I couldn't stop smiling while listening to that book. It was a straight up grinfest from start to finish and I loved every minute of it. Phoebe and Grace are hopelessly in love, all while circling each other on the pitch. It's a grumpy/sunshine sapphic romance with so much drama and love, both on and off the field. It also discusses adult neurodivergence diagnoses, American healthcare, and going after what you want and what serves you. I would love to see more soccer or sports romances from Meryl Wilsner, especially if we stay with the New Orleans team.

*Thank you to St Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review and to Macmillan Audio for the gifted ALC*

I'm nearly positive that I screamed when I found out about this book (I mean, a sapphic soccer romance??), and it definitely lived up to the hype. Cleat Cute follows Grace Henderson, the 26-year-old veteran of the US women's national team and captain of the New Orleans Krewe, and Phoebe Matthews, the 22-year-old rookie on the Krewe who gets called up to national team camp. Oh, and she grew up idolizing Grace. And also she has a huge crush on her. And also also she has posters of her in her childhood bedroom.

The soccer vibes here are impeccable. (I had big plans to read this while on the train in New Zealand while I was there for the Women's World Cup that were foiled, but it still made an excellent read post-World Cup) Before, during, and after games, the way that players and plays and being on the pitch is described just feels like the most amazing vibes at a women's soccer game. There were a lot of soccer terms used, but I think even if you aren't familiar with them, you should be able to figure out what's going on with context clues (or not, it's really about the vibes anyway).

Phoebe and Grace's relationship also has the best vibes. Over the course of the book, you watch Grace get more comfortable in her own skin and with the idea of letting other people in, and you watch Phoebe figure out what it means in her own life to be an adult. And you get to watch them figure it out together! There are definitely some steamy scenes in here, but there are also sweet scenes, of Phoebe helping Grace start to feel comfortable in her own skin and feel her feelings. There's also last names as foreplay (a personal favorite of mine), sexual tension through hair braiding (thank you Meryl Wilsner for including this in your trope round-up on Instagram), and lots of locker room ~moments~. Oh, and there isn't a third-act break-up! There are a couple of fights, but they are resolved without a dramatic third-act break-up (both by talking it out and by... not talking it out).

The backdrop of the book is New Orleans, which, not to be a broken record, is so good for the vibes. Grace and Phoebe get beignets, go to a Mardi Gras parade, and see other landmark sights around the city. I love New Orleans, and it was so fun to feel transported there. And it made for a great setting for Phoebe's first home away from home -- somewhere she can be independent and walk around and find things everywhere to have fun with.

And I know I'm not here to review the cover, but IT'S SO PERFECT. The way they look at each other, Matthews' name on her jersey, Grace's braid and her muscly legs, Phoebe's red hair. It's just so good.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an eARC of Cleat Cute in exchange for my honest review.

This is the third title I’ve read from this author and it did not disappoint. Well written, great character development and a fantastic read. Some readers do not like internal dialogue but I like getting into the head of characters to see how they tick and this book had plenty of that. Not a huge age gap like previous titles the author has written but that did not take away from the story. The sex scenes was plentiful and enjoyable. So if you enjoyed MWM and STTA, give this a read, you won’t be disappointed.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, so many thanks to NG, the author and publisher.

This was a juicy, steamy romance that I absolutely ate up! I loved these characters and their relationship. I’ve loved all the books I’ve read by this author so this was not a surprise.

This book was ridiculously cute! The dynamic between Grace and Phoebe was so much fun to read, and the progression of their relationship from strangers to friends to FWB to more didn't feel rushed at all, which is a problem I tend to have with romances. Grace and Phoebe were such strong characters on their own, and I loved how their relationship allowed them to grow and develop in a way that didn't change who they were as individuals. The entire cast of characters was endearing, and the side characters actually added to the story rather than serving as fillers.
There were some communication problems between Grace and Phoebe that bothered me throughout the book, including avoiding talking about things that needed to be talked about. While the miscommunication trope was alive and well, I actually think it managed to add to the story as a whole in many instances because it made sense with the characters and their personalities/identities.
As for the soccer aspect of the book, there was a decent amount of gameplay and terminology, but I know little about soccer and was able to follow it. I think it made the story drag a little bit, but I also want to acknowledge that soccer was important to the relationship so its inclusion was necessary.
This was really just a feel-good book that I enjoyed reading.

Meryl Wilsner is fast becoming a must read especially given her most recent sports romance, Cleat Cute.

