I loved this steamy sapphic romance. Such a fun read, and really well executed. In less deft hands, it could have felt cringey to witness the age gap between love interests, but as it is I was rooting for the couple despite the difference in age. Wilsner knows how to write chemistry, steam, and palatable tension. I absolutely loved that the conflict resolution was so mature and well communicated. There were a few points where an author could have relied on miscommunication, deceit, and silent treatment--but Wilsner did none of that and instead allowed their characters to work through the issues in a really pleasant-to-read way. Love Wilsner's writing and their way of crafting a spicy story. Strongly recommend!

Loved this read! The characters were lovable and real, their story didn't fall flat.
I really enjoyed this story and will be reading this author again.

Thank you SMP Romance and NetGalley for the ARC of Mistakes Were Made! All opinions in this review are my own.

If you are looking for a spicy read right from the start, then I recommend Mistakes Were Made! When Erin is picked up by a woman in a bar, she has no idea that it is one of her daughter's best friends. While age gap romances are normally not my favorite, this one worked for me. I really liked Cassie as a character and I like that although she was younger, she wasn't written immaturely. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author!

I really enjoyed this and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to have read it! What a wonderful book!

I loved this book! I Felt like one thing the author hit the nail on the head on was the book's pacing, everything flowed together and meshed really well together. I enjoyed the banter between the main characters extremely as I felt like this book was driven by the characters rather than the plot. Overall, I felt like the book was well written and closed in a satisfying manner!

Some mistakes were made for sure...including me picking up this book and thinking I would enjoy it.

I thought maybe it was the age difference that bothered me, and I will admit I was worried about that picking it up because it does feel a little predatory for someone nearing 40 years old to date someone still in college. BUT, I think it would have bothered me less if this weren't her best friend's mom. The whole book I was so anxious waiting for Parker to find out, and I don't enjoy feeling anxious reading a romance novel. What should have been fun and sexy ended up feeling like watching a train about to wreck, mostly because, I think if I were Parker, I would have been so incredibly angry and upset myself. Their fears about her finding out felt so justified and that made me angrier—if they were so worried, why do it at all? Was Erin's relationship with her daughter less important than some good sex? I know there was supposed to be feelings involved, but frankly, I didn't understand them. Erin felt like a maternal figure, at best, for Cassie, and we never really see them bonding over anything material, like a hobby or a shared interest, aside from, of course, sex. I wanted to see the romance between them, rather than be told that it was there. And if I had trusted that there were actual feelings, maybe I wouldn't have been so angry the whole time.

I just couldn't help but feel like the two main characters were spending their time betraying one of the people that means the most to them in the world for a little fun. It never felt like they were worth enough to each other for the risk. I wanted to feel that they were worth it. I finally did, towards the end, but I still didn't get that excitement and joy from their relationship that I had wanted. The truth is: I don't think I knew much about Cassie and Erin aside from basic things about them. Erin's a doctor. Cassie wants to build space ships. What do they want out of life? Do they want the same things? When there's such a big age difference, I want to see the characters at the same place in their lives, and I just didn't get that from them.

I couldn't even imagine the two of them dating, or getting married even though they get engaged at the end.

I just...didn't care for this. And I hated the way they treated Parker. It felt so unfair. And the resolution felt too easy for something so messy. The fact that Parker working through her feelings about it was largely off page didn't sit right with me. It felt like the author knew it would be hard to write and didn't want to try. Like she knew if we read how raw and unhappy Parker was, maybe we'd think Parker was right.

I don't know. I just didn't like this.

https://www.michigandaily.com/arts/books/author-of-mistakes-were-made-meryl-wilsner-on-sapphic-fiction-and-queer-representation/

Editor’s Note: Quotes have been edited and condensed for clarity.

“In all honesty, ‘Mistakes Were Made’ was supposed to be a one-shot fanfiction,” author Meryl Wilsner said, laughing, in an interview over Zoom with The Michigan Daily. “Mistakes Were Made” is their sophomore novel, following their debut, a sapphic romance called “Something to Talk About.”

Wilsner shared that after their friends read what later became the first chapter of “Mistakes Were Made,” they were immediately invested in the story and asked Wilsner to continue with it. A whirlwind of a story featuring a fiery romance resulted.

“Mistakes Were Made” centers around the relationship between 21-year-old college senior Cassie and almost-40-year-old Erin, who first meet when they lock eyes from across the bar. The moment in the book is memorable: “She was probably twice Cassie’s age, and honestly, Cassie wasn’t typically a cougar hunter … but this woman was way too hot to worry about any age difference.” Cassie goes on to buy Erin a drink, and things heat up quickly as she follows Erin into the bathroom — and later escalate further when Cassie finds out Erin is the mother of her newest friend.

