I have been a fan of Meryl Wilsner’s books for a while, and Cleat Cute didn’t disappoint. With a dual POV, the stories of Grace and Phoebe are told seamlessly, and Wilsner crafts characters that feel real and you find yourself rooting for in this sapphic, rivals-to-lovers romance.

As Phoebe worked to get settled in and find her place among her two new teams, she was my favorite of the two main characters. As someone who was diagnosed with ADHD later in life, her struggles were very relatable.

With as well as Phoebe’s character was portrayed, Grace’s fell a little flat in comparison. She was often off-putting and prickly, as well as quick to jump to the worst conclusions.

Overall, I really enjoyed Cleat Cute. It was all the things I love in a romance — queer, steamy, and lots of fun! In addition to all of that, Wilsner's LGBTQIA+ and Neurodivergent representation was such a breath of fresh air.

In this sapphic sports romance, two teammates fall in love as their soccer team prepares for the World Cup. Miscommunications abound, but they ultimately lead our characters to figuring out what they want and need.

I’m not a soccer fan at all, and I still enjoyed this cute and breezy read. The sizzling chemistry between Grace and Phoebe made my four-star rating a must.

Both characters really endeared themselves to me. I really related to Phoebe’s inability to mask who she is and her need to love out loud. Grace’s introversion, and fear that she’s always saying or doing the wrong thing, resonated with me, too.

I thought the way they communicated throughout most of the story was excellent. They addressed their issues with one another head-on, even if they sometimes didn’t always say exactly what they meant. You may feel a bit exasperated at times if the miscommunication trope bothers you, but it wasn’t a big deal for me.

However, this book wasn’t without a few issues. The third person POV made it difficult for me to get invested in the characters at times, though I know that’s more of a personal preference.

There were also some things I didn’t love about the writing style. The narrator often referred to the characters as “the redhead” and “the brunette,” which felt a little cringey to me. The abundance of internal monologue was a bit grating at times, too, though it did make sense in Grace’s case.

I also wish the author would have touched on both characters’ neurodivergence more. I loved the representation, but it felt like a bit of a throwaway at the end of the book.

However, this was still a really fun and sweet read with wonderful characters. I’d definitely recommend it for any fans of spicy sports romances and I’m excited to read more by this author!

I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher for review.

I started off really loving Cleat Cute, but by the end I had thoughts. Right away I picked up that Phoebe was ADHD coded and undiagnosed and I really enjoyed seeing it. As someone, who is low-key self diagnosed it was super relatable to be in the headspace of a main character who for lack of a better word is too focused on everything, I think the representation was really well done. Another thing that I really loved was the first bet and reward ;). It was spicy and I love that the author kept going with it. It really helped pull Grace's personality out when she was interacting with Phoebe.

Some of the draw backs of the writing hurt the reading experience, in my opinion. Right around 50-60% the plot kind of fizzled out and I lost a little bit of interest in reading, but it picked back up around 65-68% once the two main characters have their first big fight.

Phoebe and Grace could not be more different. Grace has been a member of the USWNT for years, and captain of her pro team just as long. She’s dedicated, focused and extraordinarily private. Her sexuality has never been a secret exactly, but she’s never been public about her attraction to women. Phoebe enters her life like a tornado. Drafted to the NOLA pro team out of a small college, she is eager, talkative and outgoing. Basically, Grace’s nightmare. But when an injury sidelines Grace and Phoebe needs her mentorship, sparks start to fly and these two very different women may have found more than they bargained for.

I love the setting of this one as New Orleans is one of my favorite cities, and the chemistry between the FMCs is fun and believable. I can’t wait to finish it and see how it ends for Phoebe, Grace and the USWNT!

Read this book if you love Bend it Like Beckham but wanted Jules and Jess to end up together! Or if you're a Ted Lasso fan and thing Roy and Jamie would make a cute couple!

Overall, this was a very fun read. I don't think I loved the storytelling style though. Maybe I'm not a fan of 3rd person? I'm not sure, but it just didn't wow me the way other romances have.

The author does a really great job of representing a wide variety of queer identities without anything feeling forced or unauthentic. I also liked that there was some neurodivergent rep as well. I enjoyed the overall romance story arc and Grace and Phoebe were interesting characters.

