This is a cute rivals to lover sapphic romance.Phoebe and Grace were such vivid characters, and I loved seeing their personalities clash, and eventually compliment each other, through the course of the book. It was adorable to watch them open up to each other more, despite their differences. This book was endearing, steamy, and fast-paced escape. I will certainly be reading more of Meryl Wilsner’s books in the future, and I recommend everyone read this one as well!

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

CLEAT CUTE was an absolute joy to read. this sapphic romcom was a hilarious & tender exploration of doing what you love on your own terms, chasing your dreams, and falling for who you least expect.

After absolutely devouring Mistakes Were Made last year, I was so excited to do the same with Cleat Cute. Unfortunately, it just didn’t do it for me.

I really struggled with Grace’s character specifically - she had no personality and was completely overtaken by Phoebe. Grace is definitely on the autism spectrum, which I love seeing representation for, but I would have love for her to leap off the page a little more.

I also struggled with the chemistry between Grace and Phoebe, in that I really didn’t think there was any. Phoebe was so focused on the whole “Grace Henderson” of it all (ie. the celebrity, the childhood admiration) that I couldn’t really buy into her feelings. I loved the steam on Mistakes Were Made, but in this book, I couldn’t feel the tension at all.

I did appreciate Grace’s growth and how she started doing the things she wanted, versus what she thought everyone wanted from her. There was a great conversation with her dad near the end of the book that I loved. I also enjoyed the soccer aspect of it all, as well as the Krewe and national team teammates.

This was such a charming story. I’ve read Wilsner’s previous two novels and enjoyed them as well. But this one was a little different to me. At first I was worried I wouldn’t like the ending. It felt a little off to me but there something funny in the way the autism and adhd coded characters were written that I needed it spelled out to me for me to notice why I wasn’t reading it accordingly before. I saw myself in both characters at various points of the story. It’s what truly endeared me to them and their love story. It’s why I call it charming. It’s sweet and motivating and a bit forthcoming about the pressure of adulthood when dealing with neurodivergence and doing the thing you love.

Phoebe: I loved her. She’s fun and spunky and filled with so much energy. I wished we gotten more of her healing and coming to terms with her diagnosis since we see the many ways it impacted her mental throughout the story. Especially when things became overwhelming with life or family. But I enjoyed seeing how patient and focused she was when getting Grace to open up and trust her and their relationship/dynamic as fwb.

Grace: I don’t have the words for how I’d like to describe her at the moment outside of— wonderful. She’s heavily coded that a lot about her characters feels like reading about myself. The injury being the sign she needed to stop and take stock of her life and priorities….. teaches a lot about learning balance and how even tho you love it, losing yourself to just one thing can be harmful too. That routines aren’t always as helpful as they feel. Phoebe also being her complete opposite rounds out the opposites attract trope that’s always fun. Her not realizing they’d been dating for a whole month was really familiar and funny to me. Her fear of getting older and essentially being discarded as a result was also a great show of imposter syndrome that looks different from phoebe’s own.

TikTok: it feels silly to mention this app because of my general view on it but I enjoyed Grace’s use of the app to become more informed on adhd and even autism in order to help Phoebe and even herself going forward. It has been a very vital source of info on neurodivergence’s for those struggling to get diagnosed and it’s accessibility makes it such a good place to go.

The story is based on two pro soccer players but it’s not really about the soccer. It’s about the relationships the women have with each other, themselves, and the sport.

I plan to reread before fully processing but these are my first thoughts after my first completed read of the ARC. I’d like to thank St. Martins Press and NetGalley for inviting me to check out the arc. I hope to refine these thoughts after a reread and fully digesting it. But I had fun with this story and can’t wait to read future works after this.

I finished Cleat Cute in a day so even if it was not a book I loved, it was at least captivating. I think if it wasn’t an author I was familiar with and whose books I’ve liked before, I probably wouldn’t have finished it. It follows two soccer players: Phoebe, a recent grad who was drafted to the same team as Grace, a twenty-six year old veteran who has been a professional player since she left high school.

The book reads like everyone is trying to get a good grade in therapy and are constantly online, like there’s a gigantic fear of if they don’t explicitly explain the details of every thought they have, someone is going to assume they’re a horrible person. I found some of the dialogue to feel forced, closer to lectures than actual conversation. It’s one of those books where everyone thinks the same way, like there is only one correct answer to everything. It isn’t the kind of book I personally prefer, I like there to be more tension and more disagreements that make me think, instead of everyone caving immediately to agree with each other. It's difficult to get invested in a story when every thought, action, and feeling is explained. It leaves little room to engage with the story and maybe I want too much from a romance novel, but I think there can be a bit more trust to readers to not assume the worst of a character.

My main issue with the book is how unrealistic the dynamics and world of professional sports was. The beginning of their relationship is a bet that felt out of place in the context of the story. I know it is unfair to expect realism from a romance novel, but I think the setting of the story has to influence the plot in some way, and here, it was impossible for me to buy into this happening on the USWNT. Little things built up – I cannot believe that a player constantly being late for team workouts and events wouldn’t be an actual problem on a professional team, let alone the USWNT is one example– and I don’t think it’d take away from the story for someone who doesn’t care for sports, but for me it was distracting.

