I’ve only recently started reading Sapphic book, and I’m loving them! Why did no one tell me about them before!? I feel like I’ve been missing out on some really great reads!

I’m a huge fan of enemies/rivals to lovers, and soccer happens to be my favorite sport. Does that mean my review might be biased? Maybe, but that’s totally okay!

Anytime I see enemies/rivals to lovers on the back of a book, it’s an automatic read for me. I just personally think it’s one of the best tropes out there, if not the best.

This book includes two of my most favorite things so you know I had to love it! If you’re new to sapphic romances, like I am, I definitely recommend this book. And if you’re a lover of soccer as well, also recommend this book for you. It’s about time we start seeing some more soccer rep in books. I’m absolutely here for it!

This likely would've been a three star if we'd had some resolutions on a few things a little sooner than we did. Because, yo, this was exhausting. The relentless internal monologuing (and some external ones, too), the overthinking, the spiralling, the return-to-agonize-over-it-again, and yes, a lot of this can be explained for Reasons but we also don't get those reasons, like I said, until way too late. So by the time we get some things sorted out, I don't care, I'm unmoved, and I'm just all.. "yeah, I know, so fucking what!" about it all. Which is maybe harsh but like, I'm really struggling to find time to read and so when I finally did pick something up.. I just didn't want to read it. At all. But alas here we are. And we made it through. Somehow.

I'm sure there are worse things to pick up if you want something sapphic and sporty and yes it's a grumpy sunshine but not my favourite example of the trope. It's also very steamy which is nice to see but as someone who is checking out of sex scenes more and more.. personally it just meant more paragraphs to skim. So elle oh elle to me.

Also, baby girl. It was a thing. I hate it coming from a man and I hate it just as much coming from a woman. Nope to this.

For some more specific rants, I did drop into this review about halfway through reading the book to jot down some notes in the event I gave into the DNF. I didn't, obviously, and most of these points still apply even after an additional fifty percent of reading. Enjoy.

Early thoughts : I am frustrated by Grace's whiplash emotions about soccer. It's all she is, all she knows, because of how early she started playing, and how that makes her feel aged (which I'll get to in a second..) and she is grumpy and bad at being social -- she basically just sits silently whenever Phoebe is rambling or talking or asking questions about non-soccer stuff and I think there's something more to this, or at least I hope there is, because otherwise it feels kinda.. baity -- and then she'll get all bent out of shape and butthurt if Phoebe comes to her with soccer specific questions or inquiries. So like.. what is it? Are you only soccer or can you be both and if you're both why are you mad when someone talks to you about the former? This gave me a headache. Second issue is that.. this is a twenty-six year old person who acts and behaves like she's a hundred years old. Complaining about her body (but, despite being a pro athlete, refusing to deal with her injuries and potentially making them worse..) being old and broken down and acting the same and I just.. I don't know. I expected this to be a lot more fun and and wholesome based on the Ted Lasso pitch and it was not.

But don't worry, Pheobe annoyed me, too! Out of nowhere bitching people out for not telling her that they might be eating out and how "some people have to budget" like.. I get it, yes, expectations should be set but also I feel like this could've been discussed in a more tactful way? I don't know. It really rubbed me wrong somehow. And all the dirty talk.. ugh, I know, sapphics deserve dirty talk too but honestly I'm over it when it happens in most romances no matter if it's hetero or m/m or what. So that's a me thing.

And there we have it. Final thoughts? I don't think I would read Wilsner again. I really disliked the way this was written (third person present? I think? I'm bad at knowing this) and the book felt extremely long considering so little happens. Which, hey, fine, character-driven stuff with minor background noise is good but man when it feels like it's dragging, and there's nothing to distract you, and you're getting hit with sex scenes and monologues left and right, featuring not just one but two characters you can't really stand, ontop of stupid misunderstandings which cross the line into miscommunications, well.. it adds to the not-having-a-good-time-ness. But I think this'll hit all the right notes for a lot of people. I'm just not one of them.

Mistakes Were Made >>>>> Cleat Cute.

