Soccer is my sport so when I saw that Meryl Wilsner penned a soccer LGBTQ+ romance with major Ted Lasso vibes??! Yes, please!

When Phoebe Matthew’s joins the Krewe (NOLA’s soccer team), captain Grace Henderson finds herself captured by the red heads non stop talking and love for the game. (Football is life!) Before either of them know what’s happening, their acquaintance turns into friends with benefits….all the benefits. But when an injury sidelines Grace and her position on the national team is threatened, the fear of Phoebe taking her spot sends Grace into a tailspin. Can their somewhat friendship/relationship ruin their chances of making it to the World Cup? Or can they tear down the boundaries and embrace their true selves and each other?


What I liked:
-Spice Level 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
-Built around my fav sport but easy enough for non soccer fans to follow
- Grumpy/Sunshine trope
-Neurodivergent rep

What I wasn’t so fond of:
-Look I’m all for monologuing but I felt there was way more than necessary in this book. It really slowed down the pacing
-A certain word which starts with a ‘c’ being used way too much in the spice scenes (just my personal preference but it’s one of my least favorite words and it was there constantly)
- I just felt like the characters weren’t there all the way. I can’t really explain it.

Overall, solid 3.5 stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this arc.
This was a great sapphic romance from a wonderful author! I read her last book, Mistakes Were Made, last year and it was one of my top romances for the year.
Her new novel, Cleat Cute follows two female soccer players trying to make it to the World Cup. The story is described as rivals to lovers but I don’t thing that’s the strongest underlying theme. Most definitely a Grumpy Sunshine representation, and found family. Both of our characters are focused on their sport and giving it there all. But Grace is no nonsense, quiet, determined and hiding. While phoebe is loud, passionate, and proudly out!
If you love a strong female presence, team spirit, and a great plot check out this book!

"Cleat Cute" is my favorite Wilsner book to date. The book involves two protagonists, Phoebe and Grace, who are soccer players on the Krewe, the NOLA Women's Soccer Team. The story thus involves soccer (which Wilsner executes flawlessly; I was reminded of Taylor Jenkins Reid's "Carrie Soto Is Back" and her research on tennis) and a queer (sapphic) romance between the two women. The best part of the story, however, was the character creation and development. Personally, I have never felt so seen nor have I related so much to a character in Grace. Her autism-coded description was well done, thorough and clearly researched. Her thought processes correlated with her actions and behaviors. Similarly, Phoebe and the ADHD representation was also accomplished well. I think many readers, regardless of whether they are queer or not, will be able to connect to these characters. I am so thankful for them and this story.

Meryl Wilsner does not disappoint at all with Cleat Cute! This was such a fun sapphic rom com, and I loved it so much

Cleat Cute is a sapphic sports romance between the captain and newest player of a professional soccer team. It's marketed as rivals to lovers but I would say it's much more grumpy x sunshine (with my small familiarity of tropes.) This was just as fun and fast-paced as Mistakes Were Made, but I wasn't always convinced about Phoebe & Grace's relationship. I did love the neurodivergent rep in both of them, & would definitely recommend!

Thank you for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a DNF book for me, I wanted so much to like it... but Phoebe felt very aggressive in her pursuit of Grace and it didn't feel like she actually knew or liked Grace, but saw her as a challenge and someone to idolize. It made me feel uncomfortable considering this is pitched as a cute romance.
I did appreciate how being gay was just a casual thing for people on the team, it didn't feel like the major conflict (at least not as far as I got) but was more just how it was.

This was such a fun, cute read! Loved this soccer inspired romance!

Grace has been the star of the US Women’s National Team for her entire professional career. She is a serious, private star veteran. Phoebe is a rising star rookie that is just as chaotic as she is charming. Phoebe has idolized Grace since she was younger and wants nothing more than to learn from her. Begrudgingly, Grace decides to help Phoebe out. As Grace shows Phoebe around New Orleans and helps her train, sparks fly and their chemistry is undeniable. They learn how to communicate with each other and work through their insecurities/issues.



