I enjoyed this soccer-themed FF romance, set in New Orleans. It was true to Meryl Wilsner's style - fun banter, lots of steam, and LONG for a romance. I like her books and writing, I just wish they were a little shorter, as I lose steam as I go (pun intended). It was perfect for getting in the mood for the World Cup though!

Solid choice for anyone looking for an extra spicy sapphic romance between athletes.
While I was able to read this quickly, I didn’t feel like the plot ever really took off. Outside of some minor character development for each MC and the romantic plot, very little happened.
On a more personal bias note, I felt like a lot of conflicts in the story were just examples of how to massively overstep in a relationship.

Plot - 3
Writing and Editing - 4
Character Development - 3
Personal Bias - 2
Final Score - 3

Thank you Meryl Wilsner, St. Martin’s Griffen, and NetGalley for my digital ARC. My opinions are my own

Another score by Meryl Wilsner with Cleat Cute! She has written a sweet, sexy, spicy friends with benefits to lovers sapphic romance novel that is truly a must read. The added use of poc, neurodivergent and other secondary characters is absolutely phenomenal. This novel leaves the reader wanting more because of these secondary characters.

Phoebe and Grace are both US National soccer team players, though they are originally vying for the same position after an injury takes Phoebe out. Through a FWB relationship they aim for different roster spots however they may have to decide if romantic love is more important than a position on the field.

Read Cleat Cute to find out what Phoebe and Grace decide. It's well worth the read!

After DNFing Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner earlier this year, I admit I was hesitant to pick up Cleat Cute, but I'm so glad I did. The cover is cute and caught my attention right off the bat.

I enjoyed the romance between Grace and Phoebe. It seemed to develop in a gradual, realistic way. I love the secret relationship trope, and it really worked with this story. And Wilsner really knows how to write spicy scenes! (Though I do admit using c*nt is a peeve of mine).

The ending felt a bit off, almost as though the author was rushing to add extra depth to the characters. It felt kind of yucky that Grace felt the need to publicly come out for Phoebe. But I also haven't been in that kind of a situation, so maybe that's a common wlw gesture?

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but I do feel like the spicy scenes could have been dialed back a little. I really enjoyed the scenes where Grace and Phoebe were getting to know each other more as teammates, friends, and (eventual) girlfriends.

best of the best! meryl wilsner doesn't disappoint!!

wilsner continues to write absolute bangers that i cannot get enough of! set in new orleans, there is such a genuine love for the city and with a sport that i am falling more interested in, wilsner writes such great story about phoebe and grace.

told in a dual pov (love that for me), phoebe and grace try to determine what is right for them as new teammates and in different places in their lives (grace as a veteran player and phoebe as a new to the profession player). it's such a wonderful connection between the two who are both so kind to one another and also soooo attracted to each other.

i also loved the adhd and autism rep in the book. where the adhd is discussed a little more in the book and labeled more, grace's autism isn't labeled but is clear that she is autistic (and author confirms it). i think it's just wonderful reading books with different perspectives with different disorders.

wilsner doesn't disappoint with this one and it's probably fighting for my top wilsner novel at the moment.

thank you netgalley and the publisher for an arc in return for an honest review.

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!

This book was cute, but it just ended up not being for me. This book will work for some people, it ultimately just didn’t work for me. Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

At this point Meryl Wilsner is *THE* author to look out for. Did I ever consider myself a sports romance kinda gal? No, usually I don't glance their way but throw in sapphic romance and Wilsner's signature banters and strong characters and I just couldn't resist.

There's a lot to unpack here, starting with there is a lot of soccer jargon and back and forth going on here. Was it tough to keep up with? I mean, vaguely? I didn't get some of the stuff that I'm sure seasoned lovers of the sport will keep track of but honestly despite just how sport forward this was, the character dynamics and chemistry take the lead. Wilsner has this talent to craft characters that hold such depth and emotion. The struggles and growth feel incredibly human and when paired with such humor and love, the story becomes irresistible.

4.5 stars rounded up. I'm always a sucker for sports books and I liked getting both POVs and knowing what was going on on both sides. I also really liked the way the ADHD and autism representation was done

This was enjoyable! Honestly I loved the grumpy/sunshine with 2 female main characters. I also grew up playing soccer and watching the women's team so this was definitely a fun plot to follow along with!

This was SUCH a cute read! My first Mely Wilsner book but definitely won’t be my last!!
Overall my favorite thing about this book was the representation. Having queer and neurodivergent characters in a story makes readers who identify with these character feel seen and is an amazing way foster empathy.

My biggest struggle with this book was the miscommunication. While at times it felt believable, for the most part I had a hard time connecting with the conflict.

