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cozycritiques's review against another edition
- Mistakes Were Made
Tropes: Single Parent, Forbidden/Secret Relationship, Best Friend’s Parent, Caretaking While Sick, Holidays, Characters in Therapy, Women in STEM, Age Gap, Texting
Representation: LGBTQ+ (Bisexual), Mental Health
Spice Scale: 🌶🌶🌶🌶
CW: Divorce mention, Past Infidelity mention, Parental Abandonment (Past), Misogyny
I picked this up purely because it had been described as “the MILF book,” and it did not disappoint. When there was a sex scene within the first eight pages of a book, I expected the book to be more spice than plot—which wouldn’t have been a problem for me at all. However, I was pleasantly surprised because Mistakes Were Made struck the perfect balance between spice and plot.
There was such amazing character growth for Cassie and Erin, and the emotional slow-burn of them getting together after their initial meeting was so well done. How Wilsner was able to write such effective mutual pining while the characters were actively hooking up was nothing short of amazing. Their chemistry was off the charts, even when they were separated. I loved the long-distance texting and FaceTime dates; they’re two of my favorite micro-tropes, and there aren’t nearly enough books that do it so effectively.
I loved the found family aspect of this book. It was a little messy, considering Erin was Cassie’s friend’s mother, but that didn’t detract from the tight-knit friend group feel. The messy conflict was also handled really well at the end.
Mistakes Were Made was heartfelt and fun, and I can’t wait to see what Wilsner does next.
Minor: Abandonment, Infidelity, and Misogyny
things100's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Misogyny and Alcohol
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Misogyny
jencolumb0's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Deliciously open door: Wilsner doesn’t hold back on the spicy elements.
Overall, it landed on a bridge between Ashley Herring Blake’s Bright Falls series and Susannah Nix’s STEM series (not quite rapid-fire geek/charmingly awkward to venture into Ali Hazelwood territory) as a solidly charming read.
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Misogyny and Death of parent
ienbdri's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol and Misogyny
lidia7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, and Abandonment
Minor: Death of parent, Misogyny, and Classism
rrenreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Misogyny and Abandonment
abigailkokitus's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing and Alcohol
Minor: Misogyny
dropshift5568's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Misogyny
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
general premise:
- contemporary age-gap/secret romance
- third-person limited dual-POVs
- 21-year-old college senior Cassie has a one-night stand with an older woman at a bar during parents’ weekend
- that older woman turns out to be her room mate Parker’s mom (Erin) 🤭
- Cassie & Erin continue to be in close proximity, trying to ignore the chemistry between them & keep it a secret from Parker & Cassie/Parker’s bff Acacia
- steam: 4/5— these two can’t keep their hands off of each other OMG 🥵
- cw: abandonment, alcohol, misogyny
thoughts:
OH MY GOSH THIS BOOK IS SO MUCH FUN !!!!
I absolutely loved Cassie's confidence and boldness -- she says "I don't believe in guilty pleasures. Like what you like. I'm not embarrassed to be a nerd. You don't have to be embarrassed of reading mysteries. Why would that even be embarrassing?" & this just sums up her general outlook on life. She does not live for or care for anyone else's expectations or "should"s; she is genuinely just confident in who she is as a 21-year-old. As an almost-32-year-old now, I sometimes miss that spritely self-assuredness and this was a fantastic reminder to stand strong in my confidence and to continue to boldly and loudly be myself. #ForeverCringeAndProud
It's so funny because Erin is supposed to be the older woman and I had to funny lil moment of realizing I was probably closer in age to her than the 21-year-old college student. I was like "bish, you are now officially the older woman. THAT'S HOT" hahaha. Anyway, I'm assuming Erin is around 40 and I loved the tenderness and cautious nature of her character. Unlike Cassie, she isn't 100% sure of herself and who she should be post-divorce yet. She is unlearning all of the messaging that her mother passed onto her of "keeping up appearances" and she is navigating what living a joyful, full life feels like for her. I especially appreciated her therapy sessions and the representation of seeing a mental health professional in a romance novel. THANK YOU MERYL!
I am officially on a mission to now read everything Meryl Wilsner has published because sheeeeeesh can they write fun steamy scenes and such palpable chemistry throughout the damn story!
Graphic: Abandonment and Misogyny
Moderate: Alcohol