Unfortunately this book didn’t really check any of my boxes as a reader. The bantering was fun and the tension between the two protagonists was entertaining but the rest of the book didn’t do much for me. It’s definitely not bad, though—I just don’t think it worked for me.

A witty and charming sapphic sports romance book. Finally more queer sports romance getting published! This was delightful, and I liked the ADHD rep.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

Phoebe Matthews is a hot-mess. Always late, thinking of everything at once, fashion sense is a little wonky; however, when she steps onto the pitch, everything goes silent. As the star of her college team, she is on the move to professional women's soccer with a goal of making the US Team.

Grace Henderson has been at professional soccer for ten years. As the star of the US Team, she knows what it takes to be a winner. Endorsements do not hurt either. But, when Grace starts to show signs of a hip injury (old age in her words), it gets out and she is sidelined for six weeks.

Phoebe and Grace orbit each other - each so different, but still the same. Can this story of rivals to friends to lovers work out?

This was my first sapphic book and I really enjoyed it. I am new to this author as well. I really enjoyed Meryl Wilsner's writing style and how she brought Phoebe and Grace to life. I really loved their story. I was hooked from the very beginning. I love a good sports romance and this one did not disappoint. I can't wait to read more from Meryl Wilsner and read more Sapphic romance.

The relationship between the two main characters was cute. I learned a lot about both women's soccer and ADHD, but at times the book felt like it was trying too hard to educate the reader. Most characters had multiple names they were referred to as - first name, last name, nickname - which was confusing at times, but perhaps would resonate well with sports fans.

I was never into soccer before I met my partner. But when you date a European, you kind of have to know about the original "football." So, when Meryl Wilsner came out with a sapphic soccer romance -- I knew I needed to read this. It's cute, quirky, and just what my sapphic heart needed. This is my first book by Meryl and will definitely NOT be my last!

Cute friends to lover story and Meryl writes great spicy scenes. I love a sports romance and there are not enough about women's soccer. This was very cute and enjoyable!

I love Meryl Wilsner's books, and will likely pick up everything they write. I really loved Grace so much, but I found Phoebe mostly annoying. I really wanted this grumpy/sunshine pair to have more chemistry, too. The scenes were good, but I didn't like them together.

Rating: 2.5/5

This was...something. I liked the setup and the premise, but the amount of "miscommunication" was too much for me. Also, this book is pitched as a rivals-to-lovers but they're never rivals?? They play on the exact same team, so I'm not sure why this book marketed itself in that way.

But of course, the sapphic romance was amazing and I am a sucker for the ADHD x Autism pairing.

This was a really enjoyable read! Grace and Phoebe were great together and I loved the tie in with the miscommunication trope- one things they are dating, the other is worried about catching feelings. I love a good sports romance, and this delivered.

I haven't read anything else from this author before, but I am excited to check out more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!
Phoebe Matthews has just achieved one of her dreams, making a spot on a US Women’s Soccer team. She moves to New Orleans to find out her new captain is her hero, Grace Henderson. Grace has been a top player for a solid decade and is worried she is on her way out, especially with this new injury. The two start to bond over Phoebe’s desire to learn everything she can about NoLa and soccer.
Oh my word, this was cute but also frustrating! The miscommunication trope is strong with this one. I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. I will admit I don’t know much about professional soccer and while this gave a good bit of context it didn’t bog down the plot. Phoebe’s eagerness mixed with Grace’s cynicism was a fun play on the grumpy/sunshine trope. Seeing these two learn to communicate and realize that your dreams can change as you age was great. Also Grace learning to stand up for herself and put her own happiness first *chef’s kiss*.

A sapphic romance that has two main characters who are soccer players, I was sucked in from the beginning. I was signed up and eager to enjoy the romance laid out here. While I did have a great time and liked it, there were a few things that put me on the fence about it.

After finishing this, it took some time for me to piece together what my big struggle with it was. Even after thinking on it, I still haven’t decided, fully. I think part of it was that Cleat Cute really focuses on Phoebe and Grace. In and of itself, this isn’t a bad thing, but I think I missed the side characters that helped them figure some things out. They are on the same team and they couldn’t lean on teammates, even vaguely, about what to do? All in all, I don’t think this is a downfall for a story, but as I will discuss in a second, I think Phoebe and Grace could have benefitted from something they could have turned to a little more.

Phoebe and Grace have a relationship that really centers on miscommunication. Each and every step of the way through their relationship, there is some form of miscommunication that leads to the story feeling repetitive. I wanted them to talk to one another and make sure they were on the same page because it felt like they never were. Neither one ever seemed to understand what the other one was thinking.

Yet, their sex scenes were excellent. Honestly, it could be some of the best that I’ve read. That is one area that they really communicated with one another and made sure that they were making the other feel good. I also really enjoyed that it wasn’t the Hollywood special of how sex goes were one person comes and the other person comes. Having that talking about was nice to see and hopefully that starts to pop off more.

It was also nice to see Phoebe and Grace both coming to the realization that they might be neurodivergent. The rep felt well done and the conversations they had surrounding it were nice.

As a note, I do realize that their many miscommunication errors were due to their respective neurodivergencies, so I’m not as annoyed about it as usual, but there is still frustration there.

Phoebe and Grace do have a cute relationship. They click well and watching their relationship develop the way it did was sweet. It was clear that they understood each other in a way that maybe other people didn’t which was nice to see.

