Wicked Serve was so much more than your average hockey romance. It was a perfect representation of overcoming past trauma, and destructive mind sets with healthy and loving relationships. A real testament to finding your family and surrounding yourself with people who will not only make you a better person, but stand by you when life isn’t perfect.

I loved Nik and Izzy, together they were amazing, and the spice was spicing but even without all of that they were layered, thoughtful, and purposeful in their actions. I thought that Reilly gave a great representation of facing your past trauma and coping with aftermath of escaping situations that leave scars deeper than what’s just on the surface can look like. I also appreciated that both characters had flaws and even though they had vastly different childhoods they both had their own hurdles to get over as they entered into adulthood, neither of them were perfect but they were perfect for each other. 🩷

It was only supposed to last the summer. No feelings and no expectations. Isabelle Callahan has a secret, one that nobody was supposed to find out, especially her older brother. You see Isabelle spent her summer not only interning for his mother but also having a summer fling with no other than Nikolai Adreny Volkov, her brother’s biggest hockey rival from an opposing school. When they go their separate ways at the end of the summer Izzy never expected to see Nik again, especially not on her college campus when he is supposed to be hours away at his own.

Nik has only ever wanted to play hockey, and he will agree to anything to keep that dream alive as long as possible. When circumstances lead to him having to change schools in order to continue playing he jumps on it…. Added benefit? He will be attending McKee University and while their fling was only supposed to be for the summer, he can’t quite get Isabelle Callahan out of his head.

truly shocked by how much I enjoyed this considering it had some of my least fave tropes. truly shows you that it’s about the writer, not the tropes. but also second chance is my fave trope and it always wins out. I really enjoyed the romantic dynamic and overarching storyline. the book dragged on for me, there was absolutely no need to be almost 500 pages (350 max).

Format: 📱 eBook 📱
Check TWs before reading.

This book had me from the beginning - second chance romance for a summer fling? Throw in collegiate hockey, drama (gotta love those teammates sister romances), fantastic depth of emotion and a great found family, and I really enjoyed reading it. I also really loved that Reilly had Isabelle as a sporty girl, too.

This was my first read in this series by Reilly, but it didn't hamper my knowledge of previous events. She writes well enough that you seamlessly slide into the wider narrative, and it's made me keen to go back and read those previous books (despite knowing how parts of them turn out).

My only real comment is that this book was long. I honestly think it could have been reduced by 100-ish pages, BUT in saying that, it helped Reilly hone in on the emotions and the reactions of Isabelle and Nikolai, and helped show us not only the growth of their relationship, but the growth of them individually.

There is so much more to both Isabelle and Nikolai, and I was glad to be able to read their story. My heart broke for Nik as we learned more about him, and I was so glad that these two got their happily ever after in the end.

This book genuinely has it all, from romance and banter, to drama, emotions and some pretty swoon-worthy spice (that's a little bit extra, iykwim). A good read and looking forward to reading more of Reilly's books.

Thank you to the author, Valentine PR and Netgalley for the eARC opportunity. These are my honest thoughts that I have provided voluntarily.

✨ arc review!! ✨

"if she’s sunshine, i’m the guy who hopes it never starts raining."

read if you like:
• friends with benefits turned secret relationship
• older brother’s rival
• sports romance (volleyball & hockey)
• anxiety & trauma representation
• found family

this series has my heart. i feel like i am a part of the callahan family after reading about james, cooper, and sebastian. i was so eager for izzy's book, and it did NOT disappoint!

isabelle, aka izzy, is confident, determined, generous, supportive, and the ultimate girly girl. she was selfless and cared so much for her family. she is my absolute favorite!! then there's sweet, misunderstood nikolai- izzy's older brother cooper's hockey rival. he is obsessed with izzy from the moment he meets her in the summer. he struggles with mental health from his past, but he is so kind, supportive, gentle, caring and protective. he made my heart absolutely melt, especially when he called izzy little sun in russian🥹

this book was enjoyable from the very beginning. i loved seeing izzy and nik fall for each other. i love that they had the opportunity to take their relationship to the next level when nik had to transfer to izzy's school. i love that they supported each other and that nik finally let his guard down from his past and let izzy in.

