although the premise was really good, I found the book really hard to follow. I never warmed up to the characters and the issues that they were going through. it was a bit of a snooze book for me.

This was an enjoyable read with both characters as athletes!

While Nikolai and Isabelle both had their own insecurities and traumas, the book dealt with mental health in a healthy way, which I really appreciated. The relationship between these two was super sweet with a hint of spice. I love a hero who can talk dirty and also has sweet nicknames for the heroine.

Loved this series! I'm pretty sure this in the final book and I loved reading about all of the siblings! Wicked serve was just as romantic and steamy as the others! I love a sports romance! I was swooning like crazy, such a good book!

Overall I enjoyed this "sports romance". Nikolai was a good mental health rep for men. The spice was good and I liked them as a couple. Wasn't QUITE 5 stars for me but I did really enjoy it.

I absolutely adored FIRST DOWN by Grace Reilly and, as a former volleyball player, I was really looking forward to WICKED SERVE. Unfortunately, however, I ended up having to put it down as there was some content I didn't feel comfortable with. This is very personal, of course, but I simply can't bring myself to give this a higher rating.

I’d say it was a 3.5⭐️. I enjoyed Nik and Izzy but I didn’t feel the need to binge this book. They had a good connection and there was drama that kept it interesting but I didn’t feel like I had to know right away what was going to happen. It did wrap up the series nicely thought.

Review:
5/5 Stars
Spice Level: 3.5/5 Stars
Pub Date: August 13, 2024
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the free copy in exchange for an honest review!

I love Grace Reilly's Beyond the Play series - they are spicy college sports romances that follow the Callahan siblings as they fall in love. Wicked Serve is no exception, Izzy was a huge burst of sunshine and Nikoli was such a heartthrob and so in love with Izzy. I adored seeing what the other siblings were up to, the Cooper/Nikoli was so funny (especially because they were such rivals at the start of the book). I would recommend this book (and the other books in the series) to lovers of spicy sports romances, laugh-out-loud moments, and a cast of characters who make you want to jump into the pages.

I enjoyed this a lot, Grace Reilly does story and spice really well! I really enjoyed seeing a male character struggling with panic attacks and anxiety. I do wish we had gotten a bit more of their summer fling but I just wanted to see more of Nik and Isabelle

Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me. It had a lot of potential. I wish it started with their summer fling or flashbacks of it. I also felt the book was way too long and a lot of spicy scenes instead of character development.

Thank you netgalley and avon books for sending me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

5 stars - another winner from Grace Reilly! I enjoyed both main characters and it was fun seeing characters from previous books. I really like Nikolai and the representation of panic disorders in men. Very spicy but very sweet moments too between Isabelle and Nik. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my review.

A second chance, secret sports romance with plenty of spice and banter. Nik and Izzy never expect to see each other again after their summer fling only to run into each other when Nik transfers to Izzy's college. He's there to play hockey and Izzy's big brother is the team captain which makes her off limits. However, they can't seem to stay away from each other. A great addition to Reilly's Beyond the Playbook romance series.

3.5 ⭐️

Wicked Serve is #4 in the Beyond the Play series but can be read as a standalone. I read book 1 but not 2 or 3. The story made sense as a standalone and I did not have any issues understanding what was happening. The plot of this book however was not my favorite. It seemed like every other chapter the main characters were having some disagreement that could have been solved with a simple conversation. They did have their cute moments through the book that I did enjoy reading but the book felt about 100 pages too long. I would still recommend reading it but this is a book I will probably not reread.

izzy and nik are the cutest, supportive couple! the book felt the tiniest bit too long at times, but i appreciate that it dealt with some tough themes and did so respectfully.

🏒🏐 sports romance
↔️ opposites attract

After a summer fling with her brother Cooper's hockey rival, Izzy returns to McKee ready to prove to her volleyball coach that she's ready for a leadership position. No distractions. School and Volleyball. That's it. Until an incident gets Nikolai expelled from his university and transfered to McKee. Izzy does not need this distraction, but everyone needs to vent some frustration every now and then right? It's just casual. As their relationship grows, Izzy isn't sure she wants to keep it a secret anymore. Or be casual. But Nik has been keeping secrets too. Secrets that could change everything.

This might be my favorite of the series. Nik and Izzy have such a beautiful story. Trigger warnings for this include domestic and child abuse, as well as anxiety attacks. I thought the writing was well paced and easy to read. The story flowed smoothly and had a good pace.

