I loved the relationship between Nikolai and Isabella, such a healthy one and cute.

Tropes: Summer fling, stranger to lovers, secret relationship, brothers rivalry, forced proximity, hockey romance
spice:🌶️🌶️🌶️

Isabella is the selfless extrovert girl and baby of the family. Nikolai who is an introvert and felt alone most of his life.

About 50% of the book is good with short and cute chapters , but it went downfall pretty quick. The book was too long and so many unnecessary scenes without relation to the plot. The relation between Izzy & Nik felt more of lust and didn’t have that spark.

What I loved is Nikolai prioritising his mental health before jumping in a forever with Izzy.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

Ok I liked this one but I didn’t love it. It didn’t stand out in the huge world of hockey romance to me.

So starting with the fact that they already have a relationship…this is a personal thing for me in a book. I really like to be able to read about when they meet and how they get to know each other and all that cutesy stuff. It’s some of my favorite parts and we got none of that.

I also felt like this was so much longer than it needed to be. It probably could have been half as long and been just as good if not better because there wasn’t unnecessary fluff in it.

I did end up liking Nik and Izzy though as characters and as a couple and it was great to see their development throughout.

All in all 3/5 stars.

Love this one! It was such a fun ending to this series! I loved the tension - the spice was soo good!

DNF
This book was about spoiled, rich collegiate jocks. I read about 30% and just couldn't move on from there.

★★★★★ (5+/5)
🌶🌶 (2/5

When i started this book i had a feeling it would be a 5 star, but when i finished i was so sad the book was over because it was amazing.

Everything about this book is perfection. The plotline is interesting and fun, the characters are loveable and complex, the relationships are deep and understandable, the writing is magnificent and fitting and the spice was original and well-timed.

I think this book portays mental health flawlessly, i genually have no comment, i have never seen a book be so accurate about how it feels to have parental issues, the book made you feel what the characters were dealing with, you felt for them and you cared about them.

The relationship of the main characters was exceptional. I could point a perfect relationship dynamic it would be them. They had chemistry and knew how to talk to each other, they were perfect.

I wish i could read this book all over again, seeing the cameos of the main characters of the other books in the series always makes me happy and i always say makes the whole story come togather well and seem real. I dont really know what else to say this book deserves more than 5 stars and i think everyone should read it, 200% recomended.

This was such such a good book! grace never fails to make me fall in love with the characters and the story (she even makes me love the conflicts)
4,75 from me

Nik & Izzy’s story was a good ride. It had everything you could want in a book. A good one to read over a weekend. Loved it!!

4.75⭐️ 3🌶️

ARC Review:
This book is so cute and has all the feel good feelings!
Nik and Izzy met one summer and started hooking up with no strings attached. But when he moves to McKee to play hockey, there’s no denying there chemistry now.

At first they are hiding from her brother who’s on the same team and has given a very extensive warning about him going for Izzy. But after awhile the hiding and random hookups can’t be tamed anymore and they both decide for more. But that takes Nik opening up about his past. And he learns he’s not the monster after all.

I love Nikolai and Isabelle. They are a cute couple. The way he takes such good care of her and how she just patiently waits for him. She nurtures and helps him through his panic attacks. Is the healing piece between him and his mom. Her family is amazing for welcoming him in open arms.

I couldn’t get enough of this book and wish it wasn’t the final one in this series!

Pros
- like the backstory and characterization
- like the chemisty
- the perfect amount of spice
- lots of sex scenes which I like

Cons
- dragged a bit in the beginning and middle
- anal sex that’s completely unprepped for, which I get is unsexy but randomly having anal sex one night is so unrealistic that it pulled me out of the story for a minute

If you’re looking for cute and fluffy this is it.

Nik was the perfect brooding book boyfriend, with a refreshing focus on his mental health, which is different from the standard hockey player cookie cutter.

Isabelle was sweet, patient, and understanding, so there wasn’t much relationship angst which I would have enjoyed more.

