Have you ever had a one night stand? Did you regret it in the morning or did you continue on your normal day? In Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner, we get to see the aftermath of a one night stand gone...well, not wrong per se, but let's just say the morning after was a bit of a shocker.
College senior Cassie Klein decides to head to an off-campus bar during Parents Weekend. While there, she spots Erin Bennett across the bar and the two make eye contact. One thing leads to another and they find themselves hooking up. Only afterward does Erin drop the bomb that she is only in town visiting her daughter for Parents Weekend. After Cassie tells Erin that she is also a student at the school, they have an awkward goodbye, not expecting to see the other again.
That is, until Cassie is invited to breakfast by her best friend Parker to act as a buffer between her and her mom...Erin. The two play it cool and don't give any indication to Parker of what had occurred the night before. What was supposed to be a one night fling soon turns into more with Cassie and Erin sneaking around and hiding what is happening between the two of them from Parker.
I don't know about you, but I am a sucker for a good rom-com. And I believe this is my first sapphic rom-com so I was extra enthused about it. The story jumps right into the spice at the beginning and continues to sprinkle in steamy moments throughout. Told using third person dual POV, we are able to follow along as Cassie and Erin navigate this "new normal" (for lack of a better phrase) that has developed after an unexpected night together.
As a bisexual woman, it was a delight to have several main and supporting bisexual female characters - especially since they weren't portrayed as overly sexual. I also really appreciated that the LGBTQIA+ characters are treated the same as everyone else, both by the characters in the story as well as by the author. There is a scene in the book where a character is outraged that two women are kissing, but for a reason completely unrelated to the fact that they are two woman and I absolutely loved that. A part of me is conditioned to believe that outrage is going to come in the form of hate and it was refreshing to see it was for legitimate reasons instead.
The story progresses as you would expect a rom-com to progress. There were no surprise twists or turns and I felt pretty secure in my predictions of how the story was to develop. Even with predictable outcomes, I enjoyed this story. The characters all felt like someone that I could meet on the street and their relationships with each other were heartwarming and relatable.
One thing I did miss was a dramatic climax. It almost felt to me like it happened offscreen and you didn't get to see or feel any of the emotion that would have come with it. One of our main characters, while incredibly smart in many ways, also came off as kind of oblivious because of it. During this particular point in the story, I remember thinking that it would have benefitted from the addition of two more POVs, but once I reached the end, I actually was able to come to terms with how it was handled.
The overall message of the story really tugged at my heartstrings. It was a pleasant (and much needed) reminder that you have to make sure you are doing things for yourself and make sure that you are not putting your happiness aside for anyone else. If you're like me and a people pleaser, you definitely need to pick up this book and have it whack you over the head with this message. Your happiness is just as important as the happiness of those around you and those you love. Be the best version of yourself.
Overall, this story was delightful. I love character driven stories which is why romance appeals to me so much. What it lacked in a dramatic climax, it made up for in...well, a steamy climax. Multiple steamy climaxes even.
Due to some insanity in my schedule at the moment, I am a little behind on reading and reviewing this ARC. My delay is your gain - this steamy sapphic rom-com is on shelves now and available wherever you get your books!
