🏒 Book Review 🏒
|| Wicked Serve ||
|| Author: Grace Reilly ||
Format: NetGalley ebook
Release Date: August 13, 2024
Read from: August 8, 2024 to August 17, 2024
2024 RG: 104/100

MCs: Nik and Isabelle

🏐 College sports
🏒 Secret relationship
🏐 Brother’s rival
🏒 He falls first and harder
🏐 Found family
🏒 Dual pov
🏐 Men’s mental health rep

Isabelle Callahan is a college volleyball player struggling to keep up with her family’s expectations. All she wants to do is belong somewhere fully. She also can’t seem to move on from her summer fling. But she’s never going to see him again, right?

Nikolai Abney/Volkov is just trying to outrun his past. Well not all of it. A certain wedding planner intern won’t leave his mind. When he gets kicked out of his college for covering for his teammate, he is transferred by his grandfather to the very college that said intern attends.

It’s not long until their paths cross and feelings resurface.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️5/5

“I can’t change my past, but I can shape my own future.”

And also Izzy is a Sabrina Carpenter fan and I absolutely love it.

I am hooked! I can’t wait to go back and read the first 3 books in this series that follow Izzy’s brothers!

If you’re a sports romance junkie like me you’re gonna love this book! I love the relationship and how it develops between Isabelle and Nik. I also love her brothers!

Isabelle and Nikolai meet over the summer when she interns for his mom. They have a beautiful summer fling until she wakes up one morning and he’s gone like the wind. That’s fine though because they go to different colleges in different states, and oh yea he’s her brother’s punk hockey rival!

Everything is fine, she needs to concentrate on volleyball anyways, until she runs into him at a party and realizes he’s transferred to her school! Trying to rekindle things and keep them on the down low is harder than it seems. Not to mention all the trauma gone Nik’s dad he hasn’t dealt with or faced. Will he let his fear and issues stop him from true love?

Tropes
🏐 Sports Romance
📍 Close Proximity
😡 Grumpy Sunshine
🩷 He Falls First
🤫 Secret Romance
🏒 Brother’s Teammate

“ if she’s sunshine, I’m the guy who hopes it never starts raining.” 🥹

Wicked serve can be read as a stand-alone alone or as the 4th book in the Callahan sibling series. I highly recommend all of them by Izzy’s book was my favorite!

Her & Nickolai’s relationship was adorable. Just two people who love each other being the other’s biggest fan. They experienced true highs and lows but through it all they did it together.

I truly loved this series & sad to see it end. But I’m excited for what Grace gives us next.

I requested to read and review this book for free from HarperCollins Publishing Inc. This story line plot had humor, romance, mystery and drama. Can love conquer all? Can we truly be happy and comfortable with yourself? Do people deserve second chances? Isabelle had grown up with a sports family is that someone they can all have in common or will the difference be to much? The Callahan crea are a unique bunch but will that tie them together or tear them apart? Nikolai has only ever knew hockey will it be his saving grace or a curse? Or could it be both? Can he decide there is more to life then hockey? And how does one navigate family and making friends? This book is for a mature audience and can read anywhere!

This book was incredible. Grace Reilly’s books always blow me away. But I absolutely loved Izzy. Nikolai is most definitely my favorite MMC of hers as well & that’s saying something because all the boys have been drool worthy.

Nikolai is so absolutely enthralled by Izzy & I love a good ‘he falls first’ & ‘brothers rivalry ’ romance. The growth both characters make by the end of the book was absolutely beautiful. All the stars, will always recommend!!

Nikolai and Izzy had a summer love that I wish we could've gotten to read more about. Nikolai now has to transfer schools and ends up at McKee with Izzy and playing hockey with her brother Cooper. He wants to immediately get together with her, but it turns serious quickly. Nikolai is beyond swoony and fell hard for Izzy. Their story is real and just a good one to read! Highly recommend.

