Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Mistakes Were Made

I did not expect to completely adore Erin and Cassie the way I did. Yes, the friend's mom / daughter's friend dynamic did make me uncomfortable at times, but they had brilliant chemistry right from the start and by the end of the book I was just so in love with both of their characters and with their relationship, and really did think they worked well together. I also absolutely loved the found family element of the story and the variety of relationships that are explored in addition to the central romance.

I did feel that, as we got to see Erin going to therapy and really working on her issues and undergoing some great character development, it would've been even better if we had gotten to get a bit more into Cassie's character and past and development too (she does undergo some important growth, but her character isn't explored to the extent that Erin's is in my opinion). It also bugged me a bit that there's a lot of drinking featured, and that this isn't really explored in any meaningful or critical way. However, this book was exactly what I needed to read at the time that I read it and it just made my heart so fucking happy, and it's been a while since a romance book has stayed on my mind as much as this one has; Erin and Cassie deserve the entire world.

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khymihr's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

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wisewayfarer's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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abigailkokitus's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was certainly a fun read, and the sex scenes were admittedly fantastic. I read the whole thing over the course of 48 hours. And there were times I laughed out loud. But I just could not force myself to like the two main characters. Cassie is annoyingly arrogant and conceited. Erin is constantly toeing the line between following her heart and being overly, grossly selfish. The “fuck should” gets annoying after a while. Going to the bathroom to make out with a girl when you’re supposed to be watching your child’s concert? Having sex with this girl when your daughter is literally down the hall? I’m sorry but that’s all a little icky to me. Those are things you “should” NOT do. But Erin doesn’t seem to care because she’s seemingly blinded by sex with a much younger woman and seems willing to throw away everything else to keep having that mind-blowing sex. It’s also strange how Erin notes how gross the fetishization of youth is… just to do exactly that. Just… ew. Ew to all of that. And sometimes I’m like… I just wish I could read a steamy romance that’s about NORMAL people. Not breathtakingly conventionally attractive people that are rich, working their dream jobs, achieving all of their dreams, etc. That’s just so unrealistic. When I read the words “when they bought the lake house” my eyes rolled so far into my head I thought I’d see my brain. Maybe it’s just because like, you know, eat the rich, but I hated that aspect of the story. And I know not ever book is meant to be realistic or whatever. But… anyway. Despite really not liking the characters or feeling connected to any of them, and despite the writing being fine but nothing to write home about, I’m still giving this three stars for the humor and the sex, and for the fact that it’s an easy, fun read overall.

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bookishmillennial's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

disclaimer if you’ve read other reviews by me and are noticing a pattern: You’re correct that I don’t really give starred reviews, I feel like a peasant and don’t like leaving them and most often, I will only leave them if I vehemently despised a book. Thus, no stars doesn’t indicate that the book wasn’t worthy of any starred system. It just means I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all, even if the lesson is that I’m a ho for the smut, recognizing a genre/book/author is not for me, or confronting my own mommy/daddy issues lol. Everyone’s reading experiences are subjective, so I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Happy reading! Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial

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!

Content Warnings

decembermagpie's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective 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? No

5.0

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