Books Like Mistakes Were Made
by Lucy Score
Mistakes Were Made is built on a classic opposites-attract engine: a high-octane, chaotic heroine stripped of her city life and dropped into a tight-knit Pennsylvania town, and a controlled, by-the-book town lawyer who keeps running into her. The novel uses forced proximity and the friction of clashing personalities to drive both heat and character growth — Zoey Moody’s messy, impulsive energy repeatedly upends Gage Bishop’s orderly routines, and the romance unfolds as each forces the other to re-evaluate what safety and risk mean.
Readers come to this book for different reasons: some want the small-town setting and community texture that shape the couple’s stakes; others want the erotic, opposites-attract chemistry born from constant contact; and some are after the emotional arc as two damaged people learn to trust. The picks below are chosen to map those different pleasures — sharp banter and workplace-ish tension, slow-burn rural adjustments, spicy forced-proximity setups, and odd-couple emotional reckonings — so you can pick the next read that fits the part of Mistakes Were Made you loved most.
Recommended for fans of Mistakes Were Made
The Hating Game
Sally Thorne
Sharp enemies-to-lovers banter and opposites-attract workplace tension.
Pick this if you loved Zoey and Gage’s viciously funny sparring and slow burn; this is the closest match for that banter-driven tension.
Beach Read
Emily Henry
Two very different writers forced together for a summer, emotional and witty.
Pick this if it was the pairing of two very different professionals forced into proximity — and the emotional work that follows — that hooked you.
Well Met
Jen DeLuca
Small-town romcom with forced proximity and playful chemistry.
Pick this if you wanted a community-focused, event-driven small-town romance with playful chemistry and recurring proximity moments.
The Rosie Project
Graeme Simsion
Organized protagonist meets chaotic love interest; odd-couple charm and heartfelt growth.
Pick this if you liked the odd-couple dynamic where a highly structured person meets a chaotic counterpart and both are changed; this leans quirkier and more premise-driven.
Get a Life, Chloe Brown
Talia Hibbert
Structured heroine forming a messy, hot relationship with an opposites-attract spark.
Pick this if you enjoyed the heartfelt growth that comes from a mismatched pairing and want a story with the same earnest, unconventional sweetness.
The Unhoneymooners
Christina Lauren
Forced-proximity, enemies-turned-lovers on a reluctant honeymoon; lots of chemistry.
Pick this if you wanted a romantic setup built on being stuck together under awkward circumstances and lots of combustible chemistry.
The Kiss Quotient
Helen Hoang
Opposites-attract pairing, sensual chemistry, and tender emotional payoff.
Pick this if you were after explicit, tender opposites-attract romance with emotional stakes — more sensual and intimate than plot-driven.
The Simple Wild
K.A. Tucker
City woman uprooted to rural life, slow-burn opposites-attract and small-town setting.
Pick this if it was Zoey’s uprooting from NYC to rural life that appealed to you; this is a slower, more reflective city-to-country romance.
Act Like It
Lucy Parker
Fake-relationship, opposites-attract stage-play setting with smart banter and heat.
Pick this if you liked smart banter and a relationship set against a structured, staged environment; this offers a faux-relationship/performative setup and witty dialogue, though in a theatrical setting rather than a small town.
At a glance
Matches were chosen on three axes visible in this book: opposites-attract chemistry, forced proximity or sustained contact, and small-town/relational stakes. Each pick shares some but not all of those elements, and the percentage reflects overall alignment with those specific dimensions.
| Book | First published | Pages | Closest match on | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The Hating Game Sally Thorne | 2016 | 379 | Sharp enemies-to-lovers | 93% |
Beach Read Emily Henry | 2020 | 376 | Forced creative pairing | 90% |
Well Met Jen DeLuca | 2019 | 328 | Small-town romcom vibes | 88% |
The Rosie Project Graeme Simsion | 2013 | 326 | Organized vs. chaotic | 86% |
Get a Life, Chloe Brown Talia Hibbert | 2019 | 377 | Adorkable odd-couple charm | 85% |
The Unhoneymooners Christina Lauren | 1934 | 424 | Forced-proximity heat | 84% |
The Kiss Quotient Helen Hoang | 2018 | 336 | Sensual, tender payoff | 82% |
The Simple Wild K.A. Tucker | 2018 | 400 | City-to-country relocation | 80% |
Act Like It Lucy Parker | 2015 | 304 | Pretend/performative pairing | 78% |
About Mistakes Were Made
Mistakes Were Made is the second entry in Lucy Score's Story Lake series. It centers on Zoey Moody, a broke NYC literary agent exiled to a tiny Pennsylvania town, and Gage Bishop, the town’s straight-laced lawyer; their conflict-driven attraction arises from forced proximity and opposites-attract dynamics.
Frequently asked questions
Which book here is most like the enemies-to-lovers banter in Mistakes Were Made?+
The Hating Game is the closest match for sharp, combustible banter and the slow softening of two opposites — it mirrors that verbal sparring and push-pull tension most directly.
I loved the small-town setting and culture—what should I read next?+
Well Met and The Simple Wild both foreground small-town life and how an outsider adjusts to local rhythms. Well Met leans romcom and event-based proximity, while The Simple Wild is a slower-city-to-country emotional arc.
Want something spicier with forced proximity—what fits?+
The Unhoneymooners and The Kiss Quotient both deliver strong sensual chemistry tied to forced proximity. The Unhoneymooners is a holiday/reluctant-honeymoon setup; The Kiss Quotient pairs opposites with a tender, explicit romantic trajectory.
Which picks match Zoey’s chaotic-but-growth arc?+
Get a Life, Chloe Brown and The Rosie Project both feature protagonists whose attempts to organize life are upended by love. Chloe Brown skews contemporary romcom with big growth beats; The Rosie Project trades modern romance for a quirkier, premise-driven odd-couple story.
Are there books here that focus more on craft/creative-professional tension like Zoey’s agent background?+
Beach Read involves two writers forced together and foregrounds the professional-and-personal collision, so it’s the best fit if the career clash and creative stakes interested you.
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