Meryl Wilsner has delivered another delightful queer romance. I’m always a little leery of friends to lovers, but My Best Friend’s Honeymoon handles this trope well. Ginny has been in love with Elsie for years, but is supportive of their friend’s relationship with Derrick as long as she’s happy. Elsie finds her voice after her fiancé plans a surprise wedding, and only gives her a week to prepare. Elsie realizes that she doesn’t want to marry Derrick, and ends the relationship as kindly as possible. The spark just wasn’t there, and they both deserved more. He encourages Elsie to take Ginny on the non-refundable honeymoon he booked, because he’d be too sad to go alone. Golden retriever energy is high, but he’s the derpy dog that would run face first into the fence... repeatedly.

Ginny has Elsie start communicating her wants and needs on the trip, and they go along willingly with her requests. When Elsie rolls over one morning and decides she wants to get spicy with Ginny, they’re stunned for a moment, and then enthusiastically participate. Things get very spicy… perhaps this book should come with a fan?

Through the course of the honeymoon it’s obvious these two have been in love with each other for years. They did not communicate very well before jumping into a relationship. The third act breakup felt necessary and was well done. Ginny and Elsie both needed time to settle into themselves a bit more, and the character growth was top notch. It is painfully obvious that Elsie is 23, and she embodies the liminal space between college and early adulthood. A+

The side characters were fun. Ginny’s friend Sue has a whole friend group that could make a book on their own. Seriously, can I read that? Sue and her perfect bisexual bob need their own moment.

I loved Mistakes Were Made, and was absolutely delighted by My Best Friend’s Honeymoon. I’m super thankful I got a chance to read the ARC.

my first book of Meryls was last year (cleat cute) and i didnt have the best experience reading it, so i was a little hesitant to give this one a shot but i am extremely happy i decided to give this book a try!! the premise of the book got me so good, this was my first f/nb and i was hooked on these two immediately, i mean who doesnt love a good best friends to lovers?!?!

this book was extremely fast paced which i loved, i love that we didnt have to wait through a bunch of inner turmoil for elsie to say fuck it and give things with ginny a try like shes wanted to for so long. the entire honeymoon trip was amazing, the spice?!?! insane!!! 🥵

now for my reasoning for this not being 5 stars, elsie’s major freak out after their trip was mind boggling to me, i think she was totally out of line and honestly kind of mean… i warmed back up to her by the end but for a hot minute there i did not think that i was going to be able to be supportive of them ended up together in the end… HOWEVER, the way ginny handled this was top tier, i am so beyond happy that they were able to move beyond the hurt they felt and go on to discover the things about themselves that was necessary to their growth and finding what they wanted out of life beyond elsie. i felt extremely proud of them through out the entire separation period 🥹

i also felt a lot of happiness by the end for elsie and how she finally was able to get her family to listen to her and her sister and her husband for encouraging elsie that her ideas do matter and that they are great 🥹

all in all i think ginny was the star of this show for me, i really loved them. i loved the love that elsie had for them and that ginny had for elsie <3

this book felt very different for me in the best of ways in the sense that all of the things that these two were and what makes them who they are was never once an issue for the other person (does this make sense? lmao). we are told that ginny is plus size and not once was that fact made into something that felt defined them in anyway, i personally find that the majority of books with plus sized MCs that i have read the author can make it seem like this is something bad, wrong or something to be insecure of and it was really nice to have a book where the plus sized MC but also the other MC didnt feel the need to keep making internal comments or let it justify or define their attraction to them. it just simply was what it was and both ginny and elsie found each other hot as hell and it was just fucking awesome, thats the best way i can explain it lol

i feel like i am starting to ramble a bit so i just want to wrap up quick that this was an amazing read, i think its going to make one hell of a summer read for a lot of people next year and despite any minor issues i had with elsie i still loved both of them immensely and most definitely will be treating myself to a reread of this as soon as i can get my hands on the audio book because i am already so excited to see these two brought to life by narrators 🧡

I was really looking forward to reading this. There are some things I loved about it - mostly Ginny, their woodworking business, and Sue, and their grampa - but the pacing, Elsie in general, lol, the mocking of the ex and calling him simple/dumb…all of that was a bummer. I guess there’s a place for very imperfect, sometimes unlikeable characters.

Love a good quick read. The title page kinda gave everything away but none the less it was awesome! Great title to get the author hooked

Meryl never fails to stun with her books. I loved the queer representation, the author handled the subject with such care and it felt so raw and honest. I really enjoyed reading this book and can’t wait to recommend it to every romance reader I know.

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a sexy five alarm fire. Meryl Wilsner doesn't miss. I loved reading this steamy romance with an enby main character. Challenges all sorts of notions about sex, gender, and language in and out of the bedroom.

I thought this book was such a cute romcom! I have read a book before from this author called “Mistakes Were Made” and really enjoyed that story.I really enjoyed the characters of this book and the idea/plot as well. I felt like I was able to make my own personal connections based of the stories and conflicts of the characters. Nothing bad to say here about this new book!!

