I was super excited to get my hands on an ARC of this!

Cassie is a college student in her senior year, waiting out parents weekend at a bar when she spots a beautiful older woman, Erin, who--they both come to realize a little too late--is her new best friend's mom. The book starts out with a bang (lol) and gets rolling pretty quickly. As a result of the romance starting right off the bat, there are some parts in the middle that drag a bit, but overall it's an easy, entertaining read.

Plenty of well-written spicy scenes! Due to the substantial age gap and the major obstacle keeping them apart, this book is a rare case where I found that these moments were crucial to establish/validate the connection between the two main characters. Not sure I really felt convinced of their relationship until the epilogue, which is adorable!

Unfortunately, I disliked Erin's daughter Parker (though I felt she was a realistically written college freshman) and had more difficulty believing her friendship with Cassie than the relationship. I also found it odd that the main conflict of the story plays out without the audience even knowing until later, wrapping things up fairly quickly.

I really enjoyed Mistakes Were Made! I usually don't like age gape romances, but the synopsis sounded really funny, and I love reading sapphic love stories. Honestly one of the hottest books I've read. I loved how the reveal happened, and especially the epilogue! I felt bad for Parker but Erin is a great mom and Cassie is a great friend, and it all worked out in the end between all the characters.

WOW.

This was such a fun read. Romance. Comedy. Spice. Growth.

Cassie, a college senior, and Erin, a beautiful woman that caught Cassie's eye, meet at a bar during Family Weekend at Cassie’s college and hook up. Little do they know that they both share a commonality: Parker-- Cassie’s best friend and Erin’s daughter. The two cannot seem to shut off their feelings for each other and continue to see each other behind Parker’s back. Can Cassie and Erin manage to hide their relationship from Parker and can they continue to ignore their deeper feelings for one another?

This book was something else. I do not think this is a 5 star read by any means, but I do rate it 3.75-4 stars. In this review I will be sharing my own personal review of this book along with my thoughts as I read, starting with some of my problems with the book.

The plot was easy to follow and straight to the point from the very beginning which was very nice and made complete sense, but at the same time it felt like it was lacking. Lacking in what? Something that I can’t quite put my finger on. It felt like I was having such a fun time on a roller coaster but the steep, vertical drop I was expecting and geering up for was a small barely steep one. The ride was still fun and I had a great time, but the one thing I was expecting to make my eyes pop and my stomach drop didn’t happen the way I thought it would. The entire point of the plot was them sneaking around because of their relationships to Parker, yet the climax was so underwhelming because of Parker (so to say without adding a spoiler).

I understand that skipping time to get to the end of Cassie’s senior year was needed, but because there were time skips (days, weeks, months even), I felt as if what had just happened before the skip couldn’t fester and couldn’t properly develop in the eyes and mind of the reader. The feelings of what happened before the skip were just left back there and couldn’t… be handled?

Additionally, the 3rd person POV that switched from Cassie to Erin felt confusing at times. Because there was no “I” to differentiate between all the “shes” being dropped, I had to reread sentences and think about them instead of getting on with the story. That did not take away from my enjoyment at all, but it was just another thing that takes away from the potential 5 star rating one would give this book.

There are certain sentences and overall wording that the book could have done without. There were lines relating to race, misogyny, and even fatphobia and ableism that the book could definitely do without. These lines don’t really add much to the story and if they were supposed to add to the story, the author could just use something entirely different and non-offensive. At times, I found the writing to be somewhat…informal and immature. There was a lot of annoying dialogue. For example, Parker and Cassie would say things along the lines of “Okay, thanks babe.” The repeated use of “definitely,” “like,” “y’all,” “right?” and the one time use of “Ya think?” made me cringe. There was just a lot of cringe dialogue, and this book being very dialogue heavy might need to be tweaked just a little bit in terms of that. So in brief, there is a lot of unnecessary wording and sentences used throughout the book.

In terms of characters, I felt as if we got to know Erin more than Cassie. I don’t think there was a single main character seeing as the POV switched between Cassie and Erin every two-ish chapters, so I can’t tell who we are supposed to have gotten to know better. We know the basics of Cassie’s life, but we know more in depth about Erin’s and why she does the things she does and what drives her as a person. I found Parker to be kind of annoying throughout most of the book. She was kind of immature even if she was supposed to be a freshman in college. Cassie and Erin were both immature at times, but I think that adds to the plot and character development looking at them in the beginning vs. the end.

I really liked the banter between Cassie and Erin. I always find banter to be kind of difficult for me to enjoy, because sometimes it’s either just flat out mean or annoying. The banter in this story was really enjoyable to me. There weren’t many pop culture phrases that I noticed, but I didn’t find one that made my heart jump and smile creep up on my face: Empire Records! It’s one of my favorite movies and when I read that line I did a little happy dance in my chair.

