Mistakes Were Made has a fun and fresh premise–college senior accidentally hooks up with best friend’s mom… and it delivered in all the best ways!

Cassie buys a drink for a stranger during her college’s Family Weekend, shares a steamy hookup, and later finds out Erin is actually her best friend Parker’s mom. They try and fail to resist the attraction and start sneaking around together, doing the long-distance thing and trying to figure out how they can work long-term.

I was only kind of weirded out that Erin was younger than me and already an empty nester… meanwhile I have a preschooler lololol. Despite that, it was a good story. The bi heroines have really great chemistry with plenty of steamy scenes. I also enjoyed their individual growth arcs. Looking forward to what Meryl writes next!

Thanks to SMP romance for a digital ARC.

MISTAKES WERE MADE is a steamy, age gap romance with a lot of sweet moments between main characters Cassie and Erin. I feel torn here so am going with 3 stars, because on one hand, I really believed in Cassie and Erin's relationship and it's development. You could really feel their chemistry and the sex scenes were written well. On the other hand, there were so many sex scenes that it felt like it took over the plot. The main characters spent the whole book deceiving the daughter, and then it was just wrapped up so easily. That felt unbelievable to me. Overall, if you are looking for a steamy, age gap, somewhat forbidden romance, this is for you.
Thank you St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin, for the digital copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Before I say anything else: I was extremely excited for this book, particularly because Something To Talk About was so good. I’m so sad to say that I DNF’ed this book within the first 15 pages because I almost immediately got the ick. I don’t know if the set up contributed to it at all (they see each other across the bar immediately after the MC gets hit on by a man), but this line made me sigh in disappointment: “That was, until she spotted this woman. Definitely woman, not girl or chick.” First of all, what. Second of all, I know this is an age gap story, so emphasizing that Erin is older is important, but was there a way to do it without making it seem like Cassie was going to objectify her for the rest of the story?

Suffice it to say, I knew as soon as I started it that this story wasn’t for me, but it could be perfect for you!! Like every reader, I have random turn offs when it comes to books that make me automatically say no, and the set up for this story happened to be one of them—but that doesn’t mean you’ll have the same experience.

🤿In this steamy age-gap romance, the characters are complicated—they are trying to chase happy without hurting their loved ones, trying to figure out the balance between what they should do and “f*ck should”. I loved that this was told from two POVs, Cassie and Erin, and I was constantly worried when our MCs would get caught. The romance in this was sweet and I was left wondering how Meryl would give these two the HEA they both deserve, and I thought Meryl tied it altogether with a beautiful bow🎀 Read for a whole bunch of steam, shower steam included🥵🔥🚿

Escaping her college’s family weekend, senior Cassie Klein goes to a local bar and ends up with a hot one night stand with an older woman. When her best friend Parker drags her to breakfast with her mom the next day, Cassie is suddenly face to face with her previous night’s fling, Erin Bennett AKA Parker’s mom. They decide to stay away from each other for Parker’s sake, but find it impossible and end up meeting covertly, but soon deeper feelings develop.

I loved this book! High on steam and spice, great female friendship themes, and laugh out loud moments made the book for me. Mistakes Were Made isn’t your typical rom-com, but definitely worth a read in my opinion.

It’s Family Weekend at Cassie Klein’s school, and she wants no part of it. At an off-campus bar, she picks up a beautiful, older stranger and has an amazing one-night stand. The next morning when one of her two best friend’s drags her along to quell the awkwardness of hanging with her mom, Cassie is shocked to find the woman from the night before sitting across from her. Erin Bennett wasn’t planning on a one-night stand with a college senior, and she certainly wasn’t prepared for said one-night stand to be her daughter’s best friend. The two get along, however, and as they spend more time together, they find that there’s no way to ignore what happened. Both will have to make some tough choices to keep their relationship with each other and Erin’s daughter.

I loved this book so much! It was so fun and awkward and hot and funny. Also, some genuine feels and bonding throughout, win win. I’m a sucker for an older-younger queer romance, and the hilarity of finding your bff’s mom sitting next to you after having an anonymous one night stand with her the night before was cringe and funny for me. I liked the tension building of their relationship, which can sometimes be difficult to do when the characters hook up too early in the book, but Wilsner handles that and the pacing flawlessly in this romantic romp. Highly recommend if you want to have some fun and escape the doldrums of the dumpster fires right now.

