My Best Friend’s Honeymoon tells the story of Elsie, who is engaged to her college boyfriend, Derrick. When he surprises her with a wedding and a pre-planned honeymoon just a week away, Elsie has a moment of clarity—realizing she hasn’t been living authentically—and decides to call off the wedding. Left with a nonrefundable trip, she invites her best friend Ginny to join her instead.

What follows is a week-long tropical escape where old bonds are tested and deepened. Ginny, who has secretly been in love with Elsie for years, finally gets a chance to be close to her in a new, more vulnerable way. As the days pass, their friendship gradually blossoms into something more—ultimately turning into a passionate romance.

This isn’t the kind of book I typically gravitate toward, and to be honest, I’m still unsure how I feel about it. It was unlike anything I’ve read before. While I found the writing style strong and engaging, the story itself just didn’t quite align with my personal reading tastes.

I never thought I could dislike a Meryl Wilsner book but here we are. I did not believe any connection between our FMCs, even though they were supposed to be best friends their whole life? The beginning premise of holding out on making wedding plans as a way to (sub)consciously avoid the actual marriage?? You lost me there but there was no redemption. Our narrators did fine with what they were given.

Meryl's books are always a hit for me. I greatly enjoyed this friends-to-lovers story. The narrators did a phenomenal job!

This book didn't exactly follow the path of a traditional romance, with the conflict happening before the halfway point. Ginny and Elsie had to work on themselves in order to be the right romantic partner for each other, rather than everything magically being okay after their trip together. The chemistry between them, and the amount of love right from the start was so good. I loved their love.

And whew! Did Meryl ever turn up the heat with this book. It was face-melting hot. And so very queer. One of the things that I appreciated the most about this book was the queer community that Ginny immersed themselves in during the time apart from Elsie. That friend group was exactly what they needed.

This had so much going for it, especially a Minnesota setting, but, unfortunately, I didn't love this. While I appreciated the thoughtful portrait of tricky friendship dynamics and a well-drawn non-binary main character, the plotting, pacing, and character growth fell short for me. Many of the moments of personal growth and revelation felt sudden and unearned within the narrative. The stakes of the central conflict ultimately felt small and somewhat arbitrary. This had all the right ingredients, but it just didn't hit for me.

A tropical setting, a faux honeymoon, and a best-friends-to-lovers twist? Sign me up! Meryl Wilsner’s latest delivers on the escapist vibes, with sun-soaked romance and just enough emotional depth to keep things interesting.

I really enjoyed the chemistry between the leads and the playful premise of one friend stepping in as the “honeymoon plus-one” after a called-off wedding. There were some truly cute and steamy moments that felt like pure rom-com gold.

That said, the pacing dragged in a few spots and some of the emotional beats didn’t land as hard as I’d hoped. I found myself wishing for a bit more character development and fewer drawn-out misunderstandings.

🎧 The audio was HEATED, but the dual narrators kept it easy to follow along between the two characters. It definitely made me blush at times, but it also brought the characters’ inner thoughts to life in such a vivid way.

Still, this was a fun, feel-good read with sapphic romance, beachside kisses, and a dose of heart. A great pick for fans of slow burns, vacation flings, and best-friend tension. 🌺💕

Read If You Like:
• Sapphic friends-to-lovers romances
• Tropical vacation settings with emotional depth
• Explorations of personal growth and self-discovery
• Stories featuring nonbinary protagonists
• Spicy Reads  

Elsie Hoffman has been engaged to her college boyfriend for a year and a half. Ginny Holtz has been in love with Elsie for almost a decade and a half. When Elsie discovers her fiancé already planned their wedding and honeymoon as a surprise and she’s expected to be in a white dress in seven days, she swiftly realizes she’s let herself become too comfortable with a future she never wanted. She breaks things off, and a week later is on a plane to the Caribbean for her non-refundable honeymoon with her best friend Ginny instead.    

Ginny thinks it’s high time Elsie learned how to speak up for herself. So, they make a deal with her: for the next week, Elsie can have whatever she wants, wherever, however, and whenever she wants it, as long as she asks. They never expected Elsie to want them. What starts as choosing activities and taking selfies soon turns to toe-curling kisses and much, much more. But what happens when the honeymoon is over?  

Thanks so much to the publisher for my ALC and ARC!

[It was okay]

Overall, this book was just okay for me. It had fun parts to it but fell flat most of the time. However, the narration of this audiobook was really great and made me want to continue listening to it.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a free advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Lots of spicy scenes in this book, and while I loved their friendship, I would have loved for us to get more about how their relationship would evolve as they went from best friends to a couple. I am glad that they were both able to take steps to accomplish some of their personal goals finally. Ginny was really passionate about their woodworking and fostering animals—two things which brought them so much joy. Elsie, on the other hand, had to work on being ok asking for what she wanted without giving in to things so easily just because she wanted to be accommodating to others. Narrator did a great job!

