I never thought I would read a milf love story in my life, but I did. Mistakes Were Made is about Erin and Cassie and their journey to accept that what they have is real.

I loved loved loved this book. As the first smutty sapphic book I have ever read, it put the bar so high. Why obsess with a fictional man when you can obsessed over fictional women? I don’t know what to say about it except sexy.

I loved how each characters were strong and had a story. Plus, the age difference wasn’t very noticeable when the two women were together which made the love story more relatable and real. Cassie and Erin’s connection was not forced and all of the small moments were as enjoyable as the big ones. It was just overwhelmingly cute.

I would absolutely recommend this novel 5/5.

Mom, Dad, please overlook this.

I was lucky enough to get this novel early from the publishers, and I mean it when I say lucky. I don’t usually go for romances/rom-coms, but this one was just too intriguing to pass up. I mean- a queer woman my age….getting a MILF(!?) and then it turns out she’s your best friends mom???? What anxiety inducing drama is this!? I- could not say no.
The characters were so dimensional for a short little romance, which is something I’m always afraid of when it comes to books like this. Will it be believable? Will the characters have enough time or description to feel like people? The answer for Mistakes Were Made, at least, was a pleasant yes. I enjoyed the characters quite a bit, they had a history, motives, and an understandable internal monologue. I read this in two short days while sick in bed- and let me tell you I wholly consumed it. It was fun, it was SPICY, and it was overall a great little read.
Being what it was, I was a little worried over how the conflict of the story was going to unfold and be handled. The story shares POV chapters between Erin and Cassie, so you get their ‘should I, shouldn’t I’ and it’s a true mess. I cannot handle conflict well, especially miscommunication tropes, but this one was truly manageable for me. It was just fun, and kind of sweet, and I ended up rooting for them both.
Minor spoilers now: The sex was plentiful, if you’re into that! It was good, being the first published lesbian romance novel I’ve read, though I was cringed out by the first sex scene, mayhaps from the shock that I experienced. HOWEVER, after that I was just *side-eye emoji*.
Moving back to the conflict- I’m rating this four stars because about 60% in I knew exactly where the book was going. After a certain point, it was not difficult to discern how the conflict would be presented and how it would be resolved. Let me tell you, Parker handled it far better than I believe anyone else on the planet would.
Friends of mine, please stay away from my mom.

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

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of Mistakes Were Made in exchange for my honest review.

If you are a fan of spice, then you will enjoy this. I am not the biggest fan of it (at least in excess) so I didn’t love this book, but I can definitely see people enjoying it. I loved the WLW aspect, but didn’t love the age gap.

There were a few sections that also felt…icky? I noticed at about 20% there is an almost throwaway line about how her mother was proud of her for having friends who were in an interracial relationship. Other reviews talk about this (and other instances) more in depth and I agree that they don’t feel right. Someone had said the author was planning on removing them before final publication.

Essentially I teetered between liking and not liking the story when I feel like I should have been much more into than I was. I wasn’t as invested into the characters as I had hoped.

Also very minor gripe, I didn’t like the switching between Acacia/Kaysh. It felt almost confusing in a sense because they were very different looking.

2.5 stars rounded up.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Ok. First and foremost, WARNING: you need privacy to read this book if you don’t want anyone walks by and accidentally read a spicy scene or if you tend to overreact like me and shriek like a pterodactyl.

This book is explicitly spicy. It wasn’t a con per se, just a surprise. I also hate myself for laughing at those dirty and corny jokes that some people might find a bit too much. Overall this book is a 4. It was a fun, endearing, and spicy read with some serious moments about family, friendships, and self-identity.

The goods:
- The sex >.> The playfulness/goofiness.
- And it wasn't just sex - their interactions were genuine and more than just physical attraction which makes the whole "friend's mom and a college student" none existent.
- There wasn't an imbalance in the power dynamic. Cassie was young but she was not a kid while Erin didn't patronize her nor baby her, sure she takes care of Cassie but like in a partner way and not a maternal figure kind of way.
- The relationships - friendships and family - seem realistic.
- Parker and Acacia and Rachel - I need more stories/interactions of them with Cassie and Erin. I need the birthday pedicure to be a thing now.
- The bisexual and queer representations: Cassie, Erin, and Parker are bi. There is a nonbinary background character.
- The minor representation of non-binary with a causal mention of top-surgery and T therapy. Unimportant to the storyline. I just thought it was cool that they were mentioned so casually as to indicate that non-binary people really exist.

The bad:
- There are too many names that probably aren’t important that I just scan over but they still distract me a bit.
- Acacia’s nickname, it’s kind of distracting when the writer keeps switching between her name and nickname in the same sentence or page. I rather the author strictly uses Kaysh in dialogs from Parker and Cassie (I think those two are the only ones who use it).

