I went into reading this just expecting a spicy, sapphic romance, but I ended up being blown away by the emotional journey that Erin took throughout the book.

Without giving too much away, the message to put your needs first and to choose what you want/need over family and societal expectations really resonated with me. As someone who grew up being told that other people’s opinions were more important than my own, I really needed to hear that.

Aside from the incredible character growth, the romance between Erin and Cassie was adorable and the spice definitely did not disappoint. 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶 The age gap element of the story was also handled realistically and it never seemed like Erin was taking advantage of Cassie.

Overall, it was a definitely a winner. Highly recommend!

Thank you to Meryl Wilsner, St. Martin, and NetGalley for allowing me to review this ARC.

I couldn’t put this down! Meryl’s writing is so great. I’d read anything she writes. I also enjoyed the reference to the show from Something to Talk About.

This book had everything I love in terms of tropes—age gap, secrets, messy families and found families. I was really primed to love it from the moment it was announced and while I did like it a lot, I wish there was more actual romance to it.

For some of its length, it feels more like erotica, because the characters are attracted to each other, can’t stop having sex, but there is no swoon. I don’t think they even have an intimate conversation until very late in the book and I really wish there was something—a talk after they sneak around, some small intimacies early on—because it does feel like the feelings come too suddenly and too late in the book.

I also wish there wasn’t so much telling instead of showing. I felt like some important parts of the book happened sort of off page, and that dampened their impact for me.

I still love that we are getting a book like this from a major imprint. I’ve read many indies in this vain, but I never thought I’d see a book like this in the shelves. And with such a gorgeous cover.

Kudos to St. Martins for supporting this project, and I hope they acquire more books from Wilsner and other smutty Sapphic romances, even if this one wasn’t my favorite.

This is the book that I've been forcing everyone I know to read (if they can) or preorder (if they don't have access to an e-galley or ARC).

I absolutely loved their first book Something to Talk About but Mistakes Were Made is next level amazing. It's sweet and funny and so absolutely scorching hot. This is almost definitely going to be my favorite book this year.

Highly recommended.

Thank you to Meryl Wilsner, St.Martin's Press, and Net Galley for and aARC of Mistakes Were Made for an honest review. Mistakes Were Made comes out October 11, 2022!!

What happens when the woman you meet in a bar and then hookup with in the back of a car, is the mother of your new college best friend? In Mistakes Were Made that's exactly what readers get to find out. When Cassie, a senior engineering student, meets Erin, divorced mother and doctor, there is an instant attraction that pulls both characters together (into the back of a car). Both women are convinced that this is just a one night thing. That is until Cassie is "introduced" to Erin the next morning by Parker, which happens to be Cassie's newish best friend and Erin's daughter. What transpires after that is a series of months filled with secret text messages and steamy hidden sex. Will one night of backseat fun turn into a string of hidden mistakes or will it turn into the best decision either woman has made.

I really enjoyed reading this book, I thought that it was a little hard to get into but once I started to love it I couldn't put it down. I loved both main characters I thought that they were able to have character development and they were able to overcome the obstacles that appeared to be in the way of them getting an HEA. An additional bonus to this book is that it fairly spicy, without taking away from the story. Overall it was a romantic, steamy and angsty book, and I hope you pick it up and enjoy it as much as I did!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy. This honest review was based off my experience reading an ARC, which in no way biased me.

Let me start off by saying this was my first book by this author, and I enjoyed this book overall.

It has some very well done tropes:
-age gap (21 and 38)
-best friend’s mom
-forced proximity
-one night stand
-taboo/forbidden romance
-secret relationship

And it was DUAL POV so the pining of these two idiots in love was hilarious to see. Literally everyone knew they loved each other before THEY DID.

The smut was also very well done 👀

But there were some things that needed some work:
-The pacing felt off, at times I wasn’t sure how much time had passed only to find out its been weeks/months, and other times when it was filler it felt like forever and it was only a day or so.
-The conflict, was… anticlimactic. When they thought the conflict was going to happen it had already been hashed out. And given the conflict doesn’t come in til well past the 80% mark it felt meh.
-Erin made Cassie being younger than her kinda weird in her own head. Like “…there was not a single wrinkle on her face…”
-there were some lines that just felt odd to me like (again this is the ARC copy and these lines could possibly not be included in the final version):
- (Cassie describing herself in chapter 5) “In high school, Cassie was the promiscuous bisexual who probably wouldn’t be into chicks if she’d had a father figure.”
-(Erin describing campus in chapter 2) “Buildings breached off from it, most with white colors in the front that felt a little too plantation-like.”
-(Erin talking about her friends in chapter 6) “Her mom had always been proud Erin was close with an interracial couple, in that obnoxious “I have black friends” sort of way…”

All in all I had a good time with this book and will be rating it 3.5 stars and rounding down to 3 for Goodreads.

I finished this book back in May and needed a SOLID two months to recover from the amount of steam that is still radiating from my Kindle.

