3.5 ⭐️

When Elsie learns that her college boyfriend turned fiancé of the last eighteen months has planned their entire wedding and honeymoon as a surprise, she realizes she’s not at all ready for the future he has planned.

Instead she breaks off their engagement and drags her cradle to the grave bestie Ginny, who may or may not be head over heels in love with her, onto their non-refundable honeymoon.

Obviously lines blur and things get hot and heavy between Elsie and Ginny, and boy do I mean HOT 🔥🌶️🥵

Buuuttt like a flash in the pan, things go sideways and Elsie and Ginny have a third act breakup… I just hated the whole miscommunication/lack of communication thing these two had going on with their feelings and just ughhhh. It wasn’t necessary! The character growth however was 👌🏻

What to expect:
- best friends to lovers
- nonrefundable honeymoon
- plus size + nonbinary mc
- all the spice + dirty talk
- miscommunication/lack of communication
- third act break up

There's a conversation among some on my bookish friends, and in other book corners of the internet, about the surprising differences between queer romance and hetero romance and why some people who don't identify as queer might find a queer romance novel more appealing. Basically it boils down to where the conflict in the story originates. Frequently, though not always, in queer romance, the conflict is external (either originating from family, societal shame, sometimes inner shame not directed at their partner, etc.) while the conflict in mainstream heterosexual romance novels is more likely to come from the relationship itself and/or the interactions between the people in it. A talented author can do this is an engaging way that still manages to depict a pretty healthy and ideal relationship but that takes talent. Writing about conflict in a relationship is kind of a minefield of avoiding toxic traits and behaviors in your characters. Perhaps that's true to life, but in a novel, if your characters are not behaving in psychologically healthy ways and the reader is still expected to root for relationship and the characters to the point of overlooking the bad behaviors, then isn't the author literally romantisizing toxic traits?

What does that have to do with this queer romance novel, you may wonder: everything! Because in that regard, this book reads like a heterosexual romance. The conflict in this story is bad relationship behaviors and the characters are not people I wanted to root for in terms of getting a happily ever after together.

That being said, it did remind me in many ways, of my not-at-all-healthy relationship with my ex-girlfriend so it does get those "true to life" points in my book.

There's also a lot of spice in this book. Like A LOT, but squeezed into like 3 or 4 chapters. It's basically 3-4 chapters of p*rn with a novel spilt up of either side of it. Or in other words: normal book, normal book, normal book, "let's have spicy time", spicy time, spicy time, spicy time, spicy time, third act begins, fall out of the third act beginning, small semblance of character growth, the end. So because all those scenes just come one, after the other, after the other, after the other (pun intended) it feels like A LOT. Not to mention some of the spice is soooo much spicier than I expected.

I did enjoy Ginny's character. I like the representation of a non-binary person and how that aspect of them was both central to who they are and also sometimes an insignificant part of themself. That felt realistic to me. I also appreciated the fat representation. We don't get enough of that in romance novels and considering how many people there are in the world who are both fat and in a relationship, it seems like we should be seeing it in our books too.

Overall, I personally didn't love this book, but I think there's an audience for it for sure. Just as long as you're interested in the relationship being the drama of the romance novel and want a large and concentrated nugget of spice right in the middle, then this book might be for you.

First, Elsie did not deserve Ginny. Ginny is amazing! I thought Elsie was immature and during conflict said some pretty cruel things to them. I want my sex scenes to serve the story and these just did not do this. And they went on for pages and pages. I know they already had a solid friendship base so maybe that’s why because they already know each other so well. But I just didn’t feel like they had a strong connection outside the bedroom. I have been anticipating this book and it just did not live up to premise.
I really enjoyed the narrators of the audiobook!

Elsie has been engaged to her college boyfriend for a year and a half. When Elsie discovers that her fiancé has planned their wedding to take place in a week, she realizes that this is not what she wants at all. She breaks things off with her fiancé, and a week later, she's on a non-refundable honeymoon with her best friend, Ginny. What starts as choosing fun activities and taking pictures together soon turns into kissing and much more. But what happens when the honeymoon ends?

The setting of this one was perfect. I totally felt like I was there with the characters. However, I felt like there was something missing between the main characters. It went from 0 to 60 really quick. I felt like there was a lot of spice, but there wasn’t enough time for chemistry to develop between the main characters. I also didn’t enjoy how long the conflict went on once the characters returned from the honeymoon. I enjoyed the audio with narration by Blair Baker and Emily Shaw. I give this one 2.5/5 stars. If you’re looking for a quick, steamy read with a lot of tension between the characters, this one is for you.

Meryl Wilsner writing an incredibly fabulous book. Finding yourself and finding the line of your life is pay of the wonderful pay of living. Ginny and Elsie have lived most of their lives together bucks they take the leap.

