https://lesbrary.com/susannah-reviews-mistakes-were-made-by-meryl-wilsner/

Mistakes Were Made, Meryl Wilsner’s second f/f romance following 2020’s acclaimed Something to Talk About, is billed as “a sexy rom-com about a college senior who accidentally hooks up with her best friend’s mom.” While I anxiously awaited this book as much as the next reader of queer romances, I admittedly postponed picking it up, afraid that a relationship between a college student and a woman one generation her senior would be too problematic, or too cringe, for me to root for. But Wilsner proved me wrong–this book is funny, nuanced, deeply empathetic, and piping hot.

It’s Family Weekend at Keckley College, but not for senior Cassie Klein, who is effectively estranged from hers. Cassie goes to an off-campus bar to escape the festivities, not to cruise for hookups, but when a statuesque older woman catches her eye from across the room, she can’t resist sending a drink her way. Erin Bennett is not there to cruise for hookups either. A recent divorcee splitting Family Weekend visiting hours with her ex-husband, she is simply killing time in a college town. But when a bold younger woman sends a drink across the bar, she has trouble turning down the opportunity to enjoy her relatively new singlehood. A steamy backseat romp ensues, and the two women part ways–no numbers exchanged and no plans to meet up again.

When Cassie’s best friend Parker invites her to tag along to breakfast with her mom the following morning, Cassie comes face-to-face with Erin–the Erin from the bar last night, the Erin she never intended to see again, the Erin who is also her best friend’s mom.What was meant to be a one-night fling becomes impossible to ignore as Cassie and Parker become closer friends and Cassie’s and Erin’s paths repeatedly cross.

When Parker surprises Cassie by inviting her home for the holiday break, Cassie can’t say no despite the, um, complication of cohabitating with Erin. Unsurprisingly, she can’t say no to Erin either, who is still as alluring as she was the night they met. Erin and Cassie start to sneak around behind Parker’s back as their fling morphs into something more serious. (A side effect of their sneaking around is a liberal number of very hot sex scenes in a variety of covert locations.) This begs the question: will Cassie and Erin come clean about their secret relationship at the risk of losing the most important people in their lives, or will they end it and live with the heartbreak?

While I scoffed at the likelihood of Cassie so cavalierly hitting on Erin in the opening chapter, Wilsner expertly develops both Cassie’s and Erin’s characters and shines light on their motivations. Cassie is a whip smart, ambitious aeronautic engineering major whose hardscrabble youth has translated to a resilient, confident demeanor. Erin is a highly successful attending physician whose professional badassness is not evinced by her interpersonal skills. A bisexual reentering the dating scene following a suffocating marriage, Erin lacks the self-assuredness to confidently go after what she wants. This sometimes comes across as iciness toward Cassie. Aside from these few moments of emotional withholding, however, the dynamic between the two women feels authentic and relatively balanced. That said, it can’t be ignored that given her age and independent wealth, Erin inherently holds some amount of power over Cassie, a young woman only on the cusp of post-college adulthood.

Surprisingly, the one factor about this book that didn’t sit well with me was not the age-gap trope, but the tokenizing of Cassie’s and Parker’s friend Acacia. Through the course of the book, Acacia, who is the only Black main character we meet, is the sole person who carries the secret of Cassie’s and Erin’s affair. That Acacia has to do the emotional labor of navigating this extremely sensitive situation for an entire academic year feels like an unfair burden to throw on her, and I would be remiss not to mention it.

Ultimately, this is a thought-provoking contemporary romance that challenged some prejudices I carried about age differences in relationships. And that, to me, is the mark of a well-crafted book: to make readers open their minds and hearts to situations and people that make them feel uncomfortable.

Content warnings: alcohol consumption, alcoholic parent (mention), cheating partner (past), divorced parents, misogyny, parental neglect, recreational marijuana use.

"Cassie was a bad decision Erin wanted to make again and again.” 💙

I’m usually not one for age gap romances, but this book had me swooning! MISTAKES WERE MADE by Meryl Wilsner serves us a forbidden, secret relationship, queer rep, women in STEM, a smoky MILF, and deliciously steamy scenes.

Cassie and Erin meet at a bar and immediately hit it off…if you know what I mean. However, at breakfast the next morning, when Erin realizes Cassie is one of her college-aged daughter’s friends, things get a bit weird. This was honestly the perfect book to listen to while I was zipping around the Bay Area for work the last two weeks. It did feel a bit long in some parts - to the point where I got tired of them sneaking around behind the daughter’s back. However, it still was a delightful romance with plenty of chemistry and incredibly spicy sapphic scenes.