I really adored the two main characters and could not help but root for them. In particular, I found Grace’s character thoughtfully sincere. Their romance - and spice - felt so real. I so loved the portrayal of the queer community and authentic love with two neurodiverse main characters. My biggest complaint is that the end felt a bit rushed and I just wanted more.



Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this book!

• ARC REVIEW •

𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Cleat Cute
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: Meryl Wilsner
𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: ☆☆☆☆☆ 5/5
Spice :🌶️ 🌶️🌶️
Tropes: Rivals to lovers, sapphic sports romance,

Everything I’ve read of Meryl Wilsner’s has been a delight and Cleat Cute was no different.

Phobe and Grace’s chemistry and spice was done so well. I loved the ending!!
Nothing is better than a sports rom com but adding in sapphic? We love!! I don’t understand soccer but the author did a good job with it.

I’d recommend anyone this book and I look forward to more from the author in the future.

I’ve seen a lot about Mistakes were made by this author around the internet but I never actually read it. I definitely will now that I’ve read Cleat Cute!

Full disclosure, I know absolutely zero about soccer and quite frankly don’t enjoy the sport. However this book may have just changed my mind! Cleat Cute is a sapphic rivals to lovers romance. Grace is unfortunately injured and her spot is taken by a younger rising star. The two eventually become friends with benefits with mixed expectations about their romance.

Overall, I loved this. Rivals adds such a level to their story that made me root for them as a couple that much more! Not to mention they were so incredibly hot as a couple. I absolutely loved the way Meryl Wilsner wrote their relationship.

Guess I need to watch some women’s soccer now.

I really liked the first half and thought the tension and steam were excellent (that locker room scene 🔥), but the second half lost some momentum and felt stagnant. I didn’t love the multiple points of conflict, but appreciated how they were resolved quickly and that Phoebe and Grace were willing to communicate. We needed more from the plot and far less internal monologue.

My favorite moments were the games and getting to see the physical and mental fortitude of these professional athletes, who have been fighting, for decades, for the opportunity to play and make it to the World Cup. It was a good reminder that while we as spectators enjoy the sport and feel deeply over wins and losses, these players are pushing themselves to the limit, physically and mentally, and feel the outcomes acutely.

This was a fun, quick, steamy read that I flew through in less than 24 hours!

3.5 stars rounded up!

Cleat Cute is a sports sapphic rom com. I thought the idea was cute but found the story to be undeveloped. I've seen a lot of reviews that people have really enjoyed the characters, but I sadly feel like I did not get to know them at all. I love a steamy rom com as much as the next person, but felt the steamy content got in the way of the plot. When I wanted more context as to what was happening in their world, we just read a lot about smoochin'.

I enjoyed the plethora of powerful female characters and loved the dynamic of all of the teammates, I just wish the story had a bit more oomph.

Book Review: Cleat Cute

Cleat Cute had me HOOKED from the beginning. I couldn’t help but binge the first 30% in one sitting. I loved the soccer setting. The grumpy/sunshine vibes were chef’s kiss! And there is a locker room scene that is perfectly 🥵🥵🥵.

But at some point the story just started to drag. It was a lot of not-very-memorable sex scenes and a lot of inner monologues. There wasn’t so much happening in the way of plot. And there were some story events that were raised, that I found interesting, but that were not fully developed. For example, I wanted to hear more about the ex-GF and obnoxious coach subplots! In the end I felt a bit let down because I cannot emphasize enough how awesome the beginning chunk of this book is. It’s unfortunate that at some point I found myself just waiting for it to end.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5 STARSSSS

I've been wanting to read this for awhile and i'm so obsessed with this wonderful sapphic romance!! i love the gays *sobs* LMAO not but seriously i was so so in love with every aspect of this book.

I tried reading this but the writing style did not work for me. There was a lot of telling. A lot of inner dialogue from the main character. It made reading the story tedious. I'm surprised since I didn't notice this in the previous release from this author.
I liked the premise and setting but I wish there was more dialogue between the characters to allow the reader to experience their story as opposed to being told their story.

This book is stupid good. Phoebe and Grace are both adorable in their own way. I love how soccer is such an important part of the story, but the story isn't about soccer at all. It's about these two vulnerable, flawed, quirky women who discover that - against all odds - they fit together like puzzle pieces.

