This one didn’t work for me as well as some of Meryl’s others. Even though it’s friends to lovers the jump to lovers felt abrupt and not earned so ultimately not satisfying

In My Best Friend’s Honeymoon by Meryl Wilsner, childhood best friends Elsie Hoffman and Ginny Holtz go on Elsie’s honeymoon together when she breaks off her engagement. Elsie finally admits that she doesn’t want to marry her fiancé after he plans their wedding and honeymoon without her input. He encourages her to go on the honeymoon, anyway. Ginny tells Elsie to think about what she really wants, and she can have it during the honeymoon. To Ginny’s surprise, it leads to them becoming intimate, something she's never believed possible but has wanted for so long.

Wilsner’s active, detailed, and down-to-earth writing, paired with alternating flashbacks from the past and present, vividly explores and develops Ginny and Elsie’s characters and relationship, transitioning their relationship and highlighting the intimacy between them. I love how emotional, intimate, and intensely sexy and steamy Elsie and Ginny’s love scenes are, and how Wilsner uses the characters’ senses to add emotional depth and intensity to their chemistry, interactions, emotional reactions, and inner dialogues/thoughts. Their relationship is filled with longing, nostalgia, steam, heat, humor, friendship, and love.

Intelligent, sweet, caring, and loyal, Eloise stands up for her sister, best friend Ginny, and anyone else who needs help, but never for herself and what she wants or needs. She’s not good with change and doesn’t like surprises. Past traumatic experiences keep Elsie from taking chances and being her authentic self. She defines herself by those around her, especially her family, who don’t listen to or respect her attempts to contribute to the family store with suggestions for branding improvements.

A plus-sized nonbinary lesbian, Ginny has been in love with Elsie since before she understood what love was throughout their friendship. She loves woodworking, making furniture in her spare time, and fostering dogs, but works a nine-to-five job she hates. After asking Elsie to their sophomore dance and being gently turned down, she’s longed for more. Ginny’s life essentially revolves around Elsie. She’s happy going along with whatever makes Elsie happy. Truthfully, Ginny doesn’t know what her life is without Elsie.

I love Ginny and Elsie’s closeness and comfort/ease with one another and how they support, defend, and protect each other. They put each other’s needs above their own. Ginny and Elsie are opposites who balance and help one another feel comfortable being themselves, at peace with their self-identity, and happy. For Ginny, it is easy being with Elsie. Ginny makes Elsie feel more self-assured because she’s Elsie’s safe space.

While I didn’t love the reason for the third-act breakup, I could understand that Ginny and Elsie needed to do some self-reflection and growth before they could have a healthy romantic relationship that would last. They especially needed to learn who they are without each other. Still, I would have liked to spend at least a little more time with them growing as a romantic couple.

My Best Friend’s Honeymoon is a funny, steamy, introspective, sexy, emotional, and fast-paced romance with a lot of heart recommended for fans of bisexual heroines, pan heroines, lesbian nonbinary characters, pining, honeymoon with for one/with best friend, friends-to-lovers, unrequited crushes, one-bed, LGBTQ, and queer romances. It explores self-discovery, sexual discovery, self-esteem, self-love, friendship, falling in love, learning to ask for what you want, finding happiness, and self-reliance.

CN: Misgendering, past bullying, and past forced coming out

3.5 stars

St. Martin’s Griffin provided an advanced review copy via Netgalley for review.

Meryl Wilsner has set the standard for spicy sapphic books!!! I was a huge fan of Mistakes Were Made and this is rivaling that top spot. I loved the character of Ginny and found myself reflected back in her. While I'm not always a fan of "I just came out but I'm great at queer sex" but the relationship between Ginny and Elsie made me forget about those details. Chapters 14-21 are saphhic lesbian GOLD

Best friends to lover trope is something that I am a sucker for and especially when it is done right. I really enjoyed the vacation vibes in this book it literally made me want to book a flight to somewhere tropical! Elsie and Ginny have big chemistry and I am so happy that they finally noticed it! Good read right here.

Best friends to lovers will forever be my favorite romance plotline, and this was no exception. I love Elsie and Ginny so very much and want nothing but happiness for them.

My Best Friend's Honeymoon is an interesting story, but it gets bogged down with too many sex scenes and not enough communication. Additionally, I'm not sure if we were supposed to like either of the FMCs. Elsie is like a wet noodle and Ginny is like a sad puppy dog.

The story started off strong - "God, this man is truly not very bright." Perfect opener. Elsie's boyfriend is planning their wedding without consulting her at all. He got all of his ideas from her Pinterest board and is surprising her with the perfect wedding. That doesn't go so well, but the honeymoon is non-refundable and she winds up going with her best friend, who has been in love with her since childhood.

Seems like everyone in Elsie's life, except her best friend Ginny, are trying to plan her life for her. First her fiancee plans her wedding without her. Then her father, who is also her boss at the family's hardware store, tells her that, in no uncertain terms, ideas that she has to rebrand the store will not be made and that she isn't ever going to be in charge of the place. A trip to paradise seems like a great way to get away from it all.

