Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - Mistakes Were Made

Reviews tagging Abandonment

Mistakes Were Made, by Meryl Wilsner

8 reviews

ollie_again's review

emotional medium-paced

2.75

This was one of my most anticipated reads of this year and I'm disappointed... the biggest issue I had with this book was the pacing -- first there is no tension, no build up (even after the first encounter), then the story jumps sometimes weeks, sometimes months ahead, I was half time confused how much time has passed or not, and also who is even talking. The two women kind of blended together, because the secondary characters (aka their best friends) were little two dimensional. The friends were all kinds of assholish, Parker taking the a-hole crown right away. There is a lot of sex, which is fine, but if you combine it with a rushed conclusion which was unrealistic at best, I just can't help myself but feel disappointed.

I really wanted some tension, pining for each other because of the 'taboo' aspect of the story, but they ignored the problem and just sneaked around. They gave in pretty much right away and that is not something I wanted to read about nor it was really interesting. I was bored for most of the book because of how horny it was... they have sex, we get it. And for it to have "rom-com" in the blurb, this was not funny... like at all. Instead, you get messy friendship drama, or a side of creepy ex-husband because why not.

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melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition

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emotional funny fast-paced

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

4.0

Thank you to MacMillan and Netgalley for an arc of this book!

When Cassie discovers her one night stand at college is actually one of her best friend's mom, her life gets a lot complicated. And is Erin really sleeping with her daughter's college friend? At her age?

Look, it's the milf book! Okay...so, I didn't realize this was a milf book when I requested it. I probably wouldn't have picked it up if I had known to be honest because age gap isn't really my thing? I did like this though. It was sweet in some ways and spicy in others. I really liked Cassie and Erin and the relationship they developed. I liked watching Cassie get to know herself better and Erin taking things for herself that she never got before. This was a cute and quick fun read!

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friendofdorothea's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book made me a little uncomfortable just because even as someone who will be 25 in a couple weeks, I wouldn't feel comfortable dating someone 21. It's just so young, and also I feel like

Spoiler

Erin abused her power at some points and was really mean to Cassie for absolutely no reason and even though Erin was the one who had power in situations

Spoiler

also I feel like there were too many spicy scenes.

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motaki's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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potatogrr's review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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katiehasanxiety's review

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lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the Advanced Reader Copy in advance for an honest review!

I wanted to love this, i did. I loved the concept. I loved that it was GAY AF… but.

I honestly didn’t love Cassie or Parker. Erin was gr8, we love a good MILF… but idk I couldn’t stop thinking the whole time about how Parker would react and feel and then it was anti-climatic???

The epilogue was hella hella cute though and actually raised the review from a 3 to a 3.5 so.

It was gay. But it did not slap.

The spice was fantastic tho hot damn.

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arthur_ant18's review

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

In Mistakes Were Made, the 2022 sapphic contemporary romance by Meryl Wilsner (Something to Talk About), 21-year-old Cassie Klein, in a bid to escape her college’s Family Weekend, heads across town to a bar, where she runs into gorgeous late-30s divorcée Erin Bennett. The chemistry between them is off the charts immediately, but after their one-night stand together, they have no plans to see each other again. The next day, however, Cassie’s close friend Parker takes her out for breakfast, which has Erin in attendance, since she’s Parker’s mom. Obviously, Cassie and Erin have their initial “oh crap” moments before making an attempt at maintaining a platonic relationship. Judging from the lust and then the love that keeps drawing them back to each other over time, though, this proves to be an incredibly tough goal for them to achieve.

I may not typically be a huge fan of age-gap romances, but that didn’t stop me from having plenty of fun while breezing through the sneaky hijinks and age-related anxieties of Wilsner’s sophomore novel. Her snappy writing encourages you to follow these two women as they navigate the sparks that persist in exploding between them and do their best to hide their forbidden romance from others, especially Parker. This could have headed into an icky space (again, there's a reason that age gaps aren't my thing), so I'm glad Wilsner is able to respectfully depict the relationship and get me to understand why the partners have bonded so quickly.

