I first discovered Meryl Wilsner because I picked Something to Talk About as the audiobook that I was going to use to help me fall asleep, but I failed at that because the narrators were so awesome I kept staying awake to listen. I was sad that this wasn’t as good. The story is still great, but the narrators were just ok. And their voices were too similar - I wish there was more contrast between each perspective.

A spicy sapphic love story that will keep you reading to the very last page. The story follows Cassie who accidently sleeps with her best friend's mother and her journey fighting for what she wants (even if she doesn't quite know what that is yet). Wilsner has crafted a unique romance that is rooted in friendship and fighting for your deepest desires. Excellent read & the audiobook narrator was perfect for the story.

Spicy sapphic romance. Girl hooks up with a stranger at a bar, plot twist she’s her friends mom. Kinda long but I really liked it overall!

Thank you @ publisher for using two narrators! So often same gender characters get the same narrator so I really was happy about that!

Wow! I will say that I 100% decided to read this based on the description of the book online as "the MILF book" with a FF relationship. Good marketing, Meryl Wilsner. You got me.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the audiobook arc of this book! Gotta say that both narrators did an excellent job!

Basic set-up: Family weekend at a college. Cassie, college senior, goes to a bar and hooks up with a hot older woman. Cut to breakfast the next morning with her freshman bff, Parker, and her bff's mom. Said mom is the hook-up! Cassie and Erin dance around the awkwardness without letting on, but things start spiraling when Parker invites Cassie home for Christmas.

1) Plot: excellent exploration of the trope. I confessed at the beginning of the review that I was pulled in by the shock value of the plot. I haven't seen many books with the FF version of this plot. Men? Yes. TBH, those age gap romances can be off-putting sometimes. However, very quickly in this book, it becomes clear that these are just two adults who think the other is hot and fun to be around. The age gap is not the main issue. The main issue is that they're keeping their relationship secret from Parker (the daughter/bff).

2) Age gap: not too weird or off-putting. I'm going to date my review here and say that Leo DiCaprio's dating history is still a topic of conversation at the moment and that whole idea of him not dating anyone older than 26 feels icky to me. Mainly, it feels like he's fetishizing young women for their beauty/bodies and taking advantage of the power dynamics that are incredibly skewed in his favor because of his age, wealth, and celebrity. In Mistakes Were Made, the MCs meet at a power dynamic equalizing location (aka a bar) and their interaction is based solely on their attraction to one another. Each can tell that the other is older/younger than they are, but the size of the gap is not immediately apparent and it doesn't affect the one-time nature of their interaction. This does make the circumstances a shock when they discover who the other person is and it does affect how they see each other and their relationship, but I think Wilsner does a good job of not making the age gap weird.

3) Friendship: Yes, this is "the MILF book" and, yes, it's sexy, but it is so much more about friendship than I expected. There's friendships after a break-up, new college friendships, roommate friendships, childhood friendships, friendships in relationships. Cassie is the main person dealing with this pokemon evolution of friendships out of the two MCs, but she sure has a lot to process! Also, how do you tell your bff that you're dating her mom?

Anyway, this is a sexy and fun book that you should definitely read!

This book made my bi heart happy. Just a college girl falling in love with her best friend's mom. No queer/coming out trauma. It was so good! I'm obsessed with the 🌶 in this book. It started in chapter one and kept going until the end. Absolutely love that. The story itself and how they slowly fell in love with eachother (even though they weren't supposed to) just made me get butterflies. Definetely recommend Mistakes Were Made.

Thanks Netgalley for sending me an audiobook arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own. 🖤

Cassie has a one-night stand with a stranger she met at an off-campus bar, only to find out the next day that this woman is her friend's mother, Erin. This was supposed to be a one time thing, but the attraction is so intense that it's impossible to ignore...
This sapphic romance contains lots of spice, lots of chemistry between the characters, but I couldn't relate to any of them. Cassie's relationship with her best friend's mother was a bit weird to me (that's
a big no-no IMO), but that's a me thing. The pace was fast (more than the usual romance), but I read this as an audio book, and the narration was great with a good flow.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you for this book in exchange for my honest review.

I LOVE LOVE LOVED Cassie and Erin’s relationship! They were perfect for each other — no matter the age difference! Also, the friendship Erin had with Cassie’s daughter just made the story all the more tantalizing!

