** spoiler alert ** Would definitely recommend. 4 stars. I didn't read the three before it yet but I did go and buy them and plan to now. I believe they can be read as standalones but they are definitely interconnected. I really enjoyed Nik and Isabelle's story. He overcame alot and so did his mother. They are strong characters. Isabelle has to deal with her own issues as well and figure out what she wants to do. I love the tattoo part and the family bond. In my head i kept saying "blocking his number" and "change your number"

Summary
Izzy is just coming off an amazing event-planning internship in NYC this summer, and a secret fling with Nik, who happens to be her brother's biggest hockey rival. She expects to never see him again since they are headed back to their respective colleges. Just as the school year is set to begin, he transfers to McKee, where she and her brother attend, and she does not expect it to be so hard to stay away from him. The two decide to continue their fling behind closed doors, but things will get complicated when the feelings turn from friends-with-benefits to seeing a future together.

Why did I pick up this book?
I read the other 3 books in the series earlier this year and was excited for Izzy's story. Once I read the third book, I saw the fourth was coming out and requested an Advanced Copy, in exchange for an honest review.

What did I enjoy about it?
Both characters were on a journey of self-prioritization, and I identify with that on a personal level. Many times in my life, I have followed through with something due to external pressures, or have put others before myself, so I was glad to see they both were able to set that aside and take care of themselves. My positive comments do not extend much beyond this one.

What did I not enjoy about it?
Unfortunately, I felt like Reilly ran out of ideas but had already committed to this fourth book, so she had to put something together. It's marketed as a secret relationship because Nik is worried her brother will ice him out on the team, and because they are alleged rivals. However, they had a lot of very public moments together and the secretiveness ended fairly early in the book. I also felt the "rivals" was a really weak plot point – the two guys had one heated exchange, during a game, once. The tropes were just flimsy and I was bored for most of the book. If I didn't owe the review, I likely would have abandoned the book.

Absolutely loved this book. Favourite of the series for me.

The growth of Nikolai was beautiful to read, and for once made the 3rd act break/pause natural so that I really didn't mind it. He is definitely a new addition to my book boyfriend list.
Izzy is a great FMC, she is fierce yet sensitive. Was great to get to know her more. I love the relationship she has with her brothers and their partners.

I'm really sad that the Callahan family is finished and we are moving away from them.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fun, cute sports romance. Just the right amount of drama and angst and lots of spice.

Wicked Serve is my first Grace Reilly read but definitely won’t be my last! Izzy and Nick’s story is fun and flirty but their connection is so deep. It can absolutely be read standalone.

I would give this a 3.5 star rating. It is an easy cute read and I enjoyed it. It was book 4 in a series and to be fair I have not read any of the others. It was being offered as an ARC at a time that I wanted to read a hockey romance so I grabbed it. I do think I'll go back and read some of the books about the siblings.

This one is a NA sports (hockey) romance (brother's rival/friend). It focuses on the sister Isabelle and Nikolai (who is Isabelle's brother's rival).

I enjoyed it. The couple had really great banter and I honestly enjoyed the progression of their relationship. This was not a love at first sight. However, I do think while the story had a lot of potential, it also was kind of distracting with some of the side plots. At its heart, it was really just a romance between two athletes. The fact that he was her brother's rival/then teammate really didn't come into play much and I don't really feel like it needed to be a part of the story to make it interesting.

I also kind of wished that the drama in both of our main characters lives was "less" and focused on maybe one of the story lines as opposed to as many as was thrown at us. Instead of focusing on story lines with his mom, dad and grandpa- I kind of wish his dad's was just background and the focus was more on the grandpa who was the more present day issue. And for her, I think her family dynamics was realistic and I think it would have been interesting to have focused on that more and not have resolved it in one quick conversation. I think her drama with the volleyball team was important too- but I think there could have been less focus on the coach who wasn't really part of the story anyway. Lastly, I will say, the third act drama was- while understandable- I think I really wanted more emotion on her side. She was just VERY giving and understanding- whereas, I think his actions were actually kind of awful. Making her wait with no contact or understanding of what is going on. He just lived his life and she sat and waited? That part irked me. Even if what he was doing was in good faith and not just him having his cake and eating it too- I was disappointed that he got to just come back and all was put aside and they just resumed life. And her family wasn't upset either? I think that was my biggest issue with the story and it kind of sucked that it came at the end.

Overall this story was cute. I think it was kind of long and some of that is because I think there were too many story lines/issues that could have been edited down. I was definitely a disappointed with the third act "breakup" and resolution. But I liked the characters and I liked the building of their relationship. I will probably give at least one of the siblings books a try.

