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!

This was... really not good. I thought it had so much potential, considering the popularity of women's soccer in recent years, but it just wasn't for me. It felt like the sapphic version of Everything for You by Chloe Liese. I had a major issue with it in the beginning, before the "plot" started:

"It's better than Teddy's usual bet, though, which is to make Phoebe wash his binder. He always waits until after working out to collect, the asshole."

This line not only made me worried for fictional Teddy's health, but also concerned me with the inaccurate or misleading information it communicates to the reader. You really shouldn't be wearing your everyday binder while exercising. It's not safe. And if you absolutely HAVE to wear a binder, you should size up. I'm not sure if there were sensitivity readers involved (and I'm not sure if the author wears a binder themself), but I think they would have caught this and sought clarification or rewording. Being vague does a disservice to newly-out transmasculine people. How does Teddy safely bind while working out? Does Teddy always wear a larger binder size? I know it seems like I'm getting caught up on a meaningless detail (and the detail IS meaningless to the plot), but if you're going to throw this in there, you gotta make sure it's accurate. I did like the unapologetic queer representation.

After reading other early reviews, I decided to DNF this book. Although I appreciate the inclusion of mental health challenges, I do not like how it was addressed. I also was not rooting for Phoebe and Grace's relationship. This was my first Meryl Wilsner book, and if their other books are written similarly, it will likely be my last. I find it really hard to connect to third person dual-POV books. This book had SO much (read: TOO much) inner monologue, I would have preferred for it to be written in first person. That also probably would have solved the pronoun issue (using their first names every other sentence to differentiate between "she's").

I think you might like this book if you are a fan of Jackie J. on TikTok (iykyk). In fact, Jackie J. should read this book. I didn't make a very enticing sales pitch, but I just might not be the intended audience!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

4.5 Stars

I love soccer! While the World Cup this year was kind of depressing for me, a long time USA fan, there was amazing soccer being played that needs to be celebrated. When I saw this book, I was extremely excited to get more soccer. This is the first book by Wilsner and I can safely say I am a fan.

This book follows Grace, a veteran in the world of soccer and the face of Women's soccer in the US, and Phoebe, the newest member to the league team and National team. Phoebe, an outgoing, class clown initially rubs the introverted Grace, but as they spend more time, their natural chemistry goes off the chart.

While I like Phoebe, Grace is who stole the show for me. I feel so connected to Grace. The absolute cluslessness she had with social cues and relationships, was so familiar to me and it was wonderful to see my own way of thinking presented.

What I love the most about this book is that it did not go where I thought is was going. Without spoilers, I thought the direction the story was going was going to be where most contemporary romances go, but it didn't and that made me so happy. Its amazing finding books that break out of the mold while still providing a well written and enticing story.

I would highly recommend it for fans of sport romances. If you don't know much or anything about soccer, do not fear, actual soccer terms is very minimal, it is mostly focused on the characters.

4.5 rounded up

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for an e arc of this one.

When Phoebe gets the chance to play soccer professionally after college, she also gets the chance to play with the amazing Grace Henderson...who Phoebe may or may not have a poster of in her childhood bedroom. And yeah, maybe they both find each other incredibly hot, but the focus is obviously soccer, not a relationship...right?

This was so stinking good I absolutely love the voices of both Phoebe and Grace. I love the neurodivergent rep (Grace is autistic and Phoebe has ADHD) and the discussions about that later in the book.

The relationship between the two feels like it develops really organically and the miscommunication is kind of good? Which I don't usually like but it was well done and funny.

This book did make me laugh out loud a few times and made me cry once, which I don't usually expect out of a romcom but I am also a bit of a baby.

I did think there was like a little too much of the sex scenes but that would probably not be a deterrent for most people!

CW: sexual content, unmanaged ADHD

This is my first Meryl Wilsner read, and it definitely won't be the last!

I knew I was going to like this book based on the premise alone. Grace is an established, professional soccer player, and Phoebe is just starting her professional career - and happens to have always been infatuated with Grace. Phoebe clearly looks up to her as a role model way before they're ever together on the field. I adored their characters. Grace is often timid, not very talkative, and is incredibly passionate about her career - often placing the needs of her teammates above her own. Phoebe is an excellent team player, she's extremely outgoing and not afraid to go after what she wants - she's wildly determined and headstrong.

