This was a pretty fun book! The characters were well developed and the story was pretty funny and cute. The only issue I had was I felt like the pacing fluctuated quite a bit. Otherwise this was very enjoyable!

Potential spoilers ahead!

The first half of this book was a little boring but I managed to really enjoy the last part. Once you get through the meet-cute and denial/drama/scandal part, I really liked it! I was worried the end would be like all your other rom-coms, drama ensues and then is resolved to a happy ending - voila! But I was pleasantly (sort of) surprised that everything was resolved fast and happily, with not a whole lot of anxiety in between (for me).

The only surprise I had was that I was expecting there to be more laughs, I don't think there were any for me. I also would like more descriptions on why the characters found each other attractive instead of "her tits were amazing" or "God, she was hot", etc.
I absolutely hated Parker in the beginning but there is some character development towards the end, I get why she's written the way she is.

The sex scenes were fine but forgettable, maybe I read too much erotica! These ones are pretty tame - I really did enjoy seeing the characters bond when they were "dating" though. A very sweet read!
3.5/5

I was disappointed that I could not get into this book. When I read romance novels, I have to get a really detailed description of the characters from the get go, so I can really imagine everything playing out. I don't feel like I got that with this book.

For Cassie Klein and Erin Bennett, the saying mistakes were made after a one night stand was a huge understatement. Meeting a stranger in a bar followed by scorching sex is one, but meeting the same person again the next day, another. Especially in Erin’s case, where the sex bomb you bedded last night is your daughter’s college friend. Then again, a one off would have suffice, but what happens when you keep wanting to do it?

When temptations arise, you could slay them, you could ignore them, but the ladies were helpless to the chemistry and attraction. When lines that were already blurred and the blinders come off, physical becomes emotional. A quirky, hot age gap romance where the impossible becomes possible with a happy ending.

I just reviewed Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

Review: Mistakes Were Made was one of my most highly anticipated reads of the year and it was everything I wanted it to be! It was a really fun read filled with witty banter, lots of bisexual representation, sexual chemistry, incredible/ frequent spice, and suspense hoping Cassie and Erin didn’t get caught. I also really loved the book’s overall theme of doing what’s true to oneself rather than what society expects of you. As Cassie so eloquently put it, “Fuck should.”

My only dislikes of the book were that the pacing was weird, it felt like there was little to no transition between scenes, and the resolution was less suspenseful than I thought it would be.

This book felt very real though as Cassie struggles with abandonment issues while working to be a better friend to those closest to her and to admit her feelings while Erin must contend with their age gap in the face of societal norms and potential judgment from her family and peers.

Thank you to @NetGalley and @StMartinsPress for the ARC!

I thoroughly enjoyed Meryl's book Something's Gotta Give and thought this would be a similar sweet story with very little spice and I was quite enthusiastic to realize rather immediately that this book has quite a bit more chilli peppers than the last book! Not only that, but as a person who doesn't usually read age gap romances this story kept me HOOKED throughout the whole book and ended with me in tears over the love and emotions found within it. Hardcore recommend this one!

I'm just going to say it - this book was hot and there's plenty of it. It was /chef's kiss/. For the rest of the plot, their relationship was fun and they really the embodied the overall idea of the book, which was not caring what other people thought. Erin and Cassie both brought out the best in each other and it was very sweet. Why I'm not rating this book super high -- I had such a big ick with Cassie being in undergrad. I honestly don't mind the large age gap, but the mention of dorms and dining halls was really unsettling with this amount of smut. It just reminds me of when I was young and stupid in college and it makes me support their relationship a little less (even if it's just a "projecting onto Cassie" moment). Like despite them being two consenting adults, it makes Cassie seem a lot less mature than she's made out to be.

This book is the complete opposite of a slow burn, it is red hot right from the first chapter! This book has great spice and despite age gap not being a trope I generally go for I didn’t think about it much in a way that detracted from the story. I will say the romance didn’t give enough beyond the spice, but I suppose the long distance and sneaking around makes it logistically hard for a swoon worthy romance. I would recommend this book for fans of spicy and/or age gap romances.


*I received the ARC for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Thank you NetGalley for providing this arc!

I really enjoyed reading this one. It read quick, and I mean that as a positive. The romance was sweet and sexy and fun and I couldn't put it down once I started!

This was more of a love story with sex than a romance, IMO--it was a bit meatier than the average romance. Sweet characters, no melodrama--quite satisfying in that regard.

Okay, I am a massive fan of this author. I absolutely loved Something to Talk About, and have been eagerly awaiting her next novel. This was above and beyond my expectations.

The best friends mom trope but queer? Cmon. Literal perfection. How has this not been done before? I'm hunting for books with this same premise. The age gap is really well written and any kind of doubts of consent are written out early on which I was happy about. College senior hooking up with her freshman best friend's mom is a plot rife with possibility of shenanigan's, and Wilsner did not disappoint.

