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meryl wilsner is a must read author for me now. soccer? sapphic? enemies to lovers? spice? sign me up! i'm so glad books like this exist and we're able to have this representation.

This book gave me all the things I love humor, Kinda enemies to lovers, and of course sappy love story.. I highly recommend this book if you are big on sports sapphic life stories..

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

❗️Disclaimer: This review isn’t to tell the author that they are bad or not. This review is simply based on my own personal opinion of the book. I do suggest you give it a chance before you form an opinions about it and decide whether you like it or not.❗️


2.5/5 ⭐️


DNF at 77%. At the beginning I honestly liked the book and read the first 53% in a few hours but after that it went downhill. Lets starts with the things i liked, i liked the main characters at the start and honestly though they would be an amazing couple. I also liked that they were both on the same team and that they firmed a really nice friendship. I liked that there was other LGBTQ+ rep. Honestly i thought the first 53% was very good and that they were such a cute couple but after that unfortunately the internal dialogue got to much. It became so annoying and I honestly thought that it could have been cut to half because it became also repetitive. Some of the miscommunications could have been avoided with a simple honest talk instead of just assuming what the other person meant. I also could not feel the love growing between the or the care especially from Grace. In the end i do see how some people might love the book since that was me at the start but unfortunately in the end it wasn’t the book for me and I found myself forcing myself to finish it but just couldn’t.

This was my most anticipated book of the year, and it wasn't bad... Maybe I just had too high of expectations, but I just??? The more I sit with it, the more I find myself dissatisfied. This had all the proper elements for me to love this, but something about it just didn't land with me. I love the ADHD x Autistic dynamic, but I didn't find those identities to be explored in any meaningful way. Instead, both characters just present such obvious textbook signs of their respective neurodivergency but live in complete oblivion for 90% of the book. I loved the way Wilsner writes smut, but these characters just continued to fall into bed instead of talking, which led to so much miscommunication that I actually wondered if I had a misprinted ARC and missed a chapter (reader, I looked at my finished copy to confirm and indeed, I did not miss a single page). I enjoyed the sports element and I found the power dynamic between the two as a season veteran and the rookie to be fun (Wilsner knows how to write power dynamics, and they do it well). I also enjoyed the side characters, which I find is another consistent strength across this author's work. Overall, I don't think this is a bad book and if you're not going in with the high expectations I had, you may end up really enjoying this one for the fun and fluffy romcom that it is.

DNF at 20%. I tried, but I don't think Meryl Wisner's writing is for me. I normally love sapphic and sports romances, but I just couldn't get into this one.
Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the advanced copy.

after reading Meryl’s first book I was convinced and I was very intrigued by this book. I didn’t felt as in love with it as the first book but it was fun nonetheless


4 stars

Such a cute read! Enjoyed it very much. I don’t read many sapphic romances but now after reading this one I’m going to expand my horizons more. I found myself similing the entire time! Very much enjoyed

I haven't read many sports romances, but if Cleat Cute is anything to go off of I would say I need to try more. Soccer + the grumpiest grump/sunshineiest sunshine - what more could you ask for? Phoebe and Grace had excellent chemistry and Meryl Wilsner definitely brought the steam.

This is my second book from this author (I read Something to Talk About a few years back) and think her writing is getting even better. I really loved all of the characters in Cleat Cute and thought they were fully fleshed out/unique enough to have their own backstories. I loved the dual POV and seeing what Grace and Phoebe were both thinking.

The only thing I didn't love was that the conflict behind the third act breakup really came out of left field. The conflict could have come from so many different places, so it kind of distracted me that Grace brought this issue up. It was just a weird addition to the story.

If you're looking for a cute sapphic rom com definitely check out Cleat Cute!

Thank you to NetGalley & SMP for a review copy.

This was a quick read, I really enjoyed and loved the characters. Turns out I can tolerate sports if it’s women’s. I want to add the finished copy to my collection.

I absolutely loved this book. Soccer, grumpy/sunshine, teammates…

I’m obsessed. Grace and Pheobe were so relatable and real. Their chemistry was absolute fire.

And the found family aspect?! My absolute favorite thing ever. I loved that teammate/friend group soooo much!

Cleat Cute was a fun sapphic romance centered around soccer. I really liked Grace and Phoebe as characters and enjoyed how it switched perspectives between them. I read Some Mistakes Were Made, by the same author, and enjoyed this one more. I found there was more depth to the characters and I appreciated that they were both working through some mental health and other life obstacles. I don't even like soccer but I appreciated those sections and learning more about the sport, the team, the coaching, etc. and I felt that the other characters are on the team were great supporting, developed characters as well. This has lots of open door scenes so I would not recommend this to anyone other than adults looking for that.

This FF sport romance follows Grace and Phoebe. Grace is the team captain and veteran of the pro soccer team that Phoebe just joined. Off the field, the two are just about as different as they could be, but they start up an unlikely friendship. They graduate to friends with benefits at the same time that Grace is sidelined for an injury which puts her spot on the US National Team in jeopardy. But when they figure out they can work together instead of competing against each other, these two women just might find a connection they never expected. This was such as fun sport romance that was spicier than I initially expected. Grace and Phoebe are such great characters and I loved how different they were from each other. They each had a ton of character development throughout the story. Of course, there's a good amount of on-page soccer playing but I thought it was still really well balanced. We get a variety of soccer scenes that didn't get repetitive. I really liked how Wilsner was able to weave in tension on and off the field and how the two interact with each other.
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC. Publication date was September 19, 2023

Review is written but will not be posted till St martins press addresses the actions of the the employee spreading harmful messages and misinformation.

