Nikolai and Izzy are adorable characters with an incredible connection that melted my heart 💕 Nikolai is the quintessential broody, complicated hockey player with a past that’s far from simple, while Izzy is a determined, fiery athlete trying to carve out her own path under the shadow of her family’s legacy. After a top secret summer fling with her brother’s biggest hockey rival, things get very interesting when Nikolai and Izzy are forced back together. I loved watching their “one-time thing” evolve into something real and meaningful. I usually crave a bit more drama in forbidden romances, but the way these characters navigate their relationship—complete with green flags—was refreshing. Their journey from sneaky hookups to deep emotional connection felt authentic, making the romance both swoon-worthy and heartfelt.

I found this book to be a great blend of plot and spice, earning it a solid 3/5 for steaminess. Grace Reilly did a great job balancing the romance with themes like family pressure and self-discovery, which added some unexpected depth.

While there were a few slower moments, the chemistry, sports drama, and emotional growth made it a fantastic read overall. If you’re into new adult, sports romances with a perfect blend of heart and heat, this book is for you!

4/5 ⭐️s
🌶️🌶️ - medium spice *with praise kink, spanking, anal, hand necklace, and slight dom/sub play

LOVES:
- I didn’t read the first 3 books in the series, but the author caught me up on the necessities quickly and efficiently
- Getting some pretty heavy Elle Kennedy vibes, which is partially a positive cause I loved her Off-Campus series, though once in a while it felt a little too similar
- “Do you want advice, or do you just want me to listen?” Way to go, Nik 👏🏻 most men go their whole lives without learning this.
- Nik doesn’t always handle everything perfectly, but he tries really hard and works on his mental health. He’s a good dude.

CRITIQUES:
- It’s always a little weird for me when college students have crazy money. I mean, buying diamonds and last-minute international travel on a private jet, sheesh. I just can’t relate.
- It’s a little longer than it needs to be, could’ve been paired down a bit

This was a great quick read. Izzy is a college volleyball player, and her brother is on the hockey team. Nik ends up as a transfer on her college's team after a summer fling with Izzy. They attempt to pretend like they don't know each other, but quickly they are having a secret romance. Mainly secret from her brother, who is now his teammate and not a super fan of Nik. In addition, Nik is dealing with some daddy issues and it ends up that he is also very rich. So basically a very rich, hot, college hockey player romance at its best.

5⭐️ **ARC** I loved this book from the beginning through the end. The character and relationship development was amazing, and I found them to be extremely relatable. Personally, I related most to Nikolai. Unfortunately, I had a father similar to his and I felt every emotion Nikolai experienced like it was my own. I teared up and was feeling so many different emotions reading Nikolai’s thoughts about what he felt he deserved and his relationships with his parents, and the external and personal pressures upon him. I saw myself in both Nikolai and Isabelle, I applied the same pressures that they both did to myself throughout college, often thinking the same things about myself. Also, I absolutely sobbed at the end, the last chapter and epilogue took me out. And don’t even get me started on how loving and inspiring their relationship is and the way they love each other. And how he speaks Russian to her?! Sunshine?! My Favorite?! God, I’m seriously obsessed. I was on the edge of my seat unable to stop reading the entire time. I’m so honored and grateful to have received this ARC, easily one of my favorite sports romance books.

“I put her hand against my heart so she can feel its staccato beating. ‘I feel your light here, always.’” SAY F*CKING LESS, I SOBBED.

In Grace Reilly’s novel, Wicked Serve, Izzy is interning for a NYC party planner, when she meets her boss’s son Nikolai. Nik and Izzy have a summer fling and even though it is what they both agreed to, neither want it to end. It does need to end though since Nik and Izzy’s brother are hockey rivals. Nik and Cooper are two of the best college hockey players and Cooper can’t know about their summer together. So Izzy and Nik part ways and each head back to their school.

Izzy misses Nik, but decides to focus on her volleyball game and live up to the expectations of her family of super successful athletes. At least that is the plan until Nik shows up at her school. Turns out an incident at his school resulted in him needing to transfer.

Cooper is the captain of Nik’s new team and tells him his sister is off limits, not knowing about the summer. Cooper and Izzy try to stay away from each other, but the chemistry is too strong. Will the stress of trying to keep their relationship a secret be too much?

Wicked Serve is a great story with A LOT of spice. It was a bit spicy for me, but if you like hockey romances and spice, this needs to be on your TBR. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for a chance to read an advance copy,

This book was so cute! I smiled, laughed and cried! Isabelle and Nikolai are perfect for each other. I love how supportive they were of each other, and how almost seamlessly Nik fit into Isabelle’s family. When the epilogue was done, I still wanted more!

