Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and Netgalley for this advanced readers copy, and the opportunity to review.

Wicked Serve by Grace Reilly is the final inter-connected stand alone in the Beyond the Play series, and I thought this book was a great ending to the series as a whole. Throughout the other books, Izzy is an important side character as her brothers' sibling, and I really liked how this was her story. The book has a lot of little references to the previous books in the series, but if you just wanted to read this one, you could without getting confused.

The Callahan family's youngest child, Izzy, is just as athletic as her brothers. She plays on the volleyball team at McKee University, and she's looking to win back her old position. When her summer fling and brother's hockey rival transfers, she realizes it might have been more than a fling. Nikolai is a hockey player looking for a fresh start after being expelled from his previous college. But the moment he sees her again, all the feelings return. Rekindling their relationship could risk an icy start with Cooper, and Nik's past makes opening up and trusting anyone extremely challenging.

I am giving this book 4 stars. It was my second favorite book in the series, coming behind Breakaway. I thought it was a great way to end the series and enjoyed reading it. I liked the emotional depth to the characters, and the realistic way they approach their relationship. I thought some parts of the plot could have been a little more flushed out, but overall this was a very fun read and I would recommend to anyone who loves a college romance book.

Wicked Serve by Grace Reilly comes out on August 13.

Thank you NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

This was a fun college x sports romance, and was book number 4 in the series.

3.5 stars (rounded up to 4)

While I enjoyed this one because I am a huge college hockey romance fan... there wasn't a whole lot that I personally felt made this set apart from so many others on the market. I found myself flipping ahead at times due to the excessive wording in parts, I don't really enjoy when authors use a lot of filler wording to make books longer. 5 times out of 5 I would rather have a short story that gets to the point vs a book that gives me this feeling. I want my books to feel like a fun escape, not borderline chore. It wasn't until the final 25(ish)% of the book that I really felt a lot of connection to the characters. If you haven't quite yet experienced the supreme Elle Kennedy books - you as a reader may not have this same experience.

While this one wasn't quite for me. I really enjoyed book 2! That one was also a hockey romance, and I would highly recommend giving that one a try! I will personally be looking for more books from this author, because I have found that sometimes there are one off books like this could potentially be that have this effect on myself as a reader.

I want to take a moment to think NetGalley as well. The publishing company for sending me a copy of this book and exchange for my honest review.

There is just something about a good sports romance that just hits the right spot. If you love hockey and volleyball, then I would definitely recommend picking this book up. The romance in this was adorable and it brought me so much joy. I love the fact that we have both characters playing a sport instead of just one.

The hockey romance and Nik navigating through his childhood trauma to be a better man for himself and to his partner was everything. If this novel taught me anything, it's when you think you're dealing with a difficult hardship, Isabelle, there's always someone going through something more difficult, Nikolai. I'm not discounting Isabelle's difficulties, but the way she made it define who she was was kind of annoying when comparing those of Nik's. I wasn't a huge fan of her. As a previous volleyball player, it CAN be life, but it isn't... girl... get it together.

I'm not a huge fan of smut scenes, therefore all the explicit scenes were a little... cringe for me. I could've done without them.

At the end, what I enjoyed the most, was the way the author was able to grow Nik's character. His way of mending relationships, handling his trauma, and wanting to do it all for himself and not FOR someone was admirable. (Strange cause it's a book and not a person, but it helped me take something away from this book which is difficult to do when it comes to romances sometimes.)

All in all, enjoyed the book minus the smut scenes.

This book sent me all over the place. The first 60% was your average college hockey romance. There is nothing extraordinary about it. The last 40% was fantastic and pulled at the heartstrings.

Nikolai was a well-developed character dealing with emotional trauma from his childhood of abuse at the hands of his father and a mother so caught up in dealing with her trauma that she neglected to recognize the therapy her son desperately needed. He was so sweet and desperate to take care of his mom, of himself, of Isabelle and his teammates.

Isabelle was very unremarkable in my opinion. Her struggles with volleyball and finding a purpose in life just seemed to pale in comparison to Nik. I also found her desire to find out more about his past to be a little much. Yes, you want your partner to share things about themselves, but you also need to grant them a little grace to share when they are ready.

The part that brought the overall enjoyment of this book down for me was the intimate scenes. I did not find them sexy at all and the whole spanking and anal felt very out of place for the emotional story the author seemed to be building. I hope to never read the phrase "her slick" ever again. Cringe!

4.5 rounded up to 5

Izzy and Nik enjoyed a secret summer romance only to go their separate ways in the fall. Then Nik lands at her school. They each have a handful of reasons why a relationship wouldn't be a good idea but there's no denying their chemistry. Will they fight for a future together?

Read if you like:
-Brother's Rival
-Secret Relationship
-Family Drama

I really liked this book. I was hooked right from the start. Grace Reilly is such a skilled writer. Izzy just jumped off the page and I loved how the tension and mystery of Nik's past slowly built. Wicked Serve is a book I wish I could wipe my memory and read again for the first time. It did run a little long and lagged for a few chapters, but otherwise, it is a fantastic read!

