I absolutely loved this. Sweet, steamy, and as cute as the title, "Cleat Cute" is a delightful romance for those who love professional soccer--or those who, like me, know nothing about it at all and just want a fun sapphic romance. I also loved the disability rep (undiagnosed ADHD and autism). All I wanted to do once I started this was keep reading!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!

After having read and loved Mistakes Were Made, I was hoping to get my hands on an early copy of this next Meryl Wilsner book. I was fortunate enough to score a copy through NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

This book did not disappoint! I had not read a sports romance before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised that the book was fairly evenly split between the romance and the sport, which I appreciated. Fair warning that if you don’t like spice, you may want to stay out of the kitchen on this one!

Phoebe Matthews earns a spot on one of the top women’s soccer teams, and immediately becomes enamored with her idol and love interest, Grace Henderson. Phoebe is a hell of a rookie soccer player, who holds back on nothing, including her interest in Grace. She is a breath of fresh air on the team, exuding her sheer love of the game.

Grace is a returning started and captain of the team, who leads a much more reserved life, and one in which she questions what she loves about the sport she has dedicated her life to. She tries at first to ignore her interest in the rookie.

The two eventually begin a romance, with no initial commitment, and that proves too hard to keep up as the story develops. Grace and Phoebe both vie for their rightful spots on the field, as the team advances in the ranks. The question is what will commitment to both soccer and their budding relationship look like?

Overall this book was great, the one area that seemed out of place was the mental health storyline. It felt a little underdeveloped and out of place, but other than than, still very enjoyable!

✨RATING: 4⭐️

✨REVIEW: First and foremost, thank you @netgalley for my advanced reader copy. I’ve been trying to read more LGBT friendly literature and this was the perfect one to put on the list. The story of a soccer player trying to make it pro wasn’t relatable in that sense, however, her journey and experience was. It had spice 🔥 AND plot. Sometimes when stories get too thick into the open door scenes (in this case full chapters), they lost the overall plot. However, this one continued to be enjoyable and I REALLLLY enjoyed the life lesson with Grace 😍 I was in tears of happiness by the end of the book because I had fallen in love with the chapters and was truly invested. It was easy to do and easy to root for each of the characters in their own way. I highly recommend this one!!

✨PROS: relatable, dual POV
👎🏽long chapters

🚨WARNING: Potential triggers include OPEN door 😝 If spice isn’t for you, when you see the door opening, simply skip the end of that chapter and typically the whole next chapter and you’ll be back to your closed door story you enjoy.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the arc in exchange of an honest review.
I liked the beginning of the book very much.
What I liked the most was humor and relationship of Grace and Phoebe.
What I didn't like was the assumption made by grace of Phoebe's ADHD diagnosis. I didn't like Grace's behaviour at that time.

Overall didn't enjoy this book as much as I was expecting, but I can see why a lot of other people would and I would still happily recommend it.

I’m not having a great time with the writing style, I think presently this isn’t the book I want to be reading right now. While I believe it’ll be an incredibly cute, fun romcom, Im just not terribly in the mood. I do however, look forward to seeing this on shelves! Thanks for the opportunity, I do highly recommend people pick it up and give it love anyway!

I bow down to Meryl Wilsner, she has done it again. Cleat Cute is the perfect steamy sapphic romance book. There's tension, there's pining, there's competition, there's jealousy. Whatever makes a good romance book is in Cleat Cute. It was also so raw, it was just a fun romance with soccer players, it delved into living with ADHD and autism and the struggles to get diagnosed or even accept that you need help.

I think if you are a fan of Meryl Wilsner you will probably enjoy this book. It reads very similar to their other books and Cleat Cute is a satisfying enough book to give it a try.

I really enjoyed the soccer-centered plot. It felt new to the genre and I loved seeing Women's soccer getting some recognition. Overall, the story as a whole fell flat in my opinion. There was so much potential for an idea like this to really take off and shine, but in the end, I mostly felt underwhelmed.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy via Netgalley.

Was super excited to read this, but found it only okay.

I think my issue is I didn't particular care for either character, and the whole story was entirely forgettable. I finished it two weeks ago and genuinely can barely remember any of what happened. It wasn't bad, per se, just not anything to write home about.

This was awesome I picked it up and couldn’t stop reading. The characters were lovable and realistic. I loved seeing graces and phoebes relationship develop as well as seeing them fight but then quickly communicate with each other and figure out the issue. It was really cool to see a healthy relationship play out and open exploration of ADHD, without judgement. Overall 5/5 ⭐️

*3.5 stars
I am a miscommunication trope HATER. I liked these characters, but not necessarily how they interacted with one another. The concept was fun, and so was the execution, but it still fell a little short for me. I'm always down for sports romance though, and I enjoyed this. I probably wouldn't read another book by the author because I didn't like the pacing and that seems to be a common thing with the other books from reviews, but I'd read a similar book as I liked the concept.

