I really wished this was tennis ;) It was fun and I love a good hockey romance, but wanted it to be a little spicier and kinkier, given the other hockey romances I've read. (Pucking around series, etc)

Thank you to Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

***TRIGGER Warnings: domestic abuse and child abuse***

I thought this was the best book in the series. It was your typical hockey romance. But I am a sucker for a hockey romance. I think this series is good and I would suggest it.

I DNF’d @ 50%. I believe this is a new adult or college adult romance , but they felt too immature for me. The chemistry and connection was believable, but I really had a hard time connecting to the story and the characters individually.

A hockey romance about Nikolai and Isabelle. It all started a summer fling that didn't end on the best terms, but when Nikolai gets kicked out of college, he is given the opportunity to play hockey with his rivals and at Isabelle's college.

There were some flaws or parts that seemed cheesy, but it was a fun storyline and a good fluffy read. At times I thought Isabelle was a bit too pushy especially surrounding Nikolai's past.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this book! Wicked Serve is the strongest book in this series. I feel like the writing is stronger (and clearer) than the first book by far! I loved the characters and the story. The spice was pretty good too! I would read this book all over again!

Would recommend!

About what to expect cute and somewhat lengthy. Nik And Izzy have to overcome quite a few obstacles and traumas. There are plenty of spicy scenes with more than expected detail.

For someone that hates sports in real life. I love a good sports romance book, and this one was great. The characters were well rounded and relatable. The story flowed well and I thoroughly enjoyed every word.

So I came into this book not realizing it was the 4th in the series (picking up the first 3 ASAP) and I loved it! As is typical with a romance series it can absolutely stand on its own and wow did it ever.

The story follows Izzy and Nik. Nik is a hockey player expelled from his college his senior year and has to go finish out his career at McKee. Izzy is a volleyball player at McKee. Also they hooked up the entire summer while Izzy interned for Nik’s mom (oops?). The book follows them reconnects after Nik ghosted her. This book also tackled some serious issues regarding domestic abuse and mental health issues and they were handled really well. I loved seeing how Izzy supported Nik through his panic attacks and his trauma. I also loved seeing Nik support Izzy and help her realize that she is not a failure just because she’s not perfect. Their romance was sweet and felt very real to me. Overall, I’d highly recommend this book and the ending even had my crying a bit.

If he wanted to, he would ladies! This was such a sweet book with actual darker problems going on somewhat talked about. Isabelle and Nik go through a lot and I enjoyed being able to see a lot of the downs that were actual problems that could be related to, and not just an overreaction to something silly. A fun romance that really loops the Callahans all together.

Thank you NetGalley, Grace Reilly, and Avon and Harper Voyager for a copy of this Arc.

Cute, fluffy read !!! Always a joy to read a hockey romance. This book is a spice heavy, hockey romance and the last in a series of standalones.

Things I loved:
- their healthy relationship
- sweet romance
- discussion of deeper topics
- the strength of the FMC

Pick up this read if you like:
- secret relationship
- a LOT of spice
- Friend & Family bonds
- Mental Health rep
- Grumpy x Sunshine

There were things with the writing style that got on my nerves (hence 4 stars) such as repeating words and too many chapters, but I did have fun with this low stakes read!

This is book 4 in the Beyond the Play Series. Nikolai and Izzy have a summer fling that no one knows about. They think it's over when the summer is over, but Nikolai has to change schools and come crashing back into Izzy's life. They each need to succeed that year in their respective sports. When their worlds collide, can they succeed or will they go up in flames?

I really enjoyed this book! It had so many layers- it was cute and fun but it also tackled some difficult topics. The difficult topics were done well and I liked the mental health representation. This book was spicy and I liked the characters development of the main characters throughout the book. Izzy and Nikolai were great main characters and I could really feel their connection. The side characters are all great and I love the found family aspect in this book. I recommend reading this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC of this book. I voluntarily read it and gave an honest review.

"Wicked Serve" will be out on 13 Aug 2024.
This is the fourth book by Grace Reilly, the serie is called "Beyond the play". The theme of course is "Romance sport", i can't get enought of them.
I'm obsessed.
I applied for this book because I'm going through, my sports romances's phase, the theme is all there, even the
spicy level is a 4 out of 5, but
I found the story a little too much long, i couldn't wait to finish it, and not in a good way.
Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books, and Harper Voyager for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Wicked Serve can be read as a stand-alone or as the fourth book in the series. This is the first book I’ve read by Grace Reilly and I definitely recommend for fans of Hannah Grace. This fits neatly into the new adult sports romance niche and while enjoyable, I do think I may be a little older than the intended demographic.

I appreciated that there were serious moments intertwined with the romance and coming of age experiences; however, I feel 100 pages could have been cut and the story would have stayed the same.

I enjoyed the first book in this series and thought a hockey/volleyball romance was going to be great. This was not it for me. I had to think for awhile to figure out what seemed off with this book and it’s that you never actually hear the start of their romance! They have a summer fling and then he switches to her college. However, they already both really like each other and know each other and were in a temporary relationship before the reader is ever introduced! It left the rest of the romance feeling uninspired and disconnected. Also, the spice was SPICY! This was way too much for me (and also highly unrealistic as described) and really didn’t add anything to the romance or the chemistry. The storyline and plot were fine, but nothing that special. I appreciated the incorporation of healing from past trauma, but the rich-boy routine and spoiled FMC that kept happening really just took away from the attempts of going deeper with the characters. This could’ve used 100+ pages cut out with a better focus and more backstory to make it a story worth reading. 3⭐️, 4🌶

Cute read. It was heavy on character development which is somewhat rare for books like this, but it was nicely unexpected! Definitely added more substance to the book. I liked the characters and story but it was still just an okay read in my opinion.
3/5 ⭐️
3.5/5 🌶️

I really enjoyed this story - I thought that the characters were well-developed and I found myself falling in love with Nik and Izzy as they fell in love. The spice was good and I liked that they were both strong people in their own right.

Nik and Izzy's story delivered on what we expect from a Grace Reilly book: emotional connection, character growth, and spice! You can feel their connection from the first few pages and can't help but root for them to work it all out. I really loved Nik's character and his arc with his family as he navigates his hockey career and relationship with Izzy.

I didn't connect to Izzy's character like I thought I would. She felt superficial and stereotypical at times, I feel like more depth could've been added to her characterization like it was added to Nik's. A lot of scenes with her felt choppy and unnatural, but I slowly grew to understand her character by the end of the book. It just didn't read as easily to me as Nik's did.

A lighter, less angsty read for a new adult, sports romance.

There is a lot that I enjoyed about Wicked Serve. Nik and Isabelle, as a couple, were really wonderful. Their low level angst made the story flow and I was rooting for them from start to finish.

Now, I know there had to be something that would wrinkle up the story and that came from outside forces, mainly Nik's family and the pressure Izzy puts on herself for volleyball.

Nik is basically the best boyfriend when it comes to Izzy, but when it comes to dealing with his own family, he buries his head in the sand. He was so great with encouragement and stepping up when Isabelle needed him, he just didn't have the self-esteem to do so for himself, which was sad. Izzy in turn is also there everytime Nik needs him, but she doesn't have the courage to face some of her own demons. These two are very much peas in the same pod, but it also makes them a perfect fit for each other.

The book probably could have been shorter if these two could have faced their own issues sooner, but overall, this book isn't bad for a low angst summer read. 4.5 stars overall.

Thank you NetGalley, Avon Books, and Harper Voyager for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!

This is one of the best from this series Grace Reilly has done it, the way she writes about her characters keeps you intrigued about who they are and the story line is always moving!