This was such a good book! It was easy-to-read and a quick read as well, I really liked the characters and storyline. I definitely recommend it!

The fourth and final book in the beyond the play series! I can’t believe it’s over! What a beautiful way to wrap up the series!

This book follows the youngest Callahan sibling, Isabelle, the passionate volleyball player and wedding planner, and Nikolai, the emotionally broody Hockey player who happens to be her brothers viral.

This book was a beautiful end to the series with the precious couples sprinkled all throughout, which is my favourite. Izzy and Nick definitely have their own flaws but mesh together so well to create a raw love story. This book captured many hearts. Reilly did a wonderful job at painting a realistic relationship with realistic problems that is not picture perfect.

I have been a loyal Grace Reilly fan since the beginning of this series. Cooper and Penny’s story in Breakaway was my favorite and I honestly didn’t know how this would measure up, but I loved it just as much!

Isabelle’s character was so relatable. She had depth that wasn’t seen in the other stories and her struggles with wanting to be successful in a family full of athletes were so real and made so much sense.

I loved that Nikolai was a bit tortured and had trauma, but he was still so sweet and caring with Isabelle and he was a good friend to all the guys in his team.

Their chemistry was off the charts and the spicy scenes were so hot! I loved the development of their relationship and that family members were supportive and accepting.

This was the perfect college sports romance and it works well as a standalone, but is also a great end to the series!

Isabelle and Nikolai had a summer romance but ended as they went to separate colleges. When Nikolai takes blame for an incident after a hockey practice, he is expelled from his school. His grandfather, who is extremely wealthy, gets him into the same college as Isabelle and on the hockey team (where her older brother, Cooper, is the captain) on the condition that he works for him after graduation instead of playing for the NHL. Isabelle and Nikolai rekindle their romance but decide to keep it quiet due to Cooper. With Nikolai’s complicated past and Isabelle’s drive to be perfect in everything, the couple must decide if their relationship is worth it or should they go their separate ways.

I absolutely loved this book. It was extremely easy to get into and romantically spicy too. The characters were likable and made you want to root for the couple. This is the fourth book of a series but you do not need to read them. The author gives the necessary background to understand. I liked the book so much, I plan to go back and read the previous books.

The book does cover some heavy topics but the author did a wonderful job conveying it throughout the story.

Thanks you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 ⭐️

I couldn’t wait for Izzy & Nikolai’s book and it was amazing. Brothers rival, secret relationship let’s gooo 🤪 I like how Izzy and Nik had a fling over the summer and we got little glimpses of their fling while we’re in the present when they see each other again. If you’ve read breakaway then you know Cooper and Nikolai aren’t the best of friends, especially after Nik made comments about Penny (coopers girlfriend) and then Izzy. Izzy doesn’t want Cooper or any of her brothers to know she had a fling with Nikolai. She thinks they’ll never need to know since summer is over now and they’re going back to their schools and won’t see each other again….. until they do because Nikolai has no choice but to transfer to McKee where Izzy and Cooper go to school.

Now Nikolai has to get along with Cooper since they’re on the same team. And although he tells himself to stay away from Izzy he can’t. So they start sneaking around and I just love a secret relationship 🤭 They may have had a fling but Nikolai knew more about Izzy than Izzy knew about Nikolai. So it was nice to see Nik slowly start to open up to her about his childhood and his dad. Nikolai also struggles with panic disorder and seeing him go through that alone was breaking my heart. Izzy never gave up on showing him that no matter what she’ll always be there for him. She never stopped proving to him that he was not his father.

I adored these two and it was so great to be back with all the Callahan’s and see what everyone is up to. It’s always so bittersweet when a series is complete. Can’t wait to see what Grace releases next 🫶🏻

This is my first book by Grace Reily, and I really wish I had enjoyed it more. The story had so much potential but ultimately fell flat. It felt like some scenes were rushed.

Nikolai gets kicked out of his school and ends up attending Mackew University, where he runs into his summer fling, Isabelle. Now, he has to play alongside her brother, Cooper, who is his biggest rival.
Nick suffers from panick attacks due to childhood trauma.
I love mental health representation with Nik; it was refreshing to read.

Isabelle is a Volleyball player who tries to overcome her insecurities. Nick affectionately calls her "Solnishka".
The extravagance Nik showered on Izzy, such as buying her a Cartier diamond necklace for her birthday was swoon worthy.
The FMC didn't really click for me ~ she was kind of annoying.
I did enjoy the sibling interactions and role of family in this story.
I wish we had gotten flashbacks of the MCS getting together during the summer, as I would have loved to see the development of their relationship.