Isobel and Nikolai reconnect after a whirlwind summer romance. They didn’t expect to see each other again, but Nik quickly realizes that won’t be the case, thanks to a school transfer. He also knows he won’t be able to keep the distance he promised himself.

My only negative was this book was longer than it should have been.

**Tropes:**
- Established Relationship
- Brother’s Rival
- Non-toxic Relationship
- Open Door
- Secret Relationship
- He Falls Harder
- Tortured Soul MMC
- Family Bonds

#BookReview #SportsRomance #TorturedHero #BookBoyfriend #RomanceBooks #MentalHealth #RomanceTropes #MustRead

First of all, A huge thank you to NetGalley and the respective publisher for this Arc in exchange for my honest review.
This was a such a cute, heartwarming and fluffy romance. I have lately been into Sports Romances a lot more than before and this ARC came at the right time.
The story is about Nikolai and Isabelle who hooked up for the summer. But they are both aware that is the extent of it and Nikolai is Isabelle’s brother’s rival so they cannot make it into anything else. But is that reason enough to stop there?

I felt like this book was a 100-150 pages too long. We could have still had the same story without some unnecessary scenes.
However, I did enjoy the book for how easy it was to follow and that it was free of misunderstandings and miscommunications for the most part. Overall, it was fun to read. Spice was good too. Nothing too extraordinary but a cute sports romance book.

Thank you Avon, Netgalley, and Valentine PR for the review copy.

Nikolai and Isabelle have a summer fling but it ends when they return to their respective colleges, seeing as Nikolai is Izzy’s brother’s hockey rival and that would not go over well. But an incident goes down and suddenly Nik is at the same school as Izzy, so instead of leaving the past behind they sneak around their relationship to avoid any brotherly interventions. They find that their feelings are much stronger than just physical, but being together isn’t completely simple and straightforward either. Families meddling, coaches expectations, and their future careers are on the line as the book unfolds.

I played volleyball from fourth grade through senior year of high school, plus some adult sand volleyball leagues after grad school, so needless to say I was pumped for a romance with a volleyball player FMC. I haven’t read any of the other sports romances in this series, but you don’t need to as this can be read as a standalone. If you are a fan of Icebreaker, I think you will like this book as it has a strong college hockey presence with a pinch more emotion and backstory for the characters. This book could have been 100 pages shorter and still been as emotional, without as many “on again, off again” moments. With that said, it was a very spicy sports romance with two firecracker main characters figuring out how to love each other.

3.5 stars

This story held a lot more angst than I expected. Nikolai has had a rough life filled with too much (mostly negative) attention for the first half, and no attention whatsoever after that. Izzy shows so much maturity and compassion when it comes to Nik’s emotional blocks, considering she grew up in a supportive and loving family that always shows up for each other.

Even with the great family Izzy has, she has insecurities too. It’s only natural with three older brothers who excel at all that they do. Izzy loves them all dearly and never wants to make anyone feel bad by speaking up about what she needs so her insecurities only grow. Nik sees this and does all he can to bolster her. Nik and Izzy are amazing together, I love their connection.

Unfortunately, this book suffered from the same pacing issues as the previous book. It was also longer than it needed to be. Since I enjoy the emotions and storyline this author writes I will continue to read her stories…for now. She’s still a relatively new published author and I expect she will hone her craft the more she writes.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC of “Wicked Serve” by Grace Reilly in exchange for my honest review.

Wicked Serve is book 4 in the Beyond the Play series. It follows the story of Isabelle and Nikolai. Izzy is the little sister of the Callahan boys. Nik is Cooper’s hockey rival and is off limits. Izzy and Nik cross paths while she’s interning for his mom and start up a fling but it abruptly ends at the end of summer. Nik is forced to switch schools and becomes Cooper’s teammate and once again crosses paths with Izzy. Nik is forced to confront his traumatic past while learning to heal and move on with a future with Izzy.

