What happens when the hot woman you slept with last night turns out to be your best friend’s mom? Secrets, lies, and plenty of spicy rendezvous’.

I have to start by shouting out Acacia, who was the true MVP of this book. That poor girl was holding onto so many damn secrets while trying to navigate her own life, too. She deserves a lifetime achievement award. 😂

The runner up for MVP is Parker, because if I found out my best friend was fooling around with my parent, I…would simply not have that best friend anymore. Parker is a better human being than I am.

However, Parker’s reaction and the whole ‘reveal’ sequence of the book was…probably the weakest part. It just wasn’t believable. Cassie (the best friend) and Erin (the mom) sneak around for MONTHS, having sex with Parker in the same house, texting each other, all of these things, and all Parker needed was a pep talk from Acacia and a little time to cool off before she accepted it? I’ll take things that would never happen in real life for $500, Alex.

And I know a forbidden romance means LOTS of sneaking around, but doing things with Parker just a few rooms away? Asleep? That felt unnecessary to me. I know there’s a level of excitement that comes with the potential of getting caught but…no. That was, perhaps, a step too far.

Overall, I actually did enjoy the story, but the ending wasn’t believable and the main characters annoyed me a bit. I also don’t think the age gap and sleeping with a friend’s parent tropes are for me, but if that’s your thing then you will LOVE this. It’s written well and quite 🌶🌶🌶🌶, so it gets a 3.75 stars from me!

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the free eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This review first appeared on Goodreads.

♫ Parker's mom has got it goin' on ♫

Cassie, being estranged from her family, decides to go out to the bar alone during Family Weekend at her college. She spots a gorgeous woman at the bar, and a few coy glances lead to a hasty (but incredible) hookup in Erin's rental car.

Much to Erin and Cassie's surprise, when Cassie goes to get breakfast with her friend Parker and Parker's mom the next morning, Erin is sitting at the table.

The two share undeniable chemistry, and even though they vowed it would be a one-time thing, they can't stay away from each other. How will they keep this a secret from Parker, and more importantly, will they be able to deny the very real feelings they are starting to have for each other?

This book was such a fun read and incredibly well written! I love a confident, cocky protagonist and both Erin and Cassie delivered on that front. While I really appreciated there not being a true 'third-act breakup' in this book, I do wish there was a little more tension or more 'almost-caught' moments between Erin and Cassie. Even then, I really liked this book, and if you're looking for an age-gap spicy rom-com, this will definitely fit the bill.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book did not work for me at all. I really enjoyed it at the beginning and got completely sucked in, but it started going downhill for me once Cassie and Erin realized they had Parker in common, and it just never really recovered.

I think the biggest thing for me is that I really hated that they chose to hide their developing relationship from Parker, which resulted in a lot of sneaking around that I was just really uncomfortable with.

I also just...didn't get why they were together? They literally can't keep their hands off each other, which made me roll my eyes because I think Parker was an excellent reason to stop. But like, if it weren't for the physical connection, why on earth are these two in a relationship? And what is it supposed to look like going forward?

There are aspects of their individual arcs that I really liked, including Erin realizing how much of her life is about what she should do. But I never got swept up in their romance and couldn't get over their disregard for Parker (who wasn't my favorite, but deserved better than to have her mom and her good friend sneaking around behind her back).

I read an ARC of Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner. I had her debut Something to Talk About on my TBR but never got to it because I was a little uncomfortable with the power dynamic between a boss and employee in that one. So this was my first Meryl Wilsner book and while it had an age gap, and therefore some sort of power imbalance, it did not feel uncomfortable.
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There’s a lot of angst and I definitely got a bit irritated by the lack of communication (read: secrets) but she did manage to pull the story together. While the age gap romance doesn’t usually work for me, it was handled pretty well here. It was only ok for me, probably due to the immaturity of both leads (and I don’t just mean the younger woman in the relationship).
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This book comes out on October 11, so consider grabbing a copy if this is a favorite trope for you. Thanks to NetGalley for this advanced copy.

Mistakes Were Made

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 (4 Stars)
Steam: 🌶🌶🌶🌶/ 5 (multiple steamy scenes with lots of description)


Out: October 11th!

No spoiler review 👇🏻

This was such a fun romance read! Nothing like I’ve ever read before. I really enjoyed it. This follows Cassie, a college student who hooks up with an older woman at a bar. The next day she realizes she accidentally hooked up with her best friend's mom. It’s hilarious, cute and steamy.

