My Best Friend's Honeymoon

For lovers of Wilsner's spice, this book does not disappoint.

After having ended her engagement, Elsie goes on the pre-booked honeymoon with her best friend Ginny, whom she comes to realize she's had feelings for their entire friendship. Ginny would do anything for Elsie and has been pining after her just as long. When decades of repressed feelings come a head, you have a very hot Caribbean vacation and even more heightened emotions. When they come to realize that they don't know who they are separate from the other, trust is broken and hearts may be shattered.

Meryl Wilsner is an auto buy author for me, so I jumped at the opportunity to review this arc. Wilsner gets the perfect balance of sweet, spicy, and heartbreaking that makes for an excellent romance novel that keeps you turning the page and not putting the book down until it's over.

My Best Friend’s Honeymoon might just be my favorite Meryl Wilsner book so far. Like a fine wine, their stories only get better, and the spice? It’s undeniably hot in this one—definitely not holding back. What really stands out, though, is how easy it is to see yourself in both Elsie and Ginny. They’re so relatable in a way that pulls you in.

I found myself fully immersed, almost living through the book, and dreading the moment it would end. But, of course, it did. Meryl has once again delivered a standout in sapphic lit. This one’s definitely worth your time.

Meryl Wilsner’s My Best Friend’s Honeymoon is an electrifying exploration of love, self-discovery, and the courage to embrace desires. Wilsner's writing is sharp and witty, capturing the chemistry between lifelong friends Elsie and Ginny with sizzling intimacy. The Caribbean setting adds a lush backdrop to their journey, making each moment feel vibrant and alive. The premise is fresh and engaging, inviting us readers to root for Elsie as she learns to voice her true wants. This romance is not just spicy; it’s deeply emotional, showcasing the transformative power of asking for what you truly desire.

I absolutely loved this new book from Meryl Wilsner. My Best Friend’s Honeymoon is the story of two friends who end up on a honeymoon together after one of them calls off their engagement. While the outcome of the book is pretty clear from the beginning, I had a wonderful time reading about their journey together and watching them grow from friends to something more. I would definitely recommend this book to any queer romance fans, and this is another great book from Wilsner.

I'm not at all shy about the fact that Meryl Wilsner is an auto buy author for me. They write some of the best queer romances and I absolutely inhale everyone! This one was no exception.

Fresh off her ended engagement, Elsie's now ex tell her to take their honeymoon with her best friend Ginny. Ginny and Elsie have been best friends almost as long as they've been alive. And wouldn't you know it, both have been pining for the other almost as long. Set in the beautiful and sizzling Carribbean, we watch as they finally give into their long held desires. Told from both perspectives, were given such an insight into sometimes the very same situation, just from each of their perspectives. This book is a perfect mix of love, desire, and finding out who you are alone before making a life together with a partner.

Some of my favorites moments in the whole book deal with the willful and sometimes accidental misgendering of Ginny and just how much that affects them. And yall! A sweet and sexy MC who uses they/them pronouns! 😍

Told is such stunning detail, this book is utter perfection! Just like every other thing Wilsner writes. And the spice!! Yall the spice is on fire! Ginny and Elsie have so much chemistry it's palpable! There's even a few newer kinks unlocked for returning Wilsner fans. 👀

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

I received an advanced copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martins Press, and Meryl Wilsner. ❤️

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’ve read a few book of Meryl’s and enjoyed them all, but I think this one might be at the top! It could be that I’m a sucker for a friends to lovers romance, and this one was so much fun! If you’re a fan of that trope too, I highly suggest checking this one out!

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.

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.

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!

When I got an email from NetGalley saying this book was available for four days it was 6am, I had just woken up and I clicked on that link so fast.

Meryl Wilsner cemented their place as one of my favorite writers with Mistakes Were Made, which is one of the few books that I re-read in full recently (my TBR list is borderline insanity, so I seldom have time to re-read full books, I Just go back to my favorite parts, but Mistakes Were Made... it's all my favorite part).

This one doesn't reach those heights but like all of Wilsner's books, it's excellent. A lot of times in romances, I get so annoyed with one or the other of the characters I have to go into my notes app and write an entire rant about how stupid or unrealistic they're behaving, or how contrived their behavior seems. I never have to do that with their books.

Their characters feel like real people who've just been teleported into a romance scenario, with real hang ups and issues who like you'd expect people with those issues to behave. When there are issues, they don't seem contrived. When they act in ways that don't always make sense, it fits their characters. When they have a third act conflict, it's something that feels like it could happen to actual people. This book had one of Wilsner's more conventional third act conflicts (most of the time it's less a third act "conflict" or "breakup" as it is a third act "just trying to figure out where we're at"), and it was so well executed. I didn't once think "why don't they juuust tallllllk" like I often do with other romances. This time it made sense that they weren't.

