Loved this book! Great premise, fantastic characters, and a perfect ending. The storyline was well paced and logical, and very enjoyable. Highly recommend

Fabulous sapphic romance! Funny, steamy, and adorable. An age gap romance without screaming age gap. Nobody comes out and nobody dies.

This is one of those rare situations where I can honestly say, "it's not you, it's me." As in, this just was not the book for me, personally. I'm a big proponent of going into books with a very open mind and one way I do that is to avoid looking too much into it beforehand. Perhaps I should have read this particular synopsis more closely. I knew this was going to be a best friend's mom/age-gap romance, which didn't bother me (then again, not much does). I was a little apprehensive when I learned that Cassie was a college senior who hooks up with Erin, her friend's 38-year-old mother, but I hoped maybe they would part ways after they discovered each other's identities and reconnect a few years later. I also stupidly assumed both characters would be more mature.

One of the things I struggled with the most was the fact that the plot heavily relies on some very clear mommy issues. Erin has a complicated relationship with her daughter, Parker, and desperately wants to connect with her. Cassie has a very absent mother and little to no relationship with her own family. It seemed like both characters were using each other to fill the roles of people they were missing in their lives. This made me squirm. Especially when Erin buys matching pajamas for Cassie and Parker to wear on Christmas (and then kisses Cassie while her daughter is asleep in the other room).

Erin's daughter, Parker, was portrayed as incredibly immature and juvenile, which was perhaps done in an attempt to highlight the fact that Cassie is more grown up. It just felt strange and while I didn't necessarily like her character, I also didn't want Parker to have to find out her best friend was sleeping with her mom.

All issues aside, I couldn't connect with the characters, and I didn't feel the connection with Cassie and Erin, either. There was definitely some steam, but their relationship lacked the banter and emotion and feelings I crave from romance novels. The writing was great and the steam was top notch. I'll definitely be reading more of Meryl Wilsner's books but I think I'll steer clear of the best friend's mom trope from now on.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and Meryl Wilsner for allowing me to be an early reader.

I was really excited to get this ARC for review since I truly enjoyed Meryl Wilsner's first book Something to Talk About. I have mixed feeling about this book. I think overall it has a really good premise, and a lot of chemistry heating up the pages. This is a F/F romance featuring two bi heroines, with an almost 20 year age gap.

Cassie is a college senior and finds herself out at a bar during family weekend. She picks up an older woman and they have a one night stand. Turns out, Cassie's one night stand is her best friend's Mom. Erin and Cassie's relationship starts out as just a physical attraction. They are caught up in lies keeping the truth about their hookups from Erin's daughter and Cassie's best friend. After a lot of sexual tension, and hooking up, a real relationship starts to develop.

I really liked the chemistry between the two main characters. I also liked that it featured bi characters that were not questioned about choosing who their love interests were. The issue I had was the beginning of the book failed to really develop the romance between the two leads. You have to wait to see that happen after getting past half of the book, so I think it leaves the reader struggling to root for the pair as a couple.

There were also a couple of statements that were made about race that I didn't think should be included in the book. This made me have to rate it lower, because I just feel it was something that didn't need to be in the book. It didn't add any value.

The steamy scenes throughout the book were exceptional. It is definitely a high heat book, and there are scenes from the very beginning to the end that were written so well.

I still would like to read more books from Meryl. I hope that maybe some of these issues could be resolved in their future books.

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

I absolutely loved Mistakes were Made! The story begins with college senior Cassie going to a bar on parent's weekend and picking up Erin. They have incredible sex in the back seat of Erin's car. The next day, Parker, Cassie's good friend, asks her to go to breakfast with her and her mother. When they get to the restaurant, Parker's mother turns out to be Erin. Cassie plays footsies with her under the table and Erin is mortified. That night is Parker's a capella concert. Cassie arrives after Erin but finds her in the audience and sits with her. After Parker's performance, Cassie and Erin retreat to the bathroom for another episode.

When winter break happens Parker invites Cassie to go he with her. In the meantime, Cassie has confided in her best friend and Parker's roommate Acacia about her affair with Parker's mom. Cassie doesn't think it's a good idea to accompany Parker home, but her parents pay for her ticket, so she agrees to go. By the way, Erin and Adam, Parker's dad, are divorced.