I wish we had gotten more soccer.

3.5 stars.

Holy inner monologues Batman. If you’re wanting to know the inner workings of two overthinking lesbians, Cleat Cute is for you.

Overall, Cleat Cute was…cute (I make myself lol). There was a fun progression from coworkers to friends with benefits to lovers, with an interesting dynamic of the rookie versus veteran. Despite there only being a four year age gap, Grace felt so much older than Phoebe. But some of that may be their respective neurodivergence.

And that brings me to Phoebe. She exhausted me. Just never. stopped. talking. I appreciate the discussion about neurodivergence and ADHD and the stigma still associated with it, but I still struggled liking either character.

The best part of Cleat Cute was the chemistry. All the spicy scenes (and there were many) were well written and hot. But the romance fell flat for me, as I couldn’t connect with either character.

Despite all that, Cleat Cute was still a cute and easy read. Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the review copy.

Like all Meryl Wilsner books that came before it, Cleat Cute is a very sexy and smart sapphic rom-com with a Ted Lasso spin. With the Women’s World Cup and all the other soccer themed books being released, this stands out not only for being LGBTQ, but also because it deals with mental issues in a very authentic manner. While still being hot AF LOL. The relationship between Phoebe and Grace is complicated, all the more for their own personal issues and histories as well as the fact they’re teammates. And it feels very real, and not once during the book did I think “yeah, that would never happen in real life”… bc at times it was borderline cringey, or I got secondhand embarrassment bc of something one of them did - that’s real and relatable! And honestly kinda refreshing to read over all the swoons and perfect romances out there.

We are suckers for soccer romances; especially those that tout to be a cross between Ted Lasso and a League of their Own. So when we received an ARC of Cleat Cute, by Meryl Wilsner we were absolutely stoked. We've devoted our last episode of the podcast for reviewing this upcoming release. For this reason, I will not keep our review short. You can get more of our thoughts from the episode that drops tomorrow.

When newcomer soccer phenom Phoebe Matthews arrives at January US Women's National Team camp as a walk on, she comes face to face with her Idol, Grace Henderson. Not only does Hendy literally 'grace' the walls in Phoebe's teenage bedroom in poster form but has also starred in a number of her naughty fantasies. At 26, Grace feels as though her body is already on the decline and any slip in her physical health could bomb her career. She finds herself uncharacteristically attracted to her newest teammate with the instantly likable personality. Will opposites attract or will this just be a matter of a mistimed cleat cute?

The things we enjoyed about the book:

- The inclusion of neurodivergent MC's. Rae especially liked the emphasis on Phoebe's time blindness. For those of us with attention deficit disorders, the dangers of getting caught in distractions and losing track of time is a continual obstacle.
- Grace's character growth throughout the novel. From her injury to the gradual acceptance of committal to self care, it's a great emotional journey.
- Soccer romances! And in New Orleans! Yay!

The things we didn't enjoy to much:
- The lack of plot - or the rushed storyline at the last 20% of the book. Nothing truly happens for a good amount of the book then EVERYTHING DOES at the last few chapters.
- The voicing of the characters. The third person does not work here. It was often confusing as to who the author was referring to and would have been better handled in the first person.

While this did not work for us as much, it may be right up your alley.

A fun, flirty but also sexy sapphic romance! This is my first book by Meryl Wilsner and I can’t wait to read her other books. There were multiple things I loved about this book from the personalities of the characters, to the fantastic representation and all the soccer content throughout it all! This book is written in 3rd person but is dual POV. If 3rd person isn’t your thing, I HIGHLY recommend listening to this one on audio as it is a dual narration and completely made the book so enjoyable for me! (Swipe to see full audio review!)

⚽️Sapphic Romance
⚽️Sports-Soccer
⚽️Grumpy/Sunshine
⚽️Childhood Idol
⚽️Neurodivergent Rep
⚽️No 3rd act break up
⚽️3rd person
⚽️2.5 for spice

Grace is a famous soccer star who has been playing professionally since she was a teen while Phoebe is a rookie who is now getting called up to the same team as Grace. Phoebe is definitely the outgoing one while Grace has her reasons for being so serious but the chemistry between them is apparent from the start! The build up of their dynamic was so well developed and had me hooked into their characters as they began spending more time together on and off the field. They become a friends with benefits situation and that spice between them was just fantastic!! There are only a few spicy scenes but the ones in it are HOT! Overall, I found this book enjoyable, realistic and worth the read!

