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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
FANTASTIC. CUTE AF. CRINGY IN ALL THE RIGHT WAYS. I COULDN'T STOP SMILING FOR THE LAST 40 PAGES.
it was soooo steamy! i loved it. the romance was great the friendships were great. the characters had depth and personality. it was a quick read!
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
If you want lesbian porn with mediocre writing and story telling this is the book for you
This may be the best romance book I have read in my life.
Mutual pining, forbidden relationship, NOT STUPID TROPES JUST TO OVER COMPLICATE THINGS AND AN ENDING THAT LITERALLY MADE ME CRY AT WORK (because it's beautiful, not sad).
It doesn't hurt that it's also some of the best written smut I have read in my life. Dear got, if you like romance, you'll LOVE this.
Mutual pining, forbidden relationship, NOT STUPID TROPES JUST TO OVER COMPLICATE THINGS AND AN ENDING THAT LITERALLY MADE ME CRY AT WORK (because it's beautiful, not sad).
It doesn't hurt that it's also some of the best written smut I have read in my life. Dear got, if you like romance, you'll LOVE this.
Erin and Cassie meet at a bar, sleep together and plan on never seeing each other again. Surprise surprise Erin is Cassie’s friends MOM. Let the awkward affair begin. This book was spicy and awkward and funny and heartfelt. I loved listening. Would recommend if you want a sapphic romcom read.
Overall Rating: 3.5/5 [SPOILERS]
Before I begin, I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with this eGalley/eARC allowing me to give my honest review.
Mistakes Were Made is a sapphic whirlwind of a rom-com that follows the story of a college senior, Cassie, who finds out that her drunken hookup she met at the bar last night is actually her friend’s mom. Throughout the novel, you follow the two characters as they try to navigate this new territory as their supposed one-time fling unravels into much more than they originally bargained for.
This book was one that I originally could not wait to get my hands on. I loved the plot and could not wait to see how this story would unfold. Though as I started to read the book I noticed a few issues and things that made me uncomfortable within the story. While Wilsner typically does a decent job navigating age gaps and differing dynamics in relationships as seen in their previous novel, [b:Something to Talk About|52915426|Something to Talk About|Meryl Wilsner|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589963301l/52915426._SX50_.jpg|70730596], I feel that a lot of that was lost here. They spent so much of the book doubling down on how weird and wrong the relationship was, it made it very uncomfortable at times, leaving the reader unsure if they should be rooting for this relationship or not. There are multiple lines where they have Erin, refer to Cassie as a child referring to Erin as “the adult in the situation,” as if Cassie is not a literal adult. It made it very uncomfortable to read because it’s like if you continue to drill down that she is “too young” then why continue? While they do have an age gap, Cassie is still an adult and those lines start to take away from that. Secondly, the dialogue throughout the book is very cringe-worthy but also super repetitive, the author uses the words ‘tits’ so many times as if there is no other synonym for the word. Also managing to make the main character so insufferably cocky throughout the beginning of the story, I know it was supposed to come off as “confidence” but it just simply made me want to close the book. The story did get better on towards the middle and end of the book though still cringeworthy at times. Overall the book was decent there were definitely parts that I enjoyed but the issues I’ve included slightly ruined the experience for me and therefore I lowered my rating.
Additionally, I do not feel comfortable with how race/racial aspects were discussed in this book. There were a variety of problematic lines including but not limited to:
In chapter 2: when Wilsner described an area as “too plantation-like”
In chapter 4: having the MC highlight the fact that one of the characters is a “mediocre white man” as if they were not also white,
especially these lines where Wilsner writes:
In Chapter 6: “ Her mom had always been proud Erin was close with an interracial couple, in that “I have black friends” sort of way.” which is just a bizarre thing to say and not their place as a white person even to attempt to make that joke, it was very not necessary and made me extremely uncomfortable
In Chapter 14: The scene where Rachel and Erin are at the nail salon and Wilsner has the nail techs say “We don't Gossip” —“Not in English anyway” again as a white author this is something they need to be more aware of and note that not only does it come off as a weird stereotype but also that it is not their place to make these kinds of comments.
As a writer, if you are not able to incorporate diversity into your books in a way that is not microaggressive and offensive then you need to work on that and get feedback from the communities you are representing. I hope these are issues that can be thoroughly addressed before publishing.
