In Mistakes Were Made, a college senior hooks up with her best friend's mom, and they find that they just can't stay away from each other. This was an f/f romcom where I really loved the concept and the characters, but for some reason it wasn't *it* for me. It might have been the writing. It's not bad writing by any means, but I didn't feel connected to it. That's definitely a me problem! I also thought the ending was really sweet! Overall, I gave this book 4 stars!

Mistakes Were Made was such a fun read! I loved the bi representation here for pretty much every character and I think it was well done. Maybe the story was slightly too long and dragged at parts in the middle but overall would recommend this to friends.

Mistakes Were Made was smart, funny, and all around a delight to read. The chemistry between the main characters brought the heat and it was spicy right away. If you are looking for a great f/f sapphic read, this is for you

When Erin and Cassie meet at a bar during family weekend, Cassie is instantly drawn to the older woman and a supposed one-night stand ensues. As a surprise to them both, they have one thing in common: Parker - Erin's daughter and one of Cassie's best friends. This steamy, "forbidden" romance is a super fun read!

Mistakes Were Made was one of my most anticipated reads for the year and unfortunately, it fell short. While I do appreciate the consensual age-gap w/w relationship and how, for romance readers, the spicy scenes - which were done extremely well - will be a huge draw, personally I found myself wanting more productive communication between the main characters and more page time devoted to character backstory and development. That being said, this is entirely personal preference and I think overall, romance readers - especially those on TikTok - will really enjoy this book and I would definitely still recommend it to anyone looking for a new spicy read.

This book was a very strong 4 stars for me until the epilogue!! It was steamy AF and I loved all of the tension. This book was so polarizing among my friends, but I loved hearing all of their different views and the dialogue it lead to.

CW: sexual content, alcohol, biphobia, misogyny

Meryl Wilsner has become one of those authors that will always get me to purchase their book. The dynamic of her characters and the chemistry between them are always so well done and the romances always so swoon worthy. While her debut novel Something To Talk About was the slowest of slow burns, Mistakes Were Made got right down to the nitty gritty and never strayed too far away from all the spicy chemistry. While there was a large age gap between the main couple, it never really bothered me. While it was one of the hurdles between Cassie and Erin and happily ever after, it also was never seen as something uncomfortable in my opinion.
I flew through the sexy, emotional, and wonderful pages of their story and cheered as they both worked towards the happiness they deserve.

I am a little late in writing this review, but this was such an amazing book. It was so beautifully written and the main characters, as well as the side characters, were so awesome. I loved the storyline and loved the age gap that these two women had. I thought it was just the perfect amount of steamy and romantic!

Meryl Wilsner is such a comfort author for me. From the moment I read Something to Talk About, I knew how much I enjoyed their writing style. This love carried over to Mistakes Were Made! The age gap romance was handled so well, Cassie and Erin’s journey was very believable from beginning to end. The mutual pining and intimate scenes really made this book for me. If you are a fan of sapphic romance then this book is 100% for you. And if you’re not, you’re wrong 😂

Absolutely addictive and scorchingly hot - a true joy to read! I enjoyed every moment of Erin and Cassie's journey in Mistakes Were Made.

I didn't finish this title, it was not as good as Wilsners other books and needed some more fine tuning. The spicy scenes were well done but the plot felt boring, even though it was more original. The characters fell flat as well. I may give this another try in the future but it just didn't keep my attention.

College student Cassie, hooks up with her best friend’s mom (though she doesn’t know it then). It’s a fun one-time thing. Until it’s not a one-time thing, and it’s still really fun. This F/F age-gap romance is a go-to book for unending sapphic spice scenes and witty flirting and banter. It has a lot of characterization and relatively minimal plot beyond how they feel about the relationship and how to hide it, though that didn’t hinder my enjoyment level at all. I found it to be a fun read, and a great option for someone looking for a spice-heavy sapphic romance.

Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner was a fun, romance novel. It's well-written and a unique story. Overall, an excellent read!

The opening scenes were hot. Very hot. I was excited to see how this forbidden relationship played out. I was disappointed. For more than half the book, all we knew was how much Cassie and Erin missed/wanted each other and how worried they both were about Parker finding out. Interspersed with this was one sex scene after another. Don’t get me wrong, sex scenes can be fun, but when there is no depth to the characters, no character development at all, it just makes it… porn.

The only thing that semi-saved this book for me was the last quarter after Parker did find out. It was only then that we got to learn a little bit about Erin and Cassie, apart from their carnal desires. I really liked what we learned about both characters, but I wish we had gotten that insight earlier.

This book is for you if you love open door romance and don’t care about the characters.

I love a good MILF story as so many do and this one did not disappoint.
The steam? Of the charts. It literally starts with it.
The characters? Impeccable.
The storyline? Wonderful.
I had so much fun reading this book. It made me feel so happy and I will definitely be rereading it to feel it all once more.

This was a really good queer romance that was quite fun. When the main character has a one night stand with a slightly older woman, she thinks it's a one and done. The next day she agrees to breakfast with her college roommate and her mom who is visiting only to be faced with the reality that she had already met her mom last night..in bed..oops.

