Thank you to St. Martin’s Press & NetGalley for providing an advanced free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I think Meryl Wisner might be the author that bankrupts me. After finishing Cleat Cute, I realized that she is another addition to my list of auto-buy authors. This story was so cute and it was the perfect romantic read for me as a sapphic soccer fan (can’t wait to see the USWNT hit the field later this month!).

Cleat Cute is a sweet, sexy romance between two soccer lesbians. Phoebe is a young, up-and-coming soccer player excited to make her mark in the professional and international league. A class clown with more energy than a puppy, she is buzzing to get on the pitch and meet the people she has looked up to for years. Grace is a star. She has played with the USWNT for ten years, even though she’s only 26. But she is worried an injury might bench her career for good. It doesn’t help that Phoebe might take her spot. Although they start enemies, they quickly become friends and something more as they prepare for the World Cup. It is a wonderful blend of funny and steamy!

One thing I really appreciated about this book is this is the first time I’ve seen a romance with neurodivergent characters. Both Phoebe and Grace have neurodivergent tendencies and it was nice to see people who live and act more like me take center stage in a romance novel! There are so many things I love about this book and highly recommend you get a copy when it comes out September 19th!

Pairs well with a soccer game, kissing in the locker room, and the rush of running on the pitch.

Wow this is my favorite romance of 2023 so far.

This f/f romance book follows Phoebe in her rookie season on the woman’s national soccer team and Grace who has been on the team for several years and is a public figure in the women’s soccer world.

What worked
- [ ] Angst and pining on and off the field
- [ ] Steam
- [ ] Real stakes with both their athletic careers
- [ ] Both MCs were given equal POV time and equally developed arcs
- [ ] Both MCs had both personal and professional growth in addition to their romance storyline

Haven’t rooted for a couple in a romance book this much in a while.

If I had to give one criticism it would be that one of the arguments (instigated by Grace in the last fourth) seemed forced just for the sake of having another argument but it didn’t hinder my overall enjoyment of the book

This is Wilsner’s best book by far. Publishes September 19, 2023.

3.5 rounded down. This is my first read from Meryl and I thought it was a fun sports romance! The spice here is SO GOOD, though it does end up taking quite a bit of screen time when I wish there was a taaad more emotional relationship building. BUT EVEN SO, I just about died when Phoebe took charge and was downright DIRTY in bed. I always love a good grumpy x sunshine romance, but love it even more when the sunshine is the one in control of the pacing of things, as I'm used to the opposite happening. 🥹

But I must admit it took me quite a long while to warm up to Grace because of how brash and kind of rude she is, especially toward Phoebe who is obviously super likeable and adorable. I had to remember that Grace became a professional player as a teen, and definitely is in a unique position compared to Phoebe, who felt more relatable. So I did find this to be great too! It felt realistic because some people are just assholes or socially awkward on the surface, but there's kind of a nuance or reason as to why. And sports players do have really unique lives, so the way Grace is portrayed here stood out to me in that way too. But even with that, I did think that Phoebe was a bit of a stronger character compared to Grace, so that kind of dampened my reading experience. I feel I'm a little tough on Grace, but Phoebe just endeared me a bunch so I was kind of like "Grace, why are you being so mean to Phoebe when she's just trying so hard?" 😅

I also loved how Meryl also touched on some real issues in the league too. I remember when I first heard about how female soccer players needed to have a second job to make ends meet, which was CRAZY to me. The various scenes of practice and games was pretty fun too, as it was sprinkled in. I enjoyed most the side characters, but did wish some of them had a bit more of a presence. Both MC's families were great though.

I didn't quite love Grace and Phoebe's dynamic the whole time as I felt the friends with benefits was a bit too long and I didn't like how there was miscommunication with that, but it didn't hurt as much as other miscommunication plots, hahaha. I also didn't like how the blurb kiiiind of covered the entirety of the book? (Not everything about it at least, so that's nice.) But the trajectories of both characters was pretty decent still, and I did end up reading this all in one day. The ending was pretty cute! I'd try another title by Meryl in the future too.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book for the first third. I found the characters to be compelling and was immediately interested in their stories and how they were going to come together. There was good banter between the characters and I also enjoyed the diverse cast of secondary characters.

However, I found myself losing interest at around the halfway point. There wasn’t enough going on, and I knew where the book was going to go/what the conflict was going to be. It was too predictable and one-dimensional. There should have been more plot lines to keep the story interesting. I also feel that there are things that should have been explored more, as they were mentioned but never expanded on and would have made the story more expansive.

