I’d give this 2.5 stars. Apart from a whole lot of spice (some that challenged even my generally very open mind!), this lacked substance for me. I didn’t find Elsie very likable, and the chemistry didn’t click for me. This wasn’t for me, but that’s ok!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This is a 3.5 rounded down. I really wanted to love it. I was confused about why Elsie would ever be with Derek in the first place. Even though Elsie did the dumping, she was surprisingly okay afterward. Also, there wasn’t enough to keep Elsie and Ginny apart once they started catching feelings for each other. The third act break up felt like of thrown together. I did like the body positivity, queer joy, and humor throughout the book. I will definitely read what Wilsner writes next even though this one didn’t quite hit for me.

I’m a simple mind: Meryl Wilsner writes a book? I have to read it. They are my comfort author and I will love everything they write. It’s that simple.
This book is not exception. It’s a cute book, simple and romantic. A friends to lovers with a bit of idiots in love because it’s all a huge misunderstanding.
There is a lot of spice (even if less then the late two books), but the focus is on the blurred lines between friendship and love, between relationship and commitment.
I love it so much and it hit a little to hard.

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin Press for the arc.

what fun, spicy, tender, sweet romance 🥹

Ginny and Elsie are the most adorable, dedicated, horny for each other friends to lovers!!! they have so much history, interweaving their scars and dreams. watching them overcome years of pent up fears and longings to finally fall into what makes them happy was so beautiful to read. the yearning and the friendship make this such a romantic story, as well as the beautiful tropic setting of their finally getting together, then that of real life where they can finally start their lives together as the horniest love bugs 🥰🫶

just a beautiful, romantic, tender love story. thank you for the ARC!!!

🏝️ W H I R L W I N D W E D N E S D A Y review 🏝️ featuring “My Best Friend’s Honeymood” by Meryl Wilsner!

MY RATING: 🖤🖤🖤/5

Elsie calls off her wedding when she finds out that her fiancé planned their wedding and honeymoon in secret as a (failed) happy surprise. However, the thought of being at the altar in one week makes her realize that this isn’t the future she had in mind.

The honeymoon in the Caribbean is non refundable so Elsie decides to take her best friend Ginny instead. What she doesn’t know is that Ginny is secretly in love with her and has been for years. But what if this love isn’t just one sided?? And what happens when the steamy vacation ends and it’s back to reality??

Read this book if you enjoy
💕 queer romance
💕 non-binary representation
💕 fast paced & in your face
💕 lotsa spice
💕 plus sized MC
💕 friends to lovers
💕 miscommunication

Thank you kindly to @merylwilsner @stmartinspress @netgalley for my #gifted digital advanced copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on April 29, 2025!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for this arc in exchange for my honest review!
This book was very cute, and I loved all of the LGBTQ+ representation throughout the story. I usually don’t like a 3rd act breakup, and that definitely brought it down in stars for me personally, especially because towards the end it felt like they hadn’t worked through some of the things keeping them apart in the first place.
Overall a cute and spicy book of friends to lovers that I enjoyed, despite not loving some of the third act.

I’ve always liked Meryl Wilsner, and there were definitely parts of this I liked, but it just did not come together for me. I actually physically startled when Elsie and Ginny kissed for the first time because it was so abrupt and unexpected and I thought their first sex scene was a dream sequence for way too long. I also don’t know that this kind of story works in a book this length. The impetus for the third act fight was incredibly dumb but the things Elsie says during the fight were very true, and I don’t think less than a month was enough time for them to fully grow on their own after a lifetime of pretty codependent friendship. This is such a good example of friends to lovers being a bit boring, and I don’t know if I was ever fully convinced that Ginny was truly in love with Elsie or if loving her was just all they’d ever known.

I love Meryl Wilsner’s books so I was excited to read this one, and it lived up to all of my expectations! The tension was incredible, the characters were adorable, and the romance was SPICY. I loved the mutual long-term pining both main characters had for YEARS and how that built on their close friendship! It was an excellent friends-to-lovers story and I enjoyed every minute of it!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for the ARC of My Best Friend's Honeymoon by Meryl Wilsner.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Elsie is engaged to Derrick but she doesn’t seem to want to plan the wedding or make any decisions. Ginny is Elsie’s best friend, they also may or may not be in love with her. Derrick decides to plan the wedding for a week out but Elsie finally speaks up and calls it all off. After everything is all figured out it’s determined that Elsie should still take the all-inclusive honeymoon that is already paid for and why not, take Ginny. Of course they have their own issues, but they make it work, anything for Elsie. What can go wrong for the two best friends in the beautiful Caribbean honeymoon?!?