Phoebe is beyond excited to be invited to the national women’s soccer team’s camp where she meets her hero, Grace, who after the camp will be her captain on a pro team in New Orleans. The two do not get off on the right foot, but Phoebe leaves her impression on Grace and once they are in New Orleans their attraction can’t be denied and they begin seeing each other. When Grace is injured and Phoebe takes her spot on the national team’s roster, it puts their new relationship to the test.

I played soccer for 9 years and have of course followed the U.S. national team for ages so I was excited for this soccer romance. I liked Grace and Phoebe but they were harder for me to fully get as characters. I can’t tell if this was due to the present tense third person writing or the fact that there was a lot of telling in the form of internal monologues when things should have been shown. I did appreciate that Phoebe’s undiagnosed ADHD and her misconceptions of neurodivergency were handled with care. Also, the steamy scenes were very steamy. I loved that the pair were able to communicate and fight for their relationship, but I found the conflict resolution at the end of the book to be lackluster. Overall I liked Wilsner’s previous books more, but I still enjoyed this one.

I did listen to the audiobook for a lot of the story. I liked that we had dual narration and both readers did a very good job. However, there were numerous moments where I could tell when a different word or phrase from one recording session was spliced into another recording, which is not something I typically find in professionally recorded audiobooks. It didn’t change my impression of the story, but did make me notice the production.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and MacMillan Audio for the ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

This one was pretty cute, and as a queer soccer (football) as soon as i saw this one I was in. If you're looking for a fun chill read featuring neurodiverse Sapphic soccer players, you'll probably enjoy this one.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc! I loved this book!! The setting , the characters, the plot! It was all chiefs kiss. Phoebe and Grace were amazing character. Each having unique personalities that you could easily fall in love with ! The soccer setting made me so happy because it was something I was passionate about years and throw back for me personally qas great ! The smut was … holy did it get hott in here because WOW !! I was not expecting it but damn did I enjoy it !! A must own for my bookshelf !!

Definitely not my favourite book from this author, but also not a let down. This book was the perfect mix of cheesy rom-com meets sports (football) romance. There were some parts of the story that felt a bit repetitive, and I wasn’t quite fond with the ending, but I still felt that the book as a whole did a good job. I loved the neurodivergent representation, and felt that it was an accurate and nice job well done. This book is definitely a great beach read, and I would recommend it to everyone who just wants to smile and laugh a little.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan for the advance readers copy of the book.

As a certified Sports Lesbian™️, I have been highly anticipating reading this sapphic soccer romance. It was a fun read and I was definitely routing for the main pairing to get together. The writing is great, quippy and lighthearted but serious where it needs to be. The pacing felt a little off in places where the author decided to explain details about soccer (in general or WeSo specifically) - I get wanting to draw in more readers but sometimes it read as pedantic to me.

Although there are several black and brown supporting characters some of the text itself feels like a whitewashing of the sport and the team (for example, the idea that Grace is the only one who can do “complicated braid styles” in the locker room). On the other hand, the <spoiler> ADHD and autism representation </spoiler> felt very authentic which makes me wonder if the author had sensitivity readers for those specific things but not for racial representation.

I wanted to love this book more - the sex scenes are HOT, the characters endearing and messy in a lovable way, and the soccer was interesting to me. But it was hard for me to push past the seemingly forced way that <spoiler> Grace decided to come out at the end - as if the only way to be true to yourself is to make a public statement. It’s so reductionist of the queer experience and felt completely out of character for Grace </spoiler>. That decision contextualizes the main relationship in a different way for me.

This book was mid for me, so many things I loved and plenty that didn't stand out.

Phoebe and Grace share a beautiful dynamic, and their conversations felt surreal considering their individual personalities. The relationship is definitely opposites attract, executed in a magical way. With an age gap, very different life experiences and completely different takes on life, these characters stood out to me. They both bring so much to their relationship and they're definitely NOT incomplete individuals completed by the other. Their compassion for each other, mutual understanding, and pure love were the highlights of their chemistry for me.

What I absolutely hated-
The third person present tense POV. Maybe that was to make it feel like sports commentary but didn't work out at all. the narration felt dull, long, and clunky, especially with the internal monologues. I can't count how many times I lost the plot because I couldn't follow the story. An example of telling not showing? This is it.

Also, the plot wasn't all that good. This is a completely character driven novel which is great, but the story in itself isn't very happening. The external events keep dragging while the reader is forced to go over and over the characters' thoughts and it's exhausting.

Comparison to Mistakes Were Made-
Cleat Cute is my second book by Meryl Wilsner, and they both are almost opposites in a way. In Cleat Cute, the characters really stand out in their individuality and chemistry, both inside and out of the relationship. Mistakes Were Made didn't stand out in its characterization to me, but the story was faster paced, keeping me hooked on the edge of my seat, with a generous amount of suspense. The narration was dual first POV with two narrators for the audiobook which I enjoyed.

So, if you're diving into this book expecting anything like Mistakes Were Made, think again. And because I loved the characters, I'm giving 3 stars! It's not unbearably horrible but isn't perfect either.

Thank you NetGalley and most importantly Meryl Wilser for an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review!

First off, Meryl Wilsner is an auto buy author for me. I don’t like romcoms at all but she can do no wrong with her sapphic romcoms.

Second, tell me why I envisioned Grace Henderson as my Alex Morgan the whole time? I was not a soccer player but I love them!!! Yess yes yess every time yes!

Solid 2.5 🌶️ for spice! And not a single pickle around!