i was very fortunate to receive an ARC of Wicked Serve by Grace Reilly from ValentinePr, thank you so much!! 🩷

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️/5

content warning: mentions of domestic abuse, alcoholism, disordered eating, panic disorder, and cheating, as well as explicit sexual content.

“our love has felt like springtime. warmth chasing away shadows, light spilling into the open. i imagined sun-drenched days ahead, but the frost hasn’t left the ground. the flowers haven’t bloomed.”

i absolutely devoured this book, once i started reading it i couldn’t stop!! and though this book touches on some heavier topics, nothing ever felt forced or awkward. the plot was just beautiful and the characters are fantastic!! I loved that both characters had their own sport that they excelled in and had to find their self-worth one and together.

isabelle and nikolai are so cute together! the love story between them was both beautiful and heartbreaking. nik was dealing with so much trauma, and it obviously impacted the way he viewed the world, especially his view of what love and relationships could be. and isabelle became the bright spot in his light, and she took care of him in ways no one else ever had. they really did have a sweet and genuine connection!

this book was super cute and lighthearted, and the spice was good! so if you're in the mood for an easy cute read, i definitely recommend reading this book! also, this was my first time reading anything by grace and it definitely didn’t disappoint!! i will now be binging all of her previous work and i can’t wait to read her future work!! once again thank you so much to valentinepr and grace reilly for providing me with this arc 🩷

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Wicked Serve…Isabelle and Nikolai… NO NOTES!

While Sebastian may be my favorite of the Callahan brothers, Isabelle is giving him a run for his money in the favorite Callahan sibling contest.

There was so much to love about this book. Watching the relationship between Izzy and Nik, learning and watching Nik deal with his childhood trauma, getting to see all of the Callahan family again… yes, yes, yes.

Grace Reilly has a hold on me and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyage for the chance to read an advanced copy of Wicked Serve!

Wow. This book exceeded all my expectations. It’s the final chapter of the Callahan family series from Grace Reilly, and she finished with a win. Wicked Serve is the perfect blend of sports and romance that hits all the right notes. Nikolai and Izzy’s story is filled with the ideal amount of steam, tension, and heart.

I adored how the book combines the intense world of college sports with a romance that’s both swoon-worthy and complicated. The chemistry between Nikolai’s broody charm and Izzy’s fiery independence kept me turning pages. And those playful koalas? I CANNOT!

If you’re into steamy, emotional reads with a sports backdrop, Wicked Serve is a must-read!

Wicked Serve by Grace Reilly

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley for review. My opinions are my own.

5/5 stars

I have read other books in this series and really wasn’t a fan. This book seemed to handle the substance a bit more delicately, while also being - ahem - still extra spicy.

This book centers on Isabelle, the youngest of the Callahans, and Nikolai, a rival of Cooper, Isabelle’s brother on the rink. Isabelle and Nik meet because of her summer internship and choose to keep their relationship secret because of Cooper. This becomes increasingly more difficult as Nik is forced to transfer to McKee University and join the hockey team.

There are several triggers in this book: panic disorder, domestic violence, difficult parental relationships.

Izzy and Nikolai had a wonderful summer romance. Nikolai went back to college, ready to play hockey when as team captain he took the blame for a team member’s mistake and was kicked off the team. Nik’s grandfather told him he would get him in wherever he wanted to go but then he had to go to work for him and playing professional hockey was out of the question. Nikolai struggles with nightmares concerning his dad, an abuser in Russia, earning the trust of Izzy’s brother, hockey team captain, and the loss of professional hockey. Izzy struggles with being a strong athlete like her older brothers. Izzy and Nikolai struggle to keep their rekindled romance a secret. This is a wonderful book about trust, communicating, and allowing someone to help in times of trouble. Great story and characters.

Another sweet and sexy entry into Grace Reilly's Beyond the Play series! Wicked Serve delivers a wicked helping of heart and heart. With a little bit of angst, a lot of emotions, and a really charming love story in the center, it was a great journey back into the Beyond the Play World.

Never let Grace's covers fool you- they are always full of deep topics and also are ultra spicy- and this one certainly touches on heavier things- like the impact of trauma on a persons mental and emotional well being, and also how those kinds of challenges can impact personal relationships. I really appreciated the mental health representation - and while I might not have catalyzing incidents like represented here or the depth of challenges faced, I think we all can relate to a certain extent to what it feels like to have anxiety, to feel overwhelmed and over committed. And while I'm not a mental health expert, to me at least it seems liked Grace handled this topics with realism, sensitivity, and care.

