Unfortunately, I had issues with the plot of this book. One's a rookie and one's a veteran, that's almost the entire plot right there. It was just kind of fine. Nothing about their relationship really stood out to me. I love a sapphic sports romance, though, and I do enjoy Meryl Wilsner's books, so I will continue to read what they write.

I really wanted to like this book. It started very promising, but I struggled with some aspects. While it’s labeled as a “rivals to lovers” story, the main characters are actually teammates who never really rival or dislike each other, which made that trope feel a bit off. Phoebe is the rookie soccer player that admires her teammate and soccer hero Grace, who has been playing professionally for years. Their dynamic didn’t quite capture the tension I expected from a rivals-to-lovers plot. Everything went from zero to 100 so fast. There was no chemistry between them.

The story’s timeline and team structure were a bit confusing at times, especially with the multiple teams and locations mentioned without clear explanations. Additionally, many of the supporting characters blended together for me, with limited development to make them stand out. They are just … there.

On the positive side, the book offers a diverse and inclusive cast, featuring characters with different identities and neurodivergences. The portrayal of undiagnosed autism and ADHD was subtle, and while I appreciated the representation, I wished it had been explored a bit more thoughtfully.

One area where I felt the book could have been stronger was in balancing character development and the level of spice. Don’t get me wrong, I generally enjoy a good amount of romantic tension and spice, here it sometimes felt like important moments for communication and growth were missed. The characters occasionally seemed indecisive or confused about their feelings, and I wanted to see more honest conversations to deepen their connection.

Thank you to the publisher for the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Such a cute book! It was funny, sexy, and romantic. Both of the main characters had depth and I loved they were both neurodivergent.

I wanted to love this. I am such a big fan of queer sports romances, and sapphic soccer players sounds like a lot of fun. And, the thing is, this was fun. It's a fun story about Phoebe, who gets moved up to the Women's National Team, and meets Grace, one of Phoebe's heroes and super serious player. The two end up falling for each other, even as Grace gets benched due to an injury and Phoebe takes her place. I liked them together. They really balanced each other out, and I thought Phoebe really brought out the best in Grace. However, both characters were kind of annoying? Phoebe let one bad dating experience ruin any connection she formed and projected a lot of that onto Grace for no real reason. Grace was kind of immature and the way she spoke about her previous dating experiences did not sit well with me. Also, there was a lot of smut in this, and that came at the expense of actual character growth. I don't think this is a perfect fit for our library, but I see the appeal. I just wished I liked it more!

Phoebe and Grace were layered, complicated, complex, messy characters, which made them feel SO real to me. I can absolutely see and understand some of the comments about not enjoying the extreme internalization, so I think readers should be aware of that going into the story. But for me, as someone who LIVES in my head, who has insomnia because my brain will never shut up or slow down, who is neurodivergent and has had similar misalignments and endless ruminations, it felt relatable. I am usually not a fan of miscommunication in romances, but I think one of the benefits of Wilsner having us hearing the thoughts of the characters is that we could see where those crossed wires originated, and it's literally just different styles/types of brain processing, not necessarily an active avoidance of communication. The best part was that we saw how they recognized those moments and worked together to address them and move forward. We saw how they are both independent and can/have existed separately, but they CHOOSE to be together, and they make each other better. So lovely.

This was a cute romance. I love how the focus wasn't necessarily just on soccer and had some notes on mental health. Meryl Wilsner does a good job at presenting a multi-layered story and I felt like I was in both Phoebe and Grace's head a lot of the time. I had two hangups for myself with this book. The first being that it felt like the last half of this book just hung in a miscommunication trope for a long time and I was waiting for that tension to come to a head without any real payoff. For chapters it felt like the two characters were talking about each other while going through their own personal crises, which is great execept that they've only been "together" for a few weeks.

