Adorable! This is a sapphic romance with the friends with benefits and grumpy/sunshine tropes. All of this is set against the backdrop of a women’s national soccer team!!

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc!

I’ll admit, I read this a while back. But the pure vibes that this book emitted stayed with me for months.
I found the humor to be well done, which is a rare find in a book. The romance between Grace and Phoebe was well developed and more than just a physical relationship. It’s nice to see sapphic romances that are as well fledged out.
For me, the standout character was Grace. Grace is relatable for any ambitious, over-achiever who thrives off of a validation and being the best.
A truly heartwarming, at times spicy, and cute read.

Cleat Cute tells the story of Grace, a US soccer star with success spanning over a decade, and Phoebe, an up-and-coming soccer player drafted onto Grace’s team. Total opposites, Grace and Phoebe find themselves falling despite the fact that neither of them want a relationship. They help each other overcome personal obstacles, while falling in love despite their original plan.

This book was so cute! I love love love a grumpy/sunshine trope, and this book did not disappoint in that respect at all! Grace and Phoebe were both funny and their own way, and the book in general made me laugh! Their chemistry was off the charts, and seeing them finally get together was so satisfying! Overall, this book was a win for me, and I’m so glad I requested it!

Thank you to Griffin and NetGalley for the ARC, which in no way impacted my review.

I am sadly dnf'ing this ('did not finish') and about 40%. It's a shame because I LOVE Mistakes Were Made and really enjoyed Something to Talk About by this author, but this one not so much. I always am looking for queer sports romance books because I hate reading sports romances that feature straight characters because they end up so bland in my opinion, so I was excited that Wilsner was releasing one, but this isn't hitting like I want it to.

I IMMEDIATELY downloaded this when I saw it was available on Netgalley. I remembered reading Mistakes Were Made and that was all I could think about. Unfortunately it was also the downfall for this for me. I spent a lot of time comparing the two and it made me not enjoy it as much. But I still did like it.

First things first, because this was my favorite part….. The romance. It was so much fun. I will say it was just them “having fun” over and over. I wanted more on that front. I guess I wanted more plot. Even if they were just talking more about soccer. But I loved seeing them together and I legit cheered out-loud when they both realized they liked each other and were accepting of what and who they were and who they were with. I really think that was the best part. Not when they were getting together, but when they were finally accepting that they liked each other.

The plot was what made me rate this what I did. I just wanted more. A more in-depth exploration of some of the things that were going on would have made this. I know this was catering to those that say they’re not reading the sports romance for the sports, but I am and I think that’s why I had issues? Like yeah she mentioned some of the positions, and the hierarchy of who could be in what position if this person doesn’t perform, but it wasn’t the main focus. I’m assuming it was because it wasn’t what Grace really wanted, but at the same time, I think it should have had some more explanation or some more competition between them. I mean like they were supposed to be competing for a spot on the field.

I also liked the representation of the ADHD. I am someone that was newly diagnosed, so when I saw Phoebe’s behaviors I knew exactly what she had. I also really related to the way she was hesitant to accept the fact that she had it. I was the same way. I was like I’ve survived all these years and no one ever said anything, why is it a problem now? I don’t need anything…. And then when my world changed, it made all the difference. I was happy to see she changed her mind and listened in the end. The autism rep I can’t speak for, but I did feel and see from other own voices (authentic voices) reviewers that it was done respectfully.


This was fun, but I could have done with more. There were some things I loved and others I thought could have used more. And other things it was my own fault because I knew I was just comparing it to a previous work from Meryl. It seems that they’re a hit or miss for me, but fortunately this was right in the middle.

this was an entertaining and heartwarming romance novel. All of the characters were good, and the friendships were my favorite part as the romance aspect fell a little bit flat for me but the smut was amazing. this book was very hard to put down, and i enjoyed every minute of it.

i was lucky enough to get an arc of mistakes were made, so i was so freaking excited when i got approved for an arc of cleat cute!! i’m pretty new to sports romances but i thought this one was the absolute cutest! i’m such a huge fan of meryl’s writing and her characters and their love story was so nice to read about. i loved it so much.