I also liked how in the beginning Cassie’s and Erin’s character-types were quickly established. Cassie: bold, sly, and has been hurt in the past. Erin: responsible, anxious, looking to fix her relationship with her daughter. The development in both of their characters throughout the book was interesting and enjoyable to experience. Again, I really enjoyed how the book jumped into the plot and had very minimal buildup if there was any at all. I did, however, find Cassie and Parker’s friendship introduction to be a bit strange. Cassie made friends with a freshman who slept with her ex-boyfriend? That was just something I never expected!

I pride myself on being able to predict certain plot aspects about the books I read, and I was glad to have guessed what was to happen in this one. Once it was revealed, it was so fun to look back on the little clues left behind by the author and put them together. To be honest, it was fairly obvious, but it was nonetheless a fun adventure.

The spice was… WOW. As a bisexual woman, this made me flal even more in love with women. Thank you, Meryl Wilsner lol. Looking back on Cassie and Erin’s relationship makes me smile, especially the epilogue.

Big thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this opportunity!

I had an opportunity to read an advanced copy (thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress!) of the romance novel Mistakes Were Made which will be available in October 2022. The author, Meryl Wilsner, writes stories about queer women falling in love and this novel centers on a fling to relationship trope between Erin and Cassie. The complication and main tension throughout the book are that Erin’s daughter, Parker, is Cassie’s best friend and they hooked up prior to either of them knowing that.

The age gap (Cassie is 22) is not centered in the story or prohibitive in their relationship so most of the conflict stems from the secret they are keeping from someone they both care about, and neither of them wanting to damage their relationship with Parker. At times I had to suspend reality because the risks were so high of causing irreparable harm with Parker and it was hard to believe either of them would continue pursuing each other. Their sexual chemistry seems to be the main thing keeping them together and if explicit scenes are your jam, then this delivers.

There were a few lines in the book that didn’t sit right with me (the nail tech joke, the life support joke, etc.), and the pace was fast at the start and then slow towards the end, so I was not really invested until about 70% into the book. All in, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone who wants the spicy scenes and to suspend reality for the flirty romance.

Thank you again to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Content warnings: sexual content (explicit)

I was in need of a great, sapphic story and was beyond excited when I was approved for this arc! Unfortunately I have quite a few issues with this book. There were one too many (one is too many) throwaway racist, fatphobic, mysognystic and even a few ableist comments in this book for my liking. I truly loved the book, but I hope this is something that the author will reconsider keeping before the book is officially published. I have seen more than a few influencers/arc readers make comments about this and I couldn't leave a review without bringing attention to it as well. I really hope the author listeners to the advanced readers of this book!

Thank you #Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of #mistakesweremade

I loved so much about this book; the romance, the humour, everything about it was just so fun.
The main characters were interesting and we had amazing chemistry together, which made the story work really well !
However, there were some lines, specifically related to race, in this book that definitely made me uncomfortable and I hope are going to be removed before publication.
First, there was a really unnecessary line about an interracial couple in a small town “making it better”- this sounded very tokenizing of a Black character. It didn’t add anything to the story at all and was unnecessary.
I also thought the characterization of Mrs Webb at times a bit stereotypical , reminiscent of racist “mammy” stereotypes. The white character also calls her “mama Webb” and Her character is not well fleshed out beyond caring for a white character and being motherly.
Finally, There was also an unnecessary mention/ comparison of a building to a plantation: again adds nothing to the story and stood out as odd.
If these odd race lines are removed I would be confident rating this 4 or maybe 5 stars, but not as it stands.

Thank you to netgalley for an e-arc of mistakes were made in exchange for an honest review

Mistakes Were Made was an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish. This is hands down one of the steamiest books I've read in quite a while. The sexual tension between Cassie and Erin paired with the suspense of whether anyone will discover their secret relationship kept me desperate to know how things were going to play out.

Mistakes Were Made balanced romantic, friend, and family relationships in really interesting ways. Seeing Cassie grapple with being whether she can be a good friend to Parker, Erin's daughter, while also trying to have a secret relationship with Erin added a lot to the emotional stakes of the story. I would've loved more Parker in this story particularly as it seems like we don't see much of her relationship with Erin from Erin's point of view.

The main reason this is a 4-star read for me was that I wanted a bit more character development of Cassie and Erin. The physical attraction between them is obvious from the very beginning but I kept hoping to see a bit more of an emotional connection as well. It's definitely mentioned throughout the story though could be more prominent on-page. Having a better sense of Erin and Cassie as characters outside of their secret relationship would have made me a bit more invested in their romance. That said, I still found all of the characters in Mistakes Were Made lovable -- except for Adam who is The Worst -- which is one of my favorite things about Wilsner's books.

