I had so much fun with this book and the best part is it was unexpectedly steamyyyy! Mistakes Were Made is an age gap romance (with great bisexual rep) where Cassie, the younger one, falls for Erin, her best friend's MOM! I knew I had to read it when I read the blurb for that alone - I had to see for myself this forbidden love story.

The author did a fantastic job creating layered, imperfect characters that felt very real! And both main characters had excellent best friends that really added to the story - I loved how they were often the voices of reason.

The steam was ON POINT and filled more pages than I expected - considering their relationship started with a hook up, I enjoyed that their physical chemistry didn't fall to side as their relationship developed.

The biggest thing I had a problem with was the pacing - it felt rushed sometimes and slow at others, but I liked the characters/story enough that it was not too distracting!

Overall I really enjoyed this book and definitely recommend! And I'm definitely excited for the author's next book!

Cassie and Erin hook up at a bar one night, only to discover Erin is Cassie’s best friend’s mom the next day! I liked the premise of this book, age gap, best friend’s mom, secret relationship, lots of spice. Overall, I should have loved this, but truth be told, I felt bored most of the time and the story just seemed to fall flat. It wasn’t until 75% into this book that I actually started to enjoy it and become invested in the story!

We’ll start with the good things. I loved Cassie’s relationship with her friends, Acacia and Parker. Cassie is someone who is used to being alone, aside from Acacia, and seeing her relationship with Parker develop was so cute as she realized she loved Parker in much the same way that she loved and cared for Acacia.

Erin was an interesting character. She obviously loved her daughter and struggled with her attraction to Cassie. The dynamic between Erin and her ex, Adam, felt really realistic of a divorced couple and added some much needed depth to Erin’s character, and gave some additional context as to why she was so against pursuing a relationship with Cassie. Erin’s relationship with Parker was also very complex and realistic.

Now, let’s talk about Erin and Cassie. There was some good banter between the two, and they had some sweet moments together. I mean, the Christmas present scene? Adorable! The spicy scenes were good, and there were a lot of them, which is always a plus in my book, but I never sensed any real chemistry between the two.

Erin sent so many mixed signals to Cassie and at times came off as cruel. I know this was intentional, but the back and forth of “I want her, I have to make her hate me, we can’t do this, we can do this” was just exhausting to read. Erin is supposed to be the “adult” in this relationship, but she acted just as immature as Cassie and her daughter.

Cassie had the potential to be an amazingly deep and complex character. Her backstory and goals could have led to great depth, but she seemed very surface level which was a disappointment. Towards the end of the book we finally see some growth, but it still felt a bit flat.

As for side characters, I wish we’d gotten more of Acacia’s family. They were Cassie’s family, and while the interaction we did get with them was great, I’d have love to see them a bit more. Acacia and Parker both came off lacking any nuance in the beginning of the book, but towards that end, we got to see more depth from them, especially Parker.

The epilogue was adorable and a great ending for everyone!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the complimentary arc. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed Wilsner’s first book (Something to Talk About) well enough, but I LOVED Mistakes Were Made! This second book from them was spectacular - super well-written, had so many emotions, fantastic friendships, and it was just all-around brilliant. I highly recommend it for everyone, whether you know you like sapphic romance (2 bi ladies who fall for each other), aren’t sure, or want to just check and see - this is the one to start with! Meryl Wilsner knows what they are doing with this book!

It’s very steamy, has some great tropes (age gap, lgbtq, best friend’s parent, secret relationship, denial of feelings, long-distance) - and without giving away the whole incredible story… that’s about all I can say there. Super strong friendships are tested as the girls finish out school and explore and experience their early 20’s life and become adults. Great coming-of-age story.

I received an advance review and advance listen copy from NetGalley, St. Martin's Press (St. Martin's Griffin), and this is my honest feedback.

I wasn't sure about the main college-age character in the beginning. She seemed a little too young sounding for me to be interested in her journey. But as the book went on, I grew to like and even understand her a bit.

This had that underlying tension of 'Will they get caught?' There were several moments/scenes that were fun and memorable because of that.

I believe it realistically portrayed that gray area of whether their relationship was more than casual.

Very much worth your time to check this one out.

Dang Near Erotica Level MILF Lesbian* RomCom. Seriously: Read the title of this review. If that type of book isn't for you for any reason at all... save yourself the time and the author the 1* review and just find something else to read. The sex scenes start in Chapter 1 and are fairly frequent throughout the book - and *far* from closed door. XXX "on screen", in fact. And all the sex is between a 40 something woman whose daughter is in college and a 21yo female college senior. Again, if that isn't your thing... just move on. Finally, there are f-bombs and other curse words quite heavily as well (not sailor/ programmer level, but also not Independent Baptist Church level either). So yet again, not your thing... just move on. Please.

