THIS WAS SO GOOD. It is the sapphic age-gap romance of my dreams. At times our MC Cassie, senior in college, is a little unbelievable but maybe I'm used to people writing college students who are less self-assured. This was surprisingly spicy, and I love that we can help break the stigma of older female characters in romance books! It is kind of wild to think that if this was a college student falling in love and sleeping with her best friends' father, I would have run the opposite direction - consent can really feel dubious in stories that have already been written with that trope. But here author Meryl Wilsner puts consent and desire front and center, so it was truly refreshing. I loved this one and I'm so sad that I took so long to get to it!

I really enjoyed this sapphic rom com, and an age gap might be a new favorite trope because of it! The steam level was perfect, as was the banter, I only wish I'd felt the connection between the characters a bit more. Something about it felt unrealistic. Aside from that, this is a very worthwhile romance to add to your TBR.

Prepare yourself for (gentle) bisexual chaos. I laughed so hard, I cried. I cried so hard, I laughed. This was the most beautifully messy thing I’ve ever read. Alternating from wholesome, gentle yearning to unbelievably thirsty in no seconds flat, Meryl’s sophomore novel has all the banter you could ever need in a novel, and some of the most healing passages to boot. Make no mistake (pun not intended), the author who brought you the slowest burn in their debut is also very capable of bringing spice to every other page. Utterly delightful.

This was great! I loved the representation and I think it was a beautiful story about two women falling in love. Admittedly it’s not something I would normally read, given that it features a girl and her best friend’s mom. That kind of dynamic isn’t typically for me, but I think it was done well here and I was able to forget about the age gap. Overall, I would recommend this to just about anyone.

This book was unbelievable. It was hot, and it explored things considered taboo. It was well written, pacing was amazing, character development was top notch, and I thoroughly fell in love with this story and the characters it were based around. I can't recommend this book enough, and I can't wait to get all my friends to read it.

4.75 stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Meryl Wilsner for the ARC of this book! It was absolutely amazing!! It was so emotional and was a very rewarding read.

This book was so fun and quirky! It was an easy read, I flew through it and enjoyed every minute of it. A couple of parts dragged a little for me but overall I really enjoyed it. The story is emotional and complicated but thoroughly entertaining. A great sophomore novel by Wilsner!

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

To start with something positive: this book is super sexy. The chemistry between Cassie and Erin leapt off the pages. That being said, the feelings could have used some more work.
My main issue with this book is that I read romance for the guaranteed HEA. So, while I knew that this was supposed to have one, given the genre it was cataloged in, every time I read this my brain kept saying "I have absolutely no idea how that would be possible." So it took forever for me to get through instead.
I love a good age-gap romance, but this one was messy. Everyone was keeping secrets from everyone else. It was great that Erin had a therapist, but Cassie DEFINITELY needs one. Also, Acacia was really stuck in the middle and while that sucks she could have sped things up a lot by being honest with her friends.
Parker's character made very little sense to me.
Overall, I feel like if this could have been turned into an erotic novella, that would have been great. The plot gave me great anxiety.

Whew, this book was steamy. I liked the writing style and the characters, and I found the plot believable (I guess??) in terms of how it unfolded. I felt like the age gap was too big for my personal taste due to one of them being 22 years old, but I get that that’s a conservative viewpoint. I definitely liked it more than Meryl’s previous book.

Forbidden sapphic age gap romance?? yes please.

This had so many high expectations for it and it reached some of them, but some parts left me underwhelmed. The concept was there but the execution of it fell behind, leaving it feeling boring in spots. But loved the older women represention 🙌

Second try with this author and I have come to the conclusion that she is simply not for me. The writing style doesn't capture my attention, the characters all read the same, and the romance is always so lackluster

When I tell you I typically gobble taboo/forbidden romances up…I cannot get enough of it, so when I saw this one was a f/f romance with a forbidden romance, you better believe I jumped at the chance.

Mind you, like I said, I love forbidden romance. When it comes to reading these fictional scenarios, my morality goes straight out the window for the sake of true love! But apparently, I did have some remaining morals in me buried deep deep down lol cause something didn’t sit right with me with this one . For me, I can get behind a forbidden romance when there is a established relationship (outside of a good hook up) before the reveal of the “why we can’t be together” that would make it understandable why the couple can’t simply walk away. For this book, the reveal of why they can’t be together happened in chapter 2 and Cassie didn’t skip a beat. She was caressing Erin’s leg under the table with Parker right there. There was not really a moment of grappling with what to do etc…she just went for it right away. It honestly made me not like her very much and for someone who is a character centric reader (I don’t care what they’re doing as long as I like the character) it made it hard for me to want to continue reading. I did end up DNFing for now but I hope to give this one another chance because I heard great things and the premise was so promising. I just have to get over my Cassie aversion

I am an avid reader and have been since I was a kid. Growing up, I would use books as an escape from reality, but also as a way to discover new worlds and stories. Somewhere along the way the stories I read helped me discover myself. I got the email I was approved for the ARC of this book on the train to the pride parade. Here I was in a rainbow outfit that matched my rainbow eye makeup reading a queer story as people walked by me who were also decked out for the occasion. I felt amazing that day. I finished the book later that night wishing for more. Not only did the book reaffirm my love for your writing and characters, but it also helped me think about other aspects of my identity and my future with college and my career. I highly recommend this book for any rom com lover.

Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner is such a WONDERFUl sapphic lesbian romance.

The romance was really well written and the characters are so relatable.

I loved the characters so much.

It is hard to find a well written lesbian romance that is not stereotypical.

This book checked off all the boxes in a great queer romance.

DNF @ 40%.

I SO wanted to love this book. I wish I did, and I certainly tried. And I can absolutely see why so many people do!

Maybe it was just the wrong time, but…
1. I unfortunately couldn’t connect with the characters.
2. I felt more “tell” than “show” and I wanted more “show” to make it more engaging.
3. The spice was SO. GOOD!! But I felt there was a lack of empathy from Erin for Parker.

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

I still look forward to reading another title by Meryl Wilsner 🤍

*I do not officially rate books I DNF, but NetGalley requires one. So, for the 40% I read, I give 3⭐️.*

What happens when you find out that the hot, exciting woman you had a wild one-night fling with is....your roommate's mother? Yep, that's Cassie's dilemma. Who would have guessed that Erin was the mother of a college student? Do they keep sneaking around...or do they come clean?

I just...didn't really like this one. The chemistry wasn't there and the whole mother/daughter's friend thing felt kind of icky. But hey! The cover art was really eye-catching.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

A steamy and sexy romance novel but I found myself taken out of the story because she was sleeping with her daughters friend who is near the same age as her daughter. I felt there could have been deeper conversations and connection between the two main characters but their chemistry was undeniable. Overall a satisfying read.

This book really crossed the line for me with the relationships between the main characters and the secondary characters. I enjoyed the writing style, but not the direction the story took. It was too irresponsible on the part of the older MC and they came across as selfish and immature. Just no from me.

College senior, Cassie Klein, accidentally sleeps with her best friend’s mom, Erin Bennett, during Parents Weekend and neither of them planned for it to be more than a one night stand. They discover the truth when Erin’s daughter brings Cassie to breakfast the next morning. Unable to ignore their attraction, they start sneaking around together which threatens the most important relationships they have.

Holy cow. This one was a SPICY LGBTQ+ story and I was all here for it. The descriptions were A LOT, in the absolute best way. What brought it down just slightly was how Cassie and Erin handled telling other people about their relationship, there was some major room for growth on both of their parts. But with that being said, it was still an incredible read. Highly recommend!

I DNF'd a little into the second chapter. Something about the dialogue gave me the ick. I think the book is probably fine, but I wanted hot MILF energy like Gillian Anderson and instead I got mommy issues.