Thanks to netgalley for the ARC! I was not in love with this one. I don’t mind some sexual context, but this was pretty intense at times. I also didn’t find it realistic for college age kids. While the story itself was interesting for the most part, I felt like some of the interactions and conflict between the two love interests weren’t totally realistic. I like most substance and sweetness with my love stories, and this one didn’t really fit the bill.

Per-fection!! I would read Grace Reilly’s shopping list. Once again she wrote amazing college hockey romances that I devoured in one sitting! I really felt a connection with the characters and I love how nontoxic their story was!

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a review.

This is book spicyyyy! I loved Izzy and Nikolai's relationship and this books is without a lot of the normal romance book tropes that get irritating. No miscommunication, no (real) third act breakup, their friendship to full romance is adorable and I like them so much together. They both have flaws and issues and their conversations made this book for me even more than the spicy scenes. I loved the Russian aspect to Nikolai's history and I like how that was a big part of him regardless of past trauma. I loved the sports in this book, and the idea that you might play a sport just because you love it without it being everything about your future career and monetizing it.

Nikolai
Hockey is my life, and I need to make this last season count. But when I’m forced to transfer to rival school McKee University for my senior year, I risk pissing off the captain, who happens to be the older brother of Isabelle Callahan: the gorgeous beam of sunshine I messed around with in secret this summer.
Rekindling our fling could risk her brother icing me off the team—not to mention the fact that my scarred past makes having a real relationship impossible—and yet the moment I see Isabelle again, all my wild, burning feelings come rushing back.
Izzy
I have two goals for sophomore year: win back my old volleyball position, and forget I ever knew devilishly handsome hockey defenseman Nikolai Abney-Volkov. As the youngest and only daughter in a family full of athletes, failure isn’t an option.
But when Nik crashes back into my life, I can’t stay away from his broody charm. I’m determined to guard my heart this time, but between the furtive hookups and the heartfelt conversations, the lines between friends-with-benefits and more begin to blur.
As we fall deeper into a place we can’t come back from unscathed, we’ll have to make a choice: fight for a future together, or watch it go up in flames.
Filled with swoons, spice, sports, and koalas, Wicked Serve is a don’t-miss new adult college sports romance.

Grace Reilly is my new auto buy author. Her characters are genuinely funny and heartwarming. The romance in Wicked Serve was wholesome and had me giggling. I love Reilly’s approach on modern romance and I love love her sports romances.

🏐Wicked Serve🏒
*Thank you to @gracereilly, NetGalley, @AvonBooks, and @HarperVoyagerUS for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is genuinely Grace's best book yet and is my favorite out of the series. It's been so amazing to see the growth in her writing in this book. Her last three books were amazing too, however, this one just feels polished. In this book we follow Izzy and Nik's lives separately and when they're together. I loved getting to know Izzy because in prior books she has not been a main component. Izzy is so strong, and Nik is so sweet. Our first impression of Nik is in Breakaway and it wasn't the best, however, we get to see a new side of his and I loved it. Also, don't even get me started on getting updates on all of the Callahan relationships!! Also just seeing the siblings interact with each other was one of my favorite parts! I also would like to mention my other and final favorite part which was the confrontation with Chance (you will find out who he is), it was 10/10 - the brothers stepping in, Penny and Mia stepping in, Nik stepping in, and finally Izzy standing up for herself AH it was just amazing. Anyway, if you've read Grace's other Callahan books, please, please, please read this one! Or if you were thinking about reading this series, you must! The whole series is a mix of hard topics and the right amount of fluff.

3.5 Stars! This is the 4th book in the ‘Beyond the Play’ series and this is the only book I’ve read in this series and it can definitely be read as a standalone. Tons of ‘sexy times’ scenes, and I mean TONS. They tend to drag on & on. I started skimming through or skipping them completely. After a while it was like, they’re going at it, again! Ugh. She’s mad at him but than gives him some ‘mouth loving’ instead of talking about it? Really?! Mentions her past hookups too much too. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to hear about every Tom’s, Harry, Dick you’ve been with in a romance book with a completely different man as the main male character. I mean, when do they have time to study & practice their sports & workout with all the ‘sexy times’ they participate in constantly?! I wanted to be an Olympic swimmer when I was a teen so I know how much training, eating right, & working out it takes and how exhausting it can be. There is little to no time left for anything else. Almost DNF but it got better so I’m glad I finished. The main characters, Nik & Isabelle, were cute together. (Wish I could get a super rich, major league sports player to fall in love with me, but here I am.) Some of the decisions Nik made had me wanting to slap sense into him but I liked the epilogue. This felt like a pretty long book. Every time I thought the book was wrapping up, it kept going. All in all, it was a decent read, especially if you like to read the ‘sexy times’ scenes.
*I received this book at no charge & I voluntarily left this review.*

If you enjoy a college sports romance with forbidden romance/second chance energy coupled with the “she makes him feel a feeling” microtrope, Wicked Serve is the book for you.

