✨Bend It Like Phoebe & Grace⚽️✨

I loved Phoebe and Grace’s dynamic throughout the entire book, but the hair braiding absolutely took me out and was the best part. It was H O T. Their relationship was opposites attract in the best, most chaotic way possible. I really enjoyed the last few chapters of the book. I didn’t know how it was going to shake out, but I thought the grand gesture was super heart melting. I liked them both, but Grace was definitely the star in my mind. She was a bit Roy Kent but also just her own unique character that felt refreshing.

The “baby girl” vibe we got starting early on is never hot though 😭 I just don’t like it and it was said way too often too quickly. Besides that, the sex was definitely super hot and there were a lot of explicit scenes! But sex was often used as a bandaid or distraction from important conversations and that works maybe once but it happened so frequently that it got exhausting. I think the author even realized this because a scene or two at the end were fade to back because they would’ve felt redundant. So not only was it miscommunication…it was interrupted communication which was somehow worse. Again, I liked the end but it all dragged a bit in the middle.

The conversation around ADHD happened a lot later than I expected—because like Grace, I definitely thought Phoebe was already diagnosed—but I really liked it and how the conversation helped their relationship grow as well. Grace’s potential autism diagnosis also wasn’t really discussed, besides a throwaway comment about learning more about it later (which we never witnessed). I’m more interested in both of these things than soccer, so I would’ve liked the story to develop them deeper.

✨

Personal Me Things:

In more technical terms,the third person present tense POV made reading this book super stressful. I dislike that narrative style and wouldn’t have requested the book if I’d have known. I gave it a chance because reading physically is better than in audio, but the writing just felt so clunky to me. So much of the book felt like telling not showing. I really wish this would’ve been in past tense, because my biggest issue really was the writing style. Sometimes I can forget about the style, but it was just so *present* here.

Then throw in soccer on top of the writing style…and I was definitely hanging on for dear life. I don’t understand the rules of soccer and I quite literally know even less about it, so parts of the book were hard to follow. It’s definitely a book for people who already know soccer since there were a lot of terms and such that weren’t explained. Soccer was a main character—which I’m not complaining about since it’s literally obvious from the cover, title, and summary lol—it’s just on me for overestimating my potential interest in reading about it.

✨

All in all, the cards really were dealt against me here—what with “baby girl,” third present, and soccer—so I’m definitely impressed that I had an overall enjoyable time. It’s not my favorite book ever, but if you don’t have my same hangups, it definitely has great potential!

⭐️⭐️⭐️.25/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5


P.S. WHY DOES THE SUMMARY REFERENCE A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN AND NOT BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM LMAO????



Thanks so much to the publisher for an eARC via NetGalley. All opinions are honest and my own.

A cute sapphic romcom about professional soccer, the pitfalls of injury, and the fear of falling in love. This was cute. Phoebe and Grace are both loveable characters on and off the field, and as someone who doesn't know much about soccer, I enjoyed the focus on professional women's sports and learning more about that world. The spice was frequent and nice. but both characters tended to monologue on for quite some time and the third-person perspectives (which switched back and forth on almost alternating chapters) did make things read a bit dull at times. Overall a cute quick sports romcom that'll hit the spot if that's what you're looking for!

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to like this book so much more. It's not a bad book, don't get me wrong. I just felt trapped inside a never ending monologue from both characters, one being entirely too chipper and one moody.
The spice was nice, top tier even.
But even then, there was so much inner monologue.

It's also in third person, which I didn't know ahead of time. This made it a little harder to get through for me.

Cleat Cute is a rivals-to-FWB-to-lovers story that I was enjoying so much I was left wanting more. I liked both MCs and their connection with each other and how they complemented each other. Oh, and be ready for Wilsner's signature steam with dirty talk included during the scenes.

Oh, I know absolutely 0 about soccer, but i do know that i ATE THIS UP.

I really just loved the journey these two FMCs went on throughout this story. They grew not only in their relationship, but also their job/soccer journeys and personal growth was astounding too.

I really enjoyed that even once they did have their first sexual / romantic encounter the story didn’t go flat. The plot was strengthened in other areas. Whether it was personal growth or just where they were at in their careers.

It’s giving grumpy/sunshine, childhood idol/crush, “enemies” to lovers but more rivals/competitions, soccer world

I don’t know which of the two characters I fell in love with first, Grace or Phoebe. Maybe Phoebe, but I do love competence so maybe Grace. Or maybe Phoebe who is so determined to make it that she’ll do anything, but has a moral compass enough to not really do anything to get there.

This book had me sinking into it very quickly, pretty much right from the first chapter because I was very interested in who Phoebe was as a person, and as a soccer player especially one who comes from humble beginnings.

The whole book felt good to read, it was not the quickest burn so if you’re looking for that you’re not going to get it.