I'm all for a sapphic sports romance, but this one missed the mark. Cleat Cute is a prime example of the grumpy/sunshine trope with two characters who would never actually make it in the long run. The worst part was the repetitiveness of the non-stop internal monologuing. It really took me out of the story.

The marketing of Cleat Cute is another thing I found confusing. It's promoted as rivals-to-lovers with absolutely zero rivalry. The girls are on the same soccer team for one. If I had to pick, fwb-to-lovers is the most fitting. Additionally, the neurodivergent representation was incomplete. You have Grace with undiagnosed autism and Phoebe with undiagnosed ADHD so while the book reflects intent and both characters show clear traits, neither are actually labelled.

That said, I LOVED Grace. She is very Lena Luthor coded to me and I dig a rich bitch. Maybe this is also a Supercorp AU fan fiction. The sex scenes however, I found them to be much cringier than in Meryl's last novel Mistakes Were Made which is an absolutely favourite of mine. But if you enjoy smut this book is highly steamy.

I am so so so so tired of the miscommunication trope–we need to ban it from literature. To be fair, Grace and Phoebe did actually attempt to talk, but their wires still got crossed. More often than not, sex and intimacy were used as a way to avoid further conversation. There was not enough clarity for them to be on the same page in my opinion.

The positives: The National team included really wonderful found family vibes, despite me not being able to tell all the secondary characters apart at times. There was also a lot of queer diversity too with two lesbian protagonists, a trans masc sibling and a non-binary aroace coworker.

This may be the closet thing we get to a gay Bend It Like Beckham.

What worked: the spice! the chemistry! The story!
What didn’t work: also the chemistry! Grace was really mean, which was really off putting to me (an avid reader of enemies to lovers & rivals to lovers).

Thank you Netgalley & the publisher for the ARC. Overall this was still engaging and fun, and I enjoyed getting to spend time in this world.

Little bit of a slower start, but I was definitely all in by the end. Very fun, steamy, had some great queer and neurodivergent rep, and has been one of my favorite miscommunication tropes in a while.

Phoebe Matthews dreams are coming true when she gets a spot on the US Women’s National Team, but to make things better she gets to play alongside her idol, Grace Henderson. The last thing Grace wants to do is make friends with her new teammate, but Phoebe quickly begins to see her as more than a friend after a kiss turns to hooking up. The feelings and chemistry between them only gets more complicated as they prepare for the World Cup with Grace trying to come back from an injury and Phoebe fighting for a spot on the World Cup team.

I’ve been really into sports romances lately, and this book hit the spot. I loved both Phoebe and Grace and wanted wins in their professional, personal and love lives. This book was so steamy and the chemistry between Grace and Phoebe was on fire. I also loved the soccer/team aspects of the story, as well as the New Orleans setting…the food descriptions left me wanting to book a trip ASAP. Of the books I’ve read by Meryl Wilsner, this is by far my favorite.

The audiobook was narrated by Dana Varden and Zim Avaltrades. Both are new to me narrators, and I really enjoyed how they brought this book and the characters to life. It was an audiobook I wanted to listen to all day. I will definitely be looking for more of their work!

Thank you to SMP Romance, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advance copies.

- I am of two minds about CLEAT CUTE. On the one hand, omggg sapphic grumpy/sunshine soccer players, was this written for me?! Plus, Grace and Phoebe have great banter and superhot chemistry.
- However, for me, this was so much miscommunication around minor things that could be so easily solved, but every time they started to have a real conversation, they just stopped and slept with each other instead.
- (MINOR SPOILER) Additionally, so much of Grace's half of the plot revolves around her assuming that her injury is about to end her career for good, when the injury is essentially a pulled muscle. This is an objectively ridiculous thing for a pro athlete with 10+ years of experience to think.
- On the other other hand, I am deeply enjoying how each of Wilsner's books is an order of magnitude spicier than the previous book.

Meryl Wilsner has certainly scored with this one! (Pun absolutely intended.)