Probably my favorite book in Grace Reilly’s Beyond the Play series, Wicked Serve serves up a lot of spice, coupled with the right amount of angst. The chemistry between Nik and Izzy is off the charts from the jump, and the conflicts that are explored throughout keeps reader engaged from beginning to end. I love how strong Izzy is as a character, and the ways she doesn’t shrink away from conflict. And the ways that Nik overcomes his childhood trauma and becomes the best version of himself feels actualized and authentic.

My one very slight criticism is the book’s length. I think there were places where the plot could have been tightened and achieved the same aims. Overall, though, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and expect that fans of the series and new readers alike will agree.

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Isabelle's turn! This book was beautiful in every way. Nikolai had childhood trauma to deal with and it left a huge mark on Nik's life. When he realized he should go to therapy, I wanted to stand up and cheer for him. This is a much-welcome sight of a MMC who notices that he needs help and it's okay to receive it. These two were mature and communicated which I always appreciate since it's not written about enough. Although this was Izzy's book, I couldn't help but fall head over heels in love with Nik. His love for her was magical and wholesome. She was his sunshine.

The epilogue was perfect for a wonderful series.

"You're everything to me, Isabelle. You're stubborn warmth and wild summertime. You're sunshine."

*ARC courtesy of the author and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. Thank you to the valued author, the publisher, and Netgalley for providing a copy.*

Another great book in the Callahan sibling's stories! I loved Getting to know Isabelle and Nikolai, and watching them fall in love. They have a great relationship filled with respect and admiration. it was refereshing to read a book that neither of the characters had any major red flags. Nikolai had some childhood trama, but deals with it in a healthy way and I loved it. This series is one I keep on my bookshelf; they are fun, easy reads that are great to come back to when you need a good book and can't decide what to read! Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Wicked Serve by Grace Reilly is her steamiest book yet!

It was a long time coming to get Izzy's book and it was so well worth the wait. Although it is bittersweet to see the series end, I couldn't think of a better story to wrap up the sibling series. Izzy and Nik have a summer romance that has an end and no future but when life throws them back together and a chance to try again, I love that we see how both of them did not forget or stop thinking about each other. The mutual longing and pining in this book was perfection. This book was so steamy yet so heartfelt and sweet and emotional. I loved seeing how two people become their own found family and have a healthy relationship where they support each other, have communication and grow. There's so many fun elements in this story too. There's brother's rival, secret relationship, found family, both of them are athletes. She's a volleyball player and he's a hockey player and he's Russian. I really love when characters are bilingual and use their native tongue to give their love interest a nickname or teach them their language or culture and I thought grace Reilly did such an amazing job with that. I was truly swooning and grinning. Everything that came out of that man's. mouth was truly perfect and their spice? oh my gosh. Reilly did not hold back because this is her spiciest yet and if you are a fan of praise, prepare to be amazed because Nik and Izzy will have you sliding down a wall.

The romance is beautiful and heartfelt, I loved seeing all the Callahan siblings grown up, living their lives, being happy with their partners and still being close, all of them becoming one big family and seeing Nik be part of that and know he's not alone and I loved seeing that. it was the perfect way to wrap up the series and the epilogue was absolutely perfect and I thought that it was perfect. I was totally emotional while reading the ending. I couldn't think of a better way to end it and for their storyline. I can't wait for what Grace has in store next.

This book was a fun read and definitely spicy. I enjoyed the romance between the two MC's and their support for one another. I did like that both MC's were into different sports as I think this made them care for another all the more because they could relate to one another on that level. Nik's dad is a POS and he deserved so much better from him. This book did seem to drag a bit for me which is the reason for 3 stars instead of 4 but overall I enjoyed the read.

Seriously One of my Now Favorite Grace Reilly Books to date now! Yes I Love the Other 3 but this 4th one was just the Icing to the ending!
I mean The Little Sister with the Enemy of the rival Team, to then become a teammate on the same team, and I say sorta a friend. Don't even know what type of Trope I would call this, but trust me it's worth the read. Another 5 star from me for this Book! Thank You Grace for another great Read!