Discussing with a friend a while back and it was decided that if I could sum up this novel:
“You name it. It’s in there.”
Car? Shower? Strap? IT’S IN THERE.

I was skeptical at first as this was my first age gap, but it’s so well written and starts off with a BANG (literally), you will not be able to put it down. Wilsner’s writing is witty, funny, and vulnerable. And the smut was REALISTIC and PASSIONATE. Which I LOVE. They have skyrocketed to the top of my favorite queer romance authors.

Thank you Meryl, St. Martins Press and NetGalley for access to this novel in exchange for an honest review. I’m obsessed, you should be too.

This was one of my most highly anticipated releases and it did not disappoint by any means. The ending was a little corny, but it’s a romance so that comes with the jurisdiction. REGARDLESS, you should GO PREORDER NOW. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR.

This book has almost every trope I dislike in romance. I was pleasantly surprised to see the age gap in this done as great as it was. While I don’t think this story was realistic at times or perfect by any means I don’t care all that much. The chemistry between the main characters was undeniable, as well as the strong friendships in this story. Both Cassie and Erin have clear intentions and well-thought-out personalities. And while yes, their relationship is taboo, it’s easy to feel for them and root for their happiness together as a couple. It’s rare for me to find an age-gap romance that truly feels about nothing but the connection between the characters but this one does. There’s nothing slimy or creepy going on here at all.

A few conflicts felt thrown in just to have conflict, I couldn’t follow why a character was mad or why they were suddenly arguing but it made for some okay drama and I can say these confrontations made more sense once I finished reading the book.

Overall, I think this story knows exactly what it is, a fun lighthearted, and sexy romance that doesn’t take itself too seriously. I thoroughly enjoyed it!


Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

College student Cassie Klein hooked up in a bar with a sexy stranger, and the two shared a steamy one-night stand. The two are done, and that's that.
The next morning the sexy stranger is sitting at the breakfast table next to one of Cassie's best friends. Turns out the sexy stranger is really her friend's mom! Instead of ending there, however, the two meet again, and find themselves together. Again and again.
The story is a feel good page turner, and the reader is rooting for Cassie and sexy mom Erin to find their way to be together--assuming that's the right thing for them.

this book exceeded ALL my expectations. it was cute, it was sexy and hilarious. i love age gap romances so this already had my attention but cassie and erin's relationship was so fun to be a part of. i can definitely see this book being a sapphic classic in the near future.

A hookup with a stranger is way more than Erin anticipated when she realizes that her mystery hookup is her daughter’s best friend.
.
A simple hookup with a stranger turns into so much more but mistakes were made in hiding the relationship from everyone. I could totally see this one being a movie!
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Thank you #StMartinsPress and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced readers copy.

Erin and Cassie meet at a bar and their connection is immediate, despite an age gap. They know it will only be that night because Erin is from out of town. Erin is visiting for Parents Weekend at her daughter, Parker's college. When Parker brings Cassie to meet her Mom, she doesn't think much of it, until her mom is Erin. Lots of sneaky kisses and near kisses later, we get a HEA.

This book was enjoyable but definitely slow in the middle. The ending was great considering I spent the majority of the book trying to figure out how they were going to resolve telling Parker without losing her. Great LGBTQ+ rep.

Messy & steamy sapphic romance 🍷🔥

What I enjoyed…
-The premise. Erin & Cassie have a one night stand thinking that’s all it will be. The next day, Cassie’s best friend, Parker, invites her out to lunch with her Mom. That Mom? ERIN! 🤭 Then the drama begins!
-Duel POV between main characters Cassie & Erin. Both had STRONG & distinctive voices. Loved seeing their thoughts on this wild situation!
-The setting & time of year! This book felt really cozy due to its bulk being set during the holidays.
-Pacing was perfectly written, a whole year passed & it didn’t feel awkward or too quick.
-Erin & Cassie’s long distance parts, the sex scenes & their communication was well written.

What didn’t land…
-Parker😖
-None of these characters were always particularly likable.
-Although I went into this knowing there was a big age gap, it did feel kinda icky at times that Cassie is the same age as Erin’s daughter and they are friends lol .



Solid 3.5 ⭐️ read! Looking forward to reading more from the author in the future.

Thank you NetGalley & the publisher for the ARC! ❤️

This is a DNF from me. I’ll leave a brief review on Goodreads but no stars. It’s just… not my thing. I prefer for there to be a slow burn—or at least a few chapters of buildup before we have a smutty scene, so making out in the bathroom and hooking up in the back or a car in chapter 1 is a turnoff for me. I really enjoyed Something to Talk About and am excited to see what Meryl Weisner does next. I know a lot of people already love Mistakes Were Made and I think this book will become iconic in sapphic lit, so, while I appreciate it… I don’t have interest in reading it.

I could not put this book down!!! (Thank you NetGallery for the ARC!!) From the moment I had read the summary I knew I wanted to read this but oh my god that was so much better than I ever imagined!!! It gave so many feelings because of all of the characters feelings!!! Such a fun and enjoyable book that had hooked from beginning to end!!! The characters all just so enjoyable and feel so real!!