I really adored Nikolai- he made the whole book for me. He's a beautiful soul trapped in a big hockey players terrifying frame. The Russians swooner- I mean a man who whispers sweet nothings in his native tongue?! Microtrope I never fail to melt for. And I loved seeing a the focus of the mental health of the hero for a change- so much of their story is about his journey, and I appreciated how it was prioritized. Isabelle I didn't quite love at first- in part because of the ways in which she pushed Nikolai early on. It felt a bit immature- but as things moved along, I grew to like her and found her to be quite patient and sweet. The angst was pretty low between them, which I appreciated - it's refreshing to have a low drama dynamic.

Their summer romance (which is a great way to finish my summer!) was a whirlwind that evolves into more thanks to fate. I really liked them together and their chemistry, and overall enjoyed the story, but I do feel like the pacing dragged a bit in places. The HEA felt to happen about halfway, which honestly I liked getting to see so much of them in their happy couple place, but the backhalf did feel a bit long for how it progressed the story.

I did really enjoy the audio narration- I'm not super familiar with either narrator, but Faith Clark brought a lot of charm to Isabelle and Oscar Reyes as just the right dash of grit to a very emotive performance- and I thought the accent was great and ultra delicious.

*Established/pre-existing relationship
*Found family
*Hockey x Volleyball MMCs
*Spice
*Brothers rival turned teammate
*secret romance
*Mental health rep
*boy obsessed
*found family
*Russian MMC

I've been waiting for this book since reading Izzy's brothers stories and it was so worth the wait. Getting to see Izzy from a different point of view added so much to her character. Nik and her were so good together.

This was my first Grace book and while I enjoyed it, it was too long. I had a hard time connecting with the characters and it was slow going for me. I did enjoy a less than toxic relationship with these two which was nice given their collage age. If it had been shorter I may have devoured it. I loved the rivals and hockey troupes and I will probably pick up another book by her in the future.

✨ Wicked Serve by Grace Reilly ✨

This book grabbed me from the second I started it! I loved the whole summer romance that ends up being back in your life. And I always love a brother's best friend and rival romance.

✨ Sports Romance (Hockey + Volleyball)
✨ College Romance
✨ Brother's Teammate and Rival
✨ Secret Relationship
✨ Found Family

📚 Book: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🔥Spice Rating: ❤️

Thank you so much to Grace Reilly and Valentine PR for this gifted ARC.

Spice Rating
🤍 clean romance
💗 closed door/ fade to black
❤️ sexual content (a few detailed scenes)
❤️‍🔥 explicit, play-by-play (major part of the plot)
🖤 graphic, more than vanilla

Thank you valentine pr for sending me an arc of this book.

I’ve read the rest of the beyond the play series so was super excited to receive this arc. It did feel a bit longer than it needed to be and probably would have been more enjoyable if it was slightly condensed. It was great to see the final instalment of the Callahan siblings come together and I enjoyed getting to see more of the family dynamic. The brothers rival trope is always a winner for me so I knew I’d be a fan of Nik, but some of Izzy’s characterisation felt repetitive at times.

Wicked Serve is a super easy read for any sports romance fans who love some spice in their books,

Overall i would rate 3.5 stars.

As you know, my heart beats hardest for Cooper, but Nik... Nikolai stole my heart just as hard. With every little gesture (THE KOALA THING!). Every tender word he said to Izzy. Every moment he suffered - I suffered with him. Wicked serve is a painful story, even despite the fact that most are light, funny and sexy. Underneath this lightness lies a boy with a painful past, a past that doesn't want to leave him alone. I'm damn glad that apart from his sunshine, his Izzy, he found a friend in Cooper and a family in the rest of the Callahans. This series would not be complete without Nikolai. And Izzy was exactly the same as in the previous books - crazy, full of passion and energy. And full of love.

Wicked serve has everything I hoped it would have. It is the perfect ending to the series (epilogue made me ugly cry) and at the same time a really good story as a standalone.

I absolutely love the relationship that developed between Nik and Cooper - it's definitely more than rivals to friends (but sorry, Cooper stole every scene he appeared in).

I love the way Izzy and Nik's relationship developed. On the one hand it's a slow burn, on the other hand, it burned and sparks flew.

I love the scenes with James and Bex, with Sebastian and Mia, and even (shock!) I fell in love with Richard Callahan in this book, who, after all, had previously irritated me (especially with Cooper book).