You will get a lovely story about two very different women getting to know each other, learning how to navigate love, as well as being involved in sport at the same time.

There is discussions of celebrity, discussions of being out or not being out and mental health in sport.

The only thing I didn’t like in this book is one plot point that got explored but never fully resolved. However the book does give the impression at the end that it will be.

The alternating point of views, which I thought would bother me did not, actually, and gave such good insight into the characters that I found myself enjoying it immensely.

The setting of New Orleans felt like a character in itself.

I will be buying this book, happily in September.

Oh and the spicy parts? You’ll love them.

How deliciously and sharply written this book was!! I have to read more Meryl Wilsner because I love their writing style, humor and plot setup!

Cleat Cute doesn't follow the standard timeline of most romances I read, which is always a delight for me. I loved not knowing what was going to come next in Phoebe and Grace's relationship. Also - I feel like the dialogue here was the most realistic dialogue I've read in a while??? Like so much of the verbiage is how I speak with my friends. I also don't follow women's soccer that much, but I know more than zero and based on what I know (once again - not much) this felt very authentic to the soccer world from the nicknames to the playing on multiple teams to the hardcore and loving fan base.

I've also seen some people have issues with the internal monologuing that goes on in this book, which is usually a HUGE pet peeve of mine. But in Cleat Cute, I barely noticed it. I think this might've been because Wilsner writes Phoebe and Grace to be pretty nuanced and complex, I really enjoyed being in their minds to understand what makes each of them tick.

Also, this book is spicyyyyyy don't let the animated cover fool you.

I loved Phoebe and Grace individually and could relate to both of their journeys. Phoebe is a chatty redhead and Grace is an eldest daughter, so when you put them together you have a version of me basically. But like I mentioned above, Wilsner gives both characters a lot to work with and the grumpy x sunshine dynamic never feels like a caricature.

Overall I can't wait to read this author's backlog and I can't wait for this book to come out in September!!

A lovely, sapphic, soccer romance with rivals to lovers and grumpy x sunshine. Grace, at 26, is already a veteran of the US National soccer team. She is reserved and goal-oriented while Phoebe, a rookie, is flirty and in your face. The two start making bets and spending more time together, exploring New Orleans through their love of food.

Meryl Wilsner has an impeccable writing style that kept me hooked throughout. Loved both of the character arcs so much. ADHD and autism rep! This was steamy and fun, cannot recommend this enough! The only thing keeping me from giving a full 5 stars was that the pacing was a little too slow for the first half of the book. However, the second half was pure gold and made up for it!

Cleat Cute was cute, in a NA sort of way - this doesn’t generally work for me in a romance, but the story was enjoyable and the relationship between Grace and Phoebe was one that I found mostly fun to read.

I wanted to like it more than I did, while still enjoying it, if that makes sense.

While I loved the author's first two books (they are phenomenal) I couldn't get on board with this one. It had two of my favorite things, neurodivergent lesbians, and soccer, but I couldn't get into it.

The characters drove me absolutely insane. For 80% of the book, it seemed like the main characters couldn't trust each other. Grace was so paranoid about every decision Phoebe made and it made the reading experience frustrating. I wanted to root for their relationship, but I just couldn't. They weren't compatible and I couldn't rationalize how they would ever fall for one another.

It was very well written and steamy, and I would absolutely give this author another chance in the future, but this one was just not for me.

Meryl Wilsner’s next novel, Cleat Cute, is set to be released on September 19th. This sapphic romance about a captain and rookie is sure to kick off a soccer romance trend, or at least I’m hoping so since I devoured every page!

Thank goodness Cleat Cute is coming out in the fall, because the spice level was as high as I’ve seen a romance novel get while still having an enticing plot. While it was enchanting to watch Phoebe and Grace fall for one another, their competitive spirits kept the pages turning!

There’s also so much well-written representation for those who are neurodivergent! While this does cause both of the main characters to be in their heads a lot, it was a pleasant surprise to see ND characters that had other traits and inner conflicts. It just exists, like in real life! In addition, while Phoebe and Grace are cisgender white women, there are a ton of supporting characters who are not. It is New Orleans, after all, so it was a relief to see a diverse cast that matched the setting (looking at you, NYC novels with only white, straight, cisgender characters).

If you’ve been loving the celebrity or sports romance trope, be sure to pick up Cleat Cute this fall!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

thank you to netgalley for my advanced copy of Cleat Cute!!

I picked this up in June in honor of pride month!! It was cute and enjoyable, but I was stuck in the middle of the book for a while because I thought it was moving pretty slow.

I really liked Phoebe’s personality! I thought that she grew a lot as a character. It took a while for Grace to warm up and it also took me a while to warm up TO Grace and understand why she was such a difficult character.

I enjoyed the teamwork and soccer games of course, I love soccer, so reading about this team was a lot of fun!