Thanks to Macmillian Audio and NetGalley for the ALC!

This is a hard book for me to review because my attitude towards it kept changing. I liked the beginning, the middle fell flat and the end had some redeeming qualities. I enjoyed the beginning where we learn about their friendship and their history together. Once they go on the honeymoon it started to fall apart for me. The honeymoon was sex scene after sex scene (and those scenes were 🫣). Personally I needed some more plot mixed in. While I hate a third act breakup I did enjoy them finding themselves as individuals. It was a nice change from the honeymoon portion. Ultimately it was a quick listen but not my favorite. I preferred her book Cleat Cute.

I just didn't like one of the lead characters at all and taht unfortunatley impacted my enjoyment of this book. it was all about their learning to figure themselves out, but it wasn't for me, her lack of awareness and how that hurt other people

I will read anything Meryl Wilsner writes! They could write me a cease and desist letter for this review and I’d swoon, because I love them and their books so much.

My Best Friend’s Honeymoon is a Friends to Lovers, but with a lil miscommunication and a whole bunch of smut that will melt your heart and overheat the sheets. Cuz the sexy time is 🔥🥵🔥!

When Elsie’s boyfriend springs an entire planned wedding and honeymoon getaway only a week away… before she even hears a peep about it. It makes her realize that she isn’t ready at all. For any of it. He wants to get married and have kids… NOWWWWW!!! And she isn’t sure. Even before the invitations he sent out have been delivered, she has to break the news to her family and friends. The wedding is off… well it was on, but it’s not anymore. It never really was?

Ginny has been in love with their best friend as long as they have known her. They would do anything to be there for her. Even quit the job they hate to go on a fully booked and paid honeymoon to the Caribbean. They know that Elsie would be upset that they are doing so much for her, so they keep that part a secret. 🤫

But it’s on this non-refundable trip that their friendship takes a different turn. One with irreversible side effects and a whole lot of 💃🏻🛌💋!!!

In signature fashion, I immediately fell in love with their love. Honestly, from the start I was rooting for Ginny to get the girl! I felt like they were dealing with a horrible job, miserable life choices, and they just needed a break… maybe not a 3rd act break up, but they needed a leg up. Especially if it was 2 legs up… if you get what I’m saying! 😝

I was lucky enough to get an early copy of the ALC from Macmillan Audio and I’m so incredibly thankful to them. Blair Baker and Emily Shaw made this the perfect summer romance. I lost myself in the book and forgot I was reading at times. It was almost like I was listening to a couple friends who were telling me their relationship stories. So freaking good!

4.5 ⭐️

This was a great audiobook production, but unfortunately I did not like this story. Both Ginny and Elsie were irredeemably insufferable. My breaking point was when Elsie wanted to cuddle Derek after returning from the trip with Ginny. That was outrageous, and the miscommunication was too much

Ever since picking up their first book, I've been a fan of Meryl Wilsner's writing. They balance lighthearted rom-com moments, hot and heavy romance scenes, and themes regarding queer identity very well. And while I still love Meryl Wilsner's writing style after finishing this novel, unfortunately, My Best Friend's Honeymoon just didn't do it for me. I liked the characters and the emotional arcs they went on. My problems mostly fell with the plot.

For one, this novel made me realize I'm not actually a big fan of childhood friends-to-lovers romances. I like when two characters form a friendship before falling in love. But often, with childhood friends-to-lovers stories, the audience doesn't get to see the main characters fall in love. Instead, we just are told that they already love each other from the start of the book. I really wanted to see more scenes of Elsie and Ginny falling in love, even if they were in flashback.

My other issue with this book was, as much as I loved the tropical, summer-y setting, the set up of this book had me feeling bad for the main character's ex. This book's premise is that our main character, Elsie, dumps her fiancée and goes on her non-refundable honeymoon with her best friend. And weirdly enough, I think that this premise would have worked better if Elsie's ex was some cartoonish, over-the-top villain. Instead, he's just a really kind guy. When Elsie cashes in on the vacation you feel genuinely bad for him, or at least I did. It almost distracted me from the plot, as throughout the book I had a nagging reminder that some heartbroken fool is paying for this trip.

Overall, there was a lot I did like about this novel. As I stated, I really liked Meryl Wilsner's writing, particularly of their themes and characters. I just think there were some hiccups in developing the plot.

