Wicked Serve is a quick and steamy read with all the college sports romance tropes. Nikolai and Isabelle's chemistry is undeniable, and their forbidden romance is full of angst and tension. However, the characters are somewhat underdeveloped, and the plot relies heavily on familiar tropes.

Overall, this book is a fun, easy read for fans of the genre, but it lacks the depth and originality to make it truly stand out.

I need to read all of this authors books. I loved this, literally gobbled it up in less than 24 hours. I’m really into hockey romance this year and this was one of my favorites so far. I love secret romance and brothers rival. So good! I got this book as an arc from NetGalley.

Wicked Serve is the 1st book for me by author Grace Reilly. I was drawn to the cover and the blurb but once I started the book, I was captivated by the summer relationship of Nikolai and Izzy. It was easy to see how attracted they were to each other and the fun they had when they were together. As the book progresses and they end up in the same place, the challenge begins as they struggle with emotions that pull them together and the circumstances that push them apart.
I was also excited to see that they both were athletes in different fields. He is a hockey player and she plays volleyball. They both had dedication and drive to do their best plus they realistically understood each other's commitments. Nik and Izzy carry hidden feelings that affect their growing romance and Grace Reilly exposes the revelations gently and respectfully. Nik, who carries a deep trauma, is truly swoon worthy, with abundant confidence both on and off the ice.
Izzy is a golden girl whose personality is full of light, genuine empathy and more talent than she can see. She is the youngest and the only girl in her family and she struggles with insecurities concerning her place in her family.
I really enjoyed this book and the author did a wonderful job showing how Nik and Izzy grew personally and as a couple. My only frustration was that it was a bit long and some of the chapters didn't seem to flow into the other. This is the reason I gave it 4 stars. One the other hand, the chapters were shorter in length so that made it easier to take reading breaks I am a fan of the dual POVs because it allows the reader to get in the head of the character. Wicked Serve also had a bit more spice than I expected with many varied scenes. Nik also has a naughty mouth an that Izzy loves!
I want to read the other books in Grace Reilly" Beyond the Play Series. I believe that this is the last book of the series but it is a great stand- alone!
I received an advanced reader copy and I am leaving a voluntary review based solely on my reading experience!

This was so fun! I loved Isabel, she's so sweet. And I loved how complicated Nikolai was, and I'm constantly amazed at how well adjusted all of the brothers are. It's wonderful to see sex positivity among siblings instead of macho beat your chest stuff. Will be sad to say goodbye to the Callahans.

Wicked Serve is the 4th installment in the Beyond the Play series by Grace Reilly. It features Izzy, a volleyball player for McKee U. And Nikolai, a star hockey player at UMass. The story starts with the reader witnessing Izzy and Nikolai’s summer romance. At the end of the summer, they go their separate ways, but a scandal gets Nikolai kicked out of UMass and transferred to McKee U. Their torrid summer affair becomes more permanent. This book was okay. I didn’t realize it was part of a series, but I feel like Reilly fleshed out the characters nicely so I didn’t need to read the other books to understand their stories. This book is steamy but very long. It dragged badly and I was bored. It could have easily had 100-150 pages cut to become a more cohesive story. A bright spot in the book was I didn’t realize all the serious issues that would be discussed. Check trigger warnings because it talks a lot about domestic abuse, childhood trauma, alcoholism, and panic attacks are featured heavily the last quarter of the book. This helps it become a more solid book and less of a fluffy hockey romance. Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collin’s for the chance to read this book. Wicked Serve releases 8/13/24.

I didn’t know what I was getting into at first because this was actually my first Grace Reilly book and it did not disappoint. It was a quick, fast paced romance that I devoured in a single day. Both main characters were easy to fall in love with and the pacing of the story was quick and easy to follow.

dnf @ 6%

nothing personal i just couldn’t get past “you really haven’t seen legally blonde?” “isn’t it old?” “you did not just call my favorite movie old.” “i’m pretty sure it came out before either of us were even alive.”

call me an old hag, why don’t you.

i might try again.

A college sports romance with a brother’s nemesis-turned teammate combined with a summer fling turned secret romance (?) tropes. That would have been plenty for me, honestly, but adding in a history of domestic abuse, a business mogul grandfather, and some subtle domination was too much for me—it became really unrealistic and just a hair tedious. Strong writing and I liked the Callahan siblings enough that I’m still curious about the other books in this series.

This sexy new-adult sports ball romance focuses on volleyball player Izzy and her brother’s hockey rival Nikolai. They’ve secretly hooked, having a delightful no strings attached summer romance during Izzy’s party planning internship with Nikolai’s mother; when he is transferred to the college Izzy and her brother attend, if they want to keep seeing one another, it has to be on the downlow. Nikolai’s overbearing, toxic, Russian hockey star dad and Izzy’s volleyball playing trajectory add more drama to the secret romance, and the mental health theme adds another level of depth and compassion to the story.

While some might write off this sports romance as new adult fluff, the truth is that Reilly excels at creating warm, authentic, characters; pitch perfect college-age dialogue; complex situations; and passionate, hot, detailed sex scenes. Wicked Serve delivers much of the same in the Beyond The Play series, but it’s compelling, and ultimately successful, if a little fantastical in both chemistry and outcomes.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #WickedServe by Grace Reilly.

This book was a hockey romance with a brother’s rival love interest. I liked the concept and I don't mind a secret relationship, but the pacing was off. I couldn't really get a feel for what the plot was supposed to be. I found the spicy scenes were getting in the way of any plot developing. I was getting bored with them because of how often they popped up. I think you would like this book if you're a fan of Icebreaker by Hannah Grace because they have similar vibes.

