Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner
Pub day is 9/19 🎉

I'm not sporty at all, and sports romance isn't generally a favorite category for me, but make it queer and suddenly I'm interested!!

Phoebe Matthews is the newest player for the New Orleans professional women's soccer team, the Krewe. She has looked up to the team captain, Grace Henderson, for years and had her poster on her bedroom wall growing up (a celebrity romance micro-trope I love!!!)
As they gear up for the upcoming World Cup, the two become closer, work out a little friends with benefits arrangement, and oops--catch feelings!!

What I loved:
⚽️ The grumpy x sunshine dynamic was chef's kiss. Phoebe was so adorable to me. I love a sunshine who can't shut up! Grace was sometimes a tad meaner than I like 'em, but for the most part, I liked these archetypes for this story.
⚽️ I really loved the New Orleans setting. I've wanted to go to NOLA forever now, and the king cake, beignets, restaurants, and Mardi Gras moments made me even more excited to get there someday.
⚽️ This book reminded me of one of my favorite romances, Everything For You by Chloe Liese, which is also a soccer teammate romance with one MC being the other one's idol and the idol being in physical pain or injured.
⚽️ I love that Grace's character arc leads her to figuring out what boundaries are needed for her to enjoy the game again.
⚽️ The chemistry between these two, the flirting, the bets, and the steam were all so well done. Hot hot heat! I love Meryl Wilsner's writing!

What didn't work for me:
⚽️ While the chemistry was there, I wasn't always convinced that Grace liked Phoebe as a person. Eventually we see more hints that she does; missing her, desiring her in her space, telling her that she loves her quirks etc. But for too much of the book I wanted Grace to admit warmer feelings--even just to herself.
⚽️ It's a bit messy. I felt overwhelmed by the conflicts. And if the reader is going to be put through these conflicts, then they should have been more resolved. The experience was like, "oh no, that's not good. That's going to be a big problem for them." And after two lines of dialogue that does *not* even begin to clear things up, the characters decide to smooch and let it go. 🤔 I think I would have been more convinced about their HEA if they were given some kind of honeymoon period. In the short beats of this plot where you could call it honeymoon, the conflict looms too large. The reader is always aware of a huge miscommunication that will inevitably blow up, among other smaller unresolved conflicts between the characters....

Overall, I felt so invested in the first half, but I wasn't a huge fan of where the second half went. *I cared a lot* though and couldn't put it down, so even though there were issues for me, I still highly recommend giving this a try if you like sapphic sports romance!! (3.75/4 stars)

I thought it was a pretty sweet and funny romance books.

The writing style was very engaging and easy to follow. I love it!!

I LOVED this book so much it had the perfect levels of cuteness, romance, sports, and spice. I loved the character development and how although they both started as somewhat on dimensional, especially phoebe grew on me as we learned more about her and how her actual relationships dynamic shifts w Grace as she is able to top Grace and gives grace the room to be taken care of for once. i think their relationship was perfectly balanced and my only complaint is that I would love to have a sequel and if not them, maybe one of their fellow queer teammates in the same world. Overall 12/10 one of the best wlw books ive ever read

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review

this is my first meryl wilsner novel and i liked it! good sapphic romances are hard to come by, especially spicy ones. i did become kind of a skim reader during the sports scenes but that’s typical for me.

overall it was a pretty good book! nothing life changing, but a fun read 😊

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Honestly this book had me at baby-girlifying the Grumpy character.

Really loved the dynamic of the romantic interests- hyperactive chatty red headed sunshine girl and the reclusive fame hating grumpy one. And honestly, worth mentioning, I’ve never been into soccer before and don’t honestly know much about rules or positions, but this book made those bits easy to follow and interesting.

Very inclusive book with lovable background characters. Good split of sports ambition, identity struggles, family struggles, even some financial struggles, and romance (obviously). Could totally see this becoming a series about various players on this national team!

Thanks for the story, totally recommend this!

Okay okay okay—you all NEED to add this sapphic romcom to your TBR immediately. It’s cute, it’s spicy, and the main characters were so fun to read about!

CLEAT CUTE easily gets five stars from me for so many reasons. Here are just a few:

🏳️‍🌈super queer!!
⚽️ it’s about two pro soccer players
🌶️ SO much spice, loved it
🧠 MCs dealing with undiagnosed neurodiversity
🌗opposites attract

And the best part? It comes out on September 19, which is coming up fast! Make sure you preorder it so you can read it as soon as it arrives on your doorstep ❤️

Ended up really liking this especially compared to their previous book! I thought the setting was so cute and I thought that the plot and characters really were fun to interact with. The sex scenes took a back seat (don’t worry there is still smut), and the author showed that they could write more than them. Thank you to NetGalley.