Grace and Phoebe are complete opposites, and you'd never think to place them together, but it's so clear that they bring out the best in each other. It's evident throughout the story. Both characters are struggling to take care of themselves in different ways - but they both help each other in positive ways. I love how carefully these characters are written with all of their quirks, mannerisms and good and bad habits. I appreciate how Meryl discusses Phoebe and Grace being neurodivergent - and I really liked how Meryl incorporated the positive outcomes of using medication to help Phoebe. Introducing new medicine to improve my mental health is something that I personally struggled with for a long time, and to see it suggested in an informative and casual way by Grace was validating for me.

I've said in the past that third person narration can be difficult for me to read, but I flew through this book effortlessly. Even though it's in third person narration, you can distinctly tell that each chapter is a certain character's point of view. I loved being able to know what was going on in Phoebe's and Grace's heads at any given moment. The inner thoughts of the characters added so much depth and only made the characters seem more real. I think that's what I loved most about this book - all of the events and relationships between the characters were so real. Grace and Phoebe are very relatable characters, I know I saw myself in some of their habits.

I'm looking forward to reading more of Meryl's books! I love their writing style - and they write excellent spice too. I couldn't get enough of Grace and Phoebe's steamy scenes. Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I received an uncorrected digital galley via netgalley.com in exchange for an unbiased review.
***Edited review. Originally posted as 3*, now rounding up from 3.5* ***

On paper I should love this book:
I'm a big fan of Meryl ever since listening to the audiobook for "Mistakes were Made".
I also enjoyed the audiobook for "Something to Talk About"
I played soccer, had undiagnosed adhd most of my life. Have dealt with soccer injuries at inopportune times, was briefly in the ODP pipeline, etc.

...I liked this book, but it wasn't satisfying. Like eating a donut (or a beignet?) It's at times sweet, but it's airy and you're still hungry, despite being over 300 pages.

I can only imagine how hard it would be to write a novel about characters on a soccer team due to the sheer numbers of players (11 per team play at a time), and at some times it was hard to differentiate players, some were completely forgotten about, and a few times, I forgot that Sorrell and Kayla were the same person. More than a few times I had to scroll back a few pages to re-orient.

There was something mentioned super close to the end of the book that seemed to come out of nowhere.
****editing review: since this isn't a secret (Meryl has literally shared this in promotional materials) both MCs are neurodivergent. Phoebe has ADHD and Grace while not officially diagnosed in the book was written as autistic. I spotted Phoebe as ADHD from a mile away for so many reasons that I can recognize and identify with... it wasn't subtle. Grace's Autism was less apparent to me, but after reading the book again with that in mind, I could see the threads as they were being woven in. From other reviews I've seen, self-identifying autists have seen themselves in her representation. After re-reading after my initial sprint through because I was very excited to devour it, I recognize that I was perhaps too harsh in my critique as a whole, so I wanted to update it****

I like Meryl and won't hesitate to read their future books, and I appreciated the chance to be in some ways represented by the characters of this story (Meryl always seems to represent a different part of my identity in each of their books), but narratively speaking this one didn't hit it for me. It's still worth reading if you find the premise interesting though!

i really loved this book. being a soccer girl my whole life, i really appreciated a lot of the shouts towards the game, its culture, and the atmosphere of being a womans soccer player and being on a womens soccer team. I really feel like the author hit that stuff on the head and it was very well executed. Other than loving the soccer aspect of this book, i really enjoyed Grace and Phoebe. Both are really interesting characters, in a sense of learning about them and their quirks as the reader was a rollercoaster. And i don't say this in a bad way, i think it gave us a realistic experience of when you meet someone new and you really have to get down to their roots to figure them out. This is how Grace and Phoebe both were for me, and it was because they were both working through some toughs things that they didn't want to share to themselves (internally) and each other. There really isn't an age gap here (4 years) but i think there is maturity wise. Think of who you were coming right out of college, and the person you were at 26. For me, those are two totally different people!! hahaha. So i really liked getting that reflective moment in this book too. Also, both Phoebe and Grace are neurodivergent, Phoebe with undiagnosed ADHD and Grace also wanting to learn more about being on the spectrum. I think the author did a great job showing how each character responded to the possibility of the diagnosis for themselves.