An adorable, sexy sports romance with a pair of completely useless (in a good way) lesbians at its heart, Cleat Cute has engaging characters with distinctive voices, playful banter, and plenty of sweaty athleticism on display.
Phoebe is the first round draft pick for the New Orleans Krewe, whose captain and star veteran, Grace, she’s idolized since she was 14. Phoebe is determined to shine as brightly as she can, with her sights set on a spot on the national team. Grace can’t help her immediate attraction to her team’s most talkative rookie, despite her reservations about getting involved with anyone, much less a star-struck teammate who can’t manage to be on time to her first day at training.
Cleat Cute has a lot to offer. Phoebe is incredibly endearing when she throws her whole heart into something, which is easily and often. Grace has a powerful need for control in her personal life, and watching her reevaluate her rules in the face of Phoebe’s whirlwind energy is lovely and satisfying. Their chemistry is instant and palpable, and the sex they have is both hot and believable. Cleat Cute is full of explicit consent and occasional awkwardness and missteps that felt absolutely true-to-character, earnest, and real.
What Cleat Cute doesn’t offer is an actual rivalry, believable conflict, or a compelling supporting cast. Grace and Phoebe are never in actual competition with one another— they play the same position on the Krewe, but Phoebe is obviously intended to fill in when Grace moves up to the national team for the World Cup, not replace her before the season’s first game. Most of the conflict in the first half of the relationship stems from Phoebe overstepping dreadfully, and then from both of them misunderstanding the other so badly it honestly felt willful. Both Phoebe and Grace leap to wild conclusions about what is happening and what’s best for the other party over and over again, which I found really frustrating. Grace’s wariness and fear that she’s being used made sense to me, but Phoebe’s constant pushiness about Grace’s injury and her media appearances was just grating to me. Additionally, the rest of the cast felt a little flat to me. The teammates were difficult to keep track of, didn’t have much impact, and felt a little underdeveloped for a team sports focused romance.
What I found most disconcerting about the novel, however, was the complete lack of tension around Grace and Phoebe’s power imbalance. Grace is Phoebe’s team captain, four years older than her and ten years deeper into her career, has considerable sway over the national team’s head coach, and Phoebe still has a poster of Grace in her childhood bedroom. None of this is ever really addressed by either character other than occasionally touching on their differing financial positions, but mostly just to highlight how bad Grace is at understanding the complex social dynamics around money. I would have really liked to see it impact their relationship more!
I was also put off by Grace’s behavior around Phoebe’s ADHD. Without ever asking her about it, Grace assumes that Phoebe has ADHD, is taking medication for it, and that it’s Grace’s place to manage Phoebe’s time for her, all of which seems absolutely wild to me in light of the fact that Grace has a sister with ADHD with whom she is on good terms.
I did, however, really love how Grace course corrected once she realized what she’d messed up, asked for help, and planned out the rest of her big gestures in ways that were thoughtful, sweet, and appropriately dramatic without being invasive.
I also really enjoyed Grace showing Phoebe around the city, and the ways that showcased the strong contrast between the two— every “date” they went on was flavorful, unique, and showed us a new side of the pair. Grace and Phoebe also had really distinct internal voices, which I absolutely love seeing.
While Cleat Cute was a bit of a mixed bag for me, ultimately I really enjoyed it, and the last few chapters absolutely stuck the landing.

Would I recommend Cleat Cute?
YES, if:
“She said she loves me and only wants to be with me and we’ve had sex five times this week and I’ve met her mother but she was probably just being a good friend” is your favorite lesbian romance dynamic.
You love an iconic ADHD 4 Autism pairing.
Explicit consent and soft power exchange is your jam.
NO, if:
You want an actual sports rivalry.
You like to see stark real-world power dynamics play out in your romance novels.
The term “babygirl” makes you gag.

Really cute, spicy, and fun soccer/celeb romance. The characters are real and vulnerable, the spicy scenes are SPICY and the struggles feel really legit. Some of the miscommunication and fighting does not feel flushed out enough to me but over a fun read. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC.

Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner is a captivating sapphic romance that left me utterly charmed. The characters are wonderfully developed, and their love story is simply delightful.

Wilsner's authentic storytelling brings the romance to life, portraying the ups and downs of the protagonists' relationship in a heartfelt and relatable way.

The writing style is enchanting, and the pacing keeps you engaged from start to finish. Cleat Cute celebrates love, friendship, personal growth, and self-acceptance with warmth and sincerity.

