Another great one by Meryl Wilsner. I loved the content of this book and I even learned somethings!

Wilsner knows how to write a great romance but the perfect amount of spice!

I absolutely loved this fun, very sexy and informative (more later) romance set around a soccer team and the very enjoyable characters. Grace (closet lesbian) was a well established star in the world of soccer, having been on the US Woman’s National team since she was 16. She was captain of the franchise in New Orleans, which drafted Phoebe (out lesbian, ADHD )with their first pick, straight out of college. Everyone speculated that the younger Phoebe was eyed as a future replacement for Grace. Thus, the creation of a friendly rivalry between the two gifted athletes.

Phoebe had always been a flirt, had a great, outgoing personality and people were easily drawn to her. She was a star in the making, loved being the center of attention and lived up to her boasting of what she could do. Grace had been her childhood hero. She even had a poster of Grace on her bedroom wall. Grace found her to be annoying, but charmingly irresistible.

Phoebe’s ADHD was reflected in ways such as being hyperactive, impulsive and constantly late for everything. She also didn’t complete tasks such as unpacking her luggage. The only time she was really able to concentrate was on the field.

Grace was displayed somewhere on the spectrum of autism, reflected in her being a quiet introvert and not being able to read social cues. She liked structure and adapting to change was unsettling since she liked to follow set routines.

During practice drills Phoebe would simply declare that she was going to win when everyone knew that Grace always won whichever drill. For one such drill the bet was that if Grace won Phoebe would not talk for the rest of the day, and if Phoebe won, Grace would have to kiss her. This bet led to a friends with benefits relationship.

In my first sentence I said this book was informative, and I found it to be so because, rather than just being given the symptoms of ADHD and autism, we saw how their minds worked and what they believed the other was actually saying, how they reacted in various scenarios and situations, including their relationship, especially since neither supposedly wanted a relationship. I enjoyed watching them learn how to understand each other.

My thanks to Bella books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest review.

I did really enjoy this book. Meryl Wilsner writes a great romance. I like to see the representation of neurodivergence in books but feel there was too much inner monologue throughout the book.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of Cleat Cute!!

4.75 ☆ I am a simple person: if Meryl Wilsner writes it, I'm going to read it and I'm going to love it. I feel so grateful to have had the chance to read an ARC of Cleat Cute - last year I received an ARC of Meryl's sophomore novel, Mistakes Were Made and adored it, so I jumped at the chance to read Cleat Cute. Meryl's first novel, Something to Talk About, was my first sapphic romance novel and so their writing really holds a special place in my heart.

This spicy, sweet, funny, and sporty romance follows Grace and Phoebe as new team members for the New Orleans Krewe, NOLA's national women's soccer team. Grace has been playing professional soccer for a decade after debuting at 16. Phoebe is an up and coming hotshot fresh off of playing for her small, Midwestern college. After Grace is sidelined with an injury, Phoebe takes her place on the Krewe and threatens Grace's chances at playing for the upcoming World Cup.

Phoebe has admired Grace Henderson since she was a little girl, she even had her poster on her wall. When she gets the chance to play on the same team as her idol, she can't believe it. Grace's reserved and apprehensive demeanor doesn't deter Phoebe as she attempts to get closer to Grace. These two end up getting very, very close.

Cleat Cute delves into nuanced topics with care and handles them well, such as: coming out, neurodivergence, poverty, LGBTQ+ topics (specifically lesbian & trans), and the pressure around both parties coming during sex. This novel is obviously very heavily soccer-influenced, but the terminology and scenes are not difficult to follow even if you don't fully understand the sport. Meryl Wilsner has yet another winner on their hands!

