Cleat Cute

A Novel

By: Meryl Wilsner

Narrated by: Dana Varden, Zim Avaltrades

Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

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

For the gays

This book was just perfect on every level. As another gay girl in competitive soccer, thank you.

Super sad to say: good,but not great

I finished “Mistakes Were Made” first, so the bar was kind of high. I really looked forward to this, but found the plot to not be very compelling, and in the audiobook one of the narrators voices unfortunately doesn’t match the performance (or age) of the other which felt uneven. Love the diversity this author brings, and appreciate their work.

If you’re looking for cute sapphics look no further

While nothing groundbreaking literary wise the book is exactly what it looks like on the cover and good smut like this is hard to find, especially with an enjoyable narrative and relatable characters

Pros and cons but overall enjoyable

I was really into this book and had a lot of anticipation for the release simply because it was a sapphic soccer story. The performance was a bit of a let down. The different narrator voices clashed too much and i had to work to get past that and focus on the story. I would love a sequel for Grace and phoebe’s story 🤞🏻

Dumb (affectionately) Lesbians

Super cute story with ample amounts of saucy moments. Definitely captured the essence of how oblivious we can be sometimes when it comes to pretty women. Story was sweet and a good length. I LOVED the trans representation in this story as one of my best friends is Trans. Definitely worth the “read” or listen. However you choose to take in the story:)

do not read this if you're looking for fluff

as a demisexual, I should have known better than to jump into this one. so the rating is 100% my fault. there isn't a lot of fluff to add up to them getting together and that to me just isn't realistic.
performance for both are amazing though.

Wow!!!

Enthralling. Mesmerized. Loved the way they describe everything while keeping the story moving. The romantic scenes were amazing!

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.

Sweet queer & neurodivergent story, if you can overlook the narration

I loved so much about this book. The characters are real and flawed yet lovable, the story is believable and progresses with an even pace. My one gripe is that I feel like at least one of the narrators was miscast. Her voice sounds much older than the the 22-24 year old she is narrating for, instead of a 22 year old, and she races through the sex scenes as if she is afraid people might actually enjoy them.

amazing

the story was very well put together. not only does it discuss important topics like the wlw community, but also about mental issues and disorders like adhd. a very inspirational story about two lovers and of course, its wlw, so obviously its amazing.