Didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. But I'm grateful to have been able to get a chance to read a little of it since I did dnfed it.

Rating: 3/5
Steam: 4/5

Thank you to SMP, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Cleat Cute was a highly anticipated novel for me, and despite having it for months, it took me a really long time to finish it. It felt like there were two main plot points: how much they had sex and each FMC’s internal monologue.

Which, you know, fair, but there was so much potential to dive deeper into many areas, including individual growth, their actual relationship and communication. Instead, we spent a lot of time “rinse, wash, repeat” with the same dialogue/scenes.

Things I love: queer joy and how unapologetic they were. NOLA setting and all the foodie things. The intimacy was written really well and did a great job addressing that sex isn’t just a reciprocal give and take.

Things I didn’t love: the overall discussion or just glazed-over representation we had of ADHD and autism. So many side characters with legal names and nicknames that I was getting confused. I’m not a soccer girlie, so the sheer amount of dialogue about all the different teams/games got confusing.

Overall, I’m kinda meh about this book. I am noticing in all of Wilsner’s books that she really leans into the show-not-tell. Cleat Cute had some really good moments but also lacked in many areas that could have made it shine.

I will read anything Meryl Wilsner writes! Not only was this book wonderful and hilarious, but I love her attention to character.

A sapphic sports romance was exactly what I wanted. I loved the slight celebrity trope, the buildup of meeting your idol, and I loved watching their relationship go from convenience to more.

I highly recommend if you’ve ever wanted a sapphic sports rom com!

This is such a sweet and spicy sports romance with amazing representation, including lesbian main characters, ADHD rep, autism rep (briefly mentioned but so obvious throughout), nonbinary and trans side characters... I'm not typically a sports fan but I loved this one! I will say that I was so frustrated by the miscommunication / misunderstanding trope. Spice is nice but sometimes you need to TALK TO EACH OTHER. Even though it did make use of one of my least favorite tropes in romance, I still thoroughly enjoyed this read.

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

What a fun and exciting read! I absolutely loved the steaminess of the scenes and the chemistry between the characcters. I am LIVING for this sapphic sports romance that feels timely and relevant and oh so needed in this world. Meryl Wilsner wrote such a fabulous book and I am so excited to get my hands on a physical copy as soon as possible!

My first Meryl Wilsner book. I enjoyed the characters and the chemistry, but struggled with the football and the love of the game a little. Not my cup of tea. Overall a read good enough to make me curious about the other books.

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

Meryl Wilsner continues to completely suck me into their stories. While Mistakes Were Made is still #1 in my heart, Cleat Cute brings the same passion, tension, and steam that I love in Meryl’s books.

Cleat Cute focuses on newbie Phoebe as she enters the world of professional soccer and meets her idol, Grace. I loved watching their rivals-to-lovers story play out, along with their own development. There was also a great cast of side characters, plus a great ADHD storyline. The only downside for me was the internal monologues in 3rd person - it was a little excessive.

The narration was pretty solid. The two voices were good, but not distinct enough. I also just tend to struggle with 3rd person POV in dual narration. Sometimes I forgot which character was narrating.

Recommended if you like:
-sapphic romance
-rivals-to-lovers
-sports romance
-grumpy/sunshine
-public figure trope
-open door steam
-forced proximity/workplace
-mental health rep

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for my ALC. Cleat Cute is out now!

Really enjoyed this sapphic rivals-to-lovers rom com! Lots of "Ted Lasso" and "A League of Their Own" vibes with strong female athlete MCs and a romance you'll be rooting for. What sets "Cleat Cute" apart is its exploration of the characters' personal growth. The tension between Grace and Phoebe on the field translates into a compelling exploration of priorities off the field.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley & MacMillan for an advanced listener copy in exchange for an honest review.

I will not be reviewing nor promoting any St Martin's Press titles until they address the racism, Islamophobia and all over reprehensible behavior of one of their employees.

Unfortunately, I lost the audiobook download when my NetGalley App glitched so I will not be able to review this properly as it has been archived.

I thought this book was super cute and I loved the progression of the relationship but also as individuals. This is a fun sapphic soccer romance that brings the heat.