For anyone else that is still here... this is a somewhat slow ish angsty romcom, but the resolution comes perhaps a bit too quickly once it finally gets to that point. Still, there actually is a decent amount of drama here, and a seemingly realistic (enough) portrayal of people actually in these types of situations. The comedy part of the "romcom" label is mostly in the initial few scenes between the leading couple, but there are laughs to be had throughout the book and the romance itself picks up when the comedy wanes, so it works. Really the only quibble for those still here is the flash-forward epilogue, which is one of those things your mileage may vary on but which does add a bit of humor to the tail end of the tale.

Overall this was a solid tale well told, and the characters themselves are rare enough that anyone seeking "something different" will find this quite refreshing indeed. Very much recommended.

*Note: While the characterization of the leading couple is *actually* bisexual, according to the text here, and one has even been married and had a kid (and the other had a boyfriend before the events of the book), the only romantic/ sexual relationships actually in the book are all of the sapphic nature, and thus for actual purposes of review would be considered lesbian in at least some circles.

I loved this book and was hooked from the very first chapter. I really enjoyed seeing Cassie’s character change and come to terms with situations that were happening in the book. I thought the dynamic between Cassie and Erin was great and that their chemistry was good. I do wish that the book had used Parker’s character a bit more as it could have made the story a bit more impactful. I will definitely be rereading this book again as I had a great time reading this.

This book was HOT 🥵 From the very first chapter to the end, I was literally overheating. I seriously loved Cassie and Erin’s relationship. I was rooting for them the entire time. This story flew by, I read it in one sitting because it was such a fun book. I loved the banter and chemistry between Cassie and Erin, as well as the development we see each character go through. I felt like I personally knew them by the end of the book; Wilsner really knows how to make her characters personable and three dimensional. I love how this book is mainly focused on finding - and accepting - yourself, going after what makes you happy, and getting the love you deserve. I really really loved this book. Was it predictable? Yes, but the plot(and the SPICE 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶) made for such a great read.

I really enjoyed this book. It's an age gap romance about Cassie who unwittingly hooks up with her best friend's mom. I usually don't love age gap as a trope, but I liked how this one was written.

It's really interesting to go from Wilsner's first book, Something to Talk About, which was super slow burn, to this one, which starts out with sex in the first chapter and then goes on from there. There is a lot of sex in this book. But it makes sense for the story, it's not gratuitous or anything.

There is also very little angst in the book, and the third act break up was virtually non-existent, which was a nice change! There really isn't anything I can say against the book, it was really well written, I enjoyed the characters and the story. The only reason I'm not rating it higher is because I don't think that it's a book that I would read again, and I'm trying to get better with my rating. 5 stars belongs to books that I'm going to read over and over again.

When Cassie hooks up with Erin she does so without knowing that Erin is one of her best friend's mom. As the story progresses we do see how both Erin and Cassie feel a pull to one another while also knowing they should not give in to it. But of course, that does not last long. And they are soon hooking up behind Parker's back.

I did feel bad for the way that they went about sneaking around in close proximity to Parker. But I also had issues with Parker and her general brattiness with her mom in the first half of the book.

I also had a few issues with the pacing. I know the story spans a long period of time but from one sentence to another we jump several days/weeks/months and it did throw me off from time to time.

Woman meets daughter's roommate. Unrealistic situations set-up to keep the story moving along. Not bad, but not a highly recommend.

3.5⭐️

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Griffin and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this! All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

This was my first Meryl Wilsner book and it won't be my last. This was steamy, swoony, and completely binge worthy. This wasn't my favorite romcom of all time, but there was so much to love about this sapphic romance!

So let's start with what I absolutely loved.

First of all - this book is HOT. For so long it felt like we only got sweet, soft F/F romances. But no more. This book brought the steam and I was living for it. The chemistry between these 2 characters was so fantastic. And I loved how unapologetically queer it was all around.

But not only did this have a fantastic romance, but the I loved the friendships. This really showed how platonic love can be just as important as romantic love. The friendship these girls had was fierce and complex and at times strained. I just loved this exploration of what it means to be friends and all the ways those relationships can be stretched and strained - especially in college.

However there were a few things I didn't 100% get on board with...

While I loved the friendships as a whole, I found our heroine Cassie to be difficult to root for at times. I don't mind an unlikeable MC a lot of the time, but in a romance I need to get behind both love interests. And sometimes Cassie made it difficult. She makes so many toxic and harmful choices and then pins it on other people - often her friends.

I just really struggled with how terribly she treated Parker at times and tried to blame it on Parker...