This is my favorite out of the entire series! I loved Nik and Izzy's love story and how they supported each other.

This was a little too New Adulty for my taste and I did not root for either lead. It felt juvenile and a weird contrast with the smexy times. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC for my ho b estcreview.

I'm beyond thrilled, and thankful, to have gotten the opportunity to read this book as an ARC from NetGalley and let me tell you, I really enjoyed this book!! From Nik and Izzy's initial fling to their joyous ending, the pure amount of growth, support, and love (plus some good little smut scenes) written on these pages is amazing. I got about halfway and was so surprised to see where the story went, but never felt like it got boring or dragged on! I laughed, screamed, and cried at times, but that's how you know it was a great book! The character development was top tier! I loved how all the Callahan brothers were intertwined throughout the book. I will HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone and everyone I see!

3.5 ⭐️ 3🌶️ this is the only book that I have read from this series, it can be read as a standalone without you feeling like you are missing something.

Izzy and Nik met that summer while she was interning for his mother as a wedding planner, it was just supposed to be a summer fling. They went their separate ways at the end of the summer, he didn’t even say goodbye…Nik ended up getting expelled from his college, but wanted to get is degree and finish his hockey season, so is wealthy grandfather for him into McKee, that same college Izzy and he brothers attend.

Cooper, Izzy’s brother and the captain of the hockey team makes it very clear that Nik is to stay away from his sister, but he can’t do that, he’s obsessed with her! They eventually start sneaking around behind everyone’s back, but they both swear is “just casual” and they are “just friends.” But eventually Izzy realizes she can’t keep doing that. But Nik doesn’t give her an answer until she ends up in trouble. He finally stands up to her brother and tells him they have been together since summer.

Now Nik and Izzy work to fix the friendship between Cooper and Nik and work with Nik’s mental health and his childhood trauma.

This was a good read. Both main characters were supportive of each other. In the in Nik wanted to get better for her and their future. Super cute book, I want to go back and read the rest of the series.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books & Harper Voyager for letting me read an ARC copy for my honest opinion!

4.5 stars :) Nik and Isabelle’s story was so cute! It was exciting to see the Isabelle’s perspective on the Callahan family, since they all have very different relationships with their family and parents.

Loves -
Cooper and Nik’s friendship arc - I think this showed Coop’s true colors, and him embracing Nik pretty quickly after they settled their differences was nice, since that didn’t need to be an issue as much as it is in other books with the “brother’s rival” trope.

Izzy having a separate relationship with Nik’s mom, and how Nik’s mom (and all the parents, aside from Nik’s dad) got to have life details fleshed out, similar to other books in the series.

How much Nik loves Izzy, and how we got to see how pure that love was from the very beginning. There wasn’t any beating around the bush there, no “does he love her? Does he not? Situation, just clear that they loved each other, even if they weren’t ready to see it.

Dislikes -
I wish we got to have more flashback scenes. I feel like there was a lot of references to their lives in Russia, their lives when they came to the US finally, and also Izzy’s perspective on events in the first 3 books. I wish there was a way to have more flashbacks to show those moments.

I also wish that we got more details on what the Abney family does. I think the part about Nik going to work for his grandfather, then Cricket taking his place (or so it seemed) could have been more clear if we understood what they actually did, and if he was truly a “bad guy” in the business or just good at his job. Or both.

More inclusion on Izzy hanging out with the girls! I would love a book on Victoria’s relationship and other girlfriends within that universe, even if it’s their lives being WAGS in the NHL.

Again, amazing book and I am so glad I got an early preview! Thank you NetGalley, HarperCollins and Grace Reilly for this early preview in exchange for an honest review!!

I binged the first three books in the series a few months ago and they were so so good. When I received the ARC for this book that I had been looking forward to, I was so excited.

I was not disappointed.

Through the first 1/3 of the book, I was a little confused because I had been a while and I didn't remember Izzy and Nikolai having any sort of connection in previous books. We're just sort of thrown into the middle of the summer fling.

But as the story goes on and you learn about Nik's background, his fear and aspirations, your heart breaks for him. And you feel the need for Izzy to live up to her family's legacy. Their journeys are very similar in that way. The support that they have for one another is really touching.

Because this isn't a finished product, some of the chapters ended a little abruptly but that can be forgiven. This was a perfect addition to the BTP series!

this is book 4 in a series, but can be read as a standalone, It is about a college hockey romance. I will go back and read the other three books in the series.

A classic college hockey romance! I loved the brother’s enemy twist, rather than the brother’s friend. Like many in the hockey romance genre, there are [spoilers ahead!] complex relationships with a father, feelings of inadequacy, and lots of intimate moments with increasing amounts of emotions tied into them.

I had the opportunity to review this book as an ARC via NetGalley. Loved it, loved it, loved it!! Wicked Serve is the fourth book in the Beyond the Play series by Grace Reilly. Steamy, sexy, and so sweet - this was perfection. Nikolai and Isabelle had an amazing summer together, but now it is back to reality. A reality in which Nikolai is Isabelle's brother's worst hockey enemy. The relationship between Izzy and Nik was super heartfelt, he falls fast and harder. I love the hockey team as supporting cast - they're just so funny.
Kudos for a huge mental health rep - Nik works on himself so that he can be a better partner for Izzy.
There was A LOT of spice - don't let that cute cover fool you!! "Crawl to me..." whew!

I was beyond excited to receive an ARC of this book. One of my favorite sports romance series. I loved this as the finale for this series. Grace Reilly does a fantastic job of developing personalities for each of her characters and I loved the MMC in this book!
Such a satisfying ending, can't wait to see what she writes next.