This book started out a bit slow and a good bit more angsty than I care for. Then it lit up on the spicy level 🌶️🌶️. If you enjoy the heat in your books, this is for you.

I love Wilsner’s work. Mistakes Were Made is a book that got me into this genre. But given the context of that book, everything else they release feels like the slowest burn. It felt like it took forever for the story to get somewhere and then it was all rushed to finish it off.

But man oh man, Meryl proves they know how to write *those* parts. Truly what keeps drawing me back in.

80% sex, 20% two adults who call themselves best friends but are unable to have a conversation. I would have DNFed if not for my current participation in a read-a-thon (shoutout to my fellow lions) and my commitment to finishing my arcs.

As a big fan of Mistakes Were Made, I was excited for the author’s newest release. Unfortunately, it was a massive let down. The main characters live in their heads and cannot speak to each other to save their own lives (or relationship). I was never shown that the characters had chemistry or belonged together. I was just told that they were both into each other and that was supposed to be enough to convince me to ship them. The main conflict was miscommunication that was blown out of proportion and was simply not believable. Reminded me a lot of the episode of New Girl where Cece and Jess just need to punch each other (S4 E10).

The best part of this book was when these two took a break from each other and were not codependent. I do not think they should have ended up together, and I am not convinced that their relationship will last.

I am thankful to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. I do not think I will request from this author going forward.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Meryl Wilsner for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the setup to this story. Elsie is just letting life happen to her- and honestly Ginny, in her own way, is too. Poor Derrick just didn’t have a clue- did he? But he sure forced the issue (planned a surprise wedding and honeymoon) and made EVERYONE face the facts. Derrick is not THE one- and Elsie and Ginny are in love! I just loved how it all came together. I felt the chemistry, care and respect. I really enjoyed this book!

My Best Friend’s Honeymoon by Meryl Wilsner is a very spicy, friends to lovers story. Elsie calls off her wedding and takes her best friend Ginny on her nonrefundable tropical honeymoon. While on the trip Elsie and Ginny confess and explore their feelings for each other.

I liked the premise of this book. The idea of going on a honeymoon with your best friend and pushing yourself to discover what you want from life without being weighed down by the expectations of others is great.

I really loved Ginny as a character. They was interesting and likeable. I was really rooting for them throughout the book. Also, they had real growth in the story. Also, their interactions with the side characters were fun to read.

There were a couple of things I struggled with in this book. I found Elsie very hard to like. Compared to Ginny she just didn’t seem to have the same emotional depth as a character. She was self absorbed and her unwillingness to talk things out was frustrating.

Also, the spicy scenes went on for longer than I would have liked. They were fun and well written, but at one point it just felt like chapter after chapter of just that and I wanted a bit more talking and emotions from the characters as they dealt with their changing relationship.

Overall, I found this book just okay. It was an easy read and interesting enough to keep me engaged, but it did leave me wanting more.

Thank you Meryl Wilsner, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for this ARC.

Read This Book If…you’re looking for a spicy Queer romance!

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5
My Best Friend’s Honeymoon by Meryl Wilsner

Genre: Queer romance
Spice Level: 4/5🌶, 3-4 explicit scenes
Setting: Minnesota and Caribbean island
POV: dual, 3rd person, past tense
Tropes: best friends to lovers, longtime crushes

My Thoughts:
I find there is a fine line with best-friends-to-lovers and longtime-crushes where they can dip into possessiveness and not in a cute way. I felt like there wasn’t enough time for these two to pine on the page before they jumped into bed together.

While I appreciated Elsie exploring her sexuality with Ginny, the breakdown of this book felt a little lopsided to me. I just wanted more relationship development!

I did appreciate Elsie’s growth in standing up for herself, but it came at the detriment of them spending a significant portion of the book apart. Ginny also had a bit of growing up to do and I appreciated how they handled the situation.

Overall, this book was more spice over substance, which is not what I was expecting. I did really enjoy the plus-size and nonbinary rep!

Memorable Quote: “Maybe you don’t even realize what you’re doing, you’re so caught up in my happiness you have no idea what you actually want.”

Thank you to the publisher for my advance copy!

Meryl Wilsner’s My Best Friend’s Honeymoon delivers a spicy, sun-drenched escape into sapphic longing and delayed desire, wrapped in a friends-to-lovers bow with a Caribbean breeze. Elsie and Ginny’s story brims with tension built over years of friendship and unspoken feelings, and Wilsner doesn’t shy away from heat—this book is steamy, babes. Don’t let the adorable cover fool you; beneath the cute visuals and the much-needed butch/nonbinary rep (seriously, it’s such a joy to see a plus-size masc-presenting love interest get their moment!), there’s a whole lot of spice happening in paradise.