i just wish that the ending didn't feel so rushed! i would have loved to see more of izzy and nik and not feel like it was rushed so far into the future. overall, a cute, sweet, and quite frankly spicy 4.5⭐️ read!!

thank you Grace Reilly, NetGalley, Avon Books, and Harper Voyager for this arc copy!🩷

Wicked Serve is the 4th (and final) book in the Beyond the Play series by Grace Reilly. It can be read as part of the series or as a standalone. Typically I would recommend reading the book as part of the series to get the full picture of who the characters were leading up to their story, but in this particular case I would actually recommend reading Wicked Serve truly as a standalone OR just read the second book in the series, Breakaway, first. That's the only book Nikolai appears in previously and it's also the only one that Izzy really gets much "screen time" in as well. I don't recommend reading Stealing Home, the third book in the series, right before reading Wicked Serve, as the plots are repetitively similar when you read them back to back.

Overall, Wicked Serve was a fun read and Grace Reilly always turns up the heat with her books, BUT there was also a few things I found to drag down my enjoyment of this one.

What Worked:
Nikolai. He was my favorite part of the book, so much so that I wished there were more of his chapters. His story was interesting and I was rooting for him while he figured out how to address his mental health struggles, all while still trying to be supportive of Izzy and building friendships with his new hockey team.

Forbidden romance + second chance = an interesting combo that I don't think I've read before. I liked it! It was a little bumpy in the beginning because there was a prologue teaser about their summer fling and then we skip right into the start of their new school year. After that initial bumpiness though, I liked the way their relationship played out after that. And I appreciated there weren't any major miscommunication moments that could have been solved if the characters just talked to each other. Even though these two are relatively young, they weren't overly immature.

What Didn't Work:
This was way too long. I typically don't mind a longer romance BUT it has to have a purpose in being that long. Unfortunately this one didn't. It dragged on without a strong plot to give it a purpose. And the plot elements that were there either wrapped up too quickly (well before the end of the book), or they were brought up and barely mentioned again. Overall it left me feeling a bit bored at times and confused at others.

Izzy's storyline (and even her characterization) had zero substance to it. She plays volleyball, she likes pink, she's good at event planning... I feel like that's all I can really tell you about her. It's unfortunate because I think she could have been more interesting if some of her plot points were developed more, especially surrounding her sport. We could have explored more how playing a spot of a collegiate level was putting so much pressure and stress on her, along with trying to focus on her event planning projects that could be a potential career for her, and how that all affected her mental health. The whispers of that storyline were already there, but it felt like it was abandoned quickly.

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

This book was a very cute college sports romance, that showed a relationship without any toxicity, and a lot of support and encouragement from each other and very little miscommunication. It was honestly a breath of fresh air for this genre. I enjoyed most of it!

Isabelle and Nickolai started their relationship as a summer romance, thinking it couldn’t last more than that as Nickolai was Izzy’s brothers biggest hockey rival. Little did they both know they would end up at the same college and the sparks were still there.

Izzy is a confident and extroverted volleyball player. She is very selfless and sometimes struggled with the pressure she felt to fit in with her family. Nickolai is a hockey player struggling with his mental health from a long and complicated history. Together they push and encourage each other in the best ways.

As much as I enjoyed this book, I did feel like it was a bit too long and was pretty slow and lacking plot in some areas. Despite that it was entertaining with plenty of cute moments, as well as smutty moments!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booklover #romancebooks #newrelease #ARC #sportsromance #brothersrival #HockeyRomance #BeyondthePlaySeries #GraceReilly #WickedServe

This was such a swoony read. I have not read the rest of this series and still really enjoyed this as a standalone without feeling lost or confused. I enjoyed the banter and found family aspect of the story. Nik and Isabella are so sweet. I loved that she stood up for herself and fought for those she loved. I loved how head over heels Nik is and the ways he shows it. I loved their relationship and that they talked through disagreements. No misunderstanding in this one 
There were a few parts of this story that felt repetitive and the story just felt way longer than it needed to be. Even with it being as long as it was the ending felt rushed for the sake of wrapping everything up. I struggled with the pacing overall in this story. 
Overall, I enjoyed this read and will likely go back and read the rest of the series. I loved that the characters from the previous books in the series were included in this book and can't wait to read their stories too. 
If you enjoy swoony romance, a dirty-talking MMC who falls hard, and cute, cuddly koala bears you will want to check out this book. 

