This book was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024 and I’m so grateful to have been given an eARC.

Grace Reilly did it again with Wicked Serve. I love Izzy and Nikolai together, and they’re so sweet.

Izzy encourages Nikolai to stand up for what he truly wants while Nikolai encourages Izzy through her actions she had pre-planned out.

Their second-chance romance was such a thrill to read as they navigated secretly dating, as well as keeping their summer fling a secret from Izzy’s older brother.

I cannot wait to read this again on release day.
Thank you so much NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for the ARC!

This book became instantly my favorite one of this series and Nikolai my favorite male character (sorry Seb). It was incredibly heartwarming to read about Izzy and Nik’s relationship and their growth not only as a couple but as individual. And the heat was heating for sure. I’m so used to the potential conflicts that I was sort of expecting everything bad to happen but I was so glad that everything was solved with communication and just support from each other. I even ended up shedding tears of happiness while reading the epilogue, getting to see how happy everyone is. Not enough stars in the system to rate but 5 will do.

What in the world did Grace put in this book because it is perfection!! Here is the thing, I haven’t read Izzy’s brothers books yet, so this is from someone who is meeting the Callahan family for the first time and absolutely loved their family banter as well as how realistic they seem to be. Without giving anything away to the story, because you can read the blurb to get the general idea of what Izzy and Nik are about, I will give you my honest reaction to the characters and how much I enjoyed them. What started out as her brother’s rival summer fling, turned into Izzy finding her passion in a future career and a support person who heard things that she was telling him but also what she wasn’t saying. Nic has always played hockey and it was always going to be his life, yet sometimes the pieces don’t all seem to fit right away. What I loved most about Nikolai is that he has faults, and they are his battle to overcome. He acknowledges them and talks to Izzy about them. Neither of these two are perfect by any means and they both have backbones when they need them. I love that for both Nik and Izzy we get two people that are there. They listen to each other, and they fully support them. They both try to problem solve and help the other and once push comes to shove, we see family members stand up and do the same thing. I seriously loved this book and am now off to read each of the brothers books. Thank you so much NetGalley and Avon Books as well as Harper Voyager for a chance to read.

Grace has once again given us a GEM of a Sports Romance. Nik was the broody grump we all love to see behind the mirror on. And I loved finally getting to see Izzy after we have had sneaks peeks of her all this time in the books of her brothers!

Grace knows how to write a cozy romance and she brings it again in book 4 of this series!

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, Harper Voyager, and Grace Reilly for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book! There are many reasons why, so buckle up.

The main characters and their relationship was handled so beautifully. Without giving anything away, there was a decent amount of room for major toxicity in this pairing, but absolutely nothing unrealistic or unnecessarily dramatic came about. Both characters were genuine and acted authentically, which I so appreciate when reading about a couple in this age range. Young people do not have to be emotionally immature and dramatic just because they are young! Both Isabelle and Nik are level headed and incredibly self aware as individuals as well as with and for each other.

The development in Nik alone; from being closed off to not only sharing but realizing what he needed to do in order to maintain a successful and healthy relationship, was so impressive. Isabelle was adorable and feisty, and I found her to be relatable as a person who is trying to 'do it all' as well as living up to everyone else's perceived expectations along with her own (which were unattainable, no person is perfect).

Let's not forget that this is a sports romance as well! The inclusion of one of my favorite sports, volleyball, was awesome and I thoroughly enjoyed the sub-plot here with Izzy, her teammates, and her coach. Of course, hockey is Nik's sport and everything surrounding the Frozen Four and transferring teams was so realistic. It was an added bonus to read from their perspectives about how and why they loved their sports and what made it fulfilling to them. Not everyone 'gets it,' but you can tell Grace really puts her all into these books. Her passion for writing a whole story really shows - and you can't just have these two amazing sports figures without some actually realistic behind the sport scenes. I loved it!

The couples from the first three books make many appearances as this is a series about the Callahans, after all! I loved the secondary storylines that were taking place alongside Izzy and Nik's story. The epilogue ended things perfectly and gave us the closure that all of these wonderful and well loved characters deserved.

Grace really knocked it out - I'm sad to see the series come to a close but it was just perfection overall. I'll read whatever she puts out next and I'm sure I'll love it.

This book was amazing, I could not put it down! I loved everything from start to finish, and the character dynamic was beautifully written. I haven't read the other three yet, but that was not an issue with this one! I am so excited to read the others now and see all of the characters from the beginning. Plus, the personal growth the Nikolai and Izzy both have was well written!

I do love me some sports romance….the main characters were each really invested in the relationship which I appreciated. The story flowed easily. Probably went on a touch too long but I can def forgive that.

I love the Beyond the Play series by Grace Reilly so I was very excited to read this book (the fourth installment) before its release.

We finally get to see Izzy (Isabelle), the youngest Callahan sibling, get her own love story with Nikolai.

