I came into this series late, and I always have some regrets about not starting at the beginning. I am glad that I didn't wait on this one though, because there were so many things I loved about Nikolai and Isabelle's story.

Funnily enough, I'd just been commenting on how all the hockey romance's I'd read resorted to making up their own hockey teams. This one didn't, to my delight, focusing at the college level and an early offer to play for the Sharks. A small detail, possibly, but one that I was here for.

While there's a good chance I missed a lot of their early meeting, or build up, Isabelle and Nik start out as a finished summer romance. They never thought they could last beyond then, and they're going back to different schools. Until an incident leads to Nik being kicked out of college and accepting a position at McKee University, where her older brother can't stand him, and he can't seem to avoid her.

They accept that they likely don't have a future with each other. Things will play out and they'll part ways, but for now, they're holding onto every moment they can. Even though it means sneaking around.

It was a bit of a surprise to read a book that spent so little time with them avoiding getting together. I really enjoyed how this allowed their relationship to develop though, and it allowed for spice throughout the book.

I'll definitely be going back to the earlier Grace Reilly books, and enjoy getting a look at the other Callahan siblings. Thank you to NetGalley and publishers at Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC of this one! All opinions are my own.

If you love a good broody MMC and sunshine FC, you'll love this book. I picked it up without having read any of the previous books in the series and it stands alone quite well on its own, even though they do bring in the other characters many times. I have never read this author before but she's great if you're into cute and spicy romantic books. This one was about 3 spicy chiles, maybe 2. Still really cute, does deal a bit with past DA for trigger warnings.

Huge thank you to Net Galley for the free book for honest review.

OMG so cute! If I am going to try a new author, it is going to be a romance. Every once in a while, you come across an author, you just know your going to read everything they write. I am obsessed with the plot, a forbidden romance of Captain's little sister. Served to you in a lovely dual POV. Major pinning, he falls first, forbidden love, sports romance, swooning with a nice dose of spice. I love the pink color, but it was mentioned in every chapter I swear- a little overkill. Also I definitely regret not reading the other books in the series but after this book I will definitely check out the other books in this series/ books from the author.

Quotes:
”If she’s sunshine, i’m the guy who hopes it never starts raining”

4.75 stars

Ah it was so good to be back with the Callahan family. I've loved every single one of Grace's books and this one was no exception.

I was so excited to be selected to read this one early as it is one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I loved so much about this story and felt it fit in perfectly with the others in the series.

Witnessing Nik and Izzy fall in love reminded me of what it's like to fall in love, which is one of my favorite parts of reading romance books. I loved how the reader got to know both main characters so well and felt that the character development was natural and paced eloquently. I also greatly enjoyed all of the glimpses of the rest of the family and their stories and really loved seeing the friendship develop between Nik and Cooper.

I'm truly so excited to see what Grace does next and highly recommend this story!

Read if you love:
-dual athletes
-brother's rival
-found family
-character growth

Story Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (0-5)
Narration: 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧 (0-5)
Overall: 4.75/5
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 (0-5) They like it rough. And I bump up for public places/outdoor spaces.

What I’m Starry-Eyed Over:
🤩 My initial response: I’m so very in love with these two babes and the beautiful sounding narrators playing them!! What amazing audiobook entertainment.
🤩 Oscar Reyes gives a superstar performance with all of his fantastic accents. And Faith Clark is his perfect match, with the beautiful accent changes in the dialogue.
🤩 Steamy hot stress relief! I love when Isabelle has to care for Nik the way she knows how, the way that works for them.
🤩 The pool apology!
🤩 Fabulous text chats.
🤩 The sneaking around.
🤩 The Izzy Day wedding crashers.
🤩 The sweet, supportive way the forbidden plot works itself out.
🤩 Christmas Eve & Callahan family Christmas fun.
🤩 The laugh-out-loud fun, even among some more serious topics.
🤩 Sibling tattoos. I’m so smitten with this family!
🤩The in-the-future epilogue! I want to be (or be with) a Callahan!
🤩 Beautiful therapy/mental health representation.

What I’m Wishing/Dizzy About:
💫 I would like a little steamy intimacy after the time apart to solidify their bond/HEA.
💫 The brush—I’m not sure I loved it.

although this is not my favorite of the serie I still liked it so much!!

I loved how the relationship between Isabelle and Nik grows so much throughout the book. Isabella was supportive to Nik and tried to make him open up about his past to help him heal, Nik was helping Isabella to starting caring about her self and not letting her compare herself to her brothers and father but to be herself and do what she wants to do what what others expect her to do.

I love how Isabelle defends Nik and comes up for him to make sure he gets the life he wants and deserves.

This book has some touchy topics so if that is triggering or hard to read for you be aware that this book has the topics childhood trauma, domestic abuse and panic disorder.
Even thought these topics are really heavy and hard Grace has written about it in a respective and beautiful way.

I love this book and this whole series. I am literally obsessed with this little family and I love the brother's best friend trope, but before this book I didn't have a lot of experience with the brother's RIVAL trope, so that was a really fun twist and new experience for me! Would 100% recommend this book and the entire series to my friends.

I was an athlete growing up and I love a sports romance. Rarely do I find a volleyball romance though, so I was really excited about this one. It did not disappoint! The romance was sweet sport aspect was fun and I couldn’t put it down!