We get to catch up with little sister Izzy and her summer fling with her brother’s rival Nikolai. He somehow gets expelled from his own school and transfers to Izzy’s. Nik’s got his own tragic backstory with an abusive father, overbearing grandfather, and an emotionally detached mother, but he’s a very charming flirt who is very good at pleasing our girl Izzy. While they rekindle their relationship, they’ve got to keep it a secret from Izzy’s brother (and now Nik’s teammate), Cooper. And really, they’re just friends with benefits anyway. (Sure, they are.) Izzy has her own feelings of inadequacy of being the youngest sibling in a group of pro athletes, but she’s working through it. I liked the writing style of this book and how Nik and Izzy each independently deal with their own insecurities. High on the steam!

Nik and Izzy were like magnets to one another. Their chemistry/attraction to one another was unavoidable. I loved how possessive/protective and supportive they were for one another. They were willing to stand up for one another under any situation. I really enjoyed the sweet, fluffy moments and Grace didn’t disappoint in the passionate/steamy scenes!

This book wouldn’t let me put it down.

It’s exactly the type of romance I absolutely love. The writing style captivated me so much that I now want to read all of Grace's other books. Besides Nikolay and Izzy, who completely stole my heart, the side characters were also perfectly written. I’m definitely diving into the rest of this series.

As for Nikolay, it wasn’t just his personality and his challenging backstory that drew me in—his Russian heritage definitely added to his charm. I’m obsessed with all things Russian—the language, the culture—so every time he spoke Russian, I melted a little more.

This is one of those books where I just have to highlight a favorite scene, and for me, that was the one in Australia. I adore koalas and consider them some of the cutest animals in the world, so seeing Izzy experience my biggest wish was pure joy.

I also appreciated the depth in the story; that always adds to my enjoyment.

Overall, I highly recommend this book!

I mean do I even need to write a review for this??!! Grace Reilly ALWAYS delivers!!! She did not fail us with Izzy and Nik!!! I am SO sad to say goodbye to the Callahan family. While you can read this book as a standalone, I would highly encourage you to read the others to help understand the full storyline.
Here are just some of the tropes you can expect:
✨ Brothers Rival/Forbidden Romance
✨ Dual POV
✨ Hockey MMC/Volleyball FMC
✨ Mental Health Rep
✨ Found Family
✨ Summer Fling turn FWB (The summer fling starts before the book...I know that irks some people.)

Yes, there are some cringe moments in the book but I just laugh them off and keep reading. Please know this book covers many heavy topics, so please read the trigger warnings!

Thank you so much to Grace Reilly & Valentine PR for an ARC of this book!

I love a secret romance book! Izzy and Nikolai are prefect and this was a great addition to the Callahan Series! Mental Health representation was so well done. And spice was handed out in spades!

The story was good I felt it drag a little bit overall a good read. The relationship between Nikolai and Isabelle was very positive, they had great communication and cared for one another. A healthy story between two who cared for one another. They story could have been shorter and it would still give us the same impact. It was nice to see a healthy relations between two people who wanted the best for one another.

This was my first read by Grace, but it won’t be my last. Normally I like more grit and darkness to my reads, but I’m always one for a palate cleanser and that was what this was to me. This book had a smattering of angst and a decent amount of chemistry. I loved that Grace showed how Nik was dealing with his mental health and not shying away from it or using it in passing and never addressing it again, that always frustrates me when authors do that.

I respected the way Izzy and Nik were always there supporting each other and fortifying the bond between them more and more each page turned. You could tell that they belonged together from the start and watching their relationship organically grow and mature was really sweet to see. All in all, I will definitely be picking up more from this author.

3.5 ⭐️

A hot summer fling that they thought would go no where but was destined to be forever.

Isabelle comes from a family of athletes and all she wants to do is prove to them that she belongs at the top too.

Nikolai is determined not to let his past control him even if that means giving up the one thing that’s only ever brought him happiness, hockey.

