Cleat Cute was such a sweet, fun read! I LOVE rivals-to-lovers romances, and this one was no different. I especially liked the opposites-attract dynamic between the two leads! Introverted, responsible Grace Henderson is a soccer star, the team captain who's been playing professionally for years. Her career means everything to her, but after she's sidelined by an injury, she can't help but wonder if it's all worth it. Bubbly, energetic Phoebe Matthews has just graduated college and is very new to the professional soccer world, but she's idolized Grace for as long as she can remember. Now, the two women are teammates—but could their working relationship turn into something more?

Despite their differences, Grace and Phoebe had such great chemistry and brought out the best in each other in so many ways. I thought both of their perspectives were really well-developed, even when the miscommunication between them was frustrating to read about sometimes! I also enjoyed the neurodivergent rep we got from each character and seeing how that affected their relationship. The New Orleans setting was a highlight for me, too, and was always fun to read about! Overall, if you are a fan of romance, soccer, or both, be sure to check out Cleat Cute! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I’ve read and enjoyed both of Meryl Wilsner’s books but this one just wasn’t for me, and I’m sad about it. I found both of the characters to be incredibly annoying and the dialogue was super cringy in parts. I had to DNF about 60% of the way through. I just couldn’t get invested in Grace and Phoebe’s relationship no matter how hard I tried. I found the soccer storyline fun though, I just wish the dialogue and characters were better. Thanks to St. Martins and NetGalley for the ARC.

***I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

WOW. I picked it up and couldn’t put it down. The book had the ideal amount of spice, comedy and drama. I really enjoyed Grace’s character development that was mostly due to Phoebe being so stubborn. The relationship status topic caught me off guard but I’m definitely siding with Grace on that one. While the book did deliver on the romance, I think it equally captured the world of women’s soccer and female sports in general, by tackling things like pay gaps and how many athletes still require a second job. Overall a great book that I’d recommend to friends!

Cleat Cute is the perfect romance novel for fans of Ted Lasso! This sapphic sports romance between soccer rivals turned (sort of) friends with benefits is such a great read. Meryl Wilsner is back with a spicy FF romance that brings the spice to these complex, multi-faceted characters. Cleat Cute is an opposites attract romance between a grumpy veteran soccer star and a sunshiney rookie on the team. These two are so cute together and I love their banter so much! I cannot wait to read what Wilsner writes next :)

✨3.5/5✨

Rivals to Lovers / Rookie & Veteran / Grumpy & Sunshine / Miscommunication

As a former soccer player who is obsessed with a Megan Rapinoe fantasy, this was right up my alley!

I'd love to give this a higher rating, cause the spicy scenes were indeed spicy, but they were also a little cringy. The internal dialogue was too much at times. The continuous asking of permission & the use of anatomical words were cringe. With those aside, I did indeed enjoy the witty banter and the storyline. The rivals to lovers caught my attention and kept me hooked. Absolutely LOVED the Neuro-spicy/ Neurodivergence of the characters, definitely a plus to see representation in the literary world.

4.5 stars! Read this a week ago and it has still stuck with me. I loved the way the relationship between Phoebe and Grace developed and how they were able to grow individually and as a couple. I've never read a book by Meryl Wilsner before, but the writing style reminded me a lot of Casey McQuiston, so I enjoyed that familiarity. The one thing that confused me was how Phoebe is only four years younger than Grace even though she's her childhood icon which...just felt a little off. But overall I thought it was really strong and so cute!

I didn’t know how I was going to feel about this book since it’s based on soccer, but I will literally love anything Meryl Wilsner writes. They did such a fantastic job of embodying both ADHD and ASD/OCD. Phenom and Hendy are such goals!

This book started off so strong and I was excited to see where it went, but after a few chapters it lost me.

I found both of the main characters to be extremely unlikable and couldn't connect with them at all. It felt like most of the characters weren't fully realized, and the internal dialogue was very repetitive and dull.

The story relied heavily on the misscommunication trope, to the point that the main characters actually didn't seem to communicate at all. Many aspects of the plot were told to the reader rather than shown, so I had a bit of a hard time buying into a lot of what was happening.

Despite all that, I do still give this book points for having so many LGBTQ+ identities represented.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

2.5/5

This was an overall cute read and not a bad romance. Definitely spicy!

My biggest gripe with it however was the constant miscommunication. It just made it frustrating to read. I also felt like there was so much potential in terms of storylines that just didn’t get addressed. It was definitely a tell don’t show type of story which made some of the characters and arcs fall flat. I found myself getting bored and I wasn’t that invested in the main character’s relationship. I found myself caring more about the side characters and their dynamics than Grace and Phoebe.

