4⭐️
3🌶️

🏐 Sports romance
🏒 Second chance
🏐 Brother’s rival
🏒 Grumpy x sunshine
🏐 FWB

This is the last book in the Beyond the Play series so of course I had to read it since I read the other 3 prior to this one. I enjoyed getting glimpses of Izzy in the first 3 books so I was looking forward to getting her book. I loved that she was also athletic and that it wasn’t just the MMC who played a sport and volleyball is so different than what you normally read about. I loved Nik and Izzy’s relationship from the start when they were hiding everything over the summer to when they first started seeing each other again. Nik has his reservations and for good reason after you get the background of his childhood, but he hid a lot from Izzy and she was so supportive of him. She helped him to open up and work through a lot and it kinda bummed me out that it wasn’t enough at times. I enjoyed this book, but felt like it was a bit longer than it needed to be and could’ve ended at multiple different times.

Another great read by Grace Reilly! Wicked Serve was honestly my favorite of the series ☺️☺️. If you haven’t picked this book up yet, what are you waiting for? Nik’s possessiveness is some of the best stuff I’ve read in awhile.

When all you’ve done your entire life, is play hockey, what do you do when it’s time to give it up? Nik gave more than blood, sweat and tears to the sport. He gave up his childhood to be the perfect player his dad forced him to be. When the time comes that he has to give it up, may be it is best to leave all the trauma behind him, so his family can move on from the past. However, when Izzy comes along to give him avenues to come to terms with his past life, he’s already promised this would be the last year he would play hockey, the NHL isn’t part of the plan. Izzy has seen his bad, his sad, and his ugly, yet she’s shown him people will stay when they say they will. But what happens when life shows you that not everything can be perfect, there is always another shoe that will drop?

Izzy didn’t mean to fall for Nik, yet here she is. His biggest supporter, his biggest cheerleader, and yet he won’t stand up for himself and do the one thing he was meant to do. Play hockey. Izzy has an uphill battle of her own to climb, she has also put blood, sweat and tears into volleyball and her coach won’t give her to the chance to shine in a position she knows she can do. Yet, Nik won’t let her quit. Why is it so easy for him to support her, but not support himself? As Izzy starts to fall in love with volleyball again, she’s determined to get Nik to show love for hockey the same way. Too bad he’s the most stubborn person she knows, but she can be as stubborn as well.

The way these 2 support each other through everything is amazing. There was no miscommunication, or angry talks. It was all love and support. I absolutely adored this couple and can’t wait to see what the future has in store for them!! Another great book in the series for Grace!

Cute story about hockey player, Nik, and volleyball player, Isabelle. At first, they have to hide their relationship from her brother, who plays hockey with Nik. There is discussion of domestic abuse and Nik shows signs of PTSD.

absolutely enjoyed reading this book, I do have to say a few things icked me out while reading. I loved the relationship between the characters and how it was friends to lovers, which is something I don’t really like in books, but I enjoyed in this one. This book does shine light on mental health which I liked as well!! I do think that this book should not have been 400 pages though, I feel like it could have been a lot shorter without the unnecessary bits.

Isabelle is a volleyball player who had a summer fling with Nikolai who plays hockey. When they believe their summer fling is over when they go back to their different collages, state lines separating them, Nikolai unexpectedly transfers to McKee University and joins her brothers (his rival) hockey team. Now what happens when they run into each other and feelings begin to stir up again?

Nikolai definitely doesn’t stand up for himself to his grandfather and never would have if it wasn’t for Isabelle. Also his nickname for her (Sunshine) is so sweet and was perfect, ugh just swoon worthy. I also loved that there wasn’t really any miscommunication (not my favorite trope). Definitely recommend reading this book!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

yall this is one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read!! everything about it was absolute perfection and I would give it way more than 5 stars!! I felt for nikolai and all of his hardships but man does he have the biggest heart!! this is one of those books that once you pick it up you cannot put it down! nikolai and isabelle are so incredibly perfect for one another! this is one of those books that once you pick it up you will not want to put it down!!

Wicked serve by Grace Reilly

I read this story as a standalone and I loved it so much. It was enjoyable and entertaining. I loved the plot and characters. Especially, the main characters Nikolai and Isabelle. I absolutely recommend this story.

have been waiting for this one since stealing home. such a cute easy read! could not put it down !! LOVE the relationship so much

This book blew me away, and gave me a whole new rom-com author to obsess over!