⭐️Rating: 3/5
⚠️TW: Age Gap, Toxic Relationships
❣️Tropes: Forbidden Romance
Would I recommend this book?: Yes


Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley im exchange for an honest opinion. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!


Review:

The two main characters, Cassie and Erin, both felt full and developed. Their chemistry was great right from the start and didn’t drop off once. I loved the queer representation for such a classic trope in romance novels. The prose itself was great and the sex scenes were nicely written, didn’t feel awkward at all. There was also a good balance of how many sex scenes were present in the story which is so important for this kind of story where that aspect of the relationship is highly relevant.

I only have two real complaints. The first is that the actual pacing was rough, particularly in the second half of the story. The second is that Parker (the daughter/best friend character) felt underdeveloped and therefore underused. I would have loved to see further inclusion of her just because she felt so pivotal.

Affectionally referred to as the "MILF Book," Mistakes Were Made follows 21-year old college senior Cassie and 39-year old Doctor, Erin. The two meet at a bar as a one-night-stand. The next morning, Cassie is invited to breakfast by her best friend, Parker, and her mom. She shows up to their favorite restaurant to find that Parker's mom is Erin, the woman she met the note before.

I absolutely loved that this story was told in alternating POVs so we could see the insides of their minds as they progress from one-night stand to best friend's mom to maybe something more. We get to see the journey of just about a full school year, from that first fateful Parents Weekend through the summer following Cassie's senior year.

This is truly a unique, sapphic romance, and I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read an ARC of "Mistakes Were Made", written by Meryl Wilsner.

Overall, I rated this novel 4/5 stars!

I really enjoyed reading this author's previous novel "Something to Talk About", and I actually ended up liking this one even more. It was so messy and I loved it so much.

A senior accidentally ends up hooking up with her friend's mother during parents' weekend at college. Need I say more?!

WOW. Thank you Netgalley and St-Martin’s press for giving me an e-arc! This book was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it exceeded my expectations! Rom Com of my dreams! I couldn’t stop reading it! It was heartfelt, and even hit too close to home at some parts. The story was a great mix of sweet, and steamy moments! I was captivated! I’ve recently been discovering my favorite tropes and one of them is age-gap romance! Experiencing what that dynamic/relationship feels like from both POVS was electric and endearing. The chemistry and passion and desire was off the charts. It felt Ike the universe had an invisible string tying them together. Meant to be type of energy. I was throughly impressed with their communication and commitment to understand one another. I loved their banter and inside jokes between them! It was delightful, funny, and witty! I also loved the platonic and romantic love woven throughout the story. It melted my heart seeing how all these characters loved each other so much. Overall, I couldn’t recommend this book more!

This was a DNF for me -- I couldn't get into it, and the characters weren't believable and were poorly developed. Sadly, I've 90% of fanfiction is better than this was.

Oh hello! First off, this book is steamy! Cassie Klein is a college student trying to escape on-campus antics by hiding out in an off-campus bar. There she shares a drink with an attractive stranger, which turns into a phenomenal one-night stand. No biggie. Next thing she knows she's meeting her best friend's mom who is none other than her one-night stand. Yikes! Highly recommend this salacious rom-com. It will suck you in and take you on a wild, suspenseful ride.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Mistakes Were Made is a smart, witty romantic comedy that is well written, fun and thoroughly enjoyable. Seriously one of the best age gap romances I've ever read.
Erin and Cassie have such amazing chemistry. And I loved the friendships between Cassie and her friends, and I never questioned if Cassie fit in more with her friends or with Erin because of how well written and developed she is. This book lived up to it's hype and is easily one of the best romances of the year.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this release.

This one was not for me. I was so excited about this book when I first heard about it and all the hype around it. Sadly, the writing style and the storyline was something I just couldn't quite get into. I think the writing style put me off and then I just couldn't get behind the motivations for the characters. I know that some people have adored this book so I know that others will really enjoy it, but this one just wasn't for me.

LOVED the idea of this book! I haven't read too many age gap books ever and this was a nice change! I would definitely recommend to fellow romcom lovers. It felt perhaps a little long...or maybe the font felt smallish.

