I am completely obsessed with MISTAKES WERE MADE! I haven't been able to stop thinking about this book since I read it. I was completely obsessed with the premise, and it absolutely delivered. The romance was incredible and the spice was probably the best I ever read. I can't wait to reread this once it comes out and I can get a physical copy. I think this book is going to be huge on booktok!

4.5/5

YES. ALLLL THE YES TO THIS BOOK. Mistakes Were Made is Meryl Wilsner's second outing and second novel following a w/w romance, this time between two women named Cassie and Erin. Cassie is a college student and Erin is a Doctor who unbeknownst to them is the mother of Cassie's best friend, Parker. This book made me laugh and squeal and everything in between, it was so wonderful! I liked it even more than Wilsner's first novel, Something To Talk About, which is an impressive feat.

I always struggle with dual POV novels thinking that I may prefer one perspective over the other, but with this book I found myself looking forward to every chapter no matter if it were Cassie or Erin we were focusing on. Cassie was spunky and relatable, while Erin was well-spoken...and also really relatable! If I could even muster up the smallest of complaints, I guess I had a bit of a fatigue towards the halfway point, just after the Christmas break - even so, the plot with Parker was enough to keep me intrigued.

Wonderful romance, great characters, incredibly well done. Love it!

𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗪𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄

I received this copy as an ARCfrom @netgalley, and was excited when I was approved to read it this month, because it fit in so nicely with the rest of my books with queer representation.

I know I said that most romance books have the same few tropes, and I usually get pretty bored, pretty fast with them (With the exception of the fake dating troop… I don’t know what it is about it, but it can be done so many different kinds of ways, and it never gets old), however, this one was a bit different. It was the MILF trope 😂 and I personally, haven’t seen that one done very often. I especially haven’t seen it done in an LGBTQ + story.

This is another one I think would make a really good movie. College girl meets older woman at a bar, they have a one night stand, the next day she finds out this older woman is her roommate‘s mom, hilarities ensue. Overall this was a fun book and I would definitely recommend it.

𝗤𝗢𝗧𝗗: What is your favorite romance book trope?

Meryl girl, you're a goddess!
And I will read anything you freaking write!
Because you are an amazing writer!
You blew my expectations out of the water. 

A college senior who has a secret relationship with her best friends mom.....
Pure brilliant! And I loved everything about it!

This sassy, sexy rom-com is phenomenal!
The chemistry is delicious, the characters are remarkable, the writing is outta this world!
It was seamlessly and so very beautifully written. The characters felt so real, that I’m still convinced that they have to be real people, walking the streets of New York while you read this review. And the romance? Lord, this was the sweetest, but most funniest, romance I’ve read in years.
This book is one of my favorites now and is definitely one of the best books I've read this year. It was so enjoyable and the whole time, 

I can't wait for The Hopeless and the Romantic.... Can 2023 hurry already?!

Rating: ❤

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

St. Martin's Press, 
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my advanced copy of this book! It is a fun, romantic read.

Let me start this by saying I was really looking forward to reading this and unfortunately it did not live up to my expectations. I did enjoy the beginning and thought it had a good set up that was funny and showed potential chemistry between Cassie and Erin. But after that first weekend the story and relationship did seem to go anywhere. There didn’t really seem to be anything to their relationship besides sex which made the ending seem out of place. I feel like I didn’t see them having an emotional connection. Also a lot of their relationship was centered around the guilt they each have towards Parker, which took away from my enjoyment of the story, so much so that some moments seemed cringey and awkward, especially in scenes during winter break. I just didn’t enjoy their relationship.

Overall, this book starts out with potential but unfortunately I did not enjoy it as I’d hoped.

Read if you’re looking for…
•Bi MC
•wlw relationship
•🌶🌶🌶🌶

Cassie Klein is not good with relationships, she's totally lost when it comes to all of that emotion and vulnerability. As a senior at Keckley College, Cassie is preparing for graduate school at CalTech and leaving her best friends in Virginia behind. One lonely night, Cassie picks up a one-night-stand at a bar, Erin: a gorgeous, confident, and alluring older woman who Cassie can't keep her hands off of. After a night of the best sex ever, the couple parts ways for good... until Cassie meets her best friend's mom on family weekend: ERIN! How will the couple navigate this relationship that is very wrong... but feels so right, especially when they keep finding themselves together again and again?

