I was pretty excited for this book, and I do think it did a great job at telling a super cute wlw storyline, but I struggled a bit with the some of the characters not really "acting as mature as you would think they would" and the age difference was something I thought I didn't care about, until it was constantly discussed as a negative and it kinda sits as a negative after that. I loved the banter, the spicy scenes were written really well, and the friend groups sounded like people that would actually hang out together and take care of one another. I do think this was a good book for sure, just not one of my favorites personally. Thank you for allowing me to read this.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an advanced copy of Mistakes Were Made in exchange for my honest review.

Mistakes Were Made follows the story of Cassie and Erin, who meet each other for the first time in a bar and have a quickie in Erin's rental vehicle. But this story is so much more than that. Cassie, a woman who is about to graduate with dreams of working in aero or astro engineering (she's undecided), meets Erin, a doctor. But Erin is so much more than just a doctor; she's also her best friend's mom.

Let's start with what I liked about this novel.

First, the subject matter. Put two people together who think a one night stand is all they'll have and I'm there for it. This plot attracted me towards the book in the first place, especially when a best friend's parent is involved. Throw in a sprinkle of age gap, MILFs, and hilarious side characters and this was a no brainer read for me. The characters - talking about Erin and Cassie, specifically here - had such a distinct character voice, it was easy to differentiate who was who. I usually prefer to read books in first person, because I feel as though I can get into the mind of the characters better, but by the end of Mistakes Were Made, I was invested in Erin and Cassie's relationship and happy to imagine where they were going in the future. (That epilogue though! It was everything!)

I do wish that Parker, Erin, and Cassie had communicated with each other way earlier in the book. That's just a personal preference because I hate miscommunication and everything could have been avoided sooner. With Erin, it made more sense. She was still repairing her relationship with her daughter and I'm sure that fragility would have me pausing too. But open and honest communication is always better than hiding or lying.

I appreciated all the smut scenes in this book. They were all different and the descriptions were well done! I don't often read a lot of sapphic books that go into detail but I'm a woman who loves women (and men!) and I appreciate seeing myself represented on the page. More than that, the romance was able to develop. Because Erin and Cassie were long distance for the majority of this book, their relationship was able to come into itself in interesting ways and I appreciated that. (What would we do without FaceTime and sexting, am I right?)

Overall, I enjoyed this book and if you're looking for an FF romance to add to your TBR, this is one that should definitely be on there!

Okay, I am officially obsessed with this book. I was NOT expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. It was witty, sexy, and tense throughout. One of my favorite romances I've read in awhile. Great character dynamics, especially between the friend group and the ebbs and flows of college friendships.

I have been excited about this book since the author announced it. This was definitely my most anticipated book of the year. I am so grateful to Netgalley.com for giving me the chance to read it early.

Erin is in her late 30s and has been divorced for 3 years. Sharing her kid with her ex husband is hard, even if her kid is in college and they are sharing her during family weekend. But it's a lot nicer than being married to him. So while Erin's kid, Parker, has dinner with her dad, Erin decides to take herself out to a bar. That's where she notices a very attractive younger woman checking her out.

Cassie is in her senior year of college but that doesn't make family weekend any less of a pain in her ass. She doesn't mind her shitty, non relationship with her mom, she's over it. But she doesn't need to be reminded of it every year with tons of parents invading her campus. So she decides to take herself to a bar across town to escape all the "college parents." That's where she sees, and buys a drink for, the sexiest woman she's ever met.

Erin and Cassie have an incredible one night stand. It was hot. It was sexy. It was just what they each needed. They each kind of wish they would have exchanged numbers but it's better that they didn't. Until Cassie is dragged by Parker to brunch the next morning to meet her mom...... Erin. The beautiful MILF from the bar.

This book was incredible. Honestly I wanted this book for the sexy scenes and this book definitely delivered on that right from the start. I loved them. They were written so well and SO HOT! I appreciated that the book gave me exactly what I wanted from the start but didn't skimp on it the rest of the book. It defiantly kept me happy all the way through book with lots of sex scenes. Thank you so much!

What I didn't expect was for how thoughtful and sweet this book would be! I was here for the sex but I stayed for the excellent and beautifully written character development.
I loved how the author let us inside each woman's head and let us see them grow and change without having to give every single detail. It was an excellent balance and the writing was so good.