I don't read a lot of sports romances but this one had me hooked from the beginning. I loved the dynamic between our two main characters and watching them grow in their relationship. There were some aspects that fell flat for me, like the lack of plot due to focus on the romance and characters.

I received this copy through NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.
I do believe this is the first soccer centered/sports centered book I have read. This is not an area I have a lot of knowledge in, but that did not matter in the reading of the story. Even having never seen more than a couple of clips from a soccer game, in my life, I was able to get excited with the team about play time and easily pick up on the lingo. The relationship in the story is sweet, with a lot of communication issues. I guess that is realistic to real life, but man did I want to shake them a few times when I could see where the communication was lacking and the inevitable problem it was going to lead to. Over all this is a sweet and easy story filled with strong/driven characters. If you enjoy that and romance with misunderstandings then this could be a read for you.

3.5

If your looking for
~ wlw relationship
~ sports romance
~ grumpy x sunshine
~ talking about their problems
~ spice
~ a fun time

I would definitely recommend cleat cute. It was such a fun time reading because not only was it a romance but it dealt with Grace and Phoebes personal problems. And them working together to make sure each other is understood and cared for. It was honestly a warm hug ❤️

Some cons tho was that starting chapters it took me a while to figure out who’s pov were in and also there was a lot of inner monologue to the point where it kinda bored me but I do see why it was there but it dragged sometimes after a while.

This book made me want to start watching woman’s soccer for real because this book played out like a movie in my head.

Thank you St. Martin's Griffin and netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

thank you st. martin press and netgalley for giving me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

rating: 4 stars

THIS WAS SO SO FUN AND EASY TO READ, like, soccer lesbians??? professional soccer lesbians on the national team??? YES YES. Its everything I was expecting. I love i can always trust Meryl to actually use the word LESBIAN.


THE REP WAS SO GOOD.

Lesbians, trans, nb, pan, bi, adhd, autism, it has everything and it does it beautifully.


PLEASE READ THIS!

This is a story about soccer veteran Grace Hendricks who’s on the USWNT and on a NOLA club team Krewes. Grace is a bit on the autism spectrum and is an introvert and completely private in her personal life. Phoebe Matthews is a new player on the Krewes team and hopes to make the National Team. Phoebe is loud and boisterous and loves teasing Grace.

Grace is bothered by Phoebe’s personality and tries to avoid her all the while finding herself drawn in by her happy go lucky attitude. They are complete opposites in most ways except their love for the game of soccer.

I like that Wilsner switched back and forth between Grace’s point of view and Phoebe’s for each chapter. This way we got to know what each was thinking and I think it helped develop their personalities.

Grace was my favorite character in this story and together they make a cute couple. The Krewes teammates were fun and both MCs had supportive families.

There is some soccer in the story and lots of hotness between the MCs. I enjoyed the setting in NOLA and all the great restaurants and unique food to the city.

This is my second Wilsner book and I’ll be reading more in the future.

ARC received from NetGalley for an honest and voluntary review.

A good romance for anyone who loves women's soccer, steamy shower scenes, and a grumpy sunshine trope. The writing felt a little clunky and I had a hard time liking the characters but it was still a fun read. 3.5/5 stars.

First book I've read by the author but it certainly won't be the last.
Wilsner's writing easily pulled me into this romance with the backdrop of soccer. Love and soccer are front and centre but neither overwhelms the other. Grace, the veteran player now injured is faced with a newbie player in Phoebe. Two players but only one position on the national team. Who will win, the upstart or the veteran? If only it was that simple! I was treated to a fine romance between Grace and Phoebe with the game of soccer beautifully interspersed in the storyline. Location descriptions and events were on point but I loved the connection, growing feelings and caring, the emotional ride and back and forth between two women who shouldn't click but eventually do. The book cover works too!!
A sports romance that hits the spot.

* I love how realistic both our characters are when it comes to romance
* Both perspectives lends itself to the way the woman feel each other and how each feels in the moment
* Enemies to friends to lovers is my favorite

Seeing Grace and Phoebe evolve from the characters we see them as in the beginning to people that grow in their relationship for the better is amazing! Grace learns to play and live her life for herself rather than others. While Phoebe learns what real love feels like and how she wants to fight for it.