I highly recommend Cleat Cute to fans of sapphic romance. Meryl Wilsner has crafted a remarkable tale that will leave you with a smile and a renewed belief in the power of love.

4.5 Stars Grace Henderson and Phoebe Matthews must be protected at all costs! I loved this sapphic rom com about soccer rivals/teammates turned lovers.

Grace Henderson has been the star player of the US Women’s National soccer team since she was 16; now ten years later, Grace is temporarily sidelined due to an injury and is unsure what to make of her new teammate, Phoebe Matthews. A 22 year old rookie, Phoebe is like literal sunshine: she’s always smiling, laughing, smirking, and flirting, especially with Grace. Grace is worried that Phoebe might be aiming to take her spot if the injury keeps her out for more time, but Grace is even more worried about her attraction to Phoebe. Having been burned before by a relationship with a teammate, Grace is hesitant to act on her feelings. Luckily, Phoebe has no such qualms and makes her attraction to Grace perfectly clear. The two start a friends with benefits relationship, partially because neither wants a relationship and partially because Grace isn’t publicly out, preferring to keep her life private despite her celebrity status. Grace starts to catch feelings for Phoebe and both can feel the tension surrounding their relationship grow.

I absolutely loved these characters! The story did a wonderful job balancing the romance between Grace and Phoebe, while also highlighting Grace’s and Phoebe’s growth as individuals. They were both perfectly imperfect people, with many wonderful qualities but room to grow and change. Both characters clearly cared for one another and went about making sure the other knew how they felt in a way that fit with that character’s love language. For instance, Grace clearly doesn’t like to talk about her feelings much, but she vocalizes it for Phoebe, who loves to talk and get words of affirmation. Meanwhile, even though Phoebe can talk a lot and even says I love you at one point to Grace, Grace needs action and Phoebe demonstrates that by being the one to take care of Grace, who usually is too busy taking care of others that she doesn’t take care of herself. I loved this story and didn’t want it to end!

i love women, i love soccer, i love romcoms & this book is the joyous thruple that combines all my favourite things

it was so easy to read, i devoured it in a matter of hours. i really loved grace & her growth. i also liked phoebe, but she was occasionally a bit too chaotic for me. the romance plotline felt realistic and sweet with the perfect amount of spice. i loved the diverse representation & especially liked that the diversity was not “explained away” - the characters were just who they were, same as any cis-het characters in the book. i loved, loved, loved all the soccer talk!! more books about female athletes please!!

i do think the book on the whole was so pleasant and easy to read that it might not have done enough to remain memorable but only time will tell!

overall, a great read especially right before the womens champions league finals ⚽️🏃🏽‍♀️🏆🎉

*thank you netgalley for the ARC*

Grumpy x sunshine soccer romance, but make it sapphic? Sign me up any day.

This was so fun. I enjoyed the entire time I was reading it. Grace and Phoebe were adorable together, and I really appreciated the way the miscommunication trope was used in this (definitely a refreshing take on that!!!). I now also really want to visit NOLA .

Definitely my favorite Meryl Wilsner romance so far! While I found some of the neurodivergent rep to be a bit shoehorned or stereotypical at times, overall this was a lot of fun and packed with GREAT sex scenes.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review!

I am not a huge soccer person, so I was worried about the sports aspect of the plot, but I was drawn to this book because of the title and cover art. Wilsner did a great job at making the soccer details consumable for someone of my knowledge.

The two main characters both had good development, and I loved the chemistry between the two. That being said, I felt they were lacking just a little depth, and I wish we had more interaction with other friends, family and teammates. Regarding spicy scenes, there was a good amount and I would rate those scenes a 4 out of 5. Overall, this was the first book I've ready by Meryl Wilsner, and it has made me add her other books to my TBR list.

My thoughts, I thought that it was really cute. However, I did find that it was slightly difficult to follow because of the different names that the characters go by. I don't do very well with one character going by multiple names. It also made me a little uncomfortable with how comfortable Grace was with diagnosing and controlling Phoebe's health and ADHD. That is more of a personal problem because of personal experience. I loved the representation of ADHD in women, but it felt a little bit like overstepping.

Give me more books like this!!! I will definitely be reading more by this author. After being a bit let down by a YA queer soccer book recently, I was so happy with this NA queer soccer book. This book is sporty, spicy, and so very fun! There is a lot of inner monologue-ing, but I honestly enjoyed being in the characters’ heads. Phoebe and Grace feel like old friends at this point. I have a hard time reading ebooks (even though I wish my brain would just let me read them as fast I can pour through physical books and audiobooks), but that did not hinder my love for this book. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!