I really loved that it wasn’t just physical attraction but that their relationship developed so beautifully. They really complemented each other, it’s such a good age gap romance. I really enjoyed Erin. She’s a divorced doctor and Cassie brings out the happy in her. Reason for 4 stars was I found a few chapters in the middle dragged a bit, but overall it was a great sapphic romance read! It’s what I needed right now and it made me happy.

CW: talks of alcoholism, absent mother (past)

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins for the advanced copy!

This book. What a steamy, fun, delightful WONDERFUL book.

I was a little on the fence about Wilsner's first book but I am sooooo happy I got to pick this one up early, I can't stop smiling when I think about it. Erin and Cassie meet at a bar and hit it off and then, surprise, Cassie is Erin's daughter's best friend at college and they know they shouldn't because age gap! best friend's mom! long distance! but of course, they do it (a lot) and while some of the plot points felt at times a small bit contrived, I really loved how Wilsner unfurls this romance and doesn't create too much forced time together, letting the characters romance each other over text and facetime, as people would. Even the inevitable third act "break-up" and reveal (because you know that's coming, there is no way it is) is handled well, like two freaking adults are in this relationship, and everyone is just acting their age and I don't know how to express how FANTASTIC that is.

I don't feel like I can talk about this more without spoilers but this book was fun and hot and great and is a must read. That's it.

Mistakes Were Made took me by surprise in the best way! I knew nothing about it going in and I devoured it. It’s so well written! It’s fun, steamy, and raises the bar for the romance genre.

I especially love how the characters are so believable/human. Instead of relying heavily on tropes, the main point of tension stems from the characters reconciling their own behaviors, beliefs, and desires while navigating adult relationships with one another. It’s just real!

And speaking of real - the sex scenes. I didn’t realize this book was going to be so steamy! 🌶 It raises the bar for how to write sapphic sex well and I'm so grateful.

In addition to the quality sapphic steam, here are the other aspects of queer joy you'll find in Mistakes Were Made:
-A house full of bisexuals (yay, bi visibility!)
-Queer folks shedding the "shoulds" and choosing their own happiness
-Cheesy, witty, flirty, goofy, and electric sapphic romance

You go to a bar far away from town to get away from familiar surroundings, you see an attractive woman and after a few flirty glances you guys are hooking up in the back of her rental. What happens when you end up at breakfast the next morning with your bestfriend to meet her mom , only to find out her mom was your steamy hookup from the night before ?! A steamy hookup in the back of a strangers car turns into so much more with this book.

This alone had me hooked with wanting to know how everything was going to unfold between Erin & Cassie. I kept reading and reading waiting for everything to unfold and honestly, I didn’t think it was going to unfold the way it did almost so calmly, but I’m not mad at it.

I really enjoyed how Cassie & Erin embarked on different journeys of healing and learning to be vulnerable, accept the happiness they both wanted and deserved. I also enjoyed the friendship between Cassie, Parker, & Acacia.

I read this fairly quickly, I enjoyed it a lot and the spice in this was just perfection.

This book has equal parts spice AND heart! I am incredibly different from both of our main characters, a college student/literal rocket scientist and doctor/divorce mother, but I was still able to relate to them and their struggles on a personal level. There's some secret dating going on and that trope stresses me out because I'm just waiting for the couple to get caught but they're moments together were so sweet and intimate.

I really liked this one! Love an age gap romance, love a taboo situation, and MAN is this book steamy! I didn't love everything about the characters, and some choices were questionable for the sake of making a story move along and creating (in my opinion, unnecessary) *drama* BUT I was along for the ride here. Mistakes Were Made was a whole lot of fun.

While the premise of this book sounded hilarious, I didn't find it to be as fun as I expected. The characters were not as lively or unique. But i will say it starts out with a bang and gets your right in the storyline with no exposition.

I knew what I was getting into with this book, and I will preface and say I already wasn't a fan of the author's first book. It was a super cute story but the situation of how it was set up (being that there was a power dynamic in play between a boss and her assistant threw me all the way off). But I was like hey - this seems like a whacky idea. Let me check it out.

And to be fair, within the first chapter, I liked it. It's ~sexy~ and their chemistry was fun in the first introduction.

And then it went all downhill.