They arrive in Nashua, Parker's hometown, and Cassie and Erin pick up where they left off. They do everything they can to keep Parker in the dark, and they are successful.

The girls get back to school and Cassie goes into denial about how she feels about Erin, even though Acacia keeps telling her they are dating. One night, the three co-eds go to a party and Cassie hits on Gwen in an attempt to get Erin out of her mind. It doesn't work. Gwen isn't interested. And then, Parker gives Cassie her phone so that she doesn't drunk text. Cassie takes that opportunity to look in Parker's phone to get Erin's number. She then drunk texts Erin without telling her who she is. Erin texts back angrily. Cassie then phones her but says nothing. Erin tells her off not knowing who it is. Eventually Cassie let's Erin know it was her.

Over time their relationship only grows. They facetime each other and cook meals together. They get to the point where they are communicating daily. On Valentine's Day Cassie sends Erin flowers which pleased Erin to no extent.

After a while, Cassie interviews for a job in Boston, which is very close to Erin, and she gets it. Their relationship continues to grow. Over time they're visiting each other regularly. Cassie graduates and moves to Boston permanently.

Parker goes home for the summer and invited Cassie over for 4th of July. Cassie goes to the house a day early, which happens to be the day Parker is staying at her dad's. Cassie and Erin are making out and Adam busts in and catches them. Parker is not far behind. Adam scolds Erin. Parker gets him out of the house. It turns out Parker knew about them since Valentine's Day when she saw text messages on Cassie's computer where Erin is thanking Cassie for the flowers. Parker is furious at first, but Acacia talks her down from the ledge and Parker is fine with it.

It was a perfect ending. Both Cassie and Erin propose to each other and the answer is a resounding yes on both counts. I would definitely recommend this book for leisure reading and for book club. It gets five stars from me.

Rating: 4/5

i loved the writing in this book and that it was told in dual POV -- also (*SLIGHT SPOILER*) this is the first, if not one of the only books, i've read that doesn't have a third-act break-up which was so refreshing to see.

while it shouln't work (if i were parker, somebody would've gotten decked in the face) i appreciate the maturity between the characters -- especially parker (though she did come across as a spoiled brat sometimes), but i give her major props for the way she handled the situation she was put in (i couldn't see myself being so forgiving).

anyway, this was a GREAT wlw rep book. i've been told the author has noted this change they need to make but i agree with other readers that the comments about the black neighbors erin had growing up were unnecessary/didn't add anything and could (and should) be taken out unless it's given more context as to why non-white neighbors are positive to a neighborhood (hint: comments like these sound very much like these characters are tokens).

other than that slight, this was a fun, sweet and sexy wlw romance! love a good story about a MILF. <3

synopsis (from goodreads):

When Cassie Klein goes to an off-campus bar to escape her school’s Family Weekend, she isn’t looking for a hookup—it just happens. Buying a drink for a stranger turns into what should be an uncomplicated, amazing one-night stand. But then the next morning rolls around and her friend drags her along to meet her mom—the hot, older woman Cassie slept with.

Erin Bennett came to Family Weekend to get closer to her daughter, not have a one-night stand with a college senior. In her defense, she hadn’t known Cassie was a student when they'd met. To make things worse, Erin’s daughter brings Cassie to breakfast the next morning. And despite Erin's better judgement—how could sleeping with your daughter’s friend be anything but bad?—she and Cassie get along in the day just as well as they did last night.

What should have been a one-time fling quickly proves impossible to ignore, and soon Cassie and Erin are sneaking around. Worst of all, they start to realize they have something real. But is being honest about the love between them worth the cost?

While I ultimately enjoyed this book, there were a few issues that kept me from loving it. Let’s start with the positives, though. 1. While there was a certain amount of tension throughout (sleeping with your friend’s mom tends to do that, haha), this wasn’t needlessly dramatic, which I really appreciated. Instead, it leaned into the cute, simple things that make up a normal relationship in real life. 2. I loved that Wilsner explored the complexities and vulnerability of friendship, communication, and forgiveness. It was really well done, in my opinion – relatable for readers while also making the characters feel more real and fleshed out beyond their feelings and experiences regarding the romance. 3. If you’re looking for F/F smut, this book delivers!

