Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin / Macmillan Audio for early access to the audiobook and eARC of Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner in exchange for an honest review.

CW: sexual content, alcohol use, abandonment, biphobia, homophobia, emotional abuse, infidelity, fatphobia, racism, see full list on StoryGraph

College senior, Cassie, has an explosive one night stand with a hot older woman, Erin, at a bar. The next morning, Cassie is invited to brunch with her best friend and her mom for parent's weekend. Surprise, her best friend's mom is Erin, the woman Cassie hasn't been able to get out of her head. Both Cassie and Erin tell themselves it was a one time fling and it can never happen again, especially knowing what they know now. But things take a dramatic turn when Cassie is invited to stay with her best friend for Christmas break. Stuck in the same house for weeks on end, it becomes increasingly difficult for Cassie and Erin to ignore the attraction between them.

HOT HOT HOT. Wow. This book literally starts off with a bang and does not slow down. The sexual tension and spicy scenes were among some of the hottest I've ever read. The added relational tension of keeping this a secret was so interesting! It had me asking several times throughout the book, "How could this possibly end well?? Where is this going?" Against all odds, there is a happily ever after. And this is the reason I can't give this book a full five stars. The whole scenario, though exceedingly sexy, is very far fetched, and I could not abide the likelihood that once Parker found out about Cassie and Erin's relationship that she would actually be okay with it. Also, I feel that this book was a tad too long for the story it was telling. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it all the way through, but the whole third-act miscommunication between Parker and Cassie could have been cut by about half, IMO.

Overall, I really loved this, and this book now sets a reeeaallllyyyy high bar for what I expect from my sapphic romances.

As I read this I felt like mostly I must just not be the target demographic for this novel? Very much not my thing. I found the age difference creepy and weird instead of hot and I wanted to slap some sense into the both lead characters. I didn’t connect with any of the characters at all, and the whole premise seemed forced and so unrealistic I basically just skipped through it until I could be done. I would have felt the same (and maybe worse) if it was a hetero romance - the age and life experience gap just felt exploitative and not cool.

I was hooked right from the start. I feel like I had a silly smile on my face throughout this book. It was so cute and so fun that I finished it really quickly (despite trying to take my time because I didn’t want it to end!!)

I really enjoyed Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner, so I was very much looking forward to Mistakes Were Made; however, it didn't work for me. I loved the sound of the premise but once I actually started reading it, not so much. I think it was more so because I actively disliked both Cassie and Erin, the main characters than anything and didn't want them to get a HEA.

Cassie is a college student and Erin a 38 year old doctor. They have a one night, very steamy, spicy, stand and think that's the end of that. Then they meet again--Erin is the mom of Cassie's roommate/best friend Parker. Since the two are thrown back together, sparks fly (more steam, more spice) and they realize maybe sex isn't all they have---but what about Parker??

I have nothing against age gap romance but in this case, it felt a bit forced and icky. I don't know why and it could just be me. The book is much less about the age gap and more about the repercussions of dating your best friend's mom and the impact on friendships, and while I appreciated that plot, I felt there wasn't any real substance to the story or character development with this exploration. Unless Wilsner was writing steamy, spicy sex scenes, of which there are plenty, the writing wasn't as substantial as I had hoped after reading her debut last year. And if you don't like a steamy romance, avoid this one!

I'm an outlier on this one, so take my review with a grain of salt since other reviewers have highly enjoyed this one!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

-review posted to Goodreads and Twitter on 9/11/22
-review will be posted to Amazon on publication

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Before reading this book, I had briefly looked at the synopsis but I didn’t really pay attention to any of it. I’m so glad I did because it allowed me to go in mostly blind.

Mistakes Were Made follows a college student (senior, I think) who accidentally slept with her new roommate’s mom. Oops. Cassie and Erin develop a secret relationship.

I really enjoyed this book. The romance was good, the spice was good, the reunion after the inevitable third act breakup was good. My only critique was that the romance was out on the side for long chapters a couple times for the subplots.

Overall, this is a great book and I recommend buying a copy.

The premise of this book gave me ANXIETY.

Cassie, a college senior, has a fling with Erin at a bar on parents’ weekend… only to find out it is her new freshman friend’s mom. I think that’s enough to explain how anxiety-inducing this plot was. Not only does Parker invite Cassie to breakfast the next morning with her and her mom, but she also invites Cassie to her a cappella concert to sit with Erin- where they hook up again! And then Cassie drunk texts Erin after agreeing that things need to end… and Parker invites Cassie to come home with her for the holidays, leading to covert shenanigans between Cassie and Erin. After that, Cassie and Erin have to navigate whether they want to continue their relationship and face the consequences of revealing it to their circle of people or if it was just a fling that they’re going to forget and keep hiding from Parker.

