Sapphic romance 🏳️‍🌈
Women’s pro soccer FMCs ⚽️
Neurodivergent representation 🧠
Spicy asf 🌶️

Not going to lie, this was an insta-request on NetGalley for me. A sapphic rom-com between two USW soccer players? SIGN ME UP.
I had only read one Wisner novel prior to this (Mistakes Were Made), and I will admit it was NOT for me. Cleat Cute, on the other hand, was absolutely for me! Women’s soccer is exclusively the only sport I can tolerate, and I ATE this story up. The characters, the spice, and the rivals-to-friends-to-lovers pipeline in this book is absolutely golden and inherently queer.
Phoebe and Grace’s POVs were so different. This book is a solid example of how opposites attract! I loved how Phoebe brought Grace out of her shell and made her think about her personal life and career in different ways. The growth that Grace experienced in this story was honestly so beautiful. I just would have liked to see a little more personal growth from Phoebe. Regardless, Phoebe is on my list of ultimate book girlfriends. Phoebe had me sweating.🥵
This story also addressed how grossly underpaid and overworked women in professional soccer are in compared to their male counterparts. I am so glad that Wisner integrated this fact into Phoebe’s story.
Finally, I really liked how mental health was represented in this story. For a moment, I wondered if the author was going to wrap this story up without acknowledging the neurodiverse qualities of the FMCs. The psych nurse in me was practically screaming for one of the characters to get on some meds for 85% of this book. I was seriously so relieved when these topics were addressed and different perspectives were contributed, as this topic is so important and close to my heart.

Whether you’re a soccer fan, part of the LGBTQIA+ community, romance lover-or none of these things!- this is such a fun read! Cleat Cute releases September 19th, 2023! 💘⚽️

Meryl Wilsner has solidified themselves as one of my favorite sapphic writing authors! Cleat Cute joins the trend of soccer gays this year and I'm so happy to have gotten a copy of the E-arc. This book follows a rookie who was drafted in the Women's soccer league to play for the New Orleans team. Phoebe is incredibly excited to be playing soccer for a living but also her crush and inspiration is her new captain. Grace has been playing professionally for a decade. She doesn't want a relationship, but Phoebe who is loud and proud of who she is may just wear her down. Autism and ADHD rep for both main characters!

Cute story about a rookie crushing on a vet player and subsequently falking into the friends with benefits to lovers trope. Some of the sex scene dialogue was cheesy but I guess it made sense for the characters. I wish there was bit more drama for their relationship but overall it was a fast fun read.

I was absolutely obsessed with this one. Such a cute story, a high priority purchase for all collections looking for sapphic representation.

<i>Thank you St. Martin's Press & Netgalley for this eARC!</i>

Meryl Wilsner has knocked it out of the park...excuse me, kicked it in the net...yet again! Actually, between this, [book:Mistakes Were Made|59808269] & [book:Something to Talk About|52915426], I think Meryl officially has a Hat Trick of great sapphic fiction (<i>I may have googled 'soccer lingo' for that Hat Trick bit...</i>).

As always, Meryl features great representation in their work (<i>albeit with the caveat that the racial diversity is again in the supporting cast</i>). This story probably has their largest supporting cast so far, what with teammates, and family, and while I loved them, some of them do blend together a bit, as can happen with a book with a large cast, yet only 2 protagonists. Still, even though the characters got a little blurry at times, they still each seemed to have a little touchstone moment, so none were ever actually forgettable, definitely an impressive feat! This one also wasn't as packed to the brim with sex like <b>Mistakes</b> was, which is not a plus or a minus in my book, but for people who found the sheer amount of sex in Meryl's last book a bit much, this may be more your speed. But much like last time, when Meryl brings the heat, they <b>bring the heat!</b>

And with this book, Meryl really leans in to examining neurodiversity, without necessarily having to hit you over the head. They're a little more blatant with Phoebe's situation than Grace, but in doing so, gave a great examination on the misinformation that still is out there.

Speaking of our leads, I love this pair! Grace and Phoebe are just...so phenomenal, so fantastic, engaging and distinct. The way they play off one another is so fun. When arguments arise, they never feel tropey, or like they happen because 'it's time in this book to argue'. They feel organic and earned. <spoiler>And once again, Meryl avoids my most hated of tropes, the forced third act break-up! Plus, the misunderstanding the two DO get into near the end of the book had me cackling with laughter, as well as cringing with second hand embarrassment. I loved it.</spoiler>

No other notes, 5 enthusiastic stars!