💗Little things I LOVED: braiding hair is so sexy, locker room spice, lots of representation & not just the main characters
➡️Things to be aware of: 3rd person, lots of internal monologue, miscommunication

🎧The audiobook of Cleat Cute is a duel narration and was incredibly well performed! Both Dana Varden & Zim Alaltrades were new to me narrators but had such pleasing voices that fit each of their characters perfectly! Phoebe’s narrator had a higher pitch and upbeat tone which matched her personality in the story while Grace’s voices was a more reserved tone which fit the vibes of her character as well. They both just brought this story to life with the different pitch changes and tones that they displayed with their voices. Overall, even though this book was written in 3rd person, the audiobook completely made me feel like it was in first person due to the dual narration which I LOVED!! Definitely recommend this one on audio!

What a “cute” read! Despite not being much of a soccer fan (though I can see that changing) I really enjoyed the plot and character development through the lens of a soccer team. Both Grace and Phoebe had such wonderful growth throughout the story and I loved to see neurodivergent rep written in a way the didn’t make it the forefront of the story, but still critical to it. I loved the supporting characters, except the coach of the Krewe-he was an excellent antagonist at times. The love scenes were incredibly sexy and caring. Just overall a really enjoyable read.

I was very excited when I was approved for this ARC, since I recently read "Mistakes were Made" by the same author.

I have to say that I quite enjoyed the book, it was a short and entertaining read but nothing more. I must admit that I didn't connect with the protagonists, although I did love their dynamic and relationship. I found the narrative a little dense and I feel like there was a lot of description and internal monologue. I also have to say that Grace's attitude sometimes bothered me, as it seemed like everything Phoebe did for her was a bother. Obviously the spicy scenes were super good, the author does not disappoint in that.

I liked that there was representation of ADHD but I do have to mention that the way Grace decided to approach the topic was terrible hahaha.

Overall, I honestly enjoyed the book despite everything mentioned above.

A fun and heart warming romcom that puts you in the thick of soccer and the relationship it builds. I found the book to be great, I would say that it was challenging at some points due to not being sure who the narrator was, but as soon as I cleared that up it was a delightfully fun read.

I'm extremely sad to report that this book didn't work for me. I really desperately wanted it to, and for the start of this I was enjoying it. Truly, I did quite like the set up for this book. It's just that as this kept going on I just started to hate this more and more. Okay, hate is a strong word because I did enjoy some parts of it, but I truly don't think this was a well written romance. I mean, if for almost half of your book one character is convinced she's in a relationship with the other main character, while other is convinced that first character isn't interested in her like that, do you really have a romance worth rooting for? Yeah, I guess not. The two of them were just so incredibly dysfunctional. Their arguments were so incredibly little, and instead of working it out they'd just ghost each other for a couple of day, and then they would kind of make up but halfway through talking it they just started having sex instead of working it out properly. That happened a couple of times, and I was still supposed to think they were meant to be? Yeah, no. They just were completely incapable of actually talking to each other and it was so incredibly maddening. Grace also just made my absolute blood boil. She was so incredibly self centered, and the way she kept flipping back and forth between being mad her life is all about football (soccer), and being glad her life is all about football (soccer). It got so maddingly frustrating. I did like Phoebe a bit more, but her refusal to communicate with Grace because she "always talks to much" was also maddingly frustrating. Yes, the sex scenes were hot, but they started becoming extremely boring to me once I just completely lost my interest in these two as a couple. I quite liked the football (soccer) side plot, but it was just completely left unresolved. It was attempted to be wrapped up in the epilogue, but it truly wasn't. There were so many unresolved threads, it annoyed me as well because I was genuinely invested in those storylines. Anyway, this didn't work for me AT ALL, despite wanting to love it so much.

I had such a great time reading this book and it might be my new favorite from Wilsner (although I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all their books). Cleat Cute is a steamy, Sapphic romance between professional soccer teammates, Grace Henderson, and rookie, Phoebe Matthews.