This was a really fun, steamy romance. I loved that it was about two female athletes. The miscommunication between our heroines was a little much for me, but overall this was a fun one!

Several YMMV Issues But Nothing Objectively Wrong. This is one of those stories where there are a LOT of valid issues that people may have with the book, but ultimately pretty well all of them are matters of taste and not something truly concretely objectively *wrong*. Some may quibble about the rather obvious nature of having lesbians playing women's professional sports (in this exact case, soccer). Fairly or unfairly, this is almost insulting in just how much it plays into the stereotypes of women's professional sports in particular. Some may quibble about the extremely casual and flirting with erotica level sex that dominates most of the book, or the way that neither character actually knows much about the other before starting this form of "relationship". That last bit may actually be the most realistic thing about that aspect of the relationship here, however! Some may quibble about the lack of communication and arguably even consent in at least a few key aspects of the later story. Some may quibble about the insistence on medication and the glorification of a "miracle cure" that eventually comes up. Some may quibble about the rather blatantly obvious "bad guy ex" stereotype or the rather wooden and largely barely characterized at all extended cast of friends and teammates that play such crucial roles at various points in the tale.

And I could keep going, but you, *my* reader, begin to get the picture here. There are issues, but they are issues that any given reader may or may not actually have problems with, and that is completely for Wilsner's readers to decide for themselves here. Ultimately, I felt the book was fine for what it was, with nothing truly *jarringly* glaringly wrong about it, and nothing to objectively say "THIS IS WRONG!!!!" about. So read it for yourself if you're remotely interested in reading about lesbian romances. Recommended.

This was such a good sapphic adult romance book. I had such a good time reading about these characters and learning about their lives. I can't wait to read more from this author in the future.

Not going to lie, I was a little hesitant going into reading this book as I wasn’t the biggest fan of Mistakes Were Made. I’m super glad I read the book though because I was super cute! I love a good spicy sports romance and this book was no exception! Maybe I need to start watching women’s soccer outside of the olympics?

Phoebe and Grace are such fun characters! I honestly wish we hadve gotten to read more of Phoebes journey progressing in her professional soccer career but I’ll take what I can get.

I do feel the need to warn people that ‘baby girl’ is used as a term of endearment and it personally gives me the ick so I’m sure there might be others out there who need the warning so it doesn’t jump scare them. 😅

'Cleat Cute' is, well, cute. There's a lot of communication between characters, which is great, but there's almost too much? A lot of telling and very little showing. There's a lot of talking and internal monologuing in between some pretty well written sex scenes but there's not a whole lot of substance other than that. We get told they're in love more so than watch it develop. I enjoyed it but I found myself frustrated more often than not.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was very cute! I don't think adored it as much as I loved Mistakes were made, which is phenomenal, but this is still so adorable and good and sexy! Meryl Wilsner is definitely an author to watch out for in sapphic books ❤️

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4.25⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: LGBTQIA+ romance📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
I adored this book! Such a sweet romance! I will say there is miscommunication which I am not a fan of

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Soccer romance
Friends to lovers
Steamy reads
Grumpy/sunshine
Forced proximity
Opposites attract
Third person
Found family

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
All the rep- neurodivergence
Their discussions were real and mature

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
All the miscommunication- it really got on my nerves
Lots of internal monologue

The story was fun and compelling but I found the major "conflict" wasn't a conflict at all and so the stakes were very low for me, making the whole "we're on the same team" thing less exciting.

Cute.

This story was a cute sports romance between Phoebe and Grace. The premise of this book was really interesting, and I actually really enjoyed the first 30 percent of it. After, it just became very repetitive and I kind of lost interest.

I really enjoyed the chapters with Grace, her story line was really interesting. The chapters with Phoebe are the ones that lost me. Her story line could’ve been interesting but it just felt flat. Also I feel like I should have found her endearing or quirky, but her internal monologue actually was kind of annoying.

