First of all huge thanks to St Martin’s Press & NetGalley for allowing me to read this early!

I absolutely devoured this book! Talk about STEAMY🧖🏼‍♀️

Recently single college senior Cassie hooks up with Erin, a hot older woman at the bar. The next morning at breakfast she finds out that Erin is one of her new best friends mom. Things get messy, hot, & so complicated.
You will definitely begin to question whether or not these characters are good people. Is Cassie a bad friend? Is Erin a bad mom? How long can they keep this a secret if they can’t resist one another? Mistakes were definitely made!
I loved this book! The friendships, the character development, the sex, I couldn’t get enough!

You definitely won’t find any fade to black scenes in Mistakes Were Made, Meryl Wilsner gives you all the JUICY 💦 details and I’m here for it!

I 100% recommend giving it a read when it gets released this October. It’s gonna be a hit!

Summary: 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?
______
I enjoyed every aspect of this book. From a rom-com perspective, this was highly entertaining. The attraction and complications between Erin and Cassie felt genuine. These characters were relatable, and more than that, I found myself wanting to form friendships with this circle of women. It was easy to root for Cassie and Erin as they weighed the pros and cons of advancing their relationship.

What elevated this book from a 4 star to a 5 star read was the honest examination of the relationships between parents and children. As a mother, I empathized with Erin. The conflict she felt in weighing her daughter's feelings and needs against her own rang true. While her daughter may be an adult, that does not make her any less of Erin's child. I respect that Wilsner examined these issues in an authentic way.

When I read the blurb for this book, I knew I couldn’t wait to read it and it didn’t disappoint. Age-gap. Best friend’s mom. Say no more. The chemistry between Cassie and Erin was off the charts and the steam was super toasty and very well written. No two steamy scenes felt repetitive. I really enjoyed that the chapters switched POV so you really could feel what they both were thinking, and it was nice that the angst came with more than what was just on the surface. I can’t wait to read this one again. Also, I’m totally here for this becoming a series and the next book focusing on Parker and the following on Acacia, just saying…

I have been waiting to get my hands on this book for so long. As much as I would love to day this book is exactly what I was waiting for, I just can’t.

As a lot of the other reviewers have stated, pacing is an issue for this book. While most are used to the slow burn, this book is the opposite. We start off pretty early with hookups. The issue is later on in the book, it seems to drag on. I kept waiting for ‘that moment’ when the other show drops that we all find while reading. This book didn’t have that issue. Given that, I’m not sure why the book carried on for so long.

Overall the book was a great read.

Super steamy and sexy! I appreciated how this book approached a rather taboo relationship ship. Nearly all characters were unlikeable but I was able to appreciate the worth of the story.

Too be honest I did not love this book as much as I wanted to. The big age difference made me uncomfortable. Mom sleeping with her daughters best friend, I mean what could go wrong. Although character development was excellent. The age gap bothered me. Overall a good read, it kept my attention.

As this was one of my most anticipated reads of the year - I was the happiest when I saw I was approved for the ARC.

Fresh sapphic subject matter - sign me up. This book did not hit me as I thought it would but I still appreciated it.

The pacing of the book felt off: enormous middle, with many details that I believed, did not push the plot forward. At some point, even though I was learning to love the characters- they started to annoy me, simply cause there was too much of their presence..

The ending felt rushed and, honestly, it might not have been but it felt like it in comparison to the large middle part.

I think it’s a great read that needs to be 200 pages shorter to make it more tight and engaging.

Thank you so much for my copy!

The story starts with two women sharing a hot bar hookup — and then meeting again the next day at brunch because one’s college age daughter is the other’s best friend. What could have been icky (she’s so much younger! Her daughter’s friend?!) was so well-handled by Wilsner that I didn’t have any moments of discomfort with any of it. Watching Cassie and Erin become friends and slowly fall in love was so sweet, romantic, and real. All the friend relationships in the book were great, too. I felt the genuine affection between Erin and Rachel just as much as I did between Parker, Acacia, and Cassie, and I was rooting all the way for them all to end up happy. I also absolutely loved how things came to a head at the end in a completely natural yet unexpected way. It didn’t hurt that the bedroom scenes were, well *fans self*…. This book was absolutely delightful and I’m so glad to have gotten an early chance to read it. Thanks Netgallley and St. Martin’s Griffun for the early review copy (I received a free copy in exchange fir an honest review and all opinions here are, of course, my own).