Wilsner is no stranger to controversial tropes; their first work gracefully depicts an evolving relationship between a boss and her assistant, so the choice to employ a risqué age gap doesn’t come as a shock. “I like dealing with power differentials,” Wilsner said. “I like the idea that there are two people that could stop themselves and should stop themselves, but don’t. The easiest way to make that play out is with an age gap — here, it’s Cassie and Erin recognizing that their own happiness matters more than anything else.”

After Cassie and Erin’s one-night stand and subsequent awkward encounter the following morning featuring Parker — who is both Cassie’s friend and Erin’s daughter — the two women see each other again, and their spark is just as strong as it was that night in the bar. Both women are desperately trying to move forward — forget the age difference, how can Cassie date her best friend’s mom, and how can Erin date her daughter’s friend? — but neither can get the other out of her head. Parker, oblivious to their blatant attraction, invites Cassie home for the holidays to act as a buffer, given her own tense relationship with her mother.

Though the developing relationship between Cassie and Erin is at the heart of the story, Erin’s relationship with Parker is also significant. Following her parents’ divorce, Parker harbors anger at Erin for ending her marriage. Their dynamic adds an interesting complexity to the book, as we see Erin struggle to navigate two pivotal relationships. We see that Erin is flawed, but more than that, we see how hard she tries to uplift her relationship with Parker while she prioritizes her romantic life for the first time in a long time.

“Partly why the two have so many issues is that Parker hasn’t necessarily seen Erin as a full and complete person,” Wilsner said. “Mistakes Were Made” is more than a spicy FF (Female/Female) love story, it is an honest portrayal of both mother-daughter tensions and the excitement of new love.” Though Wilsner admits it’s difficult for them to write flawed characters — “Oh no, my characters are my babies. They’re perfect and nothing is wrong with them ever” — they say, it’s the characters’ faults that make them so captivating.

In addition to personal flaws, Wilsner also details imperfect FF relationships. “There’s this idea that if you date women, everything will be fine — which, to be fair, is a joke I make a lot. But, I think that when the joke comes from outside the community, like if a straight woman is like, ‘Oh, I’m going to become a lesbian because that’s easier,’ you’re not seeing lesbians as people,” Wilsner said.

“Obviously, there will still be issues in relationships, regardless of the gender of the people who are in them,” Wilsner said. “I write romances, so my stories are always going to have a happily-ever-after ending — but that ending always feels better when the characters have had to go through something to reach that point.”

Following the two weeks spent together over the holidays, Cassie and Erin’s relationship progresses. Though both women are hesitant to label the relationship between them, it’s apparent that they share sincere, unwavering feelings. When Parker learns about their relationship, and later accepts it, it becomes clear to Erin and Cassie that their hesitation to admit their feelings was never truly dependent on how Parker was affected, but was rather due to their own fears of accepting the love they deserve.

“Like I said, I write romance novels, and they’re always going to end happily,” Wilsner said. “But, at the same time, I’m so grateful for the Queer writers who do write dark and sad Queer stories. Different people need different things, and I think it’s important to have a gamut of genres and tones, to have Queer people telling all different types of Queer stories.”

Wilsner’s debut work “Something to Talk About” was the first Queer female romance in print from its publisher, Berkley Books. “One of the biggest differences between the release of ‘Something to Talk About’ and ‘Mistakes Were Made’ is that there are now so many people writing Queer female romances, and I love that so much,” Wilsner said. “It’s nice to not just have a community, but to be continually expanding the community.”

Throughout our interview, they share some of their favorite Queer authors and their respective recent or upcoming releases, like Ashley Herring Blake’s “Delilah Green Doesn’t Care,” and Taleen Voskuni’s “Sorry, Bro.” They specifically point out Anita Kelly’s “Love & Other Disasters,” which features an openly non-binary protagonist. “Even as a non-binary author, I didn’t recognize that was an option for me to write,” Wilsner said. They promise that one of their future books will have a non-binary main character, stating, “I don’t know if that’s something I would have done without reading Kelly’s work.”

Until then, Wilsner will spend the upcoming weeks on tour for “Mistakes Were Made.” Since their first book came out in May of 2020, they didn’t have the chance to do signings or see the novel in stores until long after its release. “I’m really excited to see what the tour will be like, and to have my book out in the world,” Wilsner said. “This time around is going to be a very different experience.”

