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A review by lunarmagi42
Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner
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
5.0
Oh wow I loved this book so much. If you, like me, were a bit disappointed that nothing spicy happened until the end of Something to Talk About, you won't be disappointed here, that's for sure! Super spicy and GOOD. I liked the relationship between Cassie and Erin very much. Despite the age difference (and Erin's daughter being only a few years younger than Cassie), if never once slid towards creepy or felt manipulative the way age difference romances sometimes can, even when it's not intentional.
The "miscommunication" trope is present but works well in the story and is really only there for a few pages even if Erin and Cassie don't actually discuss their relationship for most of the book.
What I think I liked most about this book was Erin's perspective. I liked seeing how her thoughts went from "this is how I/my mother have trained my brain to respond to things," to something much healthier in the same thought passage, "no, I'm allowed to want things, to unashamedly pursue the things I want." A major focus of Erin's character is a sort of self reclamation after her divorce. She's learning that she is allowed to want and like and even love things just for herself, they don't have to benefit other people. The whole book starts with her in a bar making eye contact with a cute girl whose checking her out and deciding that she wants to have sex with her, so she does. So often we see the beginning or the "end" of someone working on their mental health, it's rare to see the middle where the intrusive thoughts are still present but are so swiftly followed up by the new, healthy thoughts. It was nice to see.
Cassie is wonderful and funny and smart. In short, exactly the type of girl after my own heart so I very much understood where Erin was coming from, falling in love with her. She's got her own mental health stuff to work through in this book, with her distrust of relationships and lack of an immediate support system, but even she improves by the end. I liked that she never considered changing her goals for Erin and honestly didn't even adjust them for her. She made her decisions based on her wants and needs as an individual, as a whole person and they happened to align well with her heart.
All in all, a very good read that I will come back to. A new favorite!
Spoiler below is about Parker's reaction to her friend dating her mom. I know I was pretty anxious about that and I wanted to let anyone who wanted to know how that goes down know. Does not spoil the reveal itself.
<Spoiler>Parker reacts pretty well to the whole thing to be honest. She's more upset about the lying than the fact her mom's dating her friend. Even then, by the time we know for sure she knows, she's remarkably cool about it. She doesn't talk to Cassie for about 2-3 weeks right after she finds out about it, but she is never cruel and never makes unkind, unwelcome jokes about the whole thing.</Spoiler>
The "miscommunication" trope is present but works well in the story and is really only there for a few pages even if Erin and Cassie don't actually discuss their relationship for most of the book.
What I think I liked most about this book was Erin's perspective. I liked seeing how her thoughts went from "this is how I/my mother have trained my brain to respond to things," to something much healthier in the same thought passage, "no, I'm allowed to want things, to unashamedly pursue the things I want." A major focus of Erin's character is a sort of self reclamation after her divorce. She's learning that she is allowed to want and like and even love things just for herself, they don't have to benefit other people. The whole book starts with her in a bar making eye contact with a cute girl whose checking her out and deciding that she wants to have sex with her, so she does. So often we see the beginning or the "end" of someone working on their mental health, it's rare to see the middle where the intrusive thoughts are still present but are so swiftly followed up by the new, healthy thoughts. It was nice to see.
Cassie is wonderful and funny and smart. In short, exactly the type of girl after my own heart so I very much understood where Erin was coming from, falling in love with her. She's got her own mental health stuff to work through in this book, with her distrust of relationships and lack of an immediate support system, but even she improves by the end. I liked that she never considered changing her goals for Erin and honestly didn't even adjust them for her. She made her decisions based on her wants and needs as an individual, as a whole person and they happened to align well with her heart.
All in all, a very good read that I will come back to. A new favorite!
Spoiler below is about Parker's reaction to her friend dating her mom. I know I was pretty anxious about that and I wanted to let anyone who wanted to know how that goes down know. Does not spoil the reveal itself.
<Spoiler>Parker reacts pretty well to the whole thing to be honest. She's more upset about the lying than the fact her mom's dating her friend. Even then, by the time we know for sure she knows, she's remarkably cool about it. She doesn't talk to Cassie for about 2-3 weeks right after she finds out about it, but she is never cruel and never makes unkind, unwelcome jokes about the whole thing.</Spoiler>
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Misogyny