The biggest issue for most of the story is that Elsie doesn't know what she wants. Ginny, being the supportive best friend, tries to use the vacation as a way to figure it out. As the synopsis says, "they never expected Elsie to want them."

It really is an interesting concept. I think that figuring out who we are and what we want is daunting, especially when you are not certain that what you are will be accepted by those around you. My problem came with the fact that once Elsie and Ginny got together, the story fizzled. I am ok with some spice in my romances, but not when it replaces the story itself.

This was ok! I didn't connect with any couple in particular and it took me a minute to get invested but we got there.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I went into this read excited - I’ve loved Wilsner’s previous books and was thrilled that MBFH had a fat nonbinary lead. However, this was a bit of a disappointment for me - the move from being just friends to what seemed like a book-long sex scene didn’t feel plausible to me.

I disliked Elsie’s character - as a bisexual femme in a relationship with a man, I felt like she was a really bad representation. She hurt her fiancé instead of just being honest with him, and she kind of led Ginny on for years by selfishly keeping her close as a someday option.

The smut was good, and I loved to see different queer sexual acts depicted, but even as someone who loves a smut-heavy book, this felt more smut than the plot. They spent the entire time they were on an all-inclusive exotic honeymoon in the room and barely explored. I also wasn’t a fan of the miscommunication in this one, but I liked how Ginny was able to grow as a character through it.

I’d skip this one and read Mistakes Were Made instead.

I really wanted to like this but it just didn’t meet my expectations. The lack of communication is so frustrating and made it difficult for me to want to finish.

Wilsner is an auto buy for me - never disappoints, makes each book hotter and more romantic.
The rep is always brilliant - so complex yet just background. Gah the vulnerability of Elsie and Ginny - their childhood experiences, their need for friendship, how to navigate the risk of friends to lovers, sustaining a relationship.
Great summer queer beach read.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book follows Elsie after her fiancee plans their entire wedding and honeymoon as a surprise for her. The kicker? The wedding is the next week. Elsie realized that this is not what she wants and breaks off the relationship and goes on the honeymoon with her best friend, Ginny. On this honeymoon, Ginny makes a deal with Elsie that they will do only what Elsie wants when she asks for it. And soon, a very physical relationship ensues.

One thing I liked about this book and that was the writing style. I really like the whimsy and light heartedness of the writing style. I also really liked the ending of the book because we really got to see the characters develop and show more of themselves and their personality.

Overall, I didn't like this book. I think that the romantic relationship was solely built on the physical one and there was little build up and tension to make the romantic relationship believable. Sure, the characters were childhood friends to lovers but the lovers wasn't believable for me.

I thoroughly enjoy any book written by Meryl Wilsner, and My Best Friend’s Honeymoon was no exception. I was drawn into the long lasting friendship between Elsie and Ginny. I especially enjoyed the personal growth of Ginny, in branching out from having a job she hated to one where she enjoyed her work. This story features a third act breakup that really jostled the pacing of the story. While the ending does resolve many of the issues surrounding aforementioned break up, it really felt like it was just shoved onto the end of the story last minute. I would have liked to have seen it fleshed out more. I have My Best Friend’s Homeymoon 4 stars as overall it was an enjoyable book.

We have Elsie and Ginny, best friends since childhood. Ginny has held a torch for Elsie since high school, but gave up on that dream after they asked their friend to a dance and was turned down. Elsie has been engaged for a while, but once she breaks off her engagement, she asks Ginny to accompany her on her planned tropical honeymoon. There, the two get past their fear of messing up their friendship and hook up. But all the fears and tension come rushing back pretty quickly and things quickly get awkward after their union.

Oh Elsie. Oh Ginny. What a mess. Elsie is a wishy washy gal who has spent her life working at her parents' store, unable to speak up for herself and letting other people take care of her. Meanwhile, Ginny is a pushover who would do anything for Elsie.

But, we all have our flaws, right? The two seem like regular, messed up people. My issue was that the book repeats their thoughts and feelings far too much, giving both a cardboard character feel. You find yourself wanting to scream, "we get it!" I truly wanted them to get together and empathized with each, especially Ginny.

Not a ton happens, but there's more than just the stress of the "honeymoon" drama. Elsie is trying to make a difference and put her business degree to work at her family's business. Meanwhile, Ginny starts their own. And don't worry, there are certainly a couple of spicy honeymoon scenes. Ginny has a fantastic group of queer friends who add some excellent color commentary and humor to the story. (Elsie's ex is also hilariously LGBTQIAP+ friendly, which is a really fun running gag.)

Things have a way of sometimes feeling flat in Wilsner's books and the third act breakup was a bit of a stretch, but this is still a cute, fun read with awesome and diverse representation. I grew to care for Ginny and, yes, Elsie. The ending redeemed a lot.