It was a really well written story and I really appreciated how interesting all of the characters were. They had their own personalities that were intriguing and drew me in. The secret relationship is never my favorite trope because it keeps me too much on the edge of my seat…which is also why I can’t read thrillers or mysteries. HOWEVER Cassie and Erin kind of made it worth it :)

This was an enjoyable read and it was so messy I couldn’t stop turning to see how they were going to get their HEA (even though I don’t think they should have). All of the sneaking around and the many open door scenes were hot but ultimately I didn’t really feel like there was much between them outside of the sex and because of that - the age gap felt too clear.

More importantly, I didn’t like either of the women. We know Cassie is a smart woman because the author told us that but none of her actions really seem smart and maybe that’s age. I do consider her appropriately annoying for her age (she whines, she overreacts, she jumps to conclusion, she’s a bit of a btch) so I don’t fault her - I just didn’t like her. That doesn’t usually stop me from rooting for a character to get their HEA but I just wanted to yell that she didn’t need this! She had a life to live and growing up to do!

Erin … just a bad decision maker and needed some therapy for sure. A fling with a hot college student? Sure. I wasn’t sure they could really connect past sex even with all of their texting and conversation. Sometimes she treated Cassie like she was her mother and the rest of their relationship is telling each other how hot they are. I also found Parker annoying. I just didn’t like anyone! Maybe that’s my fault. It was still a real page turner I’d read another book by this author.

Wilsner describes this book as their “hot MILF novel” and that’s not wrong. But this book is so much more. It’s about finding what you want and grabbing it, growing a loving community, and being the best person you can for your kids. It’s a bingeable novel - I basically read it in one sitting. As long as you’re okay with age gaps (because it’s a pretty big one), grab this book. Come for the hot MILF, stay for the humor and heart.

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

What a read! Once I realized where this book was going, I realized I could love it or hate it. I am very thankful that I ended up loving it. I'm writing this review at 3:55am because I HAD to finish it and could not stop reading.

I think the most refreshing thing about this book was that the author knew when and how detailed to go with the spicy scenes. Oftentimes, authors write sex scenes and get too detailed over and over again, which seems redundant. This book had just enough spice to make it interesting, but the author didn't feel the need to get too detailed each time, which I appreciate.

A lot of reviewers were turned off by the age gap, but I appreciated it because this is something that is not discussed much, but is seen A LOT in lesbian/wlw relationships. Maybe not exactly like this where it ends up being your best friend's mom, but huge age gaps are extremely common. Other reviewers had issues not so much with the age gap, but the ages of the characters being 21 and 38 and not having much in common. I can understand why, but I also think these characters were written in a way to believe they do. The age I am now I sit squarely between both of them and see myself having a lot in common with both ages. Not only that, Cassie, while young, has also had to overcome a lot of challenges in her life, forcing her to grow up and thus be mature for her age. And maybe Erin's a little immature and that's why it works.

Overall, a very well-written book. Everything flowed very well and I think the characters were developed nicely.

Smutty age gap best friend's mom trope that manages to also be tender and emotional?! Meryl did that. *insert head exploding emoji*

I really enjoyed reading MISTAKES WERE MADE, although age gap and best friend's parent are tropes I have not read much of until this year.

Wisner did a great job of balancing the smuttiness of a random hook up with the slow burn pining over the following 9 months. I mean, the book has rough car sex in the first few pages (or what seems like it) and includes face sitting among strap on usage -- very good steamy scenes with variety. But what was even more beautiful was seeing how Cassie and Erin supported each other in small and big ways.

I loved how Wisner tied up the ending so that Parker played a key role in helping them get together -- I'm not sure it could have worked any other way. The deception of Parker by Erin & Cassie for 6+ months kinda irked me and is why this was not a 5 star read.

This is 3.5 stars rounded up.

I want to start by saying that this book is so well written and the spicy scenes are FANTASTIC. If you want an angsty college girl x MILF romance, this is absolutely for you. This is perfect for fans of Alexandria Bellefleur.

I just didn’t love the book. I wanted to love this book and be obsessed with it. The premise was pretty interesting, and it promised angst, which it delivered. A lot. And maybe that’s why this isn’t a 4 or 5 star for me. A lot of the angst was due to miscommunication and outright lying which I personally don’t enjoy.

I love angst, but I needed there to be more balance between the angst and the plot, and this felt more driven by angst than character development or plot.

Honestly though, the spicy scenes more than make up for my annoyance at the characters’ inability to communicate. Oof 👀🔥

I received an e-arc through Netgalley for review.

Whoooooweeeee this was spicy!!!
Don’t let that cover deceive you, the spice is turned up in this book. 🥵🥵🥵🥵

Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner
Genre: Sapphic Romance/Queer Romance
Rating: 5 Stars

This book was so good and that spice was TURNED UP. Cassie Klein goes to an off-campus bar to escape campus for an evening and meets Erin Bennett which turns into an amazing one night stand. The next morning, Erin goes to breakfast with her daughter and her daughter brings a friend from her college. Said friend turns out to be Cassie Klein the woman she hooked up with the night before. The spice, the tension, the drama!!!