This is my first Grace Reilly book and I was actually surprised! The book was great for the most part but there felt like a lot of unnecessary dialogue. I'm not going to lie, the book was pretty much 80% spicy scenes and 20% plot and did end up making it feel a little cringy. For the first 45-50-%, I really loved it but then it felt like it was dragging and could have been a lot shorter! I did love Nik and Isabelle's relationship as it seemed really healthy which you don't see often in books like this. Isabelle knew who she was and who she wanted to be and achieve from the beginning. The only thing that annoyed me about her was the fact she didn't stop mentioning how much she loved pink. Nik was so gentle and loving towards everyone but having him struggle with having anxiety and open up about it with Isa and Cooper was nice to see. He had a difficult family life and it was frustrating me that he never stood up for himself with them. The Russian vocab did sometimes make me a little confused. Overall, I liked the writing of the book and found it pretty good for the most part. There were some really cute moments that makes me want to pick up another Grace Reilly book for sure.

Hockey romance? Count me in! Wicked Serve is another solid option. I love the Callahan family and cannot wait to continue their story! Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to ARC read this book!

Well, I think this book could definitly be shorter but it was still a really good experience and probably my favorite in the series - it was so cute and I enjoyed every second of it.

The couple was really cute and I found myself quicking my feet everytime a cute scene happen!

This series is definitly getting better book to book and I can't wait to see what Grace will bring us next!

I really enjoyed this book! Did it need to be almost 450 pages….no but I still like it a lot. I loved that we got an enemies to lovers without any miscommunication or misunderstanding past the first few pages. We still got angsty moments but none of the BS where you sit there going is this person really about to graduate college or high school. I enjoyed Nik and Izzy a lot as a couple and individually. They’re so complementary and encouraging and loving and yes there is lots of spice! There is also an emphasis on mental health and that it’s ok to take a break/rest when something in your life is turning negative and leading you down a wrong path. It’s ok and encouraged to do therapy and get your life together. It is ok to go after your dreams and also to reevaluate if they are really your dreams. I also love show Cooper and Nik became best friends.

Overall I cannot wait to read more of this series and this author!!

I appreciated how health this relationship was, there wasn't anything toxic about. There was so much love a support of one another throughout it all.

Tropes:
College Sports
Brother's Rival
Sneaking Around
He Falls First and Hard

I do think this book was a bit bloated and could cut out some of it.

I love the Callahan family!

In this book, we follow the youngest Callahan sibling and only girl, Izzy. When this book starts, it's the beginning of the school year. Izzy is trying to get her spot back on the volleyball team and trying to forget Nikolai. The guy she spent all summer with. Who she had to keep a secret. Becuase he's her brother Coopers rival on the ice.

And also... he didn't exactly say goodbye. So, while she had a great summer with him, she was not bouncing with excitement to see him again. Because he's now going to school with her and playing on the same team as her brother.

How is Nikolai going to win back the person who he has to keep a secret from everyone? Her brother isn't happy he's here and he's got some big family problems.

I enjoyed this one a lot. Izzy and Nik were so sweet. They stood up for each other and supported each other... Izzy gave Nik the chance to be himself, not just a great hockey player. And Izzy needed some support, too.

I'm sad there's not another sibling, but maybe some second gen???

Wicked Serve is my first taste of Grace Reilly - and I can't 100% say it didn't disappoint. I didn't realize I was starting with the final book in the series (I will be reading the others after this one being so great)

First off. this book is spicyyyy baby! So if you're looking for a book to make you blush while also giving all of the feels - this is the book for you!
Nicolai had a traumas to deal with and overcome his fear of being like his father.

Isabella struggled with finding her place in her family. Together these two grew so much and helped each other which was beautiful. Their bond was so genuine and special!

OH MY GOD I AM OBSESSED!!!!

Nikolai and Isabelle had me in tears. Their relationship was one hell of a rollercoaster with minor miscommunication and stupidity playing factors in the conflicts but it was worth the ride to get to the ending.

✨Sports Rivals
✨Hidden Relationship
✨Obsessive MMC
✨Mental Health Representation
✨Brother's Biggest Rival
✨Teammate's Sister

I loved the mixed use of Russian and English, especially when using it to express emotions. I've seen some people say that it's cringy but as someone who is bilingual, I understand that sometimes one language isn't enough to express emotions fully and using another language for terms of endearment is so heartwarming. It's a comfort thing that some people can't understand when they've only ever known one language.

In books, readers are always wanting that "perfect world" but I think the faults that the characters have (such as Isabelle pushing Nik to talk about his family, and Nik refusing he needs help, in my opinion) are realistic faults that makes this book so much more relatable.

Rarely do books leave such an impression that I need time to process everything that I have read but I will be rereading Wicked Serve again, knowing that my heart will break before it can heal again 😭

Another classic hockey romance and another hit for me! I already love a good "forbidden" love story, so I knew from the synopsis that this was going to be good. When I tell you I could NOT put this down, I am so serious. I flew through this book in two sittings and now am left wanting more of this cute couple! Five stars, duh!

I love a good hockey romance. "Wicked Serve", however, didn't quite hit the mark for me. Some of this is the college setting, which is rarely my favorite. But some of this is because the book just feels way too long. Much of the conflicts within the story wrap up fairly early on and/or just don't end up being conflicts at all. There was a fair amount of spice, which I won't complain about, but FMC Izzy still comes across as fairly young. And there was just so much that could have been resolved by a few conversations.

I think this book could, and probably is, be the bee's knees for another reader. And while I didn't dislike it, that reader isn't me. 3 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary copy of this book. These opinions are my own.

I didn’t originally realize it was part of a series, but the book worked well as a stand alone as well. The characters were well developed and I didn’t feel like I was missing a ton by not reading the previous books. This story was a fun athletic rom com read. It was so well done I would consider going back to read the other books in the series.

A flawless read in the college sports rom com books. I love a good book with the point of view from both main characters. The added bonus of the female main characters brother being the hockey captain was chefs kiss. Grace Reillys books always hit the spot of sexual content but also great substantive drama.