I dnf this book. I'm very grateful for the arc of this book, but I couldn't get into this book. And I'm not a big fan of cheating and the other stuff was to much for me. I didn't like the main character.

I loved this story and I want to read all of the books in this series now. I will definitely read more from Grace Reilly.

3.75 This book was decent. My one big complaint about this book was the length considering the two main characters were together for basically the entire book. The overall story and plot of the book was good, but I was just kind of bored with their relationship. Overall this series was pretty cute and I did enjoy it as a whole. My ranking from fave to least fave: Breakaway, Stealing Home, Wicked Serve, First Down.

This writing style on this is amazing. If you love Hannah Grace you'll love this one! Fun characters.

Arc Review:
Overall Rating: 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Rating: 3 🔥🔥🔥
Cover Rating: 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tropes:
- Sports Romance ~ Where They’re BOTH Athletes (He Plays Hockey and She Plays Volleyball)
- Brothers Rival ~ Turned Teammate
- Secret Relationship (with a lot of sneaking around)
- Broody x Bubbly ~ Grumpy x Sunshine
- Boy Obsessed
- Found Family
- Panic Disorder/Mental Health Rep
- Second Chances @ Love
- Friends With Benefits
- He Falls First
- Family Drama
- Mutual Caretaking
- Praise + Possessiveness
- He Calls Her Solnishko (“Little Sun”)
- Fancy Gifts & Lavish Presents
- Creative Hairbrush Use
- So Much Toe-Curling Spice + Dirty Talk
- No Third Act Breakup

‘Wicked Serve’ is the fourth book in the ‘Beyond the Play’ series but can be read as a standalone. I haven’t read the other books in the series yet but they have been on my tbr for awhile.

Nikolai is a part Russian hockey player with a tragic past that has resulted him to have a lot of trauma, he’s being pressured to give up his dreams of being a pro hockey player to please his family. Nikolai seems like a fun loving, reckless playboy but he’s got his trauma that weights him down and most importantly he’s very much a secret softy but only for her,
Izzy is struggling to decide her future, she spent the summer having a secret relationship with her brother’s rival, Nikolai. Izzy has had her fun but now that the summers over it’s back to business as usual but now Nikolai is going to her school and has joined her brothers hockey team and is tempting her a whole lot.

I loved Nikolai and Izzy’s relationship, my favourite thing has to be his nickname for her “little sun” is everything. I loved how they cared and supported each other. This book was sweet and enjoyable and was so much fun to read and I highly recommend it.

Thank you to the Valentines PR Team, NetGalley, publishers and the amazing author Grace Reilly for the advanced readers copy of ‘Wicked Serve’ it was truly a blessing to be on the arc team for this book.

This book exceeded all of my expectations! The relationship and the backstories were much deeper than I typically expect from a college sports romance, and for the MMC in particular, the journey to wellness and acceptance was powerful. It was a bit on the long side, but I enjoyed every step from start to finish. As an added bonus, I think this book stood well on its own — you don’t need to have read the others in the series to enjoy this one.

4 stars

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

There’s a reason this is popular in tiktok. The storytelling is absolutely fascinating. I kept up with the pacing and I fell in love with the characters.

⭐️ 3.5 stars

I enjoyed Nikolai and Izzy's relationship - it did take me a little bit to warm up to them as their casual relationship is depicted from the outset. I found Izzy to be fairly immature in comparison to Nikolai, but I liked that she was the only person in his life that actually stood up for what he wanted. Nikolai is a hot Russian hockey player- what's not to like?! He was fairly open about his mental health struggles which was refreshing to read. Casual hook-up type romances only work for me if the MMC is obsessed from the beginning and Nikolai definitely was. They communicated well and were open about their feelings which made the forbidden aspect enjoyable.

I don't think this book needed to be as long as it was, the pacing was one of my main issues. It felt as though some of the scenes either added no value to the story or were repeating the same information again. I was starting to get restless by the end because nothing was really happening.