Even the side characters had good development without taking away from the main story. I actually enjoyed that we didn't spend much time with Parker and her development but that it was still there. At the beginning of the book I thought Parker (the daughter/friend) was a spoiled brat and I didn't care about her or like her at all. But by the end of the book I was so impressed with her maturity and how she had developed as a character all on her own... again without having to see all the behind the scenes details. I really enjoyed how the author handled the whole story.

Well written, great sex, meaningful growth and conversations, beautiful and believable love story. I very much enjoyed this book and will defiantly be buying when it comes out in October 2022.

We need more books about MILFs!

PS. I really really really enjoyed the banter that every single person in the book had in their close relationships. I'm actually a little jealous. The banter was so cute and funny...

Liked
- steam factor

Disliked-
- character immaturity (Erin is a fully fledged, independent, professional adult, a doctor and a mother - yet she’s this immature? I can’t believe that.
- the age difference here was uncomfortable
- the characters themselves weren’t fleshed out enough and what there was, wasn’t likeable
- for someone who is such a close friend of Cassie’s along with being Erin’s daughter, Parker isn’t featured much

This will certainly find its readers. For me, at the end of the day, I had hoped for more character personality and development here as well as character likeability.



eARC kindly provided by St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley. Opinions shared are my own.

Part erotic escapist romance, part personal journey about women pushing back against messaging about what we "should" or "shouldn't" do when it comes to pursuing our own happiness instead of worrying about the expectations of others, Wilsner's book has fun with the "MILF" idea. A twenty one/two-year-old college student who has no real relationship with her own mom, finds a caring nurturer in her best friend's mom. A forty-two year old divorcee who struggles to bond with her own daughter, finds the responsive, flattering attention she craves from her daughter's best friend. Along the way, the two build from intense attraction to a more meaningful appreciation of the ways they're positive influences on each other's lives. Much of the prose is dedicated to the sexual relationship and to the internal monologue that circles through doubt and desire, but my personal favourite elements of the story were the scenes that centered around the positive friendships in each woman's life. In this way, Wilsner creates a cast of women (men only play very small roles in the story) who aren't out to hurt each other, but rather, to encourage and support each other even--and perhaps especially--when mistakes were made.

I wanted to like this book, but just couldn't get into it. The significant age gap between the love interests felt uncomfortable given that the younger partner was 21 and the older partner was the younger partner's best friend's mom. None of the characters felt truly fleshed out, and the only thing really holding the whole story together was the sex scenes.

sapphic rom com romance reigns supreme! i truly could not put this book down - the spice started in chapter one and did not stop !!!

I loved this book omg! In fact, it was everything that it needed to be and Meryl Wilsner has once again crushed it with the sapphic age-gap romance.

This saddens me to say, but I just didn't click with this book. I loved the author's debut novel, and was looking forward to this one, but from the very beginning the book and plot left me cold.
I just couldn't connect with the characters.
Nevertheless I'm looking forward to the author's next book.

This was an amazing read! Once I saw the beautiful cover, I was immediately hooked. The characters are amazing and the spicy is SPICY but not in a no-plot type of way. It wasn't like anything I ever read before in a great way. Would recommend 10/10.

Erin Bennett is in town to attend family weekend at her daughter's college. She desperately wants to fix her relationship with her daughter, that hasn't been the same since her divorce. She ventures to a bar to ease her nerves and meets a beautiful, younger woman who she can't resist. Erin isn't someone who has one-night stands but what's the harm in living a little?
Cassie Klein takes one look at the beautiful, older woman at the bar and can't resist making a move. She doesn't expect to be engaging in a one-night stand with the woman, but she certainly isn't going to say now. No harm in a little fun with a gorgeous cougar. Until the next day when her friend Parker begs her to go to breakfast with her mother and sees the woman from the bar, who is staring back at her in shock.
Erin and Cassie agree it was a one-time thing but that's easier said than done. Spending time together when Parker brings Cassie home over break, the two realize that they aren't just compatible sexually, but in all the other ways as well.
The characters were likable and I adore the relationship that Cassie has with her best friend, Acacia and her family, who Cassie considers her own. Acacia is a fascinating character and I think a lot could be done with giving her a story of her own. While I didn't love the way Cassie and Erin handled some aspects of their relationship, specifically, I felt that Parker deserved more consideration from both women, I enjoyed this book. It kept me interested throughout, which is an accomplishment. I tend to get bored easily and with the many steamy scenes sprinkled in, there was no boredom. Don't read this one around people, trust me, they will ask why your face is flushed.

