I don't often dip my toes into romance— but how could I possibly stay away from such a steamy sapphic read? A will-they-won't-they that you're actually not sure how it will turn out? Two lovable characters with fantastic banter and chemistry? Who are surrounded by people they love and live lives they enjoy! This is certainly my top romance of the year! That being said, unless you're a seasoned romance veteran, I would not recommend reading this on public transit. Found that one out the hard way.

If Meryl Wilsner’s debut novel Something to Talk About was a slooooow burn, Mistakes Were Made is the opposite: a fast, intense, full-throttle launch into a steamy and heartfelt romance.

Cassie Klein is a senior in college whose confidence is matched only by her inability to be vulnerable. After hooking up with a gorgeous older woman in an attempt to get away from all the feelings Family Day weekend brings for her, Cassie assumes it’s nothing more than a fun, hot one-night stand. And it would have been… had the woman she slept with not been her best friend’s mom, Erin.

As many other reviewers have said, this book is scorching hot. The chemistry between Cassie and Erin carries the first half of the novel and had me fanning my face while turning the digital page. I love a good age gap relationship and this one is well-executed, leaning into both the serious and sexy emotional aspects in a way that really worked for me. And listen? I’m not immune to the TikTok marketing. I came for the MILF book, and whoo boy, did I get THE MILF book.

Watching both Erin and Cassie grow together and reclaim parts of themselves—their vulnerability, their desire, their self-confidence—was a delight. Since a large part of the plot involves secrecy, I was a little hesitant on how this would land for me, but I needn’t have worried; there’s minimal judgment of Cassie and Erin’s age difference, which can make a book miss for me if it’s leaned on too heavily.

Overall this is just a delightful, sexy novel. Meryl Wilsner has a fan in me and I will continue to pick up whatever else they write. With loveable characters, lots of romantic and sexual tension, and stellar pacing, Mistakes Were Made will be a go-to recommendation for me moving forward.

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for an advance review copy. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars. Loved. love love love. This book was so good. We need more sapphic books in this world, and this one was an excellent example of why. SO GOOD.

Believe me I truly wanted to love this but it just did not work out for me at all. I think this book is fine and I can totally see why other people would love this book. However, the writing of this book and me just aren't friends. It didn't work out for me at all. The writing just felt really impersonal to me and kept me removed from the narrative. I thought the characters were really one dimensional, and the romance was completely developed through sexual interactions (which I know people don't mind but I need a little more than that to get invested into a romance). This book also had some weird transitions between scenes at times, as in I could not tell when there was a transition between scenes sometimes and that caused me to be very confused at several moments throughout this book. So yeah, I just did not care for this at all and no one is sadder about that than me.

3.5 stars - This was a lot of fun to read. I went into this very excited to read ~the milf sapphic romance~ of the season and I found it to be very cute and enjoyable and steamy af but let's not really talk about that ok bye. I was very surprised to see how Wilsner handled such a taboo romance. I really did believe that Cassie and Erin were kind of meant to be together? And I did really believe that they made each other happy. I found myself smiling at the kind things they did for one another. I also found them both to be pretty relatable characters. Like, as relatable as hooking up with your best friend's mom could be. They weren't perfect people, but I appreciated the sentiment of being your own person and working towards being happy with your life before worrying about others. My biggest gripe with the novel was actually how it ended happily? Like, it made sense and I understand this is a romance but I feel like the consequences for their actions was not AS bad as I think they should've been for it to really feel realistic. But other than that, this was fun and I recommend to anyone looking to have a good time!

I really enjoyed this book. I think it had the perfect amount of romance and spice. I loved seeing Cassie and Erin build their relationship and grow together. I loved that there was a little bit of hidden romance and Cassie and Erin felt like they had to hide their relationship and downplay exactly what they had together. Overall this was such a great romance story!

Cassie and Erin meet at a bar and have an instant connection that leads to a one-night stand. The next morning, one of Cassie’s best friends, Parker, invites Cassie to breakfast with her mom who is visiting for their college’s Family Weekend. Cassie is shocked to find out that Parker’s mom is the woman she hooked up with the night before. Cassie and Erin continue to end up in situations where they are able to be alone and they are unable to resist their connection.