Rising soccer star, Phoebe, finds herself on a pro team and national feeder team with her idol, Grace. (Grace’s poster still dons Phoebe’s wall at home.) Phoebe and Grace start up a tentative friendship, which then spontaneously combusts, and Grace finds herself questioning all of her choices. These two will certainly charm you into sticking with them as they figure out what is best friend them both.

This is a sweet but steamy love story between two professional athletes. I absolutely loved it! I don’t think I’ve ever read a sports romance with a professional female athlete before, let alone two. It was an interesting perspective, especially since they are in different stages in their careers.

This book had a take on the miscommunication trope that I haven’t seen before. Even if you don’t usually like that trope, I’d still give this book a read because it’s based on the characters and the way they each think and behave so the misunderstanding comes across as very believable (even if I wanted to shake them both a little). I also appreciated this book’s take on neurodiversity.

I’m not sure if this book is a standalone or the start of a series. Personally, I’m hoping for a follow-up book featuring Teddy.

The fact of the matter is that teammates to lovers books are the best kind of workplace romance. With a wonderful lineup of supporting characters and an opposites attract romance between an ambitious rookie and her soccer idol, this book was a lot of fun.

This is my first book from Meryl Wilsner that I have read, but there is something about her writing style that hooked me immediately, and had me flying through the pages and forgetting that I was reading. I loved the deep dive into the world of women's soccer that she gives the reader, and appreciated that the characters actually spent time on the pitch, both in game and practice.

I enjoyed the dynamic between Grace and Phoebe. As the newcomer rookie who is pure sunshine, Phoebe challenges all of Grace's expectations, while Grace helps ground Phoebe. There were so many elements of their story that I loved, and I honestly wish Wilsner built up the tension between the two a bit more, because the moments when they're trying to fight their attraction to each other are pure magic.

The supporting characters in this book really shine. I loved each and every one of the Krewe players, as well as the women from the National team. The dynamic that is created between the women feels like a true found family, and their scenes were some of my favorites from the book.

While there were so many parts of this book I enjoyed, there were also elements that were so hard to get past. I didn't read the synopsis before starting, so that's probably on me, but the miscommunication got to be a bit too much for me. While I am glad that it wasn't used to create a lasting conflict between the characters, it got to be frustrating that the pair had such drastically different ideas of their relationship. I also felt like there were parts of the book that were a bit rushed, and I think that if there were less time spent emphasizing the lack of communication and more time spent on slowing down the end of the story, it would have been a much more satisfying ending.

Overall, this was an enjoyable sports romance, despite the elements that didn't quite click for me, and I'm excited to read more books from this author.

Pros: The tension between Phoebe and Grace is not contrived. They are both great soccer players who play the same position on the same team. Of course there is going to be an underlying feeling of jealousy and competitiveness on the field. I also loved the respect each has for each other so when they have a disagreement or their feelings get hurt, they meet and talk about the issue instead of letting their anger fester, like we see in a lot of romance books. The sex scenes in this book are top notch: hot, intimate, and consensual without being cliche. Phoebe and Grace check in with each other in a way that is realistic without being preachy or halting the action. This book also contains some great neurodivergent representation which is always nice.

Cons: I wanted to learn more about Phoebe and Grace’s teammates and actually would have liked more soccer? That sounds strange but because a lot of the book is spent listening to the characters' inner dialogue, not a lot of time is spent seeing them playing soccer or interacting with others.

I have been enticed by this cover for what feels like forever. Lesbians+Soccer+Spice= a very happy me!! Couldn’t put this down.

My only gripe is the internal monologuing could get a tad repetitive.

Super fun read!

Thank you to the publisher, the author & to NetGalley for the Arc

This was my first Meryl Wilsner read and it won’t be my last!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5/5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3/5


Grace and Phoebe are total opposites: Grace is the veteran, grumpy, soccer star team captain, and Phoebe is bubbly, ambitious and fresh to the pro world.

While the miscommunication in this book may be frustrating for some, it made complete sense for these two.

I loved the diversity in this book, especially with the main characters. It wasn’t a main focus, but they were both neurodivergent, Phoebe with ADHD (making her chapters a little chaotic) and Grace most likely on the Autism spectrum.

