Cleat Cute

A Novel

By: Meryl Wilsner

Narrated by: Dana Varden, Zim Avaltrades

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.

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.

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.

As the World Cup approaches and Grace works her way back from injury, a miscommunication leaves the women with hilariously different perspectives on their relationship. But they’re on the same page on the field, realizing they can play together instead of vying for the same position. With every tackle the tension between them grows, and both players soon have to decide what's more important—being together or making the roster.

The perfect blend of funny and steamy, Meryl Wilsner’s Cleat Cute is about being brave enough to win on and off the field.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

©2023 Meryl Wilsner (P)2023 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

Bookish, "15 Swoonworthy Queer Romances for Your TBR"

Buzzfeed, "25 New and Upcoming LGBTQ Romance Novels You’ve Got to Read"

"Zim Avaltrades narrates from the perspective of 26-year-old soccer veteran Grace Henderson, and Dana Varden portrays 22-year-old rookie Phoebe Matthews. Henderson and Matthews find themselves playing for the same team, in more ways than one.... Avaltrades's portrayal of Phoebe matches the same boisterous quality used by her co-narrator, whose energetic delivery fits Phoebe's extroverted temperament." (AudioFile)

"Wilsner breaks new ground with a sporty twist on the meet-cute trope...Fans of the popular Apple TV show Ted Lasso and the classic sporty romance film Bend It Like Beckham will cheer for this sexy sapphic romcom that fills a gap in the heretofore male-dominated sports-romance genre."—Booklist

"Wilsner makes this sports romance a winner."—Publishers Weekly

"[A] delightfully steamy sapphic romance...class differences are deftly handled throughout, the city setting is vibrant, and there are several secondary characters who shine; most importantly, the romantic journey at the center is fun and entertaining."—Kirkus

THE cutest gayest sh*t ever

This was so well done, and I usually do not care for miscommunication tropes!! But the way the story had me laughing, giggling, crying, and my jaw on the floor in shock. It was the most adorable sapphic soccer romance I’ve read yet!! And the neurodivergent res presentation, as well as non binary and trans representation filled my heart with such joy ❤️

The biggest page turned (errr Phone killer?)

I love listening to audio books but I don’t think I’ve ever finished one soo fast and certainly never leave reviews. But I loved Cleat Cute so much! I loved both main characters and enjoyed both POV so much! One of the best sapphic books I’ve read!

Sapphic sports stars!

3.5 Stars but I'm rounding up to 4 here.

It has to be hard to try and recreate the absolute MAGIC that was in Mistakes Were Made, because that book was something really special.

Cleat Cute is a sweet sapphic romcom and I did really enjoy my (listening) of it and the narrators in this dual POV were really good.

Grace and Phoebe are totally the opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine, undiagnosed but working on diagnosed autism/adhd characters I wanted. Grace is quiet and private and likes everything to be well within her control, so when Phoebe hurtles into her life like a hurricane it's like nothing she's ever experienced.

I'm not a sports romance kind of reader, unless the sports is the s*x. There is, objectively, too much actual sports in this. Like I feel like I know more about soccer than I did when I started and that kind of brought my rating down because I don't want to know more about sports.

The spice in this is excellent even if Phoebe's brand of dirty talk was a bit cringe at times.

Overall it's sweet and there were some seriously funny moments, and I loved these characters. It just lacked that special something we've seen this author create before.

So So Good!!!

This was a fantastic book! The character development was spot on throughout. The chemistry between the two MCs was on fire. The writing was perfect both with the story and with the spice. Loved it and highly recommend!

I enjoyed the the characters communication, or lack of it.

The sex scenes seemed sort of rudimentary to me. Even when they were past just "hooking up" it continued to lacked warmth.