Like, yes, you still have the meet cute, you still get your tropes (this one is childhood friends to lovers to its very core) you still have situations unlikely to occur in real life (Elsie and Ginny go on the honeymoon trip that Elsie's fiancé had booked before Elsie broke up with him), but the best part of their books are the characters and their dynamic.

As with all their books, this was a great romance with characters I was rooting for the whole time. Highly recommended. One of those books that I'll 100% be buying when it comes out, just to have it on my shelf next to all their others. (Also if you haven't already, read their others; they haven't written a bad or even "just average" book yet, in my opinion).

(Also, Ginny is, by their own description, fat (short and stout) and they are these things without it ever being made into some huge deal where Elsie has to tell us how she finds them attractive despite all that. Elsie just finds Ginny hot and that's the way things are. A lot of times in books where one of the protagonists is "plus sized", the book will include some moment where that person is all insecure about it or something, and there's nothing wrong with that, because that is a real thing and it is a thing that needs to be explored, but sometimes it's nice to see someone who is fine with that, and whose partner is also fine with it and has no need to make a huge deal of it).

This is darling!!! Meryl wrote such a fun, and spicy book. I absolutely loved the main characters and their fun journey of love. Add it to your TBR lists.

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.

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.

Hope, preparing for disappointment, the various ways love can manifest, and learning how to ask for what you need and want are all themes that are interwoven throughout the narrative. Their journey was fascinating, frustrating at times, and all in all, a beautiful tale of queer love and learning to be brave enough to follow your heart, choose yourself, and pursue your goals. It had every aspect of the genre that I liked and was searching for. I was left wanting more by Meryl Wilsner's powerful writing style.

This was a wonderfully done romance novel, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed the overall story being told. It was realistic and I enjoyed getting to know the characters and their romance. It was everything that I was looking for and enjoyed about the genre. Meryl Wilsner has a strong writing style and left me wanting more.

My new obsession. As always Meryl created a beautiful story that kept me engaged and squealing “awww” all the way through. Pick this one up it’s fun, it’s exciting, and you can’t help but root for the main characters. This is such a sweet romance, I didn’t even realize how much I needed a friends to lovers trope in my life, but chefs kiss. 💋

For me Mistakes Were Made will always be the crème de la crème of Meryl Wilsner’s books. HOWEVER! This latest one truly gives it a run for its money! The sexy time scenes… I mean… woah! Dials were turned up and they were scorching.

I was a little skeptical going into a friends-to-lovers trope. They tend to bore me. But this… Sacrebleu!!!! Chef’s kiss! I was straight up blushing throughout the middle of this book! And the love between the two main characters as friends and then as lovers is just so heart warming. The trust and the care. Just loved it!

Thanks NetGalley for ARC!

Absolutely loved this! It's not my usual genre, but the characters were realistic and compelling AND it was super hot.

While I am always thrilled and delighted by Wilsner’s novels, My Best Friend’s Honeymoon is a pleasantly surprising departure from their norm. Featuring a plus size, non-binary MC, Wilsner creates a very realistic and gripping sapphic romance!

swoon!! so much fun! i loved these characters so much. the writing was fantastic. i was never bored and kept wanting to read all night until i finished

Absolutely adored this book! Friends to lovers with a side of pining and unrequited love is my jam!

The spice was spicing! I would happily live at that honeymoon resort!

Honestly so good!

4.5 stars!
Sapphic friendship yearning (where it doesnt end in absolute heartbreak) + ✨aftercare✨ = a book i absolutely will recommend a million times. I would read anything meryl writes.

There’s one flaw with this book, it ended. Friends to lovers is a trope I love but childhood friends to lovers is even better. This whole book is so tender and sweet and THEN smacked me in the face with all kinds of sexy things I often want in a book but never get. No. You don’t understand, there are sexy things we don’t usually get in a book…in this book! I enjoyed it so much and really was sad to see it end…especially right when it does. Meryl portrays the loving friendship between Ginny and Elsie that is so charming and trusting. Their inclusion of a main character that is not only non binary but plus sized is icing on the cake of this beautiful friendship romance.

Thank you to St Martin's Press for this aARC! Meryl simply never misses, this book was so addictive that everytime I had to put it down to go be a person I got upset. Elsie and Ginny have such remarkable chemistry and their friendship is so solidly built. And the sex in this book is out of this WORLD addictive. Once they got going, they could not keep their hands off of eachother and I did not want them to it was MAGICAL. And it was really nice to see them both taking time to figure out who they were as people before losing themselves completely in one another. Another absolute win of a book I'm so so happy to have read it.