This book was STEAMY!! There are many well-written spicy scenes that start from chapter one. Overall, this was an enjoyable read but I did find myself cringing often thinking about the circumstances of Cassie and Erin’s situationship. I felt myself not believing how well things kept going for them but also I like the idea of people supporting the people they care about and prioritizing their happiness. Accepting happiness and love rather than worrying about what other people will think about you was a big theme in this book, which I appreciated. I also enjoyed the strong friendships and found family. I liked the dual perspectives and being able to see what both Cassie and Erin were thinking/feeling. I look forward to reading more of Meryl Wilsner’s work!

When an age gap one night stand hits just right,

If you are looking for a spicy read, this will be right up your alley. Needless to say, it was great from the start and move at a pace that kept you invested in the story.

Erin and Cassie are perfectly paired, despite the aspects of their own lives that just seem to complicate their own inner dialogues. They are both driven and ambitious, matching their intelligence and humour to create a bond that comes alive through the pages.

Thank you to St Martin’s Griffin and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

this book I absolutely loved this. it was fast-paced and super fun to read. I'm a sucker for a good sapphic adult romance book. the writing was absolutely beautiful and I enjoyed every moment of this book. it was perfection, if I could read it for the first time ever again I so would.

TW: mentions of cheating, divorce, tense relationship between parent/kid

Actual 3.5 rounded down

As a whole I really enjoyed this book, it was a great age gap sapphic romance. I’m so sad to say that there were two things made me rate it lower because it really took me out when reading it:

1) Parker - her character was such a bitch. The attitude that was coming off of her made her incredibly unlikeable throughout the whole book, and even at the end when she has her redeeming arc, it was too late for me to enjoy her.

2) The repetition / internal dialogues. Outside of keeping secrets in order to preserve their fling/relationships, the classic miscommunication was incredibly present because y’all just refuse to talk to each other. There were pages of internal dialogue from both MC’s of “she did/said this, so <i>what does this mean????”</i>.

That being said I’d still recommend to anyone wanting a book that stars off as a one night stand or age gap - I loved the positive outlook on therapy and I really enjoyed the shocking (like I was SHOCKED) amount of spice. I think the two mains were really good together, paired with their tension and their connection, it really made them vibe well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC; I am voluntarily leaving this review.

Just like everyone else, I was HIGHLY anticipating *THE* MILF book of the season and was ready to rave about it from the rooftops, but alas…I was left wanting more.⁣⁣
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Don’t get me wrong, it’s hot AF 🔥 everything from face-sitting to strap-ons, ya girl’s got it all, but dare I say (and I can’t believe I’m saying this) there’s maybe too much sex and not enough communication or plot?? ⁣⁣
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Most of these characters were incredibly insufferable and while I had to remind myself that they are in college, I don’t remember being *that* level of immature?? 😮‍💨 Aside from that (or maybe bc of it), no one took the time to just TALK, which is the case for most romances, but if you’re going to date your best friend’s mom…maybe sit down and have a chat real quick? With BOTH parties??⁣⁣
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This book also read really, really white, and it was only time until I was waiting for the audio to end. (also don’t recommend the audio, 100% go for the print!)⁣⁣
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I will say one nice thing though (actually, the second bc did I mention the sex was hot as fuck????), and that’s that I appreciated how easy this read and wasn’t inundated with homophobia and unnecessary trauma. It’s quite easy-going (which may be why there was so much sex in the first place lol) and didn’t put up a fight, which was quite refreshing and why I wouldn’t completely knock this book. HOWEVER, I did need Cassie to get to a therapist ASAP 🙂⁣⁣
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Overall, I can see why people have and may enjoy this in its simplicity or if you’re just in need of a steamy read + no plot, but it frustrated me with what could’ve been and it really let me down and WHEN WILL I HAVE MY MILF MOMENT DAMMIT 😭

I really enjoyed this read— just the right amount of heart, spice, and humor. A perfect sapphic rom com.