My hesitation giving this 5⭐️ is just small things that bugged me - the nickname “baby girl” just creeps me out, and all the characters (main and sides) had so many nicknames. This was especially confusing since it’s written in 3rd person POV.

As for the audiobook, I enjoyed one narrator and not so much the other one unfortunately.

What you’ll find in Cleat Cute:
⚽️ Opposites attract
⚽️ Sapphic romance (FF)
⚽️ Soccer - Captain & Rookie
⚽️ Friends with benefits
⚽️ Grumpy sunshine
⚽️ LGBTQ+
⚽️ Neurodiverse MCs
⚽️ No 3rd act breakup
⚽️ Dual POV/3rd person

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for advanced copies to review. All opinions are my own!

I think this book was built up a bit too much for me, so I wasn't as satisfied as I hoped to be. However! Still a fun, quick read. Will be sure to recommend at work.

One thing about me is I love sports gays. I also love New Orleans, so that's two points in Cleat Cute's favor. I know nothing about soccer, but this book made me want to join a rec league. The energy was fun and spicy for the first half of the book. Cleat Cute was well written, and the interpersonal conflict was easy to follow, even for those of us not involved in soccer. I liked the dynamic between Phoebe and Grace, especially earlier in the novel. The more XR scenes were well done. I listened to the audiobook alongside reading the ebook (highly recommend). The dual POV is well done in that Grace and Phoebe's internal monologue is wildly different, clearly defining them as separate narrators. I loved the representation and supportive family and team dynamic in this novel.

While the novel is fun overall, the last half is bogged down with miscommunication and Grace's internal monologue. I also think many of their fights were resolved far too quickly (primarily with sex) for any sake of realism. There were long, pessimistic internal monologues, but when it came to vocalizing those concerns (specifically thinking of the medication/ADHD argument), it was far too quickly resolved. I'm also not a fan of miscommunication as a source of conflict, which rife in the latter half of this novel.

Aside: As someone with ADHD, I took issue with Grace going to TikTok for information on ADHD. While I appreciate her doing additional research, TikTok is the only preliminary source mentioned by name, and the app is rife with misinformation.

I loved reading this book. From the two main characters point of views, to the big life choices they were making, to the whole soccer theme, and the spice - what a great mix! I will definitely be reading more from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley, St Martins Press and Meryl Wilsner for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

You had me at Sapphic Ted Lasso! This book was one that I literally couldn't wait to start reading. There is so much to love about this book but I personally am a sucker for grumpy/sunshine romance novels. I love that the characters are flawed and not completely likeable; for instance, Phoebe is consistently late (which is something that would absolutely drive me insane but rarely something I see in books).

Overall, my issues with this book were based on some of the language/writing choices and the pacing. I personally prefer romance books that focus more on slow burn and these two just got together rather quickly and majority of their relationship felt heavily motivated by sex. I feel like Grace would have been more guarded after everything with her last "relationship" and it would have taken her more time to get involved, especially with another teammate.

3.5 for me rounded up.
Loved their relationship, the spice. The soccer!

But the inner monologue was a lot. Being in third person made it much harder to get through I would be content if I never heard the names Grace or Phoebe again, they are said SOO many times in this.

This book was so cute and I loved every second of it. The difference between the two main characters was a great contrast and kept the relationship interesting. Would recommend this to anyone to read!

Cleat Cute has everything you could possibly want from a lesbian sports romcom. Phoebe and Grace have a brilliant dynamic, great energy, and each of their narrations providing something different to the story, while still being equally enjoyable.

Even though Grace was able to remove parts of her career that weren’t beneficial to her mental health, so she could continue to play soccer, I was very happy the book emphasized that you are absolutely allowed to quit your dreams, if they are not your dream anymore! So many people fall back on the “oh you’ve done too much to get here, you can’t quit now!” but you can! You absolutely can! And it made me so happy to hear that affirmed to Grace by her dad.

Meryl Wilsner with yet another hit, can’t wait to read more of their work.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this title.