Cassie is a bit of a disaster but I adore her, she and Erin are so well suited for each other. I loved the slow progression of their relationship over facetime and text. The hookups are also nice, no complaints there. Honestly, they are just so funny and the dialogue really made this story. The characters are loveable, there was not a moment where I doubted them, and there was no third act breakup which is just amazing.

Everyone should read this. I wish I could read it again for the first time. Seriously, go pre-order your copy now.

Age-gap deliciousness and some crack your windows to let out the steam moments culminate into a wonderful WLW read.

College graduation is a precarious time in any students life, but for Cassie she has decided to spin more plates than necessary and it's fun to watch her try to keep them all from falling. Erin, a doctor nursing herself back to emotional health after a constricting marriage, happens to stumble into her Cassie whilst chasing a buzz at a bar in her daughter's college town. Queue dramatic music! This kismet complicates as much as exhilarates their lives and watching the love story unfold reminded me to be grateful for my besties and my chosen family:)

This book. First can we talk about the cover? The second I saw it I was like auto-request. Then second, LOVE Meryl Wilsner. Third, okay the premise!! Come on.

This book is amazing. I think we've gotten so many hetero-normative best friend's mom, it's awesome to see an LGBTQIA+ version! I laughed so hard at this book on top of the many steamy scenes, the writing is honest and wonderful. I highly recommend!

Thanks to the publisher for an advanced copy!

*sighs heavily* I think it's on me that I expected this book to have surprise and nuance when it's pitched as a MILF book.

As a MILF book, it's so fun. Lots of sex and forbidden kisses, traveling to New Hampshire, and the first 15% is SO much fun. But then there's no plot or anything really to shake things up.

If this storyline was a graph... it would be pretty flat.

Another thing that irked me was this was pitched as idiots-to-lovers, but there's only really one of them that gives me idiot energy. And only one is really a disaster bi. My love of reading about idiots falling in love was not met 😭

But if you really want to read a 17-year (ish, I'm bad at math) age gap and the daughter's best friend hooking up with the mom where they proceed to have sex in many many ways and locations, this is going to be a top favorite for you!!

Thank you to St Martins and Netgalley for the early copy of the book. This did not affect my review.

Thanks to St Martin Press and NetGalley for an ARC, here is my honest review:

The quick summary of this book is: Erin and Cassie hook it what was meant to be a one night stand. However, the next morning they discover that Cassie is best friends with Erin’s daughter, Parker. Hilarity and awkwardness ensue because, well…that’s what when you’re banging your best friend’s mom and trying to keep it a secret.

This was a really hilarious rom-com. It had witty dialogue that made me laugh out. Plus, it was sexy and tense throughout the whole story and by the end, the little plot twist took me by surprise. A++ dynamics of female friendships all throughout the book. Plus, I also personally enjoyed there were basically no relevant male characters all throughout the book.

To sum up: not only can a MILF fix you, but maybe you can also fix the MILF, and that’s love!

👌👀👌👀👌👀👌👀👌👀 good shit go౦ԁ sHit👌 thats ✔ some good👌👌shit right👌👌th 👌 ere👌👌👌 right✔there ✔✔if i do ƽaү so my selｆ 💯 i say so 💯 thats what im talking about right there right there (chorus: ʳᶦᵍʰᵗ ᵗʰᵉʳᵉ) mMMMMᎷМ💯 👌👌 👌НO0ОଠＯOOＯOОଠଠOoooᵒᵒᵒᵒᵒᵒᵒᵒᵒ👌 👌👌 👌 💯 👌 👀 👀 👀 👌👌Good shit

This book is easily one of the very best romances I've read and has been on my mind nonstop since finishing it! I'm as in love with these two characters as they are with each other.

This book follows Cassie and the secret relationship that she continues with her best friend's mom after unknowingly having a one-night stand with her. The angst, tension, and forbidden factors of this relationship made this book so incredibly fun and entertaining to read. This book starts out hot and heavy with the one night stand and continues on that pace for the whole book. It's very sexy and some of the best spice I've read in a while.

I think the age gap was handled really well, they were just two consenting adults who happened to have an age gap between them. However, the friendship with the daughter made their relationship forbidden which kept the story very intriguing and I was desperately awaiting the end, while also not wanting the story to be over.

The story is told from both perspectives with unique voices which I really loved but I think there could have been more details and storylines with each woman's personal lives. The book is more so told at you rather than having a lot of different scenes from their lives played out, but I found the writing style interesting. I'm also not mad about spending more time with the characters together exploring their relationship because I really loved their dynamic and the author did a really great job writing them together.

I think if you're looking for a really sexy and really fun slice of relationship story this could definitely be for you. I am definitely going to be reading Something to Talk About by this author and any of her future projects!