Having a sapphic romance centered around soccer and an extra level for me of appreciation. The stereo types are funny for both soccer and sapphics. But this is also the first books I’ve read like this. Having a new relationship on top of the life being soccer adds for realistic twists and turns.

Grace learning to trust again was honestly one of my favorite things. Being hurt by a person changed everything and she shut down. Meeting Phoebe allowed her to discover love again.

Cleat Cute was cleat cute. All her life Phoebe Matthews wanted to play for the world women's soccer league. And her idol was Grace Henderson who was captain of her team and soccer extraordinaire. So when Phoebe is recruited to play professional soccer, she is flabbergasted when she finally gets to meet Grace and to actually play on her team.

Not long after they meet they have their first sexual encounter in the locker room. Grace was burned in her relationship with her teammate, Kelsey, and as a result was phobic about relationships. And Phoebe has never been in a serious relationship. That said, they decided to become friends with benefits. But that didn't sit well with Phoebe because she has developed intense feelings for Grace. And as it turns out, Grace, too, had feelings for Phoebe. Phoebe was totally out and Grace was not.

Finally, they acknowledge their feelings for each other and Grace does an interview where she comes out. She did it to prove a point to Phoebe.

This book was really cute and was a delightful read. I really liked what the author did with the characters. They were very believable. And the angst between Phoebe and Grace was enough to hold my attention. I gave the book five stars.

From this point forward, please consider this page an official @merylwilsner fan account. Thank you so much to both Wilsner and @netgalley for this ARC of Cleat Cute! I could not be more in love with this soccer romance.

What I LOVED:

⚽ The absolute banter of it all. There is no one that writes such sparkling dialogue as Meryl Wilsner. Between the absolute best and worst flirting I've ever seen with Grace and Phoebe, and the casual dialogue between our leads and their team mates, I was often literally snort laughing. It was so easy to feel like you were in the room with a bunch of cool ass World Cup soccer players joking like true friends really do with one another.
⚽ Grace and Matthews are the most adorably dysfunctionally functional couple I have ever read. For two women that are seemingly never on the same page with where they are in their relationship, they manage to be exactly what the other person needs throughout the story. I love that their dysfunction was sweet and led to greater growth between them, rather than being toxic and unhealthy as sometimes transpires in romance.
⚽ The pure STEAM of it all!!! The way they write sex scenes just 🥵🥵🥵 I was hooked from the very first bench scene (IYKYK) and was hooked further with every moment of caring these two take for one another. The focus on taking care of one another and making the other person feel good, building trust and not needing "reciprocity" or feeling pressure was so incredible to read within such a steamy novel.
⚽ Grace and Phoebe may be one of my new favorite couples of all time. Their complete love for one another as individuals, soccer players, and as romantic partners really got me. Both characters are also so well developed that as a reader I was invested in both of their separate journeys, as well as theirs together. They felt just as important, especially for Grace's storyline.

What I disliked:

LITERALLY NOTHING, HUSH YOUR BEAUTIFUL FACE!!

This choir nerd is officially considering watching the World Cup after this incredible romance. Cleat Cute is out September 19th! Trust me, you don't want to skip this one.

Meryl Wilsner just doesn’t miss, huh?

Cleat Cute is romantic and sweet, with incredible neurodivergence rep, a sports romance without being excessively sporty, and just SO GOOD.

Phoebe is a rookie, Grace is a veteran. They meet, and sparks fly on a soccer field. It’s beautiful.

I think my favorite thing about this aside from the IMPECCABLE spicy scenes (🥵🥵) is how well these two women work together. It’s very much an opposites attract situation, in a “we’re on the same team and I have experience so take heed”. They LISTEN to each other, they learn from each other. There’s no drama for the sake of drama, there’s very little angst, and because of that, I devoured this.

Also, Wilsner’s prose is identical to the way I think and process, so I, as a neurodivergent woman, really appreciate reading about neurodivergent women and seeing that representation really hit home for me.

Also also, this was my first sapphic sports romance, and I think it’s a cool genre. Props to Wilsner for this excellent entrance into that space.

Firstly, Meryl Wilsner really know how to write a spicy sapphic romance!!! I really enjoyed reading this book and cannot wait to annotate my favorite parts in physical copy! The love story between Phoebe and Grace is very chaotic but in a good way. There are not many sapphic books with neurodivergent main characters and the representation makes me so happy! My only complaint is that I wish it was explored even further.

DNF- I’m sorry I tried to like it. I loved the spice. But the characters felt one-dimensional and just not interesting. I really wanted to love it.