Nikolai is the “rival” of Izzy’s brother, Cooper (who we followed in the second book). Izzy and Nikolai spend a secret summer together in NYC. When Nikolai covers for a teammate and gets expelled from college, he ends up at Izzy’s college where they (obviously) can’t stay apart. While their secret hookups are hot, I was anxious for them to be able to be together. Of course the point of romance books is to watch the characters overcome their struggles and find a way to end up together, but I couldn’t wait!

I loved seeing Izzy as more of an adult, especially standing up for herself n regards to volleyball and her relationship with her father, her brothers and her coach. She is fiercely protective of Nikolai - something he’s been lacking in his life. Nikolai has a difficult relationship with his father (to put it lightly) and struggles with panic attacks.

I loved both of these characters and it pained me to watch them struggle. After I thought they had solved their problems,, Nikolai gets called up to the NHL and basically leaves without saying goodbye / cuts Izzy off. Of course this ruins her. He shows back up a few weeks later for James and Bex’s wedding, and they reunite happily without much fanfare. I was MAD that he left her like that and sort of mad that after all of her growth she just forgave him so easily without much discussion. He even got a dog (“our dog”) without letting her be part of that journey etc. So … I was sort of mad at Nikolai by the end of the book. But other than that I truly enjoyed this story.

Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Fun, flirty and lots of Sizzle. I love a “forbidden romance” story and this one delivers. Izzy’s hot summer fling was with her hockey playing brother’s rival turns up the heat when circumstances change and he finds himself as her brother’s teammate. I liked that Izzy was athletic in her own right as a member of the college’s varsity volleyball team - a sport that isn’t often found in romances, but should be. This is a great finale to the Callahan family books. Very enjoyable and I loved re-visiting with characters from the previous books in the series. Thank you to Avon Books and #Netgalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

’m so glad I was able to get this ARC… it absolutely pulled me out of my reading slump! I have really enjoyed the Beyond the Play series but this book was my favorite out of them all!

Getting to see more of Isabelle and know her more was so fun. Grace writes dynamic, fun, interesting FMCs and Izzy fits right in! It was easy to love her. And it was even easier to love Nik. His transformation was sweet, tender, tense, meaningful… it made me tear up more than once. It was a really empathetic portrayal of child abuse and domestic violence, which I find isn’t always addressed in a nuanced way. It was healing to read, in a way.

Outside of that, I loved the relationship between Nik and Cooper and the continued love that flows from the Callahan family. I adore them and could read about this group for so many more books. This books is charming and sweet, serious at times…. It’s just another entertaining read by Grace!

Also, for the people who need to know…. The smut smutted. I need Nik in a biblically. Y’all will too, I promise. I’ll just leave you with “good girl” and “hairbrush”… take that as you will!

Thanks for a fun read NetGalley, Grace Reilly, and Avon and Harper Voyager! Everyone go add this to your TBR!

This has been one of the easiest 5 star reads this year. I loved Nikolai and Izzy's relationship and the growth that came from the both of them through it all. His and Coopers friendship made me teary eyed & i loved all the feels these characters gave me.
Thank you NetGalley, Avon Books and Harper Voyager for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review <3

3.5/5

why would any author think a college hockey romance needs to have SEVENTY FOUR chapters...

sports romance is a genre that i adore wholeheartedly and i really haven't read one in awhile so i sat down to read this today. i was honestly having the time of my life for the first like 60%. the characters were great, there was some good sneaking around, we had brothers rival!!! all great things. but why oh why was this book so damn long. there was genuinely no need to have this many chapters about nothing really. you can only write so many chapters about nik and izzy fucking and then hiding and then having a cute moment. this is the like fourth book in a series and i read one of the others i think but i don't plan on reading the rest.

nik and izzy were a really good couple so there's that. the first 30% was honestly perfect. them reconnecting and hiding from her brother was really good. once the book got too long and messy i just got slightly bored. the third act was also really weird, like her went away got therapy once and they were good??? idk. also some of the language used in the sex scenes was over the top and low key cringey. there was no need for some of the scenes. overall a fine book just too long.

I knew I would love this based on how much I loved Breakaway, but I somehow forgot this would be the end of the Callahan series and now I’m sad. I loved Nik and Izzy and their relationship. The emotions in this book really got me and I was crying at the end. It was just perfect

3.5 stars rounded up to 4!

Isabelle and Nikolai spend a secret summer together, not expecting to see each other again. What happens when Nikolai transfers to his rival schools hockey team, who's captain also happens to be Isabelle's brother?? Lot's of sneaking around and a very forbidden romance.

I thought this book was very cute! I loved Isabelle and Nikolai's romance and the development of their romance into something more. The character development for Nik was so good, especially with everything regarding his past. I loved the Russian that was included and the nickname he calls Isabelle is adorable. Major respect to Nik for putting his mental health first and working on being the best version of himself for his relationship and just for himself in general.

