As a Callahan Family/Beyond the Play booklover I was so excited to be given a chance to read this. Thank you to Avon/Harper Collins for the opportunity to read early.

Izzy Callahan is everything you loved about her brothers and more. If James & Bex gave us some family struggle, Cooper & Penny brought the spice, and Sebby & Mia the found family… then buckle the truck up babes because Izzy, like all little sisters does it all but better.

Grace captures the hard work & dedication of her McKee athletes in all of the Beyond the Play books but oh damn does she really do right by Izzy and Niko. This is the perfect goodbye to the Callahan Family.

˖⁺. ༶ ⋆˙ 3.5 ☆˙⋆ ༶ .⁺ ˖

This book is so cute showing us a relationship without any toxicity, a lot of support and encouragement from each other and they fell so hard since the summer they met💖 I enjoyed most of it💕

➴ College Sports? ✔️🏒

➴ Secret Relationship? ✔️🙈

➴ Brother’s Rival? ✔️🤯

➴ He falls first and harder? ✔️💘

➴ Healthy relationship? ✔️🥰

➴ Family Bonds ✔️💛

➴ Friendships Bonds? ✔️💕

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

❥ Isabelle 💗 ˖⁺. ༶ ⋆˙⊹

➳ she is so confident, extrovert, generous, supportive, caring, and very fashionable👑💅🏼

➳ she was so selfless and sometimes she needed to care more for herself. But I loved that she cared so much for her family and how supportive she was with them. Also, she was so supportive of Nik helping him to follow his dreams💗

❥ Nikolai 💙 ˖⁺. ༶ ⋆˙⊹

➳ a hockey player struggling with mental health who is obsessed with Isabelle since the first time he saw her in a game. He is so kind, supportive, gentle, caring and protective. He had a lot of gestures with his sunshine so heart-melting☀️🌷💖

➳ my respect for him for putting his mental health first and working on himself to get better and be able to be the best version of himself. Nik does this to get the future he and Isa deserve to have together😭💛✨

❥ My thoughts 💭 ˖⁺. ༶ ⋆˙⊹

➳ this book was very entertaining and for the most part, I enjoyed it✨ like those sweet moments between Nik and Isa and how healthy and domestic their relationship felt since the beginning. Also, the family and friendship bonds💕

➳ I loved that Isabelle knew how to stand up for herself and her loved ones. More than Nik because he only stands up for other people but not for himself and that was so frustrating. Like dude, you have to say something! Also, he just does whatever his grandpa tells him to do. He wanted Nik to quit hockey, so he was going to do so without a single fight. Uh? If it wasn’t for Isa, he wouldn't dare contradict his grandfather, talk to his mother, and follow his dreams.

➳ even though I loved the short chapters, there were too many😭 I feel like the book was too long with some scenes and plot that honestly didn't contribute anything.

➳ I didn’t like that Isabelle tried to push Nik to tell her about his past. I mean girl...chill! It’s a tough matter for him and he would tell you in his own time, not yours.

➳ I love the pink color, I really do. But it was mentioned in every chapter I swear. Like we get it girl, your favorite color is pink. We understood it the 9347238 times it was mentioned.

➳ I don’t know if it was just me, but all the Russian vocabulary mentioned felt so weird and many scenes were so cringy idk😭 anddddd this book was 70% smut and 30% plot

Anyways, despite all those things I didn’t quite like about this book, it was pretty entertaining and had a lot of cute moments I really enjoyed💫

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

Thank you NetGalley, Avon Books, and Harper Voyager for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review! 💜

ARC READ ✨ I’m a sucker for a good Hockey romance, and this hit the spot. I loved having the aspect of our FMC also being a student athlete and them both going through their journeys together with their teams. I thought the storyline progressed at a perfect pace and loved seeing these two grew stronger together. I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait for everyone else to get this in their hands!

This books was absolutely perfection. This was my first Grace Reilly book and it did NOT disappoint. I can’t wait to read the rest of this series ASAP.

Nikolai was a MMC dream. He had a filthy mouth and a dominate side. He called Izzy sunshine and was a total golden retriever for her. The found family in this was top tier and made me so emotional. Isabels character was amazing and her character growth through the book was so perfect. I loved the healing and growth that this book showed with childhood trauma and I actually teared up at the epilogue. Pure perfection, absolutely five stars. I can’t wait to get my physical copy when it publishes!

I got the opportunity to read this book as an ARC through NetGalley.
For the most part, I enjoyed this book. It made me feel plenty of emotions from start to finish. I enjoyed the growth for both main characters. And there was plenty of spice throughout the entirety of it.
On the other hand, there are some things I didn't enjoy due to personal preference. For starters the book felt too long. It was harder for me to read after the main plot for the couple being resolved halfway through. I wouldn't say the whole plot was resolved by this point as well but, I also do not think it needed to take 200 more pages to get there. The only other thing I saw as a con was, even though I enjoy a spicy book, at some points it felt inappropriate.
All together i think it is a great read! When it comes out August 13th, I will be buying a physical copy for my bookshelf.

I was honored to be able to get an ARC of this book. I absolutely loved it! Izzy is the youngest of the Callahans with three older brothers. This past summer she interned with a wedding planner whose son happens to be her brother’s biggest rival, Nikolai. Izzy and Nikolai had a summer fling that both swore would stay in the summer. Nikolai is a hockey player who unexpectedly transfers to the same school where Izzy and her brother attend. What will happen to the chemistry between them now that they’re on the same campus? This story is so well done with more twists and turns than I was expecting but they made the story that much more interesting, the spice in the book is also more than I expected but I loved every second of it!

