Cleat Cute

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Over a series of increasingly personal encounters, the two women end up becoming friends. More specifically, friends with very incredibly hot benefits. all in all at the end of the day there doesnt seem to be an actual plot to this book, its more bad fan fiction than anything?

The conversation around ADHD happened a lot later than I expected—because like Grace, I definitely thought Phoebe was already diagnosed—but I really liked it and how the conversation helped their relationship grow as well. Grace’s potential autism diagnosis also wasn’t really discussed, besides a throwaway comment about learning more about it later (which we never witnessed). I’m more interested in both of these things than soccer, so I would’ve liked the story to develop them deeper. Meryl Wilsner is a go-to author for sapphic reads." - Culturess, "10 queer romance releases to keep Pride Month going in 2023" Then throw in soccer on top of the writing style…and I was definitely hanging on for dear life. I don’t understand the rules of soccer and I quite literally know even less about it, so parts of the book were hard to follow. It’s definitely a book for people who already know soccer since there were a lot of terms and such that weren’t explained. Soccer was a main character—which I’m not complaining about since it’s literally obvious from the cover, title, and summary lol—it’s just on me for overestimating my potential interest in reading about it.Did I mention the 🔥🔥?! All I can say is good thing it's hot here because I needed a cold shower after some of Grace and Phoebes encounters!! This is truly one of if not the very best Sapphic romance of the year! The only downfall is another year or so until their next release. 😭 Still, she’d take him with if she could. Her only reservation about heading to Louisiana at the end of the month is how far she’ll be from her family. College was one thing—Mapleton was close enough to bring her laundry home. Moving to NOLA will be her first time living outside of Indiana in her twenty-two years. A sapphic rivals to lovers rom com for fans of Ted Lasso and A League of Their Own, where two soccer teammates are at odds before falling in love as their team gears up for the World Cup.

It was strange. It was like the conflict needed to be there and we were going to make it happen no matter how out of place it seemed. A frothy blend of heart, humor, and steam, this story about accepting love and embracing the unexpected will stay with readers far beyond its happily ever after. A vibrant, intoxicating romance." - Ashley Herring Blake, author of Delilah Green Doesn't Care

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It’s better than Teddy’s usual bet, though, which is to make Phoebe wash his binder. He always waits until after working out to collect, the asshole. Grace Henderson has played on the National team since she was sixteen years old. Everything she does is to stay in shape and be focused for soccer. Meeting the rookie for her pro team sends Grace into a tailspin. No one has ever treated her like a normal person before this. Phoebe’s youthful enthusiasm, work ethic and easy manner pulls Grace toward her like no one else has in her life. There were moments I was completely invested and enjoying the topics that Wilsner was examining. Then something would happen that would turn me off completely. It always took a while after the turn off to become invested again.

Early thoughts : I am frustrated by Grace's whiplash emotions about soccer. It's all she is, all she knows, because of how early she started playing, and how that makes her feel aged (which I'll get to in a second..) and she is grumpy and bad at being social -- she basically just sits silently whenever Phoebe is rambling or talking or asking questions about non-soccer stuff and I think there's something more to this, or at least I hope there is, because otherwise it feels kinda.. baity -- and then she'll get all bent out of shape and butthurt if Phoebe comes to her with soccer specific questions or inquiries. So like.. what is it? Are you only soccer or can you be both and if you're both why are you mad when someone talks to you about the former? This gave me a headache. Second issue is that.. this is a twenty-six year old person who acts and behaves like she's a hundred years old. Complaining about her body (but, despite being a pro athlete, refusing to deal with her injuries and potentially making them worse..) being old and broken down and acting the same and I just.. I don't know. I expected this to be a lot more fun and and wholesome based on the Ted Lasso pitch and it was not. Well, that was certainly a choice both my decision to continue listening to this book despite not liking it and the decision to write the book at all. I mean really? Can you really consider a book rivals to lovers if the characters are on the same team and they're not rivals at any point in the entire book? They're not even enemies? Hell they don't even dislike each other. In what world does this classify as a rivals to lovers? While this ended up being just an okay read for me, I know others will enjoy it a lot more. I’m looking forward to whatever Wilsner comes up with next.The perfect blend of funny and steamy, Meryl Wilsner’s Cleat Cute is about being brave enough to win on and off the field. I'm really on the fence about this one. There were things I really liked about it, there were some mediocre things, and then there was this overall style of storytelling that just blanketed the whole thing, dampening the entire experience. I didn't love this book, I just read it and felt very little about it, to be honest. Consequently, it took forever to finish because I just didn't care 🤷 Wilsner’s steamy, fast-paced secret-lovers contemporary romance features fully realized queer protagonists and secondary characters...It’s not a romantic comedy, but definitely has humor, as well as great dialogue and hot sex scenes." - Library Journal

Both Phoebe and Grace set out from nearly right at the beginning that they’re going to be friends with benefits. I felt like the “rivals” part was missing mostly. I also felt like they got together so fast for something marketed as “rivals.” Grace Henderson is pretty much the grande dame of US women’s soccer. She has been on the national team since she was a teenager and is also the captain of the New Orleans professional women’s soccer team, the Krewe. Younger players coming up through the high school and college ranks look up to her as an inspiration, even an idol. Phoebe Matthews is too focused on her first season as a professional soccer player to think about seducing her longtime idol. But when Grace ends up making the first move, they can’t keep their hands off of each other. In Meryl Wilsner’s new sapphic romance, Cleat Cute, tropes abound. Set in the world of professional women’s soccer, the book follows two players who couldn’t be more different. Though only 26, Grace is a veteran player and the team’s captain. She’s reserved, stalwart in her dedication to the sport, and content with her solitude. Phoebe is a rookie player bursting with energy, enthusiasm, and jokes for days. Despite Grace’s best efforts to keep distance between them, Phoebe breaks down all of her walls and they embark on a passionate – albeit undefined – affair.

Which leads us to Cleat Cute! The novel stars Grace Henderson a 10 year veteran of the US National Women’s soccer team and captain of the New Orleans pro team who is suddenly challenged by a fresh face out of college - Pheobe Matthews who is drafted by New Orleans. I am probably going to get some of the terms around the soccer stuff wrong because it isn’t my jam but I assume the research is accurate. Interestingly considering that their last novel was an age gap, Wilsner does often remind us that Grace and Pheobe only have a 4 year age gap and their dynamic is more due to experience than age. But don't worry, Pheobe annoyed me, too! Out of nowhere bitching people out for not telling her that they might be eating out and how "some people have to budget" like.. I get it, yes, expectations should be set but also I feel like this could've been discussed in a more tactful way? I don't know. It really rubbed me wrong somehow. And all the dirty talk.. ugh, I know, sapphics deserve dirty talk too but honestly I'm over it when it happens in most romances no matter if it's hetero or m/m or what. So that's a me thing.