Mistakes Were Made aka milf book, was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022. And while I did really enjoy it, it is not without its issues.

One thing that other people have already commented on was the pacing. This book is quite the opposite of slow-burn, which is good in its own right, but because things moved so quickly between Cassie and Erin, it made the middle half of the book drag a little bit.

I also felt that Cassie and Erin's relationship seemed to be mainly sexual. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but they also do have an emotional relationship, at least it is alluded to. But Wilsner skips through scenes of them getting to know each other and growing closer together in favor of more sex scenes (which for those who enjoy them, there are plenty). Again these things are necessarily a bad thing, but it became difficult to believe the characters about their own feelings when you don't get to see it on the page.

The last, and I honestly think most important part, was there was an ableist comment made in chapter nine, the quote being, "Good because we're definitely pulling the plug if you make yourself a vegetable". This line is both insensitive and unnecessary. I hope that the author takes it out before publication. Another reviewer, Amivi, has quoted instances of weirdly racist lines as well, in her review. Again, I hope these quotes are taken out pre-publication.

But overall, I am still excited for Wilsner's future books and am excited to see other people's reactions to the iconic milf book!

***Note: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and there some corrections that need to be made before final publication. There are unnecessary lines regarded an interracial couple, as well as a line comparing houses to plantations. Both seem out of place and have nothing to do with the main story.

This sapphic romance takes place between a college student and her best friend's mom. The story itself is lovely and feels authentic to the WLW experience. There was very little judgement towards queerness which was quite refreshing. In fact many of the characters were queer. Be prepared for lots of spice and a little be of sap.

With edits made I'll be very excited for this book. The characters are people I look forward to visiting again.

Okay. This book was just not for me.

I got about a third of the way through and had to call it quits because life is too short to read books you don't enjoy. It might be loved by someone else, but that's not me.

Here's my reasons:
1. I did not enjoy the age gap how it was portrayed here. Cassie seems to have major mommy issues and uses Erin as a stand-in mom and a sexual partner. Meanwhile, Erin has daughter issues and uses Cassie is the reverse way. It just made me feel uncomfortable so fat.
2. Writing style - not sure how to explain it, but I didn't vibe with how things were being written.

I haven't DNF'd a lot of books but unfortunately, I just can't make myself continue to read it. Absolutely no desire.

Shoutout to NetGalley, Meryl Wilser, and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

In the effort to maintain transparency as a reviewer, I did not finish this book and couldn't get past the 15% mark. I never announced that I was reading it on any of my socials that I post reviews on because, like I said, I couldn't get past the 15% mark and didn't feel comfortable marking it as my currently reading because of how little I read. I'm currently in the middle of major school projects that are due in about a month and am under a lot of stress because of school, and I'm fully aware that this all effected my experience reading 'Mistakes Were Made.'

This is not a bad book, in fact I believe that it's a book so many people will truly love when it comes out and that it will gain a lot of traffic in Tiktok specifically. The sapphic representation is very good in my opinion as a sapphic person, and the way that the main characters' attraction to women was written was very true to form. The writing itself, however, felt very juvenile and sparse. Now, I'm not someone that typically enjoys long-winded, detailed writing, but with this book it feels like so much was cut in the effort to make it more sexy and full of tension. This made the story itself feel very on the surface and lacking a true amount of depth.

The characters themselves weren't very full-bodied from what I read and didn't leave lasting impressions on me as a reader. I think that it would benefit from more edits if at all possible. Also, sensitivity readers who are in interracial relationships and are Black people to help correct the sentence that most Black reviewers who received an ARC have called attention to.

the more i think ab this one, the less i like it, sorry to say. the concept was there, the plot was cute, the wriing was just a little off.. im not sure how to describe it, it felt weirdly paced and the characters were super one dimensional.

THIS. IS. GREAT.
Forbidden relationships - who doesn't like these?
Lets give this book the hype it deserves! The story was fun and sexy. Steamy hot! The kind of hot where you want to read alone where no one will see your facial expressions.
I devoured the book within two days , and it only took that long because I had to work. Blah!

When I first heard about "Mistakes Were Made" through Tiktok, I thought "I have to read that book because it sounds amazing". Let's just say I was not dissapointed. This book has everything you could ask for in a sapphic romance and it was a true delight to read.