I really liked Isabelle, I feel like I relate a lot to her anxious perfectionist tendencies and seeing her work through that was really nice. However, I do believe she came off a little pushy when it came to Nik and his past but I know she had good intentions.

The book was too long for a romance book in my opinion. The 75 chapters seemed like a bit much, especially since there were multiple parts that could have been cut out without changing the story. It kind of dragged in some areas. I also would have loved to learn more about Nikolai and Isabelle's summer fling. We got some flashes but I would have loved more details.

Overall, this book was so cute I enjoyed it!

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the arc!

I really enjoyed this college hockey romance about Nick and Izzy. Nick is Izzy’s brother’s rival turned teammate so Izzy and Nick keep their relationship hidden from everyone. They tell each other that they’re casual, but both develop deep feelings for the other. There is domestic abuse and mental health representation, but it’s handled maturely through great character development. This is an interconnected standalone and I will definitely be going back to read the previous books.

By far my favorite of this series. Full review to come, but I will most CERTAINLY recommend not to miss this installment. Loved it!

3.5 stars! I enjoyed this! I think that overall this was more of a book concluding the Callahans' story than a standalone romance. This book was very entertaining, and for the most part, I liked how sweet it was and how healthy Nik and Izzy's communication was. I did not expect some of the things that happened: (i.e. Nik's very dark past and how the people involved resurfaced), but I feel it contributed to a very growth-centric character arc for him. Oh, sweet tortured Nikolai was for sure my favorite character in this, honestly followed closely by Cooper, who also exhibited a lot of growth from the time of his book, and I respect how he owned up to his actions over the course of building a relationship with Nik. Also I loved how Izzy's struggles with her sport and identity surrounding it were included. I resonated with her anxious perfectionist tendencies and think her actions aligned with real behaviors/feelings. In terms of their interactions with Russian and Nik's identity/past, I love a nickname in another language, and I was so happy that Nik was able to attribute positive feelings to names/characteristics he originally resented. It is always empowering to watch someone reclaim a part of themselves.
My issues with the book: While I loved how Izzy was headstrong and a FMC who wasn't afraid to act "girly", her approach to prying Nik's past out of him bothered me a bit. There was specifically a time where some of her dialogue just came off a bit pushy and I just couldn't get on board with how she conducted that conversation. Secondly, while I really liked them together, I felt like once the spice came in, it didn't stop for a while. I'm just someone who needs to be a bit more invested before the next 15 chapters are just spice or transitioning to/from. Lastly, this book was long, and I think could have been shorter in other places, but I felt like the ending/epilogue was a bit rushed. There was some "tell, don't show" that happened, and I just would have preferred to see certain moments.
To summarize, I enjoyed the glimpses into the other family members and the way in which all of them, spouses included, had a hand in this book and this love story. While I am not certain that I will be thinking about Nikolai and Izzy's journey for forever and ever, I had a great time with them. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to read this, so thank you to Avon and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy, and I'm very happy with how things panned out for the Callahan family.

Isabelle and Nikolai were so cute together. I loved the forbidden & secret dating that they started off in. I always enjoy that moment when the characters realize they’re way in over their head and can’t just casually hookup.

Isabelle really helped Nik to overcome his problems and trauma. She wasn’t afraid to upset him and forced him to choose his own path. I think that made her a perfect partner for him. Nik always encouraged Isabelle to go after what she really wanted in volleyball and to also branch out and try new things. I really loved how he made her realize she was always enough and successful in her family’s eyes.

I did feel the story could have been a little shorter and it would’ve been a higher rating for me but I did enjoy it overall. The epilogue was perfect and I loved getting to see their happy ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Avon Voyager publishing for the advanced copy of this book.
Having read the previous Callahan family books prior to this, I was excited to read Izzie's story.
I also love sports romance, with hockey being my favorite. This book did not disappoint. We get plenty of the other siblings and their significant others throughout the book and I loved the cameos

Both Izzie and Nicolai have depth to their stories and I particularly liked the author's take on panic attacks. I was happy she showcased anxiety in her MMC. So many books focus more on the mental aspects of the female, it was nice to see a male depict the daily struggle of overcome past demons and trauma.

There was a lot going on with this book and a lot of family dynamics thrown in the mix. Izzie in particular was a college student, wedding planner, volleyball player, and volunteer. Sometimes I felt the story lost its path, but would course correct later on. The book was a little long and became a little bit repetitive towards the last quarter. However, I love Grace's writing style. She can write a steamy scene like no other and I always find her books to be entertaining. If you read the previous books in the series, you don't want to miss this one.

I am a big fan of Grace Reilly's books and the Beyond the Play series, so when I got the chance to ARC read for this book I couldn't pass it up. This was so stinking cute! I absolutely loved it as well as Izzy and Nikolai's relationship. I laughed, teared up and blushed throughout the entire book. This is probably my second fave in the series. If you are looking for a really fun sports romance book, this is definetly a great one to read. Plus it has the brother's rival trope which is just a cherry on top.