This book is lighthearted and enjoyable - although it did feel a bit long in parts. It does capture the charm of a forbidden summer fling. I enjoyed meeting the characters and seeing previous characters from this author pop up in this book. It's a cute and easy read with just the right amount of romance and spice.

Grace Reilly Does not disappoint in getting a swoony and spicy romcom performance. This was a great light and quick read with lovable characters. It definitely fell on the young side of romance as the characters are in college, My preference being a little bit more complex characters as I am or more mature reader, but overall, I think this is a great beach read and I’m excited to read more from the series.

Ahh! After reading the first three books in the Beyond the play series I was so excited to receive an ARC of this book. I loved the first three stories and was eager to read Izzy’s. While I loved their relationship and love for each other, I did feel one of the main conflicts in the book was resolved too quickly making another conflict feel slightly dragged out. Nonetheless, I’m glad I finished the book and wrapped up the Callahan family series.

Wicked Serve was a cute and fun read. There were moments that were really touching, some funny and some heartfelt. It was a great story.

I had not read the other books in the series so starting with the last book I know I missed some connections to the previous stories. After enjoying this book I went back and read book 1 as well. I really liked how the Callahan siblings related to each other.

Nothing beats a good hockey romance. This was a great one! I loved the dual point of views. It was well written and a fun read.

An incredible fourth book to Grace Reilly's Beyond the Play series. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Izzy's story play out after her brothers and I highly recommend this!

I love a good hockey romance and was excited to get into this book. It started off strong, but quickly lost interest in it. This book could’ve been cut in half and I probably would’ve enjoyed it better as it was filled with so much filler content. And by halfway through the book all the conflict of the beginning, like the casualness of the relationship and Nik being Izzy’s brother’s rival was resolved. It was also filled with a lot of smut and while I don’t mind smut in a book, I was expecting so much in this book and it just felt like a way to fill pages and have the characters avoid communicating. I feel like Nik and Izzy also could’ve worked on their communication a bit. This book could’ve been so much better if it ended a like halfway through.

Overall, this wasn’t the hockey romance for me and don’t really recommend unless you don’t mind filler.

This book was absolutely adorable. What started out as a fling turned into more. I loved this storyline more than anyone could have imagined. Nikolai and Izzy face many struggles, both as a couple and individually. But the way they were always there for one another was beautiful. The ending of this book had me tearing up. Nikolai and Izzy will forever hold a special place in my heart. I highly recommend this book if you love a forbidden/secret romance, hockey, strong family ties, and are looking for a swoon worthy book boyfriend.

I AM A SUCKER FOR HOCKEY ROMANCE! Which, weird, because I couldn't care less about the actual sport. This book was amazing and genuinely had me captured through out the entire thing. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a good hockey romcom.

I really enjoyed this book! I’m a big hockey fan and always looking for new to me authors that write hockey romance! This is apparently in the middle of a series but I didn’t know that when I signed up for it. I saw There were interconnected standalones so I didn’t worry about reading the others first! It so super well written and it flowed nicely throughout the whole book. I’ll definitely read more by this author.

Thank you so much NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of this book for review.

Very cute, if not a bit on the fluffier side of romance. I just don’t think it needed to be this long!!

This was so good. I love a second chance romance. I am SO GLAD this didn’t really have a third act breakup. And I love that while this was a cute, easy to read, spicyyyy romance, it also covered deeper topics. Trauma, abuse, panic attacks, etc.- and the author handled covering these topics so well

My favorite genre right now is probably sports romance, so of course this one was great for me! It had a few parts that i was iffy on, but I think I just wasn't personally the audience it was trying to reach with those parts. it was a cute and fun read.

I have been in my sports romance era, so I was super excited to read this.

Overall, I found it to be good, but not great. I have read a few other books recently with similar tropes, and I think they were just executed better. I felt like the last part of the book dragged,which was such a bummer compared to the first part.

I do think if you like Reilly's writing, you will still like this book. It just wasn't my favorite.

Thank you Net Galley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I really wanted to love this book. I have loved Grace Reiley’s previous books, but this one sadly did not hit for me. This story felt different than Reiley’s other books. I just couldn’t connect to these characters.