This was tooooooo good!!!!! I love real character development and a fun topic to ride along the romance. I’ve always thought of soccer as super fascinating but at a hot celebrity player and a fan girl lover and I’m in! This was so thought out and I absolutely adored how these two grew into their relationship. It was so true to their own personal journeys. Great read!

3.5* rounded down. I didn’t love this book as much as I hoped I would, but I did like it! I relate to Grace so very much in so many ways. Phoebe is a delight from start to finish. The dynamic between the two is great and the spice is consistently enjoyable. There’s not much plot to speak of and two of the conflicts that do come up in the book being in relation to personal health decisions just didn’t sit well with me. Regardless it was a good read. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you #NetGalley for an early copy of #CleatCute by #MerylWilsner to read and review (spoiler free)!

Do you love soccer? Do you love the United States Women’s National Soccer Team? Do you love very spicy sapphic romance? THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU!

This is the book I always knew I wanted to read, but never thought would exist in the real world! I’ve been a soccer player and a USWNT fan my whole life, and this book fulfills every fantasy and daydream I’ve ever had about that world.

In the book, Phoebe Matthews, our hotshot rookie, reaches a friends-with-benefit agreement with her childhood idol and veteran USWNT star, Grace Henderson. You can imagine the spicy scenes that result from this agreement (think locker rooms….)! Not only were their hook-up scenes very mouthwatering, but the actual soccer parts were fantastic! The fact that this is also a World Cup year for our own USWNT makes this the perfect time for this book to be released.

An aspect that bears mentioning, there is also a conversation around ADHD and Autism diagnoses in adult women that’s nice to see written into the work. It’s definitely not a major part of the story, but it does play a small role.

Overall, this book is everything I hoped it would be, and so much more! Go ahead and pre-order your copy to binge read when you’re going through World Cup withdrawals later this year!

I really love soccer romances, so I was very excited about this one. However, I struggled with the writing style and the pacing. I thought that the main character's relationship developed a little too quickly in the beginning - I would've preferred more tension/competition for a while longer. As for the writing, it was very tell, don't show and I found myself getting very frustrated as a result.

That said, I do still think this could be a fav of sapphic sports romance fans, so I absolutely recommend checking it out for yourself.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

ARC Review

After reading Cleat Cute and Mistakers Were Made, considering myself officially a Wilsner stan. Cleat Cute had a diverse cast of characters who had their flaws, but developed and grew. Finished in 24 hours - her writing pulls you in every time

meryl wilsner does it again! honestly, i've never read a wilsner book that i don't like. they are one of the only authors whose names i immediately recognize on a book and know that i need to read it. if you love the us women's national soccer team as much as i do, this is a must read! i don't think things get much better than sapphic love between professional athletes, and i would say this is a must read for anyone who loves a wlw story!

Cleat Cute wasn't just cute, it was STEAMY!!! Meryl Wilsner certainly knows how to write a romance story! I liked the book and thought both FMCs were unique and had a lot of depth. While I didn't totally believe their chemistry at first, I really grew to like them as a couple over the course of the read. They balanced each other out so well and although at times it felt like they would never work, they did somehow. I enjoyed the struggles they went through to build a stronger foundation for their friendship and subsequent romantic relationship. I enjoyed the friends with benefits trope, even if it wasn't really "just friends" most of the time. The professional mixing with personal made for some incredibly tense moments in this read which I thought helped to bring more life to the story. Mixing business with pleasure is always risky, especially when you're in the spotlight like these professional athletes were. I'm not a soccer fan and don't know much about the sport, so at times this book was a little hard to follow because soccer was quite literally the entire storyline. The author did a great job of breaking down some of the lingo and writing the sport in a way that was mostly easy to understand. I particularly appreciated the way in which the author addressed a character's neurodiversity and wrote the traits and behaviors in a very realistic manner. I was very happy to see this addressed in more depth as the story went on! I'd have rated Cleat Cute higher if I was a fan of the sport.

Cleat Cute

Meryl Wilsner

This is a story about two soccer players. Phenom Matthews a new player and Grace Henderson who is veteran player. They quickly fall in love but the story turned a bit strange with possible diagnosis of ADHD and autism.