This book was an absolute delight. It follows two professional women's soccer players at different points in their career who are brought together through their team. I found both of the main characters so compelling and their chemistry with one another was off the charts. The author really knows how to show, not tell a relationship and I found myself absolutely rooting for the pair. Each of them went through a meaningful personal arc as well that really fleshed out the story and made their relationship feel so realistic to me. The smut was also everything I wanted and more, which is always a plus! Combine all of these factors with the pure fun of a soccer-based romance and a lovable cast of side characters, and I'm absolutely sold on Cleat Cute.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⚽️ Sport Romance
🌶️ Nice spice level
💕 Sweet characters
🌆 Great location and food


I just think that whatever Meryl Wilsner writes, I will love. ❤️‍🔥 That’s just that. This book followed Phoebe and Grace, two professional soccer players on the same team who couldn’t be more different.

The plot revolves around Grace thinking they are in a fwb situation and Phoebe fully believing they are dating.

This is a weird thing to say, but I love how the miscommunication happened in this book because it truly was believable for me, which doesn’t happen too frequently in books that I read!

As with all of Meryl’s books, I’ll be revisiting this one! Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Griffin for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review!

I loved this book! It was so stinking cute! Grumpy/Sunshine, enemies to lovers (kinda), soccer romance, LGBTQ+ romance, with representation of some mental disorders and the stigma behind them. It was spicy and had a pretty decent plot. Grace and Phoebe’s developing relationship was fun to read. Phoebe was able to help Grace open up and Grace was able to help Phoebe become and even better soccer player.
There were definitely some parts that moved much quicker than I would have expected, like the first time Phoebe and Grace were intimate, it seemed to happen very early in on the book, not that I minded the spice. There were also some conflicts between Grace and Phoebe that seemed like the end of the world to them, but were quickly resolved, with very little discussion. Just a sudden, kiss me! I also wasn’t a huge fan of the book being written in 3rd person, it makes it a bit more challenging to follow along with the characters thoughts, especially when both main characters are women. Overall, this was a fun queer, sports romance that I would definitely recommend others to read!

"The corollary to you can be whatever you want is you don't have to be anything you don't want."

Somewhere between my laughter, my happy sighs, and my flushed cheeks- I realized I had arrived at the end of the epilogue. Why, why, why did I binge read this book? I want more! I was way too invested in a sport I have never enjoyed watching and all I could think in the end was DID THEY WIN!?!?!??

I haven't a clue if what she wrote was an accurate representation of the women's soccer scene but it doesn't matter- you are gonna love getting to know all the things. To steal some more of the author's words, "It's competence porn!"

If you are looking for a sapphic, sporty, steam your windows, relatable, lovable, pile of quirky characters- this absolutely has to be on your Must Read list!

I was excited about this. The idea and the set up sounded so intriguing, but then I read it. It really dragged for me. I wasn’t expecting an epic plot line, but I was expecting something to fill 336 pages. This story wasn’t enough for that page count. Lots of repetitive lines and situations. I really hate the miscommunication trope too. This was worse because one party expressed their interest and the other was just oblivious.

I had a hard time making the distinction between Phoebe and Grace. Most of the time I didn’t know who’s POV I was reading.

I think if this was rearranged and the unnecessary parts were cut it could be a fairly decent read.

Special thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this digital ARC.

In my sapphic soccer summer era ⚽️✨ and tbh you should be too in September when this book comes out. 💁🏼‍♀️

Grace Henderson and Phoebe Matthew couldn’t be more opposite. Grace has been a professional soccer player for the last decade despite being only 26. She’s routine focused, on time and no nonsense.

Phoebe is taking in every single moment of her first year on the Women’s National team. She plays with such passion and fearlessness that Grace used to see in herself. Phoebe is loud, talkative, and entirely too friendly for Grace’s liking.

A silly bet during training that results in a kiss becomes a slippery slope towards them becoming friends with benefits. But they do say opposites attract, right?