I love this book for these reasons:
This was a great escape.
The characters are on vacation, but there’s actual descriptions of the location and details on the trip, making it feel like you as a reader are on the trip with the characters
I found the beginning to be funny, hopeful, but also drastic. There was a breakup, someone quitting, and then a trip. Then there is a lot of sex. Initially, this felt slightly thrown together with too much smut.
The characters are relatable
Then about 65% in, conflict started to genuinely build up and I got stressed!

Things that could have made this a 5 star read:
A bit more plot
Elsie to be less of a mess, like yall have been friends you’re whole life it shouldn’t be surprising that you love each other just be happy

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC and ALC of this book!

I loved the narration! I thought both narrators did a great job of bringing these characters to life.

I'm a big fan of Meryl Wilsner. Their book Mistakes Were Made is probably still my all time favorite sapphic romance. So I was really excited to read this one.

Friends to lovers is not usually a trope I gravitate towards. Nothing irks me more than people in love holding back because they may ruin their friendship. But this was really cute. Elsie and Ginny have basically grown up together, and while Ginny KNOWS they've loved Elsie that whole time, it takes Elsie calling off her own wedding and going on the honeymoon with her best friend to realize she loves Ginny too.

I loved the vacation part of the story.

It's Spicy (I mean we are talking spice before the halfway point) and it's got all types of spice as they are so comfortable with each other they try some things! Them being comfortable with each other is actually the best part for me. It's so endearing how they love each other.

It's when they get back home and the 3rd act breakup comes into play that the story fell a little short for me. It seemed a dumb reason to part, even though these two maybe did need some time to figure out what they wanted on their own. The reason... was dumb.

This is still a super cute, sweet, SPICY, lovely sapphic story and I enjoyed it a lot!

I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK. and you should read it too, but only if you love love, love women, and love a tension-filled friends-to-lovers trope, but like....one of the best ones you've ever read. My only beef with it was that the ending could've been a little bit longer or more drawn out...ended a little too abruptly for me. So maybe, like, a 4.5 <3

Also: I listened to the audiobook version, and WOW. Loved the narrator too!

I really liked the way identity was intergrated into the novel for both protagonists. As usual Wilsner excelled at crafting chemistry between the love interests

I enjoyed this book! Thus far I've really enjoyed all the books I've read by Meryl Wilsner (there is just one I haven't gotten to yet).

While I did enjoy this book, I did find it a bit challenging to read because it has my least favourite trope/plot device: miscommunication/lack of communication. GAH! I hate it! The story gets to where it's going quite quickly, which I appreciated, but then you have the whole *do they really want me? are they really in love with me? is this what they want?* BS. I do think that the story was really good, I just hate that that was the device that got it there.

I have to say that I really loved the beginning of the book, as Elsie is engaged and her boyfriend plans the entire wedding and honeymoon without her. Like, DUDE. DUDE NO. I was absolutely cringing through that entire section, but it was also just really good. Wilsner 1000% showing us what's going on and not telling *at all*. So well done.

Overall, a good story that I enjoyed!

OKAY MERYL, I SEE YOU!!!!

This was a really really fun book. I thought Elsie and Ginny were so cute and their connection was undeniable. I found Ginny a little bit of a simp at first but once I understood the plot on a bigger scale I could see where it was going and what needed to happen.

I had so much fun reading about these two, and besties to lovers PLUS dual POV/mutual pining is a new favorite trope combo. It was such a good read and I cannot wait to tell Meryl in person how much I enjoyed their book at their next signing in my city.

I cannot recommend this book enough!

Am I glad I read it? I don't regret reading it, but it also didn't blow me away. I had a really good time with the first half, but the second half is where the story lost me.

One of my favorite romance tropes is friends to lovers because I love the idea of friendship as a strong foundation for the characters' newly ignited romantic relationship. Wilsner wrote a convincing friendship, with the added texture of a past rejection as reason why Elsie and Ginny, despite being obviously in love with each other, were not already *together* together. This last point (the past rejection) was a particular highlight of the book for me because it 1) addressed a frequent weakness of books utilizing this trope and 2) it added some nice depth to Elsie's character. with the backstory driving her rejection of Ginny's advances.

There are plenty of other things I liked: that Elsie's fiance wasn't written as a jerk as justification for her breaking off the engagement; that we have a fat, masc nonbinary MC (Ginny) who uses multiple pronouns and is written as dead sexy to their partner; the ~variety~ in Elsie and Ginny's marathon sexy times (lots of rimming, a near-fisting, degradation).

By the end of the honeymoon vacation early in the second half, though, it became clear that Ginny was less developed as a character than was Elsie. A significant part of that was because the central conflict revolved around their (i.e., Ginny's) codependency and focus on Elsie, which is fine in theory, but the 'whatever Elsie wants' set-up of the first half wasn't ever meaningfully offset with deeper character development for Ginny. During their time apart for ~independence~ and ~figuring out who they are without the other~, Ginny fosters and ultimately adopts a dog (they're a long-time pet foster parent, so this is not a new, Elsie-independent activity for them) and decides to turn woodworking into a job (it was already a long-time hobby and they'd quit their job to go on the honeymoon). So Ginny "grows" by doing things they already did, and any internal, emotional growth happens either off-page or not at all. (I don't actually think Elsie's "growth" during the separation period was much better, to be honest, but it doesn't sit right when the masc character is the one who feels less developed.)