But what really kept this from being a higher rating for me was the pacing of this book. Was it hot? Yes. Were the relationships complex and developed? Yes. Did I enjoy my reading experience all the way through? Not 100%....

For some reason this book really dragged through the middle. I felt like we were having the same conversations over and over and over again with little variation or momentum. And despite this book being only a little over 300 pages, it felt too long.

I'd also like to mention that the age gap, and therefore inherent power imbalance, was never addressed or acknowledged.

However, if you're looking for a fun, steamy, age gap romance, this is definitely one worth checking out! I love how Meryl Wilsner wasn't afraid to go there with this messy, queer love story and I definitely plan to read more from them in the future!

I did not finish this bookI did not finish this bookI did not finish this bookI did not finish this bookI did not finish this book

I want to see better F/F romance out there and I want this author to learn and do better so I’m giving this 3 stars for effort, but I have misgivings about this book.

Compared to M/M in romance and even polyamory, there isn’t as big of a pool of F/F romance, so when a new promising one is released I want to support it and see the category expand and succeed.

The premise of Mistakes Were Made is great: Cassie, a college student, picks up Erin, sexy older woman, at a bar and they bang in the backseat of Erin’s rental car in the bar parking lot, The next morning Cassie goes to breakfast with her bestie, Parker, and Parker’s mom, and of course, Parker’s mom is Erin.

The heat level is pretty high between Cassie and Erin and is matched by the secrecy and denial these two bi-heroines experience. This is basically the entire book: constant, repetitive internal dialogue about their mutual attraction, how to keep it a secret from Erin’s daughter and some friends, their differences and potential incompatibility. It’s not much of an engaging story, it’s more of a dual POV tug-of-war.

There is also another bestie, Acacia, who’s nickname is Kaysh and both names are used liberally throughout the book, which this reader found annoying and pointless. On the upside, Acacia is probably the only truly likeable character. The disturbing aspect of Acacia is that her portrayal as a Black woman had notes of racism that made me cringe. For instance, according to Cassie, Acacia’s mother “made the best mac and cheese” and cornbread dressing. That was the first cringey moment for me and I thought to let it slide but then their family dog was named FloJo and Acacia and Cassie smoke weed with Acacia’s older brother. Later Cassie has lunch with Lila “an Indian girl who was so pretty it wasn’t fair” (that’s the only description she merits) and then there is Erin’s longtime friendship with an interracial couple, and “the town was better with them in it.” So it’s not outright racist but it struck me as “I have a few Black/Brown friends and let me share my “I’m not a racist” stereotype opinions!” ICK.

Spoiler Alert:
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The other thing I absolutely did not like about this story was that Cassie gives up her lifelong dream to attend CalTech in order to be close to Erin once they get together. In 2022 when women are still fighting for agency and yet have more choices than ever, a woman in the STEM field who gives up her lifelong academic dreams for relationship proximity just smacks of old-school hetero expectations and norms. No Thank You.

I’d recommend reading this book with reservations and low expectations. The writing is decent and the internal conflict may be entertaining to you, but the storytelling is weak and the author would benefit from learning to see the world from a less provincial POV.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Mistakes Were Made

HELLO STEAM ❤️‍🔥🔥🥵 This is one of the spiciest books I’ve read in a while, and the plot was unlike any other story I’ve read!

One night out at a bar, 21 year old Cassie meets and hooks up with an older woman — and the next day finds out she is the mom of her new college bff… YIKES!

There was a ton of chemistry and tension in the story, worrying if Parker (the daughter) would find them out as they are trying to sneak kisses with her around the corner. While not necessarily the main storyline, I loved the friendship between Cassie, Parker, and their other bestie Acacia. They are always there for each other and supporting each other, which was awesome!

I was a bit let down with how Parker ended up finding out about the relationship (spoiler but not really, cuz obviously she is gonna find out at some point) — it felt too neat and tidy for me?

This one is for you if you enjoy major steam, sapphic romance, age-gap romance, and great supporting characters.

Thank you @netgalley @stmartinspress for my e-ARC of Mistakes Were Made!

At first I was but skeptical due to the age gap, but oh I was so wrong. This book is steamy and sooo good! I couldn’t put it down!

Read this book if you like: Dual POV, LGBTQ couple (bi and bi side characters), age gap, spicy 🔥, best friend's mom

This book will absolutely be one of my favorite books of the year!

Cassie Klein goes to an off-campus bar to escape her school’s Family Weekend. She isn’t looking for a hookup but a sexy stranger starts buying her drinks. It turns into an amazing one night stand. The next morning rolls around and her friend drags her along to meet her mom. Surprise! It's the hot, older woman Cassie slept with.