Wilsner's new characters, Grace and Phoebe, are everything you'd want in a romantic queer pairing. She is also super respectful of the neurodivergent conditions of the characters.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for an honest review.

When I started this book I had just finished Ted Lasso and was emotionally not ready to let the feeling of soccer (football) go. I started this awhile ago, but opened it up again at work and forgot where I was for a solid hour (thank goodness it was a slow day!) Am I the freak who reads the smutty chapter at work with a straight face? Yes, yes I am. Did I want to be? No, but I just could not put it down.

I read Mistakes Were Made and was obsessed with this so I just knew Cleat Cute was gonna be amazing and oh so spicy. I love Maryl Wisner's writing, and she is quite possibly my most favorite sapphic author out there.

I related so hard to Grace. As someone with sensory issues and not the most public or talkative, I find it safe to say that Grace is my spirit animal. However, I did want to mention that it felt... sudden, the way her autism was brought up/hinted at. It really wasn't until Phoebe was in her apartment that it clicked. I don't know, maybe it was just me not noticing, but it felt very much like... "Hi I'm Grace, I play soccer, I'm grumpy and don't like new people and- I DONT LIKE THESE SOUNDS OR YOU SO CLOSE AND MY SKIN IS SO SENSITIVE YOURS FEELS LIKE SAND PAPER PLEASE OH GOD STOP TOUCHING ME and man I really love soccer and women and soccer." It just felt so rushed and loud out of nowhere. I do relate to Grace and thought it was such a nice way to see representation for people like me, but it was also really shoved into your face at the last moment.
Now Phoebe... whooooooo Phoebe. She has a dirty fucking mouth and I am HERE for it. She had me kicking my feet and squealing and giggling and twirling my hair. The way she talks is unmatched. God, I love women, and moreover I love Phoebe - Phenom - Matthews.
Like I said I am obsessed with this author's writing and they really made another great hit. I'm excited for their next new release and will be anxiously waiting for it!

Cleat Cute follows two professional women soccer players - Grace Henderson, the long standing star player and Phoebe Matthews, a recent college graduate and new addition to Grace's team. The two women navigate their different personalities and obvious attraction to one another while gearing up for a new season and upcoming World Cup.

This book was so sweet and absolutely right up my alley. I really like soccer and I felt like this book had just the right amount so that it felt believable that the characters were soccer players but it was never overwhelmingly about soccer. I loved getting some descriptions of gameplay and practice, but we never had to slog through a play-by-play of a whole game which was nice. I was rooting for Grace and Phoebe from the start, their personalities were so fun together and I loved seeing them get to know one another. Their romance kept me on my toes and I found it fun and silly to watch them struggle with miscommunications. Getting to see the story unfold from both of their perspectives was also really fun, especially through those miscommunication moments.

I'll admit that I was a little nervous about the spice level. I'm pretty picky about spicy scenes in books and often find that my tolerance for spice is lower than others. But honestly, this one felt just right for me. There were definitely several quite spicy scenes but they never felt over the top. I think Meryl Wilsner did an incredible job of keeping a lot of spicy content in but still letting scenes end before they went too far.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves sapphic love stories with a decent amount of spice and to any soccer lovers!

After reading Mistakes Were Made, I had high expectations for this book and unfortunately, it missed the mark for me. I found some of the references to plot points to be overly repetitive. I was expecting more spice and less fade to black. I don't know the sport of soccer very well, so I didn't understand many of the references or sport structure. I felt like it could have been explained a bit better. (For example, I have no idea what a "cap" is or why it is significant.) I loved the representation, the descriptions of what it is to be in a sapphic relationship, and I loved how the characters loved each other as they are without needing to change themselves. But overall, this book just wasn't for me. I hope others enjoy it though, because I do think there are some great things in this book for the right audience. As I'm not leaving a positive review, I will not be sharing on my social sites.

First, thank you for the arc and being able to read this book.

I had some trouble getting into the story. It is written in third person pov and that is and can be distracting.

However, the over all story was great. Learning more about soccer and athletes as a woman is always wonderful

I will say the chacters were okay. Parts were a bit annoying. I don’t think Grace should have bullied Phoebe about her adhd diagnosis but I understand where she was coming from.

The relationship was good and the other characters, were a nice addition.

It was good and I will probably buy it.

First of all, I would like to thank NetGalley for the ARC but wish to press that all opinions remain my own.