If you like your romance perfectly balanced between sweet, spicy, and tackling some deeper topics, this is THE rom-com you need to pick up. I adored the blend this author was able to pull off. The romance is adorable, and the main couple is so, so easy to root for and obsess over. Their chemistry is visceral and believable, you can tell from page one that they are willing to go the distance for one another. Even with the sweetness of them, the spice does NOT hold back 🌶️🌶️🌶️. Spice starts early and is revisited often, but never feels overdone or like it is taking away from the overall story. The heavier topics (tw: childhood abuse, panic attacks, and symptoms of trauma) are handled with perfect care and thoughtfulness.

I know this is technically the end of a series, but I felt like I knew all of these characters throughout the book, even the ones from previous book couples (and I can’t wait to go back and read their stories!). The family, both found and blood, is so close-knit and comforting. We got to spend a lot of time with them, from summer to Christmas to spring, and their relationships on the page are just so endearing throughout. This is a sports romance (MMC is a hockey player, FMC is a volleyball player) and it actually managed to make aspects of sports that can bore me at times seem interesting and comfortable. I loved the role sports played in both our characters lives, as well as how they have so much complexity to them outside of their sports passions.

I just really, really adored this. I will absolutely be going back to read the series so far before this, and I can’t wait to see what this author does next! Thank you to Avon & Harper Voyager and NetGalley for this eArc!

The final installment of the Beyond the Play Series, and an amazing way to end. SOn much consistency from the earlier books from real-life issues and loveable characters, it was truly an enjoyable story to read!

I enjoyed this dual sports romance by Grace Reilly! It was a story that was different than what I typically read, as I am not someone who typically goes for something that starts as a fling or second chance vibes (both of which are prominent here), but I loved it nonetheless. This book was a true emotional rollercoaster with both main characters having their family issues, along with other issues to work through.

I will admit, this was a long book, and at times really did feel like it dragged some, but there was still enough to keep me engaged throughout.

In all, I loved Nikolai and Izzy. Both of their characters were so real, lovable, and so enjoyable to watch grow. I loved following this journey with them and will be sad to see this series go. I can't wait to see what else this author writes!

I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK. 🩷🩷

I read it and loved it, not knowing when I started that it was book 4 of a series. So, now I get the pleasure of going back to read it all from the beginning…knowing what a fabulous ending everyone gets 🥹💜😉

What a heartbreakingly beautiful story mixed with everyone’s favorite - hockey.

Nik and Izzy are incredible. His past trauma that he is trying to outrun and her steadfast commitment to him are so lovely to watch. As their love story unfolds from a summer fling, to a kind of second chance romance you watch them grow as young adults and as a couple.

There is lots of story with her family (who are featured in the previous books) so you never have to say goodbye to those characters. I am so excited to go back now and get to meet them all!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of Wicked Serve by Grace Reilly!

This was a great book and only sad I didn’t know this was #4 in a series. Definitely will be reading the rest.

I wish I had known this was the fourth book in the series, but it is a stand alone, so I guess it wasn't that big of a deal. Overall I enjoyed the book. Izzy is a college student who is attracted to her brother's rival on the ice, Nik. This is a sexy romance but could have been a little shorter. Thankful that this didn't play into the miscommunication trope like so many romance novels that I have read lately. This is a good one.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for advanced copy, and I give my review freely

Oh man… I thought this was going to be a silly little hockey romance, but boy was I wrong. There is so much depth to the plot of the book and I cried at least 3 times. 😭

Though this was my first I introduction to the Callahan family, but I will most definitely be going back to read books 1-3 to read the three Callahan brothers stories!

Izzy is a college volleyball player that has a summer romance with her brother’s rival on the ice. She meets Nik at her summer internship when he comes to visit his mother (Izzy’s boss). They decide to keep it casual because of the rivalry and the distance, but make the most of the summer. Something comes up and Nik has to transfer to the same college in order to finish his degree and play hockey. They still agree to keep it causal and a secret, but you know how that typically goes!

This book is so much more than a sports romance. It shows a non-toxic college romance where each main character has real life struggles that get in the way. The family/found family aspect throughout the book is so heartwarming and adds so much to the story.

Also, his nickname for her… Solnishko (Russian) 🥹🥹

On the other hand, one of the main characters did have experience with domestic abuse and flashes back to this scenarios a couple of times. This main character struggles with feeling like they will follow in the abusers footsteps. If you feel that storyline might be too sensitive for you, this might not be the book for you. Personally, the ideology of the main character being able to grow and separate their feelings was a bit healing for me. It still did hit very hard having experience. 🫶🏻

Thank you NetGalley & Avon and Harper Voyager for the early review copy!