Thank you Meryl Wilsner and NetGalley for this ARC!!

I really enjoyed this book I seen a lot of myself in it and that was both good and bad. Hopefully some of the lessons in the book are not to late to learn as a 41 year old. I loved that this book gave us pansexuals a spotlight and our nonbinary community. This book did make me want to go to Minnesota as well give me all the waterfalls please. All the characters were very likable even the ex I really like that there was not bashing on him and showing that sometimes love just isn’t enough.

Absolutely a 5-star read for me. I was so excited to get an ARC of this book that I started it at lunch, canceled my plans, and finished it by dinner. Meryl Wilsner is one of my favorite authors, and “My Best Friend’s Honeymoon” is yet another example of their talent. They always do an incredible job at writing characters with great chemistry and stories with great emotional depth, even when the book's overall premise is fun (like a honeymoon). I’d recommend this book (and any of Wilsner’s books) to anyone and everyone!

A huge thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I’ve been searching Wilsner's name in NetGalley for weeks in hopes this would be available as an ARC, and it didn’t disappoint!

3 ⭐️
3 🌶️

This book was not what I was expecting. The spice went from 0 to 100 and honestly made up the majority of the middle-end of the book. I couldn’t find myself connecting to the story like I hoped.

Thanks NetGalley and SMP for an ARC!

i wanted to love this so bad but it really just made me angry. Elsie is annoying at times and downright mean at others? The spice is good - but often feels forced. Ginny is a good character and i like that they take time to find themselves outside of elsie.

I think no one does romance like Meryl Wilsner. This is the third book of theirs I have read, and they all have been so fun. I really liked the setting of this book and the individual characters. I thought the personal conflicts were done well and were a compelling part of the story outside of the romance. I did think the jump to a physical relationship happened super suddenly and I would have liked a little more build up before we went straight to climbing on top. But, I enjoyed myself with this one and will definitely read whatever Wilsner does next!

Meryl Wilsner has always had a unique style, and in My Best Friend's Honeymoon, there’s a noticeable growth in their writing. However, despite trying to enjoy the characters and relationship exploration, they didn’t sit well with me this time around. While the dialogue is sharp and the story is well-constructed, the dynamics just didn’t resonate as much as I hoped. I felt that Ginny was stuck in a constant state of fear and disrupting their friendship, and that Elsie had similar actions of staying complacent in their life instead of truly going after what they wanted. It was hard to fully enjoy their developing relationship with the second-hand embarrassment that I felt during the start.
That said, I can still appreciate Wilsner’s evolution as a storyteller, even though their latest works no longer align with my personal preferences. As a result, I haven’t purchased this book or their last one for my bookshelf.
Still, I respect Wilsner’s voice in the romance genre and will continue to follow their career. Writers evolve, and while this phase isn’t for me, I’m curious to see where their storytelling journey leads next.

A real and frequently-lived story bundled up as a romance full of introspection and emotion. Wilsner's best sex scenes yet! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

Meryl girl you did it again! I loved it! Meryl can write some spice!! I loved the relationship and the back and forth with the tension, so good!

This book was a treat. Friends to lovers is tough to get right but Meryl nailed it. The backstory, the stakes, the what if’s about the friendship, the could be’s, it’s all there with two very sweet MC’s. And it’s a lil kinky so fasten your seatbelts, what happens in the cabana stays in the cabana…or does it?

Short summary: When Elsie learns her fiancé has planned their entire wedding as a surprise, the part that surprises her the most is that she doesn’t actually want to marry him. Cue the pre-paid honeymoon and her best friend as her plus one.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Publishing. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review of My Best Friend's Honeymoon. I'll start off by saying that I enjoyed the nonbinary main character representation! I really wanted to like this one as I've read some of Meryl's other books but this was a miss for me because of the overly repetitive internal monologues and going back to the 10th grade dance declined invitation.

A non-binary romance set in a delicious rom-com set up!
Elsie Hoffman's fiance is desperate, and after waiting a year and a half he plans the entire wedding. Elsie is less then pleased and breaks her engagement. There is not much left to do except honeymoon with her best friend.
Little does she know (!) Ginny Holtz has been in love with her. Wilsner keeps the rom and com moving with a perfect nb romance that will please all readers!
#stmartinspress #mybestfriendshoneymoon #merylwilsner

I have always loved reading Meryl's books because their writing style is amazing and I always find myself getting out of a reading slump thanks to their books.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I adored the plot, and I loved reading about Elsie and Ginny's relationship.
I didn't find myself connecting with the characters as much as I did with Meryl's previous works, and parts of the book felt a little rushed to me, but that was made up by the amazing writing and the ending of the book.
For lovers of extremely well written smut, this is the perfect book for them.


4/5 stars, I can't wait to read what Meryl puts out in the future.

Meryl Wilsner does it again. Sexy. Spicy. Steamy. Everything you could want in an adult romance novel and more. The yearning between the characters causes tension from the beginning. The spicy scenes will keep you turning the page. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy.