Oh my gosh this book! This book was everything and more! This was so hot in the absolute best way. I loved the relationships because while it was definitely hot as heck it was also really sweet in a lot of places. The characters were fun and very likable. I wanted things to work out so badly for them. I am definitely going to be receiving this book to everyone.

This was such a fun story! I really enjoyed the main characters and the fun storyline. I would totally watch the movie version of this book. The steam was also A+.

The only thing I didn't like was when the friends are not on good terms, no one discusses it! That seems so unrealistic for close friends, but despite this, I really enjoyed this fun, steamy romcom!

The audiobook was very enjoyable and I would definitely recommend this format. It's well voice and well paced. All around enjoyable and easy to follow on audio.

I loved this description and this book did not disappoint - it was engaging from beginning to end. A Taboo forbidden romance that yielded a lot of entertainment but this was so much more than that. Main characters Erin and Cassie are great together - such good believable chemistry Overall, this is a contemporary love story with good dialogue, chemistry, and plenty of emotion.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for allowing me to listen an review this audiobook

4.5.

The steam.

--

✨ Review ✨ Mistakes Were Made, by Meryl Wilsner; Narrated by Jeremy Carlisle Parker; Quinn Riley; Stephanie Németh-Parker

Cassie and Erin hook up in the parking lot of a bar, but then find out the next morning that Cassie's in college, and Erin is Cassie's best friend's mom. Even though they both know that it's wrong, their connection is magnetic and they can't seem to stay away from each other.

Hook ups with a friend's parent is never a favorite trope of mine, but this time at least, it helped that both parties were of age, and met before they knew of the parental connection. The relationship between Cassie and Erin kept me engaged, and I was cheering for them while also so worried they'd get caught. The book keeps you at that perfect level of tension between angst and joy. 😂 The steaminess was 🔥 and consistent through the book. The book did drag a bit in later chapters and felt a little repetitive, but overall I enjoyed this book and the fun story within.

The audio narrators were excellent and made this a great one to listen to!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Genre: f/f contemporary romance
Pub Date: October 18, 2022

Thanks to MacMillan Audio, St. Martin's Press and #netgalley for advanced e-copies of this book!

A typical romance between a younger and older consenting adults where a one night stand turns into an awkward encounter when the 2 women discover that the younger woman is the college roommate with the older woman's daughter.

Mistakes Were Made is a fun and sexy adult romance novel. It follows Cassie, a college senior who meets an alluring older woman, Erin at a bar during parent’s weekend. They hook up and Casiie thinks that’s that until she goes to meet her friend and her mom for breakfast the next day. The woman she slept with is her best friend’s mom. Erin is just trying to get closer to her daughter after the tension that followed her divorce several years ago. But she can’t stay away from Cassie and Cassie can’t stay away from her. Plus the sneaking around is kinda hot. But this thing between them could never be real because it’s crazy to date your best friend’s mom, right….
This was a fun, easy book to read. It felt so much like the rom com movies I grew up watching but with two women at the forefront. The book does jump right into spicy scenes; the two characters' physical relationship developed well before their emotional connection. They kinda approach their relationship as something fun and forbidden until they are in too deep and realize it’s more. It took me a while to feel like they should be together. I didn’t really like how Erin sometimes took on a pseudo mother role to Cassie like how she took care of her when she was sick. It was one of those things where I could see a significant other doing it but she took care of Cassie the exact same way she cared for her daughter pages earlier when she was sick.
Overall I enjoyed it and I had a fun time. I would recommend it!

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

This was a nearly perfect taboo, lesbian romance. I loved both the main characters and the development of their relationship, my only qualm being the pacing of the last 25% of the book

Holy steam. Within just a few pages of this book, someone’s “tits” were being discussed so I knew it from the get go. But I didn’t hate it. I can be really picky when it comes to steam, usually regarding the descriptive words used, but this one was done in a way that I didn’t even think twice about it. I think i would have liked it more if it weren’t for the fact that one of the girls was in college and the other was her friend’s mom. That age difference was really jarring every time it was mentioned. But other than that the characters were all really likable and I was rooting for all of them. And there was loads of bi rep in this book.

Rep: bi mcs, bi & pan scs, non binary sc

I was pretty excited when I saw the audiobook of this listed on NetGalley. This book was pretty hyped up, as I’ve seen so many people say good things about it. Suffice to say, my expectations were high and I was not disappointed.

This starts off pretty intense with the hookup right at the beginning. The next morning Cassie’s best friend invites her to have brunch with her mom. That’s when they realized they messed up lol From there they secretly keep talking to each other and hooking up behind Parker’s back.

They start off as just hooking up, but their relationship slowly grows into more, little do they want to acknowledge it. It became one of those moments where you just want the characters to wake up and see what literally everyone else does lmao Either way, it was nice to see their relationship grow.

I’m not really one to read many explicit books, but I was intrigued with this one and I heard so much positive reviews. I didn’t really have an issue with the sex scenes per se, but I find they were all pretty similar. Which wouldn't really matter if there wasn’t like 10 of them. One towards the end changed this up a bit, but that’s it. That being said, they were all well written and didn’t really hinder my overall enjoyment.

Cassie and Erin kept getting more and more ballsy, making out or touching when Parker was so close. Every time this happened I was just waiting for Parker to see them and blow up. I was almost always a bit stressed or worried listening to this. It constantly had me thinking “this won’t end well”. Wilsner really left us waiting on the edge of our seats for this big reveal to happen. And the funny thing is, it happens when you least expect it.

Very vague spoiler??:
When the reveal finally happens, I was actually kind of surprised the way Parker took it. I expected a different reaction. I thought it would have been so much worse, with all the build up and anticipation. I didn’t dislike her reaction, I was just very surprised and found it a bit odd, as I would have reacted really differently in her situation.

The epilogue was really cute and a nice funny ending to the story.

The narrators did a great job.

Overall, if smutty sapphic romcoms are your thing, definitely pick this up. If you’re not into reading explicit smut, I would stay away from this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an audio ARC of this book

Another romance I enjoyed, but that I wanted a bit more from.

I liked Mistakes Were Made: the characters were distinct, the romance was developed, and there were some solid side characters. But as with so many of the 3-star romances that I've read, I wanted this book to go deeper than it did. The two main leads definitely got to know and grow closer to each other over the course of the story--it wasn't an insta love situation or anything--but I still felt like that emotional connection was not as developed as it could've been. There was more that the author could've explored, especially on Cassie's side, that could've made the relationship feel a bit more fleshed out and grounded. That being said, I feel like a lot of people will still really enjoy this one, and I'll definitely be looking forward to Meryl Wilsner's future books (I know they have a couple coming out in the next few years, which is very exciting).

Thank you St Martin's Press for providing me with an e-ARC of this via NetGalley!

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced listening copy! This romance was a delight and snuck up on me, making me love the main characters, ending, and thoughtful approach to this sapphic relationship. Cassie is a college student, looking for a one night stand when she meets Erin, an older woman, at a bar. Their attraction is immediate, leaving them to have a wild night, but turns out Erin is the mom of Cassie’s college friend Parker. But though this seems fated to end badly, their desire and love for each other continues to grow against all odds. This is my first time reading Wilsner, and I loved this book. It was sweet, thoughtful, well written, pretty well paced (a little slow at times), and a nicely done steamy and open-door romance. Though this book seems like it might be taboo, honestly, it was a lovely portrayal of falling in love and reminds me of the important lesson that love is beautiful and sweet, and as long as it’s amongst consenting adults that aren’t hurting anyone, who cares about age and silly societal ideas. This is an important reminder at a time where I live in a country that is constantly trying to control my body and who I love. Also, the two narrators of Cassie and Erin worked well for me and I thought the narrators did a great job. I loved the listening experience. Overall I highly recommend this book to fans of Meryl Wilsner, contemporary romance, age gap, and LGBTQ+ stories.

Mistakes were made, that’s what I said around 42% into this audiobook. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the older woman/college student bi secret love affair. Hello, Sarah Paulson/Holland Taylor vibes.

The problem being all there was nearly half way through was excessive amounts of fingering and then admiring what a mistake it is and thinking about each other’s dripping nethers in the mean time. It was repetitive. At that point I thought how is there still 8 hours left.

Love my LGBTQ romances but this one let me down. Thank you, next.

I really enjoyed Something to Talk About, so I was excited for this! I enjoyed this one slightly less - I felt really stressed reading it a lot of the time, but I think it was just because of how both of our characters acted. It was a lot of "we won't" spoken aloud, but "we are" done through not-so-subtle touches and in both character's thoughts.
I liked it, but I couldn't get myself to feel more.

For some reason the whole parent/daughter’s friend relationship really creeped me out. Right off the bat, it just seemed icky. Granted, at that age well age shouldn’t even matter but with the younger woman still in college it still didn’t feel right.
The other thing I didn’t like was how anticlimactic this book was. We go on this whole time thinking her daughter is the reason they keep the relationship a secret and then she just knows and it’s all over.


🌀Synopsis
Cassie sleeps with her best friend’s mom- without knowing it’s her best friend’s mom though. It’s meant to be a one night stand but when she keeps seeing Erin while hanging out with her daughter, Parker, the opportunities keep presenting themself for the two to be together.

They develop a long term relationship but neither of them are willing to admit it and neither wants Parker to find out. When they finally realize they have true feelings for each other they have to face the inevitable blow up but it doesn’t come from who we’d expect it to.

This book is WAY steamier than Wilsner's first and I loved that it wasn't a common trope. Maybe I wasn't completely in love with the characters, but it was an excellent escape.

Story started out great, made it really easy to dive deeper and keep listening. Enjoyed how everything felt like it had a point and wasn’t full of a bunch of fluff. Scene cuts were great and overall a really great listen!