I have loved the whole series but this one has to be my absolute fave! I loved the relationship between Nikolai and Isabelle it was so cute. Under that gruff exterior is a man with a huge heart who will do anything to make Izzy happy and the spice? I was not expecting the level of spice in this Grace really brought it to the table! This is secret relationship, ice hockey, brothers teammate, grumpy/sunshine and has all the feels. This is a must read for me!

This is the first book that I have read by this author. I found the writing style easy to read and I liked the characters.

Before you read make sure you check the trigger warnings because it deals with some topics that are intense

This book has a lot of tropes that I love such as Collage sport, brothers rival and secret relationship and so much more that I enjoy.

The main thing I didn’t like about this book it felt like the story could have been ended at the 50% mark of this book. The author could have dragged out the secret romance longer and made other aspects from the first bit longer because the second half of the book dragged because I felt like the author was creating drama, miscommunication and other things to make the book longer and I didn’t enjoy that. But this is just my thoughts. Also I felt like the romance was rushed.

I wish we got more information about how they met and got to know each other because this would have made it feel less rushed and I also would like to know.

I also felt like the author used spice as more of a filler of the story. I don’t like spice 🌶️ written as a filler which made it hard for me to read. There was also a lot of spice, i didn’t think that this book needed that much spice. But also I don’t particularly enjoy spice. So again it’s my own personal opinion.

This is an epic journey of love, and I wish I could read it for the first time all over again.I often struggle to write reviews for books that I find absolutely amazing, but this one truly touched me. It blends angst with heartfelt emotions, creating a story that feels incredibly realistic and showcases a beautiful love story.

- Brothers turned rivals turned teammates
- Secret summer romance
- Hockey and volleyball
- Found family
- He’s Russian!
- And spicy! Don’t let that cute cover fool you!

This book also addresses heavier topics, such as childhood trauma, child abuse, and their effects on mental health and future relationships. It explores anxiety, panic attacks, and the burden of mental health struggles.

Yet, amidst these challenges, there is a beautiful romance woven throughout the story. The plot is exquisite, and the characters are fantastic. I loved that both protagonists excel in their respective sports and work together to find their self-worth, both individually and as a couple. Nikolai is definitely going to live rent-free in my mind for a long time. He is an absolute gem of a book boyfriend—a Russian hockey player who whispers sweet and sexy Russian phrases in your ear. He was truly swoon-worthy.

“Our love has felt like springtime—warmth chasing away shadows, light spilling into the open. I imagined sun-drenched days ahead, but the frost hasn’t left the ground. The flowers haven’t bloomed.”

This is an epic journey of love, andI highly recommend this story to everyone!

Wicked Serve is the last book in the Beyond the Play series by Grace Reilly,

Nikolai and Izzy's story was so so good!!

They were both dealing with their own issues but I love that they were there for each other. The mental health rep in this book had me feeling all the feels. I think it just added to their character development.

I also loved that Izzy loved everything pink lol kinda made her chracter more relatable to me.

Overall, this was a great hockey romance book and I am so excited to read more from Grace.

It took me a little longer than expected to finish Wicked Serve (life, right?), but wow, it was worth it! This book was such a cute, light read, with just the right amount of spice. If you’re in the mood for something sweet and easy, this one’s for you! I instantly loved Nikolai and Isabelle.

The story follows their summer fling—Nikolai is Isabelle’s brother’s rival, so you know that’s a recipe for drama. But, of course, that’s not going to stop them. Isabelle, or Izzy, is such a selfless character, always putting others first, sometimes to her own detriment. Nikolai, or Nik, is the perfect match for her, helping her realize her worth and prioritize her own happiness. I loved how the book handled Nik’s rough past and childhood trauma—it wasn’t romanticized, and the emotional depth had me tearing up at times. The way Nik rebuilds his relationship with his mom and grows as a character is honestly incredible.

Reilly nails the mix of sports rivalry and romance here. The chemistry between Nik and Izzy? On fire. There are heartfelt moments, humor, and some real heat throughout. Plus, I appreciated how the author handled consent—it was clear, respectful, and a breath of fresh air.

This is the final book in the Beyond The Play series, but it works perfectly as a standalone. Even though I haven’t read the first three, I didn’t feel like I was missing anything. That said, I’ve already bought the rest of the series! If you love sports romance, I would definitely recommend this book!

Thank you so much Grace, Hachette Australia and Netgalley for this arc🫶