Cleat Cute

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I don’t even know where to begin! Cleat Cute was such a fun and exciting read. It has the perfect amount of romance, drama, and just enough spice! I absolutely loved Grace and Phoebe, and I especially enjoyed the the secondary characters like Gabby, Madeeha, and Fish. I almost wish Wilsner didn’t write such interesting secondary characters because I just wanted to keep reading about them! It’s because it’s an equal bet,” Phoebe says, then admits, “Or, well, it can be because of two things.” 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.” Cleat Cute’s Sapphic Soccer Romance Will Fill the World Cup-Shaped Hole in Your Heart." - Autostraddle 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.

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. In Mistakes Were Made, Wilsner somehow deftly depicts both the messy, exuberant confusion of college life and the messy, bewildering confusion of middle age. Cassie and Erin's journey is taboo and sexy, but ultimately, it is deeply sweet: a story of how love can, and should, transcend societal expectations." - Anita Kelly, author of Love & Other DisastersGrace Henderson has been a star of the US Women’s National Team for ten years, even though she’s only 26. But when she’s sidelined with an injury, a bold new upstart, Phoebe Matthews, takes her spot. Phoebe is everything Grace isn’t—a gregarious jokester who plays with a joy that Grace lost somewhere along the way. The last thing Grace expects is to become friends with benefits with this class clown she sees as her rival. 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. 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. Grace Henderson has been a star of the US Women’s National Team for ten years, even though she’s only 26. But when she’s sidelined with an injury, a bold new upstart, Phoebe Matthews, takes her spot. 22-year-old Phoebe is everything Grace isn’t��a gregarious jokester who plays with a joy that Grace lost somewhere along the way. The last thing Grace expects is to become teammates with benefits with this class clown she sees as her rival. 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.

Grace Henderson has been a star of the US Women's National Team for ten years, even though she's only 26. But when she's sidelined with an injury, a bold new upstart, Phoebe Matthews, takes her spot. 22-year-old Phoebe is everything Grace isn't-a gregarious jokester who plays with a joy that Grace lost somewhere along the way. The last thing Grace expects is to become teammates with benefits with this class clown she sees as her rival. All in all, the cards really were dealt against me here—what with “baby girl,” third present, and soccer—so I’m definitely impressed that I had an overall enjoyable time. It’s not my favorite book ever, but if you don’t have my same hangups, it definitely has great potential! As usual, Wilsner juggles a variety of identities and life circumstances with ease, flowing them naturally into the plot and characterization of the main cast and supporting characters. The world feels well-rounded and fully descriptive. And the sex scenes--scorching, unsurprisingly, as well as touching and enlightening. Let's get into where this book went wrong. One of the things I loved about this author's debut was the slow burn. I think that it spent so much time on character development and character communication and didn't allow sex to be a filler for those really important parts of the book. The author's second book which is quoted as the MILF book was okay and I liked it enough but it wasn't as good. This one is the worst. Instead of communicating at any point in this book The characters have sex. And like, if that's your jam that's your jam whatever, but I'm going to need some actual plot and/or character development or communication or talking. I don't even need plot to be completely honest but I do need likable and interesting characters. This book does not have those. Phoebe Matthew’s chances of playing professional soccer is very slim as she played for a small college in the midwest. Being drafted to play for the same professional team her idol plays on is a mind blowing dream come true for Phoebe.Phoebe Matthews gets her greatest wish and is drafted to play soccer on the U.S. Women’s National Team. She develops a crush on the Captain of the team, Grace Henderson, and the two start a relationship as they manage life, career and outside pressures. Grace Henderson has been a star of the US Women’s National Team for ten years, even though she’s only 26. But when she’s sidelined with an injury, a bold new upstart, Phoebe Matthews, takes her spot. 22-year-old Phoebe is everything Grace isn’t - a gregarious jokester who plays with a joy that Grace lost somewhere along the way. The last thing Grace expects is to become teammates with benefits with this class clown she sees as her rival. You then follow along with these women as they navigate their complicated friendship, as well as their equally complicated careers. 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.

Despite (still) not knowing anything about soccer, this is a fun, spicy, and lightly angsty sapphic rom com! I would recommend this one to anyone who enjoys a steamy sapphic romance; extra points if you enjoy a sports romance. The audiobook was well narrated, so definitely recommend that as a format for as well. Hi, is this Phoebe Matthews?” The voice is accented—Phoebe doesn’t know enough about the UK—Great Britain? the British Isles? whatever it’s called—to place it exactly. this book is literally repetitive internal monologue, soccer, miscommunication and sex (which this is arguably the only likable thing about this book). Grace and Phoebe were both such well rounded characters. While each dealt with either ADHD or autism, it wasn't harped on or made to be a huge barrier to their relationship. If anything, it was truly done with such care and wholesomeness. While keeping the usual Meryl-sizzle, we also see them showing love by assisting each other with doctors appointments, schedules, and various other things they struggled with. The LGBTQ+ representation was also perfectly done! Inclusion of transgender, bi, etc characters just added an extra layer of inclusion to an otherwise normal sapphic romance.

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. I won't recommend it 🤷 based on my review (and be sure to read others's as well), I'm sure you can decide for yourself if it's right for you. I listened to an audiobook version of this story narrated by Dana Varden and Zim Avaltrades. Each did the chapters from their character POV. The voices are close in tone and rhythm while different enough in pitch that you can hear when the POV changes. Both did a great job portraying a twenty-something female with changing emotions and career concerns. With the impending arrival of the World Cup and Grace’s ongoing recovery from her injury, the women collectively endeavour to identify a means by which they might engage in collaborative play rather than competing for the same position. However, in non-sporting contexts, Grace expresses concern about developing emotional attachment, while Phoebe perceives their relationship as being romantic in nature. As the level of stress escalates, it is plausible that both players may come to the realisation that their interpersonal bond holds greater significance than their pursuit of securing a position on the team. About The Author Meryl Wilsner