Thank you so much to Grace and Valentine PR for the ARC copy of Wicked Serve. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

omg omg omg i loved this book! i could not put it down. I have been waiting for izzy story and it did not disappoint. i loved how this book was filled with love and encouragement and support. it was very entertaining and i loved it.

izzy was a beautiful character. she is full of energy, confidence, support, love and selflessness. she stood up for herself and knew what was right for her and for her people around her. i loved nikolai, i think he was the perfect man for izzy. he was so kind, gentle, caring and protective of izzy. i gained a lot of respect for him for putting his mental health first and gained more respect for izzy when was respectable of what he needed to be better for not just himself but for her.

like i said i could not put this book down, i was so excited for izzy story. i loved how much her brothers and the whole family was apart of the book, it made it even more better. this is one of my fav sports series and every single book did not disappoint!

thank you to netgalley and grace reilly for this arc!

I wish I had loved the whole book as much as I did the first half. Up until 55%, I was ready to give more than 4 stars. It was cute, hot, I liked the fact that we started the book with the main characters already having history, which gave it a refreshing feel and allowed the author to move to spicy scenes a lot faster. While not everyone will like the fact that it had so many sex scenes, this is exactly what I was in the mood to read, so I was thoroughly invested and had trouble putting it down.

But from the 55% mark, and more especially from the point when the characters became an official couple, I started to feel like this was very repetitive and all the angst did me in because that was not what I had signed up for. The book could have been much shorter without all that unnecessary drama about Nik’s family.

I’m honestly becoming so tired of the tragic backstories turning into excessive angst and the “I don’t deserve her” trope. Especially when it’s paired with a “I’m responsible for everyone and need to take care of everyone” mindset (and it specifically annoys me because it’s ALWAYS a way to give flaws to the love interest while not giving him real flaws), or a scene threatening the evil ex-boyfriend whose sole purpose is to be evil.
Once I get annoyed by these things, I find myself being irked by a lot of things that I would have forgiven otherwise.

On a positive note, I hadn’t read the previous books in the series but I didn’t feel like I had missed a lot because the author did a good job of catching us up without it being too much.
Rating this book is not easy because I would have given 4 stars or more to the first half, and honestly less than 2 stars to the second half, in which I skimmed a lot of the angsty parts. 3 stars it is, then.

The most beautiful end to Grace Reilly's debut series! I loved each book but 'Wicked Serve' was without a doubt my favourite!

Nik and Izzy are so freaking sweet. I loved the secret parts of their relationship as well as the adorable way he swept her off her feet. Great HEA too!

First, I have to thank ValentinePR and Grace Reilly for gifting me an ARC of this book!

My first Grace Reilly book and it just so happens to be the last in the Beyond the Play series, which is amazing but also sad for me. Izzy and Nick had my heart from the absolute beginning and I absolutely loved how we got them throughout basically the entire book. The chemistry between these two is so obvious and sparking, it was actually laughable how they tried to say they were a fling. Their scenes had me blushing and swooning, I seriously could not get enough.

And this book surprisingly goes deeper than I ever thought it would. There are a lot of real world topics discussed and written so well, I really appreciated all of that. Nik’s panic hit surprisingly close to home and seeing the representation just made the book that much better. And the found family aspect in this book had my heart feeling 10 times bigger by the end, seriously so freaking sweet.