I found Phoebe so endearing! She talks a mile a minute, is a bit chaotic and disarmingly earnest. I love how she wanted to take care of Grace. The “baby girl” almost did me in.

Grace comes across a lot older than her 26 years. She has been playing competitive soccer for 10 years, a veteran through and through, and despite how much she loves it, it has begun to feel like a chore. Seeing Phoebe openly enjoy soccer so much encourages Grace to take a step back to re-evaluate her responsibilities. I wish we could have seen a little bit more of her personality shine through, but her character was preoccupied with her distrust of others and her suffocating commitments. She reminded me of Luisa from Encanto and the “surface pressure” song for any Disney fans or readers with kids.

I wouldn’t say there is a true 3rd act break up in this one, but they do have their share of problems towards the end of the book. Even though I normally find it frustrating, the miscommunication trope worked for me in Cleat Cute since it was a result of being (undiagnosed) neurodivergent.

Overall, I found Cleat Cute to be engaging, funny and a good balance of sweet and steamy.

I would recommend if you like:
Sapphic romances
Sports romance (professional women’s soccer)
Rake/ Wallflower & Grumpy/ Sunshine
Feels like an age gap
3rd person, dual POV
ADHD representation

Thank you so much to SMP Romance for the gifted copy; all thoughts are my own.

Thank you netgalley for a free arc in exchange for an honest review!

I picked this up after hearing everyone gush over the author's past release, but unfortunately i found this one painfully forgettable :/ I was also slightly uncomfortable by how many times Grace would try to have a genuine conversation about something that was important to her, only for Phoebe to make a move on her...

I WILL, however, say this... the spice and the dirty talk were GOOD

Cleat Cute will be a favorite for readers who love professional women’s soccer, as well as anyone who loves the city of New Orleans as it is an ode to both. When it comes to the sapphic romance, however, it started off strong and quite steamy, however, fizzled as the book went on.

I like how Wilsner is becoming a dependable author of lesbian romance books however, this book didn’t quite fully deliver. She does a great job at the beginning of the story with the characterization of both lead heroines setting up an opposites attract sports romance but once they started their friends with benefits relationship, the story started to drag and got overshadowed by the focus on their soccer positions instead of their relationship.

Halfway through I wasn’t quite sure what the story was going to deliver… Was I continuing to read it to see and them finally play soccer together on the same field? Was I waiting to see what would a transpire with the World Cup team? Or was I waiting for them to finally admit and go public with their relationship? The point of the story started to get lost for me and I admit I started scanning pages because I wasn’t really interested in the answers to any of those questions after a while.

As I said, the characterization was great in the juxtaposition of Grace and her quiet nature and desire to stay out of the spotlight despite her celebrity status versus Phoebe‘s outgoing, talkative nature. I’m impressed with the amount of detail that Wilsner included about the city of New Orleans, which really makes me want to visit and eat all of their food. Plus, I was equally impressed by her knowledge of professional women’s soccer. I’m just not a huge fan myself so when that aspect began to overshadow the rest of the story I started to zone out. The bit about Grace confronting Phoebe about ADHD also seemed odd in its presentation and didn’t flow well with the story.

I definitely think that this will be a popular lesbian romance for 2023 and encourage anyone who loves sports romance, soccer romance, or steamy lesbian romance to pick it up. It just didn’t turn out to be a favorite of mine.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

Grace and Phoebe.

Sigh.

I loved them. I loved them individually and I loved them together.

Grace - a veteran of the US Women's National Team. Introverted. Closed off. Serious. Private.

Phoebe - the newbie on the Nation Team. Outgoing. Talkative. Funny. All over the place. Extroverted. 100% ADHD.

When the two of them meet during preseason practice Phoebe is not only late but takes up a lot of space. She's loud, she doesn't stop talking. And laughing. Cracking jokes. But she also trains hard and proves she's meant to be there. She's beyond excited that she's playing soccer with Grace - her idol. She even has her poster up above her bed at home. Getting one on one time with Grace on and off the pitch is what dreams are made of. Grace meanwhile is shaken out of her regular routine by this rookie - and maybe it isn't such a bad thing.