“Mistakes Were Made” is a lively story about the simultaneous complexity and simplicity of love. Wilsner’s sophomore work is a strong and compelling follow-up to their lovely debut novel, both of which demonstrate Wilsner’s talent for writing authentic and electrifying Queer female romances. After talking with Wilsner, it’s clear that their passion for Queer and sapphic stories is genuine. It was exciting to discuss their work with them in addition to hearing their thoughts on Queer representation and the influential, inspiring Queer authors shaping today’s literary world. Wilsner is an author you don’t want to miss, and “Mistakes Were Made” is a book you won’t soon forget.

Managing Arts Editor Lillian Pearce can be reached at pearcel@umich.edu.

Mistakes Were Made was by no means a bad book, it just wasn't for me. I think the author is very talented and the book was well written and developed, but I just didn't connect with the characters. I fully think this was a Me problem, not a book problem. I can definitely see how other readers will enjoy the book.

This book is SPICY. I'll start there. If you can't handle level 5 open-door (is there a door?) spice, especially if it's woman on woman, this book is not for you. However, if that doesn't bother you (or you're into it), read on.

During family weekend at her college, Cassie goes off campus to a bar and ends up hooking up with a hot older woman (again, this happens in like, chapter one, so be ready!). It was supposed to be just a one time thing, until her friend drags her to breakfast with her mom the next morning and SURPRISE it's the woman Cassie just hooked up with. Yep. That happened. But it can't happen again, can it? Soon enough "just once more" turns into "okay but this is the last time" to "okay but only until the holidays". The two start really developing feelings for each other, but what about the daughter/best friend?

I really liked this book. As I stated, there's a LOT of open door sex, so beware for that. But even without that, the storyline is really interesting. It really digs into the idea of wanting your family members to be happy but also, how weird would it be if your mom was sleeping with your best friend? So many different angles! If you can handle the spice, I definitely recommend this book.

I received an eARC from NetGalley and St Martin's Griffin in exchange for an honest review. Cassie Klein finds herself in a bar on the first night of Family Weekend at her university. Her family hasn't come, and she just wants an escape. And then she sees her, the gorgeous older woman at the other end of the bar. It couldn't hurt to buy her a drink... Next thing she knows, Cassie finds herself hooking up with this amazing woman, a one-night stand couldn't hurt. Erin Bennet is in town for Family Weekend but finds herself at a bar while her daughter has dinner with her dad (Erin's ex-husband). The next morning when she takes her daughter Parker to breakfast, Parker brings a friend, none other than the one-night stand from the night before, Cassie. They wanted to keep it casual, keep Parker in the dark, but when Parker and Cassie are best friends and Erin and Cassie keep finding themselves in close proximity, can they resist the attraction? Can they continue to keep it a secret? With such a strong connection can it stay just friends with benefits or are they denying themselves more?

This book starts out steamy and continues that way all throughout. Both MCs are bisexual women, and there is a large age gap. Their attraction and connection can be felt throughout the pages of the book. Dual POV helps give insight to the struggles each woman faces as they grapple with the attraction they don't feel they should be having. This is my favorite sapphic romance to date. The heat is high, the emotions are strong, the characters are strong women from different generations who both are working to break out of stereotypes and patriarchal ideas. I'm not usually a fan of such a large age gap, but it definitely worked in this book. I would recommend this to fans of forbidden romance, bisexual rep, age gap, sapphic, and steamy romance.

when people joke like "i slept with yo momma" but she did

weirdly specific reason reasons you would love this book:
- the smut starts on page 2
- the smut to plot ratio is 10000000 to 0
- milf is used literally
- the quote: "Good, you ready to go or do you need to kiss my mom goodbye first?"
- a scuba diving analogy

weirdly specific reason i did not love this book: the quote "I don't want you to be my mom. I want to f*** you." also the use of the word cunnilingus non-ironically. this book is very hyped up so like if u like the reasons above, read it! i just could NOT get past this.

sorry to netgalley, who gave me this ARC book in exchange for an honest review (as you can tell) and I'm only reading it now. I'm also sorry for using the word cunnilingus in this review. this may be my last review with netgalley...

I thought this would be a fun story to read, but I did not enjoy it very much. The story is interesting, but I could not get into it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced copy of this book.

While I’d read and enjoyed this author’s other romance, I honestly was not sure what to expect from this one, and whether I’d end up liking it at all. It’s got tropes I’m not necessarily into, so I was worried that I might not end up liking the book because of their execution. I think I still would’ve enjoyed the book more had there not been certain aspects that came about due to those tropes, but I actually ended up having a super fun time with this book overall, and genuinely enjoyed it!

My biggest issue was just how tense I felt throughout the book, and this became especially true near the end. So much of my head was tied up in how this was all going to blow-up that I started being less able to enjoy what actually was happening on page. I just couldn’t stop worrying about the future!