While this book started strong for me, it stalled once I was about halfway through. I also felt that the focus shifted from Nik & Izzy to Nik's familial issues with many random events that didn't impact the story. If you have read the previous books in the series, (I didn't and you don't need to) I think you will enjoy the dynamics and interactions we get from them throughout this book.

Overall, I think many people will enjoy this as a spicy book with some darker topics if you can get past some of the repetitive conversations and interactions/events that don't propel the story forward. If this was shorter and more focused, it would have received a higher rating from me.

“𝐌𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥.”

Wicked Serve by Grace Reilly is a college romance that follows hockey defenseman Nikolai Abney-Volgograd and volleyball setter Isabelle Callahan.

Ever since I read and enjoyed Stealing Home by Grace, I was anticipating this read because of its tropes and because I knew it was going to be good. And boy did I enjoy this.

The thing that really got to me and made me swoon was the fact that Nik called Isa “my sunshine girl” in his native language. You cannot tell me this isn’t wholesome or that the nickname is just so mf cute.

Though I will say Nik and Cooper were both giving me grey hairs because I went from hating them one moment because they couldn’t just agree to then loving their bond.

This might be my second book that I read by grace but I definitely will be checking out her other works while I wait for her upcoming releases.

*Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and to the author, Grace Reilly, for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.*

This book definitely touched some darker themes. I loved the character development and the emotional journey you go on with the main characters. I absolutely loved Izzy and Nik’s romance! Perfect way to end the Beyond the Play series!

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books for the arc of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

4/5 stars

This book was a really nice change of pace. The main issue was actually family relationship driven rather than significant other driven. I also enjoyed the beginning tension of them sneaking around.

Isabella has her own life and goals. She didn’t sacrifice those to be with Nik which was nice to see. She was still passionate about what she wanted and went after her goals. I enjoyed watching her succeed and help Nik as he needed it.

Nik had family issues that he was trying to not bring to Isabella. He was doing the best he could with what he had. I enjoyed seeing his POV and internal struggle.

Overall I think the author did a great job of highlighting a character who has struggles and fears and how that affects their relationships. I enjoyed rooting for Nik and Isabella!

Such a nice story, I have to start by saying I wasn’t aware this was part of a series but now I’m looking forward to going back and reading about these characters. The premise was great, the whole thing about them reconnecting and sneaking around was fun and exciting, overall I enjoyed their story but I did feel like it dragged a little bit towards the end and could use fewer chapters. It’s been a while since I read anything close to a sports romance so this was a nice way to get back into it.
Thanks for the chance to read it in advance!

I have really enjoyed other books in this series but this one felt really drawn out for no reason. I loved the idea of a summer fling that has a chance to blossom into something more but the pacing felt pretty off as I kept waiting for a conflict or a climax to stick - it felt like the book had the potential to end like three or four different times and I wish Reilly had picked one.

The strength of this novel is definitely in the characters who feel like real college kids without feeling like too naive or precocious. It was nice to see characters from previous books but the pacing really killed this one for me.

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the review copy.

Thanks to Netgalley & Avon/Harper Voyager for the E-ARC! Loved so much! The romance & the chemistry was so good. Also loved the hockey references. Excited for Grace's next book!

An internship sets Isabelle Callahan and Nikolai Abney-Volkov in each other’s sights, and the two begin a summer fling. The problem? Nikolai is Izzy’s brother’s hockey rival. When Nikolai is transferred to the same college Isabelle attends, the temptation is too hard to resist and they rekindle their relationship, but many hurdles force them to make a choice: fight for a future together, or watch it all crash and burn.

TW: panic attacks, alcoholism and domestic abuse (described)

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗔𝘃𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄.
I’ll admit, I requested this ARC without realizing it was part of a series, and although it could be read as a standalone, I felt that reading the series first would enhance my understanding and enjoyment. Thank goodness for Kindle Unlimited.
Now as for the book itself, even after reading the prior three books, I felt that there were some things that could’ve been made clearer. Especially how Izzy and Nik crossed paths in the first place. I know she interned for his mom, but I would’ve liked to know more, and i didn’t pick up on any details regarding that in the first three books.
Despite that, I still enjoyed Izzy and Nik be cute together. I loved how they supported and encouraged each other through some pretty trying curveballs.
All the relationships in this book, both good and bad, were interesting to read. Cooper and Nik’s bromance was something I didn’t know I needed, but I LIVED for it.
Nik’s past was certainly an intense one, and it caused me to feel for him even more. Something in the third act (which I won’t clarify because of NetGalley’s spoiler policy) really hit home for me because I saw a lot of myself in that event.