I really enjoyed this book and my heart broke for nik and how his toxic father treated him. I can’t imagine how that would mess with a child’s mental health. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the other shoe to drop. I didn’t care for his mother. As a mother myself I felt she was just selfish and didn’t help her child the way he was desperately needing. The spice was 🤌🤌🤌 I honestly was not expecting that! I loved the relationship Cooper and Nik formed after a rocky start. I was so happy when Nik decided to follow his dream and his mother finally, FINALLY stood up for him to his manipulative grandfather. It was nice to read a book where the MMC was the one with the real struggles and not a damsel in distress. I can appreciate him accepting he needed therapy and working on himself so he could be the man Isabelle deserved while not ending the relationship with her, even if it was hard on them both. The only thing I didn’t care for was him changing his last name to Callahan. He was already using his mother’s maiden name, why change it…again? I’m also very traditional in that sense, so the man changing his last name gives me the ick. Over all it was a great book! Thank you for the eARC!

This was such a cute hockey romance! The banter in this book was impeccable! The characters were so relatable!

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 !

Sweet yet just the right amount of spice. I don’t know how this is my first Grace Reilly read, and it won’t be my last!! If you love a good hockey romance the. This one is for you. I love Izzy and Nikolai’s chemistry.

Nik and Izzy are absolute perfection! This book had me in all the swoons and I literally could not put it down! One of the best hockey romances I’ve read this year!!!!

How am I gonna keep on going without more books on this series?
I’ve been reading this series and waiting for each book to come out since the very first one, obsessed is an understatement AND NOW THERE’S NO MORE? 😭😭😭
But seriously, this was so extremely sweet and perfect.
Nik and Izzy already had my heart without much effort but reading their love story and how they overcome all the bad things that come their way. I love how they help and support each other. I adore how Chelsea can make her characters and stories be extremely wholesome but the she hits you with a level of spice that leaves you breathless like you were the one engaging with n the “activities”
I really thought the story was going to have Cooper being an annoying older brother but it surprised me in an amazing way. Loved all the friendships and the Callahan’s HAVE MY HEART ❤️ I’m really gonna miss all this people.

ARC Review
4:75⭐️

Tropes~ brothers rival, he falls first, sports romance, panic disorder rep

✨I have not been good at reading lately but I was dying to pick up this book and it did not disappoint. I love the way Grace writes about certain topics and the story just sucks you in from the beginning. I wish this wasn’t the end but this was the perfect book for the end of this series!!

✨ I have loved Izzy from the start and she was everything I expected her to be in this book. I loved her personality and understood her insecurities, it was so sweet to finally see her being treated the way she deserved. I didn’t know what to expect from Nikolai but he was incredible and there were so many moments I just wanted to give him a hug. They were the perfect couple to balance each other out and I loved seeing them get their happy ending.

✨ We got to see all of the family again and I loved the epilogue showing where everyone was , I have adored this series and I can’t wait to see what Grace does next!!

**If I’m sunshine to him, then he’s the earth beneath my feet, the grass between my toes, grounding me like nothing else.**

I was kind of 'meh' on this book. It's a cute story and definitely has cute parts, but the strong feelings just weren't there for me. I honestly don't think I've ever read a romance that starts with the people already in a relationship, so part of the appeal was lost to me. I like seeing the back and forth and how they get together. The drama of this story just didn't feel very dramatic.

This was a cute fluffy read. I really enjoyed the angst given the MMC is the rival of the FMC's brother. Brother's rival is up there with brother's best friend for favorite trope for me. Since this is book 4, I'm not sure if I will go back and read the first 3 in the series. My only complaint about this book was it started to feel a tad long. But other than that, this was an enjoyable read!

This was a cute and fun romance with some excellent spice. However I did think that it didn't flow well and I had a hard time connecting with the characters. It was also a bit longer than I thought it needed to be.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I love a broody MMC and Nik delivered. The focus on his mental health played a big role in this story and so did the FMC’s patience. There isn’t a lot of angst in this couple and that’s so refreshing to see, as the misunderstanding trope drives me crazy.

however, this book felt a little longer than it should have. i feel like our couple really wrapped up their conflicts nicely which left a lot of the book left to focus on other things.

I just love when a book surprises me with how much I like it. I’d been really eagerly anticipating this release for some time and my expectations for the depth in this book were really blown away.

Nikolai and Izzy were like two perfect little broken halves of a full whole and I could not get enough of them. I loved the family cameos, I loved them working through trauma. Honestly no notes, all vibes this was chef kiss.

I also am just such a friggen sucker for a Russian nickname. Like are you serious????

Thank you Grace + Valentine PR for the opportunity to read this book!

This was a fun new adult sports romance! Nikolai drew me in right from the start. While it's not my type irl, I'm a sucker for a sweet wounded boy who just needs to learn to stand up for himself in fiction. I wasn't as big a fan of Izzy, she def felt more young than Nik. I wish the book had been about 100 pages shorter, but I think most contemporary romance these days needs to be less than 400 pages so thats definitely a me thing.

Love the relationship between Nikolai and Isabelle. Starts off strong with their history from the summer. I liked the depictions of sibling relationship and anxiety/panic attacks and positive portrayal of going to therapy. I didn't love the mini conflict when Isabelle leaves Nikolai in the midst of what he calls a panic attack nor did I love the ending where Nik leaves for the NHL and him and Isabelle don't talk for weeks but also aren't broken up. After all they had been through, it didn't feel like that would be how they handled that situation. However overall, I did enjoy the story and will purchase for my store!