The premise alone is an easy hook: a canceled wedding, a nonrefundable honeymoon, and a "you can have anything you want, just ask" challenge that snowballs into full-blown romantic combustion. The setting is lush and vivid—you can practically feel the sun on your skin and taste the salt in the air. Ginny and Elsie are soft in their own ways, and watching Elsie begin to claim her voice and desires was one of the stronger emotional threads in the book.

That said, the emotional payoff didn’t quite match the simmering potential. While the chemistry is palpable, the constant miscommunication between the two leads became more frustrating than romantic, especially when it carried into the third-act breakup. It’s a trope that can work wonders when done with care, but here it felt like an avoidable loop—like we were watching two people circle each other in sand instead of stepping forward. The resolution came a bit too slow for the depth their years-long friendship warranted, leaving me wishing for more vulnerability, more open-hearted dialogue, and more grounding in their love beyond the week-long heat.

Still, for those who love a quick, sexy getaway read with tropes like “there’s only one bed,” “friends to lovers,” and “just ask for it,” this delivers on its promise. It’s a feel-good romp with bite, and while it didn’t fully sweep me off my feet, it left me smiling by the end.

This is a satisfying sapphic romcom with undeniable steam and heart, even if it missed a few emotional beats along the way.

Thank you to Netgalley, Meryl Wilsner, and SMP for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, St. Martins Press, and St. Martin's Griffith for this advanced copy.! You can pick up My Best Friend's Honeymoon on April 29, 2025.

Meryl Wilsner once again delivers the perfect combo of spicy and sweet queer romance. I love a good friends to lovers story, but pining best friends who've loved each other like nobody else and are scared to take the dive into a romantic relationship despite sizzling tension? Chef's kiss.

Ginny and Elsie were not only great together, but I loved their individual perspectives and growths throughout the story too! Elsie definitely needed to learn to stand up for herself and ask for what she wants. And Ginny deserved a chance to pursue their dreams without worrying about what Elsie needed. Their third act breakup actually felt kind of justified in that sense, because we see them grow into themselves without the other person present.

And the spicy scenes... phew! Definitely hot, but also very clumped together in the middle of the book. It would've been nice to have a little more plot interspersed throughout, but otherwise I have no complaints.

Definitely pick this up if you want a spicy friends to lovers story with some great pansexual and non-binary rep!!

This novel is a dual-narrative, LGBTQIA+ friendly, friends-to-lovers trope romance in which Ginny and Elsie finally come together during Elsie's would-be honeymoon. The book started out pretty strong for me, and I was interested in the plot and characters. We learn that Ginny has been pining for Elsie throughout their entire friendship, but has settled for friendship with Elsie because Elsie has never felt the same. When Elsie finally realizes that she cannot follow through with her engagement to her college boyfriend, she and Ginny set out for an all-inclusive romantic getaway to take advantage of the honeymoon that has already been paid for.

The plot of the book truly falters about half-way through, and it made me come close to making this a DNF - however, I did want to give it a complete chance as it was an ARC. Almost the entirety of the vacation/"honeymoon" portion (the middle) consisted of sex scenes that overwhelm other plot points of the story that could have been more extensively elaborated upon - e.g., Elsie's (much needed) character development, or her family's maladaptive patterns, Ginny's attachment style or abrupt career change, etc. The points in which Elsie and Ginny come together romantically felt very hurried, such as the very end of the book. I also felt a lot of frustration towards some the characters, and towards Elsie in particular. Ginny was overall pretty likeable, although the book makes me wonder why she has chosen to be side character in her own story. Again, there was a lot of room for more character development!

Overall, my official rating falls closer to 2.5 stars. While this book wasn't for me, it might appeal more to those looking for an LGBTQIA+ friendly friends-to-lovers romance that is a spicy and easy read!

Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for the advance digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

i don't have the words to express how much i loved this. it was fun, it was frustrating, it was sexy, it was REAL. i can't recommend it enough.

Ehh... unfortunately this was a def flop for me.

I found both characters to be extremely annoying! I really wanted to dnf this one and sadly I did a lot of skimming eeep!

It lacked depth for me and just steamy sex scenes. I'm not a fan of books like this at all. Sadly, not a fan.

2/5 stars

This was enjoyable and well written, just a tad on the spicy side for my liking. However, I did think it was well written.