This book was a great continuouarion of the series! I loved the couple. Nik and Isabelle had a summer romance which came to a halt when they went back to school, differnt schools. This is the one thing I didn't like about this book, I felt like we missed a chapter of their romance.
How were what we do get, I really loved, and how they had this amazing connection. We have two opposite personalities dating in secret.
If you want a cute, funeral sports romance, I recommend this!

Thanks to NetGalley, the publishing company and or the author for giving me the chance to read and review Wicked Serve

Loved everything about the book from the plot to the characters. I had some problems with the trigger warnings but I just skipped over those parts.

Overall I found this book well written and enjoyable. I have mixed feelings about college set novels but this one was “mature” enough to keep me invested. If my tone here sounds underwhelmed, just know that it was a me thing. I was not in the mood for college, but I wanted to get this one read with plenty of time before release, and here we are. When I can separate my lack of interest in reading about college athletes I have literally no complaints about the story, so a lot of you are going to EAT THIS UP. I promise.

Okay this was super cute and I loved the chemistry and banter. Only thing was I felt it was a little too long. But other than that, it was a solid easy read!

This one was good, if not a bit tumultuous in the story line. I liked that Izzy and Nik reunited and they tackled some really heavy stuff, but the progression just didn't flow well to me. Still a great romance!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
3.5 stars rounded up for this surprisingly good sports romance, which was a lot more complex than I would have expected. Actually quite good sex scenes, especially early on in the book, and I thought the difficult topics of abuse, trauma, anxiety, and divorce were handled relatively well by the author and felt pretty realistic. All in all, this is a better than decent romance with the hockey/volleyball sports backdrop (along with a lot of college/career and family themes) that’s going to grab me. Bonus of some minor queer side characters, too!

Nik and Izzy meet during summer while she is doing an internahip with his mom planning weddings. Nik plays on an opposing hockey team from Izzy's brother so when sparks fly over summer they know once they both return to college in fall that the romance will be over. Until Nik is forced to attend Izzy's college in order to remain playing hockey. Without a word from Nik after summer ended Izzy is less than excited to see him on her campus, but her heart still yearns to be with him.

3.5 ⭐

Wicked Serve is a pretty standard brother's rival hockey romance, that was sweet with a little steam, and just all around a good time but didn't blow me away

This book took me a minute to warm up to it but I'm so glad I finished it. The beginning is a bit confusing and I wish we had more of how their relationship started (a summer fling) but then it delved into deeper topics like domestic violence and trauma and it definitely got better. The level of maturity Nikolai showed towards the end of the story was admirable, and the way Isabelle reacted to his decision making was brave and strong. They definitely showed growth.

I never really got into the characters. While I liked Nik better than Izzy, I never warmed to Izzy. As the series progressed, the writing has developed. However, because I had no buy-in to the main character, it was hard to be invested in the story.

Synopsis:
Nikolai needs to have a stellar Senior season, so imagine his dismay when he's forced to transfer to his rival University and play with his biggest rival...and the older brother of his summer fling. He'd love to reignite their spark, but can risk alienating himself more from his Captain? And can he get past his scarred past? Izzy has two goals for the school year: win back her place on the volleyball team and forget all about Nikolai. Too bad she just can't seem to stay from his broody charm. Between the furtive hookups and the heartfelt conversations, the lines between friends-with-benefits and more begin to blur.

My thoughts:
It's your standard college sports romance. If you like a friends with benefits, brother's rival to lovers storyline this the a book for you. I liked the characters. The spice is there but not overpowering. I love me some hockey on the page. I don't know that I think it is anything ground breaking. But it is an enjoyable story. I like the emotional maturity and the conversations about mental health and getting help to overcome our past. I would recommend if these are things you enjoy in your story.

Pretty cute young adult novel. I liked the back stories to the characters and how the author addressed mental health. It read a little young at points, and I think could have been shorter. Overall not a bad read, and great spice level!

I'm a sucker for hockey romance, and this one had me grinning like a lovesick fool the entire time. I adored Nikolai, who was the epitome of "he falls first." Literally, from page one, you can tell that he was head over heels for Izzy. And while their relationship was meant to be a secret summer fling (especially since Nikolai and Izzy's brother are rivals on the rink), it's clear that fate has other plans for them.

There is lots of spice in this book, but it is all really well done and doesn't feel repetitive. I like that the plot and characters aren't overwhelmed by the spice, which is a trap that some authors can easily fall into. There's depth in the character's stories, including past trauma and insecurities, but there is also lots of healing and mental health awareness. The pair grow together as a couple and as individuals, supporting one another in a very healthy way that many real-life couples could probably learn from.

While I was definitely intimidated when I saw how massive this book was (74 chapters!) I was pleasantly surprised to find that it kept a steady and engaging pace throughout the entire story. Could it have been shorter? Sure. But I have read shorter books that have felt much, much longer than this one.

This is my first book by Grace Reilly, and I will definitely return to read the stories of the other three Callahan siblings.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books, and Harper Voyager for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for a advanced reader copy.
I read this as a stand alone being that it was book 4.
I would definitely consider going back and reading the remaining books in the series.

This follows Isabelle (the last Callahan sibling) and Nikolai (her brothers rival's) relationship go from summer fling to much more.
I felt like this was a bit longer than was needed, but i really liked the fact that the book focused a lot on healing from past trauma and actively seeking self improvement.