Mistakes Were Made is such a STUNNING, sexy novel with amazing representation, lovable and 3-dimensional characters, and undeniable sexual tension! Most notably, this novel is a wonderful piece of LGBTQ+ representation, with Cassie, Erin, and their relationship being a very realistic picture of sexuality in a person's life and experiences. There's also strong representation of a variety of racial, cultural, and social backgrounds that other novels often lack.

All of the characters throughout this novel are fully fleshed-out, lovable, and REAL! The motivations behind different characters' actions were always clear, justified, and sensible (even when I didn't really agree with the choices made). Despite their questionable decisions, each character had redeeming qualities that kept me rooting for them all the time. Cassie is strong and independent, yet struggles emotionally. Erin is successful and hardworking, but worries too much about what she SHOULD do. The one character I didn't enjoy was Parker, Erin's daughter and Cassie's best friend. She often acts spoiled and immature, pouting when things don't go her way and ghosting instead of talking about her problems. But overall, the characters are well-rounded and authentic in a way that let me really connect and empathize with them.

This is one HOT book, probably the sexiest one I've personally read. I love a spice in my reading, but at times it felt a little excessive, repetitive, and unrealistic at times. Like the whole plot stops for a sex scene, which could really take me out of the story. But the spicy scenes were extremely well-written and engaging, I thoroughly enjoyed them.

My biggest issue with Mistakes Were Made is the pacing. Through the first half of the book, I could NOT put it down! I absolutely raced through, reading whenever possible to follow the story. But, the middle of the book really slowed down and it got very difficult to engage with. It almost felt like I was trudging through the pages, struggling to continue reading.

TLDR: Mistakes Were Made is a very SPICY book with well-rounded, relatable characters with clear motivations. There is amazing representation for LGBTQ+ and other communities. But the pacing is inconsistent and can get very slow near the middle.

This story has a great premise; the forbidden romance is always intriguing. There’s just something erotic about a taboo relationship. However, this might not be everyone’s cup of tea. If the idea of a relationship between a mother and her daughter’s college age friend is unsettling to you, then I’d suggest avoiding this one. But if it sounds like it might poke at the edges of a guilty pleasure for you, then you won’t be disappointed. There’s much to enjoy inside these pages.

This is Wilsner’s second book. Her debut Something to Talk About was a runaway hit. With this second book, she’s again included the age-gap trope. The writing is solid and flows seamlessly on the page. The dialogue is sharp, fresh and witty and moves the scenes along nicely. The real treat, however, is the steamy sex. It’s well-written and deliciously entertaining. For a newly-minted writer, she has proven herself to be very comfortable with writing sex scenes. They are believable, add to the story tension and push the pacing in lovely ways.

Though efficiently constructed, this book leans heavily on the plot to carry it to the finish line. While I did enjoy the leading ladies, I felt there needed to be a bit more character and relationship development for readers to truly understand them and believe in their relationship. They are a likable pair and have chemistry; that’s not an issue. The real concern is understanding the choices they make. Having a clearer grasp of who these women are would have built a better foundation for the romance.

Final remarks…

This is a fantastic, quick, vacation read. It’s entertaining, sexy and fun—perfect for those that like steamy, age-gap romances. Mistakes Were Made is evidence that Wilsner is steadily toeing her way into the women loving women genre and providing readers with some solid reading choices. She’s certainly one to watch.

Strengths…

Entertaining and steamy
Fresh, sharp dialogue
Good flow
Diverse characters

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an advanced reader copy of this book! These opinions are my own.

I was excited (and nervous) to read this one! Excited because of the hype and nervous because I don't typically read romances with large age gaps. I was worried it would feel off because in past books I've read, authors have written those relationships with age gaps kinda weirdly. Well, spoiler alert, this one wasn't weird at all! The author did a great job in this regard.

The story switches perspectives between the two main characters, Erin and Cassie. Erin is a mom of a college student and Cassie is, well, a college student. They meet in a bar and have what should have been a one night stand, but go on to have a pretty "taboo" relationship. The story was interesting and all of the characters were well written. I was interested in each of their lives and did feel they all added something important. They weren't just there for fluff.

This book was definitely like, a 10 on the spice scale. There were times where it felt too much but I think that was because of the pacing. As others mentioned, the pacing was a bit off and that's why I gave 4 stars instead of 5. It would be fast paced, then slow, then skip around a lot, etc. When it came to the spicey scenes, you'd get nothing for awhile and then all of sudden like 3 in a row without much of anything else haha. I felt like we could have gotten more from their relationship if the pacing wasn't off.