I really enjoyed Wilson's first book and was so excited to get an ARC for her upcoming second novel! In this one, Cassie is a university senior who meets and hooks up with an older woman, Erin, one Friday night at a bar. Their chemistry is intense but Erin isn't from town and Cassie doesn't really date anymore. The next morning, Cassie's friend asks her to come to breakfast with her visiting mother as a buffer and when they walk into the restaurant Cassie locks eyes with her friend's mom: Erin. The story is about their growing attraction, there is plenty of sneaking around and steamy moments, all while both women struggle with what they are coming to mean to each other, how their lives don't make sense together, and what will happen if the daughter finds out. I really enjoyed this book and recommend you read it if sapphic romances are your jam. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy. The book is released later this year on October 11, 2022.

*Thank you to netgalley for granting me this arc early*

Mistakes Were Made follows Erin and Cassie, after they have a one night stand. Erin is visiting her college freshman daughter, but she heads out to the bar and a woman starts hitting on her, they end up hooking up in the bathroom. It was a fun night all around, until the next morning when Erin and her daughter Parker go to breakfast. Parker decides to bring her friend, Cassie. The same Cassie that Erin had a one night stand with. Things get sticky as Erin and Cassie can't stop seeing each other.

Holy guacamole!! The spice level in this book is a 10/10. It felt like every other chapter we were in a new sex scene, which was fun but towards the 80% mark it got to be too much for me. I wanted a little more character interaction and a little less sexual action. But, I have to admit it was fun to read about a mom who was having this scandalous relationship. It really captured moms and bisexuality. But don't be fooled this book is heavily sapphic.

Like I stated earlier, I wanted more character development. I feel like we could have done with more knowledge about the characters and more interactions too. I did really love the book though, and had a blast reading it! I can't wait for everyone to be able to get their hands on it in October!

I really wanted to love Mistakes Were made, and at first I did: the opening hookup between Cassie and Erin is incredibly hot, full of perfect chemistry that made me want to lock these two in a room together and see what would happen. They're both interesting, complex characters and I loved learning more about their lives.

The problem was, I thought they were terrible together. The way that their respective positions are written increasingly makes the relationship feel very uncomfortable, especially because there are some issues in play (for example, Cassie's troubled relationship with her mother) that make this relationship one that seems like it could only work after a few years apart that both Erin and Cassie would spend growing and learning. I wanted a time jump but what I got was a rushed happily-ever-after.

Meryl Wilsner is a talented writer, and I give her a lot of credit for not shying away from the difficulties of her premise and these characters. I just think that ultimately, the premise of this novel let her down. That said, her talent makes me very excited for her future books -- and I'm looking forward to exploring her debut novel, as well!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Meryl Wilsner for a free advance copy of Mistakes Were Made in exchange for an honest review..

It’s no secret that I love Meryl Wilsner’s first book and when I had the chance to read this one, I obviously had to. And what a book it was. Where Something to Talk About was a slow-burn with minimal steam, Mistakes Were Made was all about steam, spice, and everything in-between. To be honest, I wasn’t sure how the ending was going to go, I knew it would be a HEA but to what extent? A mom sleeping with her daughter’s best friend worried me about how it would be handled but damn. Meryl handled it so well. The steam definitely took over the plot in the middle of the book (I am NOT complaining) but towards the end, the plot came back in full force and I loved it. The struggle the main characters go through with their feelings and their relationship was handled well and I loved it. Another thing I loved was the secondary characters and how they all supported each other. Overall, this was a solid, well-written and very hot book. Meryl Wilsner is definitely my auto-buy author now and I really really recommend this book. Go read it!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book certainly starts off with a bang! Within a few pages, Meryl Wilsner makes it clear what you are getting into with "Mistakes Were Made," a steamy, confident, no slow burn, open-door-and-then-some, romance novel. If you are looking for something with a lot of build-up and sentimentality, this is not the right time for you to read this.

"Mistakes Were Made" is mostly light-hearted and an easy read. Some readers may take issue with the age gap (it's never really defined but I think it's in the 15-year range) or the gifts that Erin gives Cassie at times but Meryl Wilsner never makes the relationship seem predatory or even that Erin had any expectations of Cassie.

I oddly appreciated that there was no serious conflict between the two main characters and even the conflict between Cassie, Erin's daughter, and their other friends was quickly managed. Sometimes you just want something quick and fun to read, after all.

It would be wise for any future readers to skim the book and reviews to know what they are getting into. This will certainly be divisive among some audiences.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing this review copy for honest feedback.