Meryl Wilsner has officially become an author to watch for me, and I highly anticipate any future works. This book worked for me so well. I was immediately inthralled and could barely put it down long enough to write notes. I do want to note in my ARC I did find a typo on page 19.

We have Phoebe, a soccer player who has never played professionally and is a fun-loving flirty redhead who joins the New Orleans soccer team. We also have Grace, captain of the New Orleans team who is a bit reserved and set in her ways.

This book uses the grumpy/sunshine trope spectacularily, and has two women who respects eachother's limits and boundaries. I absolutely love their interactions especially around the bet, I feel it showed their personalities really well.

I do wish we'd had more scenes at the training camp, it felt like we missed some important interactions. I loved the banter and I have to mention the sex scenes were really hot.

In short, I really adored this book and think if you love romance at all, this will be a win for you.

Could not put this book down!!! It’s a fantastic story with representation and female storylines. I would very much recommend this to all my friends but especially the ones that love women’s soccer like me! Would read again

I enjoyed this book, but I didn’t LOVE this book. There were a few things that distracted me from fully enjoying this book.

I’ll start with the things I liked about this book! First off, I did like the relationship dynamic between the two main characters. I loved how they cared about one another in their own ways, checked in on each other, and I loved the flirty scenes. So cute. I also liked the representation of neurodivergent characters, and the way that the author did it. I thought it was important that the conversations about Pheobes ADHD were explored, and that Grace considered her own diagnoses as well.

The steamy scenes were GOOD. and I mean good. I’ve been looking for good sapphic books after I read Imogen,Obviously and this one was more my speed, as it was more mature.

However, there were some things I didn’t love about the book. Some of the dialogue was cheesy/cringy, and although that’s to be expected in romance novels, it felt a like a little much. I also felt like the internal monologues were too much at times. I totally understand why they were put in, as both characters are neurodivergent and tend to think at 10x speed. My brain works the same way. But it can be difficult to follow along with when reading these scenes. I found them relatable, but also just a lot to focus on.

Overall, I enjoyed the book! I’ve heard a lot of hype about this author and I will for sure be reading more books of theirs. *thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the copy*!

Final Rating: 3.5 stars

Cleat Cute by Meryl Wisner is a cute sapphic sports romance. Grace Henderson has been the star of the US Women's National soccer team for the last ten years, even though she's only 26, and Phoebe Matthews is a bubbly rising new star that seems to threaten Grace's spot for the upcoming World Cup.

My major highlight is all of the queer supporting characters, both on the team and close friends and family. Meryl Wilsner wove in multiple conversations around the word 'lesbian' and what it means to both Phoebe and Grace. This was very refreshing because even in sapphic books, some authors don't use the word lesbian, even though that is how the character is described.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF. I really liked the premise but the writing did not work for me at all. It wouldn't be fair to the book if I finished reading and gave it a low rating.

i loved this!! it was exactly what i needed! i’ve never really enjoyed the grumpy x sunshine trope but i am obsessed with Grace & Phoebe!! Grace’s hard exterior melting away when she was with Phoebe literally made me squeal! i will read anything Meryl writes, im sat for them.

This book was cute for the overall story line. This story does include soccer but it is more of a background idea and the two main characters are the focus. The growth in the relationship is good. I also like the incorporation of mental health and the normalization of it. I found some of this book to be repetitive but overall liked it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Meryl Wilsner for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

I gotta admit that I’m not the hugest sports fan BUT I was very drawn to this book by its gorgeous cover. And even though it is actually centred around soccer, it’s not really the main focus. Both main characters, Phoebe and Grace, are fantastic, and they both have an amazing chemistry from the very first moment they met, and I loved reading how they relationship developed, so naturally and drama free, in all honestly. Cleat Cute is one of the best sapphic romance books worth reading.

At this point, I'll read absolutely anything Meryl writes. Anything with comparisons to Ted Lasso are right up my alley and I devoured this book in a few hours. 100/10, will recommend to everyone I know.

This book!! I do not care about soccer at all, but this sapphic, soccer book is everything!

If you like grumpy sunshine, forced proximity, and lots of spice for sure pick this one up. Grace is serious and a celebrity in the soccer world that hates social media and likes to keep everything about her life private. Phoebe is the rookie trying to prove herself, has a crush on Grace, is out publicly, and loves TikTok. If you don’t like books that mention TikTok, I still say read this because it’s not all she talks about but wanted to forewarn you. I generally don’t like books that talk about it, but I loved what the author did here with it.

Overall I really loved this book. It’s so feel good and even gave me chills during the epilogue!