-One night stand turned complicated relationship turned HEA
-bisexual rep
-age gap (milf vibes)
-dual pov
-allllll the steam and spice

Also what a breath of fresh air to read a contemporary romance book that doesn't have the third act break up! Loved that about this book. The side characters in this book are really stand out too. Cassie's besties Parker (Erin's daughter) and Acacia are such a fun friend group. I will admit that 95% of the book I hated Parker because she acted like she was a 12 year old spoiled brat, but towards the end she really shaped up and I liked her. Acacia is the bomb and really held their friend group together during the entire story.

Totally loved this steamy little read! Excited to add the physical copy to my home library. <3

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Woooooof this was good. I didn't expect to enjoy this so much given that I'm not usually a huge fan of age-gap romances but christ on a cracker I was hooked and couldn't put this down.

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

This book is described as a sharp and sexy rom-com, which hits the nail on the head. Cassie, a college senior, accidentally hooks up with her best friend Parker’s mom on family weekend. What should’ve been a one time fling quickly escalates into something more than either of the women planned for.

This is a sweet but also very spicy rom-com about family, friendship, love and happiness. I loved alternating the audiobook with the eARC version and found myself excited to hear and read the alternating POVs of Erin and Cassie. They both struggle internally with their growing relationship for different reasons, and it was great to see both sides of it. Really loved seeing the LGBTQ representation in this book!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4490610416I kept seeing all the amazing early reviews of this book and I had serious FOMO. I was lucky enough to snag a copy via Netgalley and sped read this book. It was fantastic and well-deserving of its praise.

Although Mistakes Were Made features a very forbidden romance (possibly the most eyebrow-raising I've read), the romance and relationship itself is developed beautifully. What starts as a very hot one-night stand turns into months of two people getting to know each other in a way that feels so organic and heart-warming. I was pleasantly surprised by this.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the steam in this - it is seriously🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

A fantastic book and I can't wait to for it to be released in audio - I'll definitely be giving it another read ❤️

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this novel. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, this was disappointing. It was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, but I feel like everything just fell flat. I didn’t care for either of the main characters, but especially Cassie. She seemed very self centered and didn’t seem to care about Parker’s feelings all that much. I also just think the romance happened pretty quickly. It was fun though. I like the MILF vibes and I would love to read more books with this concept

Mistakes Were Made is a really adorable sapphic romcom that stars an ex-wife and mother learning to put herself first and a college student trying to find her way. I enjoyed the romance, the smut, and the progression of Erin and Cassie's relationship. I really liked the ending. But I did have a couple of issues:

I noticed in other reviews that there were some really bad racist lines; those had been removed by the time I read it. But I also took issue with the way the character of Acacia was written. She is Cassie's and Parker's best friend, and both of them take her for granted and put her in the middle of their situation. She is the only prominent Black character, so I was disappointed to see her reduced to a middleman.

I am a 28-year-old college dropout, so maybe I'm a bit different than the 38-year-old literal doctor Erin. But I do not see a 21-year-old as an equal. I just don't. We are worlds apart, and I personally couldn't see myself pursuing a relationship with someone that much younger, especially ten years from now. Cassie is definitely written as more worldly, mature, and determined in her attitude than any 21-year-old I've ever encountered, but she is SO young. And I don't see what a 38-year-old can gain from that relationship without a massive power imbalance. The book is written so that is absolutely not the case, which gets it points from me, but I did have to pretend Cassie was quite a bit older so I didn't DNF this multiple times throughout.

I guess the bottom line is that I did not find the idea of these two falling in actual love realistic, but I think it was a cute story nonetheless.

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

Oh my god. Amazing. Phenomenal.
Ya know that feeling when a book is so cute that you just have to pause for a sec and process (maybe squeal a bit)? Yeah. But the fact that we got the top-tier cuteness AND spice?! Unbeatable. I have only read a handful of romances where there is a good mix of adorable cutesy scenes and smut and this book did it. Amazingly. Definitely a top read for the year. You have to read it. At least give it a shot. It has everything: wlw, dual pov, spice (and cuteness), college setting, best friend's mom (age gap!!!!), "oh shi- you're her???", random hookup turned more, secret relationship, "no we're not actually dating", and of course a HEA. What more do you need?? Please. Please pick this book up.

thank you netgalley for this arc!!!! Ok first off I did dnf... I just had a hard time getting into it. I didn't love the characters too much as well as I did not care too much for the plot of this book either. l Other than that I don't have much to say. I do plan on picking this back up sometime in the future though to give it another try since I am disappointed that I did not enjoy this as much as I was expecting.

er 2022
Thank you @smpromance for a copy of this book. Read this book if you enjoy:
- Age gap
- Forbidden romance (best friend's mom)
- String female characters
- Lots of steam

The steam pretty much starts from the first chapter and does not lighten up. I love how attracted Cassie is to Erin and how their relationship developed. The narration of both characters did an amazing job and enjoyed this fun read. The big conflict is hiding the fling from Parker who is the daughter of Erin and best friend to Cassie. For as a big secret it is, the big conflict was sort of a let down. Regardless, it was a good one!