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

Meryl Wilsner had me sweating! This book is the steamy contemporary sapphic/bisexual book we've been waiting for.
Mistakes Were Made starts off with a bang! Cassie and Erin meet at a college bar and sparks immediately fly. Unfortunately for them, it's parent's weekend and Erin is Cassie's best friend's mom! The try to stay away, but fate keeps pulling them close. How long can they deny their attraction? Is love worth possibly damaging the relationship Erin has with her daughter?

While this book had a few slow stretches it was so worth it! This is my second MW book and I can tell she is only getting better!

Written very much like a low effort fanfiction, this book had nothing compelling to offer in terms of style or story. This can be excused sometimes in romance if the central connection is particularly strong, or the spice is particularly good, but neither apply here. The central relationship is flat and uninteresting and the spice scenes are mostly just as dull as they lack any kind of tension, chemistry, or decent descriptive writing.

It’s a dialogue heavy book that clearly did not have a sensitivity reader - something I sincerely hope you all correct before releasing the finished version as the way race, gender, and disability are treated completely miss the mark. It’s clear the author wants to be progressive, but she does not accomplish that.

There are a lot of rookie mistakes in this narrative - naming characters who mean absolutely nothing to the plot and won’t even be introduced, repeating identical moments of inner dialogue, introducing many characters only for them to do absolutely nothing but serve as background. This would drown out its plot if there was one.

Dang this book… I generally enjoyed it and it’s probably around 3.5/3.75. I loved Cassie and Erin’s chemistry but the writing felt juvenille and a bit stilted at times. Also, I get SO overly stressed when there’s sneaking around going on in romance books so I felt on-edge for most of this until the reveal!! I did really like how things ended especially with Erin’s family, but I could not get over the stress. And it really wasn’t that bad, all things considered - I just think that’s a trope I have a hard time handling in romance. Other than that it was a cute read!

Thanks to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

the premise of this book was extremely interesting and capturing. i think that it will capture the attention of many! although the plot was interesting i believe that perhaps it wasn’t for me, i simply did not enjoy some of the writing, and found it a tad underwhelming.

cassie and erin, i enjoyed their dynamic, and their characters felt quite fleshed out, however i did feel that their choices could sometimes be questionable? it was really great that there were a number of spicy scenes especially for a sapphic romance, again and it was amazing that the book pushed the notion that love comes in all different shapes and sizes.

despite this, i felt the pacing was slow during the middle of the book.

DNF 33%

This is one of my most anticipated releases, so I am so disappointed that I’m deciding to DNF. I’ve started to set a wibbly “three strikes and you’re out” policy if it’s nothing I consider egregious, but this point hit that point in the first third. The premise is fantastic and hilarious and so fun sounding, and it was definitely living up to a fun, tropey romance. But after a couple very odd racist throwaway comments, some casual fatphobia, a pretty seriously egregious misogynistic comment from a side character I was starting to feel a little iffy and uncomfortable. And then we got to a “joking” comment about how if best friend got into a motorcycle accident without a helmet “we’re definitely pulling the plug if you make yourself a vegetable,” which is so ableist and terrible, I cannot. I cannot go on from this point and I am so disappointed that that was a choice the author made. I don’t see the point of that kind of comment or joke, and I don’t understand why no one would see that prior to ARCs and think it was okay to keep in the book.

I’m sure this book will find its audience and get a lot of positive responses, but this book does not feel like I am welcome in this world.

ETA: oh yeah? And friend being told that horrible ableist comment? She’s Black, so seems no one involved was considering the intersections of race and disability at any point in the editing or writing process. Joy.

I had an overall good time reading this, you could definitely tell there was some progression from their last book and this book stood out to me a lot more.

The romance was sweet and, quite frankly, very hot. This is definitely an ode to sapphic books that fade to black or just include one steamy scene at the very end.

My main issues lay in some of the quite frankly problematic writing? I'm a bit concerned that it wasn't caught by an editor - just out-of-date language and slang. Rude sentiments as a whole. I also feel like their relationship wasn't portrayed well after the midpoint - their priorities are very different and Erin's constant internal mom monologue doesn't so much as vanish as become her only character trait after a point.

I think this book could benefit from another edit - but it was definitely a lovely read!

What in the Stacy’s Mom is going on?

One night Cassie goes out by herself at a bar where she meets this really hot women. Things escalated and the next thing you know theyre hooking up. The next morning Cassie is out at brunch with her best friend Parker and her mom. It just so happens that Parker’s mom is the same women Cassie hooked with the night before. And Cassie relieved she made a huge mistake.

