This was a Fantastic book! The relationship was a he fall first trope and he had an amazing personality too. I will continue reading more of the authors books and would recommend to anyone who likes hockey romance.

Wicked Serve was my first book by Grace Reilly and I enjoyed reading Isabelle and Nikolai's story. The story did have some heavy themes to tackle such as childhood trauma and domestic violence but I think Grace wrote the story beautifully and really described Nik's panic attacks and inner turmoil well. All I have to say is Izzy and Nik def had a different college experience than I did. This book is STEAMY!!! For a majority of the book Izzy and Nik are sneaking around behind her family's back, especially Cooper who is Izzy's brother and Nik's teammate. What started out as a summer fling for these two ended up becoming so much more. Nik really did think of Isabelle as his sunshine and to see their story unfold was super sweet. I loved that Isabelle also grew closer to her siblings after feeling like the outsider/failure in her sports dominated family. The only thing I would say is 74 chapters plus an epilogue it seemed slightly long even though it's around 440 pages. This book did make me invested in Izzy's siblings and I can't wait to read the other three books in the series.

TW: childhood trauma, domestic violence, panic attacks

Many thanks to the author and publisher for the eARC of Wicked Serve in exchange for my honest review.

This series was one of the first sports romances I read when I restarted my reading journey. I’m so sad to say goodbye but I think this was a hit! Izzy and Nik are kind and loving. They get each other so deeply and that level of self awareness that allowed them to fix their insecurities to become a better unit together made them such a strong couple. The drama was interesting and the spice was there. Grace knows how to right a hot MMC. I love Izzy with her brothers and seeing James and Bec as parents makes me so happy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5

📖arc book review!

wicked serve by grace reilly

📚s e r i e s: 4️⃣th book in the beyond the play series

🏡 s e t t i n g: mckee university - new york

💞t r o p e s:
•found family
•hockey romance
•he falls first
•brother's rival
•grumpy x sunshine

💬 t h o u g h t s: Thoroughly enjoyed this one! Nik and Izzy were such a fun couple. Izzy was all pink and sunshine, and Nik was hooked from the get-go 😍

This book…this book was quite the journey. It took me a solid two weeks to read it, which is clear indicator that I am struggling with a book. I will be 100% honest, I was bored. It started off well, but after the initial few chapters I was struggling to want to pick it up.

But, before I go there I want to highlight some of the things I think this book did really well. First, it’s part of a series but marketed as being able to read as a standalone…& this book is a perfect example of how to do that. Having not read any of the previous books, I didn’t feel like I was missing any information. I also thought (despite my feelings on certain characters) the relationship was healthy & didn’t involve any toxic elements that are more typical in college-aged romances. & above everything else, the relationship Nikolai has with himself, his journey to acknowledge the past & what he has gone through, his “I don’t need therapy” evolution…everything about that storyline was absolutely perfect & I would read an entire story just about Nik.

My two biggest issues with this book came from the pacing/length…& Izzy. Starting with the former, this was entirely too long. There were multiple times I said out loud “nothing is actually happening.” About half way through I was really considering not finishing this. But halfway was over 200 pages & I was not letting that go to waste. I am glad I finished it. I think the last 20% or so was really strong & increased my enjoyment of the book overall (& rating). But I am still frustrated that I had to get through 300+ pages before I got there. Some serious cuts could have really helped the pacing & momentum, which would have made for a much different reading experience. My second issue, Izzy…well I just could have done without her altogether. She was immature & really felt like she was inventing problems just to have them. This story could have been a beautiful coming of age story for Nikolai. I loved the moments we had in his head. Just could have done without her.

I think another element that would have really helped, would have been to have more of their summer romance other than just the prologue, or have flashbacks throughout. I never really felt the chemistry between Izzy & Nikolai, but I think that’s because a lot more happened during that summer than we ever see, or really ever hear about. We are just told they are infatuated with each other & are supposed to go with it.

