ive seen others say that grace eventually tries to diagnose phoebe herself at some point and that is just not it. Cleat Cute is a fun sapphic, rivals-to-lovers, romcom full of tropes including friends with benefits, forced proximity, and opposites attract.

At every possible turn, the two of them use sex to distract each other for forming a deeper connection. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. I think it’s done well but I can see how a character having a stronger emotional reaction than the reader might have in a situation can grate at times.Because of the writing, I had a hard time connecting with the characters and struggled to immerse myself in their relationship.

Even though they have this arrangement and are friends and teammates, this book is RIDDLED with miscommunication.As the World Cup approaches, and Grace works her way back from injury, the women try to find a way they can play together instead of vying for the same position on the pitch. The autistic cat girlfriend/ADHD golden retriever girlfriend dynamic was so much fun to read and like their last book, Mistakes Were Made, there is no third act break-up in Cleat Cute! Like actually upset that Phoebe wasn't flirting with her anymore and was showing someone else attention. This was a super weird thing for me because had they talked about it more maybe I can see that as someone who hates making appointments but to do that out of the blue for a friend with benefits who you have no defined serious relationship with, platonic or romantic, was insane to me.

Phoebe's character generally drove me a bit batty, but initially I felt like Grace was someone I could really get behind. I’m more interested in both of these things than soccer, so I would’ve liked the story to develop them deeper. Even if I found some of the specifics of their communication cringey, I liked that they checked in with each other, that they talked, and really got to know what the other person needed. Grace’s potential autism diagnosis also wasn’t really discussed, besides a throwaway comment about learning more about it later (which we never witnessed).

As the World Cup approaches, and Grace works her way back from injury, the women decide to find a way they can play together instead of vying for the same position. As a sports person, I enjoyed that, getting the chance to delve more into detail on Grace's thoughts and emotions regarding her career and responsibility to her team.

It's also a deeply lesbian book, with Phoebe being an out lesbian and Grace not quite out, not to the world, and I think it had some really lovely things to dive into with queer atheletes and what it means to be out and be representation vs protecting parts of yourself from the ever present public eye. Grace despite only being 26 has been playing professionally for 10 years and Phoebe has a massive crush on her.They are both neurodivergent, which I really appreciated about their characters and the exploration of their identities they had, and they were both so lovable. I was treated to a fine romance between Grace and Phoebe with the game of soccer beautifully interspersed in the storyline.