The characters were pretty enjoyable. The spicy scenes were very well done and I loved that there was a lot of it.
Overall though, I just felt like the book was too long for a romance !


thank you to net galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review *

This is a Dual POV romance that where the MMC deals with his past history and trauma of domestic violence, and the FMC struggles with her ability to find herself in her life and her family, they're all stars and she's not sure that's the path she wants in the end.

Isabelle and Nikolai met in the summer, he was her boss's son, and it was supposed to be just a summer fling that no one ever found out about. Summer ended, the fling is over, but when Nikolai gets kicked out his college for something he didn't do, his grandfather gets him a spot at McKee which just so happens to be where Isabelle attends school. It also happens to be where Isabelle's brother Cooper attends school, Nikolai's rival in hockey. Will they be able to get along on the same team or stay rivals? Will Nikolai and Isabelle reignite that summer spark, or burn out entirely?

This is the 4th book in the series, but they're able to read on their own.

Words cannot describe how much I loved these too together. Have been waiting for izzys story since she showed up at school - chef kiss. Grace Reilly can do no wrong, other than ending this series bc I’m going to miss them so much!!!

I felt like this one had so much potential for me to love it. Hockey romance plus it had an element of volleyball. I was really liking it until about halfway through and then it started to drag.

Wicked Serve #4 in the Beyond the Play Series by Grace Reilly

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🌶️🌶️🌶️.5

What to expect

Summer fling
Brother’s rival
Secret romance
He falls first and hard
Spice
Delicious chemistry

Grace writes books and I read them! She is able to grab a readers attention and keep them hooked from start to finish. I have enjoyed reading about the family dynamic and how it has evolved of the series.

I really liked both MMCs and how their relationship developed. They had great chemistry and the spice was perfect.

Not going to give anything away, instead I highly recommend reading this book and series as a whole.

I finally gave this book a second chance! Now that I’m more familiar with rom-coms, I appreciate this one so much more! It was an easy read. It had humor, romance, banter, and a solid plot. I just love Grace Reilly’s writing style. I’m so glad I gave this a second chance.

Great end to the series and seeing our FMC stick up for what she wants and that she is not just the baby of the family but an independent woman who can take care of herself! Bought the whole series for my shelf!

I absolutely loved this book! The banter and the relationship between the FMC & MMC was everything! I love sports romances and picking this up was a great idea! I love the tropes as well! Grace always kills it!

A will they won’t they possessive bad boy hockey player that is her brothers rival. They decide to be and friends with benefits and end it when the summer is over and go their separate way, but when he gets transferred to her college old sparks get reignited, but as they start to fall for each other a small l mishap gets her lead spot on her team taken away.

I will always be a sucker for a good FMC nickname from the MMC — and when it’s in Russian? Chef’s kiss. 💋

This was my first Grace Reilly book, and while it works perfectly as a standalone, I found myself wishing I’d read the first three books to fully appreciate the found family dynamic and the protectiveness of the FMC’s brothers and their partners. That said, I still fell for the characters and their slow, emotional unraveling.

The story centers on two main characters who are clearly struggling with their feelings for each other, trying (and failing) to keep things platonic while also dealing with complicated family dynamics in very different ways. Their chemistry was sweet and believable, and I loved how their emotional journeys unfolded with care and subtlety.

While this was mostly a light, breezy read — one I flew through in a sitting — it also touched on deeper issues in a way that added substance without weighing the story down. Those emotional beats hit just right, leaving me both satisfied and curious to explore more of this world.

I’ll definitely be going back to read the first three books, and I’m excited to dig into more of Grace Reilly’s writing. If you’re in the mood for a heartfelt, funny, and emotionally grounded romance, this one delivers.

4.5 stars!

I had no idea Wicked Serve was book 4 in an interconnected series, so that's my bad. This can be read as a standalone, but for me, I was so interested in the other couples too, that I will definitely be going back to read the other books. Wicked Serve was a cute and fun sports romance book. Nikolai and Izzy's relationship was cute, and I was so intrigued by the forbidden romance.

Wicked Serve by Grace Reilly is a spicy, trope-filled college sports romance that checks all the expected boxes—but unfortunately, doesn't offer much to set itself apart from the growing crowd in this genre.

As the final book in the Beyond the Play series, I was hoping for something fresh or emotionally resonant to wrap things up. While the setup—a forbidden romance between a hockey player and his rival’s little sister—is promising, the execution felt a bit formulaic. I’ve read many stories like this one, and this didn’t bring anything particularly new to the table.