Possible Trigger Warnings:
- Discussions of an abusive spouse/parent
- Feeling of inadequacy
- Aggressive sex

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

4th novel in Grace Reilly’s Beyond the Play series, this story focuses on Isabelle Callahan, sister of the multi-sports-talented Callahans family. Izzy is a volleyball player at McKee University when hockey player Nikolai transfers from a rival school. Not only is he a rival player from another school on the same team as Izzy’s brother Cooper, but he is also her former secret summer fling. Drama, steamy scenes, and complicated family dynamics ensue.

I enjoyed this book. It was spicy but heartfelt. The two characters both have their own issues to iron out before landing together, and the baggage he carries around about his abusive father is dark but lends itself to good character growth. I also liked seeing volleyball in the mix in a sports-romance. I think that this book was a step above most steamy sports books - it had a lot of heart.

Thank you Grace Reilly & her publisher for letting me be an ARC reader for this book! I didn’t realize this book was apart of a series but it can definitely be read as a standalone.

Nik & Izzy have a sweet love story, full of so much love and chemistry. I loved both main characters and enjoyed their growth too. I loved getting to read about the side characters too. Since it’s part of series, but can be read as a standalone, I felt like this book had just enough information about the other siblings (main characters in previous books). I still felt connected to them without reading the other books.

This book is spicy, 🌶️ 🌶️🌶️/5 with a few triggers, such as DV.

I give this book a 4 out of 5. I loved the story but I felt in some parts it did drag which made the book a little long unnecessarily. However I did enjoy the book and would recommend to others 🩵

I loved this book! I hadn’t read the other books in the series but this could be read as a standalone and still be enjoyed! I enjoyed the fact that this story deviated from the typical third act breakup as well as the usual plot lines in hockey romance books. Overall I rated this 4/5 stars just because there was a slower beginning and the story did not pick up for a good chunk of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and HarperVoyager for the eARC of Wicked Serve!

Once I started this book.. I COULDN’T PUT IT DOWN. This is my first time reading a book from Grace Reilly and I can assure you it won’t be my last. Nik & Izzy... the emotions.. the sexual parts…Wow lol I can’t wait to read it again! This is a couple I’ll continuously root for! And that epilogue was such a delight to read! :’)

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for early access to Wicked Serve.
The utter excitement I had when I was approved for this read was through the rough. I enjoyed all thr books in the Beyond The Play series but this was by far my favorite one. The chemistry was & The spice? The depth in the story line... it was emotional and real. It was fun to see some pop ups from chracters from the other books too. This will be a definite reread for me!

I love me a good sports romance! I also love when it’s easy to follow. I haven’t read the other books in this series but you can definitely read as a standalone.

Omg I could not love Wicked Serve any more than I did. This was truly the BEST book in their series and I loved the connection between Izzy and Nikolai. We live for character growth like we see in this book!! Amazing work, Grace Reilly!!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I was super excited to read this book and it did not disappoint! The plot was interesting, unique, and kept me engaged. The writing of Izzy and Nik was also very good, and I was able to connect with and empathize with the characters. I was always looking forward to reading more, and once I finished this book I immediately felt the need to re-read it to revisit the characters and their stories. Wicked Serve is the perfect send-off for the Callahan family, and, in my opinion, is my favorite book in the series. I highly recommend it!

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC!

3.5/5 stars!! I really liked reading these characters, as well as the ensemble too. My one problem with this story is that the middle felt like it dragged on for far too long, but the romance was amazing and I enjoyed it!!

This is 🌶🌶🌶🌶 very spicy so like rest of the books, but it was so good and I loved niks story and getting into his story was so good to read and izzy I loved her this book was well worth the read and I'm so excited to get to read this book

Grace Reilly never fails to amaze. Wicked Serve was the best ending to an ever better series. Izzy and Nik were a match made in heaven. Nik would move heaven and earth if it meant seeing Izzy happy. The sneaking around, grumpy sunshine trope is always a good read. This book touched on deeper subjects which only added to the character development and plot line. Add in the spice and you have a 5 star read. Spicy scenes so good it left me blushing. Definitely worth the read!!

I really loved Wicked Serve! I haven't read the rest of the series, but this one grabbed my attention. I liked that the secret relationship started before the book began. Instead of being about first meeting each other, and all the build up that needs, these characters already know and care about each other. It's about adjusting expectations and making things work in a new situation. Even though I haven't read the previous books, I still had a good sense of the characters and their relationships. It also does a good job of selling those previous books so new readers will want to go back and check them out. Wicked Serve also did a good job of balancing the truly delightful (banter, sexy times) with some heavier content (parental abuse and PTSD mainly). With the love of hockey romance right now, I think this will be a hit!

I've had so much fun following the Callahan siblings through their many, many adventures. Isabelle's story did not disappoint. Reilly builds her characters with so many layers and those layers help the reader be part of the story too. Many times, life isn't always so glamourous. Nikolai and Isabelle's relationship was a hit from the start, but they grew together so much more than they ever would have alone. I would recommend the entire Beyond the Play to anyone who loves a sports romance with a little heat and a whole lot of love.

Wicked Serve was the perfect way to round out Grace Reilly’s Beyond the Play series.
While this book may have touched on some darker themes than earlier books in the series, the emotional journey and growth of both main characters was so heartwarming.
Izzy and Nik’s romance was like the first sunny, warm day after a too long winter. It was love, comfort, connection and healing.