Bottom Line: eh…the epilogue was sweet. If you’ve read the rest of the Beyond the Play series I’m sure it is worth it to finish it & see where all of the characters end up. I loved Nik’s storyline with his past & learning to acknowledge his trauma & how to work past that. But I wasn’t rooting for the relationship & did not care for Izzy’s character. Also felt there were a lot of plot holes with her volleyball storyline(s). Prior to reading this I was really excited to read the rest of this series, but at this point I am not sure I will.

absolutely loved this cute story about a girl who doesn’t believe in herself in the slightest meeting a boy just as insecure, if not more than she is, both dealing with their own demons side by side. loved how the author accurately represented anxiety and trauma and did it justice. on another note, the SPICE 🥵 really love me some sports romance books and reallllly enjoyed all the pop culture references and humor. thank you net galley for this arc!!

I really wanted to love this book, but unfortunately it was not for me :( I had a hard time getting into the book and felt like there was too much fluff and not enough plot driving the story. Hoping that the next Grace Reilly book is more up my alley!

Cute story with forbidden love and brother's enemy as the main tropes. However, even though the main characters had issues with fear of failing, panic attacks and dealing with childhood trauma, they still seemed more two-dimensional than fully developed. Also, it needs some judicious editing. It really starts to drag in the second half. I still definitely recommend it, just with a few reservations. Quite spicy.
3.5⭐ rounding up

Can I be cheesy for a second? Wicked Serve was WICKED GOOD! I don’t say that lightly. I have read many and I do mean many hockey romances. So, I know my stuff.

Wicked Serve was everything I needed it to be. Brother’s rival doesn’t always hit, but this one did. Sometimes authors depend on the “we shouldn’t do this” mentality, but that’s not the case here. This book was cute and spicy.

I loved this books! I would give it a solid 4.5⭐️ This story I felt was perfect to wrap up this series. I think I would rank this book tied with second for my favorites of the series! (Breakaway #1🫶🏻) I loved the dynamic of Izzy’s and Niko’s relationship. It was so refreshing to watch them grow together and support each other. I personally don’t think their was a 3rd act break up which I appreciate! I can’t even remember how many times I cried reading this book 🥹 I definitely recommend! Also the spice was also sooo good but like not unrealistic and in your face which was just *chefs kiss* 💋

Grace Reilly knows how to write a sports romance. While Elle Kennedy will always be my queen of hockey romance, Grace Reilly is my next choice. And I love that she writes about other sports as well. This book was a cute yet spicy romance that I really enjoyed. It had one of my favorite tropes, which is force proximity, and I loved that is was dual POV so we got both Isabelle and Nicolai's view. I think this is the last in the series, but I hope she starts a new series with similar vibes!

Loved it! The author writes sports romance so well and it always makes me want more! Niko and Izzy were amazing!

I love sports romances! Nikolai and Isabel were great characters even though the stubbornness got to me a few times!

4⭐️ 2🌶️

Some Tropes:
🏒 Possessive MMC
🏐 Brother’s Teammate
🏒 He Falls First
🏐 Emotional Scars

🚨 SPOILERS AHEAD 🚨

Pros:

It was nice to pick up a book that didn’t have a wild scene where the couple split because of someone else’s opinion. Very refreshing!

I have been in love with this series since the first book and waited, impatiently (lol), for this book to release. I always loved Izzy in the other books and wanted so badly for her to get the love story she deserved 💜

Cons:

It was a little slow at parts, but the story didn’t lapse and the order of events in the book set up a great mental visual.

I was angry for Nikolai before I even realized what happened to him and his mom. I wish the backstory was revealed a touch sooner to give the characters more time for resolution and growth vice waiting so close to the end.