Further, perhaps it's because Wilsner did such a good job convincing me of how strong Elsie and Ginny's friendship is, but I simply did not find the reason for the third act break-up to be even remotely convincing in the first place, despite Elsie's reasoning being explained late (late!) in the book (and this is coming from a reader who DOES appreciate a good one).

For readers who want something spicy, fairly quick, and easy to read, I can definitely see how this could be a winner. For me, though, it just didn't deliver on what I need for a really great romance.

I read this via audiobook and enjoyed the production and narration with the strong exception of the narration of Elsie's dialogue. Whichever narrator this is, their efforts to make this character's voice femme made her instead sound young to me, and that was mildly uncomfortable to listen to given how spicy this book is.

Rating: 🤷🏼‍♀️ (it was fine; 3.5 rounded down)

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the advance copy of this title!

My Best Friends Honeymoon by Meryl Wilsner

When Elsie Hoffman discovers her fiance and college sweetheart had planned a surprise wedding for her she suddenly realizes that she doesn't actually want to get married and breaks things off with him. Soon she finds herself in the Caribbean with Ginny her best friend after her former fiancee gifted her the all expense paid, non refundable trip.

Ginny decides to boost Elsies confidence and give her whatever she wants - as long as she asks for it. Eventually vacation activities, food choices and photos turns romantic and physical. Will Elsie have the confidence to ask for the one thing she wants most- a real relationship with Ginny after this trip?

While the physical romance was hot and heavy I felt there wasnt much focus on the emotional relationship between the two. Unfortunately this book wasn't for me.

Read if you love...
❤️Best Friends to Lovers
💔3rd Act Breakup
💬Miscommunication Trope
🏳️‍🌈LGBTQIA+ Main Characters
🌈Non Bionary Representation
🌴Paradise Settings
👨‍👩‍👧Accepting Families
🌶️ Lots of Spice

🚨TW- open door Romance, canceled wedding, misgendering, bullying

I liked My Best Friend's Honeymoon. I do enjoy stories of friends to lovers and of course when friends are secretly both in love with each other. It's a great premise to a book, going on a honeymoon with the best friend you have always been in love with. Of course, cause that is just how life should work. Not working out with your finance, that's okay because you have this best friend who you will have even better time with. I like reading about all kinds of love stories and this was a good one.

I like Meryl Wilsner and so I thought I could get past friends-to-lovers but it just didn't work for me. I wish it felt like the stakes were higher which is almost always my problem with this trope. I did enjoy the non-binary representation and Ginny as a character.

I really enjoyed the audiobook narrators for this one. This book is the perfect beach or summer read.

Derek was so annoying, and Elise’s parents were the worst—but honestly, that worked in the book’s favor because it made me root even harder for the main characters. My only gripe is the lack of communication between two people who consider themselves best friends. I wish we had gotten less conflict and more focus on their actual relationship.

That said, the spice level was high, so if that’s your thing, you won’t be disappointed.

Tropes-
Friends to lovers
Miscommunication
Third Act Break up

I thought I would enjoy this one, but unfortunately this was not for me.

A f/nb romance that if you told me Christina Lauren wrote it, I'd believe you (compliment)! While the physical relationship was all on the page, the reader saw very little of the romantic relationship development which isn't my favorite.

Thank you to netgalley, smp and the author for my advanced reader copy! Out 4/29!

My best friend’s honeymoon by Meryl Wilsner
ARC from Macmillan audio
Release date: April 29th 2025
-I feel like I’m besties with Ginny
-Derek had me slapping my forehead who plans a wedding in a week without telling his fiancé 😭
-I love Ginny and Elsie’s friendship
-I love the non-binary rep and learning more about Ginny’s story
-This book had me giddy and dying of laughter
-I feel like I’m going on the honeymoon with them 🥰
-AHHH I LOVE FORCED PROXIMITY
-this makes me want to go on a tropical trip🌴
-I loved that you learn about their backstories, their friendship and more
-THE TENSION ❤️‍🔥
-the spice was breakfast, lunch and dinner 🍲 👀
-naughty talk ouffffff
-AHHH THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING I love Elsie and Ginny so much 🥹😭😩♥️❤️‍🔥
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was so-so for me. I just couldn't quite get into our main character and so the book overall fell a bit flat for me. I wasn't rooting for the couple either which made it even harder for me to enjoy. I am sure this book will work for some, but it just wasn't for me. That said, I would be open to reading future works by this author.