I enjoyed this book, but it felt way too long and dragged in the middle. I also didn't feel like there was enough development of the characters or the relationship. Parker was kind of a brat throughout, and then she was just magically okay with her mom and best friend dating. There wasn't enough conflict to feel like the story was moving. The conflict was there was the very beginning and then the characters just ignored it for the rest of the book, and there was never any development to move it forward or move past it. It just resolved itself in the end. Parker secretly found out about the relationship halfway through the book but then the book just kept going. Also, the relationship wasn't as believable because the characters were just really attracted to each other and didn't actually get to know one another until way later. Which made their actions kind of infuriating. Like Parker's mom saying that Parker was her main priority and she would never do anything to hurt her, but then completely ignoring that because she was just too sexually attracted to her best friend. Also, there were a lot of time shifts were really confusing and they weren't explained well. For example, there's one part where Parker said she wasn't available for dinner on Sunday, then a few paragraphs later after being in Cassie's memories, suddenly Parker is eating dinner with friends and Cassie. It made me wonder whether the story was just inconsistent or if time shifted in the span of two paragraphs. Also felt like the epilogue wasn't needed.

I just cannot get past the sleeping with her friends mom and then continuing to do sexual things and lying to her friend about it. There’s nothing that could really make that all okay in my mind.

Review 4.5 ⭐️
Omg, this book was 🥵🥵🥵 First, the premise of this book was just 😱 I could not imagine what I would do if I were any of the characters in this book. Second, this age-gap romance is just enough age-gap that it works without questions (I have a hard time with this trope). I really enjoyed the storyline and the will they or won’t they that Wilsner made the reader experience. The pacing of the story did slow down towards the end but it built up to a surprising reveal. While this is a taboo romance, I feel like you really root for Cassie and Erin. Also, Cassie and Parker’s friendship is the real deal and more mature than most college friendships. If you’re looking for age-gap romance with some sneaking around, I highly recommend this one!

This book follows Cassie and Erin, who hook-up at a bar on Parents Weekend at the local college. Things get awkward, however, when Cassie shows up to breakfast with Erin’s daughter the next morning, and their romance spirals from there.

I loved the concept of this book. It sounded funny and intriguing, and it does deliver on that concept. I also loved most of the individual character development, especially for the character Parker. Her arc was personally my favorite in the book. The theme of putting your happiness first, even when it’s uncomfortable for others, was also a strong point for me, even if the execution (in the form of Cassie and Erin’s relationship) left a little to be desired.

The book lost me in terms of relationship development between Cassie and Erin. I didn’t feel like we were ever really given a strong enough reason for them to be together. Sure, they found each other hot and comfortable to talk to, but that is not necessarily the foundation of a long-term relationship. I wish the book had dug just a little bit deeper in terms of what they liked about each other, what made them think they had to have a serious relationship and not just a friends with benefits situation. I also really could not get past how badly they treated Parker and Acacia for the sake of their relationship, even if those characters forgive them at the drop of a dime at the end of the book. While I can appreciate the theme of putting yourself and your happiness first, I can’t justify it when you hurt others for your own happiness, which I what I felt happened here.

Overall, I think this was a serviceable read. The spicy scenes really go there, but the romance was just okay. I don’t think I would jump to recommend this to anyone, but if a regular romance reader was looking for another title, this could definitely be on that list.

Mistakes Were Made is a book that pulled me in from the start. I loved that we got dual POV, because both Cassie and Erin show a lot of development in this story. It definitely wouldn’t have been the same book without it. This book was steamy, funny, and emotional.

Cassie and Erin meet at the bar during Family Weekend. Erin is there for her daughter, but at the bar, because she’s spending time with her father. Cassie is at the bar, because she doesn’t have a relationship with her mother or family there for the weekend. I loved how they were flirty with each other, but it was even better when Cassie showed up with Erin’s daughter, Parker, to breakfast the next morning.

Even though they keep telling themselves they won’t do anything again, because of Parker, they can’t seem to resist each other. I honestly kind of felt bad for Parker, because this was something huge to be hiding from your daughter and best friend. Both of them were aware of this, but didn’t really do anything about it.

Besides their romance and meetings together (they were definitely steamy), I do feel like this book gave both characters a lot of development. Cassie starts thinking about what she really wants and that she’s someone who can be loved. People want to be there for her and it’s okay for her to let them in. Erin is finding who she is after her divorce. She always thinks things have to be perfect and things are expected of her, but Erin is also now learning not everything has to be perfect.

The second half of this book was kind of slow for me, because not much really happens. There isn’t a huge third act breakup and the drama I was expecting took an unexpected turn. That being said, I did still really enjoy this book and it was nice not to have a lot of drama in a romance.