Nikolai is your classic broody bad boy with a soft side, and Izzy is the ambitious, sunshine heroine trying to carve out her own path. Their chemistry is definitely there, and the steam is solid. Fans who enjoy friends-with-benefits evolving into something deeper will likely enjoy their dynamic. But for me, their story didn’t dig deep enough emotionally or developmentally to really stand out. I found myself going through the motions, rather than being fully invested.

If you’re already a fan of the series or enjoy low-stakes, spicy college romances with all the expected tropes, this may still hit the spot. But if you're looking for something fresh or different in the hockey romance niche, this one may leave you wanting more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Not my favorite of the series. It did drag a little bit for me. I was really looking forward to this one too so I was a bit disappointed. I did like that she was an athlete too though!.

I love a good sports romance, this one had great chemistry and angst, heart felt and really had me invested. Overall a satisfying read

Ooook you all! This was my very first Grace Reilly book and I am kicking myself for that!

Wicked Serve completes The Beyond the Play series and let me just say I WILL be going to read the rest of this series asap!

Thankfully these are all stand alones so I never felt lost even though characters from the rest of the series popped in and out!

Now onto Nikolai & Izzy!

“𝘔𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭."

Let me just say I could not get enough of them! Nikolai being a Russian hockey playing God was so unexpected! He was so caring and so delicious despite all of the secrets he kept!

Izzy was so relatable in everything she did. All of us are just trying to make someone proud in this world and she was no different! I loved her character and how resilient she was through all of the drama that was her life!

"𝘐𝘧 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘦𝘴, 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦."

These two together were perfection! The beginning of the story, the summer romance, gave me major Sandy & Danny from “Grease” vibes! The love these two shared was amazing! I mean a so many swoon worthy moments! Oh and the spice! Let’s just say I was pleasantly surprised by it! Definitely not what I expected in this book, but wow was it chefs freaking kiss!!

All in all this book was fantastic! If you enjoy brothers rival, forbidden, swoon worthy, second chance romance please add this one to your tbr! You will not regret it!

A delightful sports romance with heartfelt emotion and sizzling chemistry. Two athletes navigate the complexities of love, family,and ambition. There are moments that tugged on my heart.
Many thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

*Wicked Serve* by Grace Reilly is a steamy sports romance with major tension and tons of chemistry. Izzy and Nik’s secret fling turns complicated when they end up at the same college—her brother’s rival and now his teammate. It’s hot, fun, and full of that perfect forbidden romance vibe. A must-read if you love secret relationships and swoon-worthy moments!

This book was right down the middle for me. I loved parts and really pushed back against others.

I loved that this is a second chance romance. They had a perfect summer together and now find themselves at the same college but they canNOT be together. They probably could, but then where would the tension be?

What frustrated me about this book was Izzy’s volleyball coach who basically told her that if volleyball isn’t going to be her main and entire focus, she can’t earn back her spot on the team. I hate that. She can love her team and be great at the sport and as long as she’s not actively hurting anyone, let her stay on the team. Telling her that she needs to eliminate any distraction is furthering this pretty pernicious idea to athletes that their sport is their life.

A nice read, but I don’t think this is a series for me moving forward.

This is the 4th book in the Beyond Play series but can easily be read as as standalone.

Isabelle and Nicolai had a magical summer fling while Izzy worked as a Wedding Planner Intern for Nikolai's mother. They agree end their romance at the end of summer because they will need to go their separate ways. While Izzy told her friends about their fling, she kept this secret from her family, because Nicolai happens to be the Hockey Captain at his school and he may have had some words with Izzy's brother on the Ice during a match. Izzy's brother happens to be McKee's Hockey Captain. Nikki gets expelled from his school and winds up at Mckee University where Izzy is and the two can barely keep their hands off of each other. Is this going to work out for them or end in heartbreak?

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC.

3.5 stars

I didn’t know what to expect going into this book when I haven’t read any of the others in this series. It is possible to read this one alone, but I think I would have a better grasp on Isabelle’s brothers and their separate personalities had I read the others, especially Cooper’s that’s being said, I don’t think the brother’s rival trope really mattered that much in this book. The main couple got together at about at the 50% mark and the conflict with Isabelle’s brother Cooper didn’t hold as much weight as Isabelle’s insecurities and Nikolai’s childhood trauma.
I think there were several scenes (fluffy and spicy) that could have been cut down or cut out. There were a few points where I wasn’t sure where the story was going because the scene didn’t further the plot. The last 20% of the story really found it’s meat and potatoes and finished off really strong.