This book had a fun premise and was very entertaining, but ultimately was not for me. the grumpy/sunshine dynamic was well done, and I really enjoyed the friendships within the team. however, many of the interactions between Phoebe and Grace I found to be uncomfortable or stilted.
I do think that readers that are more interested in sports may have a better time with it. Thank you to netgalley for an audio-arc of this book

Meryl Wilsner has yet to disappoint me. I was swept up in the slow burn of Something to Talk About and again in the wonderfully spicy Mistakes Were Made. I had high expectations for Cleat Cute and while it isn’t my favorite of Wilsner’s books, it was a delightful romance that still manages to take its place among my most liked sapphic stories.

Grace is the grumpy to Phoebe's sunshine, both professional soccer players they stumble into being friends with benefits after a betted on kiss leaves them both wanting more. They have strong character arcs that rely on each other to grow and recognize new things about themselves. Grace’s Autism and Phoebe’s ADHD at times create a communication barrier leading to one of them worried about catching feelings while the other thinks they are already dating. Both characters are quite different but together they are perfectly matched, and throughout the book I kept thinking just how cute they both are. Some of their conversations and the emotions Wilsner was able to portray made me cry and that’s honestly atypical for me.

Beyond character growth this book was definitely steamy, with a number of open door scenes that were as sexy as they were delicate. Wilsner’s writing has yet to make me cringe as some authors tend to do and that made this book all the better.

I’m not typically a sports person and I think that’s why this book didn’t quite reach 5 star status for me. I like the IDEA of sports but when it comes down to it, not knowing which team will win or lose tends to make me anxious. Maybe that’s weird but even so, it did take me out of the book a bit. Beyond that there wasn’t much I didn’t like about Cleat Cute. The banter between characters was delightful and the secondary characters were both well written and helped push the story along.

Meryl Wilsner will continue to be an auto-buy author for me and I look forward to all future books from them.

After loving Mistakes Were Made, I’m sad to say that this fell flat for me. Phoebe was a bit obnoxious even for my taste and Grace’s storyline just felt so forced with the autism answer thrown in at the last minute ? I’ll give whatever Meryl writes next a try, but this one wasn’t for me!

I received an audiobook via netgalley. (And previously an eARC as well).

I prefer the audiobook version of Cleat Cute because it really helps being the characters more off the page. In this story of Grace and Phoebe who are both pro soccer players with autism and ADHD, respectively the contrast of these characterizations shines more via audio than it did with the voice in my head reading it. (The neurodivergence is not a spoiler, the author shares all about it via Twitter). When I read the ebook for the first time, I missed a lot of the autistic details (though did catch them on a separate read thru with hindsight). I prefer the experience of listening to this book though.

I'm a big fan of Meryl Wilsner, but despite being a former soccer player, this is not my favorite of their books, but I enjoyed it for what it was, a cute read.

The premise was great, and the mental health rep was fantastic. These ladies were great representation of how undiagnosed people live their lives.
I really enjoyed the friendships between the main characters and the side characters. Knowing that whether or not you see your friends everyday or not doesn’t change what you mean to them and vice versa.
The spice was “burn your mouth” level spicy, and obviously, I was absolutely thrilled. Rarely is a sapphic story truly spicy. These were not vanilla ladies!!
I did enjoy the story, and the characters, but with the mains, I felt like I didn’t get enough of them? We got their experiences with soccer, we got a bit of their mental health, and we got them together, but nothing that gave up anything of their character as themselves. You have mental illness, it’s not who you are. I’d have just liked a little more depth.

One of the best sports romances I've read in a long time. Compelling and fun, with very likeable main characters. The romantic progression from vague enemies to lovers was excellent and I devoured this.

This was an extremely cute book - classic rom-com featuring professional women's soccer players. The emotions are high in this book - with some spice thrown in. This book is definitely one to re-read/listen to.

The narration by Dana Varden and Zim Avaltrades was okay.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC. Cleat Cute is out now!

Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner is another classic lesbian rom-com from the expert. Professional Women’s soccer players Phoebe and Grace navigate a changing dynamic as the season progresses 😏. This book is steamy, emotional, and exciting.

The narration by Dana Varden and Zim Avaltrades was engaging and wonderful.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC. Cleat Cute is out now!