My Opinion:

This book, just like the rest in the series, were totally worth the read, worth the wait, and worth the late nights I spent up not wanting to put the book down 😂

It took me awhile to finish because life and work got in the way, but I was so happy with the ending 🥹

We’re back in the Callahan’s world; this time with our favorite girl, Izzy! Izzy and Nik spent a whole summer cozying up and getting to know each other, but when the school year came to be, Nik left without a word, thinking that would be easier for the both of them. In an unfortunate (fortunate?) turn of events, Nik had to transfer to McKee and play hockey with Izzy’s brother. Silly, sexy, and secretive activities ensue.

This was such a fun read, and I am so thankful to @gracereilly and @valentinepr for sharing this ARC with me!

Things I liked: I really liked the relationship between Nikolai and Isabelle. They obviously had feelings for each other from the very beginning and their relationship grew and only became stronger over time. I also liked the Callahan sibling dynamics was great - I do love the found family aspect of this book.
Things that I was not so wild about: the novel was way too long and should have been edited down. Lots of repetitions and rehashing of the same thing. I did not love the “break” from the relationship towards the end - it really felt forced and unnecessary. The way bilingualism was portrayed was just wrong. As a native Russian speaker who went all the way through high schools and grad school in a Russian speaking country, I do not think in Russian now that I have lived in the IS for a while. Nikolai is even less bilingual having permanently moved to the US at 13 and having an American mother so I have a hard time imagining him thinking in Russian on a regular basis. Also “my favorite” on the back of the photograph was grammatically wrong in Russian - little things but if you can’t do it right, don’t do it at all. Finally there was way too much spice for my taste (but this is a personal preference not a fault of the novel).
I received an e-ARC of this novel from netgalley.com

This is the first book of the series I've read (I know I'm late discovering the Callahan family) but it won't be the last book i'll read from this author.

Izzy thinks she is less than her brothers so when her volleyball coach won't give her the position she wants she thinks her family won't be happy. But thanks to Nik, who has a summer fling with her and now is on the same university as her, she start to work harder but in the end it's not for her family but for her because she loves the sport.

Nikolai was drawn to Isabelle (Izzy) since the first time he saw her but her brother was his rival, and now that he is on the same team he has to befriend him, so he'll keep his relationship with Izzy.

This book is a journey about growing up, believe in yourself and try to overcome past traumas. But all that with spicy moments.

This was a light and fluffy, forbidden romance story. I loved seeing their relationship bloom. Nik and Isabelle were so adorable. Isabelle was cute and shy and Nik was strong, and outgoing. They went well together and rounded each other out well.

what you will get:
* college hockey romance
*forbidden love
* brothers rival (opposite hockey teams)
*he falls first

This was the last in the Callahan Siblings stories, but it was a sweet ending to a fun series. Can't wait to read more by Grace Reilly

was lucky enough to get an arc of wicked serve <3
- i think cooper & penny will forever be my favorite but nik & izzy were definitely cute!
- i loved getting to see all of the callahan family together, especially during the moments where james, cooper, or sebastian would help nik w tough love or phone calls 🥹
- forever admiring nik for recognizing that he needed help if he wanted to make his relationship with isabelle work 😭 & him making sure that when he comes back, it’d be for good 😪!! brb crying
- at times i do feel like there were some parts that weren’t really necessary for the plot but it wasn’t happening SO much that it made me want to stop reading the book or anything! the book itself was just a bit longer than i think it needed to be
- i will say, we get it isabelle. you like pink. 🤣
- there were some of the 🌶️ scenes that i wasn’t that into just because it sometimes didn’t make sense but nonetheless, overall i enjoyed the book :)

i'd probably give it a 3.5 ⭐️!

This is another one that’s marketed to be a light rom-com, but is a way deeper and more nuanced tale than that. If this wanted to be a romcom, it would have ended half-way through; instead it stayed and dealt with the complicated nuances. Large sports family, late-college setting, where they are considering next steps, family drama, etc. Loved it.

Thank you, Harper Collins/Avon, and Net Galley, for the arc.