An ARC was received from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley for an honest review.

Ugh- such a sweet romance, with a perfect amount of spice! I was holding my breath waiting for the big confrontation, and was relieved at the outcome.

I would’ve liked more character development with Erin- I want to know more about her. But loved her and Cassie!

Is it hot in here or is it just this book? Woah! Meryl Wilsner did not come to play with this one! This book gave me Birthday Girl meets Written in the Stars vibes. I was instantly hooked, and simultaneously aroused, from the very first chapter. Other than this novel having being super steamy, (seriously, well done Wilsner!) I think Mistakes Were Made is ultimately a story about two women, each at different ages and stages in their life, struggling with allowing themselves to be happy in the relationship department. It was really sweet watching their relationship progress, even though Cassie was pretty clueless the entire time. I think what was most surprising was that the supporting characters, with the exception of stupid Adam, all supported Cassie and Erin’s relationship. Sure, Parker was pissed as hell when she found out, and who wouldn’t be, but she really came around to the idea faster than I would have. I was really happy for Cassie and Erin to have people in their life who truly loved them and wanted them to be happy. I think the epilogue was a perfect tying up of this sweet and sexy sapphic romance.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin for this eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Whew, the STEAM. I was not prepared for it, but I should have been, it was delectable, maybe keep at least a fan handy lol

A huge thank you to SMP Romance for the recent read-now titles with the swoon-worthy illustrated covers that are always a must-have for my shelves. I was drawn to the colors and title so this had to be the first one I download and read, it definitely did not disappoint.

I gave this one 4 stars and would recommend this one for anyone looking for a f/f title with great chemistry, there is certainly a lot of it in this one! I loved how Cassie and Erin were in denial about their relationship for most of the book but were drawn to each other like magnets even with how complicated it made their relationships with friends and family.

I was lucky enough to read Wilsner's previous title but I just felt like this one had something extra special with the writing style and incredible banter. What starts as a one-night stand turns into a story with a lot of depth, and a beautiful struggle of realizing what you should do, and where your heart takes you.

fuck should.

I was a bit let down after SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT, alas.

I was super impressed with the way this wrapped up. The conflict that I expected was inevitable and kind of boring didn't happen, and instead, other conflicts did! But I felt like it all happened so quickly, and as a result the ending didn't quite feel satisfactory. I struggled more with the age gap of two of our main characters than with the age gap of the romance. The actual romance in here was delightful, slow-burning, and did feel real.

Lots of sex scenes in here, again, maybe too many?! I felt like I skimmed 10% of the novel just to get by them.

This book got a lot of hype and it delivers! It's sexy, sapphic, and just so fun to read. Definitely recommend. Parker and her friends were sometimes written so immaturely, which was kind of uncomfortable to read in such a steamy, adult book, but overall not a huge issue for me.

This was a fun take on a rom-com! Nice and steamy and fun to read! I really enjoyed the writing style and the the good balance between the romance and angst . ALSO that cover!! I loveeee! The connection and the chemistry was soo nice to read about. The spicy was there and done in such a great way! I can not wait to read more from this author!

If you’re into F/F relationships with an age gap, this one is for you! Surprisingly sweet novel about a college student and her best friend’s mother, with several spicy sex scenes throughout, something many sapphic romances are lacking. I didn’t expect to find myself rooting for them, but was before long. Enjoyable read!

Get ready for the ride of your life because Mistakes Were Made is an absolute adventure of a relationship. I loved Something To Talk About by Meryl Wilsner and jumped at the opportunity to read her new book. Spice Lovers, this one’s for you.

Cassie is a college student, not looking to commit to a relationship. Erin is just a gorgeous stranger that she has a one night stand with…until she’s not.. What do you do when you accidentally hook up with the mother of your best friend. You make the best of it!! Mistakes Were Made is a fun romp full of tension and accidental feelings. You will love following Cassie and Erin on their journey of figuring out who they are to each other and what they want out of this relationship.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin’s Griffin for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.