This was an adorable story… it didn’t need to be over 400 pages (personal opinion), but I enjoyed it. I absolutely loved Nikolai, but there were moments when I just felt absolutely sad for him. He stands up for others who can’t stand up for themselves, but when it comes to himself, you can tell he’s frustrated but stays quiet.

Izzy was hit or miss for me. Sometimes, I loved her, and sometimes, she got on my nerves. I appreciated their relationship and the fact that there wasn’t any miscommunication between them. They both had some mental health issues to deal with, which made both of them endearing. It made Nikolai and Izzy relatable.

I didn’t realize this was book four of a series, but it is a standalone. There were moments when this dragged a bit. While the chapters were short, there were a lot of them, some of them were unnecessary.

The entire series is available on Kindle Unlimited.

rating: 4 stars

This is the first book I have read in this series, so it absolutely stands alone and you are able to keep the other characters straight, even though there are a lot. I am sure I will go back and read at least some of the other books in the series as I think they will be just as good as this one. The only reason I don't give this book 5 stars is there is just too much angst in it, and the angst lasts for most of the book! The love story, though, really isn't the main angst in the book, which is refreshing! Nik and Isabella are a great couple, and this is a YA book, so if you don't like those, this isn't the book for you. The path to their HEA is rocky, but well worth the journey. I can absolutely recommend this book. Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy.

arc review: wicked serve —

rating: 4 stars

this is book 4 in the beyond the play series and i don’t think you absolutely have to read the first 3 books to understand the other characters but it’s always good too! and after reading this i’ll definitely be wanting to read anything by grace reilly

this book follows nikolai and isabella who have just had a summer fling come to an end especially because nikolai and isabella’s old brother are hockey rivals

i really enjoyed the fun and lightheartedness of this book. isabella and nikolai are really great characters and i really enjoyed getting to read them. the spice was good and this is definitely a book to read when you just want to enjoy yourself. i love how hard they both fell for each other over their summer fling, the chemistry was soooo good!!! and so much encouragement between the characters especially because they are both competing in different sport teams

i really loved this book and definitely makes me want to read the complete series

read this if you love:
💗 sports romance
💗 secret relationship
💗 brother’s rival
💗 he falls first and harder

thank you valentine pr, net galley and grave reilly for this arc 🤍

"𝐈𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐈'𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠."

Grace never misses, just like the other 3 books I loved Wicked Serve. The way she portrays the consequences of child (and domestic) abuse is raw and beautiful. I loved Nikolai and Isabel together – also a huge fan of the fact that there wasn’t much conflict between the two of them; and when there was conflict, they resolved it by communicating like adults instead of jumping to conclusions (we love that). I also adored the realistic epilogue! I do however think this book could’ve been shorter – especially the middle part of it dragged on a bit.

The vibes ✨
- Hockey player x Volleyball player
- Mental Health rep
- College setting
- Found family
- ‘Forbidden’ romance
- And much more!

This was my first Grace Reilly book (I know I know I started with the last book in the series😅) and I really enjoyed it! The writing was great! I never felt like the story was dragging and I read the entire book in a little over a day. I laughed, I cried, it truly has you invested in these characters and rooting for them to get their happy ending.

Definitely recommend to all sports romance readers! Now I’m off to start the first book in the series😂

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy to review!

This was my first ever book by Grace Reilly, which I was fortunate enough to be given as an advanced reader copy. While I had not read previous books that would have offered backstory on our FMC Isabelle‘s siblings and their partners, I felt like this book was strong on its own.

And while the activity in the book centered around college- aged main characters, I still felt connected to them, likely because they were both written in a way that was really mature and emotional. The love story between Isabelle and Nikolai was both beautiful and a little heartbreaking to me throughout the book. For his part, Nik was dealing with so much trauma, and it obviously impacted his lens of the world, especially his view of what love and relationships could be. The beauty comes in when Isabelle and he reconnect after he transfers to McKee — and she slowly, gracefully, lovingly teaches him what true support, respect, and love looks like.

I won’t say more than that so as not to spoil the story, but I think this was a really well-written book that I enjoyed reading from start to finish. I will definitely be picking up more titles from Grace as I go back and explore Izzy’s siblings’ stories sometime very soon!

Nikolai and Isabelle are fresh off a summer fling that’s totally off-limits. He’s her brother’s rival, and he’d lose it if he knew. But are they going to let that stop them from being together? Obviously not. What’s refreshing here is the lack of endless angst and misunderstandings. Instead of endless should we should we not drama, this book delivers just the right amount of spice and sweetness. It’s a fun, light read that’s perfect if you're craving something cute and easy. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC—I absolutely adore Nikolai and Isabelle!