Overall, Cleat Cute has a cute relationship between the two MCs with good neurodivergent rep. It’s a believable relationship, but there was something missing for me that I’m still not able to ping down. If it sounds interesting to you, pick it up as I really don’t think there is anything wrong with it and it does have a rather wholesome relationship.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for this e-arc to read and review. All thoughts are my own and not influenced by receiving this arc.

<i>Cleat Cute</i> follows Grace Henderson, a star of the US Women's National Team for 10 years, who is sidelined by an injury, and Phoebe Matthews, a younger player that takes her spot. Despite knowing she could be back on the team once she's healed, Grace can't help but seeing Phoebe as a rival... and being attracted to her. Unexpectedly, Grace and Phoebe become teammates with benefits going from a rivalry to unable to keep their hands off each other. But as the World Cup approaches, the pair have a moment of miscommunication leaving them uncertain and feeling differently about their relationship but confident and connected playing soccer together. As they spend more time together, both privately and on the field, they are forced to choose what they deem most important - their relationship or the roster.

I read this book last month and gave myself some time to digest before reviewing. I was never truly deeply invested in the characters' romance or their goals nor was I hating my time reading. The story was whirlwind of emotions where something sweet would happen and then something else would happen that have me raising an eyebrow. For example the characters could have a sweet moment and connection to avoiding something serious or an argument to just have sex and then later question it. Like well, talk it out?? The story was told in third person, which in itself is fine, but in this story I felt the internal monologue became heavy on the telling the reader, instead of showing while also feeling repetitive at times. I loved the sports injury = future? conversations with Grace but didn't like how Grace's emotions and personality felt inconsistent from when she was happy and in a moment of conflict. I appreciated the neurodivergent representation with both characters however it was bittersweet to read about. I am not a diagnosed neurodivergent but it is suspected so I can't say a lot on the representation. I loved the inclusion and conversations but some of them felt icky with the language and reactions of the characters. Also, where was the rivalry? They didn't seem to dislike each other that much because of the attraction and Phoebe having looked up to Grace her whole life.

Ultimately, I am rating <i>Cleat Cute</i> 3 stars. Overall, the book was fine. I was truly excited for this book but unfortunately it landed middle of the road, excelling in some areas but failing at others. This is my first by the author and while I am intrigued to read more of their books, I am wary.

Grace is a veteran soccer player. Rookie Phoebe has idolized her since she was a kid, and Grace was a teen phenom. But getting to be her teammate now seems like a dream. When a bet leads to an intimate moment, it’s easy to see that there may be more than teamwork between them.

I enjoyed both Grace and Phoebe’s journeys through the story. But it seemed really obvious as a reader that Grace was autistic, and the possibility of that was really only mentioned in passing when she was trying to do research for Phoebe. I think there was opportunity to do so much more with that.

Other than that, I enjoyed the chemistry between the two, and the camaraderie between all the teammates.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an advanced copy!

Synopsis: Phoebe, recently drafted to a women’s soccer team and a potential call-up to the national team, desperately wants to prove herself to her idol, Grace Henderson - and to herself, to prove she can do it. Grace has been playing since she was 14, and therefore has been in the public eye for her entire adult life, is hesitant to share more about herself than she needs to. Yet the two are drawn to each other, despite vying for the same position on both teams.

Review: Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! This was a great romance. Even though there was a lot of predictability, I was still surprised by many plot elements and how nicely they pieced together. I also loved the romantic gestures by the characters, both big and small. I hugely appreciated the amount of diverse representation in the characters - that was nice to see since so many popular romance novels are straight white people. Highly recommend to all romance lovers!

OOOOOF. This had me until it absolutely did not. The last 20-25% was far too easy when a lot of that was really not okay. Grace literally accused phoebe of having adhd without knowing that and started talking about her meds (that she is not on) and her apology was…bullshit. And phoebe accepting it so easily was also dumb. AND THEN! Grace takes it ANOTHER step further and just makes her an appointment for a doctor????? How are you going to assume you know what’s best for someone you won’t explain your feelings to because THAT WOULD MAKE YOU LOSE YOUR DIGNITY??????

I loved this until all of that started happening. It was too easy with big issues and it felt half hearted.

Sadly even trying this in print it just didn't work for me. I found myself a little too bored. I'm not sure if I was too hyped up over the concept and it not delivering or what.

This book was published by St. Martin's Press, which is unfortunately being boycotted. If the boycott reaches a resolution, I hope to come back and review this book.

This was a light sapphic romance about two soccer stars. It was a light, cute, quick read that still was able to tastefully touch on some important mental health issues. The ending was a little rushed and the internal monologue from the two FMC’s was a little too much at times but still did enjoy overall. Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this one.

The first thing I will mention is that this cover is misleading! I thought I was hopping into a cute little romance, but was met with LOTS of spicy scenes…WHICH I AM ALL HERE FOR! There wasn’t a huge and heavy plot, nor was there the conflict resolution I was looking for between characters, but the character development between Grace and Phoebe was spot on. I loved how inclusive the characters were as well. This book was a very feel good read and perfect for a little pallet cleanser away from the fantasy I normally dive into. I felt like some things could have been elongated and discussed more (when Phoebe told Grace she snitched on her hip or when Grace told Phoebe that she thought she had ADHD) because it seemed a little too fiction to be able to just up and move on so easily like these characters did. The sports aspect of the book had me in my feels I will admit. I played high school sports and continued on after I graduated, but have since stopped in the past few years and I felt a longing to start playing again after reading about how in love these players were with soccer. Overall this was a good read and I’m glad I could get my hands on it! I will definitely look out for more of Meryl’s books!