Despite this, though, it was still enjoyable for what it was.

I was a little nervous to read this book, I won't lie but it ended up being an overall satisfying read so I am going to count this as another win for me with a Meryl Wislner book!

I really enjoyed Grace's character and learning about her life as a child soccer star who had to sacrifice a lot in order to get to where she was today. There was something about her that I just found so easy to root for, maybe my love for characters that are have hard exteriors to hide the soft that is beneath the surface. Though in her case, she's literally just so bad at reading people and social cues that she just keeps most of herself hidden so she doesn't embarrass herself.

Phoebe on the other hand, I really struggled with. She really rubbed me the wrong way through most of the book and even though she does win me over in the end, I do sadly think that she took away from my enjoyment of the book. I think my inability to like her for most of the book has to do with my own personal preference in stories but there were some things she did that just really irked me (probably more than they were ever intended to do). I do really like how kind she is and how she always wants to help others though! I wish that we explored more of her ADHD diagnosis, but I also understand the reality of these things and how things aren't always so black and white.

The spice in this was pretty immaculate and I loved the diversity that was in every inch of this book. I can't wait to read whatever comes next from this author!

What happens when a rookie from the middle of nowhere gets drafted to a professional team? Not to mention that her childhood idol just happens to be the team’s captain.

Phoebe wants to prove herself on her new team. She loves soccer and dreams of making the national team. Grace is drowning. Hiding an injury she thinks is pointing to the end of her soccer career, she wants to do everything she can to prevent it from impacting her team. As the captain, she is shouldering a world of responsibility and trying to keep her team at arm’s length. However, everything changes when Phoebe tries to befriend Grace and knock down the walls carefully put into place over years of developing a professional career.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book, even though there were a few individual items I struggled with a bit. To start, I loved the diverse cast of characters this book is populated with. It seems that there are so many characters for people to identify with throughout the story aside from just Grace and Phoebe. I also really like the subtle and positive changes seen in the main characters as their friendship and relationship shift and develop. I also appreciated that the variety of problems, disagreements, and misunderstandings that occurred between the main characters were very practical and not unlikely to occur. I had a little bit of a problem with the pacing at the start of the book. I had some trouble picking up on the transitions signaling time jumps – which there were a lot of. This slowed as the main plot of the book settled in but threw me off a bit at first. I also had a bit of trouble connecting with Grace’s character and understanding her actions early in the book. As her character developed they started to make more sense, especially in light of some comments towards the end of the book, but it was still a little cringy early on. Both good and bad, I had trouble with the discussion of mental health in the later part of the book, but it really redeemed itself as the characters realized where they made mistakes in approaching the discussion and how they can do and be better in the future. My only other complaint, which is primarily on me, is that I had a hard time keeping Kelsey and Kayla straight – which is an important distinction.

I would still absolutely recommend this book still, just keeping in mind that it may be one that grows on you rather than immediately sucking in your attention. It is an incredibly sweet book that will hit you with some intensely spicy heat. If you need a good sapphic rom-com or if you love sports romances, then this book should be a hit!

Content Warnings: sexual content, mental health discussions, injury/injury detail

I loved this! Very sweet and very cute. Love the exploration of how different being out can be for different people. Great sapphic read! Loved the characters and the side characters.

“Cleat Cute” was the heartwarming romance I needed in my life right now! I feel like I have been a Grace most of my life and resonated with being the responsible one, more introverted and rigid. There were times in the book that Grace’s friends and loved ones talked to her and it felt like they were talking to me too. Grace and Phoebe’s romance isn’t perfect- it is two people who have faults and obstacles which all of us do. I loved the representation of different gender identities and will definitely be recommending this book to my friends!

3.5/5, rounded up to 4

thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

okay so this is the first Meryl Wilsner book I’ve ever read and I actually had a fun time reading it! the story is a lesbian sports (soccer!!!!) romance centering Phoebe, who’s starting her first season as a professional soccer player, and Grace, a seasoned professional on the U.S Women’s National Team. this entire story was really captivating and i found myself finishing it within a few days! the romance was really solid and I loved seeing the way grace slowly opened up to phoebe and became closer to her, it made everything feel realer.

also so much praise for Meryl Wilsner for not being afraid of the word lesbian!!! LESBIAN LESBIAN LESBIAN !!! <3

anyways onto some of my issues with the book! I did love that there was neurodivergent representation, but I wish grace’s autism storyline had been developed more throughout the story. phoebe’s adhd storyline also felt like it came out of nowhere …? not that it wasn’t an important storyline, just that I also feel it should’ve been a little more developed throughout the story. I did enjoy the fact that it was acknowledged that a diagnosis is harder to get for women, and also the differences in healthcare.