This story delves into friendship and attraction. It forces our mains out of their comfort zones without compromising who they really are. Most of this book takes place in New Orleans - which is a beautiful backdrop to a wonderful love story. This is the sort of sports romance that gave me all the feels and made me wish for a bonus epilogue. I wasn't ready to see Phoebe and Grace go.

Tropes:
-- Opposites attract
-- Workplace romance
-- Friends with benefits
-- Neurodiversity rep (ADHD)

Highly recommended. I'm giving this 4.5 stars -- it had me hooked from the beginning. Great characters, wonderful story, perfectly written. Oh - and there's a boy cat named Lilly. I dare you not to love him.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in return for my honest review.

This sapphic sports romance was so much fun. I had the best time getting to know both Phoebe and Grace in this world that Wilsner has created. I always worry with sports romances whether there will be a good balance between the sports of it all and the romance and I thought the balance in this book was absolutely perfect. There was more than a perfunctory knowledge of soccer in here but it also didn't obsess over the many intricacies of soccer so we could focus on the dynamic between the two characters as they fall in love both on and off the soccer field.

This gave me vibes of Everything for You by Chloe Liese which is one of my favorite soccer romances. Grace is the established veteran and Phoebe the whirlwind phenom and I loved the grumpy sunshine dynamic the two had. Grace's struggle with her "aging" body and Phoebe trying to balance real life and soccer were really relatable and the way they helped each other was so lovely to see. My favorite part is how Phoebe helped Grace come out of her shell and really advocate for the type of life she wanted and now what she thought she should have.

The romance between the two is HOT. I love a good friends with benefits start to a romance because it gets boiling hot so fast and this book is not the exception. Wilsner writes great spicey scenes that are also romantic and natural and they really add to the development of the relationship of the characters.

I highly recommend this sports romance - the perfect balm to a less than great world cup this year!

Thank you so much to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book? To start off, the spice scenes were great and numerous, except sometimes they'd get distracted inside of An Important Conversation with each others' bodies and then go back to it later. I did appreciate going back to said conversations later! But the amount of miscommunications here hoo boy, for people who actually talked about issues they sure talked AROUND issues! And left a LOT up to assumption! Which, for a dual POV book, when one of them directly says the opposite about a situation that the other did in the last chapter is very, "GIRL NO."

I skimmed some reviews and one that stood out to me (although I didn't read the whole thing since I wasn't even halfway through at the time) that mentioned "AuDHD rep" and yeah, Phoebe is very obviously textbook ADHD (despite SOMEHOW in 2023 as an avid TikToker thinking that ADHD is only for middle school boys? Girl what?) from the get but autistic? Wasn't getting that. Until about halfway through when there started to be tells that it was Grace (with a nice thing near the end about this actually -- social media can really help someone, not self-diagnose, that can be dangerous, but point someone toward a processional diagnosis). To me it actually stood out that these signs (and I say "signs" or "tells" affectionately, don't get me wrong) didn't start appearing until halfway through the book? Even though it's a dual POV every-other-chapter POV book? Like the author decided partway through "oop Grace is likely autistic, let's start putting in some hints" like a topping on the grumpy/sunshine sundae. Once this started being leaned into more it was good, and I did get kinda invested, but it did make me go back through the earlier part of the book like "did I miss something?" No (I checked), Grace just wasn't really that fleshed out even in her POV chapters until halfway through like at all. Also, "oh no my aging body I'm falling apart" girl you are 26, what in the world.

But anyway if you're not an overthinker like me this is SPORTS ROMANCE with GOOD SPICE and COMMUNICATION even if there is a lot of MISCOMMUNICATION ... they do eventually get back around to the communication part. Also the side characters are great! Always thankful to non-binary and transmasc rep as just a part of normal daily life!! I would probably read spin-offs with other characters actually! Overall I did have a good time even if I was frustrated as heck at certain points!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press/St Martin's Griffin for the eARC in exchange for this honest review!

i’m a little conflicted when it comes to this book, to be honest. maybe i’m still weary about meryl wilsner because of milf book (mistakes were made) but this book was definitely better than the milf book.

i don’t really have anything profound to say just that i liked the characters but didn’t like the miscommunication trope of it all.

overall, it was fine. a pretty good example of a three star read. i know a lot of people really like this author so if you’re one of those people and you like sports romance, you will probably love this.

shoutout to netgalley for the advanced copy.