I will admit, the sexy scenes were good but the chemistry of the characters wasn't really there outside of them. I was so incredibly uncomfortable at the situation of Cassie hiding the romance from her friend (whose name escapes me despite the fact I finished this book yesterday... Patty??), made me so upset. In fact, I got to three chapters before the end of the book and was like "hold up, we haven't had a dramatic confrontation what is going on." (It makes sense later but how it makes sense actually made me more angrier than it should! This was a major life thing that happened! I wanted to see some actual reactions, not have to think about what i've already consumed!)

I also didn't love the characters! Which was weird cause they were all fully fleshed out and had legit stories but they felt weirdly hollow despite all that!!!

The writing was engaging, I will say. There were at points so many characters I couldn't remember who was who. The romance was fine but admittedly, not my taste as I'm already not a fan of hidden relationships and this was with an added icky of hiding it from someone you call a best friend.

Also also the way the daughter acted... she seemed so incredibly bratty which made it seem as though it was justified as to what was going on. Which! Feels! Unfair! She was a college freshman and her parents were going through a divorce. most of us were bratty at age 18!!!!

Ugh.

I wanted to like this, and I'm sure a lot of people will, but I couldn't. Considering how many people have already said super positive things, I'm glad that people are enjoying it!

Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin and Netgally for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

For some reason these queer and sapphic romances always hit better. This one did not disappoint. This is the queer MILF book I didn't know I needed.

Cassie and Erin meet at a bar in a college town one night. The morning after their casual hook up, Cassie meets her best friend Parker for breakfast. Except once she's there, there's another guest for breakfast, Parker's mom Erin. The book follows their secret relationship that they both swear to themselves is just casual...until it's not.

I loved this book! Their personalities are so different but compliment each other well. The secret/forbidden romance, sneaking around, might get caught hook ups are *fans self* very hot. I really appreciated the idea of Erin finally doing something just for herself as women and mothers often put themselves and what they truly want last on their list.

This book has:
- F/F romance
- Age gap
- Taboo/forbidden- best friend's mom
- Explicit, open-door romance
- Dual POV
- Secret relationship

Basically, this book was wonderful and I fully plan to read it again.

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley, for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cassie and Erin meet in a bar during Family Weekend at Cass' college and feel an instant attraction. BUT, it turns out that Erin is the mom of Parker, Cassie's friend. Oh sigh. There's a lot of steam here in this May-December romance that entails these two sneaking around behind Parker's back. In a lot of ways this is cringy-suppose Erin was Parker's dad. That said, I suspect this will be welcomed by many readers. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

This book was so good! The story of a college senior and and MILF that meet at a bar and have a one night stand. The next morning however, they have another meeting as the mother of her best friend.

This story is filled with banter, flirting, and lots of sneaking around. It is a story of friendship ups and downs and finding love when you don't realize it.

This had no business being as cute and spicy as it was. Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC of this book!!

I swear on everything holy I thought Erin and Cassie were gonna be caught. I was anxious FOR THEM. But I KNEW Parker found out. I’m so glad everything happened the way it did. They found their way to each other and with everyone’s approval.

I’m literally obsessed with this book. Obsessed. I can’t wait to buy a physical copy when it comes out on October 11.

It’s sapphic. It’s hot, sexy and sneaky and I gobbled this shit up. I read it so fast once I really got into it.

BYE ERIN AND CASSIE FOR LIFE

I need a book about Cassie and Acacia now PLEASE

There were many things I enjoyed about this book. First of all, I was able to buy into the romantic connection between them despite the age gap. The issue I have with age-gap romance books is that the characters in such books often read so that I wonder in what real-life scenario these two people would ever be interested in each other because their life experiences are vastly different. However, after getting to know both Cassie's and Erin's characters I was convinced more of their connection. Cassie doesn't read too immaturely relative to the older protagonist in most cases with some exceptions which makes sense given her age. It's also reflected in the way the dialogues between the two characters are written. They're not too cringy or over-the-top and read more like a conversation between romantic partners in a real-life relationship. I've recently read some romance books with an annoying amount of exaggerated language used in the interactions between the MCs and I don't know if I'm being extra cynical around this time of the year but it's been rubbing me the wrong way so this was a nice change of pace.

I also liked how each MC is written on their own separate from their function in the romantic relationship. Each MC has something more nuanced to their characterization than what catches the eyes at a first glance. They do some questionable things in regard to their relationship with each other and others around them which goes to show that they're not perfect humans. They both have insecurities that are tied to their upbringing and I think the author does a good job addressing them. I appreciated the discussions about found family, female friendships and parent-child relations as well. The spicy scenes are written in a way that is tasteful but doesn't take over the plot. Also, part of this book is set around the time between American Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday so there were lots of cozy holiday romance vibes here.