The relationship was cute. And I wish they focused more on the game than the diagnosis at the end.

Thank you to Netgally for the ARC copy!!

✭ ✭ / 5

#bookish #bookstagram #booktok #book #readersofinstagram #readthis #goodreads #goodreadschallenge #bookchallenge #merylwilsner #cleatcute

I really enjoyed this very light, extremely cute F/F romance. I would definitely recommend it for a beach read, even if you aren't super into soccer (as long as you aren't annoyed by sportsball).

Phoebe Matthews is going to be starting pro soccer in New Orleans in a month when she is called up to join the National Team's camp week (which seems like a pseudo tryout period). There she gets to meet her childhood hero and crush, Grace Henderson. Grace is a bit of an ice queen, but Phoebe and Grace are also on the same team in New Orleans, and decide to give a friends-with-benefits situation a try. It shouldn't be a problem; nothing is more important than soccer, right? Right?!

Note: I received a free pdf copy of the book thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, but reviews are my own.

I'll be honest and say that I don't really like romance novels... I don't even like romance *in* novels. So safe to say that this is not a selection I would've normally gone for, but as a sapphic woman living in New Orleans with a partner who is obsessed with the USWNT........ I just couldn't _not_ read Cleat Cute, you know? And I'm glad I did, 'cause it was enjoyable and breezy and sweet, with relatively little cringe (although I did skip past the smut scenes).

As a non-romance-lover, I would say that I liked it a 3.5/5 amount, but it's ridiculous to request/choose to read a book from a genre that I don't like, and then remove stars from the book for... not liking the genre. As a romance novel, I would say that it couldn't possibly be any better. So although I'd say it's a 3.5/5 for my personal tastes, I'd call it a 5/5 for the genre.

I loved loved loved the premise for this, but was ultimately distracted by the writing. The intro to the characters was jumpy and I felt like I was thrown into the middle of something I wanted more backstory for. I ended up giving up part of the way through because the writing style just wasn't for me.

A solid 3.75 (rounded up :))

I loved the representation of neurodivergent characters! I was able to recognize the signs and characteristics before a diagnosis was mentioned and as a neurodivergent person myself I really appreciated how normal it felt within the story.
While I liked how much of an emphasis was placed on communication between the characters, and the miscommunications were very believable both as a source of conflict and in how they were resolved, there were some cringey moments.
That being said, I normally don’t love the miscommunication trope howeverrrr I was surprisingly a fan of it in this book. I genuinely enjoyed it as the conflict. It was also kept very lighthearted the whole way through which I really enjoyed. It made for such a nice easy read!!
My only real issue was how frequent and repetitive the inner monologues were. It didn’t detract too much for me but every time Phoebe mentioned how much she’s looooved soccer since she was a kid I had to roll my eyes 😂

I really enjoyed this one. I thought it was funny and the characters were interesting and supported each other. Mistakes Were Made is one of my favorite romances of 2022 so I am always interested to see what Meryl Wilsner has up their sleeve. I did feel this novel was a bit rushed. I think I wanted more from a sapphic soccer novel in a year with many sapphic soccer novels (AS WE DESERVE). However, I really enjoyed it and will always shout my support for sapphic sport romances of all kinds.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

What an absolute joy it was to be able to read cleat cute! Cleat Cute is a sapphic romance that was hilarious and such a fun break from real life. This book was like a romcom come to life, safe to say I will be reading all of Meryl Wilsner's books in the future!

Couldn't put this book down!! Very swoony and very spicy! This book was about 2 women on the national women's soccer team. Instantly they feel a connection but try to push it away being that they are on the same team and Phoebe is a rookie and Grace is a vet. Eventually, the two agree to be friends with benefits and realize they have something more. The characters have great chemistry which leads to a lot of spicy scenes throughout the book.

This book was captivating and easy to read. I did find the "love story" to move quickly throughout the book. I thought the rivals to lovers could have been drawn out a little more. It also wrote about real issues that the characters were struggling with like ADHD and professional athlete injuries. Both of these seem relatable but the plot seemed to quickly touch on the ADHD and move on. I felt like we did not really get a follow up about how she was handling that. The book was not too heavily focused on soccer, so even if you weren't a fan of women's soccer, this book would still be enjoyable.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and will definitely check out more books from this author in the future.