Except they have more than just a physical attraction. They connect on so many levels. But she's her best friend's mom so surely she can't date her.

But what if they really get along? And what if she doesn't want to compromise her friendship or her interest whatever it may be?

On the flip side the mom is feeling similarly. She wants to be happy, but surely she can't date her daughter's best friend.

This book explores taboo love, therapy, self-growth, and communication. Was very enjoyable and VERY steamy.

I sadly did not like this book. I had to DNF Wilsner’s Something to Talk About due to the power imbalance that struck far too close to home as a former assistant in the entertainment industry, but wanted to give this book a try as I know the author is beloved by many. Sadly, I just think their work is not for me.

I found the instachemistry unbelievable and was not invested in their relationship. Cassie making a comment about how Erin is beautiful and “there isn’t a wrinkle in sight” really rubbed me the wrong way — older women can be beautiful and have wrinkles! Wrinkles are beautiful! Especially as later, Erin points out her wrinkles. So she has them. Why is Cassie just not seeing them? It was a strange way to show that Cassie finds her beautiful regardless of the age difference.

Then there’s the line at the beginning that made me screech out loud when I read it — “curiosity killed the cat, and enough pussy had been wrecked already that night.” There were other instances of this but this line took me out of the book so fast.

The entire relationship felt forced and unbelievable. I could not get into this and felt like the relationship between Cassie and Parker was too close for this. The age gap is one thing, but her best friends mom? It made me very uncomfortable. The scenes with Cassie trying to balance Parker’s side and Erin’s side made me realize just how much one of these relationships would suffer long-term, and how it would undoubtedly be her friendship with Parker. I found myself actively rooting against the romance.

Thanks for St. Martin's Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Starting off I was very excited to read this since I had heard so many positive things about the book. I sat with it for a while after finishing the book before finally writing this because I really wanted to love it and I do not like admitting that I found the whole thing cringey when we already have less representation of Sapphic relationships in the literary industry.

I'll start with some of the positives:
The spice and story were well-written.
The issues that each character faced felt realistic even I did not like the way they chose to deal with them.

On to the negatives:
The age gap made me uncomfortable, especially with the sneaking around and lying to the daughter/best friend. I can see why to some people that would be part of the thrill of this sort of relationship, but it's just not for me. I will definitely steer clear of any future stories that involve mom or dad of friend tropes.
I also felt like the main characters were trying to replace roles in their lives (Parker for Erin and Cassie's mom for Cassie) with this relationship and honestly both could have benefited from going to some therapy.
The behaviors and absolute lack of concern on how this would affect the people around them made the characters deeply unlikable for me.
It also felt very much like an imbalance of power between the two characters.
The ending felt super rushed and forced.

Overall its not for me, but I hope that the author continues to write more because I would definitely be willing to try future works.

The premise for this one was so hot, but it kind of fizzled for me. I couldn't get invested in the story. Could've been wrong book/wrong time for me.

I wish I could go back in time and not put off reading this book as long as I did. I was hesitant because while I enjoyed Wilsner’s previous book, Something to Talk About, it wasn’t my favorite and the premise of this one just really didn’t seem like it would work for me. Erin, a divorced, woman in her 40s, is in town visiting her daughter at college for family weekend when she hooks up with Cassie, a younger woman she meets at a bar. It’s not until the next morning at breakfast when Erin realizes Cassie is her daughter Parker’s best friend. Yikes. But it WORKED. Mistakes Were Made, pulled me in from the first page and I resented every moment I had to put it down until I finished it.

I don’t always love age gap romances but when they’re done right, they can be some of my favorites. This one was tricky on so many levels and had the added complexity of navigating the relationship with Parker from both sides. It’s clear from their first encounter that Erin and Cassie have explosive chemistry, which is why despite their better judgements, they don’t just end things after that first weekend. I saw a lot of myself in Erin when she repeatedly tried to push Cassie away as she struggled with her feelings of guilt and shame over their relationship. I loved seeing their boundaries shift and come down as they navigated their burgeoning feelings for each other and what that meant for each of them with regards to Parker.

I loved the dynamic between Acacia (Cassie’s best friend and Parker’s roommate) and Cassie and Acacia and Parker and Parker and Cassie and the three of them together. Friendships are complicated and can be messy and this one was no exception, but it’s also the very best part of this story. The juxtaposition between the very mature scenes between Cassie and Erin and the chaotic silliness of Cassie and the girls kept a glaring light on the vast differences between their ages and lives. Wilsner never shies away from the messier aspects that complicate and threaten the ultimate success of Erin and Cassie’s relationship. I loved the way their secrets ultimately came to light and the way Parker was able to deal with it. I really don’t think this could have gone any other way and still been as enjoyable.

It’s not all complicated family dynamics and angsty pining though. This book is hot AF. Hands down the sexiest, most well written sapphic sex scenes I’ve ever read. And there are just so many to choose from. Cassie and Erin hook up in the back of a rental car, they hook up in a bathroom at school. There’s shower sex, face sitting, sexting, a strap on scene, even an expertly placed, “good girl”. Nothing super kinky, but if you can imagine it, it’s probably in here. We need more steamy sapphic romance and I hope Wilsner writes many more. I highly recommend this one!