The narrators did a great job in terms of acting, although I didn't think the voice quality matched the characters. I felt like Erin was made to sound older than she should; lower doesn't always have to mean older in voice acting, and it took me out of the story a little bit to hear Erin's voice so low and mature. That said, the book still fell flat for me. I just didn't get much from the characters in the way of connection. Yes, they are very physical, and the spicy scenes were frequent. However, in terms of their actual relationship, I felt true connection was lacking.

Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner

I loved this book it was the best written LGBTQ book I have read this year. It was written in a way that made it close to being real in how a lesbian relationship goes. It was raw in its descriptions on the sex scenes and it made it beautiful. I love the main characters Erin and Cassie the age difference did not make a difference it was two people falling in love. It made me feel good inside it made me believe love can cross all barriers.

Some of the best relationship I know in real life in the community is ones that there is a significant age difference and love is love. I liked watching the characters grow as the pages turned as a reader I felt connected to them I was rooting for them to have success to watch them fall hard for each other.

I did not want the book to end it was so entertaining and enjoyable. If you love LGBTQ romance story this is an amazing book to feed your hunger for good lesbian romance this book is the cream of the crop. Meryl brought Erin and Cassie alive as the story unfolded she gave them depth. This is a sapphic romance the details are exactly how a sexual relationship between two women occur. I always roll my eyes in most lesbian books when they describe sexual organism as moving to her core not in this story it is blunt and to the point. For some who complain this is two much well not really making love with a women should be beautiful and accurate and Meryl knocked it out of the park.

Jeremy Carlisle Parker; Quinn Riley; Stephanie Németh-Parker did a great job narrating this story they brought the characters to life and you can distinguish each voice in the story. This was a five star read for me and I cannot wait for more from this author. I am a fame!

Thank you to Netgally and Macmillan Audio for a free audio copy of this book for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I fell in love with this book when I first read it during March of this year. Even if their relationship was based on lust, I was rooting for Cassie and Erin from the get-go. I've included my review of the eBook ARC, but after finishing the audiobook ARC, I have to say that the narrators did a phenomenal job bringing these beloved characters to life. Even knowing what was going to happen, I was as invested in Cassie and Erin's unfolding relationship. I'm glad I did not have to wait until October to reread it, but you know I'll probably read it again when my pre-ordered book arrives.

This was my Goodreads review of the ebook ARC:

Earlier this year when I read Ashley Herring Blake's Delilah Green Doesn't Care I thought I would not read a better f/f romance this year. (Yes, I know that the author is following it up with Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail later this year, but I love the first book so much I fear I will be disappointed by its sequel.)

Which is exactly why I was fearful of reading this book. However, I read the plot and it had me at hello. While Something to Talk About had the slowest buildup possible,--it was glacial--this book begins with Cassie and Erin hooking up for what both thought was going to be a one-night stand. Their sexual chemistry is intense, indisputable, and inescapable; and while both are great at coming up with excuses why they should stay away, they are both incapable of resisting their pull.

However, this book does overlap with Something to Talk About in that everyone could tell that the characters were dating/falling for each other/in love before the characters themselves admitted it to themselves.

Mistakes Were Made is frustrating on other levels as well. One thing is a spoiler regarding Parker-Erin's daughter and Cassie's best friend--which I will not go into right now. The most frustrating for me was waiting for the inevitable fight that leads the characters to break up before realizing that they were in love and then getting back together for the happily ever after. All I have to say about it is that Wilsner kept me at the edge of my seat (I was actually in the hammock) with my heart pounding and then gave me something unexpected that showed me their mastery at writing romance novels. Seriously, if the author reads this at some point I am in awe of you right now.

I can't thank the ARC gods enough for granting me access to this one! I just finished the book and have a massive book hangover. The last time I felt this way was when I finished Maggie Shipstead's Great Circle. This time, however, this very hefty human went over to my wife, sat on her lap, and curled up against her saying I don't want to read another book for a while.

If you have made it this far into the review, I do not want to raise your expectations only to send them crashing down once you actually read the book. Mistakes Were Made is by no means perfect, but I don't even care. I love it too much regardless and already preordered a physical copy of it that I will reread lovingly in October.

Thoughts: I have been in the mood for steamy romance lately, and given my love for age gap/forbidden romance, this seemed like a book for me as I constantly search for books to add to my age gap trope collection.

Let’s start with what I liked. I really enjoyed the overall storyline and the characters. I felt the tumult that goes along with finding love where you shouldn’t. I rooted for Erin and Cassie throughout their story and hoped for a happy ending for everyone involved. The added bonus was the wonderful friendships Meryl Wilsner created for each of the MCs. These felt very authentic and multi-dimensional.

While this book is supposed to be steamy, I found myself wishing for a little less steam, and a little more about the characters themselves. Even though I had a pretty good feel for each of them, I still wanted to learn more about what made them tick. Given the vast number of sex scenes, I think a few could have been cut in order to spend more time developing the characters.

3.5★

Read if you like:
◈ Sapphic romance
◈ Forbidden love
◈ Age Gap
◈ Spice

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an ALC of this book in exchange for my honest review.