Now, onto the negatives. My main sticking point, and what I think might bother other readers the most, is that the first 20% is full of info dumps about the main characters. I think these parts were meant to be read as the characters reflecting on their pasts, but, to me at least, it read more like character summaries. I know the phrase “show, don’t tell” is overused, but this really felt like a case of way too much telling, not enough showing. And while this did improve as the book progressed, I couldn’t keep myself from noticing any time the writing shifted back into this telling (often to mark the passage of time).

My other main issue is more to do with personal preference. For example, so much of the relationship between Cassie and Erin was about sex for so long. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I won’t go into specifics, but I will say that I understand why this choice was made. It just didn’t work for me. My other complaints are pretty much just me being nitpicky. For example, Cassie thinks Erin is rich, but Erin and her daughter, Parker, share a bathroom? I figured rich people would have a master bathroom. That doesn’t actually matter for the story, though.

All that being said, this was a fun, quick read with a fresh take on the forbidden romance/age gap trope.

Meryl Wilsner delivers a sexy, emotional story with well-developed characters that draw you into their orbit immediately.
Two women connect with one another in an off- campus bar. The attraction is instantaneous between Cassie and Erin and by the end of the evening their sexual chemistry is undeniable but will be no more than a memory. This ‘memory’ will suddenly shift into the here and now when Cassie agrees to meet her friend Parker and her mother for breakfast and her mom is no other than her one night stand.
The relationships shared between the characters; Erin, Parker, Cassie and Acacia fill the pages with wonderful dialogue and the power of friendship. It was real, heartfelt and completely enveloped this reader. The storyline was much more than the development of a relationship. It was watching each character evolve and learning the facets of life and love.
Grab this one! Much recommended!
Thank you NetGalley, Meryl Wilsner and St Martins Griffin for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review.

I'm not usually a fan of "age gap" romances, but Mistakes Were Made was a book that I couldn't stop reading.

The book opens up with Cassie escaping her college's family day by going to a bar on the opposite side of town. After having an amazing night with Erin, a woman she met at the bar, Cassie is shocked to find out the next morning that Erin is the mother of one of her best friends. Erin is similarly shocked when the friend her daughter brings to brunch is the woman she hooked up with the night before.

I really liked how Erin & Cassie's relationship developed, overall. Also the cover being the moment they met is perfect! I also really liked Cassie's friend group (aka her two best friends).

All in all, Meryl Wilsner continues to deliver solid sapphic age gap romances, and I actually think this one was better than Something to Talk About!

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC! I really appreciate it!
Release Date: Oct 11 2022

Looking for a steamy lesbian romance and fantastic relationships? Look no further. Wilsner wastes no time jumping right in to the heat, but what could have been a one dimensional sapphic story quickly delves into developing characters you are almost immediately rooting for. I didn't want the story to end. I'll devour anything Wilsner writes; I only hope I don't have to wait too long for the next book.

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

I read and enjoyed Meryl Wilsner's debut, so I was excited to get my hands on this book. However I found myself not enjoying it as much as I hoped because I just could not get over the absurdity of a mom sleeping with their daughter's best friend/sleeping with your best friend's mom. However, that will not influence my rating/review since I know that's very much a sexy, off-limits, forbidden romance trope (one that deserves to have some wlw representation). So that issue is very much a me problem, as I think a lot of people will love the book BECAUSE of the forbidden love.

This book does love scenes very well, if you're looking for a spicy romance you will enjoy this. There are multiple steamy scenes, definitely more than your average rom-com. However where this book fell flat for me was the lack of depth to the characters. Don't get me wrong there is really great chemistry between them, I just wish that they were more well rounded on their own. We know that Erin is a doctor, and that Cassie is a physics student with goals of being an aerospace engineer, but otherwise we don't learn very much about their internal motivations. The other thing is that I wish the author had further explored the daughter in all of this. Throughout the book we know that Parker (Erin's daughter/Cassie's best friend) is the main obstacle to the relationship, but her coming to terms with her mom and friend sleeping together happens almost entirely off-page.