Additionally, I feel like, for me personally, I am not necessarily a sports romance reader so while I did like the setting and the reelationship I feel like something was lost on me without a base knowledge of soccer. I do think that the mini series adaptation that's forthcoming will be something I watch though so I am glad that I got to partake in this work and I am glad we have sapphic sports romance rep in this space.

Such a cute fluffy (and spicy) sapphic romcom. There wasn't a ton of conflict and no true 3rd act conflict, even when I thought there may be for a minute.

As someone who realized their queerness heavily through women's soccer, I was ready to get my hands on this book as soon as possible. Meryl Wilsner is one of my automatic buys and "Cleat Cute" is no exception. I really enjoyed the book and the relationship between Phoebe and Grace, especially as it progressed through the story. I won't lie, the book started a little slow for me, but picked up and had me hooked by the end!

The thing about Cleat Cute is that I wanted so, so much to love it. I've been dying for more sapphic soccer (or f/f football, I can't resist alliteration whichever country you're in) romance novels, and it seems like an obvious choice, all things considered. But this one wasn't, I'm sorry to say, the book of my dreams. The sport element itself is sadly lacking, partly because it feels like it was written by someone who just discovered soccer a day or two before writing it. But mostly, the characters and development of the relationship between them is weak. Since that is absolutely the heart of any romance novel, it leaves this one feeling rather purposeless and bland. The plot should come organically from those characters and their issues, but given the weakness in character/relationship, Cleat Cute's plot trajectory largely feels unearned. It's an absolute shame, but I hope there are more sapphic soccer romances to come that will do a better job.

Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

A sapphic sports romance real heat and heart. I loved the on-the-field tension just as much as the off-the-field emotional arc. It’s fun, flirty, and hits all the right beats.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Cleat Cute follows Grace after she gets benched after an injury and Phoebe who is the player who fills in Grace's spot until she heals. They enter into a very physical relationship, which begins to lead to something more.

I really enjoyed their chemistry and seeing how their relationship built over the course of the novel. I think that the relationship is also really well developed, even though it starts very physically. Their relationship still has depth to it. I also really liked seeing the ADHD representation in this book, as it was very relatable.

Super fun read! This was one of my first soccer romances and I had so much fun with Cleat Cute. I definitely look forward to reading more books by Meryl Wilsner in the future!

THIS WAS SO CUTE OMG I LOVED IT!!

No but seriously, this book reminded me why I love reading. And it also made me miss sports?! Haven't felt like that in ages. Grace and Phoebe were so adorable. I was so worried about their impending miscommunication blowup at the end, but it was resolved in a satisfactory manner?! That was actually kinda adorable?! I never would've expected it! I knew I enjoyed Meryl Wilsner's writing because of Mistakes Were Made, but Cleat Cute might've just dethroned it as my favorite.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. After loving Mistakes Were Made, I thought I would love this too. I was mistaken. I felt literally no chemistry between the characters, and Grace didn’t even like her until almost the end of the book!

I love more and more queer romances that are coming out. I enjoyed this story, but it wasn't my favorite.

This book had been on my TBR for so long so I am thrilled that I got an ARC copy to read!! This was the perfect blend of grumpy sunshine and still lots of tension and spice!! The perfect sapphic love story & a great entry into sports novels!

4⭐
R🌶️

Whether it's MILFs or soccer players, Meryl Wilsner knows how to write a horny book. Grace and Phoebe got to where they could be together in the end but their constant miscommunication drove me a little nuts. And this did make me miss New Orleans a little bit 🥲

This is a perfect read for rivals to lovers enjoyers, sports/romance enjoyers, who love a journey filled with humour and spice. The story plays around with romantic tropes while keeping the story fun.

This was way too focused on soccer techniques and technicalities and not enough on the romance. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel in exchange for a review.

I was really excited about this one as someone who is sapphic and born and raised in Louisiana! It unfortunately fell a little bit short for me; the pacing felt a little quick, and the characters began falling a bit flat. However, overall I enjoyed it! For me, however, it didn't live up to the hype surrounding it-- I just always felt like I wanted, needed, more from it.