The set-up of a rookie and vet can be a really fun dynamic, but so many aspects of Phoebe and Grace’s relationship confused me. Grace acts a lot older than she is in terms of where she is in her career, twenty-six is within the peak athlete’s physicality, and I think she had a lot of interesting thoughts about what players owe fans and how much of their life should be public, but nothing went further than a surface level comment. Phoebe’s backstory offered a lot and I thought was an honest look at some of the realities women’s athletes can face, but it was always buffered. I never bought into their chemistry, but I think I was thrown off by how quickly their relationship moves when I was expecting a slower “enemies” to lovers type of story. Sometimes, their interactions felt like they went too far and I didn’t understand why they even wanted to be friends, let alone partners. The entire story line about Phoebe’s ADHD and Grace’s injury was uncomfortable. I don’t think I’d ever trust Tik Tok enough to use it as a diagnosing tool or feel comfortable with what happened between them on both occasions. However, I’m sure a lot of people will find it thoughtful and romantic.

A Lot of this comes down to personal preference. I really think Wilsner is an incredible writer and would love to read more of their future books,. Even if the soccer setting and some of the small details really didn’t work for me, I believe a lot of people will love it.

Thank you very much to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC!

A perfect amalgamation of Ted Lasso and A League of Their Own, this sapphic sports romance is officially one of my favourite books of the year. I was thrilled to see that in addition to it being a queer romance, it also took on the topics of neurodivergence, specifically ADHD and autism in a way that was loving and tender. Grace and Phoebe are such wonderfully lovable characters and the sense of humour throughout this book just adds to the impeccable writing.

My one critique is that a waitress is described as having “terra cotta” skin. She’s not a major character, she doesn’t even have a name. I don’t think terra cotta needs to be the term used for a POC. Brown or tan will do just fine. POC aren’t food or earthenware or dirt or anything. Skin is skin, just call it a color that isn’t weird.

I’m a big fan of Wilsner’s writing ever since I read Mistakes Were Made and I really, really liked Cleat Cute.

Phoebe and Grace are such opposites that I loved reading how they would fit together. It was a whole ride and I really enjoyed it!

I was truly surprised to be offered the chance to review this ARC for Meryl Wilsner’s new book. Cleat Cute comes out September 19, 2023 and it is definitely worth checking out. I love how dimensional and relatable the characters are in this book. They feel so feel to me. I loved getting to know more about soccer and the love Phoebe and Grace has for the sport is seriously contagious. I found myself wanting to know more so I could join in with their excitement. I found myself really invested in the plot to this and the spicy scenes were just an added bonus. Wilsner is perfect at balancing the sweet with the spicy and blending it all together to make a really amazing book. Thank you so much to the author and St. Martins Press for the chance to review this book.

I can’t describe how excited I was when I heard that Meryl Wilsner’s new book is about soccer players, and I was very pleasantly surprised by the the soccer accuracy in the book (in a way that I think people not familiar with the sport will still understand). This book was also so much more than a romance with just a soccer setting, and I appreciated the depths and characterizations of Grace and Phoebe.

Hm. This was good, don't get me wrong, but I guess I just wanted more from it? Compared to Meryl Wilsner's previous two books, this one just didn't grab me in the same way, and the pacing just felt slightly off.

Cute, quick read featuring some great neurodivergence rep. I was expecting a bit more after loving Wilsner’s other books, but this one didn’t have the same hold. The pacing of the book felt a bit off at times.

I really enjoyed this a lot! Phoebe and Grace were both great characters with good emotional journies. There was some miscommunication, especially at one section, but it wasn't handled badly. I especially liked the neurodiverse representation with the possibility of an adult diagnosis of ADHD.

And they did it again, folks! Once again, I LOVE a sapphic love story by Meryl Wilsner! Since I tend to have big opinions on how quickly stories wrap up, I felt like it was a bit rushed BUT I think that's at least partially because I was invested in both FMCs and their stories, so I didn't want it to end. That said, I was also left with some questions that I assumed would be answered by the end.

I loved the neurodivergent rep, the discussion of economic differences, and the discussions of diversity and inclusion within the queer community. Oh, and the spice is top notch as per usual from this author. Also, this book made me enjoy a sport from a distance, and that's always an impressive feat! So pumped I was given an early eARC and definitely will reread this again when it's released Sept 19/23. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I loved all of Wilsners books. This story was great! The characters were very likeable in their own ways and I thought their interactions were great, it helped them see other perspectives they didn't have before on life and relationships. My only con is that the POV at the start seemed a bit all over the place and the texting dialogue was also a little weirdly structured.

What Bend it Like Beckham should have been like if the movie was made today!!

There’s just something about women playing sports, especially soccer that I just love. Wilsner captures the love and passion for the game wonderfully in this cheeky rom com.

This was I a happy medium spice level wise between Something to Talk about and Mistakes Were Made. I think the topics of ADHD, trans rights, the national anthem in American sports and learning how to advocate for your self were handled wonderfully. One of the down sides I personally had was that I didn’t like the overuse of the word cunt, and would have gone with some other word choices, but that is just my personal preference.

Cw
Sexual content
Bullying
Alcohol
Panic disorder
Toxic relationship

Rep& tropes

Praise kink
Grumpy/sunshine
ADHD rep
Miscommunication trope