Other thoughts:
- I kinda want Erin to be younger, like in a 34-36 range. Idk why but I just find it’s unbelievable that having a kid at 20-yo was something Erin had to struggle with. It makes more sense to me that she was a teen when she got pregnant and that strained her relationship with her family which would make sense why it took her forever to divorce Adam.
- Also can I punch Adam? And the earthworm whose name I don’t care enough to remember …
- The ending was less dramatic than what I was expecting, but as long as it was a good ending, I was fine with it. Although, it did seem a bit rush even though I guess everything has been pointing to one ending from the start.

this was absolutely adorable. it was so well written and it felt very natural and realistic. even the smut felt real and flowed well. i loved the openness and acceptance of sexuality is this book as well. i also enjoyed the interactions with adam and the way the characters completely owned him. this was such a strong romance packed with tension and amazing characters.

I jumped the gun when requesting this ARC. I saw that gorgeous cover and that it was a queer romance and immediately requested it. Only after getting approved did I actually read the synopsis and realize it probably wasn't going to be my cup of tea. I assume that most readers will actually know what the book is about before reading and will be up for a "best friend's parent" romance and I think if that's what you're after you'll really enjoy this one. Despite the premise not being a good match for me, I still enjoyed the book. The writing was engaging, the characters were interesting and likable, and the chemistry between the MCs was hot. I also appreciated that some of the things I thought were inevitable with this kind of plot didn't play out the way I'd feared and I found that refreshing. There were also some great romantic lines. The epilogue did the thing I don't like epilogues to do, but it's pretty ubiquitous in romance so I can't really complain. Overall, I think readers will have a lot of fun with this one.

If you should know one thing about me, it's that I love MILFs. So as soon as I realized this book was about a MILF, I was extremely excited to keep reading. The book started off strong with a spicy scene in the first chapter and boy, it did not disappoint for the rest of the book. I devoured the book in just a few hours and can't wait to read more by this author!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy to review.

Where to start... minor spoilers coming

So I like how this opened up. I loved their meet-cute and was def here for it.

But then I kept reading.

I was not a fan of the writing style. I felt like we jumped from one time of the week to another in the span of one sentence. Now, there were stars breaking up some sections in the chapters - but it was super inconsistent, and hand no reason behind it.

But what I really didn't like was the miscommunication bullcarp.

I hated Parker - she was a spoiled brat and regardless of how angry you are at someone, ignoring them and not telling them ANYTHING is not a solution I will ever be a part of. There are always 3 sides to a story. 1. your side 2. their side and 3. what actually happened!

I did not like that Acacia basically ditch Cassie when Parker was in her pissy mood - Cassie legit has no one and you Acacia knows that. I am never ok with this.

I left this book feeling like I was in the worst days of my college life. When girls would just assume they knew everything and stop talking to their friends.

Because I'm not going to lie - with the way Parker was acting toward Cassie - I would have made that bitch begging to be my friend again. You HURT me - you don't just get my forgiveness.

Also, the fact that no one knows how to have a conversation about the hard stuff is infuriating. Erin cannot talk to anyone about things that make her uncomfortable. Cassie ignores everything. Parker decided she hates everyone and refuses to talk to them at all. Acacia was better out of everyone but she was shit to Cassie even if Cassie forgave her.

Also - why did we not get conversations about - Cassie's growing-up life? As we all know her mom sucks and her dad is unknown - but that's all inner monologue. She never told Erin any of that.

I just didn't like this at all. I'm so disappointed. I could go on but I'm just gonna let my rambled thoughts speak for themself. I'm going to reread something that makes me happy and doesn't bring up the bad parts of college...

But it feels like I am the minority...

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Mistakes were made was a nearly perfect read for me. The characters, even beyond Erin and Cassie, were consistently written and easy to love. The writing itself was great, the use of dual pov gives insight to both characters in regards to how they are feeling in the moment, their background, and the progression of their feelings. The spice scenes were also incredible and avoided the pitfalls that scenes of that nature can fall into. This book genuinely made me laugh aloud.

The premise was fantastic and I really enjoyed both the story and the characters. The taboo aspect of the story, being the age difference, was written in a way that wasn't uncomfortable. An issue I often have with a large age difference is the emphasis on the power imbalance. Mistakes were made does not have this problem. Erin does not wield her age or perceived maturity against Cassie at any point and is not overwhelming dominant in sexual situations. The evenness of the power dynamic despite the age difference made this far more enjoyable than other books that use the trope.

Now for the criticism. The pacing for the first and second half was a little mismatched, with the first half moving far faster than the second half. I did not particularly mind this but it could throw off some readers.
There were a couple of lines in the book regarding race that made me pause. The review I saw from Amivi on TikTok and Goodreads talked about the specific lines and the chapters they occurred in. I have seen the response from the author on TikTok regarding fixing this but I felt the need to at least mention this and not brush over the lines.