I also loved that Nik took time to work on himself and recognized his need to step away and refocus. I think that was a really important component. There was definitely a suspenseful feel throughout the book. You knew that Nik's dad was going to come into play, and I definitely felt that hanging over the story. I really enjoyed it though! 4⭐

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins for the arc! Such a fun little brother’s enemy book!
Loved the characters and the banter! Izzy and Nikolai were really fun and their relationship was incredibly sweet. Nikolai’s backstory was heartbreaking and made me really sympathetic to his character.
Hadn’t read any of her stories prior to this arc and this actually made me go back and read them.

College senior Nik is not only navigating a new school, but a new role on the school’s hockey team. On top of that, his new captain is his former rival, and the older brother of his summer fling.

Izzy is determined to be better this year, no distractions, just focusing on her school, and improving her standing in the eyes of her volleyball coach. That is until she realizes her summer fun now also attends the same university.

Despite being warned against seeing each other, Nik and Izzy agree to some casual stress-release to get each other out of their systems and focus on their goals, but their undeniable magnetism towards each other might just prove to be too much…

I love reading Grace Reilly! Wicked Serve is no exception (I had read 65% of the book before realizing it was 3am!). Izzy and Nik are beautiful foils for each other, and Reilly does a great job of allowing both of them to work through their pasts and family issues in a palatable way- without feeling like a life lesson. Wicked Serve was a wonderful wrap-up on the Callahan siblings!

Thanks to Netgalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the early ebook!

Good quick read. Not much of a book club book unless you are a steamy book club. Definitely a spicy book. I think most of the book was steam. It was entertaining though and had some cute moments. Most of the story flowed well and was well written.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the ARC of Wicked Serve in exchange for an honest and independent review.

While this is the fourth installment in the Beyond the Play series by Grace Reilly, this is the first of the series I've had the pleasure of reading, which was in no way an issue of any sort. I appears each of the novels are standalones, which I greatly appreciate. Reilly very briefly fills you in on any need to know information from prior books as well as any family dynamic information to move the book along quickly without getting too deep in the details of past novels.

The Beyond the Play series follows each of the Callahan siblings through their intricate love stories with their significant others. Wicked Serve centers around the youngest Callahan sibling, Izzy, and her under-cover relationship with, Nikolai, her brother's hockey rival. Izzy and Nikolai are fresh off a romantic secret summer together while Izzy is interning at his mother's wedding planning company. The bliss of summer comes to an end when Izzy and Nic go their separate ways back to separate schools in hopes of being able to walk away from their fantastic summer with no strings attached in the wake of a beautiful memory.

Back at school, Izzy cannot help but continue to cling to the memory of Nic and their whirl-wind summer together. Not far into the school year, Nic finds himself in trouble and kicked out of UMass and off the hockey team. In a scramble to find a new hockey team and school, Nic's grandfather steps in and pulls some strings to get him into his rival school, McKee University in exchange for a deal that will greatly impact Nic's potential future in the NHL. It just so happens, Izzy attends McKee and is more than shocked to run into him at a campus party.

Sparks fly immediately as the memory of their summer together comes crashing back. They decided to put it all on the line and continue their relationship on the down low in order to keep the peace between Nic and Izzy's brother Cooper, who also happens to be Nic's captain on the hockey team. Izzy and Nic continue their ruse over the weeks to come until Izzy realizes she no longer wants to keep Nic a secret. Nic has is own dark secrets that justify his need to keep Izzy at arms distance, however, that's becoming increasingly hard to do as their lives seem to fall effortlessly together on campus. Nic risks losing Izzy forever when he fails to respond when Izzy makes it known she no longer wants to keep Nic hidden from her every day life and her family.

In a great story about finding themselves and their way back to each other, Nic and Izzy discover what love can look like when they are open with each other and those around them. A beautiful story about self discovery and first loves that keeps you wanting to turn the page over and over again. While this story is most certainly sprinkled with spice here and there, the characters and storyline feel very real and captivate your curiosity. I loved the dynamic of the Callahan family and how they slowly bring Nic into their fold. You cannot help but root for Nic and Izzy as they navigate this new territory and begin to come into their own in college. A wonderful read that kept things spicy and exciting and I'd really like to find the time to go back and read the prior three novels centered on the 3 elder Callahan siblings!

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book. I love this series so much and I don't have words to describe my love for this book. This is my favorite of the series and Nik and Izzy's relationship made me feel all the emotions: blushing, butterflies in the stomach, smiles, and even tears. There are too many moments between them that I loved reading but if I had to pick one thing it was always the love and support they had for each other no matter what the challenges were. I'm glad to see Izzy have a happy ending. I would recommend this book and this series to everyone.

I really enjoyed this book! This was my first by Grace Reilly and it won't be my last!

You can absolutely read this one without reading the first 3, you won't feel lost.

I loved their relationship and how supportive they were for each other through everything that was thrown at them. Their love was true and you felt it from the beginning.

Also the spicy scenes were SPICY! I loved every second of those scenes.