Oh my goodness. What a great, sexy romance. Cassie and Erin are both such wonderful characters, and Erin’s struggle to balance what she wants with what she thinks she should do is so real and was described beautifully. Every action felt really true to the characters and I read this book in less than a day because I wanted everything to work out so badly.

I am a huge fan of Meryl Wilsner's debut, SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT, a workplace slow-burn romance. This...is not that. From the first chapter is lots of /spice/ as the tiktok girlies say. That said, this book is completely different from STTA and yet so similar--both boil down to two women who just want to support each other.

Although I was highly anticipating MISTAKES WERE MADE, I was also a little skeptical--how would the age gap be handled? How was this pairing ever going to work out? But this book truly delivered on the romance. Although it was lust at first sight, watching Cassie and Erin's feelings for each other grow had me squealing. The chemistry between the two was undeniable. There is also SO MUCH SEX, and these scenes are written so well, with so much care and with a softness that allows the reader to see how this relationship is far beyond friends-with-benefits.

The romantic aspect, coupled with the suspense of how and when certain people (cough cough, Erin's daughter and Cassie's best friend) would find out left me on the edge of my seat. The fact that all three of the main characters are bi was the cherry on top. I absolutely flew through this book, and I am so happy it is now out in the world!

Title: Mistakes Were Made
Author: Meryl Wilsner
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"Mistakes Were Made" by Meryl Wilsner

My Assessment:

Wow, what will happen when Cassie, 21, a college senior, hooks up with one of her best friends, Parker's mom, Erin, 38, who just happened to be a doctor, during a family weekend? Will this be something that will continue between Cassie and Erin after these two find out who was who, or will it 'escalates into something more than either of the two had planned?'

Be ready for a very spicy situation that will bring it all together 'sapphic age gap, family, taboo relationship, friendship, sexy scenes, love, happiness, and finally, a HEA.' There will be many points of view in this moving reading and secrets one will have to keep up in this LGBTQ read. And this story will give one plenty of thought long after the read. So, if this is your kind of read, pick up "Makes We Made" and see how this author brings it out to the reader.


Thank you, Netgalley & St. Martin's Press, for an eARC of Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner!

𝑴𝒚 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘

Did I stay up too late to finish a book? Yes.
Was I half-dead the next day? Also yes.
Did I regret it? Not one bit.
Finished this book at 6:06 am after reading the last leg of it through the night!

This book starts in the middle of everything and we only discover who the MCs are to each other deeper in the story. The writing is magnetic and it's so easy to get hooked!

There was so much chaotic bisexual energy and I loved how everything played out! Plus, there were lots of steamy, steamy, steamy scenes between these two. They just have a natural chemistry that I love. It's often hard for me to get behind a love at first sight trope. For these MCs it's not 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 love at first sight, but their connection is undeniably automatic and difficult to deny.

There were stretches where the storyline kinda skipped through time, and I feel like a montage would have been appropriate for some of it. Made it a lot easier for my brain to see the book as a movie or tv show.

Overall, I was obsessed with this book while reading it, and highly recommend it now that I'm done!

𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝑺𝒐 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑲𝒏𝒐𝒘...

Features a forbidden, age-gap romance and a MILF trope, all wrapped up in a beautiful LGBTQIAP+ romance novel. Great for fans of 𝘋𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘩 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘦, Alexandria Bellefleur, Scarlett St. Clair, and Casey McQuiston.

Thank you to NetGalley and SMP Romance for approving my request and sharing this e-arc with me. It's such a memorable book and I'm head over heels for it!

Wow I really liked this! As someone who is not generally in to age gap romances, I was a little hesitant to read this. I will say that I did have to sort of suspend my disbelief regarding the plot, particularly the ending.

I was worried that these characters couldn't get a happy ending based on how their relationship started but I was pleasantly surprised by the ending, even considering that there's no way it would have worked out that well in real life.

There was a lot to like about this book, but overall it fell a little flat for me. The steamy scenes were absolutely top notch, but I didn't feel the characters' connection to each other outside of the bedroom. I also felt like the major source of conflict was resolved way too easily and in a way that did not feel realistic at all. Within the couple, there was a definite power imbalance that made me feel a little uncomfortable at times. A lot of this book was enjoyable to read, but there were quite a few things that made it just not hit right overall..