I'm including below a copy of my review that I posted to GoodReads, but I did also want to share one main point that I noticed in the book - there were a couple of race comments that felt off-putting and not inclusive in this book, particularly the 2nd comment listed below. I understand the author may have been trying to give more context to Erin's mother, but the comment comes off as racist and isn't needed in the description of Erin's friends. The other 2 comments bring up racial triggers by mentioning a plantation and DAR with no context as to why Erin or Cassie would mention either.

Chapter 2:
"Buildings branched off from it most with white columns in the front that felt a little too plantation-like."
Chapter 6:
"Her mom had always been proud Erin was close with an interracial couple, in that obnoxious "I have Black friends" sort of way. Erin would've fled after high school if she were them, but Jimmy and Melissa were homebodies. And the town was better with them in it."
Chapter 10:
"rich Daughter of the American Revolution"

Also, while I loved the steam in this book, I think it would be great if there was a little bit more relationship development between Cassie and Erin. The comparison between Cassie's relationship with Erin and Parker's relationship with Erin started to feel a little repetitive, but I felt that it could have been swapped with more descriptions of how Cassie and Erin were relating and learning about each other and what they have in common.

GoodReads Review:
What happens if your quick hook-up at a bar turns out to be a Senior at the college your daughter is attending? And what do you do if your daughter brings her to breakfast the next morning?

The premise of this book is adorable and follows the POV’s of both Cassie, a 21 year old bisexual college student and Erin, a 38 year old divorcee bisexual woman as they meet and re-meet and continue to run into each other over the next few months. Erin is constantly fighting a battle within herself of letting go of what she “should” do, regretting withholding this affair from her daughter and resisting her growing feelings for Cassie. Cassie is in denial of any feelings of her own other than attraction for Erin and regret for not sharing with her friend that she’s slept with her mom.

As their journey unfolded, I loved the support that Erin received from her therapist and best friend, in addition to her mindset growth as she learned that other’s expectations shouldn’t matter to her. The characters in this book felt very real to me in that they were messy and not always endearing. It can be difficult to read a book sometimes when the characters aren’t authentic to themselves or act in ways that you know they’ll regret, but I felt it showed the realness of how messy love and relationships can be.

I also truly appreciated the representation of both bisexual and other LGBTQ+ members shown in this book. Not to mention, the spice in this book was A+ starting from Chapter 1!

I received this wonderful story as an E-ARC courtesy of NetGalley and St Martin’s Press and wanted to share my thanks for allowing me to read an early copy. I look forward to the publishing date!

there were moments i enjoyed this book and moments i truly did not. i worried my skin would crease from the way my emotions displayed themselves as i read. at times i was unsure if i could push through to the end, but i continued so i could contribute a comprehensive review.

at the root of it all— the relationship that erin and cassie share is shallow. there is nothing to dive into, nothing to explore. everything relating to them as a pair was about physical attraction. i believe such attraction is an important aspect of a relationship, but at the very least you need to respect one another (which they definitely did not for the majority of the pages). the author quickly exhausted physical descriptions. they weren’t lengthy or thorough. they were simple and repetitive with derogatory terms tucked in between the mess. i would never describe a woman in such a superficial way. it was stated repeatedly that erin was drawn to cassie because she was fond of a college student lusting after her. erin clinging onto her youth through cassie paired with the sexual nature of every single thought both of them had about each other made me uncomfortable while reading.

we as readers didn’t know about the characters. there were details hidden here and there, but this book seemed to be smut more than anything else. it disappointed me in that way because i saw potential for something expansive, something fascinating. each character had a strong base, but they never used that foundation to create purpose. parker felt like a main character while simultaneously feeling nonexistent. during what should have been her characters biggest obstacle, what she needed to overcome and grow from, she disappeared from our view. we knew little about how she worked through her emotions and her dimension fell flat. cassie’s move, her job, and her school life faded off the page to make room for friendships and relationships to mend. we lost sight of who she was growing into and who she was as a whole instead of just one of her parts.

something else that was actively present throughout was how the author pretends to include diversity, but the topics are introduced in very strange ways like bringing in characters with the only purpose being inclusivity or making stereotypical backhanded comments.

the end was unexpected from what the characters started with. it felt forced and underdeveloped. i do, however, think this story has potential. i grew attached to various aspects and found myself hoping it would improve along the way so i could enjoy it without hesitation.

This was a really cute and sweet story. A very low stress romance, which I really appreciated. There was still tension and drama but it didn't stress me out. The spice was excellent and immediate. Would recommend for purchase and to read.

I genuinely loved this book so much, it had heart, drama, and enough spice to have me flying through the pages to see what happens next. It made me laugh out loud, tear up, and made me anxious for what would happen to our secret couple. 10/10 would absolutely recommend this book, especially if you enjoy sapphic romance!