I did not like this book, not for me, I definitely didn’t like how the next day she realized she slept with her best friend’s mom she was acting like it was a big joke, playing footsie under the table.
I didn’t feel an actual connection, just sex.

Loved this one! Two women who don’t know they are looking for love, I love a queer romance. Perfect for summer too.

This book exactly delivered what it promised. A college student sleeps with an older woman who turns out to be her friend's mom but they can't stop sleeping together. I expected everyone to act like horny teenagers and make the worst decisions possible and I got that!

Obviously everyone in this story would suck IRL and would be bad friends to each other but I don't care this is fiction.

Cassie meets Erin the divorced mother of her younger friend Parker and after a brief one night stand Cassie and Erin act like horny teenagers all the time. Listen, I thought it was fun and absolutely what I was in for but I know it's not everyone.

Since the characters spend some time apart they both have different things going on, Cassie has her friend group made up of Acacia and Parker (who she's only known for a couple months). We also learn that Cassie has some issues with her mother but this is mostly ignored except when characters need to criticise Cassie and I wish that we could have had a bit more of a resolution for that.

Erin has her friend, her therapist and her douchebag ex, with the therapy and her relationship with her daughter being quite interesting to follow.

I am going to be honest a lot of the book is just sex scenes and it's fine. But like. Be warned. I did wish for a bit more variety (though I did appreciate the strap on!)


What I didn't really like:
-The style was a bit cringe at time which is weird because I didn't have this issue with the author's previous book but it was more noticeable here, especially during sex scenes (and there are a lot of them)

- I wasn't a fan of ending/resolution of the book. With this premise I was expecting something a bit different and more satisfying than you classic romance ending. I will say the same for the romance (feelings part not attraction part) which was not as believable or satisfying as I had hoped). While the characters are very aware of the weird thing they're doing it also doesn't impact them in the way I thought it would. Idk

This was a fun, quick read seasoned beautifully with spicy scenes.

I really enjoyed the writing style, but unfortunately, the last half of the book dragged a bit for me. The climax was too predictable, and the ending felt a bit lackluster.

Although some characters and scenes could use some tweaking, I'd still recommend Mistakes Were Made to anyone looking for a sexy, sapphic book.

(I have received an ARC through NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own and left voluntarily. Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy.)

Special thank you to St Martin Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this digital arc of Mistakes Were Made

I was so excited to read this book; I love reading books about the LGBTQIA community to help me have a better understanding and compassion. This book lived up to the hype. The characters and relationships are well developed and thought out. It was also pretty predictable so I wasn't all that surprised by the end. I could not stop reading this! It had just the right amount of spiciness between a MILF and a college senior. This book was everything I wanted it to be

There were some bumps in this story, but overall I enjoyed this more than Wilsner’s debut book. Sweet romance and love the empowerment of the older MC to choose her happiness over doing what’s expected.

A few things that didn’t work for me: this is the most non-busy physician working in a hospital I’ve read about in an MC. The reference to the younger MC being so close as friends to the older MC’s daughter had its cringey moments. Give me the age gap, but there was a line that I felt was crossed.

This book was definitely interesting. It was definitely an enjoyable read however I don't usually like the plot where someone sleeps with a friend's parent. But if that is something you like then the book is definitely for you!

This was a perfect blend of fun and a sexy read. It gave me all the buzz and feels. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I really liked how MCs are portrayed so raw and in a authentic way. Along with that, the pacing and the word building was top notch too. It was definitely a full 5 stars read for me

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and it did not disappoint! Truly this is the sapphic age gap rom-com of my dreams. I love how messy this was. I mean how can accidentally sleeping with your daughter's new best friend be anything but messy? It was super emotional but also very very hot. And any book with facesitting gets automatic bonus points. I also cannot resist an 'oops we're dating, how did that happen' relationship. This whole book exudes bisexual disaster energy and I could not love it more!

**Received an eARC via NetGalley**

I was pretty excited for this book, and I do think it did a great job at telling a super cute wlw storyline, but I struggled a bit with the some of the characters not really "acting as mature as you would think they would" and the age difference was something I thought I didn't care about, until it was constantly discussed as a negative and it kinda sits as a negative after that. I loved the banter, the spicy scenes were written really well, and the friend groups sounded like people that would actually hang out together and take care of one another. I do think this was a good book for sure, just not one of my favorites personally. Thank you for allowing me to read this.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an advanced copy of Mistakes Were Made in exchange for my honest review.

Mistakes Were Made follows the story of Cassie and Erin, who meet each other for the first time in a bar and have a quickie in Erin's rental vehicle. But this story is so much more than that. Cassie, a woman who is about to graduate with dreams of working in aero or astro engineering (she's undecided), meets Erin, a doctor. But Erin is so much more than just a doctor; she's also her best friend's mom.

Let's start with what I liked about this novel.