Erin is at Family Weekend at her daughters college and has a night off while her daughter spends time with her ex-husband. What she wasn’t planning on was hooking up with a younger woman in the backseat of a car. More so, she wasn’t expecting the woman to show up the next day at breakfast with her daughter. So it has to end, right?

The last thing Cassie is expecting is to be invited to her best friends home for the holiday break. How can she resist the most explosive experience she’s had for two whole weeks? While they both feel like it can’t continue they also can’t resist each other.

Secrets always have a way of coming out though. While the age gap did play a significant part in the story I also felt like Erin really deserved to find her happiness. Her ex was a total jerk at times.

Their chemistry was evident and while it was super steamy there was a lot of sweet gestures and conversation that brought the two together as well.

While the tension of dating your best friends Mom did play out it was handled pretty well. There was a few times where Cassie’s age did come across as immature but to be expected.

Overall a great read, some holiday fun, steamy scenes, great friendships, and finding your happy.

I really enjoyed this book! This is my first age gap romance and it set a very high standard. Erin is recently divorced and visiting her daughter in college when she has a steamy encounter with a gorgeous woman at the bar...only to find out later that the woman she met at the bar is also in college and best friends with her daughter.

The stakes in this book were very high and frequently I found myself wondering just how they would be able to make it work which, in my opinion, is often the most fun when it comes to romance. Erin and Cassie were extremely well developed and I really appreciated the growth both of them had to go through in order to successfully be together and imagine a future with each other. This book was EXTREMELY spicy but I was also really drawn to the other ways Cassie and Erin complimented each other.

The friendship dynamics with the college girls was another highlight and if anything I would have wanted more time with Parker, Erin's daughter and Cassie's friend.

I especially enjoyed how the book wrapped up and I would gladly spend even more time with Erin and Cassie as they figured out who they were to each other and what they wanted out of life. I feel like I'm at an age and point in my life where I deeply related to both Erin and Cassie and want all the best things for them.

Did I mention how hot this book was because....just woah.

Thank you so much to St. Martins and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a steamy romance about college senior Cassie, who accidentally hooks up with her best friend's mom. 

This book is spicy, and I was slightly stressed anticipating them getting caught at every turn. While there is plenty of passion and chemistry, we also get the emotional connection as we see the growing attraction and relationship evolution between Cassie and Erin. I love that these women put aside what they should or shouldn't be doing to follow their heart and pursue what makes them happy. 

Pick this up if you're interested in:
- Age gap romance
- Taboo/forbidden relationship
- LOTS OF STEAM / open door romance
- Found family theme

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for my early copy in exchange for an honest review.

this book had a lot of potential to me & hype but unfortunately it fell short. I didn’t feel like the progression from booking up to being in love was well developed. I struggled with the unnecessary comments on side characters races. I wished that there had been some kind of communication of the change in relationship between mother & daughter after Parker found out her best friend was dating her mom or how her dad treated her mom. it just felt like a lot was left unfinished and left me wanting.

Hooray for MILFs! Meryl Wilsner is so good at slow burn and tension. The pacing of Mistakes Were Made feels off at times, with a chunk of the middle feeling like a real slog. But overall the story is great.

I am a firm believer in putting books to the side when they don't work for you, and unfortunately that is what I had to do with Mistakes Were Made. I got about 50% in and just was not feeling the emotional connection between Cassie and Erin. I might pick it up in the future when I am feeling a steamy book, but I wanted something with a bit more depth. Just because I wasn't feeling this one doesn't mean you won't! If you want a steamy book with LGBTQ rep, try this out!

See below for the Goodreads synopsis:

"From the critically acclaimed author of Something To Talk About comes a sharp and sexy rom-com about a college senior who accidentally hooks up with her best friend’s mom. When Cassie Klein goes to an off-campus bar to escape her school’s Family Weekend, she isn’t looking for a hookup—it just happens. Buying a drink for a stranger turns into what should be an uncomplicated, amazing one-night stand. But then the next morning rolls around and her friend drags her along to meet her mom—the hot, older woman Cassie slept with.