I was really impressed with the way Wilsner treated mental health issues (ADHD and autism) in this book. It's realistic, showing the flaws these ladies have, and finding respectable ways to help each other and support each other. She does a great job of showing that these flaws are things that can be addressed and worked on. So many of us struggle with with feeling like something is WRONG with us, when in reality, sometimes we just need to realize we all have flaws - flaws that we can work on and improve, when given the opportunity. Or when we decide to make the opportunity!

Also, Wilsner writes great sex scenes. Not just the sex part, but the emotion, in a way that very writers actually pull off. I love how accepting they are of each other and of themselves as they go through their emotional roller coasters.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought the character's development and the bond/relationship created between the two main female characters was built and written well. I felt like I really got to know how they fell for each other and enjoyed seeing their relationship grow rather than it being rushed. I loved the representation of neurodivergence too. It was a slower read than expected but well-written nonetheless.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC. Reading sports stories always feels sooo nostalgic.

I think I liked Phoebe and Grace pretty equally, and tally the cat obviously 🫶🫶. I liked all the sporty parts of it especially. Reading Phoebe and Grace’s little ‘non-date’ dates was really cute. This was a really easy read, the type of book you pick up and don’t put down until you’re finished. My only gripe is that I wish they had more time as a fully developed couple before it was over. There’s also trans and adhd rep 🫶.

I’m prefacing my review with the warning that this book had a huge strike against it—I despise third person, present tense. Normally an automatic DNF for me, I wouldn’t have requested it if I’d realized it was written in that POV. Taking that into consideration, four stars is a huge compliment.

My love of another of the author’s books, Mistakes Were Made, convinced me to forge ahead anyway. And I’m so glad I did. The serious introvert/goofy extrovert pairing worked perfectly. Both Grace and Phoebe were lovable, they had great chemistry, their flirting was adorable, and the sex scenes were pure fire.

While I think the book would’ve been stronger written in third person, past tense or first person, any tense—and I would have had an easier time getting lost in the story that way—I heartily recommend the book to anyone who isn’t bothered by the POV choice.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher and am voluntarily leaving this review.

The only bad thing about this book is that I'll never be able to experience it for the first time again. The characters were complex and driven, each dealing with their own stuff in addition to the relationship in the book. I personally love a book with loads of internal monologue--there's little I enjoy more than *really* being inside a character's head, and this book delivers on that front.

The romance novel formula requires a third-act breakup, and for a second I was worried that was going to be the result of a miscommunication that occurs, which is my least favorite method of breaking characters up and would have made this a 3 or 4 star book for me, but boy was I pleasantly surprised when that did not, in fact, happen.

The thing I appreciated the most about this story was how much I related to each of the character's in different ways. Both of them felt very real and unique in the way that they see and experience the world, and there wasn't a single line or action that felt OOC to me.

The chemistry between the characters was great, the banter was a delight to read, and the sex scenes had just the right amount of detail for me. I read one of Meryl Wilsner's books previously, and it just wasn't for me, but when I read the description of this one I had to pick it up. I'm so, so glad I did.

Overall I enjoyed this book, I liked the sports romance and the side characters. The spice between Grace and Phoebe was really well done and it was nice to see that higher amount of spice in a sapphic book. I also really liked the mental health and neurodivergence aspects though I would have really liked to see that developed more. I felt like the book was a bit slow in the beginning and only picked up pace during the spicy scenes and then went back to being slow. I think was primarily due to the plot dragging a long a bit. The last twenty pages felt way too rushed and I would have liked to see less in the early part of the book and more from the last part of the story. I would have loved to see more about Phoebe's ADHD diagnosis and Grace exploring her neurodiversity as well, both of those were great topics to see but felt like they needed more development. It was a little frustrating that so much of the book centered around Grace and Phoebe's continuous miscommunication and it happens over and over again. I would have liked to instead see more plot based around their developing relationship and the World Cup and not their miscommunication. It was still a great book and I am so happy to see more sapphic sports romance books!