But this isn’t to say that Erin and Cassie are wholly lovable leads. No, they’re fully capable of making immature decisions that left me sighing and/or chuckling at them with a mixture of disapproval and sympathy. I can buy into MCs with varying sorts of unlikable personalities as long as they’re fleshed-out and feel appropriate for the story, which is the case for Cassie and Erin most of the time. Admittedly, there were a few character choices that made me arch my eyebrow a little too dubiously, including one particular moment in the first half that sees Erin behaving towards Cassie in a way that I found to be flat-out cruel. Then there's Parker, whom I didn't think was too charming, what with the puerile behavior she engages in throughout the novel. I get why the irresponsible tendencies of this cast have been a major criticism for other readers, and you know what, sometimes they can irritate me as well. But in the end, I think there can be something valuable to be unearthed in the messy humanity of these characters—specifically Erin and Cassie—as they figure out what they want out of their dynamic and separate the expectations that other people put on them from the things that they truly yearning for themselves.

It's fantastic to see the queer representation here, with numerous women like Cassie, Erin, and Parker identifying as bisexual and Erin's friend Rachel identifying as pansexual. This counters the bi-erasure that's often present in queer media. While we've been getting more and more contemporary romances starring bi leads, including the Written in the Stars series by Alexandria Bellefleur; Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston; and Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert, it can still feel at times like we're living in a world that normalizes monosexuality and completely dismisses anyone on the bi spectrum. That's why it's satisfying to be able to consume a book like Mistakes Were Made, in which bisexuality is front and center and nobody has to worry about coming out.

As for the spice, I feel conflicted. I know this has been promoted as a raunch-com, and I'm all for the leads being unable to get enough of each other in bed. However, I prefer my steam to be the kind where, if it's happening constantly, it explores some creative paths and becomes an integral part of the relationship's evolution, e.g. The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang and Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly. In Mistakes Were Made, it can be fun sometimes, but it can also feel repetitive and extraneous on other occasions. I'll acknowledge that I might be holding this opinion because I'm a cishet man and that I might feel differently if I were a bi woman. That being said, if I want books that boast virtually enough smut to become erotica, I'll go for something like the Dark Olympus series by Katee Roberts. Otherwise, it doesn't jive well in contemporary romances for me.

I feel it's necessary to point out that there are numerous lines in the ARC that made me uncomfortable because of their racist undertones. If you look up reviews for this book, you'll find other readers who've criticized them as well. Thankfully, Wilsner has already stated that they'll be edited out of the final version of her book. I merely wanted to comment on this issue so that anyone who's read the ARC knows I'm not ignoring the lines and I'm glad changes are being made to trim offensive material from the book.

A certain third-act reveal subverted my expectations and therefore amped up the quality of this novel in my eyes. Sure, the rest of the story turned out to be far from unpredictable, but it’s a heartwarming conclusion nonetheless.

Overall, while I wish the sex scenes had been written more thoughtfully and tweaks had been made to some of the characters’ sophomoric actions, Mistakes Were Made is quite an admirable raunch-com whose endearingly flawed MCs deftly traverse taboo-romance territory.

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slayergirl3281's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

ABSOLUTELY A FIVE STAR READ AND FIVE PEPPERS!

Cassie, A senior in college is alone on family weekend. She isn't close to her mom and grew up without a dad. So, Cassie decides what the hell, I'll see what an off campus bar has to offer. That is where she locks eyes with Erin from across the bar and boldly buys her a drink. Erin is at least 18 years Cassie's senior but doesn't look it at all. Flirting ensues and Erin initiates a hot bathroom hook up asking if Cassie wants to get out of here. The two have quick hot sex in the back of Erin's car and then part ways. 

The next morning one of Cassie's best friend, a college freshman Parker, asks her if she wants to go to breakfast with her and her mom who is in town. As the two women arrive at the restaurant, Cassie looks up at the table to see Parker waving at her mom, her mom who happens to be the sexy older woman, Erin, she hooked up with at the bar last night.

This taboo, hot sexy love story follows Erin and Cassie has they have a hidden love affair and work out there feelings for each other. All while hiding their hook ups from Erin's daughter. 

Mistakes were made was unspeakably hot and romantic all at the same time. I could not put this book down. Meryl Wilsner did not disappoint with their second novel.

cw/tw
Alcoholic Parent
Abandonment by a parent 
Alcohol use by minor

Tropes
Age Gap
Idiots to lovers

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