Even with that said, this was a fun and steamy romance and I definitely do recommend!

My review is posted on Goodreads and StoryGraph.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of Mistakes Were Made. I was excited by the premise but I didn’t realize that one of the MC’s would be so young. I like May-December storylines but I don’t connect as well when the character is so young. I loved the immediate steaminess and the flirty banter.

This book was decidedly not for me. I read romance for the EMOTIONS. The pining, the yearning, the developing FEELINGS. And I didn't get those here, it's more focused on them having sex. Which is absolutely fine, just not my preference.

I also did find the emotional part towards the end to be very rushed. Suddenly they realized they had feelings for each other and I just didn't buy it. Their relationship so far had been in secret as well, so that Parker, Erin's daughter and Cassie's friend, wouldn't find out. Then suddenly we find that she has known all along and has been coming to terms with it privately and is now completely okay with it. That felt like a huge cop out to me and I would have liked to have seen their relationship with Parker play out more too. In the end I feel like I barely emotionally connected to any of the characters, because I just didn't feel like I knew them.

Thank you to St. Martin Press and NetGalley for sending this ARC for me to enjoy and give an honest review!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Can we talk about this cover, because it is PERFECT!!! So beautiful!

I really enjoyed reading Mistakes We’re Made but it was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster! I knew from the first chapter that this book would have me intrigued throughout it.

Cassie’s and Erin’s chemistry was off the charts and you could feel that page after page. Even with the age gap I feel like the power balance was evenly shared between the two. I was cheering for them the entire book!

There were definitely some steamy parts of this book 🔥 but it was perfectly balanced throughout with an actual storyline. I loved the character building throughout, even the secondary characters. It never felt like there were too many people being mentioned. But we could have done without Adams chauvinistic self but I understand the pet he played!

I have read both of Wilsners books now and I think she blew this one out of the park! You could not go wrong with this quick read!

Meryl Wilsner’s sophomore book Mistakes Were Made did not deliver the thrilling romance it set out to do. I couldn’t put this book down for all the wrong reasons.

I can’t help but wonder what the true plot of this book was meant to be. I read the summary, I read the book itself, but I cannot pinpoint what I missed along the way. Cassie and Erin had no development outside of their relationships with one another (namely scenes where they interact) and I felt like the story mirrored that lack of development. The progression of the relationship came from the increasingly explicit scenes while the emotional maturity of the two—especially Cassie—was nowhere to be found. None of the characters had significant development, let alone distinct personalities. The reason I ask about the plot is because this book read like a “porn without plot” style of story riddled with miscommunication for minor conflict arcs that did little to aid in any sort of character development.

From the very beginning, I found Cassie’s character almost unbearable. In what seemed like an effort to make her witty and mysterious, her age was highlighted through immature language (i.e. an excessive use of the word “tits” along with other grossly objectifying terms) making it almost impossible for me to believe that Erin would genuinely embark in a romantic relationship with someone of her age. While the age gap itself was not an issue, it was also not something that was ever addressed by either character or plot point. Considering Cassie and Parker’s relationship, I expected the author to ensure Cassie was not only emotionally mature, but that she and Erin would have had a real conversation about the implications of their relationship as two consenting adults with a connection to Parker.

The characters’ never-ending guilt over Cassie being Parker’s friend was equally exhausting. A good 60% of the book is spent reminding the reader of that fact while simultaneously having the women engage in sexual relations over discussing their feelings. The lack of communication and true conflict where we could then see the characters engage in proper conflict resolution made the relationship seem gratuitous on the author’s end, meaning the author wanted to write the explicit scenes but not anything else before or after it.