Overall, I really did enjoy this book and read through it very quickly! I will be adding this authors other books to me TBR lists!

Super cute LGBTQ+ read about two women who fall for each other when everything and everyone else is against them. Great romance scenes!

this is the first time i’ve stumbled upon a romance novel like this. there’s a whole generation of people who grew up with your mom jokes. this book is literally the embodiment of that, but better. this book has everything: good bisexual representation, forbidden romance, LOTS of smut. i really enjoyed this. cassie and erin had a lot of chemistry and i’m a sucker for a secret relationship. the development of the relationship wasn’t rushed at all, but also wasn’t a slow burn (which is a trope i kinda hate). this was a very fun and spicy fast paced read.

find my goodreads review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4450091713?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

find my instagram review here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CfT4L2yr9bE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

**Thank you to Netgalley and Publisher for providing an early copy. All opinions are my own**
I will forever say it takes me forever to read ebooks oops. But this was SO GOOD. The angst, the romance, the friendships. I haven't read Meryl's other book, but rest assured it is high on my TBR. Also seriously this is such a swoony romance. We needed a MILF romance and this one SERVES. Will be recommending it to everyone.

This book has all the delicious tropes you could ask for.
Age gap? ✅️
Sapphic? ✅️
Taboo/forbidden romance? ✅️
It all started at a bar. It was just supposed to be a one night stand, no big deal right? That's what Cassie and Erin kept telling themselves, but one night just wasn't enough. At the end of the night Erin found out Cassie was a college senior and the real kicker? She was her daughters best friend! Could the two really keep their distance? Or will everything blow up in their faces? Read the book and find out 🥰

I received an ARC of Mistakes Were Made from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I usually don’t go for these kinds of romance books but I thoroughly enjoyed this one! It was a little bit loose on the plot but the Cassie and Erin were fairly interesting characters and had a lot of chemistry. The spicy scenes were well done and very compelling, if a bit too often. The character of Parker, Erin’s daughter, was probably my favorite and for all the fear of her finding out about the relationship, she was barely in it. I enjoyed the ending and felt satisfied with how everything worked out.

Overall, I felt like this was a solid lighthearted story that could have been significantly shorter.

I didn't realize I would be so turned off by the whole "dating/sleeping with a friend's parent" but I had a really hard time with it. The ending was really good but I don't know how my brain reconciles how I felt the majority of the book. it was well written and the end was good.

3.5.
I thought the concept of this sounded really good when I read the description! An F/F romance and best friends mom romance, yes! However, sadly it didn’t really hit for me, but I did like it!

I liked the romance a lot and their chemistry, especially when they were alone and their texts. I feel like the characters are really thought out and their choices etc make sense for who they are. I really liked the ending and absolutely loved the epilogue! The spice was amazing but that was probably the thing I liked the most about this book!

I didn’t really like how Parker was treated. Going in I knew it was a forbidden romance but I didn’t like how Erin and Cassie were sneaking around and how they treated Parker at times, I felt like they weren’t being the best friend/mother to her. Since Parker was supposed to be the main foil between their relationship I felt like she wasn’t super prominent

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the ARC

I really enjoyed the author's other book, Something to Talk About,
so I was super excited to read the arc of this one! I didn't know too
much going in, but I quickly got really into it. I felt like the pacing
started off quick, which I appreciated bc I didn't feel like the
beginning was dragging. However, the middle portion was a little
slow at times. Despite the pacing, I really liked the writing and
characters. I also felt like the story was going a certain way (and
was dreading it), but I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out
differently. Overall it was a fun read!

Very charming characters. I was invested in their journey and found myself tearing up a few times. Loved the examples of healthy communication.

Alright. I had a lot of hope for this one, I mean the premise is perfect... accidentally sleeps with their best friend's mom. My issue is that while there definitely was good sexual chemistry, I had no hope to see them together in a relationship...the romantic chemistry was lacking to me. also cassie was so annoying to me

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for letting me read this before it comes out.

It's a fun, exciting, somewhat spicy book that mix relationships, found family, love, and so much more. It's a good read if you enjoy secret relationships like I do. Fun summer read and I recommend everyone to read it on a vacation or near a beach.

Personally, I would've liked a little more drama between Erin and Cassie, and Parker too. But it tends to go superficially. It was the enough drama to enjoy it and the perfect ratio of sexy scenes.

PS If you don't like age gaps don't read it!!!