this is a me-thing, but the miscommunication trope felt so unbelievable at times that it was a little cringey to read two characters be on totally different sides of the story i just wanted to peek into the book and set the record straight for them!!!! it wasn’t bad enough to detract from the story, though, and Wilsner did a good job of keeping it all lighthearted.

overall, a solid read for anyone looking for a sports romance/lesbian sports romance (even better if u ask me..) !!!!!!!!! <3

First I want to say thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC! I am truly grateful to have the chance to read and review books before their publishing date :)

I wanted to like this more than I did. I haven't read any of this author's other novels before but I had heard good things about Mistakes Were Made, so I decided to request this one. A sapphic, sports-based romcom is right up my alley, especially after finishing some pretty dense books. Unfortunately, my expectations were only slightly met. This story is marketed as an "enemies to lovers" romance, but there was little to no enemy part. The characters had one tense interaction and then turned around and made out in what felt like two minutes. That's kind of how a lot of the aspects of this book felt: trying to fit every aspect of every romance novel into one story.

There were mentions here and there of gender-affirming care, financial struggles, anxiety, and ADHD, both of which felt like they came out of nowhere. I admire the idea of writing a story where the characters are multi-faceted people (as real humans are) but I felt like I was being thrown all this new information with no warning. I also didn't really enjoy the miscommunication trope thing that Grace and Phoebe had going on. I know part of Grace's character dynamic is to be reserved and introverted, but it felt a little over-the-top at times, even coming from an extrovert.

There were many positive points about this book, though. I loved the supporting characters and their dynamic with Grace and Phoebe. They felt very real to me and their dialogue felt incredibly natural. As did the spicy scenes between Grace and Phoebe. Those might have been the most detailed part of the book, so if you're looking for that, I'd say this story has it!!

I am sad I didn't like this as much as I thought I would, but I am going to try another one of this author's books to see how they compare. I don't like writing whole authors off based on one book so we shall see...

I looooooved "Mistakes Were Made" and so I was really excited about this new one from Meryl Wilsner--but I think I have to DNF it at around 35%. I'm just not finding the plot very intriguing, the characters fall a bit flat, the conflict of interest that keeps the couple apart just is not compelling to me---pretty much the opposite of what I thought about "Mistakes Were Made." Maybe my expectations were too high going in? But I found myself putting it down and forgetting about it, so it's really not holding my interest. It moves pretty slowly, but without the usual tension that slow burn romances have. It's hard to remember how exactly each character feels about the other in any given moment, and why they're feeling that way. Also, the soccer team setting means there's endless side characters who all have multiple nicknames and are confusing to keep track of while not really contributing much to the plot.

I was curious how this would go, since it is the third book she's written with a power imbalance in the couple. [book:Something to Talk About|52915426] is set in MeToo Hollywood and handles the issues very sensitively, but [book:Mistakes Were Made|59808269] botched it so badly that I couldn't buy the happy ending, not to mention how it hurt other people. See this review (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4337367056) for more details.

But...this book gets it right. The power dynamics, the team dynamics, New Orleans, everything feels real.

This was a sweet story revolving around soccer, relationships, and undiagnosed disorders. Grace was a 26 year old veteran of the soccer world. She was her team’s captain, popular, and a role model for future players. It seemed like she had it all, but that was not true, Phoebe was a 22 year old newcomer. She idolized Grace since childhood and was overjoyed that she was now Grace’s teammate. Phoebe was a great player, a bundle of energy, constantly talking and very disorganized. She also seemed to have it together but didn’t. When these two women met, there was an instant connection. However, their connection meant different things to each woman, and that was a problem.

I enjoyed the soccer storyline and the interaction with the other players. The two central characters were likable to a certain degree and each had their own problems. As the story evolved, these problems became more evident and so did their likability since we were able to understand their actions. The last third of the book was the most enjoyable because we were shown the emotional struggles both women were dealing with through their dialogue and active interactions with each other and the secondary characters. It was total engagement.

Overall, similar to her other books, this was another entertaining read.

The spice was spot on and really good! The inner monologue stuff kinda dragged on a lot and was difficult for me to stay on board with sometimes.

I like the fact that they’re neurodivergent and I really appreciate that kind of diversity being shown in books more.

The characters are cute, I just didn’t connect with them much I guess. Not a bad read, just not a favorite!

Cleat Cute is indeed very cute! It has a great dual perspective which I always love in a romance. And the vibe it enemies to lovers which is always a fav trope for me. Meryl Wisner is just getting better and better with every book!