While I love celebrity and sports romances, I’d never read one set in the world of football before. I was immediately excited when I heard this premise, however, especially when I saw it described as for fans of the Roy/Jamie dynamic in Ted Lasso. I definitely understood that as far as the rookie/vet and grumpy/sunshine comparisons go, with the latter being one of my all time favourite tropes. Though I’d describe the Ted Lasso arc as a slow burn with an ending up for interpretation (even though they’re endgame in my mind), Phoebe and Grace comparatively move very quickly from relative strangers to friends with benefits here. I found myself wanting to see some more from the emotional/romantic side of their relationship throughout rather than just the physical though, as this occupied the majority of their alone time from early on in the book and meant that some very necessary conversations would get stopped abruptly or forgotten about. I think we were at times told they had/were developing feelings for each other rather than shown this which ultimately affected my enjoyment as I found there weren’t always actions to back up what we were told about their relationship evolving. I appreciated that the potential power and financial imbalances were addressed early on though and liked that these discussions in particular were featured because of the real-world pay disparity seen in women’s sports. I also liked that the book concluded with Phoebe and Grace closer to understanding more about their ADHD and autism respectively, especially with Grace using Phoebe’s beloved TikTok in the end to help her better communicate.

From reading the blurb of this, I had really hoped the story would make it to the World Cup. These events where you’re on the world’s stage and firmly in the public eye are always my favourites when it comes to celebrity romances, and the added stakes of a competition just make it all the more enjoyable for me. We were told throughout that making it there was this career aspiration and it certainly felt like a major event they were building up to so I was honestly a little disappointed when it ended as soon as they arrived there. Though that element of the story did not play out as I’d hoped, I did appreciate the discussions of Grace’s struggles with her anxiety and the pressures and responsibilities she faced being a team captain while also dealing with aging and injury as a professional sportswoman.

I’m probably too much of a slow burn kind of person to be entirely sold on the romance here, but if you enjoy reading about a quicker/more spicy budding relationship then this could definitely work for you. I personally just found the misunderstandings and lack of communication in favour of the physical intimacy difficult to get on board with.

I was given this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This book was so gosh darn cute and I loved every minute of it. In fact I immediately bought a physical copy of it to keep on my shelf the day it went on sale. I think this book is definitely for anyone that has been salivating over the relationship drama in the NWSL this year.

This book was amazing! I loved these characters development individually and as a couple. I loved their dynamic as well

Ugh. This is the second Meryl Wilsner book I’ve read and disliked. I think this author is just not for me.

I really enjoyed the first 25% of the book. The premise is Phoebe starts as a rookie on a soccer team and begins a friends-with-benefits relationship with Grace, who is the captain of the team. Shocker, they develop real feelings for each other. The beginning of their relationship was interesting and fun, but I really quickly started to loathe Phoebe as a character. She’s supposed to be quirky and silly, but she comes off as obnoxious and annoying, and she never has any growth over the course of the book.

The biggest sticking point for me was Phoebe’s undiagnosed ADHD, which ended up almost being negligible and also a huge plot point? It was such a confusing aspect of the book because she never faces any consequences for her behavior. She’s always late, and resigns herself to the fact that she can just never be on time. She’s late to her first practice on a professional soccer team and no one but Grace cares? She’s so insanely immature and irresponsible and it’s treated as goofy and quirky (I swear only white people get away with this shit). I was waiting for Phoebe to eventually face some real consequence or conflict for being so flighty, but she never does. Her ADHD has virtually no impact on her life, it seems like Grace is the only person who even notices or cares.

Like 80% into the book, Grace just assumes Phoebe knows she has ADHD and is on meds, even though there has been no mention of it up until now, they haven’t talked about it, and Phoebe is at Grace’s house all the time and she’s never seen Phoebe take meds? It literally came out of nowhere, and felt shoehorned in there to give them a fight. EVEN WORSE, Grace turns to reputable medical source TIKTOK to do research???? This made me want to throw my phone across the room lmao. Truly one of the stupidest things I’ve read in my life. This was such an asinine and irresponsible thing to put in this book. There is RAMPANT misinformation about ADHD and (practically everything else) on tiktok, and never should’ve been included. Even more laughably, Grace’s own sister has ADHD and she thought to ask her about it after first consulting TikTok. This solidified that I never want to read another book by this author ever again.

At one point Phoebe blabs to the trainer about Grace’s injury and chalks it up to her being tired and her inability to keep a secret. She says over and over again “it was a mistake” but never once apologizes. This is treated as fair in the book, which is alarming and also just crazy. Phoebe acknowledges that it was a mistake, realizes that she hurt Grace, and doesn’t apologize for it. Ever. Phoebe is treated as kind and cute, but her inability to even see the need to apologize tells me otherwise, and the author’s writing of this situation as if Phoebe was justified is insane. I’ll touch on this at the end of this review.

Another annoying thing is that there were a million characters in this book, and sometimes they call each other by their first name, or their last name, or their nickname, and I’m expected to remember who’s who, which was borderline impossible. Eventually I stopped caring. There is also an abundance of information about soccer in the book that completely went over my head because I know nothing about soccer and it’s never explained. Sometimes some of the characters are on the same team, sometimes they’re playing against each other. I could never tell what league or whatever they were in and, again, eventually I stopped caring.