First, the subject matter. Put two people together who think a one night stand is all they'll have and I'm there for it. This plot attracted me towards the book in the first place, especially when a best friend's parent is involved. Throw in a sprinkle of age gap, MILFs, and hilarious side characters and this was a no brainer read for me. The characters - talking about Erin and Cassie, specifically here - had such a distinct character voice, it was easy to differentiate who was who. I usually prefer to read books in first person, because I feel as though I can get into the mind of the characters better, but by the end of Mistakes Were Made, I was invested in Erin and Cassie's relationship and happy to imagine where they were going in the future. (That epilogue though! It was everything!)

I do wish that Parker, Erin, and Cassie had communicated with each other way earlier in the book. That's just a personal preference because I hate miscommunication and everything could have been avoided sooner. With Erin, it made more sense. She was still repairing her relationship with her daughter and I'm sure that fragility would have me pausing too. But open and honest communication is always better than hiding or lying.

I appreciated all the smut scenes in this book. They were all different and the descriptions were well done! I don't often read a lot of sapphic books that go into detail but I'm a woman who loves women (and men!) and I appreciate seeing myself represented on the page. More than that, the romance was able to develop. Because Erin and Cassie were long distance for the majority of this book, their relationship was able to come into itself in interesting ways and I appreciated that. (What would we do without FaceTime and sexting, am I right?)

Overall, I enjoyed this book and if you're looking for an FF romance to add to your TBR, this is one that should definitely be on there!

Okay, I am officially obsessed with this book. I was NOT expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. It was witty, sexy, and tense throughout. One of my favorite romances I've read in awhile. Great character dynamics, especially between the friend group and the ebbs and flows of college friendships.

I have been excited about this book since the author announced it. This was definitely my most anticipated book of the year. I am so grateful to Netgalley.com for giving me the chance to read it early.

Erin is in her late 30s and has been divorced for 3 years. Sharing her kid with her ex husband is hard, even if her kid is in college and they are sharing her during family weekend. But it's a lot nicer than being married to him. So while Erin's kid, Parker, has dinner with her dad, Erin decides to take herself out to a bar. That's where she notices a very attractive younger woman checking her out.

Cassie is in her senior year of college but that doesn't make family weekend any less of a pain in her ass. She doesn't mind her shitty, non relationship with her mom, she's over it. But she doesn't need to be reminded of it every year with tons of parents invading her campus. So she decides to take herself to a bar across town to escape all the "college parents." That's where she sees, and buys a drink for, the sexiest woman she's ever met.

Erin and Cassie have an incredible one night stand. It was hot. It was sexy. It was just what they each needed. They each kind of wish they would have exchanged numbers but it's better that they didn't. Until Cassie is dragged by Parker to brunch the next morning to meet her mom...... Erin. The beautiful MILF from the bar.

This book was incredible. Honestly I wanted this book for the sexy scenes and this book definitely delivered on that right from the start. I loved them. They were written so well and SO HOT! I appreciated that the book gave me exactly what I wanted from the start but didn't skimp on it the rest of the book. It defiantly kept me happy all the way through book with lots of sex scenes. Thank you so much!

What I didn't expect was for how thoughtful and sweet this book would be! I was here for the sex but I stayed for the excellent and beautifully written character development.
I loved how the author let us inside each woman's head and let us see them grow and change without having to give every single detail. It was an excellent balance and the writing was so good.

Even the side characters had good development without taking away from the main story. I actually enjoyed that we didn't spend much time with Parker and her development but that it was still there. At the beginning of the book I thought Parker (the daughter/friend) was a spoiled brat and I didn't care about her or like her at all. But by the end of the book I was so impressed with her maturity and how she had developed as a character all on her own... again without having to see all the behind the scenes details. I really enjoyed how the author handled the whole story.

Well written, great sex, meaningful growth and conversations, beautiful and believable love story. I very much enjoyed this book and will defiantly be buying when it comes out in October 2022.

We need more books about MILFs!

PS. I really really really enjoyed the banter that every single person in the book had in their close relationships. I'm actually a little jealous. The banter was so cute and funny...

Liked
- steam factor

Disliked-
- character immaturity (Erin is a fully fledged, independent, professional adult, a doctor and a mother - yet she’s this immature? I can’t believe that.
- the age difference here was uncomfortable
- the characters themselves weren’t fleshed out enough and what there was, wasn’t likeable
- for someone who is such a close friend of Cassie’s along with being Erin’s daughter, Parker isn’t featured much

This will certainly find its readers. For me, at the end of the day, I had hoped for more character personality and development here as well as character likeability.



eARC kindly provided by St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley. Opinions shared are my own.