And I really like the fact that there is more hockey here than volleyball.

You absolutely have to read Wicked serve! You will love Izzy and Nik as much as I do. Promise.

Received as an ARC.

☀️ Sports romance
☀️ Close proximity
☀️ Grumpy x Sunshine
☀️ He falls first
☀️ Secret romance
☀️ Former summer fling
☀️ Teammate’s sister

And we’re back in the Beyond The Play world to finally get the chance to devour Izzy’s story….and devour it I did. If there’s one thing Grace knows how to do well, it’s to write a college age sports romance without making you feel icky about the characters being younger. The plot is always so well thought out with great characters that progress from start to finish. Indy this case Izzy and Nikolai were the embodiment of that, they were absolutely perfect for one another and the definition of end game.

The fact that this is a hockey x volleyball players romance is mindblown, all because I'm addicted to these two sports atm lol!

It's about Izzy, the youngest sibling of Callahan's family. She met Nikolai during her internship at his mother's wedding planning business. They had a fling during the whole summer but decided not to pursue it since they would part ways. Plus Nik is Izzy's brother's hockey rival. But things happened that led to Nik transferring to Izzy's college.

I love them! They heels over head for each other but keep sneaking around. Izzy is adorable and Nik is that broody hockey player but soft toward Izzy.

Both have their problems. Izzy wants proof that she's good at volleyball, especially living with three talented older brothers and a sports superstar father. Nik has bigger family issues and a hard childhood. But together they understand and support each other.

Check this if you wanna read:
🏒 Hockey x volleyball romance
🏐 Secret relationship
🏒 Brother's teammate
🏐 Broody x bubbly
🏒 Found family
🏐 He falls first

This is such a great read right from the start. Nikolai and Isabelle had an amazing summer together and now we get to dig in to where this second chance takes them. They are both very strong characters and easy to love. You could feel the connection between them. Nikolai has a history that fights him on a deep level. I felt that these things were handled well, the growth, and change over time. These two also have great spice, a lot of heart, and so much more! I loved Isabelle's family and will be digging in to the other books in this series!

Loved this couple 🥰 Nikolai was so supportive and encouraging when it came to Izzy. And the spice was so good. 🔥

My sunshine girl.

Reading this story about Izzy and Nikolai was equivalent to being on a plane knowing it's going to eventually crash. Deep down they know it. Both are battling inner demons that eventually catch up to them. The two of them definitely belong together and his nickname for her was so cute. The side characters were great, especially Izzy's friends.

I didn't say goodbye because I didn't want to. I didn't want to shut the door on us."

It's also worth to note that these two are already together when the book starts. Most romance books start at the beginning of the relationship, so I liked having that different perspective.

If she’s sunshine, I’m the guy who hopes it never starts raining. But deep down, I worry that I’m the typhoon.

Grace did not come to play with the ending of this series!!

Holy Hot!! 🥵
I am absolutely in love with Nik and Isabelle 🫶🏼🫶🏼.
The entire series was amazing but this was by far my favorite.

I love a good brother’s rival book and this one did not disappoint.
The chemistry between these two was so electric!
I loved how they understood one another and gave each other so much support and encouragement 🥹.

Also, Nik is THAT man because he listens to everything Isabelle says. Like, take me to Australia to see the koalas 🐨😫.

Nik deals with some heavy trauma but reading about his growth had me crying. He deserves the world 🫶🏼.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon books for the eARC!

I know people say "all the feels" - I've said it myself - but this has so many ranges of emotions. Secret relationship, brother's teammate (& former rival), childhood trauma, family dynamics, college sports pressure. On top of that, Izzy & Nik have sizzling intense chemistry, so much steam. They can hardly be around each without tearing each other's clothes off. There's so much to go through, it's truly a journey. A love story that tests trust, friendships, family and found family.

It was a great path to follow with a multilevel happily ever after. Great read!

Hockey romance with chemistry and mutual healing and growth …yes please!! Really enjoyed this ARC. I’m a sucker for a hockey romance, and this one was that and so much more. I loved the instant chemistry between Isabelle and Nikolai, but I think my favorite part of the book was how they grew, not only in their personal lives but also together, as a couple, for their future. Really great book, will def be reading the whole series next!!

The perfect ending to this series. Nik and Izzy’s love story was exactly what I needed, they fought to be together through everything and they came back stronger