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This is the third romance I’ve read now by Meryl Wilsner, and I feel their romances are always a fun time, even if they’re not necessarily ones that leave too much of a lasting impression overall. However, they’re perfect for when I just need an audiobook or a quick read to get me out of a slump, and Cleat Cute is no exception!
Now, I’m no stranger to sports romances, and honestly, I quite like them every once in a while. There’s just something about the competitive setting that seems to add an extra layer of tension to the romance, especially when utilized well. I feel like Cleat Cute does generally do this, and a lot of the romantic and plot tension does come from the intricacies of the sport and inter-team dynamics. However, there were moments where I wish it had been used a little more somehow, though the specifics of the plot do make it harder to do so. I think the timing of the romance within the season just meant that the tension from this setting wasn’t always entirely there, as while the performance of our characters was important to an extent, it was still pre-season or early on in the season, so the games themselves weren’t necessarily intense or specifically about winning. It did make for an interesting perspective though, how for individual players it isn’t just about winning, but about their individual performance within a game.
Overall though, I did like the general chemistry between Grace and Phoebe, even if I struggled with their relationship for parts near the end. However, I do like how Wilsner used their neurodivergencies throughout the story, in a way that felt real and would genuinely contribute to the misunderstandings they often had. As someone with ADHD myself, while I didn’t entirely feel seen by Phoebe’s character, I did enjoy her character and seeing someone with some of my same habits/thoughts in a romance book like this!
I’ll definitely be reading Wilsner’s next book whenever it comes out, as their books continue to bring me joy!
“I was trying to be brave. I was trying to let people in. I was trying. I am who I am today because of my messes. Because I’ve survived them. Because I’ve written about them. Because I’ve learned from them, because I keep searching for new tools to clean them up, because I keep trying to heal.”
(Don’t) Call Me Crazy is a collection of essays and stories discussing mental illness, from the perception of it to personal stories of living with it. It dives into many aspects of this tough topic, from how individuals perceive it to how society does, to the definition of mental illness and how it differs for each person. It works to start/continue the conversation on mental health.
(Don’t) Call Me Crazy is an extremely personal set of essays and the experience of reading will therefore differ drastically for each person. Some will see themselves in these stories, some will disagree entirely with others, and some even might be entirely disaffected. I still don’t know the extent of this collection’s impact on me, as it’s something I am still actively thinking on/exploring, but I will admit it was an extremely hard read for me and I put off continuing it at several stages.
Mental health, even with its prevalence in modern media today, is still something surrounded with layers of stigma. This collection tackles that using pure honesty and openness, starting the conversation by showing that many authors we look up to and admire struggle with the same things we do. It validates readers by showing that illnesses should not have to manifest physically in order to be taken seriously. It also shows that dealing with mental illness and society’s reactions is not easy and that it’s okay to ask for help.
It’s a hard collection to critique, because on the grading scale of standard collections and anthologies it would score fairly moderately. There’s a lot of repetition in the stories, some feel way too long and others way too short, and it often feels like the categories that the stories are assigned to are meaningless. However, there is a positive side to almost all of these downsides to the people who are reading it. Repetition is often very important, the more you see yourself in media and published stories the more your feelings feel validated. Imperfections in stories breath the honesty of those same stories, as hiding these discussions behind a facade of perfection would feel faked. It puts me in a weird position, writing this review, because I don’t know how to rate it at all.
In the end, I settled on four stars, because I feel this collection can be important for many of the reasons listed above. However, even so, this wasn’t a perfect collection, as few ever are. It had flaws, and I will be honest that there are some stories I ended up skimming or skipping altogether. But the majority of this collection was powerful and wonderful and I definitely recommend it if you're looking either to find validation in others like you, learn more about a subject you may not know more about, or simply to support the authors putting themselves out there in these stories.
(Don’t) Call Me Crazy is a collection of essays and stories discussing mental illness, from the perception of it to personal stories of living with it. It dives into many aspects of this tough topic, from how individuals perceive it to how society does, to the definition of mental illness and how it differs for each person. It works to start/continue the conversation on mental health.
(Don’t) Call Me Crazy is an extremely personal set of essays and the experience of reading will therefore differ drastically for each person. Some will see themselves in these stories, some will disagree entirely with others, and some even might be entirely disaffected. I still don’t know the extent of this collection’s impact on me, as it’s something I am still actively thinking on/exploring, but I will admit it was an extremely hard read for me and I put off continuing it at several stages.
Mental health, even with its prevalence in modern media today, is still something surrounded with layers of stigma. This collection tackles that using pure honesty and openness, starting the conversation by showing that many authors we look up to and admire struggle with the same things we do. It validates readers by showing that illnesses should not have to manifest physically in order to be taken seriously. It also shows that dealing with mental illness and society’s reactions is not easy and that it’s okay to ask for help.
It’s a hard collection to critique, because on the grading scale of standard collections and anthologies it would score fairly moderately. There’s a lot of repetition in the stories, some feel way too long and others way too short, and it often feels like the categories that the stories are assigned to are meaningless. However, there is a positive side to almost all of these downsides to the people who are reading it. Repetition is often very important, the more you see yourself in media and published stories the more your feelings feel validated. Imperfections in stories breath the honesty of those same stories, as hiding these discussions behind a facade of perfection would feel faked. It puts me in a weird position, writing this review, because I don’t know how to rate it at all.
In the end, I settled on four stars, because I feel this collection can be important for many of the reasons listed above. However, even so, this wasn’t a perfect collection, as few ever are. It had flaws, and I will be honest that there are some stories I ended up skimming or skipping altogether. But the majority of this collection was powerful and wonderful and I definitely recommend it if you're looking either to find validation in others like you, learn more about a subject you may not know more about, or simply to support the authors putting themselves out there in these stories.
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