Part erotic escapist romance, part personal journey about women pushing back against messaging about what we "should" or "shouldn't" do when it comes to pursuing our own happiness instead of worrying about the expectations of others, Wilsner's book has fun with the "MILF" idea. A twenty one/two-year-old college student who has no real relationship with her own mom, finds a caring nurturer in her best friend's mom. A forty-two year old divorcee who struggles to bond with her own daughter, finds the responsive, flattering attention she craves from her daughter's best friend. Along the way, the two build from intense attraction to a more meaningful appreciation of the ways they're positive influences on each other's lives. Much of the prose is dedicated to the sexual relationship and to the internal monologue that circles through doubt and desire, but my personal favourite elements of the story were the scenes that centered around the positive friendships in each woman's life. In this way, Wilsner creates a cast of women (men only play very small roles in the story) who aren't out to hurt each other, but rather, to encourage and support each other even--and perhaps especially--when mistakes were made.

I wanted to like this book, but just couldn't get into it. The significant age gap between the love interests felt uncomfortable given that the younger partner was 21 and the older partner was the younger partner's best friend's mom. None of the characters felt truly fleshed out, and the only thing really holding the whole story together was the sex scenes.

sapphic rom com romance reigns supreme! i truly could not put this book down - the spice started in chapter one and did not stop !!!

I loved this book omg! In fact, it was everything that it needed to be and Meryl Wilsner has once again crushed it with the sapphic age-gap romance.

This saddens me to say, but I just didn't click with this book. I loved the author's debut novel, and was looking forward to this one, but from the very beginning the book and plot left me cold.
I just couldn't connect with the characters.
Nevertheless I'm looking forward to the author's next book.

Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner is a delightful age-gap romance about finding your happy ever after when you least expect it.
When Dr. Erin Bennett goes to Family Weekend to visit her daughter at college, a one-night-stand is the furthest thing from her mind. Her daughter, Parker, is having dinner with her father so she decides to have a drink before she goes back to her hotel for the evening. She’s been divorced for three years. She’s started dating again but hasn’t found anyone who can keep her interest - not like she’s looking for “the one”, anyway.
Cassie Klein is in her last year of college. She can’t wait to graduate and pursue her advanced degree in aerospace engineering. She heads over to an off-campus bar to avoid the school’s Family Weekend. She doesn’t know who her father is, and her mother hasn’t done much to earn that title. She didn’t go to the bar looking for a hookup, but she can’t resist the older woman standing across the bar from her. After buying her a drink, they end up in the backseat of a rental car having the best sex Cassie’s had in a long time. No names, no exchange of phone numbers, no plans for a repeat.
The next morning Erin’s enjoying her post sex glow as she waits for Parker to meet her for breakfast. She’s overjoyed to see her “baby”, but horrified to meet Parker’s best friend, Cassie. Erin had no idea she was hooking up with a college student last night, let alone with one of her daughter’s best friends.
Cassie agrees to drag herself out of bed to go to breakfast with the freshman who’s quickly become one of her besties. When she recognizes Erin as the woman from the previous night’s escapade, she can’t hide the cocky grin that’s taken up residence on her face. In the light of day, Erin is even more gorgeous than she remembers.
Erin’s better judgement tells her having anything to do with Cassie is a bad idea, but they get along just as well in the day as they did the previous night. Before they know it, they’re sneaking around behind everyone’s backs. What started as a purely sexual fling has turned into something real, something neither of them thought they’d ever find.
Is being honest about the love between them worth the possibility of losing everyone who’s important to them, or should they end things and live with the heartache?
Pros And My Favourite Parts
Mistakes Were Made has everything I like about an age-gap romance without the ice queen trope. While Erin has moments of insensitive behavior, she’s immediately contrite and hurries to make amends to Cassie. Her motivation isn’t just about self-preservation. She doesn’t want to see Cassie hurt because of a relationship that can’t possibly go anywhere. The tenderness between the two women is genuine. Wilsner does a great job morphing the romance from a one-night-stand to a very loving, committed relationship. I was always aware of the age-gap, but Erin and Cassie bring out the best in each other. They’re perfectly matched, and the 18-year age difference in their ages is part of what makes them tick.
Cons And Heads Up
Both Erin and Cassie are very intelligent women. Erin’s a successful surgeon and Cassie’s a brilliant aerospace engineer about to start work on her master’s degree. I love capable women! I wish I’d had the opportunity to see them being capable. I wasn’t looking for subplots highlighting their chosen careers, but I would have liked a glimpse of them being the superstars I was told they are.
The Conclusion
This is an all-around fun romance. I usually want a giant helping of angst in my romances. I want to spend a significant amount of time, lying on the floor in a heap of conflicting emotions with the book clutched to my chest. (Dramatic, much?) Mistakes Were Made is refreshingly angst-lite. It has more of a waiting-for-the-shoe-to-drop type of tension. I was puzzled for about 48 hours after finishing the book. Was I okay with a romance in which there was no big break up? It turns out I really was. I enjoyed getting to know Cassie and Erin and rooting for them to find happiness together. The spicy scenes are plentiful and there’s humor spread throughout. This book kept me entertained and engaged. I hope you check it out.

This book wqs given to me by the publisher in exchange for a fair and free review.