This book is a five star for me because everything i listed before just adds so much more depth to the book rather than the romance. Of course the spice is here and very well done, and i really enjoyed Phoebe and Grace's love story. So when the romance is great and the author gives us depth to the characters, has moments of reflection, and sparks the reader to educate themselves on topics covered in the book... thats a five star read for me.

Cleat Cute was a cute sapphic romance and a good way to bury my sadness over the end of the Women's World Cup. Two soccer players - one veteran and one rookie - are thrown together for club and country and find a growing attraction off the field.

While marketed as a rivals-to-lovers romcom, that's not really the trope here. The two characters, one a veteran player sick of the fame and one an excited rookie, are never truly rivals per se. I appreciated the two very different perspectives and experiences that each character was bringing to the story. I felt like the plot got a bit repetitive though and the middle dragged a bit. I also thought the ADHD plotline should have been given more attention and handled with much more care.

Overall, I would recommend this to people who like sports romances.

First, let me say that I know this is working for a lot of people, and I really love that for everyone! I also love that there are finally starting to be enough sapphic books that I don't feel like I need to be willing to recommend every one of them anymore.

So the good - liked the grumpy/sunshine dynamic. Meryl sure can write a sex scene, that is true. No third act breakup, and the "miscommunication" that was set up partway through ended up being dealt with in a fun, lighthearted way.

What didn't work for me - I found Grace to be a uniquely frustrating character. Her distrust of Phoebe never rang true, even when we were finally told where it came from. She resented that everyone in her life "only saw her as a soccer player," but also never allowed anyone to engage with her about anything else, even when they tried. The ADHD/autism representation had the potential to be important and interesting, but felt shoehorned in during the third act to create conflict. The power imbalance (captain/teammate/childhood idol) was never dealt with or acknowledged, so I don't understand why it was set up in the first place.

Overall, I can see why some people enjoyed this book, but I rolled my eyes too many times to be able to wholeheartedly recommend it.

I really wanted to love this one. It had everything I love in a romance novel, a sapphic relationship, soccer, women in sports representation.

There were definitely parts of this I loved, especially getting to experience New Orleans with both women, but parts of the story fell a bit flat for me.

I felt like the two female main characters lacked an emotional connection. It seemed like every time they needed to have an actual real conversation, they just ended up having sex. So while their physical connection was great, they lacked it emotionally for me.

I definitely enjoyed reading it and I am excited to read more from this author.

3.5 stars
3 spice

If you're looking for a great sports-related contemporary romance, add Cleat Clute to your list. Teammates on a women's professional soccer team navigate their feelings for each other while also trying to do their jobs as elite athletes. Very steamy. Good LGBT representation as well as neurodivergent characters. I've read both of the author's other queer romance books and this is a great addition to the list to pick up on it's September 19 publication date.

Thank you to. St Martin's and Netgalley for the electronic advanced copy.

4⭐️

<b>One of the downsides of being a lesbian athlete is other women are always doing hot things around you.</b>

Grace Henderson is a soccer star and veteran to the game. She’s very serious about soccer and all aspects of her life. Phoebe Matthews is a rookie who has played in college, but has now caught the eye of the national team and is starting on the same team as Grace for New Orleans. Phoebe is chaotic and bubbly, and even refers to herself as loud, obnoxious, and gay (it’s like, her brand). Grace and Phoebe seem like complete opposites, but quickly realize that they have strong feelings towards each other, although both claim to not be interested in a relationship.

I have never cared about soccer so much in my life. This was really cute and fun to read! I really enjoyed the opposites attract aspect to this, and how sweet and soft Grace is for Phoebe. A great queer sports romance!!

<b>There’s something about the idea of taking a woman so put together completely apart.</b>