It honestly wasn’t my favorite storyline of the series. However, overall I enjoyed the series as a whole. I enjoyed the 5 years later epilogue with updates on the other couples. I love a good sports themed romance, therefore, if you enjoy these storylines, I’d suggest you give it a read too.

I loved this series and think this book did a great job at wrapping up the loose ends. I am sad we wont get to see more of these characters.

This is such a wholesome and cute book. Loved the hockey and volleyball components. both characters dealt with real life struggles and I really loved that they both grew and worked on themselves to be a stronger couple.

This book was more than the sports that they both play. It was about what you truly love and want to do in your life. Isabella and Nikolai have a strong connection, and it shows throughout the entire book. When things get hard, they stick together and figure out how to get thru it. For college students, they are very mature and have the communication down very well.
I will say this book is heartwarming, swoon worthy, and an all-around good book. There's steamy scenes in it as well. I gotta say that I loved how mature her brother handled the relationship and the aftermath. I mean, by the end, they were best friends. l also thought it dragged a tiny bit and was a bit long but it was needed to get everything in it.
I loved both characters and the journey they take to heal and truly be in happy in life.

3.5/5⭐️
3/5🌶️

This series started off really strong for me & I was really excited to dive back into this world, especially for this book just based off of the tropes I knew were included, however this one was a bit of a let down. It just felt extremely long for what it was. I found myself bored and skimming through quite a bit. I also didn’t really feel the chemistry between the characters unfortunately. There was a good bit of spice in this book but I just wasn’t feeling their connection. It felt a bit forced.

Thank you to Grace, Avon, & Net Galley for the ARC!

Tropes:
- Sports Romance
- Hockey Player x Volleyball Player
- College Romance
- Brother’s Rival
- Secret Relationship

Grace Reilly never fails. Another book I'm in love with and thinking about it daily!!!!

Nikolai lives in my head rent free. Him whispering in her ear sweet and sexy russian words is my new kink tbh.

Izzy my gal. Love her so much, she's such a mood. I love that she's playing volleyball and i was so impatient to read her story!

I really like how Grace also touches on heavier topics such as childhood trauma, child abuse, and how it effects your mental health as well as future relationships with such respect.

This book also navigates on anxiety, panic attacks, and an overworked mental health.

Tropes:

•brother's rival turned teammate
•he's Russian!
•secret summer romance
•hockey and volleyball
•found family
•spice

Isabelle is a girl often overshadowed by her super athletic older brothers. With a father who was in the NFL, an older brother who followed in his footsteps, another brother NHL bound, it’s no wonder she strives for the that same perfection for herself. I think every girl at some point in their life feels like they aren’t enough therefore so many will connect with Isabelle and her struggle. Nik is the one boy that saw all the awesomeness that is Isabelle but Nik also has his demons he battles. The son of a former NHLer, Nik is set to follow that route post graduation. What Nik doesn’t let out is the abuse both he and his mom dealt with at the hands of his father. The relationship between Isabelle and Nik is seamless and their characters ooze chemistry. I love that they both helped the other with their struggles and even if I’m the beginning they didn’t define what they were you could tell they would be end game for sure.

Wicked Serve ARC Review 🏐🗽🎀🐨🏒

Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Let’s be honest, I absolutely devoured this arc once I sat down to read it. I did not want to stop, it’s that good of a story.

I think out of this whole series, this one is my favorite. Like I loved reading about Izzy’s brothers but her story just really hit home for me. Not that theirs aren’t relatable, but hers I don’t know, to me just I could very much see myself as her in some parts.

When it comes to Nikolai, I enjoyed his character story line. The struggles he went through and trying to be someone better. It was very inspiring. Because we all know I’m an emotional reader, obviously I cried when reading this. Some aspects just brought me to tears.

Overall, thank you Grace Reilly and Valentine Pr for giving me the opportunity to read the final book in the beyond the play series.