To say I adored this book is an understatement! Anyone who knows me knows miscommunication tropes are not my favorite but this was done in such a way that it a vital part of the story seeing as both of the MCs are neurodivergent and they were just missing each others meanings, cues, and just generally not on the same page sometimes and assumed the other understood.
And let’s hear it for the representation in this book 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 Between the diversity of LGBTQIA+ characters and POC characters, it was just chefs kiss 🤌🏻
I am also incredibly biased as the story is set in New Orleans which made me miss being home in Louisiana so much. 😭😭
Tropes include:
Grumpy/sunshine
Found family
Neurodivergent representation
Friends with benefits
Teammate romance

This is a good book. It has a fun background message of following your dreams. The characters are well-developed and explained. The plot is clears and fun. This book was cleanly edited. This author can not fail if she writes a book!

This was ADORABLE! I loved the soccer emphasis, as a former soccer player. I loved the slow burn, and the touch on ADHD and mental health. So well written and also a fun read.

Meryl Wilsner literally never missed with her sapphic romances. I felt immediately attached to Phoebe, Grace, and the rest of the teams.

God I loved this so much! It had me blushing from the sex scenes and giggling in the scenes where they were hanging out because of how much I loved them together. This book would have been perfect if it was just a bit longer to flesh out the plot points that started to happen at the end of the book. It felt kind of rushed and it took me out of the romance a bit. I didn’t mind the communication in this story because it was something that I felt was believable. It was just a misunderstanding with how some stuff was said and I do that all the time so I can relate to that so much 😂 Phoebe and Grace are one of my new favorite couples ever and I can’t wait to read the other books this author has put out!

I absolutely adored this book! Whenever I see that Wilsner has a new book out, I immediately add it to my TBR and this one was no different. I loved the soccer team setting, including the discussions of the challenges of being a professional female athlete. Both Grace and Phoebe were utterly delightful to read and Wilsner did a great job getting inside their heads. There are plenty of moments to make you laugh, but also a ton of heart, including discussions of being queer in the public eye and dealing with neurodivergence. Wilsner delivers once again!

This was so cute and filled that queer romance void in the my heart I so desperately needed!

Phoebe just got drafted to a national soccer team which is her literal dream come true. She’s all chaos and doesn’t do things by the book. Grace has been on professional teams since she was 15. She likes order and doesn’t date teammates. But then, Grace needs Phoebe and slowly, that goes out the window. Phoebe in the hurricane that Grace didn’t know she needed in her life. They agree to be friends with benefits as neither are looking for a full fledged relationship. As Grace heals from an injury, she and Phoebe grow closer and can’t deny their true feelings any longer. Can they be together or is soccer more important?

This story follows Grace and Phoebe as they work through their feelings, navigating a new non relationship as well as their own personal struggles. I enjoyed watching their love unfold. Parts of this did drag on, but Phoebe’s undeniable sass and Grace’s poise kept drawing me back. The spicy scenes were great, although some of the dialogue during was cringey, but I honestly didn’t care as their chemistry was everything. This book was heated and if Phoebe and Grace are ever looking for a third, let ya girl know! 🔥

An honest review thanks to NetGalley. I am a huge fan of Meryl Wilsner's previous books and a soccer book, come on! I was so excited to be able to read this as soon as possible. I loved how well Wilsner wrote about soccer and taking us on Phoebe's journey as she entered as a professional. What really made me connect with this book was having neurodivergent characters. I have personal experience with this and being able to see it in the pages was amazing. I saw a few reviews how the characters are always in their heads and that was a negative thing, but I took it a different way. When I read this book I saw how Grace was always in her head as a part of her neurodivergence, as well as being introverted. I felt highly connected to both characters, if you love soccer and romance this is the book for you, you will not be disappointed!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Griffin, and Meryl Wilsner for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! This is a cute book and the cover is gorgeous, but sadly I didn’t really connect to it or the characters and didn’t finish it… however, I can see why some readers would love it! I hope to pick it up again in the future

First of all, I want to thank the author and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner is coming out on September 19, 2023.

This really sounded like it was going to be a curd book but unfortunately it disappointed me a bit. The characters were hard to connect with and fell flat for me.

#CleatCute #NetGalley

Fun book that sounded like my cup of tea. Unfortunately couldn't connect with the characters and story enough to finish. I still recommend to fans of sport romances featuring LGBTQ representation.