Lastly, in an effort to keep this review concise and constructive, I had several issues with the writing. From the overt use of “tits” every other time Cassie spoke to Erin to the racially-coded language, this book missed the mark by miles. Several bits of dialogue were cringey, adding to my feelings of Cassie’s immaturity, time shifts were difficult to follow, and the plot was rushed after the 50% mark. I cannot believe the author not only implied that disabled folks are “vegetables”, perpetuated a stereotype that nail technicians constantly gossip about their clients in their native language, but also said a town was “better” because it had an interracial couple living in it. None of those sentences added anything of substance or quality to the plot so I wonder why they were there to begin with.

I am so disappointed that I did not enjoy the overall execution of Mistakes Were Made but would hope that moving forward, the author focuses more on having three-dimensional characters and strong plots so WLW pairings can have sustainable and believable relationships.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Meryl Wilsner for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book for free via netgalley and in exchange leaving my honest review.

Y'all, my bisexual heart is SCREAMING.
I requested this book when I was far too stoned to be requesting anything haha. But this is so cute 🥰🥰🥰 I love sapphic books with all my heart. The only thing I would honestly change is that it seems like Cassie realizes her feelings way too late in the book. And even that isn't terrible, I just wish she realized sooner, because it was obvious for me!! I love a happy ending, and I was totally wondering if Parker knew as early as I expected her too.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

So, I love a good sapphic novel just as much as the next girl. I just finished Delilah Green and adored it. However, something about the age difference between these two just...turned me off of the novel, unfortunately. The whole concept that she hooked up with her besties' mother and then they...got together? It just was not for me. I thought the writing was good and the dialogue was great. I cared about the characters, but I just did not want to finish the book. I'm not one for age-gap romances, and I should have just not requested this book. Just because it was not for me does not mean that it was not a great book! Many others loved it! Just be prepared for that age gap!

When Cassie and Erin meet at a bar, sparks fly and they hook up. But what was supposed to be a one night thing gets complicated when the next morning, Erin and Cassie meet again only to find out that Erin is Cassie's friend Parker's mom. Erin hooked up with a college girl, her daughter's friend! Cassie slept with Parker's mom! Both women agree that Parker does not need to find out, and they decide to let it go. Erin lives states away and it wasn't a relationship, just a fling.
Except they keep meeting. And sparks keep flying. And no matter how many times they try to end it, they can't help but come back for more.
This book was so steamy and fun! I absolutely loved it and I am not even a romance fan! The writing was good, and the characters each had their own distinct voice. Plot points were solid, and it didn't fall into the usual tropes, like the lovers being found out by someone walking in on them. The women had to decide for themselves what they wanted, how they felt, and what they were willing to risk.

This book is about negotiating the complexities of family, friendship, and romance in a unique way. Cassie has what she thinks is a passionate one night stand with a mature stranger, only to discover the next morning that the stranger is her best friend's mother, Erin. Desperate not to hurt the people they love, but unable to deny the chemistry between them, Erin and Cassie find themselves navigating an increasingly complicated course as the relationship grows despite their best efforts.

This book was well written and engaging, but the romance was just not for me. To be fair, I knew the "best-friend's-mom" piece ahead of time and wasn't sure how I"d feel about it. But since the book was recommended to me, I decided to give it a try. However, I based my rating here on the other aspects of the book (writing, conflict arc, etc) since it would be completely unfair of me to lower the rating based on an aspect of a book I knew in advance I wouldn't like, when I decided to read it anyway.

Thing's I really liked (and why I gave this four stars): portrayals of strong friendships, communication through conflict, found family. I thought the author did an amazing job of making these items the bedrock of Cassie's identity and support structure. I loved that her friends didn't abandon her even when she was doing something they really didn't agree with. I am also so grateful for the way the author showed friendships growing and persisting despite conflict - this is a normal part of family and friendship, and too often it is not talked about which gives us the false impression that arguing or fighting means the end of a relationship.

Thing's I did not like (and why I didn't give this book five stars): there were some plot threads that felt a little unfinished to me- Piper's relationship with her dad and his general misogyny, Piper's relationship (and breakup) with Sam, Rachel's friendship with Erin and opinions of Erin and Cassie. These things all felt like they had potential to add more character depth but ultimately were left undeveloped. I wanted more, especially about Piper since she was so central to the story!

All in all, setting aside my opinion of the romantic pairing, I'd give this book four stars.