After a hot summer fling the two will never see each other again, to Isabelle’s dismay. Until Nik of course does something to jeopardize his future and the two of them get thrust together at the same school. But can they pick up where they left off when Nik used to be Isabelle’s brother’s biggest rival?

This book was good. My favorite part was the FMC. She was strong, smart, and not incredibly annoying like most are. My biggest problem was with Nik. He was all over the map. It felt as though the author couldn’t decide what kind of “book boyfriend” she wanted to write so he got a little bit of everything.

I will say the spicy scenes were immaculate, 5 stars alone for that. Outside of the bedroom, Nik just became a mess which was sad because he had a lot of opportunity to explore anxiety in men. It was like he was half way developed.

Besides that. For the most part the rest of the book was entertaining! There were a lot of great parts and a lot of bits that could definitely be reworked. Very solid foundation though.

So good! Loved these characters and everything about this book! Gave me butterflies and I didn’t want it to stop!

This is book 4 in the Beyond the Play Book Series by this author, and can be read as a standalone. It is an off limits romance between Isabelle and her brother's teammate, Nikolai. These two flawed but likeable souls and the unique plot make for an enjoyable read. What starts out as a secret summer fling turns into something more. It is a sweet love story with drama and steam, sexual tension and chemistry, humor and charm, family dynamic, and twists and turns, plus appealing secondary characters to keep the reader interested. An emotional ride.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Valentine PR and am voluntarily leaving my honest review.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t connect with the characters of this one!!! I felt like the book was dragging and it was so hard for me to pick it up. This would be the perfect book for someone who truly connects with these characters!

✨ARC Review - 4.5 stars 📚✨

The last book in the series and it didn't disappoint💗

I absolutely loved this series and the bond between all the Callahan siblings.

Nik & Izzy's story started off with us finding out they had a summer fling which they thought would end there. But Nik has to transfer to her school because of something that happened with his hockey time. Izzy tries to ignore Nik once she realizes he is now attending her school but it doesn't work out that way as they start seeing each other secretly again. Mainly because Nik is Cooper, Izzy's brothers rival turned teammate. There is some heavier topics in this book mostly Nik's childhood. The spice in this book was spicing 🔥 I also love how both Nik and Izzy are both athletes and are navigating there struggles with their teams. 🏐🏒

Thanks to Author Grace Reilly and Valentine PR for the opportunity to ARC read this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

This is my first time reading anything by Grace Reilly and I enjoyed this one very much. I have heard so much about the other books in the series and I definitely will go back and read the others. I appreciated the plot so much. It was very fulfilling and I enjoyed following Izzy and Nik throughout their story.
I appreciate so much how deep the character's struggles were and how much I could relate to them.
The conclusion to the story was great as well and I overall thought I was able to fall in love with the characters and their journey.

This is on the longer side of a book, but honestly I couldn't tell most of the time and it picks up very quickly!

First and foremost a huge thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books, Harper Voyager and Grace Reilly for the opportunity to read Wicked Serve!
This is my first Grave Reilly read and unfortunately it wasn’t my favorite. I was really close to DNF’ing but I pushed through because I liked the idea of the storyline but personally to me it fell a bit short. I think what put me off was their age. They were trying to act way older than their age and that’s what was throwing me off.
I loved both the characters Izzy and Nikolai. Izzy is confident in who she is and supports everyone in her life. Nik is very loving and protective despite how hard his childhood was, but he didn’t know how to put himself first. He seemed like a pushover half the time 😩
The one thing that made me super upset is when Izzy kept pushing Nik to tell her about his past! I get it you want to understand him better but there’s some thing’s that you have to let go and let him say it when he feels comfortable! Also, why was it always mentioned practically in every chapter that she liked pink? I felt like pink was becoming her personality! I think the book could’ve been a bit shorter and some of the smut scenes could’ve been taken out (the crawling scene still haunts me, & not in a good way 😣).
Despite all these things I had issues with, it was a quick read and kept me entertained for the most part. I will be reading the other books in the series!