in high school. This should come earlier, because with the information the reader has at that point, it all feels pretty unbelievable: Elsie was engaged to a boring man for years, and now suddenly wants to sleep with her best friend.

Fourth, the fight about Ginny’s job also came out of nowhere. I absolutely could not understanding Elsie’s reaction or why she was taking it so personally until it was clearly spelled out much later in the book in conversation with Danielle. Some of this context needs to be pulled in sooner.

I think that shifting things around could be very helpful for the flow of the book.

I enjoyed the parts towards the end about each of them finding their own thing: Elsie with her family’s shop and Ginny with their woodworking.

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC!

Elsie Hoffman is preparing to marry her college boyfriend, while her childhood friend Ginny Holtz has been in love with her for years. When Elsie realizes the last thing she actually wants to do is get married, she calls off the wedding and makes a beeline for her honeymoon, best friend in tow. It doesn’t take long for things to start heating up in the Caribbean.

I loved the characters of Ginny and Elsie and friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes so I was really rooting for them from the start. While the spice was incredible (the reason for all three stars if we are being honest), I felt like I was lacking the connection between Elsie and Ginny and I wanted a little more of their story between the spice. I thought the backstory between the two was sweet and kept me interested in the story and the stakes between them. The big argument aka third act break up was a bit overdramatic for my liking and made me honestly dislike Elsie a bit. Nonetheless, it was a spicy little romance and loved the f/nb relationship.

I loved Meryl Wilsner’ precious books so much, but this one didn’t work quite as well for me. That could be because the main characters both just seemed SO young and angsty, and it could also be because the romance felt sudden and rushed (which is a me problem, I think - they both pined for years). But I think my main quibble is that I didn’t have a stake in it. I wasn’t really rooting for them, the hurdle they had to overcome felt kind of silly and forced, and the reconciliation was just… fine? I feel so bad writing this review because, again, she’s a favorite author and I even loved the soccer book, and I didn’t like sports romance much. That said, she’s still a great writer, the sense of place is great - I loved the honeymoon resort - and I did like the bumbling, sweet fiancé character quite a lot (I wish we’d had more of that relationship unraveling, honestly).

Sadly I think this book was a case of "it's me not you". I just didn't really vibe with it, and I really wanted to. I read Cleat Cute by Wilsner and really enjoyed it, and was so looking forward to reading a book of theirs with a NB main character. But, I just didn't see the chemistry between the MC's. I did just read a very similar book, so it could have been the timing, but the entire book I couldn't get into it. I wasn't looking forward to finishing it. I wish I liked it more.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for a copy of this ARC.

This book started out so strong. Fast paced with a great premise. But then we have the jump from platonic best friends to friends who have sex. And a lot of sex. All different kinds of sex. Sex. Sex. Sex.

And don’t get me wrong, I am a smut lover, but in a full length romance novel, I want there to be actual romance occurring in addition to the sex.

And gah. I truly don’t like feeling bad for a straight white man, but here we are. Derrick deserved so much better than to be strung along the way he was. And, without spoiling things, I hated the final scene he was in. He deserved more of an explanation and, in all honesty, he deserved an apology. But that’s just my opinion.

I love Meryl and will always read their books! This one was better than Cleat Cute but not as good as Mistakes Were Made in my opinion. Loved how fast-paced it was; I found it refreshing for a friends-to-lovers plot to leave out all the pining! Ginny is the star for sure. I want to be friends with them. Solid 4-star read that I hardly put down in 24 hours! Thanks for NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely adored this book! Friends to lovers with a side of pining and unrequited love is my jam!

The spice was spicing! I would happily live at that honeymoon resort!

Honestly so good!