Overall this was a fantastic read and I can not wait to get a physical copy in October

The lines are easily fixable

Oh wow, okay. I went into this knowing I loved the premise, but I didn't expect to love the author's writing style this much. This was so good! It honestly caught me off guard, and keep in mind, I went into it with high expectations. This book has an incredible premise; the characters have really palpable chemistry; and they behave like real people. My only complaint is that I wish there was a tiny bit more romantic development. Still, I loved this so much. I highly recommend picking it up when it comes out.

First off, I do like the story. Wilsner did a great job of maneuvering the conversations between the mostly 3/4 ladies. I liked their banter and interactions with one another. It had a realistic family holiday vibe although I did have to remind myself a couple of times about the time of year (my brain issue). I think this is a cute sapphic romance but the age difference is very distracting and hard to accept. It's unrealistic to imagine a 40-something divorced mother willing to have a hookup with a 22 year old college student (even a one night stand) but if I'm going to go along with that I would need to see the mother be at her lowest. In my opinion, you have to be at your lowest to want to pursue this relationship--especially once you know the 22 year old is your daughter's college roommate/friend.
Also, I often forgot that this was an interracial couple (honestly, I don't remember which one was Black) because the Black girl did not read like one. I know there was a statement or two about her skin color.
Another thing I made note of is how being a "good parent" is aligned with not having romantic relationships. I thought the mom shaming was a little too heavy handed. I also didn't think it made sense because the daughter is college age.
Overall, I enjoyed the story, characters, and writing. I liked the ending and their way of saying "I love you."

I loved this title! It was a nice mix of silly romance fun and emotionally engaging context for each character's behavior. It got a little repetitive, but overall I couldn't put it down.

Sometimes forbidden love is fun and flirty! And sometimes it’s forbidden for a reason? Definitely felt conflicted rooting for a college student and her best friend’s divorcee mom. And yet?

After reading so many romances I usually am able to see the path to HEA, but it not with this one! So wonderful to find ways for the genre to still surprise me.

Thank you NetGalley and @stmartinspress for the e-ARC. Swipe to see the cover art for a book I’ll absolutely be purchasing when it comes out (sorry) this October!

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶🌶🌶🌶/5

There is a certain ratio of anxiety to enjoyment where a book is just no longer a good time and this exceeded that by a LOT.

It wasn't necessarily bad but I spent most of the book worrying about the potential outcomes so I simply couldn't relax and enjoy the book. Then, once the *thing* happened, it was incredibly anticlimactic. I wasn't quite sure how to feel.

Also, I typically love age gaps but I prefer the younger character to be out of college at the very least. I was hopeful that this would be okay since she was towards the end of her undergraduate degree but way too much of Cassie's POVs included stereotypical college activities for me to understand how this could possibly work. At 26 I simply cannot imagine myself being attracted to a college student and I honestly think I will feel even stronger about that in 13 years.

Overall, this just wasn't really for me. However, if the things mentioned above don't bother you, then you may still enjoy this book so I would absolutely still encourage you to give it a shot.

2.5, rounded up.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

*I received this book for free through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

SPOILERS AHEAD








I didn't realize the age gap is 17 years. That isn't the worst part. Neither Cassie nor Erin acts like adults when it comes to their relationship. Erin and Cassie begin their relationship by using each other. Then Erin finds out Cassie is not only younger than she thought she was but is her daughter's friend (Parker).

Erin and Cassie both know it is wrong to continue the relationship but make no effort to break it off, or at the very least keep Parker in the loop. And to top it off, Cassie ends up spending two weeks under the same roof as the both of them. It came off icky and I don't like the way it plays out.

And somehow, Parker is completely okay with everything by the end of it. It isn't realistic. And if it weren't for the sex scenes I am not sure what would have progressed the story. The writing is average, the character development isn't there, and it just wasn't a good pick for me.

Thank you St. Martin's Press for the eBook arc!

This was GOOD! I had to take literal breaks at times because it got so steamy and hot. I think my cheeks where red the whole time reading this. But I also cried at parts and in the end, it was so so so cute! I love a good happy ending and now want this book to be out into the world to share the love and to be able to read a physical copy. 5 stars ⭐️

An excellent read! Mistakes Were Made is a sweet and sexy sapphic rom-com, I really loved Erin and Cassie's weird relationship, it's not very common that you hook up with your best friend's mom.