Overall it was a cute read and i recommend it but I definitely wasn’t too wow’d by it or think I’ll remember it in a year or anything.

i was provided an e-arc from the publisher and netgalley in exchange for an honest review. thank you!
i went into this book so optimistic, it was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. i was excited to read about grace and phoebes love story. unfortunately i dnfed the book at around 25% of the way in. i was really trying to just keep reading but i couldn't do it. the writing just felt... stagnant? stale? i could see the opportunity of what this book could have been but it just didn't live up to the expectations for me which really bums me out. i always look forward to sapphic books just to be able to read sapphic love stories, they're usually some of my favorites. i feel as though it's unfair to give this book a star rating as i did dnf it.
i'm hoping in the future i'll be able to try and reread this and hopefully change my review but until then it'll stay as is.

This is the second book that I have read from the author, and I have found that I enjoy this story much more than the other ones. I am not a huge fan of sports, but when you make it queer….maybe I am??

This is a hate to love, rivals turned lovers story following Grace and Phoebe. They are both on a soccer team, but Grace has been injured and cannot play, thus she’s sidelined. Phoebe comes in to replace her and lets just say that things have a rocky start. BUT, the banter is adorable and this will have you laughing, but also rooting for the girls to just get together already! I loved this rom-com queer sports book!

Meryl Wilsner did a fantastic job with this book. I was enthralled from the start and obsessed with their relationship. I would recommend this for my adult students. I am not always a sports person, but this book kept my attention enough that I finished it in a few sittings.

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

I don't know a lot about soccer but I love Bend It Like Beckham and I'm a queer woman so the premise for this book sold me. It definitely reminded of Beckham with some Ted Lasso thrown in (I got some lesbian Roy Kent/Jamie Tartt vibes from this book).

It's a little rivals-to-lovers and not as much of a slow burn as I had originally thought. It's sweet and the sex scenes are very hot and delicious. I enjoyed being in the world Meryl Wilsner created here.

Cleat Cute is a very sweet love story between two professional soccer players who play on the same team. Phoebe Matthews is fresh out of college soccer and new to the professional soccer world when she gets a spot on the same team as her soccer idol, Grace Henderson. While there's a bet that involves who can do the best at a drill and one of the characters has occasional unfounded fears about the other taking her place, it's definitely not 'rivals to lovers' as the summary states. If I wanted to squeeze it into a rom-com trope, I'd say it's more teammates to lovers or idolized to lovers or even friends to lovers. To be perfectly honest, this book is kind of tricky for me to review. It had a lot of elements that I enjoyed and appreciated, but aspects of the writing made it ultimately not work well for me.

What I liked: (1) Grace and Phoebe are conceptually great. They're likable, their attraction to one another is compelling, I liked their individual character arcs, and their interactions with one another were enjoyable for me. (2) I appreciated that the author explores neurodivergence through the experiences of both the MCs (ADHD and autism). (3) The sex scenes are super hot.

What didn't work as well for me: As a non-writer, I'm not totally sure if this is correct... but it seemed like the book could have been more thoroughly edited? Like, there's quite a bit of redundancy and some long internal monologuing passages that not only didn't add to the arc, but detracted from it. These clunky writing(/lack of editing?) elements ended up regularly pulling me out of the story.

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

This was a 2 star book until about 70% of the way through. The voice was all over the place, and it read like very poorly written soccer fanfic. The descriptions of the gameplay and practices were the best part, and I enjoyed learning more about women’s soccer. I just couldn’t get past the lack of character background early on, and the fact that it was mostly dialogue and action, without any basic foundation for the characters.
I did really appreciate the trans, pan, bi, and general queer representation throughout, and wish the rest of the book had been strong enough to support it.

Thank you to the publisher for this eArc.

Overall, I have conflicting feelings about this one. There were some aspects I liked and others that just really fell flat.

First, I did like the sports aspect of this and even wish we got more of it. I think it would have been interesting to see more of the teams dynamic and friendships as they seemed like interesting characters.

My main issue with this book was that I found myself feeling bored throughout it and wasn’t really feeling attached the characters properly. I think part of this comes from the writing style and choices that were made as I found it to be written in a third person style that felt a bit more distant/impersonal than usual. Partnered with the fact that it felt like we were being told more about the characters than we were shown lead me to feel detached from them in a way I don’t want to be when reading a romance. There was also ALOT of internal dialogue from both of the leads that felt unnecessary and distracted from the reading experience.

I would still definitely recommend this to others if they’re interested, but unfortunately it just didn’t work for me and what I look for from a romance.

Another stunning romance from Meryl Wilsner!! I couldn't put this down, I cared so deeply about the characters and loved the queer soccer teammate romance trope. Also adored the conversations around ADHD - really recommend this for a fun, quick yet insightful read <3