I did enjoy the representation of neurodivergence. It was very obvious to me when I started the book that Phoebe had ADHD and that Grace was autistic, and I was glad that those two things turned out to be (mostly) canonically true. I wish that Grace’s autism was explored and mentioned more than once as an offhand possibility, as it really explains a lot of her character and why she interacts with the world the way she does.

Overall, this book was okay. It was entertaining enough, but I found myself skimming a lot of the scenes (particularly the spicy ones, as they were quite repetitive) and wishing for more the whole time. That being said, thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me access to this e-arc.

For me, this was a cute read. It was enjoyable for light entertainment.

Phoebe is an earnestly enthusiastic rookie and Grace is her serious, rule-following captain. Unlike the description says, they are not rivals. They're teammates on both the US national team and the New Orleans professional team. They're friendly, quickly move into a sexual relationship, then "friends with benefits." Neither of them want a romantic relationship or completely casual sex, so they fall somewhere in between. When they each start to catch feelings, it's pretty comical how it all shakes down with a large -- but thankfully not drawn out too long -- misunderstanding. The most compelling parts of the book to me were right at the end. I would have liked to see more of Phoebe and Grace leaning into their feelings and finally getting to play together in a game.

What worked for me:
- Phoebe's earnest enthusiasm
- Grace's journey toward setting boundaries and shedding what doesn't work for her
- Soccer talk
- Glimpses of other teammates/team dynamics (I wanted more!)
- Hair braiding
- New Orleans location

What didn't work for me (but might work for you):
- Jumping right into sex
- Talk during sex, including "baby girl" endearment
- Not enough interaction with supporting characters/friends
- Wrapped up too quickly

Overall, I liked this and would recommend for a cute, entertaining, light read. I imagine many readers would enjoy this as a palate cleanser. For me, 3 stars means I liked it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

As expected, I absolutely adored this story. I was so excited to read this title after loving other books by this author. She did not disappoint in delivering another love story that is full of depth and development between the two characters and is also super hot and steamy. I loved reading the blossoming relationship between Grace and Phoebe and really loved the dynamic of being able to read about two lovely neurodivergent women in love! I have zero interest in soccer and sports, so that plot line was a little.. uninteresting.. to me in particular, but everything else about this book was so wonderful and captivating that I really didn’t mind the spots theme. Will read any book written in the future by Meryl Wilsner! Thanks for giving us another beautiful and hot love story!!!

Did you ever watch Bend It Like Beckham? This sapphic soccer book follows grumpy/sunshine teammates who fall for each other. Cleat Cute is written in third person and I don’t like that because I feel as though it’s impersonal and I can’t get into a characters headspace. The banter between Phoebe and Grace is hilarious because they’re so different but they work. I wish the book was more, it was a cute story.

Cleat Cute was one of most highly anticipated novels for 2023, so I was ecstatic to receive an ARC! Overall, I really enjoyed it, but there were a few things that kept it from being 5 stars for me.

I'll start with things I loved: Obviously good queer rep is expected in a sapphic novel, but Wilsner has done a phenomenal job of representing the vast array of people that make up the queer community. One thing I've found a lot of Lgbtqia+ novels lacking is nonbinary rep, but not Cleat Cute! I also loved that there was even a married sapphic couple with a child. All around, they do a fantastic job with representation. Another thing that was well done was neurodivergent rep, particularly during intimate moments. The spicy scenes felt integral to the plot and character development while also being STEAMY AS HELL. Through Grace's character, Wilsner represented people who often struggle to finish as they become stuck in their heads during sex; I love that they included this aspect of Grace's character and I loved Phoebe's encouragement that it's not about getting to the finish line, but rather feeling good and and taken care of by your partner.

What didn't work for me: At times, the volume of internal monologue made me wish for more showing rather than telling. I think Grace and Phoebe's relationship could have been deepened from more action/conversation than "Grace likes that Phoebe does this" and vice versa. Additionally, as a casual reader that doesn't have more than a surface-level knowledge of soccer, some of the field scenes were hard to follow as I didn't fully grasp what was happening; however, none of the confusion impeded my understand of the plot as a whole.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was cute! I love Meryl Wilsner but this just wasn’t my fave of their books. I don’t know if it is the sports setting that I wasn’t into or the clear neurodivergence that was not actually ever mentioned (which could have opened up so much discussion and dialogue about neurodivergence in the public eye and in sports), I just was a little let down.