Erin Bennett came to Family Weekend to get closer to her daughter, not have a one-night stand with a college senior. In her defense, she hadn’t known Cassie was a student when they'd met. To make things worse, Erin’s daughter brings Cassie to breakfast the next morning. And despite Erin's better judgement—how could sleeping with your daughter’s friend be anything but bad?—she and Cassie get along in the day just as well as they did last night.

What should have been a one-time fling quickly proves impossible to ignore, and soon Cassie and Erin are sneaking around. Worst of all, they start to realize they have something real. But is being honest about the love between them worth the cost?"

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: October 11, 2022

A steamy sapphic romance right out of the gate! Unfortunately this was all steam for a while and left me searching for a plot. While it made it difficult to stay interested, I stayed the course and this eventually developed the characters and relationships. If you’re looking to read a lot of steam on the page and don’t care about the rest—def pick this one up.

This book absolutely delivers on so many levels. The college friend group drama. The divorced parent shit. The found family.

Both of the main characters are bi, as is the friend/daughter.

There’s a motorcycle.

There’s sneaking around.

And there is SO MUCH SEX. Seriously. There’s car sex, face sitting, shower sex, sexting, semi-public sex, and more, and all of the scenes are written very well.

The age gap was handled really well. The characters had SO MUCH chemistry. Basically, I highly recommend this book.

this book gave me everything i could have ever asked for! i loved the romance and the banter? HELLO STUNNING!!!! i can see why so many sapphic tiktokers have been raving about Mistakes Were Made! no mistakes were made when deciding to read this, that's for sure!

4.5/5 Stars! I was blushing within the first few pages and I rarely stopped until I finished the book. The writing was raw and didn't shy away from displaying how complex the relationship between Cassie and Erin is, not just for them but for their loved ones too. Both protagonists are really flushed out and I appreciated that they could be flawed. Their relationship was messy but at the same time sweet (and spicy!), and at its core very wholesome. I loved this love story and it's a combination of everything amazing in romance books.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Mistakes Were Made aka the MILF book is one my most entertaining reads of the year. Cassie Klein and Erin Bennett cross paths and hook-up at the local college's Family Weekend. The two have no intention of seeing each other again, but they have one thing in common. Cassie's friend is Erin's daughter.

What started as a fling becomes a full-fledged secret relationship. They dodge and duck all the potential challenges to falling in love and get to their happy ending.

I usually avoid books based in college because a lot aren't reflective of the real experience. Mistakes Were Made feels a lot like my college experience (without the hook-up with a friend's parent). An absolute fun read that I recommend.

Quite cute and the representation was pretty good. Decently cliche and tried a bit to hard as a whole but was very cute. I liked one MC and mildly disliked the other, I’ll let you guess who’s who. All in all, worth the read.

I really thought I would love this book and wanted to love it, but unfortunately, it wasn't the book for me. I had a hard time connecting with the writing and the characters. There was a bit of "insta-love" or instant attraction, which I struggle with sometimes. I think this would be an excellent book for someone else!

The moment I read the blurb; I knew I HAD to read this book. "Mistakes Were Made" is a fun, sweet, heartfelt and steamy rom-com about the accidental hook-up of hooking up with your best friend's mom.
Cassie and Erin were everything I could want in a couple, and I loved their story.

Having Erin and Cassie meet in the bar is a fairly common way for two people to hook up but the added twist of Cassie being Erin's daughter, Parker, friend who she hadn't met yet was so great. And then when they finally meet, that had me laughing at the awkwardness but no one could deny the chemistry, even at that moment. Erin is so sweet, caring and genuine woman and I admired her from the start. Cassie is fun, outgoing and the perfect match for Erin. Their personalities meshed so well together, and I could see them as a real-life couple for sure. And the steamy scenes were *chef's kiss*, well written and accurate on how women are in a physical relationship. This is so important because I have read some books that were not accurate at all. The ending was so sweet and the perfect way to wrap up their story. I have my fingers crossed for stories featuring Parker and their mutual friend, Acacia.