Erin Bennett came to Family Weekend to get closer to her daughter, not have a one-night stand with a college senior. In her defense, she hadn’t known Cassie was a student when they'd met. To make things worse, Erin’s daughter brings Cassie to breakfast the next morning. Despite Erin's better judgement she is drawn to Cassie.

Wow! Talk about a taboo sexy wild ride. 😲 I loved this book so freaking much. I am not normally into age gap romances but this was perfection. The character development was well done. The people are very realistic as well as the conversations. It was funny, sweet, sexy. I highly recommend you pick this one up on October 11th!

Thank you to the author and St. Martin's Press for the gifted book. ❤️

Girl meets girl. Girl hooks up with girl. Girl feels guilty. Girl hooks up with girl again.

Okay, that's a bit glib, but the first half of Mistakes Were Made is, essentially, one long sex scene with brief breaks for guilt and backstory. The sex scenes are well-written and quite steamy, but not very much happens in the breaks between them.

The plot picks up in the second half of the book. Both characters have very well-developed backstories, which I loved, but I couldn't really see any specialness to their interaction beyond the fireworks in bed. Given the impediments to their relationship (age difference, long distance, friend's mom), I really needed to believe that both of them had found something truly unique to root for them to stick it out, and I just couldn't. I did enjoy some of the twists the plot took, and the ending was sweet.

3.5 stars.

*thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I went into this book open minded and not having any expectations for how it would play out.

I was a little nervous when I realized that this was an age gap romance of 15+ years, but I've read age gap romances before, so I decided to stay open minded. The characters actually immature for their age and it seemed like they were using each other to fill the roles of important people they needed in their lives. I also couldn't sense any connection between Cassie and Erin.

I struggled to connect with the characters and found myself wanting to get through this book as fast as possible because I just wanted to be done. I thought the writing was great, but the plot and characters just wasn't for me.

I loved this book! This is what an adult romance should be. Many new romance books shy away from writing smut, and I loved that this book didn't shy away from sex. Also, Erin and Cassie were so mature, they actually talked about their emotions. Also, I hate the third act breakup and I love that this book didn't have it. Once Erin and Cassie accepted their relationship, they didn't break up because of stupid miscommunication or anything like that. I thought this book was a really mature take on MILFism and I loved it.

Meryl Wilsner’s Something to Talk About was such a fun reading experience for me, and the writing style really worked for me in that book, so I knew I would read whatever they published next.

Mistakes Were Made sounded like it would be a great time! Cassie and Erin have a one-night stand, only to discover that Erin is the mother of Cassie’s friend, Parker. Hotness ensues.

I’ll start by saying I don’t often read age gap romances. I don’t avoid them, but I don’t seek them out necessarily, and sadly, in the most recent ones I’ve read, it led to pretty much no tension. If anything, I was left wondering why the characters even needed to be such different ages (looking at you in particular, Part of Your World). In Mistakes Were Made, though, it totally works. It’s believable that these people would have been interested in each other initially, and it adds to Erin’s character growth that she decides to continue this relationship despite the age difference. So I’m glad I read this because I was about to start avoiding age gap romances altogether.

A lot about this book worked for me. Erin and Cassie’s relationship is easy to root for. I understood why they were into each other and I loved their scenes together! Cooking over FaceTime is adorable and their texts were fun. My absolute favorite thing? Definitely the sex scenes. They were hot, they were numerous, and aside from the confusing logistics of the car sex, they really worked for me. Also, the tension between these characters in general — due to their age, the moments of forced proximity, their overall chemistry — is fantastic. Their relationship was well-developed and I certainly wanted them to end up together.

Sadly, the ongoing “tension” of Parker finding out was more tedious than anything else. I truly did not care when and how she would find out, but I knew she had to at some point, and it was just this annoying thing hanging over my reading experience the entire time. I also never really knew who she was as a person, which would normally be fine, except that if she’s getting this much page time (Is that a thing? What’s the book equivalent to screentime?), and if she’s the biggest obstacle to the couple getting together, I want to know more about her. Other than being bi and hating that her parents got divorced, who the hell is this chick?

This book also feels awfully long for its length. Whether because of the looming reveal or poor pacing, there were long stretches of time where I wanted something to happen, I wanted the story to progress, or I wanted it to be over. I don’t love that feeling!

(I also will never ever get over Acacia’s nickname being Kaysh. Truly… what? No disrespect to anyone’s whose actual name is Acacia and is nicknamed Kaysh, but if that’s a thing… are you happy with that? Do you like that nickname? Cuz it feels awfully forced to me.)

Ultimately, for the hotness alone and the development of our heroines’ relationship, this is worth the read. It’s the type of book that makes me miss the magic of new relationship energy, and that doesn’t happen very often. I’m sure this book won’t work for everyone, especially if you like your side characters more well-rounded, but I do recommend it!