I also feel there was no forward momentum to this novel. There was no big game they were working toward or big win they had to get. Phoebe won all her games and did great almost every time. The one time she wasn’t amazing was because the coach told her the wrong thing or something? Everything worked out perfectly for her each time, for everything. The stakes were so inordinately low, it felt like nothing really mattered. Not even just in soccer, really. Grace’s “ex” wasn’t even really her ex, just some girl she slept with. Grace’s injury doesn’t even end up being that detrimental; she sits out and rests for a few weeks, which is hard for her, sure, but then she does literally nothing and she’s healed. Phoebe has to juggle being a pro soccer player and a second job, and she does it just fine with no struggles. In fact, she loves being a waitress and has a great time working 2 jobs. Everything just—worked out, for everyone, with little to no work.

The miscommunication in this book is also so absurdly contrived, it made me roll my eyes. Nobody in this book felt like a real person. It made so little sense and went on for so long, it was almost laughable. They have one conversation that is so vague, where the word “girlfriend” is never brought up, and Phoebe’s dumb ass walks away thinking they’re girlfriends while Grace thinks they’re still just fwb. This goes on for a month, and Phoebe just assumes Grace doesn’t like saying the word girlfriend? The fact that over a month goes by without clarifying this was honestly so stupid. And this random plot thrown in at the very end of the book was just messy. The structure of this book was all over the place; there was no driving force or central theme outside of Phoebe and Grace’s relationship. They’re not working toward anything; there was no goal or end result either of them were moving toward. Their relationship with one another progressed, but nothing else did.

God. I have a ton of notes of other stuff I disliked about this book, but I’ll end with this. Last year, I discovered the genre of sapphic romcoms and was so excited that it existed that I didn’t really care about the content or quality. Over time, I’ve noticed there are a lot of things I can no longer overlook. The glaring issue is it’s a majority white authors who write this genre, and there is so much about the white experience (lol) that I don’t mesh with. There is almost always a quirky white girl character, there is sometimes this stark lack of empathy, refusals to apologize, general white nonsense, and a lot of other elements that I cannot relate to and/or actively hate. My ability to relate to white people, queer or not, does not extend that far. The apology situation in this book did not sit right with me. The utilizing tiktok for a mental disorder did not sit right with me. So much of the “lol I’m so quirky” did not sit right with me. Phoebe’s ability to be late to everything (along with being selfish and immature) with no consequence did not sit right with me. These are all things specific in this book that I can only attribute to this author being white, and something they experience that I can’t, never will, and frankly think is bullshit. So. Idk. I don’t think I’ll ever read Meryl Wilsner again, and I think I need to swear off white authors too even tho y’all dominate this space. There are a fair bit of sapphic romcoms written by Black people and people of color (most of which I’ve already read lol), so I’ll seek those out instead. Cus this ain’t it✌🏾

Thanks to St. Martins and Netgalley for this advanced copy.

I've really been enjoying Meryl Wilsner's books and Cleat Cute is another win. Phoebe and Grace are a lot of fun and I loved how Phoebe's crush moved into a real relationship, whether the characters realized it or not. The two have a number of things to work through, including the fact that both are neurodivergent (again, whether they fully know that or not) as well as working through their teamwork and the world of professional athletes and women's soccer.

While overall I thought this was a solid romance, there is something that takes place in the last quarter of the book that thankfully one of the characters receives with love but like in real life if someone was so presumptuous as to do that I would have seriously questioned their ability to recognize my agency. And I'm glad that worked out but I am a little flabbergasted that no one raised major red flags to the character. But I guess it was a grand gesture? How romance.

Regardless, a solid read.

This was so cute!! I loved the discussions around mental health, and the development of Grace and Phoebe's relationship. However, I do wish there had been a little more action in gameplay to live alongside the romance.

An absolute delight. Queer love, neurodivegence representation with neuroaffirming writing. SOCCER!! I'm the key audience for this book and It was my number once romance of 2023.

Thank you NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. CLEAT CUTE by Meryl Wilsner delivered on every level. Wilsner is an auto-buy for me and this book is cute, fun, and will appeal to fans of Wilsner's other work and fans of Ashley Herring Blake and Alison Cochrun.

Thank you to St Martins Griffin and NetGalley for the free eARC, all opinions are my own. Also I bought the book as soon as I read the first chapter.

Soccer is its own world filled with big personalities, and the women’s league seems to be filled with queers. Phoebe just got drafted in the first round to play for New Orleans Krewe, to play with her celebrity idol and crush, Grace Henderson. Grace tries to resist Phoebe’s enthusiasm but when she loses a bet to Phoebe, things spark off.

This is a very cute tale of sapphic love that is hot to the touch spicy with lots of play on and off the pitch. Phoebe has lots of interesting character development in line with her gregarious personality , while Grace’s development fits the quieter, more sedate, personality of the character.

Highly recommend for those who love the game, and want some spice in the locker room. 4.75 out of 5 stars, 3.5 out of 5 🌶️ for the spice level.