Story: 4 ⭐️
Steam: 5 🔥
Audio: 5 🎧

This was so cute! I was nervous at first because it felt a little rushed at the beginning but it balanced out and I found myself enjoying it a lot. Their relationship was sweet and steamy and I just 🥰

Mistakes Were Made is a fun and sexy age gap romance that I am sure many, many who adore spicy books and a bit risque sexual encounters will adore. We follow Erin, a divorcee in late thirties, who accidentally falls for her daughter's college friend Cassie - throughout the book the two grow closer and closer through chance (and later not-so-chance) encounters and we watch a deep bond form between them.

Sadly this one wasn't for me but I am more than hyped to try other Wilsner books that are so beloved by the queer book community!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Cassie thought the woman across the bar was one of the sexiest women she’d ever seen. After they hooked up, she was shocked to see Erin again the next morning, especially when her friend Parker introduced her as her mother! There’s no way Cassie and Erin can keep hooking up after knowing that…but they keep finding themselves toeing lines and bending their own rules.

This was a sexy, funny, and adorable romance. I really enjoyed the characters and the friendships among the separate groups. Erin and Cassie had great chemistry. I hadn’t read Meryl Wilsner’s other book Something to Talk About, but I had heard good reviews. I will definitely be adding that one to my TBR now!

Ever wonder what would happen if the cougar you hooked up with at a random bar during college weekend ended up being your best friends mother? Wilsner’s Mistakes were made explores the events that unfold for college senior, Cassie, when she joins her friend, Parker, for breakfast and just that happens. The covert relationship is filled with many highs and lows as the couple struggles to keep things a secret and manage their emotions and resist their obvious chemistry.

While this is not a story I personally identify with, it was fun and entertaining to read. The characters are unique and the story is one I could not easily predict. It should be noted that there is a significant amount of adult content that is sexual in nature throughout the book and is best suited for mature readers.

The narration of the audiobook was perfect. The characters were appropriate in tone and it was very easy to follow. Each chapter is told from either Cassie or Erin’s perspective, narrated by one of two narrators. This was very nice in keeping up with the story, as the voices are distinct and suited to their characters.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun romance story that is fresh and hasnt been told and told again with minor details changed, It is definitely an original love story that is in line with today's culture and provides representation to a largely underrepresented group. Special thanks to NetGalley and Row House by Orange Sky Audio for sending this book for recommendation. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

MISTAKES WERE MADE is hilarious and sexy and heartwarming in all the best ways and I will ready everything Meryl Wilsner writes. MILF book, INDEED!

This book was really cute. I did feel a little weird about the age difference, but that's a me issue, not a book issue. I enjoyed seeing the friendship between the three best friends.

Fabulous age-gap romance with plenty of steam! The chemistry between Erin and Cassie is off the charts. 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Well written, I easily connected with mc’s and enjoyed supporting characters as well . Their story is full of we shouldn’t moments, cute loveable scenes, banter and did I mention the steam ?
Also the narrators did a fantastic job.

Definitely recommend!

I loved these characters they were all beautifully unique and well developed and all around fun! I also loved how Cassie and Erin both focused on themselves as well as their relationship not fully losing pieces of their individuality. However, this book is LONGGGG and while I can't think of anything specific to cut down on there wasn't a real climax and that left me feeling a little bummed.

I really liked this book. I liked how they learned to be themselves and ask for happiness. I do want to say that if you do not like same sex situations you should avoid this book. If you are ok with that you will like this book!

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.

Mistakes Were Made is a light-hearted, easy read for fans of rom-coms and the forbidden hookup trope.

The plot: Cassie, a college senior, visits a bar off-campus to blow off steam during Family Weekend. She meets an attractive older woman and they proceed to connect for a steamy one-night stand…or so they think. Cassie's sexy stranger turns out to be her best friend’s mom, turning their fling complicated as fate continually forces the two women together.

My perspective: This was an enjoyable overall read, and quite spicy too. I liked that the "forbidden hookup" was not due to the same-sex couple, and there were a number of proudly out gay characters. I wish we had gotten to see more of the motivations/character development of Cassie and Erin - the relationship felt mostly physical rather than balanced between emotion and attraction, making the ending seem very sudden. It would also have been nice to get more of Parker’s (Cassie’s best friend/Erin’s daughter) storyline in the books - how does she think/feel as the relationship hijinks progress? Overall, this is a nice quick read to escape into.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC!

This is unironically the best romance novel I have read in the last three years. The steam was top notch, but the plot was comfortable and engaging without being predictable. I cannot stop talking about this book! Cassie and Erin are fully developed and had chemistry off the walls. Cannot say enough about how excellent this was

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!!)