Overall, this is a steamy read and I will be checking out some of the other books in this series!

Thank you to Valentine PR and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 ⭐️! Grace Reilly has done it again! I LOVED this book!! It's perfect for fans of sports romance, found family, and they like spice with their plot. That being said, this book did touch on some sensitive topics, so please check trigger warning before reading!

Nikolai is officially one of my new favorite book boyfriends. the pink scrunchie?? asking if she wants advice or just for him to listen?! CALLING HER SUNSHINE?!?! KING KING KING KING KING 🥰🥰🥰

all of the guys in this series are so great. i love how quickly Cooper accepted Nik onto the team and into the family. i have seen similar rivalries drawn out for wayyy too long for no reason. another point to how well these characters were written🫶🏻

if you love sports romances, this series is a MUST!

I did enjoy the sports related story. I think it would be good for the younger generation. I found it to be a quick read well written great characters.

This was a really cute hockey romance. I liked how I got to see the characters from the other books in the series. The spice is excellent and I really enjoyed the characters and their backstories

I’ve never read a Grace Reilly book before but after reading Wicked Serve I went back and started the whole series. I’m hooked! Wicked serve had the perfect about of spice, angst and depth. I adore the Callahan family, I’m sad there aren’t more of them for Reilly to write about. The pacing of this book was great and I couldn’t put it down. Not that I wanted to!

“This book was an absolutely fantastic read! I would highly recommend it to anyone seeking a compelling and immersive story!”

I am a fan of Grace Reilly’s writing! Firstly, I though First Down was well thought and so beautiful, then I have read Breakaway and fell for Cooper, then I was full in tears after reading Seb’s story and my heart is so full with love so I couldn’t wait to read Izzy’s story! And finally it happened!

Izzy and Nik’s story is full of heartbreak, doubts and struggles but it all lead to self growth, pure love and acceptance! 😍 And don’t be fooled by a cartoonish cover - the book is full of delicious spice 🥵🔥

I loved how they helped each other to become a beefed version of themselves! This is a great college sports romance and if you enjoy this trope I highly recommend to pick up the whole series as well as this particular book!

This was a cute one. It kind of blended in to a lot of the hockey romances I've read in the past, but it was still a fun read.

I received an ARC of this book and I’m super late in reviewing it but I enjoyed it! I liked the Russian/American, secret romance, friends/casual to lovers, brothers rival combo with both having their own internalized issues they are struggling with, whether it’s familial, traumatic, or confidence/pressure related. Nikolai is the seeetest mix of gruff and rough with sweet and loving all under the guise of broody and quiet. He’s super talented, complicated, and hot! Izzy is girlie and smart and has her own set of skills and she knows how to get past Nikolai’s walls. As their situation grows and changes and more and more is revealed, the chemistry explodes and the feelings intensify and I loved reading their love story and their family and friends! Plus a hockey romance always gets me!

5.0

*If she’s sunshine, I’m the guy who hopes it never starts raining. But deep down, I worry that I’m the typhoon.* 💛

Grace Reilly knocks it out of the park once again with the latest novel in the Beyond the Player series.

What Nikolai and Isabel each went through in the past and how it shows in their behaviour to one another is written so beautifully and realistically. Being the fourth book in this family's story, it feels like coming home. Their personal struggles makes them grow in their relationship instead of standing in the way of it, but somehow Reilly managed to not overdo it on how quickly they found each other in the mess of it all.

I love this book with my whole heart, as I do Reilly.

Thanks to ValentinePR and the author for granting me an arc copy. Of course, this review is my own opinion.

I LOVED this book. Grace Reilly does such a great job weaving an intriguing story that readers will fall in love with like I did!! I would highly recommend this read to anyone who loves romance books!!

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I wanted to like this, but it wasn't written for the age of the characters, and there was a disconnect. DNF'd