Some parts were really good, and then not so much. It was not a bad book at all, I just don’t think it was for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a ARC of this book, in exchange of an honest review.

Title: Cleat Cute
Author: Meryl Wilsner @merylwilsner
Summary: Grace Henderson has been a star of the US Women’s National Team for ten years, even though she’s only 26. But when she’s sidelined with an injury, a bold new upstart, Phoebe Matthews, takes her spot. Phoebe is everything Grace isn’t—a gregarious jokester who plays with a joy that Grace lost somewhere along the way. The last thing Grace expects is to become friends with benefits with this class clown she sees as her rival.
Phoebe Matthews has always admired Grace’s skill and was star struck to be training alongside her idol. But she quickly finds herself looking at Grace as more than a mere teammate. After one daring kiss, she’s hooked. Grace is everything she has been waiting to find.
As the World Cup approaches, and Grace works her way back from injury, the women decide to find a way they can play together instead of vying for the same position. Except, when they are off the field, Grace is worried she’s catching feelings while Phoebe thinks they are dating. As the tension between them grows, will both players realize they care more about their relationship than making the roster?
Copy provided by @netgalley in exchange for honest review.
Likes: I LOVE Meryl Wilsner’s writing style, good spice level, the author created AMAZING chemistry between the two MCs, neurodivergent representation, fast read.
Dislikes: Lots and lots of internal monologues so just be prepared.
#wlw #CleatCute #NetGalley #LGBT #LGBTQIA #lesfic #FF #booksbooksbooks #Pride #queerbookstagram #lesbianromance #lesbianfiction #soccerromance #NWSL #womenssoccer #WWC #stmartinsgriffin

I feel like this was mostly sex and no plot. I can’t actually judge if Grace and Phoebe have a real connection when all they were doing in their time together as depicted to us was sleeping together. Have a fight? Talk about it for 3 seconds, then have sex. The miscommunication was astounding, one person thinking you’re dating and the other having no clue.
A good part, for me at least, was the descriptions of New Orleans and Mardi Gras, however brief it was. Maybe I’m just not the target audience, but this missed the mark for me.

Cleat Cute is a Sapphic soccer romance between Phoebe Matthews, a newbie straight out from college and Grace Henderson, team captain and Phoebe's childhood idol. The two are both amazing players but are different in many other ways; Phoebe is outgoing, disorganized, and joyful, while Grace is quiet, regimented, and losing the fun that she used to have playing soccer. The two start to grow closer and Grace realizes that she has more to love about Phoebe than she thought.

I loved this book!! I am not a sports girlie but like a lot of other sports romances, this one really got me! I thought Phoebe and Grace were really compelling characters and it was interesting to see them trying to figure out how to deal with feelings for someone on your professional team. I liked that other characters were also queer and the way that they handled relationships differently was also considered. Phoebe was such a ray of sunshine that I really enjoyed whenever she was in the story. I also thought that New Orleans was a fun setting for the book and I loved all of the descriptions of the food. There was also a good amount of spice, which is not usually my cup of tea, but I liked it in this book!

I appreciated the mental health attempts in this book. I'm a psychologist and Grace read to me as a person with characteristics of autism, so I was glad when it was explicitly brought up in the book and not just me reading into it too much. The way Phoebe was diagnosed with ADHD didn't feel great to me. I personally would have been VERY OFFENDED if my partner scheduled a doctor's appointment for me to get diagnosed with something they thought I had after I explicitly said that I was not interested in pursuing treatment, but I guess I could understand why someone would appreciate that. I just wish that Grace had offered to help set Phoebe up with an appointment instead of just scheduling one, even if she said that Phoebe could cancel. The fact that the Women's National team didn't have any kind of mental health professionals also felt a little weird to me, although maybe I'm just overly optimistic about female athlete's mental health support. I sure hope I'm not in real life!

Those issues aside, I absolutely loved this book and recommend it to anyone who loves romance and those like me who sometimes love it! 5 stars from me. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the electronic advanced reader's copy of this book, my thoughts are my own!