• when elsie calls off her wedding last minute after realizing she doesn’t love her fiancé, she takes her best friend ginny on what would have been her honeymoon. little does she know that ginny has been in love with elsie for years. when ginny suggests that the trip be about elsie using her voice to speak up & say what she wants, resort activities quickly turn to the two of them sleeping together. a lot. what happens when the honeymoon is over though?
• my main gripe with this book was how heavily it relied on the miscommunication trope. the reason it takes so long for ginny & elsie to get together is from not talking about their respective feelings for one another, but it drags to the point of frustration.
• the spicy scenes were fine, but their relationship stays in the “hooking up” space for so long, that the plot doesn’t progress much. it’s not really adding to the development of their romantic relationship, which made the HEA feel rushed at the end.

I liked this for what it was, which is basically two friends having lots of sex on what was supposed to be the honeymoon one of them. I’m also happy with the separation that occurred before the reconciliation. However, I just found this to be fairly repetitive and I wish I had more of the friendship prior to them adding in the benefits.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Publishers for the ARC for my honest review.

This review contains mild spoilers.

This book didn't do it for me. I have previously loved Meryl Wilsner's other books and felt their writing was strong and stories captivating. When reading the synopsis of this book I assumed I would devour it and love every second. I was disappointed.

I couldn't relate to the characters or their relationship with each other. If they were lifelong best friends why didn't Ginny feel as though they could at least tell Elise that she appeared unhappy in her current engagement?

Elise is a whole other story. Elise never stands up for herself and stayed in a relationship with someone who doesn't even care to get to know her (the engagement) entirely too long for a reason I still don't know.

For the smut lovers- there is a lot of it. I enjoy when smut is placed well in a story and helps build the characters and their relationship with each other, but this book feels like it should've been an island fantasy vacation erotica and just scrapped the "story." Almost as if it was a fantasy written out and not necessarily a novel if that makes any sense.

I think there is an audience that would appreciate and enjoy this book, but I am not it.

This book glowed. It gave me all the warm fuzzies, made my heart ache (in the best way), and left me genuinely emotional in the end. 🥹💕

Elsie is freshly single and suddenly on her would-have-been honeymoon with her best friend Ginny, who’s secretly been in love with her for years. What starts as a much-needed getaway turns into something softer, deeper, and beautifully messy. Ginny challenges Elsie to ask for what she really wants and watching Elsie step into that truth? Ugh. So good. 😭✨

What I really loved was the thoughtful, affirming representation of Ginny as a non-binary main character. Their dynamic with Elsie felt so palpable, tender, and full of respect. Wilsner balances romantic heat with emotional depth in a way that made the story feel like a warm hug, with a few toe-curling scenes to spice it up. 😉. You know steam isn't my thing, so I had to hit the jump ahead 30 seconds button quite a bit!

If you love:
• Friends-to-lovers arcs done right
• Queer joy and identity-affirming love
• Island romance with emotional growth
• Characters learning they deserve so much more than “fine”

Then you need this one in your beach bag (or just your heart) 💌

This was such a fun, fast-paced read!
It starts off with Elsie finding out her fiancé planned their whole wedding and honeymoon as a surprise, and she realizes she’s just not that into him.
So, she breaks it off and takes her best friend since childhood, Ginny, on the honeymoon instead since it’s nonrefundable. (Per the exes request so don’t think Elsie is a B here) Ginny has been in love with Elsie for too long so we already know it’s about to get spicy.
The spice is next-level, and I loved how we didn’t have to wait long for Elsie to finally take the leap. I’m talking some of the best sapphic scenes I’ve read.
Sadly, there is a third-act breakup fueled by miscommunication, which honestly, kind of felt so unnecessary at first but then panned out.
Elsie’s freakout was kind of over the top but Ginny handled it all so well, and stood their ground. I loved seeing their growth during that time apart.

This has all the best-friends-to-lovers vibes, lots of spice, and great representation.



Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ALC!

Ahem. I loved this book.

It did get a little bogged down in the post-vacation third-act conflict business, which wasn't my favorite part of the plot. But everything else here was the exact spicy, romantic, trope-y, queer fun that I was expecting from a Meryl Wilsner book. The audiobook was excellent -- no particular raves, but also no complaints! I was able to easily get lost in the story without distraction.

It made me desperately want to go stay in one of those little bungelows over the ocean with my partner and just get away from everything.

I still think I liked Cleat Cute the most out of the Wilsner books I've read, but they are now cemented as an auto-buy author for me! I will be singing the praises of this one on social media.

Love anything Meryl Wilsner writes, and this is no exception. One of my most anticipated 202 novels, this lived up to all my expectations, a perfect summer read, and even better as an audiobook. Highly recommend.