I think one of the things that lowered my enjoyment of this book was that the writing style while having a down-to-earth quality to it wasn't anything I was wowed by. There were some awkward word choices and in some cases, the transitions between a POV's flashback memories and moments in the present day weren't smooth and it made the flow of the writing a little uneven. I also felt like some unsavoury behaviour on both Erin's and Cassie's end wasn't criticized enough for my liking. There were some tropes here that are common in age-gap romance books that I personally don't enjoy reading and this book didn't do anything interesting with those tropes.

Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner

Published: October 11, 2022
St. Martin’s Griffin
Pages: 350
Genre: Romantic Comedy
KKECReads Rating: 4/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Meryl Wilsner writes happily ever afters for queer folks who love women. They are the author of Something to Talk About, and Mistakes Were Made. Born in Michigan, Meryl lived in Portland, Oregon, and Jackson, Mississippi, before returning to the Mitten State. Some of Meryl's favorite things include all four seasons, button-down shirts, the way giraffes run, and their wife.

“Right now, I’m exactly where I want to be.”

Cassie is about to graduate college and is feeling restless. Especially when Family Weekend rolls around. So Cassie takes herself to a bar away from campus. The last thing she expected was a beautiful older woman to throw her night off course. Now, the chaos begins.

This was a cute story. I like that it featured a couple that weren’t hetero and that there were other sexualities and identities throughout the book.

I really didn’t buy Erin and Cassie’s love story, and I didn’t think they had chemistry. To me, it seemed like Cassie was looking for someone to validate her as a person, and Erin wanted to be made to feel attractive. At best, it was lust.

The steamy scenes were only okay for me. I think I expected more (not graphically). I didn’t enjoy the constant back and forth between Cassie and Erin regarding their relationship.

If it was so wrong, and they shouldn’t be doing it, either one of them could have stopped it. Neither did. So it was a lot of back and forth without any reason.

My favorite character was Acacia. I loved her personality, her heart, and the fact that she didn’t shy away from saying what needed to be said. Parker grew on me as well; the last several chapters showed so much growth for Parker.

She went from a seemingly spoiled and immature character to a rational and considerate character and friend. I didn’t really care for Cassie or Erin, I tried, but they just made me angry.

Overall, this was a cute story. And the last chapter and epilogue were adorable. The writing style was well done, and the inclusivity was terrific to see.

I'm thrilled to have had the opportunity to pick up what has become known as the "MILF" book. This was an entertaining, messy read and it was SO much fun.

You should definitely be aware of the premise before blindly jumping in—During family weekend, college senior Cassie Klein visits an off-campus bar where she unexpectedly has a one-night stand with a woman (Erin) who she later finds out is the mother of her best friend's freshman roommate (Parker). As Parker and Cassie become better friends, Cassie and Erin are drawn closer together, which only leads to complicated situations.

So we got a bunch of tropes: age difference, friend’s mom, one-night stand to lovers, secret relationship, etc. The age gap makes this a "taboo" romance. Even so, the age difference didn't come across as weird or off-putting. There was undeniable chemistry between Erin and Cassie. I did not always agree with either of their decisions but Wilsner handled the age-gap trope delicately and did a wonderful job of giving them both mature personalities. The BFF's mom dilemma, on the other hand, was awkward at times (as it should be). Yet, Parker's personal relationships with Cassie and Erin didn't feel sufficiently developed for the reader to be concerned about the eventual revelation. And speaking of the revelation, I loved Wilsner's approach to the typical third-act drama.

Also, this book was SPICY. From the premise, this should have been obvious, but considering that Something to Talk About only had one sex scene right at the very end, it was kind of unexpected. I'm a major slow-burn fan so this was a different pace for me. I found myself wanting them to slow down and delve deeper into the actual characters instead of adding more sex scenes, but that's just my personal preference.

To sum up, I definitely had a blast reading it, minor faults and all because a book doesn't have to be perfect in every aspect to be enjoyable lol. I would recommend this to anyone looking for an entertaining, hot, sapphic romance.

This was such and enjoyable and quick read! The characters were well developed, the plot felt fully fleshed out. The steamy scenes were an added bonus. I fell in love with the love story and equally couldn’t wait to see how things turned out and have it go on for longer.

This is my first book written by this author and I can’t wait to explore other offerings! 5 stars!