Also I really hate the miscommunication trope and that whole thing bothered me so much.

I absolutely adored this book!
•
Not only was it fun, flirty, and queer, it also touched on ADHD and possible Autism representation. I love a queer, neurodiverse story.
•
A rom-com that had me swooning and laughing out loud. Every character was so lovable (except two… if you read this you can tell me the two I didn’t like).
•
I “played” soccer as a kid. Played is in quotes because I spent my time either chasing butterflies or my coach, never actually actively playing soccer.
•
I am 100% invested in women’s soccer now after reading this book!
•
I will also be reading anything Meryl Wilsner writes!

"A sapphic rivals to lovers rom com for fans of Ted Lasso and A League of Their Own, where two soccer teammates are at odds before falling in love as their team gears up for the World Cup."

I thought the first half of this was great! Witty, fast-paced, steamy, and fun! I loved the soccer element, and it didn't feel necessary to know a lot about the soccer world to enjoy the plot. But, this book lost me in the back half. I didn't love the lack of clear communication between the two main characters- miscommunication trope to the EXTREME. And the conflict went from being about soccer-which was fun(!) to about Phoebe's health- which felt a little icky. I get what Wilsner was going for and I appreciate the effort, but approaching mental health in the way they chose here was not great. I can't say too much without giving away a plot point, but I feel like there would have been a better way to address this and it really left the ending feeling weird to me.
Very middle of the road romance to me, and I would definitely recommend "Mistakes Were Made" over "Cleat Cute".

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

This is a character driven book, and it is beautifully built around the two leads, and their motley crew of teammates and friends. It’s a story about what it means to be in a relationship, what it means to be yourself, and what it looks like to choose yourself and your needs over people’s expectations for you. Don’t get me wrong, as with other Meryl Wilsner titles this book is SPICY. There are more adult activities than there are plot points. I came into this story expecting the spice, but I was pleasantly surprised that I also got a heartwarming story of self-discovery, and some quality neurodivergence representation.

From the moment I met Phoebe I liked her because she felt familiar. I know some Pheobe’s in my life, and I have never seen them and their experiences represented authentically in a novel before. I will say that there are moments in this story where the neurodivergence and the impact it has on one’s personal and professional well-being are discussed. But those moments made Phoebe more real to me. I have had those moments and those struggles, and I have had people help me walk through them. True to character, Grace takes a little longer to get to know, but it is well worth the wait.

Grace and Phoebe work together in unexpected and wonderful ways. I admit that I was nervous about the power dynamic between a rookie player and the captain of the team entering a relationship. I won’t give spoilers here, but I will say that what starts as a sticky situation is quickly resolved and the story is less about two people in different stages of life, and more about how they encourage each other to be the best versions of themselves.

Overall, I give this book 5 stars. Loveable characters, great spice, and “Oh wow I’ve been reading for 3 hours oops” levels of investment.

Meryl Wilsner never fails me. I am always so drawn in by their writing, characters, and stories in general. Grace is an autistic lesbian who is the captain of a women’s soccer team, and Phoebe is the new recruit who has been her fan for years. Watching Phoebe build Grace’s trust while building both a friendship and an unexpected (for them) relationship was such a highlight for me. I also feel like I learned more about the game of soccer than I expected to, which was nice! I just want to start this book over again because I’m sad I don’t have any more Meryl Wilsner books to read!

Thank you Meryl Wilsner, St. Martin's Griffin, and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review!

I love Meryl Wilsner's writing style, especially when it comes to their characters! They are vulnerable, relatable, and it's honestly hard not to love them. The characters in "Cleat Cute" are no different. I don't want to give any spoilers, but usually I am not a fan of the miscommunication trope. When it comes to Phoebe and Grace, there is a lot of miscommunication. However, as we learn more about the characters, the miscommunication between them makes sense. I love their bond and how they learn to communicate with each other and their teammates.

This book was my first soccer romance and now I'm ready to read more. I loved "Cleat Cute" and can't wait to see what Meryl Wilsner writes next!

rating: 4 stars
spice: 3 peppers

What Bend it Like Beckham should have been like!

This was a fun grumpy/sunshine, dual POV, Sapphic sports romance set in New Orleans, What else could we possibly ask for? It was a good and easy read.