What an absolute delight by Meryl Wilsner. I didn't expect to love Mistakes Were Made as much as I did. I'd heard all about it, and the entire book seemed poised for a giant blow up at the end. What I wasn't expecting was the introspection of feelings and love and thoughtfulness. This book was surprisingly soft and sweet -- in addition to being unbelievably hot. I loved every second and can't wait to read more from Wilsner in the future!

Solid 4/5 stars for me!

Erin and Cassie meet incidentally at a bar one night, and after one sexy session they can't stop thinking about each other. Seeing each other at breakfast didn't help, as they horrifyingly realize that Erin is the mother of Cassie's best friend, Parker. But sparks are flying and chemistry is heating up, and they can't seem to cool themselves down.

Okay, I am not exactly sure what it was about this book but from steamy chapter one I was intrigued. Maybe it's the one night stand trope that builds the tension along the way, or simply the chemistry between Erin and Cassie, but I was hooked on the book as much as they were on each other. There were enough episodes throughout the book to build the suspense - would Parker find out? Or would they find the courage to tell her and figure out where things were going before? And even so, when she does find out, how will she ever be okay with it?

From beginning to end I was intrigued. The writing style, the character building, and the story all worked together to create an LGBTQ+ romance that I would certainly recommend to friends.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley and the author for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Full review will be soon posted on my IG @manis.and.manuscripts.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc.
This book was messy but at the same time it was so hot and cute.
It's a Sapphic romance following a 21 year old falling for her best friend's mother.
It was hilarious
Definitely recommend it!!

My introduction to Meryl’s writing came from Something to Talk About. Great book. Four stars.

This book? My favorite NetGalley win to date. One of my favorite books I’ve read this year. Come back at me in 2023 so see if this was my favorite 2022 read. It was that good.

Repeat after me. Everyone in this book is a bisexual disaster. To the extreme. There’s other rep. One of the friends is genderqueer. But three of the mains are bi. But mainly they are disasters.

What happens when you hook up with a MILF during parent weekend in college? And meet her again the next day, because she’s your best friend’s mom? So many things could have gone wrong. So many things did. But I am here for each and every one of them.

You don’t need me to repeat the premise so I won’t. Read some of the earlier reviews. But if you’re bored of straight contemporary romance, let me introduce you to the best F/F I’ve read since One Last Stop. And if you know me at all, you know I don’t say this lightly.

This has everything I ever wanted in a romance. Today’s commute did not suck.

This book was amazing!
To sum up, it's F/F bisexual romance porn 😂 and I'm here for it. It is cuuute as hell and it is fabulous. The chemistry is there from the very start.

But yeah, if you don't want to read too much sex, don't pick this up.
If you do however, this is for you! 😉

I read the synopsis of this book and found it so intriguing. Girl walks into a bar, hooks up with a hot older woman only to find out that woman is your best friend's mom. I still don't understand how if it's your best friend, you don't know her mom and she doesn't know you, but I digress.

I think Cassie (college student) and Erin (best friend's mom) were well written. Their choices were consistent and you could see the bond forming between them. I didn't like how they went about things, but I understood their motivations for their decisions. The dynamics between Cassie and her friends and Erin and her friend Rachel felt genuine.

This book had many spicy scenes and a few times I wish we delved more into their relationships with other characters. The pace at the end was also a bit rushed and I wish I saw more of Parker, Erin's daughter since she was the thread between the two main characters.

I’m not normally an age gap kinda person, but I really enjoyed this book. The characters were complex and the story had a good pace to it!

So I honestly thought the whole relationship with the friend's mom would weird me out too much. But it surprisingly didn't. There were times where I thought each character was being a little annoying but overall I thought this was an entertaining read & I flew through it pretty quickly. What I appreciated about this romance was there wasn't a stupid misunderstanding that caused conflict of the plot. Loved the LGBTQ+ representation with two strong and intelligent women!