I haven’t read the author’s debut, SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT, and their newest book, CLEAT CUTE, was just released - so I’m excited to grab both in the near future.

CW // abandonment; misogyny; food insecurity

Have you ever heard the song "Stacy's Mom" and wished for a sapphic romance version, in book form? Well then, here you go!

Cassie goes off campus to escape the madness of Family Weekend, and finds a gorgeous older woman, who she'd like to erm spend a night with, if you know what I mean. It was hot, it was fun, and it was a one night stand. Until that hot older woman shows up in her life at breakfast the next morning, when Cassie is meeting her best friend's mom. OOPS.

It's forbidden love. It's age gap. And it's sexy and fun! 4/5 Stars.

*Gifted from Netgalley & St. Martin's Griffin - thank you! All opinions are my own.

I loved this story! The secret romance with your best friend's mother/daughter's best friend is always one that's enticing to read.
Having the view of both main characters is one of my favorite aspects of this novel. To know what the other is thinking or feeling isn't always a mystery but reading both views of events is 👌.
Would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes a good lesbian romance with drama!

I was really looking forward to this one but ended up not totally loving it. Something about the writing was a bit off for me and I didn’t love any of the characters. The story was fun enough and I’m looking forward to trying another book by this author in the future.

This is not the usual genre that I read but what an entertaining read! I loved the story line, the chemistry between the two women, the characters and so much more. This is definitely a book with adult content. I can't wait to read more by this author!

I wanted to like this book so much but it fell flat for me. I was so excited for the sapphic take on taboo "relationships with a friend's parent." I think that the friendship between the main character and her "best friend" was forced and didn't scream best friend. I spent the entire time wishing I liked either of the main characters enough to root for them, but by the end I was rooting for them to be found out. The stakes ended up being low and the "discovery" was underwhelming.

I highly encourage everyone to read this if you want a spicy read about a mom and her daughters best friend. I was sucked right in once things (sexy times) began. And the back and forth of how each character worries of consequences and such was so real, I truly enjoyed myself. As a queer individual, I enjoy mature books in a trope I would normally just read as fanfiction. It’s incredible how well this is written and how much I loved every second of it.

I started this book and really go into it . But then it expired and didn't re download in time .....these are the downsides to netgalley..
But I will purchase a physical copy, I'm that invested.

I liked the premise and the writing style. The characters were interesting and I liked them together. I didn't like all the sneaking around behind the daughter's back and that the ex-husband was treated as a villain even though he didn't do anything wrong. The pacing felt off and the plot got lost in all the sexy times. However, I will be reading more by this author in the future.

This book was so fun to read, because it hooks you on the steam from the first! page!
I absolutely loved it.

I wasn't a big fan of this one. The storyline had potential but I found the characters had no depth and I couldn't connect with them. I read a lot of romance novels and don't expect the next great American novel but this one just didn't work for me.

HOT HOT HOT. This was a great age gap, steamy, spicy read. It was super easy to fly though. The semi forbidden romance kept me flipping through page after page. 10/10, everyone should read this!!!

I wanted to love this and parts I really like. Overall though I just couldn't get in to the story. Age gaps are tricky for me and this one didn't work. I think it could be a me issue, not a book issue, so please check out other reviews


*ARC provided through Netgalley*

This was a DNF for me. The characters were unlikeable. I'm sure other people like it, but it just wasn't for me

Mistakes Were Made was very cute. I found the relationship endearing. However, I felt as though the relationship between best friend and daughter was getting built up for a big argument that then never happened. That made things fall a little flat,

I liked the queer representation, and liked the age gap aspect of this book. The style didn't work for me, and I don't think the characters were as developed as they could have been.

What a fun and entertaining read! Mistakes Were Made was a fun story that had fantastic character development and growth. Cassie and Erin were both very well written characters and I was so excited to read their story. While I did find the pacing a bit underwhelming and the sex scenes a little too frequent, I do think this is a book I would recommend to friends for a good time read. I found myself laughing quite often and enjoyed being in this world of forbidden romance.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

This is a spicy romance with an age gap that makes the whole thing feel a little taboo, which is a big part of the book's appeal to readers. Both characters are fully realized humans with their own concerns and have an on-page chemistry that really works.

This novel is exactly what I was looking for in a Sapphic romance. Wilsner has a way of making me feel for every single character. So in love with this novel.