I needed some more maturity from these two. There was no reason they couldn't be together other than getting in their own heads. I understand that people have sex without wanting a relationship, but it isn't insane to think that someone enjoying sex with you and spending time outside of that might actually want to be with you. Except for these two, it is? Least favorite trope.

I just wish that this had been more of a slow burn instead of an oops we're actually in love now we should make up reasons not to be together story.

This is Meryl's first book with a nonbinary main character and I really enjoyed it. I think this story does a great job with friends to lovers while also making sure that these characters have growth outside of each other. I will be reading everything Meryl writes.

3.5⭐️
My (slightly late) honest review:
Oh my damn… that was hot.🥵🥵
This was my first book with a NBMC (nonbinary main character), and I’ll admit, I was a little confused at first, it took me a minute to find my pace. But once I got into the story, I was hooked.
The storyline matches the title to a point: two best friends went to a honeymoon because one of them calls off her engagement and invites her BFF to tag along. They're in love with each other, everyone knows it… except them. 🤭🤭 . In the trip, one thing leads to another... and, well, you’ll have to read the rest. 😉
The romance was cute, and the spice??? Definitely there. I just wish there was more of them, a little more development of their connection. Still, I enjoyed it. Would recommended, if you're looking for a quick and steamy read.
Thnks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC
________________________________________

Esta es mi honesta reseña, tarde pero segura:
Oh por Dios… eso estuvo hooot. 🥵🥵
Este fue mi primer libro donde el personaje principal es No Binario, y debo admitir que al principio estaba un poco confundida. Me tomó un momento encontrarle un buen ritmo a la lectura, pero una vez que me metí en la historia, quedé enganchada.
La historia le hace honor al título del libro: dos mejores amigxs se van de luna de miel porque una de ellxs cancela su compromiso y decide invitar a su mejor amigx a la luna de miel. Ellxs están enamoradxs entre ellxs, todos lo saben... menos ellxs. 🤭🤭 Durante el viaje, una cosa lleva a la otra… y bueno, tendrás que leerlo para saber más. 😉
El romance fue lindo, y lo spice???? Definitivamente ahi estaba👏🏽👏🏽 Solo me hubiera gustado ver un poco más de desarrollo en su conexión. Aun así, lo disfruté bastante.
Lo recomiendo si buscas una lectura rápida y con spicy spice.
Gracias a NetGalley y a la editorial por dejarme leer este ARC.

This book was a sweet examination of the ups and downs of navigating the transition from best friends to lovers for Ginny (they/them) and Elsie (she/her). I appreciated that the book highlighted both the challenges Ginny faced as a non-binary person and the sometimes more subtle challenges that Elsie faced as a pansexual woman who had often in the past been forced by society into performing heteronormativity. I liked the characters a lot and found their interactions compelling. The book included a good amount of spice, and the writing was strong all around. Overall, I would recommend this book to fans of friends-to-lovers romance and books about growing up and learning to identify and ask for what you really want in life.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4.5 ⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: contemporary romance📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
A sweet and fun friends to lovers, the prefect beach read

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Sapphic friends to lovers
Emotional slow burn romance
Fake honeymoon, real feelings
Beach vacations
Cute banter
Fun yet heartfelt read

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
Fun vacation setting had me counting down the days until my own honeymoon

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
I wish there had been a little more tension between the two earlier on


𝙵𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚀𝚞𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜:
★ “She’s the one I want to come home to. Honeymoon or not.”
★ “I’d pretend forever if it meant I got to keep you.”
★ “What if this wasn’t the backup plan? What if it was always the real one?”

i thought i would love this one, but it fell a little flat for me.. well i guess it reallyjust moved really quickly, i thought this would be right up my alley. but unfortunatelty not. although, i have a friend who LOOVED it and i know some friends who would also enjoy this one a lot, as well!

so overall, i did enjoy the actual storyline of this book. you following our 2 main characters being best friends with some underlying pining throughout their childhoods and into adulthood. i loved seeing them come to terms with their feelings, without going into too much detail, the conflict in the story was definitely understandable and valid since they’d been in each others lives for so long and were best friends, and the conclusion of them getting back together was also pretty sweet. i loved seeing our characters go after the things they truly wanted. i also really enjoyed each side character that we met, and they felt like real people alongside our main characters, as they went through real life stuff.

now for the downsides, i have been in a sapphic relationship so i can understand how fast they can move, but 20% of the book just being like one long spicy scene (like genuinely, who spends one FULL day and a few hours into the next, on a tropical vacation in bed just boning) really took me out of the story. you got our main characters inner monologues of how their feelings were changing from a friendly territory to a relationship territory, but it wasn’t enough to really break up the amount of spice happening all in a row which really took me out of the story. there’s nothing wrong with a lot of spice, but the fact that that was ALL that was happening at that point kinda got annoying and repetitive in my opinion.