The book felt overly long, with 74 chapters that didn't all feel necessary. I prefer books that *focus on emotional connections rather than numerous smut scenes.* Unfortunately, this book was repetitive and dragged on at times, making me feel like it could have been at least 100 pages shorter.

There were TONS of smut scenes and some were even low-key cringey I started skimming or skipping them.
Just when I thought there might be some progression, it would be halted by an intimate scene. After a while, it felt like they were having s*x again and again. I wondered when they had time to study and practice with how busy they were with each other.

I wanted to love this book, but it wasn’t for me. I struggled to get through it. Unfortunately, this book did not work for me at all. Reily's writing is easy to follow, but the story didn’t resonate with me

Thank you @valentine_pr_ for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review .

I loved and hated this book in equal measures. The main characters are both so likable but also infuriating. The story itself was good and flowed easily.

We finally get an Izzy story!

This entire series has been up and down for me. But this book has been a high. The rivalry of Nik to Izzy's brother adds a flirtatious amount of forbidden love to the series. Add in that Nik transfers to McKee University and is not her brother's teammate! The dynamics of Izzy and Nik, navigating their fling into their real world was engaging. While this one wasn't my favorite of the series (Breakaway is hard to beat), it is not on my bottom fandom.

I love the intermingling of the reset of the Callahan family and their lovers (and yes, Tangy is here!)

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

My first read by the author and series and I’m a fan. Izzy and Nikolai characters have so much going on and the drama that surrounds them made for an emotional romance story that doesn’t disappoint. The sports genre with all the fun characters brought the story to life with just the right amount of heat level that ends with a HEA.

Wicked Serve by Grace Reilly

Thank you to Valentine PR, NetGalley and Grace for the ARC of this book.

This is the 4th and final instalment in the Playing to Win series. We get to finally see little sister Izzy and her summer romance with Nik, rival of Izzy's brother Cooper.

After Nik gets transferred to McKee, tempers flare, tension rises and emotions take over. From stolen moments to spicy secrecy and all the hot headed hockey players along the way.

We get to find out what the Callahan brothers are all up to as well, including an appearance from Tangy the cat! 😍

This was not my fave of series, but I really loved the back story of Nikolai, his history and family were very intriguing. I especially liked the relationship between him and Cooper and the moments we see between Izzy and Seb too.

If you've loved the rest of this series, this is a great way to round off the world.

3.5 rounded up to 4

This was a great way to wrap up this series! I really fell in love with this family. I was personally really into this book until Nik went ghost at the end. I COMPLETELY understand why he did it BUT he literally talked to everyone but her. I felt like he should've distanced himself from her family as well. I don't know... It just didn't sit well with me. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and loved the epilogue to wrap everything up!

3.5 stars

An adorably cute ending to this series. I love Grace Reilly’s writing and style and the family that she created throughout this story. I enjoyed that she made this book more than just a sports romance.

I will say my biggest disappointment was how many mistakes there were about volleyball. I would have thought she’d do more research on the sport before writing about it. But I did enjoy having a sports romance books featuring it, which is so rare.

Wicked Serve is the new hockey romance from Grace Reilly. The story follows Nikolai and Izzy. Nikolai is a college hockey player who is determined to make the most of his senior year. When he’s forced to transfer to a rival college, things get messy when he realizes he had a secret summer fling with the younger sister of his new team’s captain. Nikolai knows that rekindling his fling with Izzy would not go over well with his captain, not to mention he’s dealing with scars from his past that make a real relationship impossible. As soon as he sees Izzy again though, all bets are off because he can’t deny he’s still attracted to her.

Izzy, for her part, is solely focused on two goals this school year. She wants to win back the spot she lost on the volleyball team, and she wants to forget that Nikolai even exists. Just like with Nikolai though, as soon as Izzy sees him again, she can’t resist the attraction she still has to Nikolai. They begin a friends-with-benefits arrangement that soon morphs into so much more.

I honestly have mixed feelings about this book. I really like Izzy and Nikolai and thought Nikolai’s journey of healing as he worked through the scars of his past was really well done. I liked Izzy and Nikolai as a couple but would have liked a bit more depth to their connection, which felt mostly sexual and surface level to me. I also thought the pacing was a little slow at times. I still very much enjoyed the story overall but did catch myself checking a few times to see how many pages I had left to read. 3 1/2 STARS

This was cute but maybe I’m too old for it? It read slightly immature. Felt like the relationship was more physical than anything