Before I begin, I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with this eGalley/eARC allowing me to give my honest review.
Mistakes Were Made is a sapphic whirlwind of a rom-com that follows the story of a college senior, Cassie, who finds out that her drunken hookup she met at the bar last night is actually her friend’s mom. Throughout the novel, you follow the two characters as they try to navigate this new territory as their supposed one-time fling unravels into much more than they originally bargained for.
This book was one that I originally could not wait to get my hands on. I loved the plot and could not wait to see how this story would unfold. Though as I started to read the book I noticed a few issues and things that made me uncomfortable within the story. While Wilsner typically does a decent job navigating age gaps and differing dynamics in relationships as seen in their previous novel, [b:Something to Talk About|52915426|Something to Talk About|Meryl Wilsner|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589963301l/52915426._SX50_.jpg|70730596], I feel that a lot of that was lost here. They spent so much of the book doubling down on how weird and wrong the relationship was, it made it very uncomfortable at times, leaving the reader unsure if they should be rooting for this relationship or not. There are multiple lines where they have Erin, refer to Cassie as a child referring to Erin as “the adult in the situation,” as if Cassie is not a literal adult. It made it very uncomfortable to read because it’s like if you continue to drill down that she is “too young” then why continue? While they do have an age gap, Cassie is still an adult and those lines start to take away from that. Secondly, the dialogue throughout the book is very cringe-worthy but also super repetitive, the author uses the words ‘tits’ so many times as if there is no other synonym for the word. Also managing to make the main character so insufferably cocky throughout the beginning of the story, I know it was supposed to come off as “confidence” but it just simply made me want to close the book. The story did get better on towards the middle and end of the book though still cringeworthy at times. Overall the book was decent there were definitely parts that I enjoyed but the issues I’ve included slightly ruined the experience for me and therefore I lowered my rating.
Additionally, I do not feel comfortable with how race/racial aspects were discussed in this book. There were a variety of problematic lines including but not limited to:
In chapter 2: when Wilsner described an area as “too plantation-like”
In chapter 4: having the MC highlight the fact that one of the characters is a “mediocre white man” as if they were not also white,
especially these lines where Wilsner writes:
In Chapter 6: “ Her mom had always been proud Erin was close with an interracial couple, in that “I have black friends” sort of way.” which is just a bizarre thing to say and not their place as a white person even to attempt to make that joke, it was very not necessary and made me extremely uncomfortable
In Chapter 14: The scene where Rachel and Erin are at the nail salon and Wilsner has the nail techs say “We don't Gossip” —“Not in English anyway” again as a white author this is something they need to be more aware of and note that not only does it come off as a weird stereotype but also that it is not their place to make these kinds of comments.
As a writer, if you are not able to incorporate diversity into your books in a way that is not microaggressive and offensive then you need to work on that and get feedback from the communities you are representing. I hope these are issues that can be thoroughly addressed before publishing.
I am trying to move out of my heteronormative romance but some books are really making it challenging to do lol when will we get good lgbtq romance????
3.5 rounded up
Age gap, forbidden romance, best friends mom.
The first half was great. It was spicy and fast paced. The second half slowed down I think. But can’t exactly point out why.
I loved both characters - flaws and all.
Erin just wants to be the best mom for her daughter, but after the divorce wants to be selfish and have something that’s just for her. And that’s Cassie.
They compliment each other well. Both are confident and basass in their own ways, and push each other out of their comfort zones a little.
I agree with others comments that the “I didn’t realize my feelings until it was pointed out to me” seems lazy, but if this was an MF romance and the MMC did the same I personally let it go. So I’m doing the same thing here.
Age gap, forbidden romance, best friends mom.
The first half was great. It was spicy and fast paced. The second half slowed down I think. But can’t exactly point out why.
I loved both characters - flaws and all.
Erin just wants to be the best mom for her daughter, but after the divorce wants to be selfish and have something that’s just for her. And that’s Cassie.
They compliment each other well. Both are confident and basass in their own ways, and push each other out of their comfort zones a little.
I agree with others comments that the “I didn’t realize my feelings until it was pointed out to me” seems lazy, but if this was an MF romance and the MMC did the same I personally let it go. So I’m doing the same thing here.
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
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