This was my first book by Meryl Wilsner, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! It was an enjoyable forbidden lovers, sapphic, queer, age-gap book with plenty of smut to fully depict the characters relationship. (Seriously, don’t read it in public or if your children who can read might peek over your shoulder!🔥)
I struggled at first with the age gap portion of the story when I read it from my perspective as a mom. But I’m an old mom, and I could soon reconcile their relationship.
My overall review of the book is that it is fantastic- 4⭐️s. My subjective concerns were a desire for a little more well-rounded character development, and pacing considerations (sometimes too fast, sometimes too slow…) Otherwise, I loved the characters, the comedy and drama, and of course, the romance.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was so unbelievably excited to read this book because Wilsner's other book 'Something to Talk About' is one of my favourite books of all time. And I love myself a MILF, so when I found out Wilsner was writing a book about a MILF???? It was love at first sight.

Before I get into my review, I want to acknowledge certain lines in the book that were called out by other reviewers, specifically Amivi and other black reviewers. I won't be speaking on them because I feel like it's not my place to add to the conversation as a white person and Wilsner has already said these lines will be removed for the final version. I just wanted to acknowledge this here instead of acting like I didn't read those lines and like they did not make me uncomfortable.

I'm giving this book 4.5 stars and rounding it down to 4 for the sake of GoodReads. Maybe once I get my hands on the final version and read that I'll round it up but right now it's a solid 4.5.

There were so many things I loved about this book, I loved both Cassie and Erin so much even when they were being a little dumb. One thing I really loved was that the two of them did not just become entirely dependent on one another and that we got to see them relying on the other relationships in their lives. As well I loved how we got to see how their choices affected those relationships and how they dealt with them.

I did have some minor issues that contribute to the lack of 5-star rating. The pacing could be a little rough at times, it was fast-paced which I loved but sometimes I felt like it jumped from scene to scene way too abruptly and it left me confused until I went back and re-read the paragraph. This I feel could easily be fixed through more obvious paragraph breaks, especially when a time jump is involved.
My other issue was that sometimes I struggled to tell Cassie and Erin's POVs across, for the most part, it was easy to tell because they live very different lives but there were times where I was like 'wait whose chapter is this?"

These are not major issues that ruin the book or anything like that, but they were issues that could throw me out of my reading and could be a little distracting at times.

From here on out I will be mentioning specific events so this is your spoiler warning!

I literally can't describe how much I love that there was not some third act blow out with Parker finding out about them and there being tears and fighting. I loved that Parker's discovery happens behind the scenes and while we do still get Parker being mad and ignoring Cassie and Erin it's not the central conflict and when push comes to shove Parker realizes she loved them enough to not be mad anymore because she knows they make each other happy. I did not want Parker to become an antagonist in any kind of way because I loved her character and I'm happy that she was not.

Acacia carried this whole damn book on her back, she was supporting everyone and stopping Parker from literally killing Cassie while also supporting Cassie. We all need an Acacia in our lives.

Listen 99% of Adam's I've ever been exposed to have been gross assholes so when he showed up here my alarm bells immediately went off and I love being right <3

I don't want to say I was shocked by the number of sex scenes in the books because that makes it sound like I did not enjoy them, which is wrong. However, as someone who does not usually read really smutty books (only fanfic), I was very pleasantly surprised by how many times Erin and Cassie managed to sleep together. I think it was a very tasteful number and it didn't take away from the plot of the book and just made me giggle at them.

I knew from 'Something to Talk About' that Wilsner is a fan of making their characters wait until the very last possible second to admit their feelings for one another...Erin and Cassie were no different. Except it was lowkey funnier because it was like "I bought her flowers, and we cook together on FaceTime, and she checked out apartments for me in Boston, and we have regular mind-blowing sex. But we're not dating!!!"
Rachel and Acacia are stronger people than I am because I would have screamed.

I have also discovered that I love queer 'forbidden romance' where the forbidden part is not that they're queer but is something else, like the girl ur sleeping with being the mother of your best friend/friend of your daughter.

To wrap this up, I really liked this book. I liked how cheesy it was, I liked the characters, <s>(I loved the sex scenes)<s>
If you are looking for a fun, cute and fast-paced sapphic adult romance recommend you grab a copy of this book when it comes out! I can't wait to Wilsner's other books!

tw// sexual content, toxic relationships, mentions of a past neglectful parent

This was a fun read that was actually much more emotionally complex than I anticipated. The stakes are very well laid out from the beginning and the tension is built really well with a satisfying ending. This being a review of an ARC, there were a few issues that I hope are fixed by the date of publication, specifically related to how race is covered in the book. There is also a perhaps over-infantilization of the daughter in order to lengthen the age gap between her and the love interest, but I understood its purpose. What I enjoyed most here was watching the two characters grow together, both being an active participant in the others' journey. I do usually prefer to have some emotional attachment to hang my hat on before we get into spicy scenes, but the book more than made up for the early launch into spice. And of course. I am always a sucker for two people failing to realize their love is requited.