Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Cleat Cute

After singing the praises of Meryl Wilsner’s last book (MISTAKES WERE MADE - which you should read), I was SO excited to get my hands on a copy of their newest book. CLEAT CUTE is, to me, the perfect romance novel. It has 2 really complex and unique characters, tension, great supporting characters, and the perfect mix of interesting plot and steamy scenes. Finishing this book is leaving me with overwhelming feelings of joy and appreciation for the romance genre. This book is GOOD.

Also, as an adult woman with ADHD, I felt so seen by Phoebe’s character. I don’t think I’ve ever read a romance novel where one of the MC’s has ADHD (I know they exist!) and just the little comments about how her mind is never quiet or her time management issues really meant a lot to me! Thank you for that, MW. 🫶

More lesbian sports romance in 2023, PLEASE!

Huge thank you to @smpromance @stmartinspress for the advance copy and to @macmillan.audio for the advanced audiobook. I read about half physical and half audiobook and would recommend both formats. The audiobook is GOOD and has two narrators for the alternate POV which we LOVE.

Content Warnings

caseythereader's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the free copy of this book.

- I am of two minds about CLEAT CUTE. On the one hand, omggg sapphic grumpy/sunshine soccer players, was this written for me?! Plus, Grace and Phoebe have great banter and superhot chemistry.
- However, for me, this was so much miscommunication around minor things that could be so easily solved, but every time they started to have a real conversation, they just stopped and slept with each other instead.
- (MINOR SPOILER) Additionally, so much of Grace's half of the plot revolves around her assuming that her injury is about to end her career for good, when the injury is essentially a pulled muscle. This is an objectively ridiculous thing for a pro athlete with 10+ years of experience to think.
- On the other other hand, I am deeply enjoying how each of Wilsner's books is an order of magnitude spicier than the previous book.

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trussell12's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book

Firstly, Meryl Wilsner really know how to write a spicy sapphic romance!!! I really enjoyed reading this book and cannot wait to annotate my favorite parts in physical copy! The love story between Phoebe and Grace is very chaotic but in a good way. There are not many sapphic books with neurodivergent main characters and the representation makes me so happy! My only complaint is that I wish it was explored even further.

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fanboyriot's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

♡ Lesbian MCs

♡ Switching POV

♡ Extrovert x Introvert

♡ Gay Sports (Soccer)

♡ Friends with Benefits to Lovers

(Switching, Third Person POV)

I loved this book so much. It was the perfect example of extrovert x introvert or even the golden retriever and black cat dynamic. Phoebe and Grace were so cute.

Starting as friends with benefits and both wanting more after and unsure how to approach their feelings since they agreed they both didn’t want a relationship. Even the minor miscommunication was written well, which usually I’m not a fan of that trope.

The setting along with the teammates and side characters were nicely done. I loved the casual mentions of trans characters.

Grace and Phoebe were relatable and good as individuals and as a couple/friends with benefits.

Grace and her many pillows (twenty-five on her three pieces of furniture in her living room) and I absolutely love her for it. How she still reads the paper and prefers doing sudoku on paper rather than her phone. And how blunt and to the point she is, not being good with small talk was all written so nicely.

Phoebe and her not watching a TikTok if there’s a part two, felt that. Always having to be doing something and saying what was on her mind even when it comes out in a rush. How she jumped from topic to topic and how much she is there for her family. Working a second job to help with her brother’s top surgery. She really had golden retriever energy.

Having said all that, the neurodivergent characters were written so nicely. Showing how Phoebe’s life was especially affected by her ADHD and even how Grace might be on the autism spectrum.

I will say I wasn’t expecting this book to be as spicy as it was. I’ve been so used to reading YA and it was such a pleasant surprise. The sex scenes (which there are quite a few) were written so good. I loved how they checked in with each other and made sure to communicate clearly.

Overall, the characters were written well, complex and interesting; lovable. I liked the setting and how the soccer scenes weren’t drawn out in too much detail but told in an easy to understand way. All the gay panic and low-key idiots in love vibes were perfection.

Also, I’d like to point out how pretty the cover is, it’s so cute. Oh, and Lilly (the cat), who was conditioned to treats when Grace got home. He was adorable.

Content Warnings

thaliareads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC!

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!

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Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner

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