What’s actually really funny though, is that what I feared never even came. I actually love how this book tackled the issues that were unique to this trope. It dealt with the consequences in a way that didn’t dominate the book in the end, but also didn’t minimize them either. It was so unique in how it did this too, and I still just really appreciate it all. I was also just so immensely relieved, too!

I also thought the romance was fun here too. It’s definitely not the most compelling on an emotional level for me, but there definitely was chemistry, and I enjoyed the book enough based on that alone honestly! It did make me slightly less invested in the endgame of the relationship, but in the end that didn’t really matter too much either. It was just fun and quick and enjoyable, and everything I wanted out of it actually!

Overall, I really enjoyed this romance, and I’ll cerntainly be keeping my eyes out for more in the future!

Review will go live on my blog on June 12.

Well, this book was quite the ride! Within minutes of starting the book, there was spice. And within a few more minutes, there was even more. I was surprised at the amount of spicy scenes and how well done they were. Erin and Cassie couldn’t keep their hands off each other! To the exclusion of everything else, to be honest. They were very inconsiderate of Parker, Erin’s daughter and Cassie’s best friend. Aside from Parker, Erin and Cassie’s relationship was very easygoing. They focused on each other when they were together and found a way to connect when they weren’t.

Cassie worked on school and Erin worked on getting her clinic off the ground. I love how they both are successful women. I kind of wish the book had focused more on that, on Cassie’s blossoming engineering career and Erin’s life as a doctor. But the book is fluff, pure and simple. Even when I think the main confrontation might happen, it kind of didn’t. In doing so, the book just breezes by conflict altogether and ignores how good a character Parker is. Instead, you get sex, and a lot of it. Good sex, to be sure. But a lot of sex.

So if you want a fluffy, spicy book with a happy ending, with good friends and even better sneaking around forbidden romances, Mistakes Were Made is a good pick! It was a quick and enjoyable read, and I didn’t quite see the ending coming. I very much enjoy two intelligent women getting together and hardly noticed the age gap, since the characters were of a similar emotional and actual inteliigence.

Enjoyed this a lot! Meryl Wilsner is a wiz at sapphic romances where the characters are simply falling in love and the fact that its sapphic isn't central to the story. She also masters age gap romances pretty expertly.

Erin and Cassies love story was a perfect balance of where both of them were in life. Cassie: young and feisty, Erin: stable and warm. Worked perfectly.

I went into this book not knowing at all what it was about. I liked the title and that was what drew me in.

What I didn’t expect was a funny age-gap story that was super spicy. The drama was on every page and the characters were just fun.

A highly enjoyable read that I definitely recommend if you want some spice in your life!

This book was FANTASTIC. The pacing was great, it was witty and the characters were charismatic. I have raved about this book to so many people, I could not love it more. Might be a new favorite, honestly

omg. i was giggling & kicking my feet reading this. this was so much fun, and so, so dramatic (in the best way)— i laughed, i swooned, i never thought i'd be into age-gap romances, but both characters were so well developed, i had so much fun!

“You get to find what’s right for you. You get to make mistakes along the way. It’s your life.”

This book is exceptionally horny. Cassie and Erin are like “omg we can’t have sex” and then they totally do, at least eight times on page. And you know what? Good for them, and good for us. This book is so incredibly sexy and tender at the same time, it’s a win for the entire sapphic community. Age gap romances aren’t typically my thing, but I fell head over heels for this couple: Cassie, the brash and confident college senior who has trouble being vulnerable, and Erin, her best friend’s mom, recently divorced and still learning to put herself first. Their romance builds up slowly over a year of hooking up, sneaking around, texting and calling and stealing moments with each other whenever they can. It felt so goddamn realistic in a way that romance novels often don’t for me, and I loved this all the more for it. Despite the fact that I usually avoid plots that revolve around keeping secrets or lying, I really liked the way Wilsner handled the Parker (daughter/best friend) aspect and how that particular conflict was resolved. It was an absolute delight to watch these two strong, smart women fall in love and finally say yes to what they both truly desire. “She knew what she wanted, and for once in her life, she let herself have it.” YES! “Fuck should. It doesn’t matter what I’ve been trained to think I’m ‘supposed’ to do. What do I want? What makes me feel good? What will make my relationships stronger? Those are the questions that matter. Not what should I do.” HELL YES!!! This is 300+ pages of high-octane sapphic MILF lust inexorably interwoven with true love and emotional growth and I could not get enough. Thanks to St. Martin's Griffin and Macmillan Audio for the review copies. (Also, no major content warnings that I noted.)