I liked the book. I think the biggest flaw is the plot. The whole reason Cassie and Erin can’t be together is because of Parker (the daughter) and we spend the whole book building up all this suspense and raising the stakes only for the big reveal to underwhelming. The character , specifically Erin and Cassie were thought out and had clear motivations and good character arcs.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

This story was absolutely fantastic. I enjoyed Meryl's last book, but this one is even better. Erin and Cassie are immediately likable, their relationship is really fun to watch unfold, and the setting and "challenge" that they are facing is really interesting. This will definitely be a re-read for me, and is a great, quick, fun, read for anyone who enjoys WLW stories.

I enjoyed this book. The plot was easy to follow and the characters were well developed. I would recommend this book and author to others.

Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner is easily one of the steamiest romance books I have read recently. Cassie hooks up with an older woman, Erin, at a bar, only to find out that Erin is actually her best friend’s mom. Instead of having a one-night fling, Erin and Cassie secretly start to sneak around.

What I liked: Cassie and Erin aren’t perfect characters, they both have obvious flaws, but I still liked both of them together. As mentioned, this is a pretty spicy sapphic romance book.

What could be better: The author has added some lines where a place is described as ‘plantation-like’, and also explicitly states that the interracial couple made the town better - it was so completely unnecessary and jarring. I hope these lines are removed from the book. As well, because it is a forbidden romance story with a lot of sneaking around, I felt like I was tense and on edge constantly.

I really liked Something to Talk About by Wilsner and I was really looking forward to Mistakes Were Made. It was an incredibly fast read, especially because it relied on spice over plot. I think the book would be greatly improved if it didn’t have the race lines that I mentioned previously. For that reason, I give the book four out of five stars.

*Please note that the ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

From the moment I read the description of the book, I was already hooked on the storyline. After I read the book, it definitely did not disappoint. All the angst leading up to the ending was just perfect, and loved watching how the character developments and growths progressed over the course of the book.

This is my first Wilsner book, and I'm already looking forward to reading all of her former and upcoming work. "Mistakes Were Made" is a must read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

to escape family weekend at her college, cassie klein disappears across town and finds herself at a bar. at this bar, her eyes catch on a gorgeous woman and the next thing she knows they’re in the woman’s rental car hooking up.

the only problem? cassie goes to breakfast the next morning with her friend parker to meet her mom — and well, her mom is the sexy woman from the night before.

what should have only been a one-time hookup between the two turns into them sneaking around behind everyone’s backs, but that can only last so long before someone catches them or before they develop feelings for one another, right?

what a uber sexy sapphic book!! this book absolutely delivered on the spicy scenes and it didn’t feel like it was too much, it was really the perfect amount. from the get go, i absolutely felt the connection and the attraction between cassie and erin.

throughout the book, family is a huge theme. i really loved the contrast between erin struggling to remain close to her daughter after a divorce and with her also going to college, while cassie’s parents are absent from her life.

at first, i didn’t really know how to feel about the story continuing past the family weekend, i think i just assumed the plot was going to be over the span of a weekend, but i’m really glad the whole story was over multiple months — i think it added so much more to the connection and pull that cassie and erin felt towards each other.

i really didn’t connect with a majority of the side characters, the only exception being rachel. i loved that she was trying to encourage erin to do what she wanted.

i also felt like the whole best friend’s mom situation would have had more of an impact on me if cassie was as close to parker as she was with acacia. i felt like parker and cassie were friends because of a mutual friendship with acacia, while cassie and acacia were the best friends, but i really did start to enjoy their dynamic and friendship towards the end of the book.

overall, i really did enjoy the book! the plot had me reeled in from the very start and the moment i heard about this book i knew i needed to read it. i know that if i’m ever in a reading slump, i will be going back to this book because this book did not fail with delivering on the spicy scenes. if you’re looking for something fun, mostly lighthearted, and a sexy read, this book is going to be for you.

I spent the last 48 hours going back and forth on whether or not I should walk away from this one… and I am shockingly… putting it down and walking away (!!!) and following my resolutions for the first time ever. Consider this my first DNF of the year and what a sad one it is.

What happens after the first third of Mistakes Were Made? I wouldn’t know! I couldn’t relate to the characters or their motivations. It all felt rushed so the love story and even the friendships felt flat to me. I’m all for unconventional characters, but these two just didn’t feel believable to me. It all felt a lot trope-y (and a little predatory on top of that, but that’s probably what I get for reading it right after My Dark Vanessa). It wasn’t my thing, but I’m sure someone else will love it.

Drowning my disappointment in Red, White and Royal Blue and Built to Last — neither of which I have any qualms about so far so more about those two soon.