Mistakes Were Made

Sneaking around to date your child's friend/friend's parent already makes you look pretty bad, but this book put in the heavy lifting to make the main characters seem extraordinarily selfish, unlikable, and apathetic.

I guess this is my christmas present for myself? Hahaha.

Anyway, it gets 3.5 stars. I'm not sure what to say. It didn't have much of an impact on me, but the smut was hot as hell!

For the first time in my life, I let loose. It's not a guilty pleasure. If you like it, you like it. What is there to be so embarrassed about?

The story follows the relationship between a high school graduate and her best friend's Mom.
Believable, sexy, feel-good. I deserve such breaks after breaking my head over Dostoevsky and Tolkien.

This as you know/would expect is not great work of literature. I don't presume the author intended it to be. It's refreshing to the read a healthy romance especially in a taboo setting - like everything is okay here, it's perfect; if you can ignore one tiny, small detail. This couple works so well, and the author created their interactions so in sync that nothing feels forced. It flows. And the steamy segments are well, very steamy... visceral. I don't have much to compare, but it was very hot.

Pansexual side character -✅
Genderqueer side character -✅
Bi main characters -✅
Black best friend -✅
Misogynistic ex -✅(named Adam)
All feminist propaganda requirements fulfilled. I have nothing against the feminist ideology, but at times I feel they push little too much. Like this.

I cringe when people use the term ‘best friend', especially people in their 20s. Grow up already; or maybe, I'm just lonely. I guess it will be hard to get around that if I'm considering reading more of this.
‘Hey, I'm your best friend. I love you, you know that, right?
I hate you
no you don't
yeah i dont.


Hate this.
Less talk. Do more.

There is not much of story in here, other than these two hotties navigating their relationship. I'm gonna go find similar books with a little more plot to it and a little less teenage drama.

can this PLEASE happen to me

3.75⭐️

It was great, some of the writing was clunky but it was a really fast read.

There was more sex than I was expecting and sometimes it was too much but not bad.

Would recommend

Reread 2023: this was just as good and hot as the first time around!

This made me so uncomfortable

DNF 34%
I tried, but I can't pass the age gap AT ALL
the bestfriend is shown as a young-naive-pure girl, everyone is lying to her
ex; they're all talking in the kitchen, but Erin and Cassie are literally making sex-jokes, that only them can understand, this is just immature

This book is the opposite of a slow burn! It has a lot of spice, but I have to admit I wasn't immediately rooting for this couple. I wasn't fully on board with this situationship until halfway through the book. It was fun, funny, weird, but also so lovely.

TOO EXPLICIT

Ugh why can't these crazy kids just tell each other how they feel

Dang Near Erotica Level MILF Lesbian* RomCom. Seriously: Read the title of this review. If that type of book isn't for you for any reason at all... save yourself the time and the author the 1* review and just find something else to read. The sex scenes start in Chapter 1 and are fairly frequent throughout the book - and *far* from closed door. XXX "on screen", in fact. And all the sex is between a 40 something woman whose daughter is in college and a 21yo female college senior. Again, if that isn't your thing... just move on. Finally, there are f-bombs and other curse words quite heavily as well (not sailor/ programmer level, but also not Independent Baptist Church level either). So yet again, not your thing... just move on. Please.

For anyone else that is still here... this is a somewhat slow ish angsty romcom, but the resolution comes perhaps a bit too quickly once it finally gets to that point. Still, there actually is a decent amount of drama here, and a seemingly realistic (enough) portrayal of people actually in these types of situations. The comedy part of the "romcom" label is mostly in the initial few scenes between the leading couple, but there are laughs to be had throughout the book and the romance itself picks up when the comedy wanes, so it works. Really the only quibble for those still here is the flash-forward epilogue, which is one of those things your mileage may vary on but which does add a bit of humor to the tail end of the tale.

Overall this was a solid tale well told, and the characters themselves are rare enough that anyone seeking "something different" will find this quite refreshing indeed. Very much recommended.

*Note: While the characterization of the leading couple is *actually* bisexual, according to the text here, and one has even been married and had a kid (and the other had a boyfriend before the events of the book), the only romantic/ sexual relationships actually in the book are all of the sapphic nature, and thus for actual purposes of review would be considered lesbian in at least some circles.

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.

I didn't hate it but I also didn't love it. Yeah, their relationship got cuter the more they interacted with each other, yet I have a few gripes with the story. One, Cassie is 21/22 whilst Erin is around 39. I'm more neutral with age gap tropes yet I would much prefer if the younger individual is at least 25. Two, I felt as if there wasn't really anything to the plot. It felt a bit flat after reading and there really wasn't much character building. Three, I'm perfectly okay with spicy scenes in books, yet I just felt as if I was reading a smut centered book for most of the time. I would have loved to have way more development in other areas. It was still an okay book though.

Loved the romance, Cassie and Erin were so cute together! But I felt that sometimes the story dragged on especially with the ‘oh no! We're doing something wrong' spiel.