This book is a solid 3 stars for the plot, 3 stars for the spice. The description is pretty accurate, although I wouldn’t say this is an enemies to lovers, it’s just a team mates to lovers. I honestly think it’s closer to friends to lovers than enemies to lovers soooo

Grace has almost no depth as a character other than being a straight-faced grump? I did not vibe with her character at all. Phoebe is the classic sunshine, oversharing, energetic character. I thought this book was going to be more of an age gap romance, but I really enjoyed just the few year age difference between the two! It felt more genuine to how a teammates to lovers trope would play out.

What I liked in this book:
- Soccer! I think the terminology was really accurate and was nice to see the author did research on this.
- The pining and flirting between the two in the first portion of the book. Almost immediately the two MC’s joined a bet with each other, which created great reason for tension throughout the first half. I really liked the bets tbh :-)
- The fact there was neurodivergent rep. Throughout, I ASSUMED Phoebe has ADHD, but I never thought it was a take away from the story or would turn into such a huge plot point towards the end
- Easy forgiveness between the two characters. There wasn’t any fighting due to miscommunication, and I liked that they brought up what was bothering each other. How they handled these conversations though….see below

What I did not like in this book:
- How the neurodivergent rep was handled. If there was going to be talk of autism/ADHD, it needed to happen before the last 50 pages. Plus, when Grace said Phoebe has a “disorder” and assumed she took meds, then “out of love” made appointments for Phoebe to get diagnosed? I mean if this happened to me, I would never talk to that person again. Maybe the bluntness was supposed to tie Grace to being autistic (which was just barely mentioned) but that might be worse…..
- Miscommunication due to the conflicts. While conflicts between the two were brought up to talk through (ie not internalized), I feel like no issues were actually really resolved. It felt more like sex was used as a “forgiveness” technique or as a way to get the other to stop talking about whatever was bothering them. I really did not like this

The main issue I has with this book was the writing style. I have no problem reading 3rd person writing. HOWEVER it was all present tense, rather than past tense, which made things really confusing. Also, there was 3rd person writing from Grace’s POV and then 3rd person writing from Phoebe’s POV. I was often confused as to who I was supposed to be following, and that really took away from the story. I think because of this, there was a lot of internal dialogue and the reader being told what happened rather than being shown what happened.

Thanks a ton to NetGalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5. I was sent the arc of this and was super excited to read it after loving the author's first book. This one took me longer to get into and I found some of the plot points at the beginning very juvenile and like 'high-school' (especially with the bet being for a kiss it just reminded me of After). But once I got through all of that and just ignored all the times it made me want to cringe is was actually a fun read. I was low key imagining the main character as van from Yellowjackets which also helped me enjoy the book haha.

Penelope Matthews Is a soccer player, and is trying to make the US Soccer team. She is invited. to give a spot on the US national team and meet. me and meets her Idol Grace. He is immediately drawn to Grace and wants to be with her. Grace does not want a relationship. and is cautious about being with Penelope. There is drama and. love in this book. as a result of miscommunication. and the medical problem. I recommend this book to all. who likes a good love story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of this book!

This book was super cute! The premise was interesting enough to carry me through a sports book, and it was definitely very fast paced. There was some solid representation in the characters, and it was even fun to learn a bit more about how professional soccer leagues work.

I liked the story and it was fun, but it was quite surface level and I wasn’t ever really super invested in the plot. I loved Grace’s character and her POV chapters, Phoebe’s not so much. I thought Grace was a lot more interesting as a lead and always wanted more of her chapters.

This book had some spicy moments, but the dirty talk truly launched me out of the book completely. It was a bit on the cringy side for me sometimes.

All in all, a quick and mostly enjoyable read that didn’t get too deep. 3.5⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC!

⚽️ song: talking body by tove lo

⚽️ summary: phoebe has been obsessed with grace as long as she has been with soccer, so when she is drafted onto the same professional team as her she is over the moon. Fresh start with the team and new to New Orleans, phoebe ropes grace into showing her around and giving her the run down of the local hot spots. Even though phoebe annoys grace, things heat up between them fast. Can they balance being team mates and friends with benefits?

⚽️ thoughts; honestly I don’t know how I feel about this book. The first half had me hooked, but then the second half felt completely unbelievable. The fights were forgiven and forgotten too fast. There was no real build from the fights. Spoiler**********
Honestly Grace completely overstepped and the ADHD plot line came out of no where. I just think phoebe was way too chill with that whole point. Completely took me out of the story