Wicked Serve will take you on a rollercoaster ride of all the emotions, but it is so worth it. I will always be thinking about this broody x bubbly, secret dating, he falls first hockey romance and I hiiiighly recommend reading it!!🩷

(Excuse me while I go binge the series)

Its cute but angsty and emotional romance with Wicked Serve, the fourth and final book in the Beyond the Play series as Isabelle Callaghan and ice hockey Nikolai Abney have a summer fling that had ends abruptly when he leaves without saying goodbye. They return to their respective colleges and that should’ve been an end to things until Nikolai reluctantly finds himself at McKee University where Izzy is a student and where her brother is the captain of his new hockey team but even that isn’t enough to deter him from rekindling the spark with Izzy again.

What I enjoyed most about this book was that it wasn’t the usual 95% sneaking around and hiding the relationship from the brother which can get a bit tiresome. Nikolai and Izzy are revealed as a couple probably around halfway through with the rest of the story concentrating on Nikolai’s mental health and the effect it has on their relationship. He’s been left scarred mentally and physically and suffers from extreme anxiety due to his abusive father. He’s terrified he’ll become like him and eventually hurt Izzy, so he keeps her at arms length, but she’s the only person who realises what he’s going through and tries to help him, encouraging him to talk to someone, but every time his father contacts him, he regresses. Izzy meanwhile has her own issues. The only girl in a family of high achievers, she’s always felt she wasn’t good enough even though its more than obvious her family loves her and struggles with low self esteem.

There was a steady flow to the writing in Wicked Serve with the chapters being short and sharp, something that could be good or bad - good if you’re the kind of reader who likes to stop reading at the end of a chapter like me but bad because you then think ‘I’ve got time to squeeze another chapter in before I have to put the book down’ – again like me! The only thing that could’ve made me enjoy this book more was I would’ve liked if there had been more of what happened during their summer fling instead of the fleeting mentions interspersed throughout.

Izzy & Nikolai
Sport romance
Volleyball player x Hockey player
Brothers teammate
Hidden relationship

Another great book by this author.

I love the way Nikolai falls for her hard!

The book did feel a little repetitive of the others in the series, with the ongoing theme of "my family isn't proud of me". But I did enjoy reading it!

I forgot how much I enjoy college/sports romances. This book was so fun, endearing, and spicy.
I loved Nic and Izzy’s relationship growth. The way he speak and expresses how highly he regards her is just swoon worthy!!! I absolutely ate it up!!!
I am going back to read the rest of this series because I loved this authors writing style!! This book was easily read as a stand alone. I love that aspect of it!

I loved Nik and Izzy in this book! Thanks to the author for the opportunity to read this one early! Wicked Serve was a great read with angsty romance, great spice, and great friendship banter, which is always an excellent add in my opinion. If a book can me wish I was friends with all the characters too it’s a guaranteed add to my list of books I’d recommend to a friend. It may have taken both Nik and Izzy awhile to experience their individual growth arcs but they got there in the end, and they supported each other in doing so, which was an emotional journey that I really appreciated. The way they both supported each other and pushed each other to continue on when things were hard and felt impossible made me fall more in love with them both even more.

A very well written book with good characters. I loved the dynamic between the main characters - they were relatable and people I would hang around with.

Nik and Izzy started things under wraps and super casual... but of course things don't stay that way. I'm a sucker for a hockey player lead, and really enjoyed the complexities of Nikolai and his family. Izzy's volleyball ambitions were fun to read too - and I liked how the two athletes supported each other's different goals.

Brothers Rival/ hockey romance and my first read from this author. Isabelle and Nicolai had a fling in the summer but once summer ends they both go their separate ways. Things happen and Nicolai ends up on the same campus and same team as his rival who just happens to be the brother of his summer fling. They both have feelings for each other but how can they make it work with the rivalry?! I liked the book and there was very low angst. You have hockey and the rivalry between him and now a team that he has always gone against is interesting. Brother Callahan definitely was a plus in this story. I am now going to read the others in the series because very interested in her brother read.
3.5 stars

I enjoyed reading Wicked Serve by Grace Reilly. You will fall in love with all the characters. I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely. Happy Reading!