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A review by podanotherjessi
Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book was a lot of "it's not you, it's me." But also some things I think were objectively a little rough.
To start with the one major complaint I have that I think was actually a fault of the book and not just me. None of the conflicts between the couple in this book ever get resolved. They will start talking through it, but before they can resolve anything, one or the other will initiate sex instead. And they never actually address the issues. For me, in a romance, this is a huge flaw that makes it hard to believe in the couple's long term success.
And then there were things that just didn't work for me but probably wouldn't bother the regular reader.
First, boundary crossing was a big problem for both women in this story. A lot of their conflicts, when simplified, boil down to this issue. But the characters clearly don't mind. None of the things that to me were a clear violation of boundaries seemed to bother the characters in the same way. So none of the boundary issues got resolved because to the characters they weren't issues. So it just really bothered me.Phoebe getting involved in Grace's injury in the first place felt like an invasion. I absolutely hated Grace going behind Phoebe's back to book her an ADHD appointment. But clearly neither of the characters felt they were out of line for doing things like that.
Second, the sex scenes were practically unreadable for me. It's mostly just a "not my kink" situation, but I hate reading dirty talk in book and double hate listening to a narrator read dirty talk in books. And there was SO MUCH dirty talk in this one. I really hated that.
Adding onto that, I do think there were some questionable moments in the sex scenes that made me uncomfortable. Just things verging into dom/sub territory that I feel should have been better discussed of negotiated beforehand.The delayed orgasm stuff and Phoebe's tendency to boss Grace, especially coupled with the fact that she was using sex as a tool to control Grace, just all felt really icky to me.
I really liked the soccer games, and I thought Grace's story in particular was wonderful. But I just couldn't root for the couple as a couple. I didn't buy their romantic connection, and they were sending up so many red flags for me.
To start with the one major complaint I have that I think was actually a fault of the book and not just me. None of the conflicts between the couple in this book ever get resolved. They will start talking through it, but before they can resolve anything, one or the other will initiate sex instead. And they never actually address the issues. For me, in a romance, this is a huge flaw that makes it hard to believe in the couple's long term success.
And then there were things that just didn't work for me but probably wouldn't bother the regular reader.
First, boundary crossing was a big problem for both women in this story. A lot of their conflicts, when simplified, boil down to this issue. But the characters clearly don't mind. None of the things that to me were a clear violation of boundaries seemed to bother the characters in the same way. So none of the boundary issues got resolved because to the characters they weren't issues. So it just really bothered me.
Second, the sex scenes were practically unreadable for me. It's mostly just a "not my kink" situation, but I hate reading dirty talk in book and double hate listening to a narrator read dirty talk in books. And there was SO MUCH dirty talk in this one. I really hated that.
Adding onto that, I do think there were some questionable moments in the sex scenes that made me uncomfortable. Just things verging into dom/sub territory that I feel should have been better discussed of negotiated beforehand.
I really liked the soccer games, and I thought Grace's story in particular was wonderful. But I just couldn't root for the couple as a couple. I didn't buy their romantic connection, and they were sending up so many red flags for me.