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ourxstorybegins 's review for:
Mistakes Were Made
by Meryl Wilsner
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was absolutely stunning! I was a huge fan of Something To Talk About and was excited when I heard an announcement for Wilsner’s next book. That said, most of the conversations were definitely around how hot it was going to be (which, I mean, it was) and I was really curious about how the romance itself would unfold. Romances with an age gap always make me a little nervous because of the power imbalance that tends to come with an age difference, but holy smokes that was not a concern with this book at ALL once I started reading it.
Some Highlights:
- Cassie and Erin are both painfully obsessed with each other. The book is definitely a lot of them hooking up and/or being cute followed immediately by them being in denial about how much they actually adore each other.
- The conflict has nothing to do with the age gap and everything to do with the fact that Cassie and Parker (Erin’s daughter) are best friends. One of my favorite things about this book was the relationship between Cassie and Parker and how everything unfolds between the two of them. (Also can I just say? PARKER DESERVES A BOOK!!!)
- As previously mentioned, the spice is so so so good. Like there’s a certain bathroom scene that I’m still thinking about a month later and they didn’t even have sex????? The chemistry was just! so! good!
Some Weirdness:
So, all of that said, there were a couple of moments that were dropped in that just felt unnecessary and had me scratching my head. Making references to antebellum construction in almost a fond way seemed weird. Also, there’s an interracial couple that Erin acknowledges as making their neighborhood better, and doesn’t explain...why? So it very much feels like “you make the neighborhood better because you bring diversity” which just felt odd. Neither of these moments NEEDED to be in the book, they had no impact on the rest of the story. I really think they could be pulled.
I cannot wait to actually own this book once it’s released so I can bug all my friends to read it.