I love a good summer romance. I can’t read romance any other time of year. I read Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers in February and hated it. I re-read it in June and oh my goodness, what a great book! So, point is, it’s July and the perfect time for a juicy summer romance. This summer, I turned to Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner (thanks NetGalley for the advance copy!). While it is next to impossible to find a decent lesbian romance that doesn’t fall into boring or downright offensive tropes (looking at you, Butch Meets Cassidy), I trusted Wilsner because of her excellent handling of the characters in her first book, Something To Talk About.

As in her first book, Wilsner works with characters who are already out and comfortable with their sexuality – no horrible hand-wringing as a naively straight girl comes to terms with the fact that she might like girls. Instead, the hand-wringing is over the appropriateness of a relationship with your best friend’s mom. The mom in question is a complex and feminist character, coming into her own as an independent and self-sufficient woman who can choose to place her own happiness first, even as a mother. Honestly, with the recent repeal of Roe v. Wade and the exhausting rhetoric from certain politicians about the agency a woman gives up when she gets pregnant, I applaud Wilsner for writing a character who can be a woman first, mother second. However, the mother’s love interest is less complex, a student with a troubled childhood who somehow rectifies her mommy issues by dating a mother? Frankly, I’m confused by her motivations. Not about her attraction to an older woman, which is great representation and something we need to see more of, but about her attraction to this older woman, someone in a completely different stage of her life and someone who jeopardizes her relationship with her best friend. I was told as a young woman that if a man in a different stage of his life shows interest in me, that’s a red flag. The same should hold for lesbians – we don’t need to be toxic to be queer!

a HUGE thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's for the advance ecopy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I do believe that this is one of the best ARC's I"ve read! 5 stars for sure and I"m dying for it to come out so i can get my hands on it!

This is an incredibly sweet, sexy, sapphic romance between two women who find themselves falling into a complicated relationship. They choose to pursue whatever this is between them, despite the challenges they face in doing so. It's a taboo relationship between Cassie and Erin. Cassie is best friends with Parker, and Erin happens to be Parker's mom. Neither Cassie nor Erin knew of this complication when they first hit it off, and the story begins to unfold into some complicated situations where they're trying to hide their relationship from Parker. Some moments had me cringing or gasping in fear that they'd get caught. However, I was cheering for these two ALL THE WAY, because why not?! They were an incredibly STEAMY couple and I just wanted them to get their happy ending.

5 stars for sure!!!

I was not expecting to love "Mistakes Were Made" nearly as much as I did, but it managed to make my heart race, my eyes water, and my wife ask "what are you giggling about over there?" The romance itself was adorable and the steamy scenes were exceptional. I was fully rooting for Cassie & Erin to "make it" as a couple and enjoyed reading their relationship grow.

I think some of my initial hesitations with any "forbidden" romance is the main conflict being tied to when (not if) the couple is eventually found out and the fallout after. While that definitely plays a part in this novel, it thankfully doesn't lean too hard on that trope and spends more time focusing on the internal conflicts the two characters are dealing with. It also isn't a matter of love healing all traumas/solving all of the characters' problems—they both have to figure their own shit out like adults! Honestly, that alone made this a breath of fresh air.

My only qualm was with Cassie's friend Acacia—a black woman who doesn't have much depth outside of supporting Cassie & Parker and providing sage-like wisdom. This felt a little like she was being placed in the "magical negro" trope which was a bit offputting, but I also recognize that friends generally tend to get sidelined in romance novels so would like to believe that's what happened here.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Mistakes Were Made is a great, easy reads for fans of age-gap romance, lots of banter, spicy scenes and an easy to follow plot line.

The story follows the romance between college student Cassie and resident MILF Erin, who just so happens to be one of Cassie’s friend’s mom. After a spontaneous hookup, the two discover the connection and hilarity ensues. The plot flowed quick enough that I read the book in one evening, caught up in the characters and the unfolding romance between them.

I enjoyed seeing the character development throughout and though both Cassie and Erin were well developed in both motivation and personality. My only gripe is I’m not a massive fan of the “insta-love” trope and wish we would have gotten to know the characters a little more before the initial hookup, though I understand why the author placed it right at the beginning. Overall, it didn’t leave me with any massive feelings, good or bad. 3.5/5 stars!

Sapphic. Sexy. Amazing. I adored the plot and the spice in this book! not only were the characters amazing but the pacing was great. I flew threw the story. One thing that really stood out to me was how the author actually used the correct words and terms for women's bodies. I get pretty annoyed when authors will use any other words and almost refuse to use words such as clitoris or vagina but use correct words to describe dicks. Its a small thing but it makes me like the author and story better when they don't circle these words!
Also love Erin and her story. Not only does she grow and change and become a better person throughout the story but you also get to see her as more than just a mother and a wife. Women are often put into the box of being a wife or a mother and we get to see in the story how Erin breaks away and tries to be her own person instead of a label. She is still seen as attractive, fun, and sexy, as well as a mother.